Chapter 48: Myth

There were some things In-gong knew because he had conquered the white woman.

The Four Riders of the Apocalypse were truly godlike beings.

However, they were different from Erebos or Mother Earth. Erebos and Mother Earth were just beings who kept the balance of the world. They didn’t have clear personalities. Although it was possible to interact with them, it was impossible to establish a dialogue or emotional exchange with them.

Therefore, they didn’t intervene despite the imminent destruction of the Demon World. They only gave strength to those who longed for power and desire.

The elder dragons resembled the Four Riders of the Apocalypse. Like them, the elder dragons were gods with personality and flesh.

1,000 years ago, all Four Riders of the Apocalypse had lost their bodies. So, they couldn’t influence the world except through their knights.

The elder dragons’ situation wasn’t much better. No, it was worse. Half of the elder dragons had lost their flesh and the remaining three couldn’t function properly. Cruel Talia still hadn’t woken up from her healing sleep, while Enkidu and Queian had regained consciousness but not their strength.

In-gong understood Conquest, and the white woman shared her feelings with him. She had her own unique personality and feelings. Conquest refused the fate of destruction. Despite being born as one of the Four Riders of the Apocalypse, she longed for the world to be protected.

Her wish was small and trivial, a flower which bloomed in the ruins of her mind. It was small and beautiful, slender and pathetic. However, despite the harsh winds, it didn’t give up on living. The fluctuation was small, but her mind shook surely. Every time she took one step toward the end of the world, the shaking got bigger.

The other riders also had feelings. Due to that, they still felt affection towards Conquest who had betrayed them. They both loved and hated her, and those sentiments were confusing.

The elder dragons were similar. Recorder Torres gave his heart for Conquest. Watcher Ainkel sympathized with Conquest, and Guardian Queian didn’t believe Conquest. There was doubt and hate.

If so, what about the red dragon? Did he have a personality or was he just a monster? Despite being banished from the world, he had maintained his existence for thousands of years. That tenacity was indeed amazing. His will to destroy the world was very solid.

However, In-gong had made up his mind. He just didn’t think about it.

‘I don’t care.’

So what if he had personalities and feelings? The red dragon wanted to destroy the world, and the riders were just helping him. If so, In-gong would stop it. It was the same as what the sword duke always said. He had to protect his precious things and smash the incoming enemies!

The will of Enkidu, passed on through Earth Quaker, laughed. Feelings of embarrassment were passed on from Guardian Queian through the Warrior’s Sword.

‘My master.’

Conquest whispered. Green Wind whined, but it was only briefly.

In-gong looked away. The red dragon stopped, and they stared at each other.

The red dragon gave off a strong presence. In-gong was reborn as the true incarnation of Dhrtarastra, but he still couldn’t reach that strength. The power of a god alone wasn’t enough.

He had dominated Conquest and become the true Conquest Knight, but it was still insufficient. The power of one who desired the end of the world wouldn’t bring down the monster.

The equipment of the elder dragons had unified. Although their bodies had been lost, their souls were passed on through the equipment. Ainkel’s dragon heart had become one with the Moonlight Core, and he was now the true Drakon Kechatulla.

However, it was still lacking. Despite all of this, In-gong couldn’t narrow the small distance between him and the red dragon.

The red dragon stared at In-gong. Thousands of black beasts and soldiers were fighting in combat, but at this moment, there seemed to only be the red dragon and In-gong.

‘Master.’

At this moment, Green Wind spoke in a voice like she wanted to help him. In-gong gave a small laugh. He was able to see it now. In-gong understood what the white woman and Green Wind were saying. So, he accepted it without any resistance.

The light column of the Sanctuary started to emit a stronger light, and the red dragon widened his wings and roared like Earth Quaker.

The last piece…

It was being transmitted from the Sanctuary. This was something that only he could inherit from the Sanctuary.

The demon king didn’t simply refer to the king of the Demon World. The demon king was the protector of the Sanctuary. Just like Erebos and Mother Earth, it was the person who maintained the strength of the Sanctuary itself.

The Sanctuary, which had lost Mitra, wanted a new demon king. They had opened the shield in order to accept In-gong.

The red dragon unleashed his magic power. Once again, disaster struck the battlefield. However, it was too late. The succession had already begun.

Time seemed to slow down, like it had frozen over. In-gong was reminded of the past.

At first, he had just wanted to live. He’d just thought about not wanting to be killed by Zephyr. Then his thoughts changed. He wanted to protect Felicia and Caitlin, and prevent that disastrous future.

