C307
The Dragon Lord is finished.
"Great."
Cale smiled slightly.
‘Because I see a path.’
The Dragon Lord Neo. His greatest weakness is his dragon heart, which has reached or exceeded its limit. If they can land a solid blow on that heart, Neo will fall.
‘Because he’s still not a God. He hasn’t surpassed the limits of a mortal body.’
Cale nodded in agreement with Exion’s words.
"But, I have a question."
When he first encountered the Source of the World, the source had said this about the Dragon Lord:
‘Anyway, the Dragon Lord is abnormally strong, including the fact that he absorbed my energy. Maybe, just maybe…’
‘He might already be considered a ‘God of Time.’’
Through Exion, Cale realized that the Dragon Lord still hadn’t surpassed the limits of a mortal body.
But there was something more.
"How did the Dragon Lord become so strong?"
If he became strong just because he absorbed the Source of the World…
‘That doesn’t make sense.’
At the time of the Great Catastrophe that altered the world’s flow, when he oppressed the World Tree and temporarily collapsed its spirit, he was already strong, even before receiving help from Gods and Wanderers.
Exion shook his head with a strange expression at Cale’s question.
"I don’t know."
That reaction made Cale smile.
"Your reaction indicates that the Dragon Lord didn’t become strong just because of the Source of the World, right?"
If that were the case, Exion would have mentioned it, since Cale already knew that the Dragon Lord had absorbed the Source of the World.
"Yes."
Exion paused, and Cale continued.
"The Dragon Lord became strong in some way, but you don’t know how, right?"
Exion silently nodded. Cale added another question.
"Then, did he become strong after meeting the Wanderers?"
"…!"
Exion’s eyes widened. Cale kept speaking.
"If my guess is correct, it was after meeting the Leader of the Purple Blood Family, right?"
"Ha!"
Exion let out a brief laugh, full of admiration.
"Yes. Neo became strong after meeting the Leader of the Purple Blood Family with the Wanderers and inheriting his position."
Exion’s eyes wandered into the void.
"…The first time I saw him in that state, I thought that if a Dragon fully exerted their Attribute, they would become a perfect being."
Hmm?
Something in his words bothered Cale.
"Fully exert their Attribute?"
"Yes, Human."
Exion threw a question at Cale.
"Why can’t Dragons be Gods? And why do only Dragons have Attributes?"
And he answered himself.
"Dragons are small Gods."
Hmm.
Cale sighed. It was hard to think that Exion was joking; his expression was serious.
"Gods are worshipped. And Dragons are also worshipped."
In the world of Apitoyu, Dragons were considered Gods.
In other dimensions, Dragons were also worshipped.
"Gods have special powers, and Dragons also have their own special powers."
Cale, who was only listening, spoke.
"But Gods don’t perish, while Dragons do."
"Exactly. They die, just like you Humans."
Exion let out a low laugh.
"They are a peculiar race."
Smiling as if he found it amusing, he continued.
"Once, Neo said something like that."
He returned to the topic.
"If a Dragon fully exerted their specialty, they would be a God."
"But according to what you’ve said, it seems the Dragon Lord hasn’t fully exerted his specialty."
"Yes. When Neo said that, I asked how I could be like him."
Exion seemed to be reminiscing, his gaze fixed on a shadowy corner of the library.
"But he said I was still far away. And he mentioned two methods."
It was a memory from his youth.
"Of course, I asked him to teach me."
He wanted to be strong, so he asked.
"And then?"
Cale urged, and Exion answered without hesitation.
"The first method is to break the concept of limits."
"Concept?"
"Simply put, it’s not breaking the limits of the body but the limits of thought. If you break the idea that you can only manage this area of land, eventually, you’ll be able to control all the land in this world."
Cale remained silent for a moment before asking.
"…What is that?"
What are you saying? Is that possible? The limits of thought are more terrifying than those of the body.
Cale’s face darkened.
‘He wanted to ask Raon if this would help him.’
