Chapter 221:

Chapter 221:

“An angel─dragon chimera?! Is that even possible?”

Hesabel asked in shock.

From the mortal’s perspective, both dragons and angels were terrifying beings. While all dragons were either killed, driven to the outskirts, or became so rare they were only mentioned in legends, angels still roamed the earth, symbolizing the power of the gods.

Unlike other orders, Elil did not view dragons as symbols of evil but rather as beings representing bravery and wisdom. However, attempting to merge an angel with a dragon was something even Elil could not forgive.

“He was able to research in secret because he shared his body and divinity.”

Just like the Sword of May, gods had to consume resources like the ‘Flame of Glory’ to create angels. Elil was no exception. Calurien had stolen these resources, mixed them with his own genes, and created this hybrid.

[.......]

Calurien said nothing, aware that Isaac already knew everything. He seemed to think this was also part of Isaac’s ‘mission.’

In reality, Isaac did not care much.

Whether Calurien merged angels with dragons or Zerg with Protoss, it did not matter to Isaac. He was only curious about the effects of devouring it and had a minor question to solve.

Isaac spoke as he descended the stairs.

“All attempts to create a dragon must have failed. You can tell since there’s no finished product. The poorly made ones wouldn’t be recognized as dragons.”

[......Yes. All the bodies crumbled, intelligence hit rock bottom, and reproduction was impossible. After much research, it was discovered that a dragon heart was essential to create a dragon. But artificially creating a dragon heart was impossible.......]

“So he tried to substitute it with divine power?”

In this world, there was a power that granted desires to those who wished. Sword aura, miracles, angels, and gods all proved this. Calurien tried to artificially inject that mysterious power into the body in place of a dragon heart. The result was this hybrid.

Perhaps Calurien became an angel of Elil just to create this. Obtaining an angel’s divinity was not easy.

But as seen from this hybrid’s appearance, his attempt failed.

[Yes. As a result, a being that half existed in Urbansus and half in the earthly realm appeared. However, its intelligence was severely lacking, it could not use magic, and it could barely speak. Most importantly, it had no reproductive capabilities.]

Calurien had experimented in an attempt to prevent the extinction of the species.

He was not trying to create a global-grade mule.

Ultimately, his experiment was a failure. But he couldn’t discard the valuable experiment results nor expose his sins by releasing it to the world.

He ended up hiding it in the deepest part of his laboratory.

Isaac’s party finally reached the underground floor. The angel─dragon chimera was still asleep. When Isaac cautiously reached out, it showed no sign of waking up or reacting.

Upon inspecting the sealing chains made by Calurien, he saw that the Luadin Key could easily break them.

“Is it fierce?”

[......Don’t talk like it’s a dog. It’s not calm.]

There was no need to ask. The angel─dragon named Nacaruriel, like all chimeras, had a ferocious nature. But the risk of braving this secret dungeon was worth it.

“Then it’s time to deal with your leftover experiment, Calurien.”

Before Calurien could say anything, Isaac struck the chains with the Luadin Key. As soon as one chain broke, Nacaruriel’s massive body twitched. Isaac didn’t need to touch the remaining chains.

As Nacaruriel awoke and shook its body, the chains shattered with a fierce glow.

The hybrid born between divinity and savagery let out a savage roar.

***

Isaac had wanted to devour it while it was still chained, but the seal protected it from external threats as well. In any case, to devour Nacaruriel, he had to break the chains.

When the chains shattered forcibly instead of gradually, the curses implanted by Calurien were immediately triggered.

Boom, boom, boom! Black mists enveloped Nacaruriel and began to crush it. Nacaruriel struggled, its neck pressed to the ground as if under tremendous weight.

But the fierce sword aura from Kaldwin bit into Nacaruriel’s wing joint, tearing it savagely.

“Kyaaa!”

Nacaruriel reappeared, roaring furiously, and plummeted. It slid down, leaving long claw marks on the wall.

Isaac judged that his hypothesis was correct from this sight.

‘Indeed, the Soul Devourer perk can injure it.’

Nacaruriel didn’t fully transition to Urbansus; it only matched its body’s nature to that realm. This confirmed that the Soul Devourer perk was effective.

This was quite encouraging.

Sword aura was useful for destroying undead, but there was nothing to be done if the soul escaped. Undead could find a way to stitch themselves into patchwork bodies again if they retained their souls. However, if their souls could be injured, this process would slow significantly.

However, the fragments of souls on the sword were barely noticeable, not even triggering an alert. He intended to devour it all. He had no intention of being satisfied with just a part of the soul.

In its rage from the wound, Nacaruriel unleashed another breath at Isaac. This time, instead of following the same pattern, it cunningly spewed lightning in all directions. The entire space was flooded with unpredictable lightning, making it certain that Isaac would be electrocuted.

But Nacaruriel’s lightning was slower than Isaac.

The runes inscribed on Kaldwin glowed.

The thrice-permitted acceleration ability instantly ignited Isaac’s body.

Before Nacaruriel could even finish its breath, Isaac landed behind it. The acceleration was so intense that his knees nearly buckled.

Isaac was dizzy from the speed.

‘I didn’t even think of running especially fast...!’

Kaldwin’s acceleration ability didn’t just enhance agility; it sped up Isaac’s time itself. This allowed him to run at several times the normal speed even with regular movements. However, the momentum exerted on his body was also multiplied.

‘Using this recklessly could turn it into a self-destruct device.’

But if mastered, its potential was limitless. With this speed, he could leap much higher than usual. Utilizing this speed, Isaac rotated swiftly and slashed Nacaruriel’s hind thigh.

Another cry of agony erupted. Isaac quickly thrust his left hand into the wound before Nacaruriel could phase shift. Parasites from beyond swarmed into the wound.

It was an experimental attempt, but when Nacaruriel shifted through phase, the parasites fell to the ground.

‘As expected, it doesn’t work.’

He had considered taming or turning Nacaruriel to his side. But the phase shift ability rendered the parasites ineffective.

In that case, he would devour it entirely.

Calurien, watching Isaac’s fight, muttered.

[You seem completely unfazed.]

“Not at all.”

Isaac replied, drawing out tentacles from his left hand.

“As I said, I’m not here to fight. I’m here to eat.”

Isaac was merely testing his new abilities against Nacaruriel.

Realizing Isaac was a dangerous foe, Nacaruriel searched for an escape. But there was no way out of the seal. Calurien said it had the intelligence of a human, but in fact, even animal-level intelligence was considerable.

Meanwhile, the black mist once again tried to ensnare it.

Nacaruriel attempted to phase shift again. But this time, Isaac, having predicted its move through the eye of chaos, was waiting. He grabbed Nacaruriel’s wing joint with the hand of the dead. Nacaruriel panicked and tried to phase shift again, but the hand of the dead, capable of grasping even the soul, hindered its ability.

Unable to shift properly, Nacaruriel flapped its wings in distress.

Isaac’s left hand plunged deep into its neck.