BXBX NOVEL Chapter 220: Dragon (4)
Chapter 220: Dragon (4)
‘Am I really being pushed this far in terms of physical strength?’
She was an ancient dragon.
Her body was far more resilient than that of a dragon that had just become a true dragon. Even the strongest strikes from a superhuman couldn't pierce her skin.
Even if she fought without using magic, purely relying on her physical body, there weren't many beings who could overwhelm her.
Yet, with just one clash, the bones in her fist were completely shattered.
She could feel cracks forming in the part of her wrist that Ketal had struck.
Although she quickly healed it with magic, it was clear that there was a difference in strength.
‘This is ridiculous.’
But she was a dragon.
A race of magic, not brute strength.
She lightly flicked her fingers.
“Seems like a simple contest of strength won't work. How about this instead?”
At that moment, a spear of flame materialized.
The fire contained within it was far more intense than the breath of the dragon she had faced before.
“Hm?”
Ketal’s expression changed.
Magic without incantation.
It was just like the dragon he had faced.
The flaming spear arced as it sped toward him.
Ketal swung his fist to meet it.
Boom!
The spear exploded.
A searing sensation traveled through his fist.
Magic was continuously being manifested behind him.
Each spell was stronger and more powerful than anything the previous dragon could muster.
But Ketal destroyed them all.
Boom!
He shattered the trajectory of the surging magic with his body.
He grabbed and broke the flaming ballista.
Ketal admired her strength.
“You’re strong!”
“Don’t say that while you’re destroying everything.”
The woman grumbled.
Ketal was breaking through all her spells with nothing but his physical body.
‘What kind of body does he have?’
The woman lightly stomped her foot.
At that moment, the ground surged toward Ketal like a wave.
Ketal stomped the ground in response.
Unlike the woman, his stomp was purely physical.
But the resulting shockwave was similar.
The immense force crushed the ground and rippled out in all directions.
It collided with the wave she had created, cancelling it out.
Boom!
The floor of the dragon’s lair heaved violently.
“Wow.”
The woman murmured in disbelief.
The sheer physical force he had generated had nullified her magic.
It was something she had never experienced in her long life.
Boom!
Ketal broke through the magic and reached the woman.
The sheer force of his movement displaced the air.
As he swung his fist, the woman spoke.
“It’s scary, so [[I’d appreciate it if you didn’t come any closer]].”
In that instant.
The power embedded in her words engulfed Ketal.
It was an enormous repelling force, meant to push him away.
But Ketal tensed his body and forcibly stepped forward.
He advanced, resisting the force that tried to push him back.
He broke through the dragon’s words with sheer physical strength.
He threw his punch.
The woman raised her arms to protect herself.
Boom!
The tremendous force hit her directly.
It was a powerful blow that even a mature dragon couldn’t withstand.
But the woman endured it.
Though her body was pushed back, she managed to stop herself from crashing into the wall.
“Cough.”
Spellweaver spat out blood.
He had managed to protect himself and the sleeping ones with shadow magic, but even so, he was at her limit.
‘What is this…’
He, who was considered one of the strongest wherever he went, was as helpless as a newborn fawn here.
Ketal was impressed.
“To withstand my punch! Incredible!”
“Is that a compliment or what?”
The woman grumbled as she used magic to heal her broken arm.
“You’re ridiculously strong.”
She hadn’t expected to be pushed this far with just physical strength.
The woman looked at Ketal with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.
“At this point, most of my kind wouldn’t be able to beat you. I understand why that one was overwhelmingly defeated.”
“Then I’d appreciate it if you backed off. Or do you have some grudge against your kin that you want to settle?”
Ketal realized it too.
The woman before him was a dragon.
And one far stronger than the dragon he had defeated.
The woman shook her head.
“I don’t particularly care about grudges, but… my pride won’t let me back down like this.”
“Can you do it?”
Even with magic, she couldn’t penetrate Ketal’s body.
He even withstood dragon words with brute strength.
Based on the battle so far, the woman had no chance of winning.
Yet she had a confident expression on her face.
“I may not look it, but I’m very old. And when you reach a certain age, you can do things that the young ones can’t. First of all… let’s tidy things up.”
The woman snapped her fingers.
At that moment, the fallen ones, the half-dying Spellweaver, and the dragon’s corpse disappeared.
“What did you do?”
“I just moved them outside for a moment. It’s going to get pretty dangerous here.”
“That sounds exciting.”
“I’ll make sure to meet your expectations.”
The woman lightly waved her fingers and began to chant.
[[ᚢᚴᚾᛁᛏᛋ]]
Let there be light.
She infused the spell with dragon words.
At that moment, light gathered at her fingertips.
It was a pure red light.
For the first time, Ketal’s expression changed.
“That…”
The power within it fundamentally differed from the strength the woman had shown so far.
No, it wasn’t just different from the woman’s power.
Compared to any force Ketal had encountered outside, this was on another level entirely.
It was the secret art of the great dragons, a power only those of ancient dragon status could wield.
“Even if you die, I’m not responsible.”
The woman casually finished her chant.
[[ᛋᚬᛃᛚ]]
Pierce through.
And the red light became a beam.
A beam that filled the dragon’s lair.
It advanced toward Ketal, erasing everything in its path.
At that moment, Ketal felt goosebumps all over his body.
It was a sensation he hadn’t felt since coming outside.
His instincts sharply warned him.
