Cale looked toward the bastard who continued to ask him who he was.
– Human! The White Star seems like a human but not at the same time! I, I need to create more shields!
One time.
It had happened just one time. He had blocked the White Star's fire sword with his silver shield just one time.
Cale looked down at his hands where the shield was connected to his body.
'My palm was cut.'
The Indestructible Shield had almost broken just now.
Cale's shield would have broken if Raon's silver shield had not been there.
Cale looked away from his hands and turned toward the White Star.
The White Star's eyes were full of vitality, unlike his tired voice. That mismatch seemed to suit him well.
"I should be asking you that question-"
Cale opened his mouth to speak.
"Who the fuck are you?"
'No.
His identity is not important right now.'
"How do you keep reincarnating?"
'How can he be a reincarnator?'
The things that the enemies had told him until now flashed through Cale's mind.
Adin and the Dragon half-blood had said that he was human. He specifically recalled what Imperial Prince Adin had said.
'You can't beat him. No living being, nobody whatsoever, can defeat him.'
'I am not afraid of you nor even a Dragon. However, I am afraid of the White Star.'
Cale thought he now understood why Imperial Prince Adin had been afraid of the White Star.
'He is life itself.'
He would just wake up in a new body that I don't recognize once he dies. It was also highly likely that he would appear even stronger than before. Experience can only be gained, not lost.
That was why Adin had been afraid.
"Reincarnate? I guess you heard from the ancient Dragon."
The White Star bushed his hair back and started to smile.
"This is why I should have killed that ancient Dragon last time."
Killed him last time.
That made Cale think about when Eruhaben had come looking for him while saying that his lair had been destroyed. He then thought about the other Dragons who had been killed prior to that.
"Alright, where should I start?"
The White Star seemed relaxed.
"M, my liege-"
The Lich with red glowing eyes reached out his bone arm and called out to the White Star, however, the White Star did not even look toward the Lich.
In fact, he was looking at Cale as if he was entertained and gave a response.
"I am the patriarch of the Dragon Catcher household. I am also the one who destroyed the Dragon Catcher household.'
'…What the fuck is this bastard saying?'
Cale couldn't help but be shocked.
"I killed everybody else other than myself."
'He is the patriarch but killed everybody else?
He didn't spare even a single person?'
"And as you mentioned, I am a reincarnator."
Cale could not figure out why the White Star would reveal all of this without any hesitation.
'Don't they usually hide these things until the very last moment?
He's even telling me his past evil deeds.
…Is he really crazy?'
"Cale Henituse, I heard a lot about you. I have received many reports. They said that you have multiple ancient powers just like I do. They also said that our eye color and hair color were similar.
How interesting."
The White Star had quietly mumbled that last part. He then turned his head to the side.
Sword master Hannah's white sword was digging deeper into the Lich's heart orb at that time and Lich Bernard continued to desperately call out to his liege.
"…My liege-"
However, Cale could not pay any attention to that.
The White Star kept talking. He was saying things that were so shocking that Cale could not pay attention to anything else.
"But Cale, I didn't know that you even had the power of the Dragon Catcher. What you have is the Dominating Aura, right? I can feel it."
The White Star who had been warmly calling Cale's name lightly swung his sword down.
A loud explosion soon occurred.
Baaaaaang!
The shining black aura and the fire clashed against each other only to release a large explosion. Choi Han could be seen landing on the roof of a building as the smoke cleared.
The White Star took another look at Choi Han before turning back toward Cale.
"Furthermore, you, just like that black-haired child, as well as like myself."
The common factor between the White Star, Choi Han, and Cale.
"Time is warped for you."
Their common factor came flowing out of the White Star's mouth.
Cale heard the young Dragon's voice in his head.
– Human! I don't know what he is saying! Our Choi Han and you are not twisted! The two of you are as great and migh, no, a bit great and mighty!
More layers of Raon's silver shields appeared and tried to protect Cale from the White Star. The White Star watched the shields appear before turning forward after hearing a voice.
"And…?"
"…What?"
Cale Henituse was standing there with a twisted smile and asking back.
'What do you want me to do about it?'
Whether time was warped or not.
'That's none of my business.
It's fine as long as I live a happy and peaceful life.'
"Hannah!"
Cale called for one person before calling someone else as well.
"Mary!"
The black threads all tightened up at that moment. The sword master Hannah pierced completely through the Lich's heart with the white sword.
Puuk.
The white sword pierced through the Lich's heart and popped out through his back.
Crack!
The heart orb was completely destroyed. A weird noise filled the plaza at that moment.
Screeeeeeeech- screeeeeeech-
A noise that sounded like a monster's cry filled the Empire's capital.
"Ugh!"
Saint Jack covered his ears and almost fell to the ground.
"Saint-nim."
However, there was someone who prevented him from falling.
"…Sir Rex."
The Cat Knight Sir Rex helped Saint Jack stay standing with the shield that was in his hand.
