The group became speechless after seeing Liera reappear with dragon wings. They were finally clear on why Yu IlHan was the leader of Dragon’s Nest, as well as what he was capable of as a leader of a faction. Of course, the one who was most surprised was the person in question, Liera.
“I can feel dragon’s blood flowing within me. Moreover…… I, really, got my league back. No, this isn’t at the level of getting it back.”
Liera muttered absentmindedly as she flicked one of her fingers. She could feel the enormous power contained inside her, stronger than when she was a high angel in the past, and made her feel satisfied.
Not only that, now that she had been reborn as a dragon, she had a beauty that made the viewers almost thrilled. While she was a high angel, the blessing of the god of love had a hard time being brought out, but ever since she had fallen and the angelhood disappeared and only the blessing was left, the blessing and the dragon’s blood had caused a synergy now that she had recovered her league.
Her red eyes became more translucent and deep, and her white pottery-like skin now emitted a faint glow. Her already beautiful blond hair was now mixed with a tinge of red, and swayed gently with the flow of mana, as if it was alive. The current her was like…… a goddess.
Yu IlHan checked with her carefully.
“How do you feel, Liera? Are you uncomfortable in any way, or…….”
“It’s the best!”
“Hey, st-.“
After that short line, she immediately rushed to Yu IlHan and poured kisses on him. The two pairs of dragon wings that replaced her angel wings flapped, and made her look slightly cute. Helièna retorted in a depressed voice after seeing that.
[Dragon wings should have no relation to league but why does Liera have two pairs?]
“Liera was once a high angel before so I guess that influenced this. Eii, get off me now. It should take some time for you to get used to your current state.”
“Hing, but even so.”
In fact, the experienced Liera gained during her time as a lower existence influenced her growth as well and now she had a level that vastly surpassed her level during her time as a high angel. She was a little less than level 430 when she was a high angel, but now that she was reborn as a dragon, she was currently level 483. It could be seen how much of a tough battlefield she had been through with Yu IlHan.
“All of my skills changed and evolved. Moreover…… I think I can change my form if I feel like it.”
“Please don’t transform within the barrier. The barrier will immediately burst.”
“……Then, should I help them?”
Liera’s eyes glistened after seeing the bloody battle between dragonkin and the other monsters after she barely came off Yu IlHan. She probably wanted to test out her new power. Yu IlHan nodded his head with a smile.
“They also need to grow so don’t go overboard.”
“Okay, leave it to me!”
Her dragon wings instantly expanded and flapped. The next moment, she was already outside the barrier and was amidst of the monsters. It was more like a warp rather than flight in speed.
[D, dragon!]
[There’s another dragon! Just what is happening inside that!?]
[We need to kill him no matter what! We need to kill the man inside……Kyahak!]
“Oraoraoraoraoraora! Angel…… no, dragon lance waveeeeeeeee!”
Even though she had become a dragon, her naming sense was as tragic as ever! However, the gigantic shockwave that she created with the power of fire was strong enough to make anyone forget that. When a shockwave spread around the battlefield from her spear, at least a hundred thousand monsters were ripped to shreds!
[Khaaaaaaaaaaak!]
[H, how can this be! She’s even stronger than brother!]
Both the monsters that were attacked as well as the dragons couldn’t hide their shock. The ones inside the barrier were no different either.
“I said don’t go overboard. That damn an…… I mean, dragon!”
“Liera was proud of her prowess even during her angel days. It was an amazing matter that she had thrown away that power and chose you…… but it doesn’t look like her personality from those days has changed.”
Even while analyzing Liera’s current state of mind, Erta’s gaze was fixed on Yu IlHan. Her glistening eyes were as if asking ‘Who’s next? Is it me? It’s me, right? Please say it’s my turn!’. Yu IlHan laughed and flicked his finger.
“Welcome Erta. Advancing to the 6th class is a first for you, right?”
***
Kang MiRae was wandering around an abyss. It was deep, and was filled with a dark, foggy matter. She didn’t know where she was standing, nor where the end was, nor where the floor or even the ceiling was. It was a space filled with the unknown. No, was this a place that actually existed? That was a question as well.
“Why…… am I here?”
Until just now, she was having a battle. As per request from Yu IlHan, she helped the others in order to attack the worlds that other higher existence factions ruled…… humanely, this was not forgivable.
Kang MiRae did her best in this mission purely in order to live along with everyone else, in order to repay Yu IlHan, …… and to receive more attention from him. And in fact, it was going quite well.
“Ah, that’s it.”
She remembered at that time. Fighting against the original higher existence factions went quite smoothly. With Orochi inside Echjar’s body and Helièna who were imperfect but still 7th class beings, as well as the former angels Liera and Erta – she was with companions that couldn’t be defined by common sense.