Although Cale didn’t care if Raon fully exerted his Attribute, it seemed to bother Raon, so he wanted to ask Exion just in case.
But this didn’t seem to be much help for Raon.
‘Anyway, I’ll share it with the Dragons.’
He planned to share this information with his side.
Exion, seeing Cale’s reaction, nodded in agreement.
"That’s what I said."
He shrugged and sighed.
"How do you break the limits of thought? Even if you do, how do you surpass the limits of the body and innate talent? I told Neo that I didn’t understand concepts and limits and asked for a simpler way."
"And then?"
Cale’s expression filled with interest again. It was a typical reaction from Cale, who had opted for ancient methods to become strong.
Exion smiled upon seeing that.
"Then the Dragon Lord said he chose the second method. And he only said one word about it."
Hmm?
Just one word?
Cale’s expression turned puzzled, but Exion continued without paying attention.
"At first, I didn’t understand Neo’s answer. But now, I finally see."
"What did he say?"
Exion stared at Cale, then spoke slowly.
"Succession."
At that moment, Cale paused.
To pass down and continue.
Succession.
"Cale Henituse. Neo wasn’t originally purple. He was a silver dragon, close to white."
Ah!
Cale let out a sigh.
The Purple Blood Family.
Dragons who turned purple.
And the Attribute of ‘Time.’
Cale smiled and spoke.
"The reason the Wanderers of the Five Color Family seek the Leader of the Purple Blood Family?"
"Yes. I think there’s a reason."
Cale and Exion thought the same thing. Cale spoke first.
"We can’t be sure,"
"Yes, we can’t be sure."
"There aren’t any Dragons with the same specialty now."
"But there might have been Dragons with that specialty in the past."
Among the Dragons who died, there might have been those with the specialty of ‘Time’ in past timelines.
If their power and specialty were passed down and continued…
Cale sighed as he spoke.
"The Dragon Lord must have inherited Time from someone."
No, the Leader of the Purple Blood Family inherited time.
Cale nodded and leaned back on the sofa.
"That explains his abnormally strong power."
"Yes. Although it’s not a definite answer, it’s a likely assumption."
Exion left his sentence unfinished. Despite saying it was an assumption, he was sure. And there was a reason for that.
"Before the great crisis, a Wanderer came again."
The woman who brought the Dragon Lord to the previous Leader of the Purple Blood Family.
"I don’t know what she and Neo talked about. But that day, Neo was extremely furious, and I was the one who had to see her off alone."
Exion recalled that moment.
‘Try to calm the Leader.’
The Wanderer said with a carefree smile, as always.
Even though Neo’s enraged shouts echoed in the distance, she seemed unbothered.
That’s why Exion, somewhat out of sorts, asked the unwelcome visitor:
‘What’s wrong with him?’
‘Haha.’
She only laughed for a while without saying anything. Before leaving, she stared at Exion and said:
‘The power keeps growing, but the vessel remains the same. In the end, the vessel cracks faster.’
Exion repeated these words to Cale, and Cale nodded.
"It’s inevitable that Neo’s body weakens. He inherited an overwhelming power."
"Yes. That’s probably why he can’t handle all that power properly."
Exion paused before continuing.
"That’s likely why Neo is preparing to go to the New World."
"But why did that Wanderer give you a hint?"
Exion let out a hollow laugh and repeated what the Wanderer had said:
"In the New World, someone is needed to rule that land. Isn’t that person you?"
Cale also laughed.
"It seems like, after Neo’s death, they planned to make you the Dragon Lord of Apitoyu."
"That could be."
Cale sighed and shook his head.
‘I can’t understand those Hunters.’
Don’t they have a concept of allies?
Do they just kill and betray while achieving their goals?
‘Well, it doesn’t matter if I understand those guys or not.’
It’s not worth trying to understand them or wasting time on it. Cale pushed those thoughts aside and extended his hand to Exion.
Exion took his hand.
"What are you doing?"
