Chapter 221

Drakan screamed.

Ataraxia screamed along with him.

Crack!

By the time he came to his senses, his hand had already lashed out.

Mana had gathered into his fist, and he swung with all his might.

Crack—bones snapped, and Drakan’s body shot into the air.

Then he kept flying, endlessly.

It happened before Ataraxia even realized it.

‘This crazy bastard…’

There was no regret.

If anything, Ataraxia’s brow furrowed deeper.

Around his fist, all kinds of modifiers floated.

Eleven auxiliary spells that enhanced physical attacks had activated at once.

It was a merciless blow—enough to kill even a decent adult dragon instantly, and he hadn’t held back.

Krrrrrrrr!

Drakan crashed into the ground.

His head was buried deep, leaving only his rear sticking out.

He didn’t move at all.

‘…Is he dead?’

Crack! Crack! Crackle!

His entire body twisted as if his bones were being reset.

After writhing for a long moment like some bizarre zombie…

“Cough! Cough! Ataraxia! What are you doing! Are you trying to kill me!”

Drakan yanked his face out of the ground, stood up, and snapped irritably.

He’d been attacked out of nowhere.

Worse, it was a strike to the back of his head—from one of his own kind, someone he’d known for a long time.

Betrayed by someone he trusted, he couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

“…I know you won’t die from that. I hate to admit it, but you’re the leader of the Tribe of Sloth.”

Ataraxia spoke heavily.

Hermit Drakan—the leader of the Tribe of Sloth.

True to their name, the Tribe of Sloth was lazy. But in the fields they did devote themselves to, they were the most accomplished dragons.

They were talented but few in number, and they had little interest in tribal status, so they rarely had contact with Dragon God Sephiro.

It was almost a miracle that Ataraxia had a friendship with him.

Maybe it was because Ataraxia was also famous for being a ‘weirdo’…

…In the opposite sense of Drakan.

“You’re worse than my house dragon! I dragged my heavy body all the way here because you asked, and now you’re trying to kill me!”

“If you really don’t want to die, show some respect, Drakan.”

“Just who is that guy that you’re fawning over like this…!”

Drakan knew Ataraxia well.

He also knew Ataraxia was trying to start the ‘Great War’ again.

In the process, he’d dealt with countless beings, including the ‘Black Witch’.

That was why the “Great One” Ataraxia spoke of wasn’t just one person.

Even so, this was the first time Drakan had ever seen him so devoted.

It was also the first time he’d been forcibly awakened and dragged here.

And the problem was the human in question.

‘He is human, right?’

No matter how many times Drakan looked, he was nothing more or less than an unusual human.

Calling him a fragment of something felt absurd.

Powerful beings didn’t use human bodies as fragments.

Their limitations were obvious, and they were so weak they’d break if you touched them.

“…Great One, I apologize. He’s notorious for lacking respect toward his superiors… If you command it, I will end his life.”

“Fifteen hundred years of friendship is truly meaningless. You’re really going to kill me over one human. This is why you shouldn’t trust black-haired dragons.”

“Please, command it.”

Ataraxia’s expression was sincere.

He looked like he would truly kill Drakan if ordered to.

At the same time, Ataraxia was wary.

He knew Drakan was informal, but he hadn’t expected him to be this incapable of reading the situation.

‘This is why you shouldn’t associate with the Tribe of Sloth.’

The Tribe of Sloth was clueless.

They reached the peak in whatever they cared about, and that was it.

They didn’t mingle with other dragons either.

A strange tribe that loved solitude to an extreme.

They were infamous for skipping official events like the Species Wars.

‘…It’s my mistake.’

Still, he couldn’t deny it was his fault for bringing Drakan despite knowing all that.

At the thought of resurrecting Arcana as a Colossus, he’d acted too hastily.

He had ripped the man from deep sleep in his nest and dragged him here.

Drakan was the only one who had ever created a Colossus with his own hands.

…But Ataraxia couldn’t speak the Great One’s name directly.

Because Sephiro would not want that.

