Chapter 203: Land of Dragons (10)
The rumbling of dragon roars shook the air, instantly silencing the fairies and wolfhounds hidden in the mist. They all turned their heads towards the distance, anxiety spreading through the darkness like wildfire. Countless whispers, utterly incomprehensible, erupted into a furious roar after just two seconds.
“The key to the ‘Abyss Language’… has been unlocked… the flesh… is about to awake…”
In front of me, the silhouette of the Old Fairy finally retreated back into the mist. His voice pierced through the cries of the fairies, echoing from the murky fog: “In the ‘Abyss Language’, you are not for Rabishixemos, the apostle… you possess the power of Diana…”
The power of Diana…?
I glanced at my hands, and to my surprise, delicate, shimmering scarlet patterns had appeared on my slender arms without me noticing.
Right…
This is the power of the Goddess of Sin…
“Dukada—!!”
Amidst the rustling wind, frantic roars accompanied by a flurry of footsteps surrounded me from all sides, countless glowing eyes closing in.
“Ha…”
I let out a long sigh.
The chances of negotiation had vanished…
So, no more time wasted on these guys.
Whoosh—
In the moment I made my decision, the dispersing black mist erupted from my back, transforming into flames. The blinding light dispelled the darkness. A whirlwind surged outward from me, and the swirling smoke snakes quickly engulfed several of the shadows rushing toward me. In the next instant, wings of flame took form and flapped, whisking my petite figure into the sky amidst the drifting light mist.
“Dukada! Dukada—”
Angry shouts came from the thick fog below, fading into the distance as I left them behind. The cold wind whipped against my ears, the view ahead was a murky haze, with spears glowing purple piercing through the fog, pursuing from behind. I used the chaotic power to flap my flaming wings, evading the attack with a dodge and then accelerating.
Boom! Boom! Boom—
The sonic booms created shockwaves that spread in a circular fashion ahead, producing astonishing explosive sounds. I wrapped my body in the black mist, squinting my eyes as I scanned the swirling fog.
Those fairies were already left far behind; their attacks could no longer catch up with me…
Where’s Big White…?
That last roar sounded almost painful…
What happened to it… it can’t be hurt, right…?
I quickly flew towards the direction from which the dragon roar had come. Once I felt I had shaken off the fairies, I lowered my altitude, just enough to catch a glimpse of the jagged rocky veins below, searching among the black rock formations for that menacing figure covered in white fur.
“Big White—”
With growing anxiety in my heart, I couldn’t help but yell. My fragile voice pierced through the thick fog, echoing into the lonely darkness, but there was no response.
“Big White!”
“Biiig! White—”
“Pfft, cough cough…”
As I shouted, some drifting ash flew into my mouth, making my throat sting, causing me to cough uncontrollably, tears welling up in my eyes, blurring my vision for a moment. I raised my hand to rub my eyes but feared hitting the jutting rocks, so I flapped my flame wings hard, raising my altitude again.
Below, the rocks became shrouded in gray mist again, their contours melting into ambiguity.
Suddenly, I noticed a towering black rock in the distance, blinking in astonishment.
That rock was absurdly large, jutting out among the surrounding formations. If I hadn’t flown high, I probably wouldn’t have seen its entirety.
But now, I slowly discerned its shape.
The flame wings snapped open, and my body swooped around in midair before stopping, hovering just above the rock. Rubbing my eyes, I looked more closely.
That was a dragon’s head…
The protruding black rock lay still amidst the swirling mist, revealing what appeared to be a massive dragon’s head, roaring skyward.
No, wait.
I frowned.
That wasn’t just a dragon head… there’s also a neck… and it seems to have a spine… hold on.
Suddenly, it struck me, and I began to flap my flame wings slowly, rising higher once more.
In my view, like a mountain range, the monstrous and bizarre black rock formations slowly expanded my horizon. The gray mist beneath thickened, nearly concealing the rock until its outline became extremely blurry. I stopped just in time.
At this height, I could see all the colossal rock pieces interlinked, forming a continuous sight.
That wasn’t just a dragon head…
The black rocks stretched endlessly before me, and pieced together in order, they almost resembled an entire dragon.
I couldn’t recognize what sort of dragon it was. It was completely different from the four-legged behemoths with bat wings from Western legends. This ‘dragon’ seemed to lie on the ground, and its body was more snake-like than lizard-like, long and serpentine, adorned with spikes on its back, almost backwards-curving, but I didn’t see anything resembling wings.
If it weren’t for the vague rock formations protruding like clawed feet beneath the ‘dragon body,’ I would have thought it was just a massive python. Its head was held high, with a pair of spiral horns formed from black rock, and its immense mouth was wide open, as if it were lamenting.
