Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga - Chapter 261

Chapter 261 - Once Again, One Forever

Carpy already found a wife? Damn, time sure flies.

But that thought flew out the window when I caught the glint in his eyes. It was that same glint I got when I bullshitted something so hard, and it was so hilarious I just had to roll with it.

"Eh, you here to mess with a dead man or what?" I waved him off and sank back into the comfy water.

Dead man... I had this nagging feeling I wasn't as dead as I thought. Something fishy was going on, but I was too damn lazy to figure it out. Whatever it was, I didn't have the power to stop it anymore.

"Master Kon, thanks for everything," Carpy suddenly said, pulling me back to reality.

"Don't sweat it. We helped each other out. You haven't exactly been dead weight, either."

He smiled, reminiscing about who knows what. Then, he went all traditional, dropping to his knees and putting his forehead on the ground. Tears streamed down his face the whole time.

"What're you doing?"

"Master Kon, thank you for giving a simple fish like me the chance to live such an amazing life and even experience what it is like to become a dragon!"

I cracked a smile and tried to lighten the mood with a wisecrack, "Sheesh, you gonna bug me for every little thing now? I'm trying to enjoy my afterlife here."

Carpy lifted his head but stayed on his knees, sporting a weird smile. That got me on my feet, fist clenched, and a glare ready as he stared at me with gratitude in his eyes.

This guy! What was he plotting? Please don't tell me...

"Carpy, don't go doing anything stupid! I'm okay with the way I died!"

Even if, in theory, you could bring a human back to life under the most extreme circumstances, the cost was unimaginable. It was like giving nature itself a big middle finger. The sacrifice needed to revive even an ant was astronomical. But what if the one being revived was a human? Even a dragon couldn't handle that kind of downside!

Carpy, on the other hand, wasn't fazed by my words and had the nerve to crack a joke, "Sorry, Master Kon, but now that I'm a mighty dragon, I ain't taking orders from you. I'll do as I please."

I didn't waste a second. I swung a punch at his face to knock some sense into this fish. But as my fist connected, he turned into mist and vanished.

"Oi! Carpy! Don't do something stupid!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "I lived my way and saved who I wanted. Now it's your turn to live. Don't toss your life aside like it's nothing. How the hell do you think I'll feel about coming back to life if it means you gave up yours?"

But no matter how loud I screamed, there was no answer from the other side.

***

Uriel gazed in awe at the majestic black dragon, its scales glistening like obsidian under the sunlight. In a mesmerizing display, the dragon's scales momentarily flashed red as it gathered the blood and dispersed it in various directions across the island. With fluid grace, it traced a crimson, ritualistic circle in the air, adorned with cryptic symbols.

The precision of the dragon's actions was almost hypnotic, every movement executed without a hint of wastefulness. It was akin to watching an artist craft their final masterpiece, dedicating their soul to it.

There was a tinge of sadness in the air. Even Uriel, who possessed limited knowledge of rituals, recognized the gravity of this act—it was a sacrificial ritual.

This dragon held immense potential, perhaps even the potential to ascend to the status of a Dragon King, or even higher. Uriel found himself questioning whether even the Dragon King of Twisting Time held such absolute control over their power as this dragon exhibited now.

Then, an unexpected pulse coursed through the ground, resonating like the steady beat of a heart. The dragon coiled around itself, mimicking the movements of a serpent, releasing an unending plume of steam as it diminished in size with each passing second.

Even Uriel, who lacked the heightened senses of a sensor, could feel the dragon's diminishing strength.

From its colossal form, the dragon shrank until it resembled a cocoon, dark and uninviting. The majestic aura, menacing gaze, and the once-gleaming scales were all gone. It now appeared fragile, as though a mere touch could shatter it into oblivion.

Uriel glanced at his mistress, her expression revealing both displeasure and a trace of sympathy. She must pity the dragon, Uriel thought. Despite having the potential to enjoy an endless life at the pinnacle of power, the dragon had chosen to sacrifice itself for another.

"A dragon willingly giving up its life for someone else," Merlin muttered, her tone filled with disdain. Yet, beneath her words, a sense of awe couldn't be denied. "Disgusting."

"If it displeases you, we could leave," Uriel suggested.

