The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower-Chapter 221

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Chapter 221: Eternal Moment (9)

The Calderan Empire strictly controls all knowledge and information regarding dragons.

This was both a punishment and a warning to those who abandoned their duties and turned their backs on the world.

But in the Demon Realm, there was no one who didn't know about them.

‘The Last Dragon, Edna Sol Laplace…’

After all, it was the demons who had driven the dragons from this world in the first place.

Yuribe looked at the mass of jade-green scales gleaming in the sunlight.

She was the last remaining dragon in this world.

‘And also the only one alive who possesses a Dragon Heart.’

The reason dragons fled this land was simple:

They felt their survival as a species was under threat.

The demons, who didn’t hesitate to risk their lives in pursuit of power, relentlessly hunted dragons on sight.

And that was because a dragon's heart contained a power incomparable to any ordinary elixir.

‘According to records, dozens of Viscount-level demons even joined forces to hunt them.’

From that information, Yuribe could deduce two things.

One was that dragons were that powerful.

And the other…

‘It means the reward was tempting enough for those greedy demons to work together.’

At that moment, Yuribe didn’t feel fear—but excitement.

‘Twenty-one years. It’s been twenty-one years.’

Even a dragon couldn’t endure a place where “everything had stopped” for decades.

Which meant the dragon before him now had to be severely weakened.

‘Maybe…’

Today, he might obtain a once-in-a-lifetime treasure.

Shivering with anticipation at the thought, Yuribe gave an order.

“Attack her.”

“…Pardon?”

His only remaining subordinate looked at him as if he had misheard.

After all, charging a massive dragon alone seemed like suicide.

“Did I stutter? I said, attack the dragon.”

“L-Lord Yuribe. To increase the odds of success, shouldn’t we work together…?”

“Foolish.”

Yuribe’s eyebrow twitched as he let out a faint sigh.

“She’s an Observer. Even if you attack, she’ll probably just issue a few warnings at first. I’m merely asking you to gauge her strength.”

“Ah…!”

Finally understanding Yuribe’s intentions, the subordinate nodded.

“Understood.”

He looked up at the enormous dragon that filled his field of vision and swallowed hard.

Even knowing she was an Observer, her sheer size was overwhelming.

‘Still, she is an Observer. And it’s been 21 years. Her strength must have declined significantly by now.’

In other words, there shouldn’t be any danger to him.

In fact, maybe she was weakened enough that he could even kill her outright.

Thinking optimistically, the demon kicked off the ground lightly.

‘Still, just in case… I’ll test the waters first.’

Using his trademark speed, he instantly moved behind Edna.

His eyes gleamed.

‘She can’t track me!’

Not only was her movement sluggish, but her head was still facing forward, not even following him.

‘If she’s this slow, I might actually be able to kill her in one strike…’

That thought crossed his mind—

And then a massive shadow loomed over him.

‘…Shadow?’

That was the last thought he ever had.

BOOM!

Edna’s tail, charged with only a trace of her remaining magic, smashed him like an insect.

“How pathetic.”

She scoffed lightly.

Though her mana was depleted and even her life force had been drained, her condition clearly far from ideal,

There was a reason dragons were called half-gods.

Even using just their innate physicality, they could kill most opponents through sheer force alone.

That was what it meant to be a dragon.

“…Holy shit.”

Oran Quill gaped as he witnessed the scene.

Having fought alongside that demon, he knew how powerful he had been.

A cold sweat ran down his spine.

‘We came to raid the nest of that thing?’

As Oran trembled and gulped, Yuribe tilted his head.

“How strange. I thought Observers were supposed to give warnings first?”

“I’ve given countless warnings to demons over the past 21 years. My patience has reached its limit. From now on, demons will receive no warnings.”

Yuribe looked curiously at the dragon making her case for self-defense.

“Oh? I see…”

At the same time, a smile curled across his lips.

Even though his last subordinate had died, this wasn’t a total loss.

‘As expected, her condition doesn’t seem great.’

What made dragons truly fearsome was their Word Magic—

The ability to cast spells instantly by speaking.

It was a broken ability that elevated them to semi-divine status.

But even when ambushed, the dragon hadn’t used it.

‘There are two possibilities.’

Either she didn’t need to use it, or she didn’t have the mana to use it.

Yuribe chuckled softly.

“Either way, it’ll be fun to find out.”

Sssss…

A vivid red demonic energy began to rise from his body.

Though he had lost his horns and wasn't as powerful as before, he still possessed the might of a late-stage 7th-level demon.

Yuribe’s figure vanished from the battlefield in an instant.

‘This is faster than I expected…’

Edna’s eyes darted around as a chilling presence brushed past her—

‘Above!’

She hastily spun her massive body and swung her tail.

BOOM!

Yuribe, hit squarely by the colossal tail, didn’t even flinch in midair.

Instead, a pleased smile crept across his lips.

“I was right.”

He’d been unsure while watching, but now that he’d faced her directly, he was certain.