The point at which everything went wrong was when those unidentifiable strange angel-like beings appeared out of nowhere. They had an insane resistance to mana, and even had a unique barrier that prevented the use of mana within a certain region of space.
All of them had a hard time battling that and Kang MiRae was the same as well. However, when they were momentarily disabled with Helièna’s help, Kang MiRae utilized tiny warp gates which she made them appear on those strange angel-like beings and managed to kill them. It should have been impossible, but how did she do it? That question remained in her heart.
“Is that why I died?”
Because she was too greedy, because she forcefully did something that was beyond her?
She should originally be a person that retreated in the face of what she rationally identified as dangerous, but was it a problem that she had gone berserk thinking that she couldn’t make Yu IlHan sad? Is that why she had died and fell into this space of nothingness?
“If I think about it, it started when I fell into Lanpas.”
If it was the past her, she would have just waited until it was possible to go back to Earth again and focused on developing her abilities. She would have done what was possible only for her, and believe that it was for the best.
However, she didn’t do that, and started researching into dimension magic which wasn’t her field of specialty at all. Why was that? Was that in order to save the people of Earth? To look for her brother? To look for Na YuNa, or any of her other family members?
No, it was to meet Yu IlHan. It was because she wanted to meet him as soon as possible. Honestly, she didn’t think about anyone else. She just felt as if she would become crazy because she wanted to meet Yu IlHan. Once she knew that, her mind had puffed up so much that nothing else mattered to her anymore. Even if Na YuNa found that disappointing, that was the truth, so she couldn’t help that.
So, she ended up becoming a Dimensional Mage, received the blessing of the god of magic, and could finally meet him once again.
“Mr. IlHan…….”
She had already gave up on confessing her feelings. There were many people beside him that were more beautiful than her, and loved him more than she did. She did think that it was to be expected of a man who stole her heart, but yeah, in truth, she felt helpless and resentful even.
But even so, she didn’t want to make Yu IlHan suffer. Since he was such a kind person, he would have a hard time rejecting her as well. Even though he was strong enough to not be bothered by anything or anyone, he always was!
She told herself to be satisfied just being next to him, and that she was walking near him. Though, it sometimes did make Yu IlHan awkward since that didn’t go as well as she had planned…….
She was joyful. She was happy. It was painful, but warm.
“But now I ended up dying.”
Now she would never meet him again. That was too sad and she wanted to just collapse on the spot and cry.
It was at that point that she heard a voice.
[Child.]
A voice that was like, but yet, unlike, a child, an old man, a man, a woman, filled the region.
[You possess an amazing power. You have pioneered a forbidden realm by yourself, and firmly taking it for yourself. That ability of yours can be evaluated as a truly ‘new’ record.]
“…….”
Kang MiRae raised her head. Perhaps she didn’t die after all? That was the first thought that came to her mind.
[You can reject death. Not only that, you have the qualifications to become brighter than any other.]
“Who are you?”
[I am God.]
The answer was simple. Too simple that she wanted to burst out laughing. Kang MiRae laughed and shook her head.
“It looks like I’m dead after all.”
[Child, it’s fine whether you want to believe in me or not. I only exist as a God. But would you listen to my story?]
“Fuu.”
Kang MiRae ignored the voice that filled the region and checked up on her own state. She couldn’t feel an ounce of mana, and there didn’t seem to be anything that she could do. She nodded unwillingly.
“Go on then.”
[Then let us first talk about how you and I could meet.]
“You are the mastermind behind those strange angels. I have killed them and absorbed their records, and you have contacted me through those records, am I wrong?”
[……You are quite more exceptional than I thought.]
It was a bullseye. Without any hints whatsoever, Kang MiRae came to the conclusion with the single word ‘God’, making her look like a prophet rather than a genius. The self-proclaimed ‘God’ seemed to be a little bit surprised, but he wasn’t God for nothing and regained his calm soon and continued speaking.
[The current world is wrong. My karma and my sins have caused this state. There are too many beings that self-proclaim to be god, and the number of worlds are increasing uncontrollably. Mana was a failure. I did not know how dangerous a power granted to anyone can be, and it became like this after I tried to pursue fairness.]
“There are too many skipped details.”
[But do you not already know?]
Kang MiRae vaguely nodded. She wasn’t a genius for nothing.
Under the condition that ‘God’s’ words were right, he was the one that created this multiverse, and also the one that spread around mana. However, too many beings have become too strong thanks to mana, and there were even beings that threatened his position. There were too many worlds, and everything wasn’t to his liking. That was the point.
