[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 307: The Successor (6)
Crashhhhh!
The breath of the Ice Dragon, Song Jiseon, descended like a massive waterfall.
It was no wonder—her upper body alone stretched over 100 meters long.
Shatterrrrr!
The force of the icy breath, which froze everything in its path and cascaded from 100 meters above, was beyond imagination.
Of course, the fact that Yeongwoo was blocking this power shocked everyone present.
“Are you insane? Trying to kill everyone here?”
As Yeongwoo raised his mythical shield, Aratubank, a protective barrier formed in a gentle arc around him.
One of Aratubank's unique effects, “Immunity,” had been activated.
【Immunity】
| This shield cannot be destroyed and can block most non-physical damage and mental attacks.
And above them...
Crackkkkk!
The enraged breath of the Ice Dragon poured down like a landslide.
—I will erase everything...!
The fierce attack was as if she intended to grind all of Gwangjin-gu to dust.
Meanwhile, Yeongwoo glanced at Jeonggu, who had taken refuge under the shield.
“Seems like her memories of my father are pretty terrible, huh?”
Surprisingly, Jeonggu nodded without much resistance.
“I guess so...”
After all, Jeonggu had no real say in this.
The only wrong Jeonggu had suffered was that someone claiming to be his son had come at him with a sword, but Song Jiseon had given birth to Yeongwoo herself.
Unlike Jeonggu, Song Jiseon had been tormented by “that event” even before the reset.
“What now?”
As Yeongwoo held the shield for a while, he asked, to which Jeonggu looked up and replied, “Huh? What?”
“Mother. Isn’t it your responsibility to handle this, since you're the father?”
Crasssshhhh!
Even as they spoke, Song Jiseon’s wrath poured down from the sky like divine punishment, and in the midst of the sound of shattering ice, Jeonggu squeezed in his line.
“What... what do you mean? She’s your mother!”
“What the hell? Did she have me alone? You were her partner, too, weren’t you?”
“......”
Partner.
Jeonggu was momentarily at a loss for words at Yeongwoo’s perfectly fitting expression.
Sure, they weren’t married, nor had they made any promises about their future, so she wasn’t his wife.
But calling her a girlfriend didn’t seem quite right either.
Their connection was only that one night several decades ago.
“Well... yeah. Partner.”
Jeonggu, now looking somber, repeated the word “partner” quietly.
Then, suddenly, his face hardened, and he glared at Yeongwoo.
“Hey, listen. She might be my partner, but she’s your mother, so technically, you’re closer to her than I am!”
“What?”
“I mean, go talk to Jiseon. Get her to calm down!”
“You cowardly bastard.”
“What?”
As Yeongwoo and Jeonggu traded insults, the Master Bang who had crawled under the shield pointed outside.
—Brother, that looks dangerous.
“Huh?”
Yeongwoo peeked around the side of the shield and saw that Song Jiseon—his mother—had raised her forepaw for the first time.
Crackkkkk.
“Huh?”
At first, he thought she was about to strike with her paw, but then...
Whoooshhh!
A bright light began to gather in the sky.
“She’s going to launch a barrage!”
Yeongwoo realized his mother was about to make her move.
Fweeeeeeeeeee!
Indeed, from where Song Jiseon hovered high in the sky, beams of light were pointing straight down, followed by a massive surge of energy.
“Ugh! Y-Yeongwoo!”
Gripping his son’s shoulder desperately, Jeonggu clung to him with all his might.
However, Cosmic Etiquette over Yeongwoo’s shoulders, along with his full Vesedel armor, shrugged off Jeonggu’s grasp.
“Argh...!”
At that moment, Jeonggu had a realization.
As Yeongwoo admired his mother's enormous form and prepared to swing his sword again, Song Jiseon's entire body, covered in semi-transparent scales, emitted a dazzling light.
"...Ugh! Is she transforming?"
The light was so blinding that Yeongwoo could barely keep his eyes open, but even then, he stabbed The Bastard into the spot where he'd swung earlier.
Thwack!
"Are you really going all out against your own son? Are you actually trying to kill me?"
Finally, from within the brilliance, Song Jiseon's voice echoed out.
—If you truly are my son, then you're my biggest mistake... no, my flaw!
Mistake.
"......!"
At that word, Yeongwoo could only grit his teeth.
After all, he had heard the same words from his maternal uncle: "You are the Jinhyeon family's mistake."
"You guys are making a big mistake with me."
With these words, Yeongwoo yanked the sword from where it was embedded.
At the same time, Song Jiseon's massive form began to shrink rapidly.
'She's doing it.'
Swoooosh!
Polymorph.
His mother, like his maternal uncle Song Taeho, was capable of transformation.
Swish!
Now, standing before him was Song Jiseon, transformed into a swordsman standing at a towering height of 3 meters.
Clad in grayish-white armor with long white hair flowing in the air, Song Jiseon reappeared in a form that made it clear she was an opponent no one should dare to face.
Her helmet was adorned with a dragon head design resembling her form as an ice dragon, and in her right hand, she wielded a massive sword seemingly made of ice.
Thud!
After completing her transformation, Song Jiseon thrust her sword into the ground, and an icy coldness shot up like a fountain.
Sssshhhh!
;Phew, her aura is different from Uncle’s.’
Yeongwoo had encountered many powerful opponents before, but this was the first time an enemy had looked this overwhelmingly strong.
It made sense, given that the power in her former massive form was now concentrated in this body.
And then, suddenly—
Swoooosh!
Two beams of light shot from the direction of Gangnam-gu and fell directly on both Yeongwoo and Song Jiseon.
Bang! Bang!
—What is that?
"......?"
For the first time, both of them were simultaneously shocked, and the source of the light soon revealed itself.
「Due to the detection of a dragon in the area, the Guardian Dragon function has been activated.」
"Huh?"
【Guardian Dragon】
This was a special function tied to the iron core of the Toma.
【Guardian Dragon】
|Increases all #dragon-type abilities by 20% within the reinforced area.
'Wait, why is this affecting me too?'
Looking up, Yeongwoo saw a dragon-shaped mark above his head.
It signified that his stats had been boosted by 20% since he was currently classified as a "dragon" in Metal Seoul.
Song Jiseon was just as confused by this fact.
—Why are you classified as a dragon?
In other words, she was asking how he had inherited the privileges of a powerful family.
In response, Yeongwoo carefully placed his hand over his heart.
'Uncle?'
The only explanation was that he carried the blood of his maternal uncle Song Taeho, who had left behind the heart of a great dragon.
"Ah... so blood is thicker than water, after all?"
As Yeongwoo looked up at the sky with eyes filled with madness, dark clouds began to gather within the icy heavens of Gwangjin-gu.
—...?
This caused Song Jiseon to look up as well, and soon she saw it too.
Krazzzaaat!
A storm of iron rain began pouring down, breaking through the cold sky.
This was the dragon etiquette tied to the heart of a great dragon, Iron Rain —a strange weather phenomenon.
"Mother! Uncle sends his regards!"
—What?
"He says, 'Don't make your son too angry! I learned that the hard way!'"
—Wha... What is he talking about, this madman?
As Song Jiseon gripped her sword tighter, taking a battle stance, her son, Jeong Yeongwoo, lunged at her like a demon.
"Mother! It's time to face your karma!"
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]