Chapter 1461

There were too many things about the situation that didn't make sense. For starters, the entire operation was far too elaborate, and the sheer amount of power involved was far beyond what any ordinary terrorist organization could've prepared.

The necromancer toying with Prince Khrones was clearly Master-level, perhaps even on the higher end of that spectrum of power. Of course, Evangeline thought something about him felt deeply off, but the important thing was the sheer power he was displaying.

‘The gaze is gone.’

She couldn't be entirely sure there would be no other complications, but her Fear had certainly done its job.

‘Okay, I took care of the one watching, so now all that’s left is to handle that creepy lich.’

While overpowering him with just the strength of a mere Swordmaster would’ve been impossible, Evangeline’s strength was quite versatile.

Thankfully, Eosha, the only one who had been paying attention to Evangeline and was close to her, seemed unaffected. “Ummmm. Lady Evangeline? Can I open my eyes now?”

‘It’s been a while since I properly used it... What a relief.’

Simply closing one's eyes wouldn't completely put them out of the area of effect. The reason Evangeline told her to close her eyes was simply to minimize that influence.

Nonetheless, Eosha wasn’t sure why she had needed to close her eyes. “Just what did you see?”

“Someone was secretly watching, so I just cut off their vision. Now, let’s go deal with that pile of bones.”

“Excuse me?”

“Lady Eosha. Everything you see from this moment on, please keep it a secret.”

With those words, her presence changed.

“L-Lady Evangeline?” Eosha watched from behind as Evangeline walked toward Prince Khrones, who was clashing with the necromancer. She tried to follow, but stumbled and collapsed just a few steps later.

She forced herself to grab her trembling arm, silently enduring.

‘What... what did I just see?’

When Evangeline had told her to close her eyes moments before, she hadn't. Or rather, to be precise, she had only closed them briefly, then opened them soon after. She’d thought nothing of it, but it didn't take long for her to regret that choice.

The moment she stared blankly into the air, a chilling sensation had washed over her, as if her soul were being ripped away from her body. An overwhelming pressure suffocated her from every direction, making it hard to breathe.

Eosha, who had a unique and strong resistance running in her bloodline, was able to hold on. Anyone else might’ve fainted on the spot, or perhaps their heart might have stopped altogether.

‘What exactly is Lady Evangeline?’

Usually, boys and girls of her age learned various things besides magic or swordsmanship.

Some were geniuses, others were slow learners, but, as far as Eosha knew, someone like Evangeline was absolutely unheard of.

Neutralizing a person simply with a glance? Unthinkable.

Eosha had always been unusually perceptive, and she could tell that the owner of the gaze Evangeline had just confronted was clearly a powerful individual on the same level as the necromancer. Suppressing someone like that with a single look should’ve been impossible.

She felt like laughing in disbelief, but she couldn’t stop trembling. Her older sister Alyssa Patrick had once said that Heins was a place she could never understand, no matter how much she tried. Eosha had finally come to understand exactly what she meant.

* * *

Khrones breathed heavily, gripping his sword tightly. He had already reached his limit.

The skeletons kept rising without stopping, launching repeated deadly attacks.

Ratius, who would usually be backing him up, had been thrown into a different space. Crama, who was actually by his side, had instead somehow suffered a mana backlash and been taken out of the fight.

He had realized the difference in power between him and his opponent the moment their swords first met. Under normal circumstances, he would’ve just run away.

The opponent was on a level that even a Swordmaster would struggle against. The only reason he was still alive despite facing such a being was that the lich wasn't interested in giving him a swift death.

He wanted to run, but he had three people to protect. He couldn't count on Crama to fight, and he didn't have high expectations for Lady Eosha or Lady Evangeline either. In other words, he was the only one who could protect the three of them.

‘Never in my life have I been so cornered like this...’

He had always been quite confident in his abilities. He was well aware of his own talent, and had never been reckless beyond his limits.

His overwhelming talent, despite his young age, led him to believe he rivaled the genius of Illyna de Pallan, the former owner of the divine sword and the individual known as the Sword Princess.

Actually, to be precise, he believed his talent was even greater. Considering that Princess Illyna de Pallan was a supreme-level expert at age sixteen, Khrones was already high-level and even handled magic. On top of that, he was younger than the princess.

