Chapter 33 - Chapter 4: Awakening #8
The sky was ablaze.
It was neither day nor night and there was an enormous presence under the red sky.
It was a black dragon.
Instead of scales, steel and rocks covered its body. Red and yellow lava was flowing endlessly along the cracks in the steel and rocks.
The wyrm Enkidu.
A great dragon that had been born in lava.
In front of him, In-gong was only a small presence. It was impossible for him to even see all of Enkidu’s body.
Enkidu was on top of the Jishuka Mountains and the steel and rocks made him seem like one with the mountains.
At the feet of the Great Enkidu, there were a number of dwarf treasure keepers. Behind them, paying homage in their own way, there were the swamp mammoths and many varieties of powerful chimeras
They all had the same mission:
Protect the Great Enkidu.
They formed a barrier between the Demon World and Human World.
Enkidu opened his mouth slowly and his voice resonated through the Jishuka Mountains. The sound was so loud that In-gong reflexively blocked his ears. Then out of nowhere, he was swept away by lava.
"Heok!”
In-gong sat up and almost vomited. His whole body was drenched in sweat like he had fallen into water.
In-gong continued to breathe rapidly. He could hear his heart pounding wildly.
It was a dream. Whether it was a fantasy or something else, it wasn’t reality.
A black dragon - it was probably the wyrm, Enkidu.
In Knight Saga, he had been one of the six elder dragons that were said to have the power of a god.
He wasn’t in the Demon World anymore. He had only mentioned in Knight Saga and never appeared directly. So, he may already be dead.
In-gong covered his face with both hands and took a deep breath. He seemed to be calm.
"Okay."
In-gong muttered, removed his hands and got up. Then he saw Carack who wasn’t moving. However, he wasn’t dead. He had simply lost consciousness.
“Carack! Carack!”
In-gong called out Carack’s name while shaking him wildly. Then he hit Carack’s cheek a few times.
“Uh...uh...”
Just like In-gong, he finally regained consciousness. In-gong sighed with relief then stepped forward again when he saw the other side.
“Caitlin noona! Are you okay? Wake up!”
In-gong cautiously held Caitlin’s upper body, which had fallen on the altar, and called her name repeatedly. He shook her shoulders a few times before she reacted like Carack.
“Oh... Shutra?”
Her voice sounded like someone who had just woken up from a deep sleep.
"Do you feel okay?”
“Uh... Yes.”
Caitlin nodded before sitting up. In-gong didn’t question Caitlin anymore and looked around. As expected, everyone around the altar was in a collapsed state.
"Caitlin noona, I will wake up Felicia noona.”
“Eung, yes.”
Caitlin responded while pressing her hand to her temple like she was dizzy. In-gong stepped over Carack’s legs and approached Felicia.
“Noona, Felicia noona!”
He knew it wasn’t a dangerous condition after experiencing it twice already. Therefore, In-gong just lightly tapped Felicia’s cheek. Her response was much faster than Caitlin’s.
"Heok!"
Felicia sat up and took a deep breath. Just like In-gong, she was covered in sweat.
“Are you okay?”
"Uh, I’m okay. Yes, yes. There is something I need to check. I have to check it.”
At first, she sounded sleepy but her voice and eyes became clear by the end.
Felicia grabbed In-gong’s arm and asked,
"Shutra, did you see Enkidu? A huge black dragon covered in lava?!”
"Uh, I saw him.”
After In-gong replied, Felicia turned and asked Caitlin who was waking Seira up.
“Caitlin, you?”
"I saw him.”
"Me too.”
The last to answer was Carack. Felicia made a bright expression and shook her fist.
"Okay, no problem. It is the same as the records. I was a little surprised because it was more abrupt than I expected, but it is just the procedure. Now, I just need to use the anvil.”
It was like Felicia was talking to herself, not anyone else.
Felicia got up slowly from where she was sitting. In-gong turned to Felicia and asked,
"Then, is it all over now?”
“Yes, I can control the anvil. Don’t you believe in Noona?”
Felicia replied playfully as she stood up using her recovered strength.
In the meantime, Caitlin and Carack had woken up Seira, Delia and Katuin. When In-gong asked, all three of them had seen Enkidu.
Felicia walked over to the anvil and placed both hands on it.
"Everybody hold on to something! I will be using the anvil now!”
