Chapter 190

Chapter 190
## Chapter 190: Blade Queen VS Isera

‘This is a joke.’

Darkstar’s expression soured.

The Union, which had arrived with such arrogance and certainty, had been forced into a desperate retreat the very second they crossed paths with Isera.

‘Can that truly be the God of the Black Egg?’

The being before him was a far cry from the legendary “God of the Black Egg” he had envisioned.

Darkstar wasn’t alone in his skepticism.

“Wasn’t it claimed that the God of the Black Egg slew the catastrophe Baal?”

“Then why…”

“Is Isera actually more formidable than the dark deity Baal?”

“No, even if that were true!”

The onlookers watching the carnage could only tilt their heads in sheer bewilderment.

Even allowing for grand exaggerations, the prowess displayed by the “Guardian of the Black Egg” had been nothing short of divine. It was only logical to hold massive expectations for the entity’s superior, the “God of the Black Egg.”

And yet…

‘Is he a fraud?’

Union was being dismantled so thoroughly it felt surreal.

It was impossible to believe this was the warrior who had ended “evil god Baal.”

The Four Evils were nightmare incarnations of pure ruin. Regardless of Isera’s might, she shouldn’t have been capable of trivializing one of them so easily.

However, the next heartbeat brought a collective cry of terror from the crowd.

“Th-the Spirit King!”

“Isera is summoning the Spirit King!”

“It’s over, we’re all dead!”

Isera, having already pinned Union down, called forth the Spirit King. The morale that had previously spiked toward the heavens came crashing back into the dirt.

…This was madness.

The Spirit King!

‘…I’ve heard the myths. But no mortal has ever formed a pact with a Spirit King.’

The moment his eyes fell upon Agnis, the Fire Spirit King, Darkstar felt a cold shiver.

The Baekseongjwa of the Baekseongjeon who ruled the abyssal cracks, the colossal earth dragons protecting the goddess, the Black and White Kings stationed at the world’s poles… the Spirit Kings were entities that stood as equals even to those legends.

The Spirit Realm.

Specifically, they occupied the zenith of the “Spirit Tower.”

Yet, a contract with one was unheard of. To begin with, the location of the Spirit Tower was a secret hidden from almost everyone.

However, rumors whispered that the spirits within that Tower maintained their ancient, primordial shapes, making them infinitely more potent than the spirits known to men.

This was due to the direct favor and essence of the Spirit Kings.

‘Isera didn’t have the Spirit King during the Great Expedition. Has her power grown even further since then?’

…A bone-chilling realization.

A calamity that was already nearly impossible to slay during the Great Expedition had somehow evolved.

To make matters worse, Wilhelm wasn’t there to stall for time by targeting Isera’s vulnerabilities. Even the final tether of hope, Union, was in a humiliating state.

He was frantically conjuring equipment while his flesh seared, flailing like a man possessed by mania.

The sight was pathetic, but there was no luxury for disappointment.

Agnis, the Fire Spirit King, manifested a spear of solar fire that shattered Union’s defenses in a single pulse.

‘That bulwark… not even Gracia could crack it…’

‘With a single strike?’

‘How are we supposed to fight a god?’

The dominance was absolute. There was no way the remnants of humanity possessed the strength to confront such a titan.

Just as the solar spear was set to finish Union.

“Flame, be extinguished.”

Rumble!

A colossal dragon materialized through a storm of thunder.

Everyone’s gaze was snatched away by the snow-white dragon that turned the solar spear to mist and descended with terrifying grace.

Another juggernaut had entered the fray just as Isera and the Spirit King seemed insurmountable.

As the faces of the crowd grew pale with dread.

“Don’t give up! The Dragon God Lukaria fights for mankind, for Earth!”

A voice pierced through the chaos.

Darkstar blinked, snapping his head around to find the speaker.

‘…Park Tae-woo?’

He wasn’t imagining it.

It was undeniably Park Tae-woo, the Korean delegate he assumed had vanished with his staff. A man he considered a spineless coward lacking any love for his country—how had this happened?

Boom! Rumble!

Simultaneously, a deluge of lightning cascaded from the firmament.

“Wh-what is this?”

“The bolts are incinerating the demons!”

The electricity began picking off the demons with surgical precision. This wasn’t simple weather; it was a transcendent manifestation of overwhelming mana.

