Etranger

Siluone frowned. She felt terrible since nothing seemed to be working out in her favor recently. This trend of unsatisfactory results was starting to eat away at this powerful being. Siluone moved her gaze. Her furrowed expression slightly relaxed as she spoke aloud to herself.

“Have they finally found them?”

Set, the battle sage who was pursuing San and Biyeon, was quickly moving about. Behind him was the Original Being, one of the Fallen, Loki. Loki was leisurely following Set. Set had communicated to Siluone that Loki had not yet equipped himself with any mechanisms to conduct long-distance communication.

“Those tricky, cunning bastards. How were they able to hide themselves? If they reappear, that probably means they’ve prepared something. What are their goals? A-Pian (Apian)? Or me?”

San and Biyeon were quickly traveling down the eastern seashore towards the south of the continent. Based on their current speed, the battle sages would be able to catch up to the two in about three days’ time.

‘Whatever. It doesn’t matter. I need to collect their bodies before the termination deadline clause takes effect. Three battle sages. That’s probably not enough. Since Loki’s now involved, it should be enough… however, one never knows what those two will do next…’

Siluone firmly believed that the two knew what situation they were in. She didn’t know how the two realized their condition, but Siluone knew that the two realized that their physical monitoring and location was being broadcast to all the dragons and sages in the world. However, the only one who had truly peered into the details of their bodies’ data was Siluone. No, to be more specific… there was one more being.

‘What’s with this nervous tension and feeling? Why do I feel like this?’

As Satan had mentioned to her previously, Siluone heard the word ‘seed’ repeat in her mind. It was after she had briefly observed something within the two humans. When San and Biyeon’s wills momentarily overlapped and became one, something tremendous happened. In the 10,000 years that she’d been alive, Siluone had never seen such an energy source.

‘Satan said that it was called magic power, originating from a form of magic.’

Siluone grew nervous. She was finally exacting on her plan to overcome the Creator. However, with the imminence of the moment upon her, she was growing nervous.

‘In one hundred years, the Creator would descend in the form of a human. I need to take care of the humans before that happens since his power originates from humans.’

It had only been three hundred years since Siluone converted her dragon body to a magic dragon body. Furthermore, she was on the faster side among those who underwent conversion. Among the six hundred dragons in existence, four hundred had started the process of evolution. Nakun, the sage who oversaw the dragons, had overseen the evolution process and was on the side of the magic dragons. Senun, the other King of Sages, had yet to decide which side he was on. 

In one hundred years, about three hundred magic dragons would be in existence. Each magic dragon would be able to support and command an average of twenty sages, at least ten for the less developed magic dragons and at most fifty for the most developed. Currently, there were about 2,000 sages in existence. If things developed and proceeded as planned, the dragon race would be in possession of at least 8,000 sages in one hundred years. Though there were currently only about 30 sages who could battle Awakened Warrior who could utilize four skills (6th Stage of Acceleration), in a hundred years, Siluone projected that there would be at least one hundred sages at this level. With that level of firepower, Siluone felt that they could contend against the Creator. 

‘The problem is those two variables…’

Siluone looked at another window where a certain scene was streaming. It was a collection of all the things that were not working in her favor.

- Sage Senun has started to move. Are you coming here, too? What’s going on? Are you friend or foe?

- Three sets of large typhoons have stormed and battered the southern region. The typhoons have swept away large standing armies of blood demons that we had built up. Has something happened to the dragon who’s in charge of the local seas?

- The earthquakes and high winds that started thirty days ago in the western part of the continent are presenting a problem. The atmosphere here has been polluted. There’s too much dust that’s been kicked up into the air. Visibility is near zero.

- The orbiting cycle and pathway of the planet have been a little off starting from two months ago. Wasn’t this just a normal solar system?

Siluone thought, ‘Is this all just coincidence?’

D-20

“They’re still following us, right?” San asked.

“They’re keeping a distance but gaining on us. They’re about two hours back,” Biyeon replied.

“Silly guys. For pursuers, they’re very passive. No fun.”

“They’re very careful.”

“Have you received any notification from the gods?”

“They’ve been regularly updating us on developments. Rather than the 48 hours in advance that they stated to us, they’re sending information almost in real-time.”

“Why do you think they’re doing that?”

“A kind of insurance? It could soon turn into a battle between the dragons and magic dragons.”

“What about Senun?”

“He started to move. I’ve received information that he’s traveling with two other battle sages.”

“It seems our official request for help has been well received.”

“he’s moving based on what we asked, but there’s no way to know what his true motivations are. The sages are such wily, tricky beings.”

“What about our Outsider friends?”

“We’ll just have to trust that our communication has reached them.”

“I hope things go as planned.”

San looked at his watch. Before leaving, he had matched times with the members of the Outsiders. 

Currently, heavy rain was falling. The entire world seemed drenched in blurry, murky darkness. Steam rose from the two’s bodies as they quickly made their way forward within the heavy showers. The two had traveled down the eastern coastline of the continent before making a sharp turn westward. They made their way through undeveloped and relatively unpopulated areas. Right now, they were running atop a mountain ridgeline. They were increasing their speed. After reaching a certain point, they started to slow down. Then, they stopped completely. The two stood straight as they observed the landscape below them.

“I never thought we’d be back here again,” San stated.

“It’s been a while. We said we’d use this place when we first escaped, but it’s really come true,” Biyeon answered.

“Shall we greet our visitors?”

“And today’s menu?”

“Shit.”

“I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.”

The pursuing sages slowed their speed as they contemplated what was going on. They could tell that the two’s intention was to finally meet and most likely clash. However, they were also concerned because the two’s intentions were so obvious. In front of the sages was a sheer cliff wall. It was about 500 meters high. On their left was a large waterfall that cascaded down multiple levels, and on their right was another sheer cliff, this one falling straight down into a black hole. The entire surrounding had a layer of mist upon it, lending to the mystical atmosphere of the general area.