Cale quickly pulled his hand away.
"…Wasn’t it a handshake?"
Pfff.
Cale laughed and told Exion:
"The map."
Handshake?
"Give me the map of the Dragon Lord’s Lair."
"Ah."
Exion let out a sigh as Cale confidently extended his hand.
-------
With the map showing the location of the Dragon Lord Neo’s Lair in hand, Cale headed with light steps to the backyard of Exion’s residence.
More precisely, he went to the World Tree.
"Human!"
Raon greeted Cale. There were quite a few people with him.
"What’s happening?"
Eruhaben asked, and Cale responded.
"Ah, through the World Tree, I need to talk to the Source of the World-"
Cale stopped.
‘Huh?’
Time slowed down. No, time suddenly stretched.
Blink~
Cale saw a pillar of light rising to the sky, beyond Eruhaben’s shoulder and the World Tree.
He wanted to see it in more detail. He tried to move to do so.
‘Um.’
He couldn’t move. He would have to use his Instant power. But he couldn’t use that power lightly. Cale restrained himself and soon felt the world return to normal as the pillar of light disappeared.
"Human!"
Raon approached, alarmed.
"Did you see it?"
"Yes, I saw it."
Eruhaben, intrigued by their conversation, looked at Cale, who explained.
"The Dragon Lord just used time-related magic again. But I don’t know what kind of magic it was."
"……."
Eruhaben’s face grew serious. Cale also felt sweat running down his back.
‘Damn it.’
He had discovered the enemy’s weakness and how to face him.
But the problem was-
‘The enemy is also moving.’
The Dragon Lord.
That guy was also doing something. And he seemed to have considerable knowledge about Cale Henituse.
Gulp.
Cale swallowed instinctively. It had been a while since he felt this tension in his body.
But he wasn’t afraid.
"First."
He spoke loudly to organize his thoughts.
"Let’s cause some chaos."
Eruhaben stopped, surprised, and Raon’s face lit up. By the way, it wasn’t just the two dragons who heard him. The World Tree and everyone present also heard him.
However, Cale continued with his thoughts.
After all, it was something everyone would eventually hear in a milder form.
"For that, first, we’ll loot the Dragon Lord’s house."
The Grand Elder Elf, who was next to the World Tree, froze.
"And when the Dragon Lord loses his mind seeing his house looted, we’ll imprison him."
Wisha, the White Snake, widened her eyes. And the next statement made everyone, except Raon, shudder.
"We’ll beat him up."
They’ll beat the Dragon Lord.
Cale calmly continued explaining his plan. Looking Eruhaben in the eyes, he smiled serenely.
"We’ll beat him until he’s confused. And at that moment, we’ll land a blow on his heart."
He asked Eruhaben.
"Is that okay?"
The Ancient Dragon, after brief contemplation, finally spoke.
"It’s an excellent plan. Simplicity is key."
The World Tree trembled. Some leaves fell. And the Grand Elder Elf and Wisha quietly distanced themselves from Cale. However, Cale and the Ancient Dragon continued their conversation.
"What kind of chaos do you plan to cause?"
"First, I need to talk to the Source of the World through the World Tree. I need to ask and coordinate with him."
"And the looting of the Lair? Is that map the location of the Lair?"
"Yes."
"As expected, you’re well-prepared. Then what about the imprisonment?"
"We plan to occupy a space in time and space from our side. But I’m not yet sure how to create that space."
Hmm.
The Ancient Dragon pondered for a moment, and Cale continued.
"Beating him up is our specialty, right?"
"That’s true."
Raon sneaked up to Cale and asked.
"Are you exaggerating?"
"No."
Cale responded firmly.
"If we follow this plan, neither you nor I will have to exaggerate."
Thanks to Exion, Cale had found a way to face the Dragon Lord without using his Instant power.
----------------
That night, Cale finished all the preparations and explained the plan to the leaders of his side.
The plan had three parts.
"Steal, destroy, and beat!"