If he took a direct hit from that, it would be dangerous.
Ketal gripped his axe.
Boom!
The black axe collided with the red light.
It split the light, preventing it from reaching Ketal’s body.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The split red beam obliterated the walls of the dragon’s lair, shooting out into the vast sky.
Ketal tightened his grip on the axe.
The muscles in his arm twitched.
“Hrrrrngh!”
With a shout, he swung his axe down forcefully.
The red light was split in two.
Boom!
And the energy burst forth.
The ceiling of the dragon’s lair was blown away.
The vast sky was revealed.
Rumble!
By then, the sun was already setting beyond the horizon, and the outside was growing dark.
The red light that erupted at that moment dyed the sky crimson.
People beyond the mountain range, startled, looked up as if a meteor had fallen.
Sizzle.
The black axe, having taken a direct hit from the heat, was glowing red-hot.
Ketal’s entire body felt warm.
Ketal let out a breath of admiration.
“…You’re strong.”
It was the first time he had faced an opponent of this level since coming outside.
This level of power was hard to find even within the White Snowfield.
If he had made a mistake, it could have been dangerous.
And seeing Ketal’s state, the woman let out a dry laugh.
“You’re unscathed.”
There wasn’t a single injury on Ketal’s body.
His skin was heated from the intense heat, but it wasn’t even close to being burned.
The woman found it absurd.
“You endured that with just your physical body, without using any mystical power?”
She had expected him to block it, but she hadn’t expected him to be completely unharmed.
At that point, the woman began to realize the peculiar nature of Ketal.
‘What on earth has he accomplished?’
His achievements, the power he had gained through them, and the protection they afforded his body.
That was the strength of Ketal’s body.
Though there were still many things she couldn’t understand.
‘He withstood dragon magic with just his bare body? What did he do? Is he truly one of those beings?’
And there was one more thing she couldn’t understand.
‘What is that weapon?’
The black axe that Ketal held.
Even after directly colliding with her dragon magic, it remained intact.
Though it was glowing red-hot, it was slowly cooling down.
Both Ketal’s body and the axe were difficult to comprehend.
‘But.’
The woman’s eyes darkened.
‘There is a weakness.’
This barbarian couldn’t wield any mystical power.
He relied solely on his physical strength.
Even though her attack was a threat to him, he had countered it with a swing of his axe, which made it clear.
He was simply wielding his immense power with reckless abandon.
In that case, the countermeasure was simple.
Ketal moved his body.
The woman began to chant once again.
[[ᛅᛞᚱᛖᚢ ᛅᛃᚦᛖᚴ ᛗᚢᚱ]]
Space, become chains.
In that moment:
Clank!
Ketal’s body suddenly halted.
His arms and legs seemed to be bound by something, preventing him from moving forward any further.
Ketal’s eyes widened.
“Oh?”
Ketal tried to move with force, but his arms and legs couldn’t advance beyond a certain distance.
“You won’t be able to escape,” the woman calmly said.
“This isn’t about sheer strength; this is magic that interferes with the very concept of the world. It’s a matter separate from the aura you wield.”
Heroic class.
They could materialize the mystic.
They could intervene in the very concept of the world.
She had turned the concept of space itself into chains, binding Ketal.
Space itself was restricting Ketal’s movements.
No matter how much force he exerted, the concept of space was resisting that force, making it impossible to escape.
To counteract it, he would need to interfere with the world’s concepts in the same way, but Ketal couldn’t do that.
Against an opponent of equal power, it wouldn’t mean much, but against someone like Ketal, it was extremely effective.
“I acknowledge your power… but you can’t break free by swinging around recklessly like that.”
“This is fascinating.”
Ketal looked at his arms and legs in amazement, examining them as he tried to move. Despite not feeling anything, he couldn’t break free.
The woman quietly observed Ketal.
‘What is this?’
Ketal’s aura was formidable.
He had withstood dragon magic solely through the protection granted by his pure accomplishments.
In terms of sheer aura, he was far superior to the woman.
But that was all.
Ketal couldn’t wield any power beyond that.
It was a very strange thing.
‘Why?’
Ketal didn’t possess the power commensurate with his aura.
Of course, this was not impossible.
Aura and power were not always equal.
But even considering that, Ketal’s condition was very peculiar.
‘…If he has an aura of that magnitude, he should’ve gained something, right?’
Whether it was an ability or something else.
He should have acquired something.
His aura was of that level.
‘He’s lacking.’
There was something unbalanced about him.
It felt as if a god were trapped within a human body.
While the woman quietly pondered this, Ketal was marveling.
‘This sensation.’
It was similar to the spatial control that Karin, the High Elf Queen, had used against him in their sparring match.
But this had far more power behind it.
Although Karin had restrained her strength for the sake of the sparring, even taking that into account, this was on another level.
“Ohhh…”
Though it was a situation that could be seen as a crisis, Ketal was filled with admiration.
He had subconsciously underestimated the strength of those outside.
He couldn’t help it.
He had encountered many strong opponents, but their power had been severely lacking compared to those within the White Snowfield.
The High Elf Queen, Karin, had shown him some special power, but it hadn’t been serious enough for a proper comparison.
But the power the woman before him had displayed was truly extraordinary.
He was witnessing this level of power in the fantasy world, not within the White Snowfield.
It was truly impressive.
‘If that’s the case…’
It would be worth using his full strength.
Ketal summoned all his power into his body.