I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-190

Ch190. **Blade Queen VS Issera**

—

*“You’ve got to be kidding me.”*

Darkstar scowled.

The moment Union—who had arrived full of confidence—faced Issera, he was driven immediately into a defensive stance.

*“That’s really the God of the Black Egg?”*

The appearance was far too different from the “God of the Black Egg” he had heard about.

And Darkstar wasn’t the only one who felt bewildered.

“Didn’t they say the God of the Black Egg killed the Calamity God Baal?”

“Then why…?”

“Does that mean Issera is stronger than the Calamity God Baal?”

“No! No matter what, that makes no sense!”

Everyone watching the battle could only tilt their heads in confusion.

Even assuming the tales were exaggerated, the abilities shown by the “Guardian of the Black Egg” had been overwhelming—terrifyingly overwhelming.

Naturally, expectations toward the “God of the Black Egg” were high.

And yet…

*Fake?*

Union was being pushed back so miserably one might believe he was a fraud.

It was nearly impossible to think he was the one who had slain the “Calamity God Baal.”

The Four Calamities were beings created by *Ruin* itself.

No matter how powerful Issera was, there was no way he could overpower a member of the Four Calamities outright.

However, the next scene made everyone gasp in horror.

“T-that… the Spirit King!”

“Issera can summon a Spirit King!?”

“Ah… it’s over!”

Issera, who had been pressing down on Union, summoned a Spirit King.

Morale, which had risen sky-high only moments ago, crashed instantly to the depths.

…Insane.

A Spirit King!?

*…I’d only heard of them in stories. Because not a single person has ever formed a contract with one.*

The moment he saw Agnis, the Spirit King of Fire, Darkstar trembled.

The Heroes of the People’s Hall, the Rulers who govern the Rifts of the Abyss, the giant earth dragons who guard the Goddess, the Black King and White King said to exist at the very northern and southern ends of the world… even compared to them, a Spirit King would not be found lacking.

The Spirit Realm.

No—more accurately, at the end of the *Spirit Tower* stood those beings.

But no one had ever formed a contract with a Spirit King.

Few even knew where the Spirit Tower existed.

However, it was said that the spirits of that tower retained their primordial form and were far stronger than ordinary spirits—

—thanks to the blessings and protection of the Spirit Kings.

*Even during the Great Expedition, Issera couldn’t summon a Spirit King. Don’t tell me he’s become stronger since then?*

…Terrifying.

The bastard who had been hard to kill even during the Great Expedition had grown even stronger.

And now, they didn’t even have Wilhelm to buy time to exploit Issera’s weakness.

Their only hope had been Union—and he was failing miserably.

Union’s entire body burned with flames as he desperately summoned equipment one after another.

It was disappointing beyond words, and yet there wasn’t even time to be disappointed.

The Spirit King of Fire, Agnis, conjured a spear of flame and pierced Union’s shield in an instant.

*Th-that shield—even Gracia couldn’t penetrate it…*

*And he shattered it in a single attack?*

*How are you supposed to win against something like that?*

It was overwhelming—absolute.

There was no way humanity had troops left strong enough to face that kind of monster.

The spear of flame descended toward Union.

“Fire, vanish.”

RUMBLE!

A massive dragon appeared with lightning.

After evaporating the spear of flame, the pure-white dragon revealed itself in overwhelming grandeur, once again stealing the attention of all present.

At this moment—already unbearable with Issera and the Spirit King—another monster had appeared.

As everyone’s faces darkened—

“D-do not fear! Divine Dragon Lucaria is on humanity’s side—Earth’s side!”

Someone shouted in that fleeting instant.

Darkstar turned his head to see who had shouted.

He blinked in disbelief.

“…Park Taewoo?”

He couldn’t have misseen.

It was indeed South Korea’s representative, Park Taewoo—the man he thought had fled with his entourage.

He had dismissed him as a patriot-less coward. So what happened?

CRASH! RUMMMBLE!

Simultaneously, countless bolts of lightning rained from the sky.

“W-what is that!?”

“The lightning is burning the demons!”

