After fully absorbing the Gumiho’s spiritual energy, a change occurred in my body.
My rank rose, and my perception sharpened even further. In addition, I gained the techniques that the Gumiho had possessed.
‘With this, I can take down the Frost Dragon God without issue.’
I offered spiritual energy to the Eye of Bluecat and located where the Frost Dragon God was.
Just in time, that bastard moved its body.
I immediately moved as well, tailing the Frost Dragon God. Using the technique the Black Dragon God had been mastering, I leaped through space using shadows as a medium.
At the same time, I erased my presence and observed the Frost Dragon God, visible far in the distance with my naked eye.
Ssssssssss
The Frost Dragon God glided across the ice path it had created on the ground.
As it passed, the ice melted, erasing any trace of its movement.
Seeing it move so hastily, I grew curious.
‘Who is it running from?’
Whether it had already been attacked by other Dragon Gods, or was fleeing in fear of an impending attack.
Or perhaps it knew I was coming and was running—I couldn’t tell.
But wandering around alone like that was good news for me.
Keeping enough distance so my presence wouldn’t be detected, I used the Eye of Bluecat to chase the Frost Dragon God.
Only after moving for a very long time did it finally catch its breath.
It entered a small cave and began setting up all kinds of barriers.
“…It’s even saving me the trouble of draining its strength.”
Looking at the composition of the barriers, I could recognize their type at a glance.
Erasing presence, erasing spiritual energy.
A composite barrier that completely severed the inside from the outside.
Unless someone was watching, once that barrier was complete, no one would be able to find the Frost Dragon God.
That was how powerful the barrier was.
However, completing that barrier consumed a considerable amount of spiritual energy.
In short, the Frost Dragon God was risking its life to finish that barrier.
Wooooooong!
As the barrier was completed, everything about the Frost Dragon God vanished. Even the presence I’d felt moments ago, and even through the Eye of Bluecat.
I could no longer confirm the Frost Dragon God.
That meant the Frost Dragon God was now completely defenseless.
Its spiritual energy was all spent.
It was mentally off guard as well.
I stepped forward and approached the barrier where the Frost Dragon God was. I concentrated spiritual energy at my fingertips and aimed at the barrier.
Whoosh!
A fierce flame flared up.
Yellow, blue, red, and white.
Four flames spun at my fingertips, igniting the fire. The flame, mingling the four colors, flew straight toward the barrier.
Craaaaash!
The flame gnawed at the power within the barrier, eventually shattering the barrier the Frost Dragon God had created.
Crack!
As the barrier collapsed, the interior of the cave came into full view.
The Frost Dragon God, which had been sitting on the floor catching its breath, widened its eyes. Seeing me, it opened its mouth wide.
“…How.”
“You seemed in quite a hurry. Moving without even looking back?”
“You were tailing me?”
“I had business.”
“I’ve never seen you before.”
“Naturally. This is my first time seeing you too.”
The Frost Dragon God grimaced, swallowed, and then spoke to me.
“Why did you come?”
“Revenge.”
“…You’re the Successor of the Lord.”
“Oh. You caught on fast.”
“…Kugh. How did you find me? There should be no way to locate me.”
“I used the Divine Step.”
“That must have consumed no small amount of spiritual energy… Hmm? That’s not the amount of spiritual energy someone who just arrived here should have. You… Could it be you’ve already defeated one of the Black Dragon or White Dragon?”
The Frost Dragon God’s eyes narrowed.
I chuckled at that.
“Both.”
“With you, that makes three.”
I created a flame of four colors at my fingertips once more, aiming at the Frost Dragon God.
The authority the Gumiho possessed.
Fox Flame.
The intense flame that bloomed at my fingertips smiled toward the Frost Dragon God. Its eyes gleamed at the new prey as it rushed in destructively.
KABOOOOOM!
A massive explosion erupted.
The cave collapsed completely, and the intense flame incinerated the stone dust into nothing.
With the explosion, a huge hole was blown into the mountain where the cave had been.
Flames scattered in all directions.
I controlled the firepower of the flames, which sought to burn everything, and called the flames back into my body.
At the same time, I looked at the Frost Dragon God lying on the ground.
It seemed to have barely clung to life by gathering all its remaining spiritual energy.
“Le-let’s make a deal.”
“A deal?”
“I’ll hand over information about the other Dragon Gods. So just spare my life.”
“I’ll hear you out first.”
I lowered my stance and met the Frost Dragon God’s wavering gaze.
After catching its breath, the Frost Dragon God gulped.
With a tense expression, it looked at me and slowly opened its mouth.
“I’ll tell you which dimensions the other guys’ Apostles are in.”
“That sounds interesting.”
I had already found the base of the Fire Dragon God.
But I hadn’t yet located the bases of the Wind Dragon God, Lightning Dragon God, and Earth Dragon God.
If I found their bases, wiped out all their Apostles, and destroyed their support foundations, I could get my revenge a little faster.
It also reduced the risk of unexpected variables.
“Ri-right?”
“Speak.”
“But first, swear on your spiritual energy that you won’t kill me once I hand over all the information.”
I raised my spiritual energy and opened my mouth.
“Once you hand over the information, I will not kill you directly.”
The spiritual energy within my body surged, creating a resonance with the Frost Dragon God.
An unbreakable rule was inscribed.
A shackle that would cause the one who broke it to die immediately and transfer all spiritual energy to the other contractor.
The Frost Dragon God, confirming that the contract was perfectly established, smiled broadly and spoke.
It spilled everything about where the Apostles of the other Dragon Gods were, starting with the Fire Dragon God.
‘The Fire Dragon God checks out.’
The coordinates of the Fire Dragon God’s base, already at war, matched what the Frost Dragon God said.
