C328

Apitoyu, 200 years.

More than 200 years have passed since the Catastrophe Era.

There aren't many who have endured that time in this world.

"Finally—"

Wisha, the Great White Snake, was also among those who had survived.

The Beast People who had lived through that period expressed their emotions in various ways.

A new Beast Person soared high into the sky.

Whooooosh—

It passed through the multicolored light.

The sky and earth of all Apitoyu, reflected in the eyes of the ascending Beast Person, were bathed in a beautiful light.

Sniff. Sniff.

A mole Beast Person burrowed into the earth.

And sniffed.

It smelled the scent of the soil, something it hadn't sensed since the era of upheaval.

"Ah."

The earth.

The free earth, full of life, unchained.

The multicolored light not only enveloped the sky and land but also extended deep underground.

"Ha."

Damn it.

One of the surviving dragons sighed, unable to suppress a sense of frustration at its own helplessness.

'The mana—'

The mana was breathing.

The mana, which had been suppressed by Neo, the Dragon Lord, and had been trapped in the dragon's clutches, was now spreading freely across the world.

It was as if it could hear the melody of mana.

"Ha."

It couldn't help but laugh.

"Damn it."

Neo was dead.

The dragon had been defeated.

'No, it was I who lost.'

Though it had lost, it couldn't help but acknowledge it.

Having lived so long, it had to admit it.

"…It's amazing."

The Source of the World it had consumed.

Was it such a beautiful and wonderful existence?

The world, believed to be doomed to destruction, was regaining its original state in an instant.

That's how tenacious life is.

No, it was powerful.

'Is that why they won?'

The young dragon who mastered mana.

The human who created this magnificent sight.

The scene created by them and their companions.

Among them were both outsiders and residents of Apitoyu.

"…Dragons aren't gods."

Yes. They are not gods.

They can't be gods.

At that moment—

"Do you think gods can create a scene like this?"

The dragon raised its head.

It could see another dragon laughing at it with disdain.

It was Rasheel, the dragon characterized by indomitability. Rasheel, who found the self-pity and resentment of the enemy dragon watching the magnificent scene detestable.

So Rasheel spoke clearly.

"That guy isn't a god."

He pointed at Cale.

And then pointed at himself.

"We did this. You, pathetic dragon who threw away all your pride."

To hell with gods.

"What have the gods done here for you to be mentioning them?"

Rasheel grumbled.

He was irritated. So he completely ignored the enemy dragon, who was staring at him in astonishment, and approached the dragoness Mila.

Mila's face, who had fought desperately to save Cale, was still pale.

No, her face was even paler next to Eruhaben.

"Enough."

At Eruhaben's words, Mila finally frowned.

Rasheel approached her with a firm expression.

"..."

And the enemy dragon, who had been watching Rasheel, raised its head and looked at Cale, who was still floating in the air.

"What have I done…?"

There was no one to answer.

Everyone was captivated by that magnificent scene, that beautiful sight they knew they would never witness again in their lives.

And among them, the humans.

Both enemies and allies couldn't easily say a word.

"..."

Har Kingdom.

Originally an empire, which after the era of upheaval had become a small declining kingdom.

The young king there, Dennis, couldn't say anything.

Only his eyes were captivated by Cale and the brilliant light.

The sound around him didn't reach his ears properly.

Simply—

"Ha—"

He inhaled and exhaled.

It was a natural action.

To live, one must breathe.

That's something Dennis has done since birth until now.

But something was different.

He doesn't know what this world was like 200 years ago, before the Catastrophe Era.

None of the humans present have lived more than 200 years.

Beast People, dragons, dwarves, elves, dark elves, etc.

Among the non-human races, many have lived over 200 years and have experienced the Catastrophe Era, so they can make comparisons.

But among humans, there was no one with such a long life.

"Ha—"

Even so, he instinctively felt that it was different now.

He inhaled and exhaled.

Free.

Before, breathing didn't feel uncomfortable or restrictive to him.

Yet now, he could only think of freedom.

That's why King Dennis instinctively understood.

'…This is real.'

Dennis looked around.

Apitoyu.

This world truly looked clear.

He was neither a swordmaster nor a mage, but he could clearly feel that the energy enveloping his body had changed.

200 years.

He thought it was too long a time to recover what was lost.

"..."

It can be recovered.

Dennis clenched his fists without realizing it.

"Eh?"

But then, his eyes widened, and he instinctively stepped back.

Whooooosh—

The wind was blowing.

"This—"

Eruhaben saw that the energy spreading around Cale was starting to diminish.

"Cale—. What exactly are you doing?"

Moreover, the multicolored light was beginning to concentrate around Cale.

