Chapter 70: Offspring……?

The moment he felt a tremendous pain in his chest and his vision spun, the 'shadow' couldn't help but realize something was wrong.

'How?'

He had been continuously casting detection magic, so how could an enemy get this close?

The bewilderment made him forget the pain and escape from reality.

However.

When the man's-torso-sized egg he was holding in his arms slipped out, and an iron chain that appeared from nowhere coiled around it.

He couldn't continue to escape reality even after seeing that sight.

"No……!"

He tried to deploy magic in his haste, but.

Chwareureuk.

The moment he felt the iron chain coiling around his body, his strength suddenly began to drain away.

And when he felt the patterned magic at his fingertips break down as it was.

He couldn't help but widen his eyes.

'This, this is……!?'

A terrifying ability that breaks down and absorbs his very origin, the power of the great Outer God.

A power that denied the truth and common sense of magicians, a power that should not exist.

'Such blasphemy……!'

The moment his confused eyes filled with anger.

He decided to sacrifice everything he had to eliminate the blasphemous thing before him.

However.

'The power of the true god…….'

Before that resolve could be put into action, all his demonic energy was sucked into the iron chain.

Puuuk.

Soon, a cold blade pierced his chest.

"N-no……."

This can't be happening.

The last shadow, which was the cornerstone of a disaster that would have overturned the entire northern part of the Iron Kingdom, thus laid its body on the ground in vain.

And.

"Hooo……. As expected, a 5-Circle……."

Woodeudeuk.

Muno let out a groan-like exclamation and savored the changes in his body.

His muscles and frame became much stronger, and all his senses felt expanded.

'Magicians are different, indeed.'

It felt like just yesterday that he had become a 3-Star, but his physical abilities had been amplified in an instant to the point of reaching its peak.

But that joy was short-lived.

The body that seemed like it would evolve again in a single breath stopped its growth at a certain point.

At a level where only the body grew stronger, and the 'armor,' which could be called his greatest asset right now, did not change.

His body instinctively began to leak the remaining demonic energy outwards.

"Ah……."

- You will be able to achieve the fourth evolution only after you have clearly realized your path.

His father's advice flashed through his mind, and he felt a pang of regret.

But soon, he let out a chuckle.

"……Well, this is something."

As he had felt in Ruble, there was an insurmountable difference in skill between Karina and that magic knight, even though they were both 3-Star knights who specialized in speed.

It was proof that simply evolving the body did not improve one's skill.

A newly evolved body is no different from that of a growing boy, so fundamental skills can only be improved when talent, effort, and experience are combined.

It was as if he had achieved in a single moment the physical growth that would have taken others years, or even decades, of arduous training to achieve.

That alone was already a fraudulent ability.

"Being an assassin specializing in magicians doesn't sound so bad?"

He naturally spat out such nonsense and chuckled to himself.

But it was a worthy achievement.

He had taken down a 5-Circle magician in an instant, one he would have had to struggle against quite a bit if he had fought head-on.

'If it had been like this with monsters, I would have been done long ago…….'

His skills, which had remained unchanged even after hunting so many monsters, had risen in an instant.

Of course, back then, he had used a lot of the demonic energy as soon as he absorbed it, but the demonic energy of magicians had a 'purity' that was different from that of monsters, regardless of quality and quantity.

He felt like he now knew the reason for sure.

'A magician who directly contracted with a demon, and a monster that was simply connected by environment or bloodline.

That's the difference, I guess.'

In any case, it was a relief that that woman or any other magician wasn't there.

Yes.

"There should be days like this where I can get a freebie."

Muttering words that someone would scold him for being conscienceless if they heard, Muno turned his gaze.

He had dealt with the magician surprisingly easily, but something more curious remained.

"So you're the owner of that shell, huh?"

Chwreuk.

When he pulled the iron chain and brought it before him, he saw a pure white egg the size of an average adult man's torso.

"What on earth are you?"

An egg that had revealed its presence through the magician's Double Veil, which even he had difficulty seeing through.

The sticky feeling of pollution unique to demonic energy was so strong that he considered smashing it and absorbing it right away, but.

'It's meaningless now anyway…….'

And yet, because of the strangely familiar pulsation, he didn't want to break it.

A suspicious egg, held by a high-ranking magician.

"Could it be……."

Only one thought crossed his mind.

- The disaster that occurred from stealing the offspring of a Monster Lord…….

However.

"Nah, no way……."

To be discovered so coincidentally, in the southern part of Drasen?

And from the arms of a mere 5-Circle(?) magician?

"It's not like these guys are idiots……."

If they had stolen something like that, it wouldn't be strange for them to have fled to the empire with all their might, no, even further south, so there was no way they would have been loitering around here.

That was an extremely common-sense judgment.

Honestly, the desire for it to not be a Monster Lord-level disaster was stronger.

But suddenly.

On the surface that had probably been struck by his sword a moment ago, cracks began to form with a 'jjeojeojeok' sound.

"Hul……?"

Could it be because of the impact I gave it?

No, wasn't it shedding its shell little by little even before that?

Don't tell me, if this breaks, will that Monster Lord take its anger out on Drasen?

The moment all sorts of delusions naturally flashed through his mind.

Jjeok.

A corner of the large egg broke off.

And a bright yellow eye with a vertical black pupil was revealed.

"Tsk……."

