After Regressing, I Gained the Power of the Demonic Dragon - Chapter 36

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 36
“I didn’t steal it.”
Suho Su’s massive eyes narrowed.
[Liar.]
“The heart entered me just before I died.”
Sang Hyuk looked down at his chest.
“I don’t know why either.”
[The master’s heart could never have chosen you.]
Sang Hyuk made no attempt to convince him further.
“I’m not asking you to believe me right now.”
Suho Su answered by pressing one foreleg against the ground.
The slender leg trembled.
Though barely able to stand, he took a step toward Sang Hyuk’s chest.
[The master’s heart. Give it back.]
“I can’t do that.”
Grrrr!
Suho Su bared his fangs and raised his violet fur on end.
Lowering his body, the creature leaped toward Sang Hyuk’s chest once more.
Whoosh!
But before he could reach him, a thick chain snapped taut.
Clang!
Thud.
Suho Su’s body went rigid in midair, then crashed to the ground.
In the same instant, the patterns etched into the chain glowed, draining Magical Power from Suho Su’s form.
[Ugh……!]
He tried to brace himself with his front legs, but they buckled, drained of strength.
The frantic breathing that had calmed somewhat after consuming the horn fragment returned in full.
Suho Su, sprawled on the ground, twisted his head back and bit down on the chain.
Crack!
Deep gouges formed where his teeth tore into the metal.
Yet the wounds didn’t last long.
Hummmmm.
The patterns carved into the chain flared with light once more.
The deep gouges began to fill in gradually from the inside.
Sang Hyuk didn’t miss the change.
‘Demon Dragon’s Eye.’
Sang Hyuk’s irises darkened to a deep crimson.
The Magical Power drained from Suho Su flowed into the gouged sections of the chain.
Metal rose up from within the damaged areas, and the chain’s surface quickly became smooth again.
‘It repairs itself using the stolen Magical Power.’
Now he understood why the chain he’d examined earlier bore only shallow marks.
The more Suho Su struggled, the more power the chain extracted to restore its damaged sections.
By attempting to force his way free, Suho Su would only exhaust himself first.
Then it fell to Sang Hyuk to break the chain himself.
Anything erased by Annihilation would not repair itself again.
Sang Hyuk studied the linking pin attached to the back of the Necklace.
The Necklace and the chain had been separate objects from the start.
If he removed only that pin, he could detach the chain while leaving Suho Su’s Necklace intact.
Sang Hyuk placed the Seal Key at his feet into his Inventory, then knelt on one knee before Suho Su.
As he reached toward the linking pin at the back of the Necklace, Suho Su shrank back and bared his teeth.
[No.]
Sang Hyuk paused.
“Why?”
[Even if broken, it will reattach.]
“Anything I erase won’t reattach.”
Sang Hyuk pointed to the black Necklace.
“I won’t touch the Necklace itself. I’ll only remove the linking pin attached to it.”
Suho Su raised a foreleg to push away Sang Hyuk’s hand.
But lacking the strength, his leg barely extended before falling back to the ground.
Sang Hyuk slowly reached out his right hand and grasped the linking pin.
Annihilation bloomed across his palm, consuming the chain link.
‘Annihilation.’
Screech!
The chain link crumbled to black sand and poured away from his hand.
Clang!
The chain fell from the Necklace, striking the ground.
Magical Power surged toward the severed point, but the chain link consumed by Annihilation did not return.
Suho Su’s eyes widened.
[That power…….]
Suho Su stared at Sang Hyuk’s right hand with trembling eyes.
The fur that had stood on end against Sang Hyuk slowly settled.
Suho Su could not tear his gaze from Sang Hyuk’s hand.
[Master’s Annihilation.]
Before Sang Hyuk could even answer, the Necklace glowed faintly.
This time, the Magical Power flowing from the Necklace seeped entirely into Suho Su’s body.
His ragged breathing gradually calmed.
Then it happened.
Click.
The chain embedded in the Gate Hall wall moved again.
The chain lying slack on the floor stretched taut, and sharp spikes erupted from its surface.
In Sang Hyuk’s eyes, he could see the Magical Power condensed within each spike.