Cale was lying down, as if asleep, inside a large circle.

Although it was a great distance away, Eruhaben could see it clearly with his dragon eyes.

'All his wounds have healed.'

All the visible wounds on the surface had disappeared.

Only bloodstains remained.

There were no signs of external injuries on Cale's body.

Then—

Boom!

The circle surrounding Cale trembled.

As if a heart was beating.

"...!"

Eruhaben involuntarily shuddered.

'…Am I scared?'

He got goosebumps.

The moment the circle enveloping Cale trembled, a wave of energy spread in all directions.

What kind of energy was that?

Neither the dragons.

Nor the Source of the World.

Nor nature.

Nor the gods.

None of those.

'Life.'

Simply, it was the energy of the living Cale.

That energy was so immense it made the surroundings tremble.

'Ha.'

No.

He shouldn't say this, but—

"…Can a human do that?"

No.

Can a human possess such a strong and grand life?

'No.'

He shouldn't see it confined to such categories as human or dragon.

'Even so, I can't help it!'

It wasn't a god.

Nor nature.

Nor a world.

How can a mere human—

"Ha—"

Yes.

Eruhaben found the answer.

A world, a nature are vast.

Within them live countless plants and animals.

'This can be interpreted differently.'

A wildflower in a field is also a world and a nature.

The same applies to humans.

The same applies to dragons.

Anyone can be a world and a nature.

Being within them means one is also that existence.

'Cale Henituse.'

Within him, there was a world.

There was a nature.

That's why it was said he had the qualification to become a god, who could create a world.

But, does he stop being human because of that?

Does he stop being Cale Henituse when becoming a god?

'He's still himself.'

Cale Henituse will always be Cale Henituse.

At that moment—

Boom!

Again, a great vibration echoed.

Whooooosh—

A gentle wind blew.

The multicolored circle was fading.

And the gray clouds were dispersing.

Through them, the warm sunlight began to shine.

Eruhaben heard Lock's voice.

"Our human is the best!"

Ha.

Eruhaben couldn't help but laugh.

'Maybe I've never seen Cale Henituse for what he truly is.'

Can a human do that?

Can he do that without being a god?

Lock's response dispelled Eruhaben's doubts.

Our human is the best.

Eruhaben questioned the doubts he had harbored.

'Why wouldn't he be able to?'

'Why wouldn't it be possible?'

So what if he's human, if he's Cale Henituse?

What does it matter?

It simply is.

'I'm learning.'

I learned once again.

'Yes.'

Even with age, there's always something new to learn.

Eruhaben tilted his head.

In his chest, carefully kept, was the black soul wrapped in golden and black shields.

The Dragon Half-Blood.

I learned many things from this kid too.

I learned that you can protect someone even by destroying your own soul.

I only thought of dying first, never considered going that far.

I truly learned something important.

"Human!"

At that moment, Raon's surprised voice made Eruhaben quickly raise his head.

"Oh no!"

Cale's body, which was floating in the air, was falling powerlessly downward.

"He, he—""No, human!""Damn it, he didn't faint, did he?!"

Eruhaben, Raon, and Rasheel.

The three dragons tried to use their mana to cast a spell toward Cale at that moment.

"Ah!"

Cale suddenly opened his eyes.

"Damn it, what is this?!"

He was startled by his own situation.

Whoooosh—

He generated wind and began to descend slowly.

"Phew, that was scary."

And with a very calm face, he took an apple pie out of his storage bag and started eating.

"...""..."

Eruhaben and Rasheel fell silent.

"Our human is the best! My apple pie tastes better!"

Raon tried to fly toward Cale but suddenly stopped.

"!"

Eruhaben too.

"Cale-nim—""Kim Hael—"

Choi Han, the Heavenly Demon, and other allies who were approaching him were also surprised.

"Damn it."

Cale shoved the apple pie into his mouth and frowned.

-Hungry.

He ignored the glutton priestess's comment. No, he wanted to ignore it.

-Cale. You, you—

But Super Rock spoke.

-It's not just the Plate anymore, now you—

He wanted to ignore that too. He wasn't listening. He could check his condition later.

Swoosh!

As Cale scanned the area, his head turned to one side.

His irritated eyes locked onto Eruhaben.

Cale took out a sacred mirror from his chest.

"Mmm."

Eruhaben couldn't say anything as Cale, using the wind, quickly approached.

Raon's face, which had brightened while calling him "our human," was full of worry.

Plop. Plop.

On and Hong were already stroking Raon's body, trying to calm him, but if not for that, Raon, On, and Hong would have been visibly trembling.

In fact, the three were smiling as they looked at Cale, but they were trembling.

