Childhood Friend of the Zenith - Chapter 632

At that moment, while listening to Mang's rant,
he suddenly spoke to me.

"So, I’ll ask one last time."

"What?"

"Will you join me?"

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

Even now, he was still trying to persuade me?
It was absurd.

His persistence might have been impressive,
but seeing him like this made something clear.

“He must really need me.”

More precisely, he needed my Authority—
the power to consume and suppress the powers of other dragons.
To devour and steal them.

That’s what he was after.

"This is your last chance. I won’t offer you mercy again."

"Hmm."

Feigning consideration, I stroked my chin lightly before asking him:

"I have one more question for you."

I pointed a finger at him as I spoke.

"You said you’d release the guy if you got your body back. But after you let him go, will he still be alive?"

"Hmm?"

Mang tilted his head slightly at my question.

"That fragment or whatever you need from him—after you take it, will he survive?"

"Ah."

Mang nodded, understanding my concern after my clarification.

"He’ll receive a blessing."

"A blessing?"

"Yes, the blessing of having fulfilled his purpose by aiding my revival."

In other words, Mang had just rephrased "he’ll die" in his own twisted way.

"There’s no greater blessing than that—"

Mang stopped mid-sentence, seeming to realize something.

"I see."

His tone shifted as if he had come to a conclusion.

"You’re going to reject me again, aren’t you?"

After a few exchanges, it seemed he’d figured me out a little.
This bastard had sharp instincts.

“...”

“...”

Silence settled between us.

That was the signal.

Thud.

Shhhhhh—!

In a flash, we both closed the distance between us.

Whooong—!

My Spiritual Eye activated again,
revealing threads of energy within his body.

Seeing them, I twisted my head to the side.

Swish—! His sword sliced through the air, grazing my hair.
Crunch—! Strands of my severed hair froze instantly.

More attacks followed.
I spun quickly, deflecting his sword,
then channeled strength into my rotation to aim a kick at his waist.

KWAANG—!

A harsh sound rang out.

The attack didn’t fully land—
my foot struck an ice barrier he’d conjured mid-air,
dampening the force of my blow.

The failed attack left me momentarily vulnerable,
and Mang seized the opportunity, slashing downward with his sword.

At this rate, I’d be cut.

Flicking my middle finger, I sent a spark of fire toward the blade.

Ting—!

"...!"

Though a simple trick, it disrupted the trajectory of his sword.

Thud—!

As a result, his blade struck the ground instead of my head.
Regaining my balance, I immediately thrust my fist forward.

Whoosh—!

"Tua Pacheonmu"

Second Form (二式): Tu-biui Cheonkwon

A razor-sharp gust of wind surged toward Mang.

KRAK—!

This time, an ice barrier rose to block the attack.

CRACK—!

But my technique shattered the barrier, pushing through.

"...!!"

Mang’s eyes widened as the barrier broke.

Though my form wasn’t perfect,
and the power of Tua Pacheonmu depended heavily on flawless execution,

“That doesn’t mean it’s weak.”

The wind-wrapped punch slammed into Mang’s abdomen.

The problem was—

Thud—!

"Kuh!"

I felt an impact in my own stomach as well.

KRAAANG—!!!

A shockwave erupted, sending us both flying.

Thud—! Crash—!

I smashed into the wall and fell amidst the debris, but the blow wasn’t too severe.
I brushed myself off and got back up quickly.

Still—

"He kicked me even in that state?"

Despite taking a direct hit from Tua Pacheonmu,
Mang had managed to counter with a kick.

As absurd as the situation was, I focused on Mang.

"Cough. Ptoo."

Mang spat blood onto the ground, scowling.
He clutched his abdomen, clearly in pain, but—

Whoooong.

I could see his body slowly regenerating.

"So, he can use that Authority too."

If he could use the healing ability,
then he might also be capable of wielding other powers.

Yet, he wasn’t using them in this fight.
It must have been because of my Authority.

Tricky.

Even without that, though,

"It doesn’t look like this will be an easy win."

While I had the advantage in speed,
the gap wasn’t significant.

Our abilities seemed evenly matched for now.
But the bigger problem was—

"My body is slowing down."

I wasn’t exhausted.
Though my energy had dropped considerably, it wasn’t enough to hinder me.

So what was causing this?

As I tried to make sense of the changes in my body—

"How pathetic."

Mang spoke, breaking the silence.

"To think I can’t even kill one insignificant opponent. In my prime, I would’ve devoured you in a single bite."

Hearing this, I rolled my shoulders lightly.

"Then stop wasting time and run away already."

"That’s not an option. The outcome of this fight is already decided. Why would I flee?"