He was sure he’d be able to surpass her talent once he reached adulthood.

Perhaps because of that, he had been a little too arrogant.

‘I’ve heard of karma, but this much is ridiculous...’

When he thought about it, it was truly unfair. Even if he was a genius, he was still young.

There were plenty of Master-level experts in the world, as well as those who Khrones couldn't reach, no matter how talented he was.

All he needed was time and experience, yet he couldn't figure out why he kept getting caught up in such tough situations. If he had enough time, if he had just a few more years of experience, he believed he could show the same skill as the continent's current powerhouses, like the Saint of Tionis or that same Illyna, who was known as the Second Sword God.

‘Am I going to die here? That’d be too unfair. I wish I had just listened when the royal family told me to enroll in Heins Academy.’

Mind full of regret, he gave his sword another fierce swing, slicing through the skeletons. Although he was in a far more precarious position than before, his skills hadn’t gone anywhere. He seized a brief opening, made a bold move, and managed to cut down more skeletons.

‘Hoho. He’s got some guts! I guess he’s not called one of the continent’s best talents for nothing.’

The Lich chuckled and extended his hand. The fragmented bones of the skeletons then began to gather in one place.

Khrones muttered in despair, even saying curse words he’d never normally use, “You gotta be fucking kidding me...”

For a moment, he considered running before it was truly too late. He knew he could escape on his own, and surviving until reinforcements arrived wouldn't be difficult.

He was truly that afraid. Terror washed over him once death was clearly imminent.

The bone fragments gathered in one spot, molded like clay, and soon began to form into something colossal.

“Actually, the ones you were fighting were all dragon bones,” the lich told him with a smirk.

“What?!”

“Didn't you hear me? I said these human skeletons are made from dragon bones. The material’s exceptional, so they perform far better than ordinary skeletons. Even so, I have to give you credit for cutting the binding lines holding the bones together.”

Following his gesture, a gigantic bone dragon was completed and roared. A bright red heart visibly pulsed in its chest, almost as if it were openly revealing its weak point.

Still, Khrones’s instincts told him there was no way he could reach it. On the surface, the heart looked completely exposed, but Khrones was certain the invisible protection surrounding it was stronger than any other part of its body.

The lich boastfully talked about his masterpiece, remarking, “Well, even a bone dragon is nowhere near the real thing. I had a really tough time getting these bones.”

That was when it happened. Evangeline approached with a calm face and asked, “Where did you get them from?”

“Hoho. Even now, you're not afraid. I suppose that's only natural for the daughter of the Saint of Tionis. Very well. Since it's come to this, would you humor an old man's rambling?”

He appeared perfectly polite on the surface, but hearing those words from someone who had just cornered them with a bone dragon was absurd. Khrones cursed under his breath.

The lich told her, “It’s simple. Only a dragon can acquire the bones of another buried dragon.”

Considering it, Evangeline fell silent.

“Looking at it that way, I must remind you that dragons aren't all that different from humans. They're surprisingly greedy, you know! Hehe. Well then, does that answer your question?”

“...What was that dragon’s name?”

His eyes flickered. “Daughter of the saint, I don't know if you're as fearless as your father or simply insane, but don't you see this bone dragon?”

“I can see it just fine. That's exactly why I'm asking. Those look like the bones of a dragon that had just begun evolving from a hatchling into a full-fledged dragon, but hatchlings are fiercely protected among dragons. Letting bones like those fall into someone else's hands would be considered a grave crime.”

The lich's eyes flickered again at her words. “Hmm? Interesting. You seem to know your dragons.”

“I'm interested in them,” she offhandedly remarked.

“Oho. So, you recognize what kind of dragon this is. Still, you're wrong about one thing—this bone dragon wasn't made from the corpse of a hatchling. The dragon who supplied me with these bones said they belonged to a full-fledged dragon.”

“Hey, Lady Evangeline, what on earth are you...” Khrones, who couldn't understand why she was suddenly chatting about dragons with the lich, tried to continue saying something but quickly clamped his mouth shut.

‘Wait, is she buying me time?’

