BXBX NOVEL Chapter 264: Flag (3)
Chapter 264: Flag (3)
Dragon Sleep.
Healing Sleep.
It had several names, but the essence was simple.
Heal one’s wounds through sleeping.
In fact, if it was only this, there was no need to name it Healing Sleep.
Leaving it to one’s natural healing abilities was something that even small creatures did.
But the Dragon Sleep had a slightly more special meaning.
To be reborn.
To throw away the broken body and be reborn into a new one.
More than three hundred years ago, Malekith was defeated by the great hero Carlos and the founder king, Lion D. S?len.
His life was in danger, and the fatal wounds inflicted by Ascalon, called the Dragon’s Bane, could not be healed with ordinary healing magic.
So Malekith chose the Dragon Sleep.
He had to sleep for at least three hundred years, but he had no other option.
“Protect me until the day of my vengeance.”
After leaving behind those words, Malekith began the Dragon Sleep on a remote island.
Three hundred years was not a long time for an Ancient Dragon, who could live for eternity, but not for his subordinates.
Even for elves and dwarves who lived several times longer than humans, three hundred years was a very long time.
And it was the same for the common dragons belonging to his Dragonflights.
Therefore, Dragon General Orga made a suggestion to Sicilia and Madhur.
“We shall also sleep with our father. But one of us three should stay awake and protect the island, father, and everyone else who are asleep.”
He clearly wasn’t talking about a normal sleep.
It was hibernation using the magic of freezing time.
Sicilia and Madhur considered that it was for the better and followed his suggestion, promising to protect Malekith in turns every 100 years.
And now, three hundred years had finally passed.
“Lord Malekith, Lord Malekith.”
Sicilia muttered Malekith’s name several times and hurried her steps.
Because the war situation was unusual even though all the troops under Malekith, including Dragon General Orga, had woken up.
‘It’s okay, it’s not a problem. If Lord Malekith wakes up, it will be resolved.’
There was still a day left before the Dragon Sleep was fully completed, but she had no other choice.
She had to wake up Malekith as soon as possible.
Instead of walking down the spiral staircase, Sicilia jumped to the center in order to shorten the distance as she thought of her revenge.
Revenge against the Forest of Eternity.
The blood price she had to pay.
The reason why she, a member of the high elf royalty, became Malekith’s lover.
Her fear, anxiety, and panic were gone.
Sicilia once again strengthened her resolve and calmed her breathing as she looked over the cavity in front of her.
Her eyes caught a glimpse of the huge cavity and the curled up Malekith sleeping inside.
Ancient Black Dragon.
A huge godlike being with a body reaching 150 meters long.
“Haa… haa…”
Most of it was still hidden in her sight, but she unconsciously smiled.
Malekith’s massive body alone was enough for her to be relieved.
“Lord Malekith.”
Sicilia muttered once more and hurried her steps, climbing onto the magic circle in front of the cavity and chanting a spell while making hand seals at the same time.
Boooooom!
It wasn’t magic.
An explosion was heard in the distance along with a great shaking of the ground.
She had closed the gates while on her way here, but it was clear from the sounds that the gates were being destroyed.
Kabooom! Bang! Booooom!
The explosions were getting closer and closer.
A considerable number of undead were set up to block the path, but it was clear that they were falling down like the fallen leaves of autumn.
‘A little more, a little more.’
Her mouth was dry.
Her hands that were making the hand seals were almost trembling.
Her anxiety and fear grew again.
How is the fight outside faring?
Who is that monster that overwhelmed Orga?
Human.
Those humans.
Why is such a monster born among those short-lived bugs?
No matter how huge their population is, isn’t that still too absurd?
Booooom!
A roar was heard again. And it was close this time. Sicilia made some hand seals as she hastily turned her head and saw an immense light shining in front of her. The moment the white light filled her entire vision, a series of loud noises occurred.
“Ah Karuda Noum!”
Sicilia shouted the chant after she finished the hand seal, and a magic barrier unfolded. At the same time, she activated the magic on the walls to fire a red lightning towards the epicenter of the roars.
Baaaaang!
The lightning struck and destroyed the surrounding area, but Sicilia clenched her teeth.
Because she who had excellent magic senses could vividly sense the person standing beyond the dust.
“Angel!”
The one who destroyed all those red lightning with her white wings of light.
Lena’s eyes glowed as her golden hair fluttered. She let out her holy power once again, and all the evil energy that filled the underground was purified at once.
“Anchenta!”
When Sicilia cried out in desperation, a purple barrier blocked Lena’s holy power.