The lightning was evaporating demons—and demons *only*.

Not simple lightning, but a transcendent skill infused with massive magical power.

The colossal dragon was truly annihilating the demons.

*Dragon God Lucaria…!*

Insane.

He thought there was nothing left that could surprise him—but he was wrong.

The Guardian of the Black Egg, Union, Issera, a Spirit King… and now a Dragon God?

What was a Dragon God, anyway?

All Darkstar knew was that Dragon Gods were “Guardians of Balance.”

He had never seen one.

They slept within dragon veins—there was no way to witness one in person.

“Spirit of the Dragons—descend upon me!”

Soon, dragon armor and a dragon helm formed over Park Taewoo’s whole body.

He was a “Dragon Medium”—one who could call upon the soul of a dragon.

Once he completed his armament, Park Taewoo dove straight into the battlefield and cleaved through demons.

*Park Taewoo… just what did you do?*

Could the Dragon Medium class have helped awaken the Dragon God?

What was certain was that morale skyrocketed the instant Lucaria and Park Taewoo appeared.

If the Dragon God defeated Issera and humanity won the war…

…the heroes would no longer be the Hero Association or Darkstar.

It would be Korea—and Park Taewoo.

GRRRRK!

Darkstar clenched his teeth, eyes full of complicated emotion.

Rage boiled.

From the very first button, everything had gone wrong.

Not a single thing was going the way he planned.

—

—

 

*“Hudson was telling the truth… all of it!”*

Park Taewoo, the man who awakened Lucaria, still couldn’t believe this reality.

—*Go to the designated coordinates and use the Wish Orb. Since you are a Dragon Medium, you will be able to awaken Lucaria from her slumber.*

Right before Korea was attacked—when the situation was at its gravesite—Park Taewoo had no choice but to make a decision.

Hudson was human, but the one who moved him was the “Fifth Pillar”—a monster under the White King.

And that monster came looking specifically for Park Taewoo—to have him awaken a Dragon God.

Who could possibly believe that?

*But he had to believe.*

The Fifth Pillar had killed the Master and taken control of the Ruins City, Rundella.

Hudson was the first to deliver that news.

He even offered a trade.

If that information were a lie, then that meant he had personally traveled to Korea just to deceive Park Taewoo.

Would someone like him put in that effort for a nobody with no influence?

If anything, he should have gone to Darkstar.

*He came to me because it was something only I could do.*

So Park Taewoo gambled.

And the gamble was an enormous success.

He went to the location Hudson indicated, used the Wish Orb—and he could feel Lucaria’s soul.

Once he spoke the Divine Dragon’s name, Lucaria awakened from her long slumber.

*And thanks to that, even my class skill levels increased.*

Not only did he awaken Lucaria, Park Taewoo himself grew stronger.

And he heard news that Union had blocked the demons alongside the Guardian of the Black Egg.

Everything Hudson said—that things wouldn’t go according to the demons’ plan—had been true.

*Then the part about the Fifth Pillars being at the newly formed dragon vein…*

That too, must be true.

At this point, curiosity was driving him mad.

The Fifth Pillar.

Who exactly *was* he?

Park Taewoo had assumed he was simply a monster under the White King—but perhaps that wasn’t the whole truth.

After all, such a being couldn’t possibly create a dragon vein on Earth, nor should he know Lucaria’s location—or Park Taewoo’s existence.

*Right. The title “Fifth Pillar” is just a mask to hide his true identity.*

Park Taewoo was certain.

He was no mere “FFifth Pillar”

He was something far, far greater.

*Could it be…*

Gulp.

Park Taewoo swallowed hard as a certain name surfaced in his mind.

But his thoughts didn’t get far.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

Lightning poured without pause.

Lucaria continued to overwhelm Issera.

“Die, Issera.”

The Dragon God Lucaria burned her own eyes as sacrifice, pouring ceaseless thunder down upon Issera.

But he wasn’t losing his eyes entirely.

With an insane healing factor, her eyes were constantly destroyed and regenerated.

Thunderbolts too numerous to count rained from the sky, burning demons to ash—and soon, the Spirit King Agnis was bound in a cage of electricity.