At that point, Khrones became lost in his own assumption. He genuinely believed she was buying him time to regain his strength. He even felt her to be a surprisingly clever girl for it.

Yet, Evangeline wasn't thinking anything of the sort.

“Full-fledged dragon? That's strange,” she said with a shake of her head. “It’s too weak to be a full-fledged dragon.”

“Hmph. You. Are you insulting the bone dragon I created? It's pathetic how you clearly just read a few books about dragons and believed them blindly. Go and kill her, bone dragon.”

He seemed oddly offended by her remark. Deciding his masterpiece had been insulted, the lich extended his hand.

‘Damn it, why provoke him now?!’

Khrones lamented that she had made such a mistake after drawing the enemy’s attention so well, and he moved. However, he quickly rationalized the situation again.

He figured it must have been because Evangeline was similarly scared and panicked.

It made sense. It was a clever move, but she was still just a delicate young lady. She wasn't the Saint of Tionis herself. She was only his daughter.

If he left her to fend for herself, her delicate body and white dress would be torn to shreds by the bone dragon.

He didn't want the pretty girl who had caught his eye at first glance to die, so he threw his body forward to block Evangeline and took the dragon on with his sword.

Boom!! Thud!!

Khrones, instantly sent flying, coughed up a mouthful of blood. Despite being a genius, his present skills were insufficient to beat the bone dragon.

The impact was on an entirely different level from the skeletons he’d faced before. Even the sword he'd coated in aura was shattered instantly.

‘I’m screwed.’

He was now unarmed, with no way out.

Yes, Evangeline was carrying a strange, crimson sword, but he figured it was merely decorative.

‘It's better than nothing, I guess...’

Breathing heavily, he forced himself up and spammed fireball spells at the bone dragon.

“Fireball!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Hahaha! Such a crude spell won't work on a dragon!”

He scowled at the lich’s crazed laughter, but he didn't stop casting spells. He shouted, “Run away, Lady Evangeline! I'll hold its attention!”

“Prince Khrones,” she began, only to be interrupted by him.

“They're trying to start a war! If you die, the entire world will descend into uncontrollable chaos! The Continental Alliance will collapse, and we'll fall back into an age of endless war!”

Evangeline quietly looked at him as he shouted.

The lich found it hilarious. “Hahaha. I'm sorry, but I can't let you escape. Though I originally planned to leave you out of this, since you keep intervening, I guess I have no choice but to kill you here.” He waved his hand again, moving the bone dragon.

“Everything’s weird. The bones are too weak for a full-fledged dragon, and you don’t look like someone skilled enough to handle a bone dragon, yet you are...” Evagenline muttered thoughtfully.

Annoyed, Khrones opened his mouth to shout at her, “W-what are you talking about... Hmph?!”

Yet, he drew in a sharp breath as he saw the dragon lash its tail toward both him and Evangeline with pinpoint precision.

It was too late to block, and time seemed to slow down for him. He broke out in a cold sweat and his eyes widened. Even then, with his body screaming at him to save himself, he still tried to throw himself in front of Evangeline to protect her.

However, the moment he moved to shield Evangeline, her small, white hand grabbed his arm.

He thought she was scared. He wanted to tell her it was okay, but he didn't have the luxury of time. However, it didn't take long for him to realize his mistake.

A sudden, enormous force yanked him away, throwing him backward.

Boom!!!

A massive explosion then echoed.

Khrones cried out in pain from the sudden blow. He questioned, “What in...”

He didn't understand what had just happened. He couldn't tell whether Evangeline had grabbed him and thrown him aside or if the tail had reached him faster than he expected and sent him flying.

He lifted his head, only to be shocked. The dragon had managed to whip its tail, but it hadn't hit Evangeline or Khrones.

It had struck a gigantic dragon foreleg that had burst out of thin air.

“No way?!”

At the same time, the lich’s eyes violently shook as he gasped in astonishment.

“T-that’s!!”

The gigantic foreleg was protruding from the air behind Evangeline. It was like an arm had been stretched out from beyond space.

Khrones, who was baffled and couldn't comprehend the situation, gasped again as another gigantic foreleg burst out from a rift in the space behind Evangeline’s opposite shoulder.