It was the Magical Power he had stolen from Suho Su moments before and sent beyond the wall.
The chain was still drawing on Suho Su’s Magical Power even now.
Suho Su’s pupils narrowed to slits.
Whoosh!
The spiked chain hurtled toward Suho Su’s throat and chest.
It was the final trap left behind to kill Suho Su once he was freed from his bonds.
Sang Hyuk pulled Suho Su’s small body close with his left arm.
Simultaneously, he raised his right arm to block the incoming chain.
Thunk!
A spike pierced through his palm.
More spikes followed in rapid succession, embedding themselves in his wrist and forearm.
Thunk-thunk!
The Magical Power carried by the spikes burrowed into his wounds.
Sensation drained from his fingers with alarming speed, and his arm below the elbow began to stiffen like stone.
The impact drove one of Sang Hyuk’s knees to the ground.
Suho Su, who had been thrashing moments before, went still and stared at the spikes embedded in Sang Hyuk’s arm.
Had Sang Hyuk released him and pulled back, he could have escaped.
Then Suho Su would have been pierced instead.
But Sang Hyuk did not retreat.
Instead, he tightened his grip, pulling Suho Su firmly against his chest.
[Get away.]
“Stay still.”
[Your arm will be ruined.]
“I can’t save you just to let you die.”
Suho Su’s eyes trembled.
The front paws that had been raking at Sang Hyuk moments before now clutched at his collar.
[Why……?]
“Ask me later.”
Sang Hyuk drew Suho Su closer in his left arm.
He braced him carefully beneath the chest, taking care not to touch the wound at his right flank.
“Don’t move. You’ll tear open your flank.”
The chain pulled taut again.
The embedded spikes drove deeper into Sang Hyuk’s arm.
At that moment.
Thump!
The Apocalypse Dragon’s Heart beat violently.
Magical Power surged from the heart to his right shoulder, then spread down his arm to his fingertips.
「You have met the conditions to unlock Level 20 Growth Authority.」
The second Growth Authority, which had remained sealed even after surpassing Level 20, finally answered Sang Hyuk’s choice to protect Suho Su.
“The Authority Scales of Apocalypse is now unlocked.”
[Authority Information]
[Authority Name] Scales of Apocalypse
[Authority Stage] Stage 1
[Currently Manifested Areas]
– Right hand
– Right arm
[Authority Effects]
– Physical damage received by scales-covered areas is reduced by 50%.
– Magical damage received by scales-covered areas is reduced by 50%.
– Output of Demon Dragon Authority used through those areas increases by 50%.
– Activation speed of Demon Dragon Authority used through those areas increases by 50%.
Black scales erupted across the back of Sang Hyuk’s hand.
The layered scales spread rapidly upward, past his wrist and beyond his elbow.
Crack!
The scales covering his wounds forced out the thorns that had been embedded there.
The thorned chain lashed at his arm again, but this time it bounced off without piercing the scales.
Yet the chain immediately changed direction and coiled around Sang Hyuk’s right arm.
The barbs at its end drove toward Suho Su cradled against his chest.
Sang Hyuk swung his right arm hard and the chain came loose.
The thorns caught on the scales snapped off one after another, scattering across the floor.
The pain hadn’t vanished entirely.
But sensation had returned to his fingers, and Suho Su remained unharmed.
Sang Hyuk gripped the chain again as it tried to move, this time with his scale-covered right hand.
[Scales of Apocalypse strengthens Annihilation.]
[Authority Output: 150%]
[Activation Speed: 150%]
“Now—disappear.”
‘Annihilation.’
Shhhhrriek!
From the point where Sang Hyuk gripped it, the chain transformed into black sand and poured away.
Annihilation spread rapidly along the chain toward the Gate Hall wall.
The Magical Power remaining in the chain surged toward the areas being erased.
But the chain consumed by Annihilation did not regenerate.
The Magical Power scattered uselessly into the air.
The sharp thorns and the pattern that had been draining his Magical Power transformed into black sand in turn.
Sang Hyuk’s Magical Power drained rapidly.
Yet Annihilation, channeled through his right arm covered by Scales of Apocalypse, did not stop.