The eyes of a typical reptile. And on top of that, the demonic energy momentarily intensified.

The moment he felt an instinctive revulsion and the urge to break the egg.

The reptile's eye that met his curved into a round arc.

As if it were smiling.

'Ho?'

And.

"Myaa~."

A faint cry followed.

'Nice to... meet you?'

The warm emotion felt from that cry further amplified the familiar pulsation contained within the demonic energy.

Jjeojeojeok.

At the same time, the egg began to crack even more.

Muno, as if possessed, began to peel off the eggshell without realizing it.

And soon.

"Myayaa~!"

He saw the offspring of a winged black reptile rubbing its head and entire body against his armor.

Of course, for an offspring, it was quite large.

But the bigger problem was that he had heard a 'legend' about a reptile of this form.

Countless times, throughout his past and present lives.

"……A dragon?"

A transcendent species said to have disappeared in the ancient mythical era.

A mythical monster that belongs to the highest rank among divine beasts and demonic beasts, known as the representatives or pets of gods and demons.

Even the wyvern that the Dragon Sword Duke rides is classified as a rare divine beast, but there are even stories that it is a subspecies of dragon that was corrupted or degenerated…….

"No, is this a wyvern too?"

As soon as he said that, the baby dragon(?), which had been continuously rubbing its body against him, narrowed its eyes and then bumped its head against his chest with a 'kung' as if it were displeased.

"Hey……."

And all too naturally.

"Myaak~!"

It struggled in his arms, holding its aching head.

"Myaa……."

Its short front legs couldn't even reach its head, but seeing it struggle on its own looked strangely cute, so he ended up stroking its head without thinking.

"Ho~. Does it hurt?

So be careful."

When he blew on it and caressed it, he found that he quite liked the surprisingly soft texture.

On top of that.

"Mya?"

He didn't dislike the way it widened its eyes as if reacting to his words and rubbed its body against him again.

No, honestly……. He liked it.

'It's strangely cute.'

He had never even considered having a pet in his past life because he couldn't afford it.

"I guess I like reptiles……."

"Mya?"

"No, it's nothing."

When he stroked not just its head, but also its chin, and scratched its belly, it purred with pleasure, which he found even cuter.

But he soon had to face reality.

"By the way, what should I do with you?"

"Mya?"

"Ha……."

Is this really a dragon?

No, before that, is it the offspring of a Monster Lord?

"No way……."

Unless that magician who died here was a real idiot, that couldn't be the case.

But for some reason, his intuition was telling him it was.

'A 5-Circle magician wouldn't have been carrying a normal monster egg. Ha, really, my life…….'

Then why did that idiot die here, hiding with a Monster Lord's egg of all things?

It wasn't something for the person who killed him to say, but he couldn't help but resent the dead guy.

"What should I do with this……."

Whether it was a dragon or a wyvern, this thing seemed to be the offspring of a Monster Lord.

While he was racking his brain.

"Myaa~"

Gurgle.

Even in this situation, its stomach was shamelessly growling…….

"……Is that you?"

"Mya!"

He was dumbfounded by the baby dragon (presumed) that was asserting itself so confidently.

But he didn't want to scold a newborn baby for being hungry.

It was just that.

"What do you eat?"

He was just confused about what to give it.

* * *

Wagu wagu.

Jjeop jjeop.

"Is it good?"

"Myaa~!"

It sure is.

Since it's a reptile the size of a human arm, it would probably eat meat even if it was just born.

With that irresponsible thought, he gave it the meat of a wild boar he had hunted, and the thing ate it quite deliciously.

At first, he had just given it raw meat, but the thing had swallowed it in one bite and then looked at the grilled meat he was about to eat, drooling.

So he tried giving it grilled meat, and it seemed to like that better.

No, it was going crazy for it.

"Ebi. My hand is not for eating."

Chwap.

"Mya~"

Ah, is that a way of saying thank you?

The rough feeling of it licking his hand, or more accurately, his gauntlet, was just cute.

So from then on, he began to grill meat even more diligently.

However, the amount it was eating was unusual.

"Where does all that go……."

"Mya~!"

Muno couldn't help but be dumbfounded by the sight of it rolling around with a satisfied expression after devouring a quantity of meat several times its own size.

But on second thought, it was also a familiar sight.

'Father…….'

No, Lian would be like that now too.

The Corporeal Arts of Gluttony had the side effect of turning people into such beasts(?).

"Do you just want to be a Drasen?"

"Mya……."

It seems it doesn't like that.

Pfft.

It was so cute how it reacted immediately whenever he gave it food or talked to it.

However, Muno, while doing so, was inwardly aware of the seriousness of the current situation.

'This is a really big problem, what should I do?'

He earnestly hoped that this child was not the offspring of a Monster Lord, but it seemed that that would really end as just a wish.

The act of feeding it and staring blankly at the sky was also a form of escapism.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"If I go find it and return it? Won't it go back into the mountains?"

It was a statement he blurted out in a feeling of emptiness, but.

'Wait, that makes sense?'

Dragons are said to have intelligence greater than that of humans.

If I raise this child well and return it safely, and if its parents really have intelligence greater than that of humans.

'Wouldn't they at least not destroy Drasen?'

That's what he thought.

But then.

"Mya!?"

The moment the baby dragon's tail shot up straight, he felt a chilling aura from the back of his head.