In-gong continued to meet more people, then he wanted to protect Chris and Silvan as well. It was the same with Anastasia. He wished to protect all the children of the demon king.

Then In-gong remembered Green Wind begging him to pat her head… Amita smiling happily with a big belly and Elaine’s mischievous grin. There was also the sword duke’s greetings with Felicia and Anastasia and Sylvia’s gentle hug… Vandal chuckling next to the blushing Nayatra. Delia, Seira, Karma, and Daphne were also essential.

“I’m sorry, are you leaving me out?”

Carack laughed in In-gong’s imagination, and In-gong laughed as well.

The light continued. The white light from the Sanctuary wrapped around In-gong. It became one with the power of Conquest and grew even more. The red dragon used his magic power. Simultaneously, In-gong also exuded an enormous magic power with an angry cry.

Everyone looked at In-gong, and it was accepted by all. The strongest person in the Demon World…

Protector of the Demon World… The demon king… In-gong was the one who took over the throne from the sura king, Mitra!

The magics of the red dragon collided with In-gong in midair. The tremendous collision created a vicious magic vortex in the air. However, this was just a skirmish. Each of the red dragon’s seven heads had different powers.

In-gong wasn’t watching quietly, and the protagonist brought all his strength together.

Felicia and Caitlin, who stood right beside In-gong, roared simultaneously. The two people awakened as apostles of Conquest. Felicia, who was on the verge of exhaustion from faster than the wind, laughed. Meanwhile, Caitlin raised up the full strength of her wilderness and revealed a beautiful beast-like person.

In fact, it wasn’t just the two of them. Call had been used despite the fact that In-gong hadn’t cried out a name. The King’s Knights gathered through In-gong’s power. Nayatra looked around her with a surprised expression as a mighty magic power moved around her body. Her purple hair blew in the wind. Vandal was also reborn as an apostle. He grew to a huge size reminiscent of a giant. Karma, who had already experienced the apostle upgrade, dealt with her power skillfully, and many spirits gathered around her.

Silvan stood beside Felicia. The power of Conquest allowed him complete control over the fairy.

“My master.”

“Master!”

The white woman said in a sweet voice, while Green Wind, who had become the goddess of the wind, cried out competitively.

“What a mess, a mess.”

Carack laughed before blowing the horn again. It was to spread news to the whole Demon World that a new demon king had ascended. The black sky shook, and the white crack broke the red moon.

Chris burst out laughing. It was right before the decisive battle, but he couldn’t help wanting to laugh. He envied Caitlin, Felicia, and Silvan who were gathered in one place. He should’ve closed his eyes and entered the King’s Knights.

Anastasia admitted it. It was curiously comforting. Maybe she had known that this was going to happen. No, she had definitely known. She had guessed it since the moment she’d been saved by In-gong in Curtis.

A smile appeared on her face. Anastasia had thought she would be upset, but she wasn’t. Baikal orabeoni’s words were right. They weren’t enemies, they were competitors. However, In-gong was just more suitable to becoming the demon king.

Then she remembered the words that Felicia and Caitlin always said.

‘Shutra.

‘Truly, Shutra.’

Zephyr closed his eyes, simply accepting it. He was a prince of the Demon World and out of reach of War’s madness, Famine’s greed, and Death’s darkness. Zephyr was only responsible for his duties.

‘It’s okay, Zephyr is still the coolest to me! And keep this a secret, but you are better than Erebos! Kyah! It will be okay! I’m telling you!’

Altesia’s voice was heard in his head. She used message magic on such useless words, but Zephyr couldn’t help smiling.

Warrior Locke grabbed another sword while listening to the sound of the horn in the sky. Guardian Queian had given him another powerful sword which contained the magic of a dragon. The true Drakon Kechatulla had returned, but Locke was still a warrior of the Human World. Beatrice prayed while Carlov tied his hair up.

Seven pillars of light emerged from the red dragon’s seven heads. At the same time, In-gong and everyone else started to move. Rather than fleeing from the fearsome power of destruction, they faced it head on.

The sword duke wielded his sword. He cut through one pillar of light like he’d done with the tsunami of undead. Silvan and Felicia held hands and used the magic power of the fairy to block one light column.

Zephyr and Quanta blocked another pillar. Altesia and Beatrice used their miracles of light and darkness to crush one light pillar, while Locke roared and attacked another.