Whoooosh.
Even the end of the chain embedded in the wall became black sand and scattered away.
Only Suho Su’s original necklace remained around its neck.
Hummmmm.
The necklace emanated Magical Power once more.
This time, there was no chain to siphon it away.
As the Magical Power seeped deep into its chest, Suho Su’s heartbeat settled into a steady rhythm.
Its labored, ragged breathing eased.
Sang Hyuk gently lowered Suho Su to the floor.
The creature touched the necklace with its front paws, then looked back toward where the chain had been.
Between the necklace and the wall, there was nothing left.
Suho Su walked slowly toward the spot where claw marks had carved deep, overlapping grooves.
The marks ended there, and beyond lay not a single pawprint.
Suho Su stopped before that boundary and carefully extended one front paw into the space it had never been able to reach while chained.
But the necklace did not pull back.
The creature held that posture for a long moment, then moved its other front paw.
One step.
And then another.
Suho Su took several more steps without stopping.
Then it slowly raised the two-forked tail it had dragged across the ground.
Only then did Suho Su turn to look at Sang Hyuk’s right arm.
[Those scales too…… are like yours, Master.]
Thump.
The Apocalypse Dragon’s Heart beat once more.
[The Annihilation and those scales can only be used by those the heart permits.]
Suho Su studied Sang Hyuk’s chest for a long moment.
[I’ll grant that the heart chose you.]
“So I’m not a thief anymore?”
Suho Su didn’t answer at once.
[I’ll need to see more before I decide that.]
Sang Hyuk let out a soft laugh.
“That’s fair enough.”
Suho Su turned sharply and limped toward the collapsed statue.
Then he pressed one foreleg against a groove carved into the stone beneath.
Whoooosh.
A weathered Record Tablet slid out from within the statue.
[Confirmed temporary viewing authorization for Suho Su.]
[Suho Su’s administrative records are now accessible.]
[This is a record of when the Master used Annihilation.]
Sang Hyuk placed his hand on the Record Tablet.
Light bloomed from it, and an ancient scene materialized in the center of the Gate Hall.
A small, emaciated creature lay on the cold floor.
It was Suho Su, far younger than he was now.
His breathing was threadbare, as if it might cease at any moment, and his heart beat so faintly it could barely be felt.
After a brief moment, a massive hand covered in black scales descended and fastened a Necklace around the young Suho Su’s neck.
Whoosh!
Magical Power flowed from the Necklace, spreading into every corner of the small body.
The heartbeat that had seemed on the verge of stopping gradually regained its strength.
The young Suho Su’s chest heaved deeply, and his shallow breathing slowly became steady and even.
His sealed eyelids trembled faintly, then slowly opened.
The hand continued to grip the Necklace, channeling Magical Power until the creature drew stable breaths on his own.
Once the breathing stabilized, a single finger gently brushed across the young Suho Su’s forehead.
The young Suho Su leaned his head against that finger and closed his eyes once more.
The Suho Su watching the record slowly extended his head toward the hand reflected in the air.
He couldn’t tear his eyes away until that hand vanished.
‘So that Necklace was made to save him, after all.’
A moment later, the record shifted to a different scene.
This time, a crystal pillar appeared.
A thick iron spike was driven deep into the center of the pillar.
Soon a hand covered in black scales reached toward the crystal pillar.
The Annihilation that bloomed from those fingertips consumed both the iron spike and the surrounding crystal.
Hiss.
Yet only the spike had turned to black sand.
The portion embedded in the crystal had vanished completely, but the pillar itself bore not a single crack.
It was the same Annihilation, but the outcome was different.
The Annihilation in the record had precisely isolated and destroyed only the embedded spike.
Were Sang Hyuk to attempt it now, the surrounding crystal would have crumbled away the moment the spike was annihilated.
Then a beam of light streamed from the Record Tablet.
It touched Sang Hyuk’s right arm and seeped between the scales.
[Advanced usage record matching your current Authority Annihilation has been found.]
[Current Authority Stage: Stage 1]
[Record Stage: Stage 2]
Sang Hyuk examined the final line and grinned.
“Loading growth record for Annihilation Stage 2.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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