The massive dragon was systematically purging the demonic horde.

‘Dragon God Lukaria…!’

It was lunacy.

He thought he had seen every possible shock, but the world had more to offer. After the Guardian, Union, Isera, and the Spirit King, now a Dragon God?

What exactly was a Dragon God?

Darkstar’s only knowledge was that they were the “Guardians of Equilibrium.”

But he had never witnessed one. Dragon Gods remained dormant within the world’s dragon veins, making an encounter nearly impossible.

“Dragon essence, clothe me!”

Moments later, draconic plate armor and a helm encased Park Tae-woo’s form.

He was a Dragon Spiritist, capable of invoking the spirits of drakes.

Clad in his new gear, Park Tae-woo charged into the carnage, hacking through the demon ranks.

‘Park Tae-woo… what on earth did you pull off?’

Had his specific class somehow triggered the awakening of the Dragon God?

One thing was certain: with Lukaria’s arrival and Park Tae-woo’s intervention, the spirit of the army surged once more.

If the Dragon God toppled Isera and humanity claimed victory… the saviors wouldn’t be the Hero Association or Darkstar himself, but Korea and Park Tae-woo.

Grit!

Darkstar clenched his jaw, his emotions a tangled mess.

Fury simmered in his gut.

Everything had been derailed from the start. Not a single piece of his grand design was falling into place.

‘Every word Hudson spoke was the truth…!’

Park Tae-woo, having successfully summoned Dragon God Lukaria, was still reeling from the reality of it.

-Travel to these points and activate the Wish Orb. Your nature as a Dragon Spiritist will allow you to rouse the sleeping Lukaria.

This had happened just before the assault on Korea, in a moment of utter desperation.

Park Tae-woo had agonized over the choice.

Hudson was human, but the entity pulling Hudson’s strings was a nightmare serving the White King. For such a creature to seek him out and instruct him on how to wake a Dragon God?

Who would trust that?

‘I had no other choice but to believe.’

The reports that the Five Forces had assassinated the Master and seized control of the ruins of Rundella.

Hudson had been his source for that intelligence. Furthermore, he had offered a pact.

If it were a deception, it meant the monster had traveled all the way to Korea just to trap him in isolation. But why bother with someone like him, a man with no real power?

With or without him, the war’s conclusion would remain unchanged.

To be blunt, Park Tae-woo wasn’t worth the effort of a titan like Hudson. If they wanted to make a move, Darkstar would have been the logical target.

‘He came to me because I was the only key.’

So, Park Tae-woo had rolled the dice.

And that gamble had paid off brilliantly.

Upon reaching the markers Hudson provided and using the Wish Orb, he had felt the resonance of Lukaria’s spirit. The simple act of calling the Dragon God’s name had broken the eons of slumber.

‘Furthermore, my primary Spiritist abilities have ascended.’

He hadn’t just woken Lukaria; he had evolved alongside the deity.

He had also heard news that Union, alongside the “Guardian of the Black Egg,” was holding the demon line. Everything Hudson had promised about the demons failing was coming to pass.

‘Then the information about the Five Forces being at the new dragon vein…’

That had to be factual as well.

At this stage, his curiosity was eating him alive.

The Five Forces.

Who were they, truly?

He had initially assumed it was just a high-ranking minion of the White King, but perhaps that was wrong. A mere servant couldn’t manifest a “dragon vein” on Earth, nor would they possess the secret locations of Lukaria or knowledge of his own specific destiny.

‘Exactly. The name “Five Forces” is merely a mask for their true identity.’

Park Tae-woo was certain.

This wasn’t some mid-level player. It was something far more significant.

‘Wait, could it be…’

Gulp!

Park Tae-woo felt his throat tighten as a specific name for the Five Forces surfaced in his mind.

But he couldn’t dwell on it for long.

Boom! Rumble!

The heavens continued to rain down unrelenting thunder.

Lukaria was steadily overwhelming Isera.

“Perish, Isera.”

Dragon God Lukaria sacrificed its own vision as a catalyst, pouring out a never-ending stream of high-intensity lightning.

Yet, it wasn’t a total erasure.

The dragon’s eyes would burst and reform in a cycle of terrifying regeneration.

Bolts of white light scorched the demons from above, and soon Agnis, the Fire Spirit King, was trapped within glowing loops of electricity.

