Kim Seon-Hyeok clenched his teeth as he watched the demonic dragon rushing at him. 

  I don’t have enough time. 

  The earth’s vitality that he had gathered so far was enough to completely destroy a castle without leaving behind a single trace. However, he instinctively knew that it would be impossible to take down the Demon King when he had become one with the demonic dragon.

  More. More. More.

  Seon-Hyeok continued to shout in his head, but the vicious demonic dragon had gotten very close to him, and now, he had to make a decision.

  He had to decide whether he was going to attack, even if it would be an unsatisfactory one, or if he would take the risk and gather more energy.

  Let’s go with this. 

  In the end, he made a decision and grabbed his spear tightly. 

  Just as he was about to gather all the power he amassed into the Mother Tree’s spear and send it out, Goldrake spoke to him.

  [I will endure.]

  Goldrake also seemed to know that it wouldn’t be possible to instantly end the demonic dragon with their current power. 

  [Trust me.]

  No answer was needed. Kim Seon-Hyeok’s trust in Goldrake was absolute. Without hesitation, he pulled back the spear he was about to throw. 

  [He’s coming!]

  With that brief warning, Goldrake drastically lowered his stance. Seon-Hyeok also prepared for the collision as he lowered himself until it seemed like he had burrowed into Goldrake’s hide. He gripped his spear, and Goldrake spread out the scales on his back to protect his rider.

  “Hm?”
But something was strange. 

  No matter how long he waited, there was no collision. During this period, the demonic dragon should’ve attacked at least ten times by now, but nothing changed despite that passage of time.

  Goldrake was still in his initial position, one where he had drastically lowered his stance, and Seon-Hyeok himself was in the same position as well.

  But instead of the collision’s shock, all he could feel was the pain of the earth’s energy moving through his veins. 

  Why?

  Unable to hold back his doubts, Kim Seon-Hyeok withdrew a bit and looked over the scales that Goldrake had spread.

  “Ah…”
It was blurry, but because of that, the mysterious golden wings caught his eyes even more. 

  “Dragon?”
The dragon had been looking down at the earth from high above in the sky before it suddenly landed and was in between the demonic dragon and himself. 

  [I bought you some time. But I don’t think I can last long.]

  At that moment, the dragon’s voice entered his head.

  [Quickly. And keep this in mind. If you can’t kill him in one blow, there will be no way for you to win this battle. And I beseech that you do not allow the enemy to gain a single piece of flesh or even a single drop of your blood.]

  Even if the dragon hadn’t told him, Kim Seon-Hyeok already knew it.

  If he allowed the demonic dragon to gain the blood and flesh of Goldrake, then the demonic dragon would have the same end results as the dragons of the past that were much more powerful than himself.

  That’s why he still hadn’t stopped gathering the earth’s energy, and he continued even yet.

  Just a bit more. 

  The Mother Tree, which had always been straight, became twisted, and every grain of wood on the spear began to rise. 

  But it still wasn’t enough. He wasn’t sure he would be able to defeat the demonic dragon with just the energy he had gathered so far. At a glance, that’s how formidable the demonic dragon and the Demon King were.

  Things didn’t end up going well.

  The demonic dragon had stopped when it saw the dragon, but now, it was slowly approaching again. It seemed like there was a limit to stopping such a terrible beast with only an illusion and not a real body.

  Grrrr.

  The demonic dragon had momentarily withdrawn, but now, it bared its vicious teeth and tore through the dragon’s illusion.

  [This is all I can do for you.]

  The golden light was pushed back the black energy and scattered. 

  [I hope that we will meet with my true body and not a manifestation.]

  With that brief farewell, the dragon disappeared, but the demonic dragon continued to chase after the illusion, snapping its jaw.

  Huff.

  However, it must have noticed that no matter how much it stuffed his mouth, it couldn’t fill its stomach with the light left behind by the illusion. Soon, the demonic dragon flashed its red eyes and turned back to approach Goldrake. 

  But once again, the demonic dragon couldn’t reach Goldrake.

  Shwack!

  A huge sword had fallen from the sky to block the demonic dragon’s path.

  “Marek?”
This time, it was Marek who interfered.

  “I’ll say this one more time.”
Incongruously, Marek grumbled as he gripped his iron sword.

  “I will never go anywhere with you again.”
In the old swordsman’s hand, the iron sword flashed, and then, a long line was drawn in the air. 

  Swish.

  Everything in that path was cut. The dark sky and the rotten earth were all sharply cut and disjointed.

  Included in that was the demonic dragon’s neck.

  Caught in the middle of the trajectory, the dragon’s head fell to the floor with a thump.

  “Tsk.”
Although Marek succeeded in cutting off the powerful demonic dragon’s head, not a single sign of happiness was seen on his face as he clicked his tongue.

  “This feels like I’m swinging my sword at the air.”
At the same time Marek finished complaining, a new head grew out of the severed demonic dragon’s neck. But it wasn’t one head, it was two.

  Grrrrr.

  Marek sent out another attack when the demonic dragon’s fighting spirit grew even more ferocious than before. 

  Again, the demonic dragon’s head was cut off too easily and four heads emerged from the severed section again.

  “I wonder how far this will go.”
Marek cut off the demonic dragon’s head over and over again. And the demonic dragon also regenerated a new head over and over again.

  Countless Slashes followed.

  Eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four……

  Soon, the newly sprouted demonic dragon’s heads covered the entire body. The protruding necks and heads swayed like tentacles, constantly targeting Marek’s gaps in defense. 

  The demonic dragon was wielding its heads like a whip and its original appearance couldn’t be seen any longer.

  Originally, it had resembled a drake, but now, it had turned into something completely different and the newly sprouted heads didn’t resemble that of a dragon, but all the different types of demonic beasts.