Besides, hadn’t he already sworn?

– ‘You are forbidden from mentioning my name or doing anything that interferes with me.’

– ‘Your words are most wise!’

A promise that had to be kept in exchange for being allowed to remain together.

Even among dragons, he could not say Sephiro’s name without permission.

That was the fundamental reason he could only call him the “Great One.”

‘Even though Sephiro is a benevolent being, forgiving arrogant and insolent fools is another matter.’

First of all, Ataraxia couldn’t forgive Drakan himself.

How dare he call Sephiro “you”!

Sephiro was not someone to be addressed like a friend standing next to you.

Wasn’t it blasphemous to treat a god that way?

They’d known each other for 1,500 years, but this rudeness had to be repaid with his life.

‘…Stupid bastard. Shouldn’t he have recognized him the moment he saw him?’

Ataraxia was also frustrated.

As a dragon, it was only natural to recognize Sephiro immediately upon facing him—just as Ataraxia had.

Drakan couldn’t do something that obvious, and this was the result.

A blind fool who couldn’t even recognize the god of dragons.

A disgrace to the dragon race.

Ataraxia intended to correct it, even if it meant killing Drakan.

If that still wasn’t enough, he was prepared to offer his own life as well.

“I don’t care.”

Park Chan-woo truly didn’t care at all.

Regardless of Sephiro’s mindset, the only thing that mattered was whether Drakan could make a Colossus.

At that simple answer, Ataraxia’s eyes reddened again.

“…Drakan. Bow your head and express your gratitude. The Great One has forgiven you.”

“Crazy bastard. Did the Black Witch brainwash you until your head melted?”

But Drakan’s attitude didn’t change.

Not even by 0.1% did he believe this human was Sephiro.

He didn’t even think of Sephiro’s name.

Because Sephiro did not create fragments beyond a single one.

That fragment within the Dragon God Palace was Sephiro’s only avatar.

Above all, there was no way Sephiro would be interested in making something like a Colossus.

Golems were made based on the “Dragon Tooth Warrior,” crafted from dragon teeth.

Then what was a Colossus?

‘A Colossus is based on the dragon race.’

A golem made to imitate a dragon—a pseudo-dragon, a counterfeit.

There was no reason for a dragon to bother making something inferior to a real dragon.

So Drakan’s curiosity won out.

“…How did you get the bones and scales of an Ancient Dragon?”

‘Where did this human obtain the bones and scales of an Ancient Dragon?’

It was material that could never be acquired in the current era.

In the first place, any dragon scales released into the Abyss were just those shed when a young dragon molted on its way to adulthood.

Dragon bones?

Even those were usually just teeth that fell out when a dragon matured and built its nest, passed off as bones.

Or you might obtain them through a Dragon Tooth Warrior.

There was no existing way to obtain the bones and scales of an adult—much less an Ancient Dragon.

A dragon’s bones and scales didn’t regenerate well once it reached adulthood.

And as time passed, Mana often seeped into the bones and scales themselves, so dragons would never give them away.

What if you took them from a dead dragon’s corpse?

Dragons left only their hearts behind, even in death.

That alone told you there was no way to obtain such material.

‘They don’t look like Ataraxia’s, either.’

That made Drakan even more suspicious.

These bones and scales belonged to a dragon that had lived longer than Ataraxia.

A dragon’s bones and scales grew dramatically in quality as time passed.

Just as you could guess a tree’s age from its growth rings, you could roughly estimate a dragon’s age from the density of Mana etched into its scales and bones.

What lay before Drakan now… was older than any living dragon.

“I really don’t understand. These bones and scales are from a dragon that existed at least during the Great War. And they were preserved in a dead state, not a living one… How could they have been left behind while ignoring the absolute ‘law of death’?”

In the Abyss, all living things turned to dust when they died.

Only the Twelve Species were exceptions, leaving behind things like hearts or horns.

Yet even a dragon from the Great War had died and left behind bones, scales, and a heart.

It was impossible.

“…Arcana.”

“Hm?”