“…Unbelievable.”

“That is a Dragon God?”

“A genuine deity…”

The aura Lukaria exuded was truly divine. It was the presence of a “pure” existence, operating on a frequency far above what Union had shown.

Isera and her followers were being slaughtered without a chance to strike back.

Clench!

Park Tae-woo squeezed his fist tight.

He was relieved he had followed Hudson’s lead. This had completely derailed the second wave of the invasion.

‘Victory is within reach…!’

“Is this the limit of your power, Lukaria?”

Whoosh!

A ring of dancing embers materialized around the battered Isera.

The wall of fire neutralized Lukaria’s onslaught without effort. Simultaneously, Isera’s mangled form began to knit back together at high speed.

“You are as thick-headed as always. Did you think I would come for a dragon’s head without a plan?”

“…Isera. Have you committed the sacrilege?”

Lukaria’s voice was a low snarl.

The Dragon God’s forbidden act.

As if confirming the suspicion, Isera gave a dark grin.

“I surrendered my heart to the Demon King. But the rest? I feasted upon it.”

“You monster…!”

“Miron was a member of the ‘Seven Dragon Gods’ just like you. By consuming him, I reached a new state of perfection. I wonder how I’ll change once I’ve eaten you?”

Dragon Gods were strictly forbidden from slaying or devouring their own kind. That was the eternal law.

Isera had shattered that covenant.

Snap!

Isera clicked her fingers together.

Hum.

Suddenly, the world went quiet.

The roaring thunder from the clouds ceased instantly. The electric bonds holding the Spirit King shattered.

Lukaria’s pupils shook with realization.

“That is Miron’s…!”

Miron’s ultimate command: “Silence.”

The authority to mute the very world.

Along with her self-healing, Isera had stolen that power as well. She was now both the unbreakable shield and the unstoppable blade.

Truly flawless.

Isera’s grin grew wider.

“Go on, Lukaria. Show me more of your pathetic struggling.”

“Aaah…!”

The conflict stretched on.

But the shift in momentum was impossible to ignore.

As the human fighters hit their breaking point, Lukaria was clearly perishing. The dragon took one unhealable, mortal blow after another.

Agnis, the Spirit King, continued to launch spears of fire, while Isera countered every move Lukaria made, leaving the dragon paralyzed.

…Despair was the only thing left.

“Don’t break! We have to stand!”

“Hold the line! If we retreat, everyone we love dies!”

But there was no room to back up. There was truly nowhere left to run.

Even if every single player on this field died today, they had to stop the advance.

And so, one day passed, then two… then four.

Kieeeek!

Finally, Lukaria let out a harrowing wail.

Groooar!

Broken and unrecognizable, the great dragon slumped into the dirt.

“It’s over…”

“We can’t fight anymore…”

With Lukaria, their final bastion, defeated, they had reached the end of their strength.

Four days of constant slaughter without a moment of rest. Most players had exhausted their “Fragments of the Golden Rule.”

Those who failed to track their remaining time vanished into death, and even those who survived were broken shells.

Had the “Guardian of the Black Egg” not used warp-teleportation to rescue those on the verge of total collapse, it would have been a total slaughter.

“Gods help us…!”

The hopelessness was absolute.

There were fewer than a thousand players remaining on the field. The demon army still boasted nearly 50,000 soldiers.

Above all, Isera was untouchable.

She was simply too powerful. A different species of strength entirely.

There was no path to victory.

“I’ll admit, you’re sturdy. To last four days under Agnis’s wrath.”

Isera mocked the fallen Lukaria as she stepped toward the dragon’s body. She had anticipated a quick conclusion, but the dragon’s resilience had been noteworthy.

But now, the end had arrived.

“You may find your peace now, Lukaria.”

Isera reached out, aiming for the dragon’s heart.

In that instant.

Spurt!

“…?”

Isera’s head tilted in confusion.

A jagged spike was erupting through her own stomach.

Someone had struck her from the blind side. It was a devastating, heavy hit.

Isera slowly turned her head.

“You…”

A woman radiating a sinister, chilling aura hung in the air, held aloft by wings made of shimmering blades.

Upon seeing her new challenger, Isera’s smile returned.

She recognized the essence immediately.

“Ah, so you are the newly risen ‘Dragon God.’”

…This woman was the freshly birthed, anomalous Blade Queen.