Merlin shook her head, her gaze still fixed on the transforming cocoon. "No, despite it being a nasty dragon. It would be a shame if someone wasn't there to witness his ending. A dragon, and what could have been..."

Steam continued to billow from the cocoon, which gradually adopted a humanoid form. Features began to take shape—a young man with snow-white hair, dark eyes, and an uncanny resemblance to the dragon in his human guise. He appeared no older than his teenage years.

The young man fell to his knees, absentmindedly gazing at the ground.

"Fuck! Damn it!" He exclaimed before lying on the ground, his eyes fixed on the cloudless sky. The sky had long since cleared of any clouds due to the countless blasts. "First Bets, and now Carpy. What the hell, man? This life has become too heavy to bear."

Merlin frowned and began walking toward the fallen man. Uriel, looking a bit panicked, tried to stop her by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Lady Merlin, please be careful. This is the man who the dragon called his master; he might be dangerous. Even though he doesn't appear dangerous, there are many ways he could have hidden his power."

She shrugged off Uriel's hand on her shoulder, continued to the man, and Uriel reluctantly followed, too injured to do anything by now.

Lady Merlin stood before the man, initially silent. He met her gaze and narrowed his eyes.

"It seems like you can't afford to die again," Merlin remarked.

The man sighed, rose to his feet, and surveyed the desolate wasteland. It seemed he hadn't even heard what Merlin had said. His gaze fell upon the mermaid, curled and weeping, a guilty look in his eyes.

Finally, he turned toward Merlin, and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Merlin, the daughter of the God of Exorcists," she introduced herself.

"Heh, I don't remember you at all," he chuckled. "Things are really changing. Also, how many white-haired people are there? You all started looking kind of the same."

"You have white hair too, asshole," Merlin frowned.

The man's eyes widened, and he snapped his fingers, conjuring a hand-sized mirror. "Ah, crap."

On the other hand, Uriel felt his blood run cold. The man had just wielded the ability of dragons to create items, as if it were second nature!

Had the dragon's master inherited some of the dragon's powers? If that was the case, he was definitely dangerous!

"Anyways, you should spend some time with your family or something," Merlin pointed at the man. "Because without its power source anymore, the barrier around the continent will collapse. Then whatever those horrors outside have been doing will spill in here."

"One problem after another. At least when I was dead, I didn't have to worry about anything," the man groaned. However, he extended a handshake toward Lady Merlin. "By the way, my name is Kon. A Special Exorcist..." He paused for a moment. "Well, now without my tamed demon, I'm just a mediocre exorcist extraordinaire."

"Was that a joke?" Merlin raised a questioning brow as she accepted his handshake. "Also, handshakes are still a thing after two thousand years?"

"Two thousand years? How old are you, granny?"

Merlin frowned. "I'm not that old. Technically, I was frozen in stasis for two thousand years and am still twenty-one years old in both mind and body."

"Hey, I'm not judging. I find grannies cute, in their own wrinkly skin way."

"You're very annoying."

"See, now you're acting like a cranky old woman," he smirked.

In response, Merlin sent him a frosty glare. "Humph, I have no idea why your dumb dragon would even sacrifice their life for you."

Then she turned around, started walking away, and called out to him. "Uriel, come follow-"

Before she could finish speaking, Kon was behind her. Merlin's eyes widened as she sensed the incoming attack but was too slow to react. Uriel's injury also prevented him from reaching her in time.

Unlike before, Kon's gaze was filled with brutality and pure, unadulterated rage. Veins popped all over his face as he gritted his teeth, giving him a demonic appearance.

He grabbed Merlin's arm and made a chopping motion with his other hand, ripping her limb off. Merlin screamed in pain and tried to backhand him, but the man jumped back while still holding her severed arm.

After the attack, the man's face returned to normal, and he even wore a joking smile, though his eyes still harbored a hint of madness.

"I don't care if you insult me that much," the man stated, and his face once again revealed that insane look. "But don't go talking about Carpy like that, or I will kill you."

Kon had a nonchalant gaze, but there was an intensity behind his gaze, like a beast with no thought other than unobstructed maliciousness. Something that had been hidden behind his humorous jokes before. But now it was clear as day to Uriel to see they were dealing with a madman!