“…Incredible.”

“That’s a Dragon God?”

“A real god…”

A display worthy of the word “god.”

Nothing like Union, whose power was of an entirely different class.

Issera and the other demons were dying without landing even a single proper counterattack.

CLENCH!

Park Taewoo’s fist tightened.

It was the right choice to listen to Hudson.

With this, the Second Invasion would be stopped completely.

*We can win—!*

“Is that all you’ve got, Lucaria?”

FWOOSH!

A rounded barrier of flame formed around Issera, who had been pushed into a corner.

The barrier effortlessly nullified Lucaria’s attacks.

And alongside it, Issera’s destroyed body rapidly regenerated.

“You’re still foolish. Did you think I would hunt a Dragon God without preparation?”

“…Issera. Don’t tell me—you broke the Forbidden Law?”

Lucaria growled.

The Forbidden Law of the Dragon Gods.

Issera smirked, as if flaunting proof of that taboo.

“I offered my heart to the Demon King. But everything else—I devoured.”

“You…!”

“Myrion was one of the Seven Dragon Gods, just like you. After eating him, I became even more complete. Now what will happen when I devour you?”

Dragon Gods must not kill or devour one another.

That was the law.

And Issera had broken it—violated the most sacred taboo.

SNAP.

Issera struck his index and middle fingers together.

HUMMM—

And the world went silent.

The raging lightning vanished.

So did the electric cage binding the Spirit King.

Lucaria’s eyes trembled.

“That—that’s Myrion’s…!”

Myrion’s ultimate authority—*Stillness.*

The power that silences everything.

Combined with Issera’s regeneration, he now possessed both the absolute shield and the absolute spear.

In other words—invincible.

Issera’s smile grew ever deeper.

“Go ahead and thrash around, Lucaria. I’ll be waiting.”

—

—

Days passed.

But the outcome of the battle was already clear.

Just as the players grew exhausted, Lucaria was unmistakably dying.

She continued to suffer critical wounds she could no longer regenerate through.

The Spirit King Agnis continually hurled spears of flame, and Issera nullified all of Lucaria’s attacks, immobilizing her completely.

…All that remained was despair.

“Hold the line! We must endure!”

“Maintain the front! If we get pushed back any further, our families—our friends—will die!”

Retreat wasn’t an option.

There was nowhere to fall back to.

Even if everyone gathered here perished—they had to hold.

A day passed… two… then four.

KIIIIAAAAAAGH!

Lucaria finally screamed.

BOOOOM!

Broken beyond recognition, she collapsed onto the ground.

“N-no… no more…”

“I can’t… endure…”

The final pillar—Lucaria—had fallen.

Now it was truly the end.

Four days of war without a single moment’s rest.

Most players had already used every “Shard of the Golden Scale.”

Those whose transformation time expired died instantly without ever realizing—and those who barely escaped were in no state to continue.

If not for the “Guardian of the Black Egg,” who forcibly teleported near-death players away, a catastrophe would have already occurred.

“O God…”

Everyone despaired.

How could they not?

There were fewer than a thousand players left.

Meanwhile, nearly fifty thousand demons still remained.

And Issera’s confidence was unshaken.

He was strong—too strong.

The difference in dimension was absurd.

There was simply no way to win.

“I’ll give you this—you’re durable. To withstand Agnis’ attacks for four whole days…”

Issera mocked as he approached the fallen Lucaria.

He had expected to finish her quickly—but her endurance was phenomenal.

But that too was over.

“Now, rest in peace, Lucaria.”

Issera reached for Lucaria’s heart.

And—

SHLK!

“…?”

Issera tilted his head slightly.

A long thorn had burst straight through his abdomen.

Someone had struck him from behind—with extreme force.

Issera slowly turned around.

“You are…”

A woman hovered in the sky, flapping wings shaped like sharpened blades.

Seeing who it was, Issera smiled again.

He understood instantly.

“Ah… so *you’re* the newly born Dragon God.”

…That woman was the mutated Dragon God newly brought into existence.

—

 

 

 

---