But it was just to buy time. As Lena took a step forward and spread her light, the barrier couldn’t hold on for a second and fell apart at that moment.
“Kantante!”
As Sicilia shouted in nervousness again, dozens of evil spears were formed in the air.
Each spear was a powerful cursed weapon that harbored the souls of the dead.
Lena watched the spears fly towards her and recited the same spell. She summoned divine spears to intercept the cursed spears.
Bababababababang-!
Dozens of explosions followed in an instant, and Sicilia was satisfied with that. All of her current attacks were just to buy time, because what she needed was to stall for time.
“Kordo!”
Several stone walls soared up between Sicilia and Lena.
The walls emerged from the ceiling, floor, and walls, and only lasted for a few seconds in front of the holy light Lena fired, but that was enough for Sicilia.
“It’s too late.”
Sicilia said with a smile on her face.
The time had come.
The magic circle activated, and although it was a day earlier, she had succeeded in waking up Malekith from the Dragon Sleep.
Koooooooooo-!
A loud echo was heard from the cavity behind her back.
Malekith was slowly raising his giant body.
Now, the giant Malekith who had been reborn would cast off his old skin and emerge anew.
“It’s too late, too late!”
Sicilia couldn’t control herself in the same way she couldn’t suppress her anxiety and fear.
She madly shouted, and Lena didn’t attack Sicilia anymore. She simply agreed and stretched her arms.
“Yes, it’s too late.”
“That’s right! You’re too late-…”
It was then.
Sicilia had a strange feeling. Because there was a smile on Lena’s face.
Why?
Has the angel gone crazy?
Why is she smiling like that when it’s too late?
The reason for Lena’s smile.
Why she said that it was too late.
“No way?!”
It was like a thunderbolt struck Sicilia’s mind.
Even though Sicilia had Lena in front of her, she turned away and then saw it.
The majestic figure of Malekith as he raised his body and a single bolt of lightning rushing towards Malekith’s chest.
A man and woman flew from the ground to the sky!
“Lightning!”
She understood then. She realized it.
The light earlier.
The immense light Lena created when she first appeared.
It was excessive at that time.
Instead of attacking Sicilia herself, that woman dug into that gap, aiming for the moment when Malekith raised his upper body.
“NOOOOOOOO!”
Sicilia screamed and hurriedly tried to fly.
But Lena did not let Sicilia leave as she spread her light.
And Jude and Cordelia reached Malekith’s chest.
They could clearly see the scar on the chest that was engraved by the great hero Carlos a long time ago.
“Ooooooo!”
Jude and Cordelia shouted at the same time. They embedded into the chest scar the Dragon’s Bane, the Ultimate Sword containing the body and soul of ancient Blue Dragon Ascalon!
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
“KEUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!”
Sicilia’s cry was buried by the tremendous howl.
She sank to her knees and Lena’s eyes widened.
Lena had seen a huge crack spreading throughout Malekith’s entire body.
“Jude! Cordelia!”
Lena reflexively shouted. Because she knew at a glance on what the crack in front of them meant.
She was a much calmer woman who recognized the current situation than Sicilia who lost her composure.
“AAAAAAAAAAH!”
Malekith roared. At the same time, the cracks that spread through his body grew bigger. Malekith’s outer skin cracked, and Sicilia finally understood the situation. A bright smile appeared on her face as she cried.
“Lord Malekith!”
He responded. Malekith who loudly roared in response to her call flew up as red light radiated from the cracks in his body.
Baaaaaang!
He broke through the ceiling and flew up. He reached high in the sky and spread his wings.
“KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
The dragon’s roar shook the world.
At the same time, his body shattered along with the cracks that appeared in his entire body.
No, what shattered was only Malekith’s outer skin.
Dragon Sleep.
A body that was completely reborn!
“Father!”
Orga loudly cried as he lied on the ground while covered in blood.
All the Dragonflights who were struggling hard in the sky and everyone on the island, such as the humans and goblins, trembled before the overwhelming presence.
“KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Malekith roared again and spread out his wings. He made his presence clear by shaking off all his outer skin.
And at that moment, Jude and Cordelia were falling down. Because they could not hold on and were sent flying away when Malekith soared high in the sky and unfolded his wings.
“Aaaaah!”
Cordelia tightly hugged Jude in her hands and flapped her wings with all her might.
She flew while enduring the heavy load on her body, or rather, she somehow slowed down their falling speed.
Fwooooosh!
But there was not enough time for her to completely stop them from falling.
Jude and Cordelia who were hugging each other flew like cannonballs and crashed into the sea.
Splaaaaaaash-!