Mang smirked again—a smile I hated more than anything.

Then he said,

"You’ve noticed, haven’t you? That your body is gradually failing you?"

"..."

I clicked my tongue silently.
So, this strange sensation was his doing.

How?

“It’s not poison.”

After achieving immunity to all poisons (Mandokbulchim),
there was no way poison could affect me.

If it wasn’t poison, then what?

At that moment, with a stunned expression, Mang turned to me.

"Dragons rarely leave their nests. Do you know why?"

"Why? Because staying here makes you stronger?"

"No."

He gestured toward the ground with his hand.

"It’s not that I grow stronger here—it’s that other dragons grow weaker."

"…Oh."

I couldn’t help but let out a small exclamation of admiration.
This was a new and intriguing piece of information.

"This place may seem insignificant, but it is my nest. A little more time, and you’ll feel as sluggish as a crawling snail. There’s no way you can defeat me here."

"Hmm."

Even now, as my movements were growing increasingly unresponsive, I was beginning to find this situation annoying.

“This is troublesome.”

It wasn’t just the terrain that was an issue.
It was also the constant regeneration.

If this dragged on, as Mang claimed, I’d only end up at a disadvantage.
Though it was fortunate he wasn’t using his full Authority,

“That means my Authority isn’t very useful either.”

Stealing his power required certain conditions that weren’t met right now.

So, the only remaining option was—

"To end this as quickly as possible."

But how?

As I hesitated, thinking about my options—

"What? Have you decided to accept my offer after all—"

"Ah."

An idea came to mind.

There was one thing I hadn’t tried yet.
It might not work, but it was worth a shot.

"Should I give it a go?"

I recalled the warning from Paejon:
never to use this unless I had stepped into the realm of pure intention.

The first time I attempted it,
my insides, and nearly my entire body, had burst apart, leaving me on the brink of death.

Since then, I’d only practiced it in theory, never daring to try it again in reality.

But now, I decided it was time.

With a brief pause, I reached a decision.

I extended my right hand slightly into the air.

Whoosh—!

Flames coalesced in my palm, forming a Flame Jade .

"Hmm?"

Mang’s expression showed confusion as he watched.
But that confusion quickly turned to scorn.

"What’s this? I thought you were going to try something new, but it’s just that technique again."

To Mang, it must have seemed like a recycled attack.
After all, he’d already blocked the Flame Jade once with his sword.

However—

"Still struggling in vain? That’s—wait... what?"

The mocking tone vanished from his voice.
Mang’s eyes widened like saucers.

Whoosh—!

The Flame Jade in my palm began spinning at an unprecedented speed.
Every ounce of my focus was directed toward my palm.

Whooooosh—!

Its rotation accelerated to the point where even the surrounding cold air was drawn into it.

At that moment—

Whoosh—!

The absorbed cold air ignited into flames, merging with the Flame Jade.

Rotation, compression, and an intense heat merged into a fiercely blazing orb.

"You... what are you doing?!"

Mang shouted in alarm, frantically swinging his sword.

Swoosh—!

Not knowing what I was planning, he aimed a blade of energy at me to disrupt my actions.
It was a sound judgment—

But it was already too late.

Slash—!

The energy blade struck me squarely in the chest.
Blood sprayed into the air.

Unlike the earlier glancing blows, this was a direct hit.
Ice sprouted from the wound, adding to its severity.

It was a critical injury.
Yet, even amidst the pain, I didn’t release the Flame Jade.

That was why—

"Got it."

The technique wasn’t interrupted.

Finally, the completed Flame Jade—

I grabbed it without hesitation.

"Hahhh—!"

BOOOOOM—!!!

The gathered flames erupted, engulfing the space in a searing wave of heat.

"Ugh—!"

Mang swung his sword to block the encroaching heat.
It wasn’t an offensive heatwave; it didn’t seem to have the intent to harm.

Instead—

"It’s just... hot."

Scorching, unbearably so.

The heat collided with the cold air, filling the space with thick steam.

Surrounded by the obscured view, Mang frowned deeply.

The oppressive heat lingered even after the initial surge subsided,
making the entire space feel like it had risen in temperature dramatically.

"What did he...?"

As Mang remained on guard, staring intently into the haze—

Whoosh—!

A sudden gust of wind swept the steam away.

When the obscured view cleared,
Mang’s expression twisted into one of shock.

"…!"

There I stood, my chest still covered in frost from the sword slash.

"Not bad. Better than I expected."

In my hands was something blazing with blue fire.

At first glance—

"A spear?"

A long spear, crafted entirely from flames,
burned brilliantly in my grasp.