Waaaa—

Amid the cheers of the allies, even the enemies were astonished by the resurrected world.

But Cale's companions couldn't properly enjoy that moment.

They were just happy and relieved that Cale was alive.

"How is it?"

At Cale's question, the dragoness Mila, with a pale and exhausted face, could barely speak.

"I'm sorry."

She looked past Cale's shoulder toward the outside of the black castle, where Sheritt, who couldn't leave a certain distance, was.

"…I can't repair a soul."

A small fragment of black soul.

A part of it was so damaged that it seemed like it could dissipate like smoke at any moment.

Cale asked Eruhaben.

"Is it okay inside this shield?"

"To be precise, right now,"

Eruhaben spoke with a stern expression.

"We've wrapped it tightly with mana from Raon and me so it can't escape."

A broken soul.

Not even a dragon knew how to repair it.

"What does Sheritt say?"

Although far away, they could communicate through magic.

Sheritt, with a dazed expression, must have also tried to save the Dragon Half-Blood.

"Can't it be bound to the black castle?"

Like Lord Sheritt.

Bound to the black castle.

Couldn't the broken soul be tied somewhere?

"Impossible."

Eruhaben relayed Sheritt's response.

"Sheritt isn't a soul or a living entity. She's just an existence born together with the black castle. A broken soul can't be contained there."

He hesitated before conveying Sheritt's thought.

"If we tied the Dragon Half-Blood to the black castle, he would become a non-living existence like her. But his soul is still alive."

"Then we need to think about how to save him first."

Cale looked at Mary.

Mary shook her head.

Seeing this, Cale looked at the mirror.

"Did you hear everything?"

He asked the God of Death. As the ruler of death, he should know the answer.

Bzzzz—

The mirror vibrated.

-I'm sorry.

This time, the God of Death didn't joke. He quickly relayed what he knew.

-I only handle the death of bodies.

-A broken soul,

The message, after hesitating, continued.

-A broken soul is annihilation.

-I can't save it either.

-A broken soul can't be reassembled.

-No matter how much you wrap it in mana, when the mana fades, the soul will scatter.

-And even if you wrap it in mana, it will start to disintegrate slowly from within.

Eruhaben, watching Cale's hardened expression, asked.

"…What does the God of Death say?"

"He says there's no way to repair a broken soul."

There was no answer.

Everything was futile.

Squirm.

Raon's front paws trembled as they moved nervously.

An oppressive silence fell upon them.

Raon couldn't even notice that silence.

It was the first time he experienced being speechless, unable to hear the sounds around him.

In fact, Raon didn't even realize it, simply moving his front paws nervously.

"Raon."

That's why he heard Cale's voice late.

"Raon!"

A slightly louder voice than usual.

"Eh? What, human?"

Raon, startled, raised his head and finally saw Cale's face.

Seeing Cale's eyes, Raon's heart stirred.

'Still.'

Still, our human hasn't given up.

No.

That is—

'That's the face of someone who sees a solution!'

Bzzzz—

The mirror kept vibrating, and messages piled up in Korean.

-If you find a place where the laws of the world don't reach and the soul doesn't disperse, in that place, the soul might be preserved without disintegrating.

-If that's possible, I'll try to find a solution afterward.

-Whether it's the God of Fate or whoever. I'll go find an answer.

Cale spoke clearly to Raon.

"Prepare to teleport us."

"Eh?"

Raon, still dazed, listened as Cale grabbed the shield sphere in Eruhaben's chest, looking at the black soul trembling inside.

"Hey. Don't even think for a moment about dying."

The black soul. The Dragon Half-Blood couldn't speak.

It wasn't even clear if Cale's voice reached him.

Even so, Cale spoke.

"I'll save you without fail."

Cale wasn't willing to see another of his companions die.

He would use all possible means.

Cale looked at Raon and said.

"Neo."

"Eh?"

"Let's teleport to Neo's Lair."

The Dragon Lord Neo, dead.

His lair.

Beneath that small log cabin lies another world.

A world created with new rules.

Virtual Reality.

If the hunters wanted to create a new world, the laws of the countless worlds Cale travels through wouldn't apply there. It was a completely separate and new place.

And.

'User registry.'

Doing that would prevent the soul from dispersing.

'Yes. That will work.'

Though it was just a hypothesis, Cale believed it was a reasonable idea.

He believed there was a high probability.

Virtual Reality.

In that place, Cale, Choi Han, Raon, On, and Hong could fully exist as themselves.

Bzzzz—

Raon quickly created the teleportation circle.

"Let's go."

Without worrying about the consequences, Cale headed straight to Neo's Lair.

Virtual Reality.

To get there.

-