At least it wasn’t a lie.
Even though it couldn’t lie due to the contract, confirming it directly like this gave me trust.
I passed all the remaining coordinates I heard from the Frost Dragon God to Yoo Seolha.
Then I grabbed the Frost Dragon God by the scruff of the neck and went outside.
“Wh-what! You promised not to kill me!”
“Yeah. I promised I wouldn’t kill you directly.”
“What?”
“I’ll keep my promise. Don’t worry.”
I took the Frost Dragon God to a place where I sensed a strong spiritual energy nearby.
There was a spirit beast there.
A decent monster that I could easily catch at my level. But the current Frost Dragon God couldn’t handle it.
I threw the Frost Dragon God in front of that spirit beast.
With its spiritual energy completely depleted and unable to use it for a while, the Frost Dragon God couldn’t even keep its balance and just screamed.
“Hey, you bastard!”
Grrrrr
A shadow appeared over the Frost Dragon God.
A spirit beast in the shape of a wolf bit straight into the Frost Dragon God’s throat. Vast spiritual energy flowed out and into the spirit beast.
Watching that, I raised my fingertip.
Fox Flame.
The four-colored flame surged and blasted the wolf away.
KABOOOOOM!
I claimed the Frost Dragon God’s ownerless spiritual energy and the spirit beast’s inner core, absorbing them into my body.
A vast cold spread.
Using the enlightenment of fire I gained from consuming the Gumiho’s inner core, I handled the cold. Carefully, caressing it, I guided the cold.
In that process, I fully accepted the cold and gained enlightenment about a new attribute.
Of course, I needed time to fully understand the enlightenment.
‘I’ll focus on training while cleaning up the other Apostles’ bases on Earth.’
—
The Fire Dragon God, feeling its power gradually diminish, sensed an anomaly.
It quickly checked what was happening on the earthly realm.
-We were attacked by Gold.
-I’m sorry. With our power… we simply couldn’t stop them…-
The official successor of the Gold Dragon, whom it had been so wary of, had appeared, and those following Gold had even invaded the Apostles’ bases.
There wasn’t much the Fire Dragon God, who had ascended to the Divine Realm, could do.
If it gave up everything and descended to the earthly realm, it could save the Apostles.
But it wasn’t willing to give up what it had built and go down.
“…Is the Black Dragon and White Dragon lying low also that bastard’s doing?”
The Fire Dragon God watched the situation with surprising composure.
Its base was already gone, and part of its spiritual power had begun to fade.
After all, spiritual energy was something that could be rebuilt given time.
What mattered now.
Was finding and dealing with the Successor of the Lord who had ascended to the Divine Realm and was running wild.
The Fire Dragon God sent a message to the other Dragon Gods from its seat.
Then it moved to the place where the Dragon God Alliance had started. Not long after, they began to appear one by one.
The Wind Dragon God, the Lightning Dragon God, and the Earth Dragon God.
“Your spiritual energy is fading.”
“Did something happen?”
“Are you alright?”
The three’s words contained both concern and greed simultaneously.
They saw the Fire Dragon God as a tempting prey, while also wondering why this had happened.
As long as the question remained unresolved.
The three wouldn’t kill the Fire Dragon God.
The Fire Dragon God shrugged and looked around.
“What about Frost Dragon?”
“Haven’t seen it.”
“Me neither.”
They waited for a while, but the Frost Dragon God didn’t appear.
“It seems that one was taken out too.”
“By whom?”
“Gold.”
“What?”
The Lightning Dragon God frowned.
“Why did Gold suddenly pop up?”
“The Lord selected a true successor and handed everything over.”
“Then your state is…”
“Yeah. The Lord’s forces invaded and collapsed my support base. The level of their forces is incredibly strong.”
“Then… the Lord’s successor must have exceptional skill as well.”
“I suppose so.”
The Fire Dragon God nodded.
The Earth Dragon God, who had been listening silently, clicked its tongue.
“Are the three who didn’t show up here all taken out?”
“I’d say so.”
At the Fire Dragon God’s answer, the Wind Dragon God spoke.
“Gathering us means you want to revive the Dragon God Alliance?”
“At the very least, shouldn’t we kill the Lord’s successor for sure? If we let him live, who knows what he’ll do.”
“That’s true. Then, when we catch the Lord’s successor, whose share will the spiritual energy be?”
As the Lightning Dragon God smiled and asked, the Wind Dragon God curled its lips.
“Naturally, we’ll split it like before.”
“Everyone agrees?”
All nodded, accepting the proposal.
“You’re planning to catch him, right? If those bastards find out we’ve gathered again, they won’t just watch.”
“Might as well clean them all up this time.”
“Sounds good. I’ve had it with those eyesores anyway.”
“Then I’ll find the Lord’s successor.”
The Fire Dragon God volunteered as the seeker.
In the current situation, its combat power was the weakest, making it a reasonable division of roles.
“If we clean up before you find him, you get no share.”
“Fine.”
The Fire Dragon God nodded and turned around.
“Then I’ll contact you again after I find him. In the meantime, take care of those bastards properly.”
After the Fire Dragon God left, the remaining three looked at each other.
“What do we do? Go right now?”
“What’s the point of dragging it out? Let’s finish quickly and stock up on some spiritual energy.”
“We need to clean up fast and conserve strength so we can fight Gold at full capacity.”
“What’s with you? Why are you so serious about catching just one newly ascended fry?”
“That fry already took out three.”
“We don’t know that. What’s so big about someone dying in the Divine Realm?”
“Why complicate things? We’ll just wipe them all out.”
At the Lightning Dragon God’s words, the other two nodded, and they all moved together.
“Feel like stretching my body for the first time in a while.”