Drakan tilted his head at Ataraxia’s sudden words.

Ataraxia continued.

“You saw it right. Arcana of Despair—the leader of the Tribe of Despair during the Great War. It’s his.”

“…What?”

“I can’t tell you the details.”

Arcana’s choice.

Ataraxia couldn’t tell him Arcana had become a Bone Dragon.

Still, Ataraxia’s gaze was dead serious.

Seeing those eyes, Drakan nodded.

“Fine. I’m sure you have your reasons. But I’ve never made a Colossus with bones and scales this old, so I can’t guarantee it’ll succeed.”

“If you can’t, no one else can.”

“…What matters isn’t me. All I can do is lay the foundation. The most important part is the owner of these materials—the skill of the one who will make the Mana Core.”

Drakan’s eyes shifted to Park Chan-woo.

To be honest, Drakan was interested too.

It would be a lie to say his heart wasn’t pounding with anticipation.

The last time he made a Colossus, he’d only used the teeth, scales, and heart of a young dragon.

Even so, it had far surpassed any Colossus created by other races.

‘…The bones, scales, and heart of Arcana of Despair, said to have been one of the most powerful dragons of the Great War.’

And they remained in perfect condition after all that time.

As materials, they were even more valuable than when Arcana was alive.

Which meant they would shine more when used to create something than when left as mere bones and scales.

It was an unbelievable miracle.

And a chance to witness that miracle firsthand.

The curiosity of a researcher boiled within Drakan.

The only thing that bothered him was that human.

A Colossus’s Mana Core was so delicate that even dragons struggled to handle it.

Drakan couldn’t make it because he wasn’t the owner.

Even if it were his, he wasn’t confident he could handle it.

“Let’s give it a try.”

Park Chan-woo nodded.

For him, the biggest obstacle wasn’t creating the Mana Core—it was constructing the Colossus’s body.

Making a Mana Core for a golem…

He’d never done it properly before.

Golem Crafting.

The key was making a Mana Core.

Drakan said, “The body has to be adjusted depending on the Mana Core’s completeness. So first, let’s test your ability to make a Mana Core.”

“Drakan, you. Don’t act up too much…”

Before Ataraxia could flare up further, Park Chan-woo reached out, stopped him, and spoke.

“Okay. What do I do?”

“Make this into a core.”

Drakan rummaged through his arms and pulled out a black, round ring.

“…Isn’t that a lowest grade Mana Stone? You want him to make a core with that?”

Ataraxia frowned.

It was a Mana Stone, not a Spirit Stone.

And it was the lowest grade.

Something you could trip over—something with no use anywhere.

Trash that wasn’t even suitable as a golem core.

“If you can make the golem I build move with this, I’ll bet everything I have on producing the Colossus.”

A final test.

He wanted to see how well Park Chan-woo could handle Mana.

‘I don’t think he’ll succeed.’

To be honest, Drakan didn’t have high expectations.

A human body could only handle so much Mana, and humans couldn’t properly adjust Mana through pure sensation.

And making a Mana Core was an absurdly delicate task.

It demanded not only control over Mana, but extreme concentration.

“I understand.”

Park Chan-woo nodded readily.

For him, making the Mana Core wasn’t the real hurdle—building the Colossus body was.

Park Chan-woo took the lowest grade Mana Stone and began constructing it into a Mana Core.

[You are using ‘Golem Crafting’.]

[Converting ‘Lowest Grade Mana Stone’ into ‘Mana Core’.]

[Directly configure the Mana of the circuit.]

A map unfolded before his eyes.

A circuit that would form the Mana Core.

All he had to do was run the Mana inside the stone through that circuit and complete it.

It sounded simple, but his ability to control Mana would determine how efficient the finished Mana Core could be.

Park Chan-woo closed his eyes.

And after about an hour…

Drakan looked at the completed Mana Core.

“……!!!”

His entire body stiffened in shock.

‘What the hell is that Mana Core…?’

…Because what had been completed was a Mana Core entirely different from anything he had imagined.