In-gong grabbed the dwarf statue nearby, while the others also held onto a dwarf statue or a portion of the altar.
After confirming that everyone was in place, Felicia poured magic power directly into the anvil. At this time, not only the anvil, but the whole room started shaking. The altar rose up slowly as the ceiling split apart and light poured in.
“Light? Perhaps?”
Seira frowned at the sudden sunlight and exclaimed.
It was late at night when the party had entered the room. Even if the ceiling split open, it should be moonlight streaming in, not sunlight.
However, the sunlight was real. In-gong checked the clock next to the mini-map and was shocked.
‘Oh, my god. It has been 12 hours?’
In the meantime, the altar continued to ascend and rose through the ceiling.
Despite the blue light coming from the altar and the strong wings, Felicia continued chanting a spell with both hands on the anvil. Usually, it wouldn’t be hard, but now, sweat was pouring along her forehead and neck.
However, the result was clear. Light emerged from the discs around the altar.
"The expedition!”
Carack shouted with amazement. Each window of light showed the expedition army fighting the Red Lightning tribe. It was like he was watching an internet broadcast.
Just like yesterday, the expedition army was struggling. The swamp mammoths nestled among the Red Lightning tribe launched their powerful magic and the lizardmen devastated the orcs.
They seemed to be watching the battlefield from the viewpoint of the swamp mammoths.
In-gong’s party had to use them somehow. In-gong looked hurriedly at Felicia while Caitlin screamed,
“Felicia unni!”
“Royal Princess!”
Delia and Katuin shrieked.
The state of Felicia, who was controlling the base, wasn’t normal. Her whole body was trembling and blood was coming from her nose and ears. Despite that, Felicia couldn’t take her hands off the anvil. It seemed like the anvil was stealing her magic power, rather than it being injected.
“We have to control the anvil! Help the Royal Princess!”
Delia shouted towards In-gong and Caitlin before putting her hands on the anvil along with Katuin. However, the same thing happened to Delia and Katuin.
As Delia and Katuin’s magic power was devoured by the anvil, more light and wind appeared. Caitlin and In-gong didn’t hesitate to reach out towards the anvil.
Caitlin and In-gong’s hands touched it at the same time...
And his consciousness became connected to something else. In-gong could feel Felicia, Caitlin and everyone else through the anvil before he started screaming.
It felt like all the magic power in his body was being torn out. A fierce swirl of magic power shredded In-gong’s consciousness.
"Prince!”
Carack shouted loudly as blood poured from In-gong’s nose and ears, but In-gong didn’t hear it.
In-gong’s spirit was in the anvil. Felicia and Caitlin screamed from the swirling magic power, while Delia and Katuin had already lost consciousness and didn’t make a sound.
The magic power of the wyrm Enkidu.
His test to see if there were any unauthorized people!
It was overwhelming. It was a huge force that couldn’t be resisted. So, it was natural that Felicia couldn’t control it alone.
However, In-gong wasn’t broken. Despite being torn by the swirl of magic power, he roared and took one step forward.
It was because a voice he heard from the depths of his soul sustained him.
The golden-crowned female with white hair. Her one red eye and one blue eye shone as she spoke,
‘Conquest!’
In-gong roared once again. Despite the pained screams of Caitlin and Felicia, they hadn’t collapsed. In-gong gathered their magic power and willpower, and poured them into the centre of the whirlpool.
Conquest.
It was the right to rule. The power of a king to conquer and subjugate!
The swirl of magic power scattered at once. Enkidu’s magic power released In-gong from the altar.
"Prince! Prince!”
He heard Carack’s voice. In-gong’s eyes opened and he saw Caitlin and Felicia gasping. Delia and Katuin were still unconscious.
Felicia leaned against the anvil and stood up. She hadn’t lost consciousness, so she knew what In-gong had done. With a bitter smile, she chanted the last spell.
A hammer was paired with the anvil.
A hammer made of Enkidu’s magic power appeared in In-gong’s hands.
In-gong glanced at Felicia who nodded.
“Do it.”
Enkidu’s magic power told him what to do.
Conquest didn’t stay still either.
It whispered to In-gong about how to conquer, dominate and use the Thunder Light Anvil.
First of all, he had to dominate the swamp mammoths.
In-gong struck the anvil with a hammer made of magic power.