CH 261

#92. The Naga King

After his fiery heart finally cooled down, Kim Jin-Woo was surprisingly able to quickly analyze the situation he was in. The monster that had been wandering around like an anglerfish in search of prey was nowhere to be found.

As soon as he came to his senses, he searched within himself. The intense and terrible sense of hunger and thirst was still throbbing within him like a fire in his heart.

“Wait, was my mind eroded once again?”

There had been many times where his mind had been eroded by the Grand Labyrinth, but just because he had experienced it once didn’t mean this experience had no impact on him. That was how terrifying it was for his mind and will to be hijacked.

“No, this time, I was completely eaten alive from within.”

In addition, unlike the past experience where the malice had slowly found an opening in his mind, this time, it was blatant and upfront. In fact, he had behaved like a hungry beast, driven blindly by sheer instinct.

As he looked into his inner self, he belatedly noticed the blinking message window he hadn’t even aware of until then.

[The Nagaraja (Dragon King) is the noblest of Nagas. On the inside, he is a powerful Guardian Dragon that holds the lives of eighteen thousand two hundred and thirty Nagas in his hands, and on the outside, he is a Protector Dragon that protects the Nagas from enemies.]

[Normally, it would be impossible for the Nagaraja to be corrupted by malice. But before you became the Nagaraja, you were the Lord of Greed. As someone with insatiable greed, perhaps the role of the Dragon King, whose heart and mind are as pure as they come, did not suit you in the first place.]

[The Dragon King’s scales, which should have been green like jade, were tainted black, and his unshakable resolve collapsed; in its place was the Evil Dragon’s ferocity that brought suffering due to its endless hunger and thirst.]

[You have lost the form of the pure dragon who was arrogant but protective, and instead gained the form of the fierce and aggressive Evil Dragon.]

[The appearance of the Nagaraja is now that of the Evil Dragon.]

It was exactly as per his expectations. Recalling the ominous name of ‘Evil Dragon’, he felt his consciousness, that had been contained within him, expand and materialize outside his body.

“Master!”

It was a weeping voice that had touched his soul countless times, even in moments when it was tainted with malice. But those cries back then were different from this one. Right now, those cries conveyed joy and relief, not despair.

“Dominique.” Kim Jin-Woo called out the name of the woman who had foolishly risked her own life and thrown herself in front of the Evil Dragon. “Thank you. Thanks to you, I’ve once again managed to avoid death.”

“Please don’t say that, Master. I really thought Master couldn’t hear my voice…” The lovely Naga maiden began weeping once more, unable to finish speaking.

Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t bear it any longer and hugged her tightly. He said, “I heard you. Time and time again, I heard Dominique’s voice. It was just that the prison that was holding me in was too tough for me to break through right away.”

Dominique’s limp arms gently wrapped around his waist.

“Ah…”

A message window appeared before his eyes once again.

[The King’s Representative has emerged from the Naga Egg and has become a completely different being from before.]

[The King’s Representative, devoted and loyal only to her master, wished to always be by your side; even during her metamorphosis, when she was cut off from the outside world, that was her one and only desire.]

[Due to her strong desire, she has evolved in a different direction compared to the other Nagas.]

[She did not desire evolution or growth, and only wanted to be by your side.]

[Her physical combat abilities did not increase significantly, but her special abilities and unique abilities have been greatly enhanced.]

[Her devotion, service, and care for her master have transcended beyond simple concern and has reached the point of being able to share thoughts with her master. She is now able to connect with you no matter the distance.]

[With her majesty, she is now able to grasp even the smallest details of the Grand Labyrinth. She will not allow any harm to befall the Grand Labyrinth for her master’s sake.]

[As the King’s Representative, her authority has been further strengthened. As long as your majesty is not compromised, the Nagas will equally respect and pay tribute to the King’s Representative.]

Kim Jin-Woo read every message without fail, but could not help but feel slightly disappointed. Dominique’s transformations had taken a different direction than he had expected. However, that disappointment was brief, as he continued to read the messages that followed.

[She is now the noblest Naga after you.]

[Dominique has been promoted from her position as the King’s Representative, and has ascended to the rank of Queen.]

[She has gained the Queen’s unique ability.]

[She has acquired the unique ability, ‘Qualification of the Companion.’ She is now entitled to conceive the seed of the noblest Naga.]

[She has acquired the unique ability, ‘King’s Herald’. She can now summon your loyal army to your side.]

[She has acquired the unique ability, ‘Assistance’. Just being by her side will amplify your powers beyond belief.]

***

Dominique was beyond delighted at her master’s well-being and safe return. However, as time passed, worry replaced her joy. She was worried that her master’s heart might have been hurt by her ascension to the title of ‘Naga Queen’. She was drained of strength, and the hand that was wrapped around her master’s waist drooped and fell.

“Ah…”

And then, her master pushed her away. She was devastated. She regretted her ascension, mistakenly thinking that her master was offended by the fact that she, who had been a mere Naga Maid, was now his Queen.

It was her overflowing desire that had caused such an unfortunate situation. Dominique wished she could turn back time and slap her past self for being so arrogantly ignorant.

“Dominique.”