“Lizard, your mana’s all gone.”

“…!”

Edna’s eyes narrowed at the revelation of her weakness.

And the next moment, red demonic energy began to rain down like a storm.

“Hahaha! A Dragon Heart! I came here to wipe out some rats and stumbled upon a treasure!”

If he obtained that heart, not only would he restore his former Viscount-level power,

He might even surpass the Four Grand Counts themselves.

Thrilled by the thought, Yuribe unleashed his demonic energy madly.

“Grrk…!”

Edna curled in on herself, simply enduring the assault.

Though dragon scales had high magical resistance and defense, they weren’t indestructible.

‘At this rate, I’ll be finished just from taking hits…’

As Edna clenched her teeth, realizing how much she had lost over the past 21 years—

“Hey, you Viscount-level demon.”

A voice cut through the battlefield like lightning.

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Yuribe’s eyes flared as he turned his head.

“This voice… that arrogant little rat!”

The same voice of the one who had once cut off his horn—and now dared to provoke him again.

He had never forgotten that voice, not for a single moment since that day.

Yuribe glared murderously at Oscar, who floated in the sky.

“Well, I’ll give you credit for not running away.”

“Why would I run? Against a mere Viscount-level demon?”

Oscar smirked as he gathered his mana, then slowly parted his lips.

“You shouldn’t have come back for us.”

“…What?”

“I’ll take your neck—and your one remaining horn too.”

World Liberation, Limitless Sky.

An infinitely expanding sky burst forth around Oscar, swallowing the surroundings in an instant.

But Yuribe merely scoffed at the sight.

“Hmph, just a cheap trick I’ve already seen once before.”

The first time had caught him slightly off guard, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t all that special.

‘This actually works in my favor.’

They said humans considered dying within their own liberated world the most disgraceful fate of all.

Srrrk.

Yuribe pulled claws from both hands, murderous intent seething in his eyes.

‘I’ll kill you right here.’

Of course, he had no intention of making it quick.

He would cut off limbs one by one, making the end as painful as possible—a final gift of agony.

“Foolish.”

Oscar chuckled as he looked at Yuribe, who wasn’t even trying to hide his bloodlust.

“Did you really think I’d unleash a world without a plan?”

“…What?”

“This is the sky. The sky.”

A vast, free, and infinite sky.

And from ancient times, the sky never belonged to humans.

“There is only one race in this world that has conquered the sky.”

The moment his sentence ended—

A colossal body, like a runaway carriage, charged toward Yuribe.

“Ghh!?”

Barely dodging the initial rush,

BOOM!

A whip-like tail followed up and slammed into Yuribe.

“……!”

Even a single blow sent shockwaves through his entire body, as if he were shattering apart.

Barely regaining his senses, Yuribe growled low.

“A foolish lizard with nothing but brute force left to brag about…”

Demonic energy burst explosively from his body.

He screamed at the enormous dragon, enraged.

“Come at me! I’ll turn you into chunks of meat!”

……

Edna, watching him for a moment, suddenly flared her wings.

Then, her massive frame broke the sound barrier, charging Yuribe once again.

‘Her attack path is obvious. Straight line.’

Yuribe glared, eyes blazing.

Even a dragon is just a lump of meat if it can’t use magic.

And with his claws imbued with demonic energy, he was sure he could shred that body apart.

‘She’s coming.’

As Yuribe prepared to slash at just the right moment—

Flap!

Suddenly, Edna flapped her wings mid-charge, halting her giant body in midair.

A tremendous gust of wind burst forth, engulfing Yuribe.

‘Wait… wind? Don’t tell me—’

A bad feeling flashed through his mind.

“You catch on quick.”

Oscar’s magic turned the swirling wind into razor-sharp blades.

Yuribe hastily wrapped himself in demonic energy—

CRRRK!

—but the countless wind blades pierced through, scraping his body.

The coordination was perfect, like a flow of water—

As if they’d fought side by side for years.

“Damn…!”

The wounds themselves weren’t fatal.

But the blades had scraped something far more sensitive—his pride.

Furious, Yuribe was just about to yell when—

“There’s still one more left.”

Oscar’s voice came with a hint of delight.

And from where Edna had been, an overwhelming heat began to surge.

“If spellcraft is the magic symbol of dragons…”

“Then their physical symbol is this.”

FWOOOOOOOOOSH!

“The dragon’s breath.”

A wave of immense flame engulfed Yuribe’s body.

“GRAAAAAAAGHHH!”

In the superheated inferno, Yuribe let out a scream of agony.

For nearly twenty seconds, Edna spewed her breath, until finally—

Hic.

A cute little sound escaped her mouth.

“…Disgusting.”

“It is not disgusting. Let me be clear, this is a physicochemical reaction of residual mana and inert gases in the oral cavity. It is fundamentally different from a digestive burp.”

As Edna confidently delivered her precise rebuttal,

Yuribe’s body, now reduced to charcoal-black ash, began to slowly fall from the sky.

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