Five pillars of light were thwarted. One of the remaining two were handled by the queens. Sylvia’s and Titania’s powers twisted the trajectory of the light pillar, while Elaine concentrated the auras of the Blood Companions and destroyed the light pillar.

One pillar of light remained. In-gong rushed toward it as it extended straight to the Sanctuary. Caitlin followed In-gong. He moved through the air and aimed White Eagle at the giant pillar of light. Then Green Wind cried out with him!

“Absolute Area!”

It was White Eagle’s super special move! A brilliant green light collided with the column of light and split it into hundreds of branches. The trajectory was reflected, and the branches aimed for the red dragon instead.

However, In-gong didn’t stop. He reached for Caitlin’s waist while casting another skill.

‘Black Specter.’

He triggered the super special move of Night Watch, Violent Kaltein’s equipment.

In-gong turned into blue smoke. There was the sound of hundreds of wings flapping as he rushed toward the red dragon.

Hundreds of fragments from the light pillar scattered. Those that collided with the red dragon were destroyed.

Kwaaaaaang!

There was a loud burst of thunder. Then the dark blue smoke turned into a person again. In-gong couldn’t completely narrow the distance to the red dragon as the magic power of the red dragon had pushed the blue smoke away.

The red dragon didn’t stop there. As a result of his strong will, the black beasts leapt toward In-gong.

In-gong felt it too and had already been preparing for the next move the moment the blue smoke ended. He grasped the Warrior’s Sword in his left hand.

The black beasts opened their mouths. It seemed like they were going to swallow In-gong in one breath. In-gong held Caitlin’s waist tightly. He pulled her to him firmly and rotated his body. Wielding the Warrior’s Sword in his hand, In-gong activated its super special move.

Beta emerged from the Warrior’s Sword!

This was one of the hidden super special moves in Knight Saga. It was a technique which that was a simple thrust attack.

A white glow exploded from the blade and smashed the black beasts in one strike. The red dragon’s magic power which pushed at In-gong was no exception. It left a big scar in the field of magic power.

In-gong smiled faintly. It was a pleasure to use the Warrior’s Sword, but it wasn’t just the joy. He was convinced the moment he used it. In-gong felt the mighty power of Guardian Queian from the Warrior’s Sword. It was the same as the riders exercising their power through their knights.

“Shutra!”

Caitlin suddenly exclaimed. The black beasts were pouncing again. Instead of answering, In-gong triggered Blink and penetrated through the gap in the magic field.

The red dragon stared at In-gong. Three of the seven heads were pointing at him. As In-gong got closer, he could feel the enormous size of the red dragon more strongly. Magic poured down from the sky. Two of the three heads aiming at In-gong gathered power in their mouths while the remaining one poured thousands of lightning strikes down toward In-gong.

Caitlin swallowed her breath. In-gong could feel her pulse because they were hugging so tightly. As In-gong raised his head, he didn’t try to avoid it or to rush forward. He opened his inventory and released all his swords.

Kwaaaaaang!

The swords filled with divine power and collided with the lightning. Of course, it was impossible to aim for each lightning strike. It was a type of barrage—no, it was a sword explosion. The sword duke would’ve scolded him if he saw it, but In-gong needed to defeat the lightning.

He was blinded by a brilliant flash of light. It was the same for the red dragon and black beasts as well.

Then In-gong broke through the rain of lightning. He was now only dozens of meters away from the red dragon. The two heads tried to aim their breaths at In-gong, but he wasn’t the only one here. There were others who had been waiting for a chance while making their way through the black beasts.

“In the name of the light!”

“I love you!”

Light Saintess Beatrice shouted. Altesia also shouted nonsense, but her faithfulness to Erebos was heard clearly.

A giant sword made of light was formed. From the ground, a black giant rose up and roared as it grabbed the sword of light.

It was the move of the two saintesses which had destroyed Arch Lich Shutenberg’s magic circle. This one wasn’t as large as the red dragon, but it was still huge. The giant, which was dozens of meters tall, wielded the sword of light and generated an enormous force.

Once again, the red dragon’s magic field was torn. The red dragon had no choice but to shoot a breath at the incarnation of the gods. The sword of light and light pillar clashed. The black giant jumped as it chopped at the pillar of light, painting a truly spectacular sight.

The pillar of light struck the ground, and the ground shook while the giant fell and crushed the black beasts. At that moment, something happened which no one had been able to imagine.