This ‘dragon’ was at least four hundred meters long…
If it were a living creature, I could easily imagine that when it stood before the tiny humans, and when it decided to destroy a city, no matter how many people there were—even if they were as strong as the Pope Knight—facing such a colossal being, even just the pressure from its exhale would be overwhelmingly despairing…
I suppressed the shivers creeping up my spine and turned my gaze further ahead.
… And there was not just one of such ‘dragons.’
The black rock veins stretched away in my line of sight, towering grotesque peaks emerged within the thick fog, each one a ‘dragon head,’ with the bodies coiled beneath.
The undulating black stone veins resembled lifelike, gigantic rock sculptures, exuding an old, decayed aura, appearing as if they were corroded and ridden with countless holes.
Distinct in shape and variety, those giant dragon rock sculptures had bodies like mountains immersed within the swirling gray mist, their snarling heads seemingly bowing towards a single direction.
“……”
I widened my eyes, the shock in my chest surged like a tidal wave, pounding against my heart, causing my scalp to tingle and my entire body to tremble.
These…
Are they rock formations… or real dragons…
My mind was in a tumult of shock and suspicion, but deep down, the answer had long been settled.
This is the Land of Dragons…
I hadn’t seen a single living dragon, the reason being… they were all beneath my feet… they had all turned into this…
This place… is a world formed by the bodies of countless dragons…
Those creatures, once unbeatable and fearsome to even humanity’s bravest warriors… they… had actually… died here, didn’t they…
This isn’t a land of dragons at all…
It’s not a realm opened by deities for dragons…
This is… a dragon tomb…
The cold wind rushed into my ears.
Drifting through the mist, I trembled, then suddenly flapped my flame wings, trailing long black smoke behind me, racing towards the direction of the dragon rock.
Lies…
The Church, the gods… all the so-called theological history lessons spouted by the academy are indeed just made-up stories. There’s no such thing as the Land of Dragons. They are all lying—everyone is lying… lying to the world, lying to me… but what is the truth…
And who… truly understands the truth…
Angel?
But he’s a liar too…
That pill wasn’t from the Gate of Truth, and the clinic isn’t… he deceived me…
I…
I won’t believe them anymore…
Boom—
Suddenly, a thunderous explosion erupted in the distance, crimson light burst into view, dazzling and overwhelming, dispersing the fog, painting the entire scene in shades of bl**d.
“Ah!”
The furious gale struck in an instant. I was flying midair, with no time to react; my eyes felt like they were being stabbed, I let out a quick yelp, and soon could see nothing as the thunderous sounds rolled like an avalanche, almost piercing my eardrums. The raging wind swept in, and in a moment, I was sucked into a terrifying whirlpool of wind.
“Ahhhh—!”
I squeezed my eyes shut, the deafening sound in my ears turned into a buzz, even my own screams seemed to fade away. My body felt like a ragged cloth, swaying unpredictably with the tumultuous gusts, unsure of where I would land.
What is happening!!!
The chaotic and strong airflow had rendered the flame wings on my back uncontrollable. I desperately urged the Dead Smoke to wrap around my body, curling myself up in midair to reduce drag, but to no avail; the furious wind pushed me forward relentlessly until… BAM! I crashed into something.
“Ugh…”
I couldn’t help but grunt, but thankfully, the armor protected me, and the jarring impact from my back wasn’t too painful, just stunned me for a moment.
What just happened…
When I finally felt the winds around me weaken and the buzzing in my ears start to recede, I half-opened one eye and saw the jutting black rocks below. I spread my wings wide, flipping over to land on the massive rock, crouching down and gripping the rock crevice tightly, pulling my wings in to shield myself against the raging winds.
The dazzling red light gradually faded from view, the previously thick fog completely blown away, revealing the winding, odd peaks and strange stones. I lifted my head against the wind and saw more gigantic dragon bodies like mountains, their high heads all directed towards one point in the sky, where a crimson, bl**d-like tumor floated ominously.
Thump, thump…
Thump, thump…
I heard the sound of a heartbeat.
What is that…
The immense tumor, covered in blue veins, flowed with bright red bl**d, countless vessel-like strands extending down toward a towering rock formation. In the next moment, an enraged dragon’s roar came from that direction.
“Roar—”
Big White!
Big White is over there!!!
I couldn’t think twice, my eyes lit up with crimson light as I activated the Moon Step, leaping into the air and urging the chaotic power. Amidst the swirling Dead Smoke, the gigantic flame wings took form once more, flapping against the chaotic cyclone, propelling me toward the direction of the tumor with all my might.