“So you want to cause another Great Flood or something?”
[I am planning to make everything disappear and start from the beginning.]
Huh, somehow it was something worse than a flood. Kang MiRae tilted her head wondering if this was really God and checked with him.
“……From Adam and Eve?”
[Do you not want to become Eve?]
“Who’s Adam then?”
[I will give you Yu IlHan. Do you not love him? Do you not want to monopolize him? I shall make that wish come true.]
Kang MiRae lost her words. It was because she was embarrassed at herself for thinking that was a pretty attractive offer for a moment.
[I have made a new army. The ones you have destroyed are members of that army. I need your power in that place. Once you gain your league as a higher existence, you shall acquire power that puts all below you. So I shall give you the first place under me.]
“And the Heaven’s Army?”
[New wine is put into fresh wineskins. I shall view you and Yu IlHan as the only exceptions.]
Kang MiRae closed her eyes. It was a very attractive offer. If it was a being strong enough to contact her through her records, he should indeed have the power to make that reality.
So once she nods, then she might actually be able to monopolize Yu IlHan…….
However.
“I refuse.”
[So it’s like that after all?]
“You knew and still asked?”
[I have failed quite a few of my plans until now, and that was all thanks to the emotions that came from humans. Hence I have come to a conclusion that only human emotions make my plans go into disarray. That is why I have provoked your emotions, in hopes for another result. And how was the result? Wasn’t your heart shaken by the words that you could monopolize Yu IlHan?]
“That’s definitely true, but.”
Kang MiRae replied with a laugh.
“You don’t know humans well enough. In fact, you don’t know them at all. You don’t know what love is nor do you understand it.”
She had a short life, and it was a life that rejected love as well. However, even she knew something. Of course, she wasn’t going to utter words like ‘love is not binding, and is just something that you give’, or any other words like that.
She wanted to have Yu IlHan. Even if it was to imprison him and tie him up such that he only looked at her, she wanted to do so. Not only did she want to give her love to him, she wanted his love back as well. She wanted to receive his intense, bone-crushing love!
Just that.
“There’s nothing more disgusting than an arranged marriage you know? Love is a war. Go read Herman Hesse’s Demian again before you come back to me.”
[…… Then I cannot help it. I am sorry but you are more of an obstacle than Yu IlHan is to my plans.]
She could predict the next words. I shall have you die. Or why did you think I was explaining in kind until now? Or such other stereotypical villain-like words. This was the realm of the mind. No matter how well you put it, he was an intruder, and an attacker.
[Welcome warm rest…… hm?]
He tried to expand his influence Kang MiRae’s mind that he had successfully interfered with while the strange angels died and tried to attack her mind directly. If it was Yu IlHan with the Unshakable Heart skill, that would have been impossible, but he thought that Kang MiRae was nothing much when she wasn’t even a higher existence yet!
However, that was his thoughts alone.
“Get lost fucker.”
Kang MiRae raised one hand while uttering harsh words that she had never spoken before, to God nonetheless.
What gathered on her palm was a white light. Mana.
[What!?]
Now she felt mana within herself. No, what comprised this space itself was mana. What was not mana only needed to be converted into mana. If there was no mana, all she needed to do was to call them out from everything around her. Why didn’t she know that until now? Mana was always whispering towards her!
[How can this be, to think you blossomed so early…… it’s too fast, it’s too way too fast!]
“Fuu.”
Mana was a failure? The one that declared such a beautiful energy maybe God, but he was definitely not the Creator! She twisted her lips up to mock God and slapped against space with the mana in her hand.
[Hah!]
The space crumbled instantly. God’s voice and will collapsed and disappeared. Kang MiRae snorted.
“You just wait until our Mr. IlHan beats you up.”
The surroundings brightened. Kang MiRae realized that it wouldn’t be long until she woke up.
At that moment, these texts appeared on her retina.
[You have realized mana without the help of any skill, and with purely your power alone. This is an achievement that no one has achieved before. It is a record that cannot be recorded, and will never be recorded. You have the greatest talent for mana since the existence of the Akashic Record.]
[You can become wholly perfect. However, you must fulfill a few more…….]
“Shut up.”
However, Kang MiRae gathered mana on her hand and slapped it away. Only her abilities remained and the transformation did not occur. By deepening her abilities, she had kicked away her path forward without any regrets.
“I don’t want to do this alone. I’m going to go meet. Mr. IlHan.”
Then she opened her eyes.
The one that she longed for so much was waiting for her. The ones with dragon wings on their back all met her.
“Welcome back, Miss MiRae.”
Yu IlHan smiled. Kang MiRae smiled like a little child after seeing him.
With that, everyone had gathered.