The red dragon, which had been standing still like a statue, moved quickly. He rotated his body and swung his tail like a whip. It was truly a natural disaster. Struck by the tail, the black giant was completely smashed. The ground was also split apart like there was an earthquake.

Everybody on the ground swallowed hard. They couldn’t even scream at the sight.

However, there were those who maintained their calm. The sword duke saw it clearly with his aura. The red dragon had forgotten about In-gong due to the black giant. The sword duke’s eyes followed In-gong’s figure moving in midair.

A sacred green flame was around him. The sacred flame he had received from the last flame burned the air around the red dragon.

In-gong narrowed the distance to the red dragon, and simultaneously, he began to think. Indeed, he had no solution to this problem if it was a huge red dragon. It was a huge opponent which was 100 times larger than In-gong. Wasn’t it like a human stepping on an ant?

‘But it is different.’

The red dragon had no flesh. Right now, this was just a giant soul shaped like a red dragon. There was no need to focus on his heads.

From the very beginning, In-gong had been racing toward the red dragon’s chest, instead of his seven heads. He pulled out the Warrior’s Sword from his inventory and changed the arm holding Caitlin. He clenched his right fist and shouted happily,

“The finest princess battery!”

Caitlin hugged In-gong while feeling several emotions at once. There was a strange joy mixed in with resentment.

“Shutra is too much!”

Caitlin declared. At the same time, she focused all her strength on the Starlight Core. Her aura, which had been amplified after she’d been reborn as an apostle, rushed toward the Moonlight Core.

Currently, In-gong had only one aura heart. It was both the dragon heart and Moonlight Core, meaning it responded to the Starlight Core. This was just a dual core, but its power greatly exceeded that of the past penta-core.

Recorder Torres’ El Ragra showed its strength. At the same time, Earth Quaker roared loudly, and Great Enkidu generously gave In-gong strength.

Kurarararara!

It was the roar of a dragon—Enkidu’s call.

“Ohhhhhh!”

In-gong’s fist pierced through the air, executing Earth Quaker’s super special move, True Destruction! The destructive power hit the red dragon’s chest. The vortex tore into the red dragon’s chest significantly. In an instant, the vortex of destruction reached dozens of meters in diameter.

The red dragon screamed and wobbled from the pain. However, it was lacking. As In-gong had recognized, the red dragon wasn’t a being made of flesh and blood. It was just a huge soul.

The red dragon emitted magic power. He pushed out with the power of destruction which could make the whole battlefield shatter. In-gong was swept out like he was caught in strong winds. The red dragon with a huge hole in his chest once again used magic. He tried to wipe out the battlefield with all types of disasters.

Black beasts emerged steadily from the ground, and the soldiers, who were defending the Sanctuary after the shield disappeared, did their best to fight against the beasts. Lightning, explosions, and flames struck these soldiers.

There was pandemonium everywhere. In the meantime, In-gong was holding Caitlin on the ground. He’d been struck by the red dragon’s magic power, so his body was a mess. If Green Wind hadn’t caught In-gong, he would’ve had a few broken bones.

However, In-gong was sure of something.

It had an effect. He had confirmed it with that blow.

‘One more time. Just one more time!’

However, the red dragon didn’t allow it. Although he was scattering disasters across the battlefield, the red dragon didn’t forget In-gong. All seven heads aimed at In-gong.

‘Master!’

Green Wind shouted hurriedly as she steered White Eagle and the two Black Eagles. She defended against the rain and lightning pouring down on In-gong while pushing out with strong winds against the force trying to choke him.

“Prince!”

Vandal came running while striking at the black beasts. Nayatra, who was riding on Vandal’s shoulders, used her magic and cast spells at the attacks on In-gong.

“Run!”

This was the only thing they could do to buy a few minutes for In-gong. However, it was enough. In-gong was grateful to both of them. He took an elixir out of his inventory and swallowed it while climbing on White Eagle.

This time, Caitlin wasn’t the only one with In-gong.

Felicia and Silvan followed right behind them. In-gong didn’t have to look back to feel both of them. He grabbed Caitlin tightly around the waist and stared straight ahead. The distance of several hundred meters seemed quite far, but he had to cross it once again.

‘Faster… Faster than the wind!’

Kwang!

White Eagle launched with a roar. The black beasts threw themselves to stop him, but it was unreasonable because there was someone who had run forward to coincide with In-gong.

The sword duke cut the air. The flash of light cleared away the black beasts, and a path was opened in front of In-gong.