Between the two sheer cliffs was a small opening. It was large enough for two people to enter. The sages didn’t know what the surroundings would look like on the other side of the opening. Moreover, they did not know where the passage would lead them.

“What shall we do?” the sage, Gig, asked.

“What if we go around?” the other sage, Nick, added on.

“No one knows where that opening is connected to. If we lose them now, we’ll have to add at least another day to track them down,” Dick, the third sage, stated.

“But it’s still too dangerous for us to go in one at a time.”

“You’re saying we can’t handle them in a one-on-one battle?”

“It’ll be difficult to capture them alive. A sudden battle doesn’t conform to our objectives. We need to herd them until other sages can join us in rounding them into an inescapable area.”

The three sages didn’t hide their concerns in their expressions. These sages were not beings who were easily scared or concerned about other beings. Moreover, they were not existences that dived head-first into something without considering all the possibilities. However, the order they received severely limited their ability to review all their options. They had already reviewed the material they received many times over. They had already thoroughly analyzed the two’s movement patterns. Additionally, the sages were receiving updated information from the gods.

“Do you think they know they’re being followed?”

“It’ll be best if we presume that they knew. They’re very tricky and smart.”

“Wait, are three sages afraid of two humans?” Nick asked in an exasperated tone as he frowned.

“Watch your words. We’re just trying to be careful and realize our objective. The two of them have already eliminated battle sages Dam and Tuk. You’ve seen the report, right?” Gig said in a clear tone.

“The two are already going in the direction of Porato City. They’re going in the direction that we want them to go in, so is it necessary to confront them and make them possibly change their course? They’re also making pretty good time towards Porato City. I’m not sure it’s necessary to do anything but follow them for now.”

“But they may disappear again, right?”

“I don’t understand. How were they able to hide from the gods?”

“Regardless, they’re skilled.”

The sages fell into thought. Time passed as the suffocating quietness ensued.

“Should we interpret that pass as a trap?”

“I’m sure those two already know of these surroundings.”

“So, we’re probably not at an advantage here. Anyway, we need to make a decision.”

“Who’s that?”

“A member of the Fallen, Loki. I heard he’s quite the character.”

Gig looked back. A brown-haired man was sitting peacefully atop a large tree branch that was far away from the three sages. He had on a leather jacket and looked at the sages with an indifferent gaze.

“It doesn’t seem like he’ll be offering any help anytime soon.”

“Is he planning on swooping down and finishing things off after we clash with the two humans?”

“Probably? That would be the smart thing to do.”

The sages swallowed their discontented smiles. There didn’t seem to be any other choice. There wasn’t enough time to go around this area and re-engage with the two’s paths. If they lost them here, any future pursuit would be difficult. Based on the path the two were taking and how much time had passed, it didn’t seem like a trap would have likely been set up. Though the abnormal terrain was still troubling their thoughts, they couldn’t see any other option. Like logical sages who quickly reached a rational conclusion, they quickly decided what step they would take.

“Pursue.”

“Just in case, we should keep a fifty-meter buffer distance between each of us. If anything happens to the person in front, we’ll have at least three seconds to react. That should be enough.”

The Original Being, Loki, cocked his head to one side. A mocking smile briefly flashed past his handsome face.

‘Are they stupid?’

Gig quickly took off. The path was narrow and uphill. The ground was littered with shards of broken rocks and slippery algae. The wetness of the area led the water to condense on the wall and drip onto the path. The path soon led into a cave. The ground within the cave was dry. Dust kicked up as they traversed the path within the cave. Gig heightened his senses to the max.

His vision was able to pick up on the slightest of light, allowing him to see the dark cave as if he was seeing it in broad daylight. Gig gulped. He could sense foreign existences in various parts of the cave. 

“Waves from egos? Evil spirits reside in this place?”

Gig’s senses sharpened. A whisper seemed to be growing in volume right next to his ear. Soon, the whisper sounded like a piercing, loud shout. Gig slowed down his steps and stopped. He bent down onto the ground and picked something up. It was wet and bouncy. Some form of liquid was dripping down his fingers.

‘Algae, moss…’

He raised his eyes. Black algae covered the cave for ten meters in front of him. After ten meters, the cave reverted to its dry rock walls. Gig smiled.

‘It’s not natural. There is no way algae can grow on these walls. Such an obvious trick.’

Gig flew through the air. Without any difficulty, he had crossed the ten meters easily. He landed softly on the non-algae-covered cave ground.

“Ack-”

As soon as his feet landed, Gig knew something was off. He felt a pain shoot up through his leather shoes. He looked down. Thin, sharp needles were pointed upwards on the ground. 

‘This… was it animal skin rather than the cave’s ground?’

Gig’s expression hardened. The two had used his eyesight against him. They had camouflaged the flooring to make it seem like the cave’s floor. It was something that he’d only be fooled by when heightening his eyesight in such a low light environment. A shock ran across his spine. He felt something spread within his left foot.

‘Poison?’

Gig slowly walked forward. He was walking unnaturally. The needle lodged in his foot wouldn’t come out. The needle was barbed in such a way that it made it difficult to take out. Gig couldn’t help but smile. He was laughing at his own unforced error. He started circulating his energy to contend against the spreading poison. At that moment,

Ack-

Gig’s body twisted towards his left. With a ‘puff’ sound, something had passed by him and lodged onto the opposite cave wall. Gig leaned against the cave wall due to his loss of balance. As he did so, he lost power in his left leg. He lost his balance and teetered.