Saint Jack looked toward Rex with an odd expression. Rex was supposed to have evacuated with the citizens according to the original plan, however, he had returned to the center of the battle after evacuating the citizens.
"I couldn't just do nothing."
Sir Rex and Saint Jack smiled at each other.
"I felt the same way."
They were all feeling the same way.
Of course, there was a difference in how strong these emotions were, however, they were all here because they could not just do nothing.
"Saint-nim, are you okay?"
Sir Rex's expression did not look good as he looked at Jack. The Saint's clasped hands were shaking severely.
"No, you see."
The small smile disappeared from Jack's face as he looked up at the sky with a chaotic expression. Sir Rex looked up as well.
He could see the night sky.
He thought that dawn must be arriving as the sky was dark blue instead of black.
Then he heard that terrible screech again.
Screeeeeech- screeeeeeech-
He could see that the Lich was crying.
"Hehehe-"
The Lich's glowing red eyes were slowly dimming.
The Lich was crying. He was not crying tears like regular humans, but with a red liquid that was flowing out of his, 'eyes.'
"Why? Are you upset that you are dying?"
Hannah commented at the Lich before pulling the white sword out.
"My liege, my liege-"
Hannah could not help but sneer at Lich Bernard who could only continue to desperately call out to his liege.
"Hey, your liege won't come to save you no matter how many times you call him."
It was at that moment.
Saint Jack tightly clasped his hands together. He then started to mumble.
"Something is weird."
"What is weird?"
Sir Rex could tell what Jack was looking at. He was not looking at Tower Master Bernard, Hannah, nor Cale.
"…I don't sense any darkness coming from the White Star. Instead, he feels similar to the Dragon-nims."
Jack seemed to be mesmerized while looking at the White Star.
"I sense a calm and beautiful presence."
Hannah could hear the Tower Master mumble at that moment.
"My liege."
"Didn't I tell you that your liege isn't going to save you? You're going to die."
The Lich smiled as the light in his eyes almost completely went out.
"…I am happy… That I could die for you…my liege."
'What?'
The smile disappeared from Hannah's face.
Screeeeeech- screeeeeeech-
Hannah lowered her head.
She could see the heart-shaped orb that was falling apart within the Lich's chest. There was black smoke coming out of it.
It was similar to the Empire's battle against the Whipper Kingdom at Maple Castle.
It was the same as the black smoke that came out when the golems were destroyed.
However, a much larger amount of black smoke started to flow out of the Lich.
Ooooooong-
Hannah clenched her hand. The white sword was trying to run wild. That helped her realize it.
'Danger.'
There was something dangerous about that black smoke.
As she realized that…
"…Please become stronger sir."
Blink, blink.
The red eyes that had slowly dimmed and completely turned dark.
Clack.
The black bones that had lost strength dangled on Mary's black threads.
The Lich was dead and the black skeleton started to fall apart.
'He's dead.
This bastard is finally dead.'
However, Hannah could see the black smoke that was covering the dark blue sky.
Screeeeeech- screeeeeeech-
The black smoke that was resonating a terrible screech slowly started to turn into clouds. They were black clouds that gave off an ominous feeling.
Cale could see the clouds as well. He heard the White Star's voice at that moment.
"I heard that you were the trash of an average household. But you are too similar to the, 'me,' of this generation."
The White Star's mouth that was not covered by the mask was smiling.
Cale couldn't believe it.
The Lich who had probably stayed the longest time with the White Star had died. Even if he was a Lich, he had been the White Star's ally.
However, the White Star was smiling.
"That is why I am happy."
'Happy?'
Cale started to get angry at the fact that it was impossible to follow this bastard's train of thought.
– You are not similar at all! Our human is not like you, who is so loopy that you've flipped over at least four times! Stop saying such terrible things you trash-like White Star!
The young Dragon shouted in anger.
That allowed Cale to calm back down and process the information in his head.
The White Star warmly looked at Cale, who had a complicated expression on his face. His tired voice sounded a bit happy.
"I needed someone similar to me. That was why I created Syrem and the Dragon half-blood."
The White Star had been trying to create someone to replace him for the past 1,000 years. However, all of them had ended up in failure. That was why he had become quite interested after hearing about Cale Henituse.
He had come over here after Tower Master Bernard left the Eastern continent and headed toward the Alchemists' Bell Tower after hearing about the attack because he thought that he might be able to run into Cale Henituse.
The White Star could not help but be satisfied after meeting Cale.
Syrem and the Dragon half-blood.
He realized now that he didn't need to create tools like the two of them.
He had lived for close to 1,000 years. That was how long he needed to survive in order to gather all of the necessary ancient powers.
Someone like Cale Henituse naturally appeared in front of him as that time was coming to an end.
"You can do it."
The White Star sounded happy.
Cale started to frown and activated the ancient powers within his body. He needed them active so that he could use them at any moment and launch an attack right away.
However, Cale could not help but flinch at what the White Star said next.
"You can play my role for me."
'What? You want me to do what?'
It was as he opened his mouth to ask.