The two broke the water surface and sank into the depths of the sea.
Jude somehow prevented Cordelia from directly crashing by turning their bodies before the crash, but because of that, he felt like his back was about to snap. The shock was so great that he almost lost his consciousness for a moment.
But Jude and Cordelia did not continue to sink. Having avoided directly crashing into the sea because of Jude, Cordelia pulled Jude with her arm, prompting Jude to come to his senses as he quickly swam up to the water surface.
“Fwaaah!”
As soon as their heads came out of the water, Jude and Cordelia roughly breathed. They gasped as they tightly embraced each other, and looked up the sky without caring about their wet hair.
At a distance.
A godlike being was roaring as it spread out its wings in the sky above the island’s center.
He was huge.
He was strong.
He was a more powerful and fearful existence than anyone else they had ever encountered.
However, Jude and Cordelia caught their breaths instead of shaking in fear.
Jude looked up Malekith’s body that was so huge that it felt strange, and said.
“Success.”
To begin with, they had never thought that they could kill that huge monster in one shot.
What they were aiming for was his weakness.
“Phase 2… no, 3?”
“Phase 3.”
Cordelia gasped as she spoke, and Jude responded by relying on his memory.
He could clearly see what other people missed because of its massive presence and terrifying roars.
“He’s not okay.”
It was only a day, but Malekith’s body was far from perfect.
Moreover, Ascalon had done its job really well.
Malekith had invested a long time of three hundred years in healing, but was unable to heal the wound in his chest due to the attack of Jude and Cordelia just before he woke up.
Furthermore, Ascalon was embedded in his chest.
The dragon who hated all dragons was destroying his body and soul.
An imperfect body despite his rebirth.
Cracks remained all over his body.
His body and soul were slowly being destroyed due to the Dragon’s Bane.
“It’s the biggest boss fight ever.”
It was their toughest battle out of all the battles they had ever experienced since they remembered their past life memories.
“It’s totally a raid.”
A proper boss raid too.
A common thing in RPGs where many heroes gather to defeat a huge boss.
Four of Paragon’s five heroes were here.
There were also the thousand elite forces of the south and the more than a thousand cannons of the southern fleet.
Kajsa and Scarlet were also here, so it was like a gathering of all-stars.
But victory was not unconditionally guaranteed.
Because the ancient Black Dragon was truly like a god.
Because he was a monster who could even defeat a Demon Prince by himself.
They had to risk their lives in order to defeat him.
“Haa… haa…”
Cordelia swallowed hard again.
And so did Jude.
He had been through many dangerous events ever since he regained his past life memories, but this moment felt more special.
Why was that?
Was it because Cordelia was with him?
But it was the same in the royal capital, in the wild lands, and in the north.
He had always been with Cordelia ever since he recalled his past life memories.
They had always been together.
In times of joy and happiness, as well as in times of hardship and suffering.
Their hearts were pounding.
Because of Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors, the sound of Jude and Cordelia’s heartbeats could be heard by his hearing that had surpassed that of a normal human.
He could feel Cordelia’s heartbeat on his chest.
He involuntarily turned his face to Cordelia.
Blue eyes.
Cordelia did the same.
She turned to Jude as if drawn by his gaze.
So the two faced each other.
Cordelia blinked her eyes. She stared at him as though she wanted to ask why.
Their gazes were the same as always.
But something was different.
Whether it was because they were facing the greatest enemy ever or because he had so many impulses that he had suppressed, Jude couldn’t hold back any longer.
No, he decided to not hold back anymore.
He hugged Cordelia’s waist a little tightly, making her presence clearer in his arms.
“Jude?”
“I like you.”
He said it out loud.
Feeling a strange sense of liberation, Jude went on to say.
“I like you. No, I love you, Cordelia.”
His words came out of the blue.
And that was why his words were not made up.
Plain words that didn’t even have any flowery expressions.
An incomparably unsophisticated confession.
Cordelia blinked her eyes. It soon widened afterwards and she stopped breathing. Her face was dyed red.
She had to say something.
But her mind went blank and she couldn’t think of what to say.
So Cordelia acted instinctively as always.
“M-me too.”
Jude smiled at the words that spilled out of her lips. Cordelia’s expression became a mess and she couldn’t say anything else.
In the sea.
They were wet and floating in the sea while in the sky, a godlike evil dragon was roaring and dragons and zombie dragons were having chaotic clashes, and on the island, humans and goblins were fighting.
But those did not matter to them.
Jude gazed at Cordelia, and Cordelia gazed at Jude.
The distance between the two naturally narrowed at some point.