  Since one of the heads resembled a human’s head, the demonic dragon had become a monster that couldn’t be called a demonic dragon any longer.

  Even the insane dragons Kim Seon-Hyeok had seen in the dragon’s memory hadn’t been like this. 

  The demonic dragon was much more repulsive and even more hideous. And it seemed that much more dangerous.

  “Still not ready yet?”
Marek pressed Kim Seon-Hyeok with bloodshot eyes. 

  As if each attack contained his soul, Marek put in a lot of effort. Having carried out such Slashes dozens of times, and becoming noticeably weakened after the ritual of succession, there was no way Marek would be able to continue. 

  It wouldn’t be odd if Marek was to collapse immediately. 

  “I asked if you’re still not ready!”
Tired, Marek pressed him again, but Seon-Hyeok didn’t answer. No, he couldn’t answer.

  The earth’s energy that was being pulled in from all directions was rampaging through his entire body.

  “Keugh.”
The energy was so formidable that even his strong Drakanade’s body was having difficulty handling it, and even the earth dragon was harshly breathing in pain. 

  That’s how alarming the energy Seon-Hyeok was drawing in. But nevertheless, he didn’t stop gathering energy. 

  It was as if he was determined to risk everything for one definite attack.

  The battle between the demonic dragon and Marek continued. Marke was now completely exhausted and had given up on cutting off the demonic dragon’s heads. Instead, he flew Devon in an acrobatic manner, trying his best to draw the demonic dragon’s attention to himself.

  “Hurry up! Any more and I won’t be able to handle it!”
But even that had a limitation. 

  Grrrrrr.

  After a certain point, the demonic dragon felt threatened by the energy gathering around Kim Seon-Hyeok and ignored Marek. Instead, he started moving forward.

  “Grand Duke!”
Marek bellowed at Seon-Hyeok.

  “Careful…”
However, Kim Seon-Hyeok still didn’t respond and Goldrake, who was still carrying him, also remained crouched and motionless.

  The demonic dragon raised his snouts and licked its lips.

  Kaaaaah.

  With an eerie roar, the demon dragon’s heads opened their mouths as they stretched out towards Goldrake simultaneously.

  Rip.

  Goldrake’s scales were torn apart in an instant. Amongst the heads, the impatient ones were impaled by the sharp scales, looking like they’ve been skewered, but most of the heads succeeded in ripping off the scales and biting into Goldrake.

  Unfortunately, the demonic dragon couldn’t satisfy its appetite. 

  Thwack.

  Even before it could chew the flesh it had ripped off with great difficulty, the jaw was pierced through by Goldrake’s scales when he abruptly jumped up.

  Kwak.

  Startled, the demonic dragon screeched and tried to back away, but the scales that had skewered dozens of its heads didn’t allow that to happen.

  “Retreat.”
Amidst the terrible screams of the demonic dragon, Marek heard an exceptionally clear voice.

  “Are you alright?!”
Delighted, Marek flew Devon to look for Kim Seon-Hyeok. He finally found him.

  “You’re…”
Even after the demonic dragon’s terrifying attack, Seon-Hyeok was unharmed without a single wound on him. But that didn’t mean he was in a good shape.

  Tremble tremble. 

  His strong body was convulsing.[1] The thick forearm that held the thin spear looked like it couldn’t bear the weight of the spear and would drop it at any second.

  The reason for his shaking was the spear that looked like it was about to break.

  “That’s…”
Marek could feel a disquieting energy swirling inside the shabby-looking spear. 

  “It seems like I overdid it by trying to be sure.”
Kim Seon-Hyeok’s explanation was absurd.

  But Marek couldn’t blame him.

  “We don’t have time.”
Just like he said, they didn’t have much time left.

  “If possible, retreat far away.”
Gripping the spear with both hands, Kim Seon-Hyeok spoke with a trembling voice.

  “Run away? Where the hell would I go?”
Since the fight wasn’t over yet, Marek was saying ‘running away’ instead of ‘retreating.’ Marek couldn’t accept it. At that, Seon-Hyeok responded in a suppressed voice. 

  “As far away as possible. Get out of this region if you can.”
In the timespan of the brief conversation, things got worse. The twisted spear began to expand as if it was about to explode.

  “I’ll return!”
Realizing that he would not be able to handle the explosion that would be happening soon, Marek flew off on Devon without hesitation. 

  Shortly after Marek left, the spear of the Mother Tree barely maintained its shape, and shortly after Marek left, it shattered with a cracking sound. It was destroyed. 

  And at that moment, the world collapsed. 

  ***

  Of the Allied Forces frontlines, the fiercest battle was fought on the Midwest Front where the Warrior and the Demon King battled. In that single battle, the greatest number of casualties were lost and the Warrior that the Holy Kingdom was so proud of was lost as well.

  Another disaster struck the Midwest Front. 

  Roar.

  With a sudden roar, the entire world shook as if it was about to collapse.

  The small mountain that was located on one side of the plan collapsed and countless pits were formed in the desolate but vast plain. 

  In the process, the Allied Forces, including the Holy Kingdom, who had advanced into the Midwest suffered tremendous losses.

  The fortresses and main bases they had restored through hard work in the West collapsed.

  The fortresses and garrisons that managed to survive the earthquake suffered terrible damages as well.

  The earthquake didn’t end with just one. As if it would only end after the world had collapsed, the earthquakes continued in the West and the ground shook several times a day. 

  However, the world didn’t end and the earthquake that seemed to last forever finally came to an end. 

  When that terrible catastrophe was over, someone appeared from the black land beyond the vast frontline. 

  1. The author used a Korean idiom’ 사시나무 떨듯,’ directly translated as ‘shaking like an aspen tree,’ which means to tremble violently.