CHAPTER 116 - He Has Returned
The power of the breath weapon lay in its concentration of mana, which transcended all common sense.

This intensely condensed mana was stronger and harder than any substance in the world, and the explosive force upon impact was comparable to a disaster that could reshape the terrain.

The breath, fired after gathering mana so forcefully that it created a temporary vacuum within and around the dragon, was something no fortress wall could block.

The barrier created by the World Tree and the Great Spirit Akram was also easily shattered and scattered into fragments. Although it had managed to deplete a fraction of the mana contained in the breath, it made little difference to its overall power.

The breath only wavered the moment it entered the black domain.

— What…!?

A black barrier unfolded with Jinwoo at its center. The shattered fragments of the forest and fire were stained black and froze in mid-air.

Within this space, where black shards scattered like stars, the spear of light fell, aimed precisely at Jinwoo. But something about it was amiss.

The powerful mana cohesion that formed the foundation of the breath was tainted by Erosion and began to unravel. Erosion corrupts all things, stripping them of their source. The mana stained by Erosion was no longer a dragon's, with its powerful cohesion, but merely individual mana particles.

Kwagwagwagwagwang!

With its cohesion lost, the next thing to happen was an explosion. The mana, which had been forcibly compressed by a transcendent power, was released all at once, creating an explosion within the barrier comparable to the birth of a star.

However, this was a phenomenon Jinwoo had induced. From the starting point of the explosion to the flow of its heat, he controlled it all. The force was less than half, no, not even a quarter of the breath's original explosive power, and that much he could easily cleave with the Nebula Sword.

KWAAANG—!!

An attack powerful enough to obliterate an entire mountain merely shook the inside of the barrier and ended there. While the shockwave wasn’t negligible, Jinwoo, Kalesian, and Akram were all unharmed.

"Insane…" Kalesian, who knew the power of a breath weapon better than anyone, muttered under his breath. Before him stood Jinwoo, holding a blackened sword. Ahead of him, the terrain was brutally destroyed. It was split in two precisely in front of Jinwoo, leaving no place untouched except for the area behind his back.

— How…! How can a human possess the same power as him!

Silbaern's voice was like a cracked, ancient tree. She was so shocked that she hadn't even had a moment to clear her throat after firing the breath.

The reason she had never been able to settle things with Rondar, despite being able to fire such a powerful breath, was also because of his barrier of Erosion.

Within that barrier, a dragon's powerful mana cohesion was nullified, preventing a proper breath from being formed. Furthermore, it transformed the area into a domain where all of a dragon's various spells and techniques based on that principle were rendered useless.

While conventional magic could still be used, it lacked the special quality that made dragons the sovereigns of magic. It was reduced to a level where, aside from sheer scale, there was little difference from the magic of a human archmage.

"By him, do you mean Rondar?"

—…! You know Rondar?

Of course he did. Jinwoo didn't answer, which caused Silbaern to misunderstand.

'Rondar, you bastard!!!'

She began to believe this entire situation was his scheme. Come to think of it, it was strange. She had merely been trying to devour a rather old spirit when two uninvited guests suddenly appeared.

Jinwoo and Kalesian had not appeared in the forest through any normal means. It wasn't a spell like teleportation, either. If it had been, there was no way Silbaern would not have noticed.

'I thought they were beings who had ascended from the 5th Floor…'

That was why she had assumed they were just newcomers from a lower world. While that was close to the truth, Silbaern now misunderstood differently.

'Did Rondar send them?!'

Assassins, infiltrated by Rondar using some unknown means. That was the only way it made sense to her.

Thinking she had figured it all out, Silbaern let out a chuckle that rose from the pit of her stomach.

— Heh, heheheh. Did Rondar send you to take my head?

"…?"

Of course, this was the first Jinwoo was hearing of it. Their appearance in Silbaern's forest had been purely coincidental.

If he had to guess, he'd say they were drawn here because there was a dragon in their party… That was all he could think.

— You persistent pest. Do you think I'll fall for something as pathetic as this!

No one knew if she was speaking to Jinwoo or to the Rondar she imagined beyond him. Silbaern began to gather her mana once more.

'Damn it!'

But it wasn't working well. While enough mana for one or two grand spells gathered in an instant, it was far too little compared to usual.

Normally, mana from her surroundings would be drawn to her just by breathing. Like water flowing downward due to a star's gravity, all the mana in the vicinity would naturally flow toward her heart.

But not now. The mana blanketed by Erosion had become neutral, losing all its properties, and was no longer drawn to a dragon.

Silbaern had to gather the mana manually, and it was inevitable that the spells she cast with it would be weaker than usual.

Chwaaak-!

Jinwoo's sword cut through the downpour of fire, ice, and lightning. Though weakened, the spells were still powerful enough to be called grand magic, but they couldn't withstand the edge of the Nebula Sword.

Furthermore, the black aura clinging to his blade spread through the magic formulas, corrupting and breaking down the spells themselves.

Instant-cast spells were unaffected, but any magic with even a slight duration had its functions halted, turning it into a useless lump of mana. Just like the traps in Kalesian's lair.

'You son of a bitch!'

Silbaern couldn't hold back a curse. Within this domain, many of the tools at her disposal were restricted.