Cordelia gently closed her eyes, and so did Jude. Although both of them had their eyes closed, they kissed each other in the lips so naturally.
“KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!”
Malekith roared from afar.
Once again, the world shook, and the dragons and zombie dragons quivered in fear, and those in the sea and ground trembled at his formidable presence.
But Jude and Cordelia did not care.
No, they weren’t even aware of what was happening around them.
A short kiss.
The moment their lips met, she didn’t feel anything fantastic like she had imagined.
It wasn’t much different from when she just kissed him on the cheek.
But when their lips parted, and when their hot breaths flowed out between the small gap in their lips.
When they gently opened their eyes and gazed at each other.
Jude and Cordelia realized at the same time.
That something had changed.
That a lot of things had changed despite having only kissed once.
Malekith unleashed his Dragon Fear ability.
The dragons and zombie dragons in the sky couldn’t bear it and landed on the ground, while the humans and goblins did not even dare to continue their fight. The whole island held its breath before the being called Malekith.
But Jude and Cordelia still only saw each other.
The two focused on each other more after the words Cordelia spoke without realizing.
“O-one more time.”
Cordelia hugged Jude’s neck and spoke in a stupor as if she was drunk, and Jude did not dissuade her. ?He grasped Cordelia’s waist and kissed her on the lips once more.
It was sweet.
It was soft.
It was everything that was good in this world.
Jude whose eyes were closed felt all those things.
But Cordelia whose eyes were wide open had a slightly different thought.
Because it differed a little from what her sister or Dahlia had said.
It was pleasant, but she felt that something was a bit lacking.
Cordelia’s instinct was telling her.
Not yet.
That only this was not enough.
She needed something a bit more intense.
Then what?
What should I do?
Her lips instinctively parted.
The tip of Cordelia’s tongue touched Jude’s lips.
But just before she pushed her tongue in, Jude’s lips moved away.
Cordelia unconsciously followed Jude’s lips and pushed her face to him, but his lips were already too far away from her reach.
Hey, why?
Why?
Cordelia stared at Jude with some resentment, thirst, and sorrow as if she was begging for it, and Jude bit his lips once before caressing Cordelia’s cheek as he said.
“Let’s continue the next part after the fight.”
Next?
The next part?
What’s the next part?
Huh? What’s the next part?
What exactly is the next part?
Cordelia unknowingly continued her thoughts, but regained her reason at one point.
She realized what her instincts, or her beastly self that Jude always called her, was trying to do.
‘Kyaaaa!’
Cordelia mentally screamed and wanted to cover her face with her hands – no, she wanted to completely run away, but that was impossible.
Because he was in front of her.
So the next part.
Yes, the next part.
After this fight is over.
After this fight ends!
“W-wait a second!”
This is a flag.
That’s definitely a death flag!
“Idiot! You idiot!”
How could you plant a death flag right before a boss fight?
Her criticism was groundless, but as always, Jude fully understood what Cordelia meant.
So he kissed her forehead.
“Chu.”
But Cordelia’s dissatisfaction wouldn’t go away with just that.
No, the dissatisfaction on her face wasn’t about the flag in the first place.
‘Why are you still doing it on my forehead?’
Neither of them said anything.
But it was clearly revealed in her eyes, so Jude acted on it. He locked his lips with Cordelia again and her face reddened once more.
Because she was strangely embarrassed.
Because the present kiss was strangely more embarrassing than the previous two.
“Idiot.”
Cordelia grinned with a red face when she saw Jude’s flushed face, and hugged his neck again.
She took a deep breath and forcefully calmed her breathing before she saw reality again.
A gigantic evil dragon roaring in the sky and heroes gathering to fight it.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, let’s go. We have to win to do the next part.”
Next part.
Yes, the next part.
What’s the next part?
Why do I recall Adelia-unnie and brother-in-law Ga?l?
I want to know now.
Cordelia murmured in her mind before correcting her expression. After she suppressed her inner beast that wanted to draw her face closer to his, she spread out her wings.
Jude also prepared for battle.
He recited the mnemonic chant of the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors and activated the power of the Black Sun.
[What a relief. I was wondering if I should intervene or not.]
[My successor, I would have intervened if it had been a little longer.]
The voices echoed in Cordelia and Jude’s minds.
The two brightly smiled instead of saying anything else, and they headed out of the water.
The battle against the giant evil dragon who covered the sky finally began.
After 263 episodes, the ship has sailed~! Yes, this is the best episode for me. It’s rare to find an action and fantasy Korean series to have a slow developing romance somehow done right.