"Cale!"
He heard someone urgently shout his name.
The ancient Dragon, Eruhaben.
Eruhaben who had been getting up from the debris of the roof, had arrived close to the White Star at some point.
Cale had never seen such urgency in the ancient Dragon's eyes before.
"The power you have is fake!"
The ancient Dragon quickly added on.
"That bastard still has it! He has the true power of the Dragon Catcher!"
'What?
The White Star has the true Dragon Catcher's power?
My Dominating Aura and the fake Dragon Slayer Syrem's powers are both fake?
Is something like that even possible?'
Cale's eyes slowly headed back to the White Star.
The White Star was smiling.
"Did you know?"
Chhhhhhh-
The White Star created a water wall.
Baaaaang! Baaaaang!
Eruhaben's light orbs shook the water wall, however, the White Star still seemed relaxed.
"Ancient powers. They are things that are passed down through nature or through people. That means that humans can create them as well."
The Indestructible Shield.
This ancient power originally belonged to the glutton priestess and was passed on through her.
The Sound of the Wind.
It was the same for the thief's ancient power.
The Fire of Destruction, the Scary Giant Cobblestone, and the Sky Eating Water.
They all originated from people and were passed on to others.
"The Dominating Aura in your possession. That is something I left for future generations."
The Dragon Catcher's powers were said to only be passed on to the patriarch of the Dragon Slayer household.
It was passed on from patriarch to patriarch.
It was a power that only one person could possess at a time.
However, unlike the past patriarchs of the Dragon Slayer household, the White Star only left behind half of the power.
"Why should I give all of my power away to someone else? Isn't it funny that I would give my power away instead of holding onto it for myself?"
He had only left the shell behind.
He only left behind the powers that would make people think that the people holding these powers were Dragon Slayers. They would look like Dragon Catchers on the outside.
The White Star pointed his fire sword toward Cale. He looked at Cale, who would take over his position.
"I'm going to need you to become the next Dragon Catcher."
Dragon Catcher.
Dragon Slayer.
The treacher.
He finally found a tool to take over that role. The White Star had finally found the human who would do one of the two things that he had been preparing to do for 1,000 years.
"You'll need to get a taste of a Dragon heart in order to do that."
Cale suddenly got the chills.
Ooooooong-
The white crown in his pocket was crying. The crown that liked to drink Dragon's blood started to rumble.
Cale's heart started to beat wildly as well.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
His Dominating Aura suddenly started to activate.
That was the reason for it. It was as the White Star leisurely continued to speak.
"Don't worry about that. I will procure a Dragon's heart for you."
Cale reached his arms out as the White Star said that.
He was reaching toward what seemed to be an empty area. Cale felt the unique reptilian skin as he reached his hand out.
– Human! I will destroy that White Sta-! Mmph! What are you doing? Mmph!
Cale pulled Raon toward him as soon as he felt Raon's skin.
Cale had chills all over his body.
He could hear the White Star's voice.
"A young Dragon's heart is a very good awakening tool too."
'The White Star is aiming for Raon.'
Cale hugged Raon and clasped his hands around him after realizing the White Star's intentions. He then activated his Indestructible Shield to its maximum strength.
Paaaat-
The silver wings and shield were shining brighter than ever before as the shield moved in front of Cale.
"Tsk tsk. Cale, you don't even know how to use ancient powers properly."
The White Star stabbed his sword toward the silver shield.
The silver shield broke apart.
It broke apart too easily.
"This is a Sword of Disasters infused with fire."
The White Star seemed to be gently teaching Cale as he laughed.
Cale and Raon had worked together in the Henituse battle to defeat the fake Dragon Slayer Syrem's Sword of Disasters.
The White Star had an even stronger and real Sword of Disasters that had infused the fire attribute into it that easily destroyed Raon's shield.
Cale thought about what would happen next.
"Human!"
He heard Raon's voice out loud, but Cale just hugged that round head on his chest and created a fiery thunderbolt with his left hand.
This bastard was able to even send an ancient Dragon flying. Raon was not strong enough yet.
'I will fight if the shield breaks.'
Crack.
Cale could see his silver shield starting to crack as the White Star's sword touched it.
Boom boom boom.
His heart was running wild.
No, the Dominating Aura was running wild. It seemed to have eaten his fear.
The crack on the shield started to get bigger.
Cale could see the White Star smiling.
It was at that moment.
"How dare you."
He heard a familiar voice coming from around him.
Baaaaaaaaaang!
Cale saw a white gold spear slam down on the fire sword.
"Ugh!"
The White Star groaned for the first time and moved back.
Someone positioned themselves between Cale and the White Star. That person had the white gold spear in his left hand and a white gold mana orb on his right hand.
"How dare you."
The voice sounded angry.
"Don't you dare touch my children."
A pair of gold eyes glared at the White Star.
"Unless you wish to die."
Cale could see Eruhaben standing in front of him.
There was a strand of red blood dripping down from a corner of the ancient Dragon's lips.