Chapter 97
Crack-.
It started as a snake.
A tiny creature, barely the size of a single joint on a human’s pinky finger.
Eventually, the snake grew, just like its siblings.
At first, it ate small insects, earthworms, and snails.
Then frogs and small mice.
After its body grew larger, it preyed on squirrels or small birds, and even newborn rabbit kits.
Before long, the fully grown snake slithered through the forest, fiercely devouring anything and everything.
Tap.
“…?”
In the midst of this, something touched the snake’s head.
Normally, the snake did not eat things that didn’t move, but…
“Looks delicious.”
…the thing that touched the snake’s head had an incredibly good scent.
Chomp.
Thus, the snake immediately opened its jaws and swallowed it, what humans called a spiritual elixir.
“…!”
What followed was pain.
It hadn’t felt pain even from the angry trampling of a wild boar.
A gut-wrenching pain…, as if its very existence was being annihilated and reborn.
The snake surrendered its body to the agony and lost consciousness. When the agony finally subsided, it opened its eyes a long time later.
“…!!”
Its size had grown several times larger than before, and its eyes had completely shed the turbid qi of a Beast.
It had truly become an existence worthy of being called a spiritual creature.
Now an Imugi rather than a snake, it could read the Heavenly Secrets from then on and faintly hear the voices of the Heavenly and Earthly Deities.
And…, following its instincts, it entered into Training to become a dragon.
The beginning was peeling away the turbid qi from its body.
The Imugi crawled into the deepest part of a burrow and dreamed of flying in the sky.
It trained and trained according to the words of the Heavenly and Earthly Deities.
Years passed, decades passed, and even centuries passed, like that…
Right around the time the Imugi itself felt that its preparations to become a dragon had reached their final stage.
“Found you.”
…the Imugi encountered the one who handled rotten corpses.
It could not defeat the person even with hundreds of years of Training and inhuman strength. Right on the verge of becoming a dragon, the Imugi met him, was captured, and its entire body was once again enveloped in turbid qi.
And when it opened its eyes, it faced other humans.
'What’s your name?'
Eyes that were kind compared to those of the bastard who handled rotten corpses.
At the very least, they showed no hostility. Of course, they were nothing more than obstacles to the Imugi, preventing it from becoming a dragon.
That was why it tried to kill them all.
However…
'…!'
…the moment it saw them, it once again saw and heard them.
The faint Heavenly Secrets, the words of the Heavenly and Earthly Deities.
The Imugi once again instinctively felt that the humans' Mountain Stronghold was its new home.
It instinctively knew that it had to be with these humans to become a dragon.
And now.
“It hurts.”
To become a dragon, one must possess a more perfect physical body.
But what state was she in now?
Her teeth were all broken and blunt, and her entire body was covered in scratches left by the zombies.
To heal these wounds and draw out the turbid qi piled up in her body once more, it would take at least decades. No, perhaps centuries of Training might be needed.
A long period of endurance… is painful just to imagine.
But the Imugi did not regret it.
She had thrown her own body on the line for the people who sacrificed themselves to protect her.
Even if the thought of the new Training ahead made her dizzy, she absolutely did not regret it.
And at that moment…
Throb.
…the Imugi felt something hot surging up from within her stomach.
A dragon is the envoy of the Heavenly and Earthly Deities.
Inheriting Its will, it traverses heaven and earth, presiding over the harmony and order of all creation.
It brings down rain, blows the wind, and strikes with lightning as necessary.
The virtue required for a dragon to fulfill this role is the understanding of the Three Realms.
The Three Realms are, namely, Heaven, Earth, and Man.
During her time as a snake, the Imugi learned about Earth by slithering all over it with her body.
Through hundreds of years of Training under the teachings of the Heavenly and Earthly Deities, the Imugi learned about Heaven.
And the final thing needed was Man.
For an Imugi born as a Beast, this was not something easily learned.
But Yongyong-i had learned it.
She was bestowed the human name Yongyong-i, ate human food, and lived together with humans.
She came to understand human emotions, felt gloomy because of humans, and fought because of humans.
In the short span of a few months, the Imugi hadn’t completely understood humans, but…
She had at least thrown open the gateway to harmony with humans.
And this…
Throb, throb.
Vwoooom-!
…immediately triggered a change in the Imugi’s body.
* * *
“Argh! You Bastards!!”
Clang-clang-claaang-!!
The Heavenly Demon Zombie continued to pressure me using its Sword and claws.
Even this alone was enough to make me feel like dying, but I had to struggle even more because the other zombies kept jumping in to join the fray.
'Damn it. If only it weren’t for those Demonic Arts.'