Most importantly, she couldn't fire her breath. To be precise, she could fire one by manually gathering mana, but doing so would leave her exposed and defenseless for a significant amount of time.

Even with her natural cohesion, a breath required enough time for a deep inhale. To generate that kind of power inside this domain, she would need at least three or four times as long.

In the end, her only options were magic—specifically, single-shot spells with no duration—and her own formidable physical body.

She decided to utilize all of it. From the sky, she began to plummet straight down toward Jinwoo.

"Crazy!"

Even Jinwoo couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine. It was simple enough to cut down magic fired from a distance. But there was no way he could block a dragon's body, a being of that sheer mass, with a single swing of his sword.

KWAAAAAANG!

The massive dragon slammed into the ground at full speed, looking just like a meteor strike. Jinwoo and his party scattered in all directions, but even then, they couldn't completely escape the aftershock.

— To me! A mere human!

Having crashed to the ground, Silbaern thrashed about mercilessly. Her tail shattered the well-grown World Tree branches, and she left massive claw marks across Akram's now-extinguished domain of fire.

Her flapping wings created a storm that overturned the earth. The power normally used to lift her massive body into the sky was now being used to tear the ground apart.

— Kuh-haaaaaa!

Not only that, but a powerful magnetic field of mana formed around her, scorching the area black. Lured by this field, lightning struck from a clear sky, turning the ground she trampled into a disaster zone where no one could set foot.

A chaotic brawl of dirt and mud, unbecoming of her usual elegance. How long had it been since she’d had a fight like this?

It was a battle unlike any she'd had since her fight with Rondar.

"…What should we do?"

"I don't know. This is the first time I've seen a dragon go berserk like this…"

From a safe distance, Jinwoo wore a troubled expression. Kalesian looked equally perplexed.

Even if she couldn't use her full power within the domain of Erosion, she was still an Ancient who had lived for thousands of years. With a being of that caliber rampaging blindly, it was incredibly difficult to get close.

Just then, a figure shot through the center of the chaos like a flame. It was Akram.

"Akram!?"

No matter how great a spirit he was, approaching a rampaging dragon was dangerous. It wouldn't be strange for him to be torn to shreds in an instant.

In fact, his body was already being torn by the wind and pierced by ice, sustaining injuries. Yet, he did not stop.

Behind him was the cave of his family, which he had protected all this time.

"I've held back long enough, you damn lizard!"

Akram didn't stop, even as his entire body was being shredded, and finally succeeded in grabbing hold of Silbaern. He hadn't been able to catch the creature when it was flying gracefully, but now that it was on the ground, this was his chance.

— Kuh-haak!

Silbaern struggled to shake Akram off. The feeling of being coiled and squeezed was incredibly uncomfortable.

Even as she clawed with her wings and pierced with her talons to tear him off, Akram did not release his grip. Some of his segments were cut so deep they were about to fall off, but still, he held on.

'You snake-headed bastard!'

Losing her patience, Silbaern slammed her body down onto the ground, crushing Akram with her weight. Kuaaaack! Bones shattered, flesh and organs were crushed and burst, and Akram's scream pierced the heavens.

Was this his final flame? His brilliantly shining scales burned hotter than ever before, searing Silbaern. Despite writhing in pain, Silbaern did not stop crushing Akram.

Soon, the strength began to drain from Akram's body, starting from his tail. Crushed and broken, Akram's body became little more than a tattered rag and fell to the ground in pieces.

A look of glee filled Silbaern's eyes at the death of the annoying creature. She raised her head to let out a great roar and saw the sun.

And there, she saw Jinwoo's sword.

— You…!!

It was an impossibly colossal sword. Just like the sword of Rondar, whom she had fought in the past. A greatsword that could split the sky and overturn mountains.

In reality, the sword had not grown larger. It was a trick of Silbaern's eyes. It was an image of the "death" she perceived.

Chwaak!

The sword sliced through her neck. Normally, her mana should have gathered at the wound to instantly heal and regenerate it, but within the domain of Erosion, that was impossible.

Worse still, the black aura that lingered thickly on the Nebula Sword's blade remained on the severed surfaces, preventing the head and body from ever reattaching.

The Erosion ended, and the sky opened up.

In contrast to the clear, cloudless sky, the ground was a complete mess. The black energy, powerful enough to bind a dragon, remained even after the domain was dispelled, raging like a flooding river.

The fire and the forest, having lost their masters, were both swept away by the torrent. Only the master of the current could bring it under control and save the lives that dwelled within.

From the peak of a distant snow-capped mountain, Rondar was watching. In his hand was a bottle emitting a rich, fragrant aroma, but he did not appear drunk.

He was intoxicated by the sight before him. The chuckles escaping his lips, the unrestrained joy—it all belonged to the being beyond.

"He has finally returned. Don't you think?"

There was no one around him. He was seeking agreement from the snowy mountain itself.

[The God of the Ice Valley rejoices.]
[The day the false monarch departs and the true master returns.]

In contrast to them, the sound of furious thunder echoed from the sky. Despite the cloudless heavens, a sound of rage that could overturn the world rang out.

And the tree that embraced souls mourned. Her wails of sorrow were enveloped in silence, heard by no one.