White Eagle flew. The seven heads of the red dragon focused on In-gong, while three pillars of light aimed straight for In-gong.

This time, the queens didn’t stay still. Chris raised his power of wilderness, while Sylvia cast magic on his back. They rushed along with the Blood Companions. Chris and the Blood Companions blocked their auras, while Sylvia and Elaine crushed the pillars of light.

Sylvia swallowed back her pain, and Elaine coughed up blood. This was the last time she could stop it. Another attempt wouldn’t work. The two queens fell to the ground. Titania protected both of them as she pushed back the black beasts. She raised her eyes to see the back of the running In-gong.

The interference continued, but nobody managed to interfere with In-gong.

Felicia and Silvan followed behind him. Then Silvan sprang forward while grabbing Amita’s sword. Just like the sword duke, he opened a path. Silvan used the lightning created by the fairy.

The red dragon’s magic power reached out toward In-gong. The red dragon was trying to attack him directly, but Locke didn’t allow it. He released all his aura and divine power, producing a great sword.

The sword was dozens of meters large. It was around the size of the sword of light which Beatrice had created.

This sword of light struck the red dragon. No matter how powerful the red dragon was, it was impossible to ignore the attack which contained all of Locke’s power. The red dragon’s attention was drawn away as it used magic power to block the sword.

The red dragon destroyed the sword with the power of destruction. The distance between In-gong and the red dragon narrowed further. At that moment, Quanta fired her cold breath. The black beasts near the red dragon were frozen. Zephyr, who was standing on Quanta’s head, fired at the red dragon.

It was a beautiful blow. The blow was close to the extreme nothingness the sword duke had shown. Three of the red dragon’s seven heads were cut off. Zephyr exhausted all his aura and magic power doing it, but he was satisfied. He smiled faintly and shouted,

“Go!”

In-gong moved past Zephyr.

The red dragon roared angrily. Huge flames emerged from the dragon and tried to swallow up In-gong.

Felicia didn’t tolerate it. A wall of her flames opposed the red dragon’s flames. It was unreasonable to block the power of destruction, but she didn’t care. She just needed to buy time… enough time for In-gong to break through.

Looking at In-gong’s back, Felicia gathered all her magic power and pushed back the red dragon’s fire. She used the last of her magic power to use recovery on In-gong. Felicia was more exhausted than all the times she’d used ‘faster than the wind’, but she was satisfied.

Caitlin once again delivered aura through the Starlight Core, while Green Wind pushed away the red dragon’s flames with strong winds.

Then finally, In-gong found it. In the midst of the flames, he found the essence of the red dragon’s soul which was being guarded by the Death Knight! The Death Knight rushed toward In-gong, and death poured out violent emotions towards Conquest.

Conquest wrapped herself around In-gong. She was sad to be facing Death who felt both deadly love and hatred for her, but Conquest didn’t step back.

The essence of the red dragon trembled tremendously. A terrible power of destruction could be felt from behind the Death Knight.

The Death Knight’s swung his sword. In-gong stared straight forward and shouted,

“Carack!”

“Kuraha!”

It was Call. Carack cried out excitedly as he appeared in front of In-gong. He aimed his axe, which contained the pure power of Conquest, at the Death Knight. This was an unbelievable blow which made it possible for In-gong to go through. As Carack blocked the Death Knight, In-gong sprang off White Eagle!

“Go!”

Carack shouted. Caitlin remained on White Eagle and cried out the same thing. Green Wind pushed In-gong’s back, while the white woman faced the red dragon with the power of Conquest.

The essence of the red dragon fired the power of destruction at In-gong. It was a tremendous force from the red dragon. However, In-gong wasn’t afraid. There was an irreversible wound remaining on the essence of the red dragon. It prevented the red dragon from gaining a new flesh.

This was what would allow the red dragon to be destroyed.

In-gong pulled back his fist, and the power of Guardian Queian and Great Enkidu wrapped around In-gong. The power of the Sanctuary defended In-gong from the destructive power.

Then In-gong remembered. The move he’d been shown previously…

The last will left behind by the protector of the Demon World…

It finally sprouted from the depths of his heart. This was the last power given to In-gong who had been reborn as the guardian of the Demon World.

He only used one thing: The ultimate power which destroyed even destruction!

In-gong raised his fist and shouted the name of the move which would shatter the destruction that had tried to end the world 10,000 and 1,000 years ago.

“Extreme nothingness!”

The white light struck the essence of the red dragon.