Her master’s eyes turned to her. She turned away to avoid her master’s gaze for the first time in her life, murmuring, “I… I’m sorry. I just…”

An apology wouldn’t be enough to make up for her act of ignorance. However, she desperately apologized to her master, fearing that she might be abandoned. She continued to apologize over and over again, crying that she was ignorant and wasn’t aware of her position in the labyrinth.

“Ah…”

While frantically apologizing, she suddenly noticed that her master’s hand on her shoulder was gentler than she had expected, and she quietly lifted her head.

What she saw was her master’s smiling face.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

His face was getting closer and closer to hers, and she subconsciously clenched her lips and closed her eyes, looking forward to what might follow next. Hoping that the sound of her crazily beating heart wouldn’t reach her master, she tried her best to maintain her composure.

Her master’s breath was close enough to be felt, but unfortunately, his hot breath quickly moved away from her face. Slowly opening her eyes in disappointment, she turned to look into her master’s eyes, but what she saw was his stiff expression.

“Master?” Dominique asked.

Her master did not look back at her. He was staring at something far in the distance.

“M—” Dominique began.

“Shh! Silence!” Kim Jin-Woo exclaimed.

Dominique quickly fell silent under the sudden, heavy atmosphere.

***

The air around him had changed. The silence characteristic of a labyrinth that had lost its master was still there, but Kim Jin-Woo felt that it had changed from before. And he knew exactly why.

“Looks like the labyrinth has met its demise,” he remarked.

An inactive labyrinth would fall into slumber waiting for a new master, while a labyrinth that had met its demise would fall completely silent. Burrabes’ labyrinth had experienced the latter.

“Damn bastard…” Kim Jin-Woo ground his teeth. He could easily guess who the shrewd bastard who had stolen the Labyrinth Core while he was busy dealing with the two Dukes was. It was the ruler of the East Labyrinth who had been brought in by Alitus, and the third Duke in the vicinity.

“Master. This…” Dominique trailed off.

“It seems the wrong person has taken the present.” Kim Jin-Woo’s expression was stone cold.

After being the one to put in all the effort to set up the main course, it was someone else who had snatched his meal away. There was no way someone as greedy as Kim Jin-Woo wouldn’t be angry at such a turn of events.

With a furious expression, he tracked the ominous energy that was emanating from the distance and prepared to chase it.

“Master!” Dominique called out to him.

“There’s no time, Dominique,” Kim Jin-Woo replied sharply.

His loyal Naga Queen responded by blushing bright red. Covering her face with her hands, she glanced up and down between her fingers before saying, “Master, your clothes…”

Wondering what she was talking about, Kim Jin-Woo looked at himself before freezing on the spot. He had transformed back into his human form after becoming the giant Evil Dragon and ravaging the labyrinth, but his armor and clothes hadn’t. In short, he was naked from head to toe.

“Fuck…” he cursed.

It was an urgent situation that would determine whether the Labyrinth Core could be retaken or not, but he couldn’t simply run around naked. He furiously rummaged around and took the clothes from one of the fallen Vampires. They were torn to shreds, but it was enough to barely cover him.

“Now, let’s go.” For some reason, Kim Jin-Woo sounded awkward, and he went on his way, acting even colder than usual.

***

There had been a minor hiccup, but it wasn’t enough to distract Kim Jin-Woo completely from chasing down the Duke who had stolen the Labyrinth Core. The power of Greed was always hungry and on a lookout for prey; he was able to easily track down the Duke by simply running in his direction.

“Mm?”

After running for a while, however, he suddenly noticed something strange. Unless this Duke had ascended to his title for free like Luyang, there was no way he could have not felt the commotion that had occurred around Kim Jin-Woo.

From the third Duke’s point of view, he must have felt an unidentified enemy devouring two Dukes. Unless he was a fool, he would definitely have tucked his tail and run away as quickly as he could.

However, the third Duke’s energy had stopped moving at some point. Moreover, Kim Jin-Woo felt flickering signs of life, as if there were a battle going on.

“Ah…”

Through it all, he sensed a familiar source of energy.

“It’s Angela,” he remarked. The True Blood Vampire who had been left on the Back Floors seemed to have finally taken action.

As if to confirm his guess, the dark energy of death exploded from afar.

***

“That’s nasty,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.

The corpse, whose vitality had been completely sucked away and whose original physical form could not be recognized, looked horrific. If the only thing left behind by the power of Greed was ruin, then the only thing left behind by True Blood Vampires was death itself.

“Is this Angela’s power?” Dominique asked.

“Ah, looks like I haven’t told you the story about the Back Floors,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

The reason Dominique had rushed to his location was because her aspiration and devotion to him had materialized, and a special sympathetic link had been formed between the two of them. She had become well aware of her master’s plight, and had sought to help him through her newly acquired unique abilities.

She had been able to help her master, who had unexpectedly become the Evil Dragon, but she didn’t seem to know what exactly had happened in the Back Floors, which were in a completely different realm from the rest of the Underworld.

Kim Jin-Woo shook his head as he watched Dominique express her admiration toward the devastation left behind by the True Blood Vampire. He said, “This isn’t because of the power of True Blood.”

After that, Kim Jin-Woo explained everything that had happened in the Back Floors to Dominique.

Favorite