“I'm not curious anymore. I still have plenty of questions, but right now, I'm just getting angry,” Evangeline spoke calmly, and took a step forward. Only then could Khrones clearly see her eyes.

Vertical slit dragon eyes.

Only then did Khrones realize who had summoned the forelegs that had torn through the air behind Evangeline.

The lich was similarly stunned. “I-impossible! A dragon?!”

Evangeline swung one hand toward the stunned lich. At the same moment, the gigantic dragon arm clenched into a fist and slammed down, crushing both the bone dragon and the lich beneath it.

Thud!!!

In that instant, an air-ripping sound echoed, and part of the massive bone dragon exploded and was torn apart.

“Hmm. Guess improvised strength won’t do it.” Then, Evangeline looked away and said, “Prince Khrones.”

He didn't know what to say.

“Could you please keep what you saw now a secret?”

As she inhaled, an iridescent orb began to gather in front of her mouth. That precursor phenomenon was something anyone interested in dragons would recognize.

“D-Dragon Breath!?”

The astonished lich hurriedly deployed a shield. As someone knowledgeable about dragons, he made the most optimal move for subduing one.

However, he didn't know that Evangeline wasn't just a dragon, but an ancient dragon.

Whummm. BOOM!!!

Finally, a flash of light erupted from her mouth, forming a beam that completely vaporized everything it touched before shooting straight into the sky.

What remained afterward was a truly shocking sight.

“No way...”

The bone dragon was completely gone, and half of the lich’s skeletal body had vanished with it.

The fallen lich, a look of confusion plastered on his face, told Evangeline in terror, “Impossible! Was that Dragon Breath?! What on earth are you...”

“It’s just Dragon Breath,” she casually remarked. “What's so special about breath? You just breathe in and breathe out. That's all it is.”

The lich, somehow surviving despite half his body being vaporized, screamed in desperation. “That's absolute nonsense! Not even a fully grown dragon, or, actually, not even an ancient dragon could possess such overwhelming power!”

The subsequent surge of Fear Evangeline released crushed him, and his body began to crumble. His incomplete immortal body, nothing like the perfect immortality of Nyx, the First Lich, began to collapse the moment his mana was reversed under the effects of her Fear.

“Ugh. Gasp...”

“Then I guess I’m not just a regular dragon,” eh?” Evangeline asked for her own amusement.

Hearing that, the lich convulsed and muttered, “Hah. Hehehe. Sorry, but the plan’s already in motion. No one can stop what's coming now! Even if you survive, the Continental Alliance will collapse. Do you really want to stop it? Sorry, but I'm just a nobody among the people behind this plan...”

“Shhh.” Evangeline made a gesture for him to be quiet. “It won't change anything anyway.”

Then she took another breath, and the power she no longer restrained surged in every direction. The air behind her back tore open on both sides, revealing massive wings that created a powerful gust of wind.

Boom!!!

The lich couldn't resist the second breath that followed, being unceremoniously scattered into ashes.

Afterward, the forms Evangeline had partially manifested all vanished.

She turned toward Khrones, Crama, and Eosha, all of whom were watching her, frozen in place.

As all three were astonished by her power and her vertically slit pupils, she said, “Hey... I'm hungry. Did anyone pack any snacks?”

No one dared to answer.

She thought for a moment, then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, she pulled out a pre-packed lunch box from her storage space.

“Nice, I have this! You must be hungry, too. Want to eat together? I made these spicy Korean rice cakes.”

Her bright smile looked too cheerful.

But then, a massive arm shot out from her shadow, snatched the lunch box, and hid it back in the shadow.

The air was instantly ripped open, and a gigantic dragon foreleg shot out, plunging into the shadow and gripping a small dokkaebi by the neck.

[You crazy bitch! Did you intend to kill all three of them?!]

“Say that again.”

[Uh... Thanks to your little rampage, the ones possessed by damaged souls, just like that pile of bones, have started going berserk. For some reason, there haven't been any casualties yet, but if they're left alone, the bodies will start piling up.]

“Possessed by a damaged soul? What do you mean by that?”

[I mean exactly what I said. It’s when a damaged soul with immense power has possessed human bodies. People commonly call it possession.]

The terrorists and their actions didn’t seem to make any sense.