Even if its power was halved, the Heavenly Demon Zombie freely used the Demonic Arts that the Heavenly Demon would have used while alive.
This was the reason why I couldn’t easily take control of the flow, despite having the upper hand in Internal Strength over the bastard.
“If only I could use the Unknown Severing Sword…”
If I had used the Unknown Severing Sword, which was effective at smashing Demonic Arts, I could have dealt with the Heavenly Demon Zombie much faster, but it was truly a shame that I couldn’t because of the other zombies around me.
It couldn’t be helped.
To eliminate the Heavenly Demon Zombie in front of me, I had to strike down all the other surrounding zombies first and then use the Unknown Severing Sword to cut it down right now.
This was a surefire frontal assault, but it would take a lot of time.
'No…'
If I dragged this out too long, there was no telling what would happen to my Subordinates at the Mountain Stronghold.
Thinking of my Subordinates made me anxious.
I had to end this situation quickly. And the way to do that was, as expected, to kill the main body controlling all these zombies - the Blood Demon Corpse King.
I looked to the side with a worried face.
I had just sent the Imugi over to the Blood Demon Corpse King. However, I didn’t think the Imugi would be able to handle the Blood Demon Corpse King alone.
Even though the Blood Demon Corpse King’s body wasn’t in perfect condition…, the Imugi was also injured.
But the moment I turned my head toward the Imugi…!
Flash-!
“…Huh?”
…a brilliant light suddenly began pouring out from the Imugi’s body.
“W-wait, what is that…!”
Suddenly, not only I but even the Blood Demon Corpse King in the distance had visible panic on his face.
Perhaps influenced by the Blood Demon Corpse King’s emotions, the zombies also faltered for a moment.
Taking advantage of this, I smashed the zombies' necks while continuing to stare at the Imugi.
Fwoooosh-!
'Five Qi Converging to the Origin…? N-no, it’s not even human, so why is an Imugi suddenly… It wasn’t even Circulating Qi and Regulating Breath, so why all of a sudden…!'
It obviously wasn’t Five Qi Converging to the Origin, but when I counted, there were five different colors of light enveloping the Imugi’s body.
“Could this be…”
Come to think of it, this scene… - I felt like I had seen it somewhere before.
Not in this Martial Arts World…, but in my first life…!
“Find the secret key~. Adventures are tangled like a maze↗~♪”
“E-evolution…?”
That would explain it. Doesn’t evolution usually happen in desperate, life-or-death situations?
When PataXmon evolves it becomes AngeXmon, and when PikaXchu evolves it becomes RaiXchu.
And although calling it evolution felt a bit funny, if an Imugi evolved…
“…It would become a dragon.”
Perhaps I am watching the very spectacle of an Imugi becoming a dragon right now.
Even as I sliced the necks of the zombies, I didn’t miss a beat and kept my eyes on the sight.
“How cool will it be when it becomes a dragon?”
The Imugi’s original form wasn’t exactly ugly, either.
Although it was a giant snake - which some might find gross - its tough scales blended with a black luster, giving it a rather magnificent appearance.
But if it evolved into a dragon, how much more incredible would it look?
Filled with a bit of anticipation, I continued to watch the Imugi.
Eventually…
Flash-!
…the light covering the Imugi’s body cleared, and what revealed itself was…!
“…Eh?”
…not the appearance I had been hoping for.
“What is that?”
I had been eagerly anticipating the Imugi shedding its scales, sprouting horns, and becoming a lustrous dragon shining with white light, but…
Come to think of it, wasn’t the Imugi maintaining a humanoid form right now?
“…She got a bit taller.”
What appeared after the light cleared was the Imugi’s humanoid form - usually that of a little girl - grown into an adult woman.
Looking about a year or two older than Somyung-i…, a young woman who had just shed her girlish traits.
Staring at her, I couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of disappointment.
“Not a dragon.”
I instinctively felt that Yongyong-i still hadn’t escaped being an Imugi. She had grown, but she hadn’t become a dragon yet.
If she had become a dragon, she might have been able to resolve this situation.
But as if mocking my disappointment…
Flash-!
…the five-colored light began to shine from Yongyong-i’s hand again, just like before.
And she immediately…
Smaaaash-!
“Kuaaaaaagh-!”
…and slammed it right into the Blood Demon Corpse King’s abdomen.
Yongyong-i hadn’t learned Martial Arts, but following her innate beastly instincts, she attacked the Blood Demon Corpse King with her fist as if hunting.
And the five-colored light shining from Yongyong-i’s fist emitted an energy purer than anything else.
Sssss-.
…melted away the Blood Demon Corpse King’s body, which harbored a far more wicked energy, wherever it touched.