I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 204 - The Great Battle of the Dragons (13)



Chapter 204: The Great Battle of the Dragons (13)

Susan’s face hardened the moment she saw Yuri smiling at her.

‘How can this be?!’

The amount of deep pink aura emanating from her increased, all of it converging on Yuri.

Swoooosh—.

A toxic smoke whirled around Yuri, who stood at the center.

Yet, Yuri remained calm, completely unfazed by the situation.

“Yaaawn!”

No, he went beyond calm—he opened his mouth wide, yawning as if nothing was happening to him.

After wearing a bored expression for some time, Yuri casually waved his hand.

Whooosh—.

Instantly, the deep pink smoke scattered in all directions.

Susan’s eyes widened at Yuri’s gesture, which had completely severed her control over her own poison.

“H-How…?”

It was a question laden with multiple meanings.

How did he realize the poison was being controlled?

How did he break free from it?

And how was he not poisoned?

As Yuri took a step towards her, receiving Susan’s gaze filled with amazement, he spoke.

“Even if I’m clueless about poisons, I do know one thing: how to deal with a poison user.”

Yuri wore a cruel smile.

“Just smash their head in before the poison spreads.”

“…What?”

“Yet here I am, wasting time, chattering away even though I know exactly what you’re up to.”

Susan’s pupils quivered slightly.

Seeing the confusion and doubt in her eyes, Yuri responded with a broad smile.

“There’s just one thing I wanted to confirm.”

Whether he was telling Susan or talking to himself was unclear.

As Yuri mumbled softly, his mind drifted back to the previous day.

* * *

It was the sixth day of the Battle of the Dragonless.

And it was also the sixth day since Johan began crafting the Harmonious Divine Water.

Yuri entered his sanctuary, his expression full of irritation.

“…This is driving me nuts.”

Both his nostrils were completely stuffed with cloth pieces to block the pungent odor.

Yet, the overwhelming stench was so strong that it stung his eyes.

“…Will this smell ever go away? Damn it, if I knew this would happen, I would’ve offered the training ground instead of my house!”

Who would have thought that making an elixir would produce such a terrible odor?

But it was too late for regrets.

All he could do was hope the wretched elixir-making process would end soon.

As Yuri wished for that moment.

Woooooong—.

Suddenly, a heavy resonance echoed from somewhere.

Yuri turned his head towards the source of the sound.

He spotted a bronze cauldron, trembling and glowing faintly in green, its once bluish hue now entirely a vivid green.

‘Oh… finally?!’

The cauldron had been gradually turning a turquoise color over the past few days, and now it quivered while emitting a soft light.

And that wasn’t the only sign.

Crackle—.

Out of nowhere, lightning flickered inside the cauldron, and the foul stench that had filled the room vanished without a trace.

It was no wonder Yuri’s eyes widened in amazement at the astounding scene.

Snort—!

With a light breath, Yuri removed the cloth pieces from his nose.

“Ooooh!”

He let out an excited shout and rushed forward.

At that moment, Johan opened his eyes.

“Hoooo….”

Johan took a long breath.

Having awakened after six days, his face was full of fatigue.

As his vision slowly came into focus, the first thing Johan saw was Yuri squatting beside the cauldron, repeatedly exclaiming in wonder.

Johan’s brows furrowed as soon as he saw this.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be checking on me first, since I just woke up after days?”

“Old man, old man! Is this done? Is it finished?”

“…This brat.”

Smack—.

Yuri was struck on the forehead and rolled backwards.

But just as quickly as he rolled back, Yuri rolled forward and squatted again in front of the cauldron, still enveloped in light and emitting lightning.

Normally, he would have made a fuss about the pain, but now his curiosity seemed to outweigh the pain.

“Is it done? Is it?”

Yuri’s eyes sparkled, and Johan sighed, nodding.

He was too drained from crafting the Harmonious Divine Water to get angrier.

So, he answered simply.

“…It’s done.”

“Is it complete? Finished?”

“When the light and lightning fade, that’s when it’s truly complete.”

“Oooh!”

Yuri, overly excited, stared intently at the bronze cauldron with glimmering eyes.

“Ooooh!”

As the light and lightning within the cauldron slowly subsided, Yuri’s cheers grew louder.

“Waaahhh!”

Finally, as the light and lightning vanished, revealing the contents, Yuri’s cheers died down.

“Ooh… oh?”

His mouth hung open as the contents were fully exposed.

“…….”

With his hands on his knees, Yuri squatted and stared intently into the bronze cauldron.

The bright anticipation that had filled his eyes moments earlier was nowhere to be found; only bewilderment remained.

Blink, blink—.

Yuri blinked repeatedly, even rubbing his eyes, realizing his vision was normal. He exclaimed in surprise.

“O-Old man! This looks broken!”

“Broken?”

Johan slowly got up and squatted in front of Yuri.

The two of them squatted with the bronze cauldron between them.

But their expressions were vastly different.

While Yuri was clearly bewildered, Johan looked satisfied.

He smiled brightly.

“Puhaha, it turned out well!”

“…Turned out well? This?”

“Look at that fine color, hahaha!”

“Fine? This?”

Johan frowned at Yuri’s horrified reaction.

“Hey! What’s your problem?!”

“It’s all wrong! Everything about this! It’s supposed to be the Harmonious Divine Water, right? The Harmonious Divine Water?!”

“This is the Harmonious Divine Water, though?”

“No, how can you call this the Harmonious Divine Water just by looking at it?”

“Then what does it look like to you, that’s making you freak out?”

With that question, Yuri’s gaze turned to the bronze cauldron.

Bubble, bubble—.

A thick, dark liquid that appeared to be boiling, bubbling up in the cauldron.

But the problem was that the liquid wasn’t just dark.

A strange mix of red and purple hues made it look like a rotting hand might pop out of it at any moment.

How could something like this be called an elixir with a pure and clear-sounding name like the Harmonious Divine Water?

So Yuri described what was in the cauldron this way.

“…Fresh, twisted underworld sewage, freshly scooped from the depths of hell?”

“Oh-ho? Much better than just ‘mishmash.’ I’ll have to call it that from now on.”

Admiring Yuri’s creativity, Johan stood up and rummaged through a box he had brought.

From it, he took out a ladle and a few empty bottles.

“Let’s see, let’s see…….”

After roughly gauging the contents, Johan clicked his tongue.

“Click, even after using so many precious ingredients, this is all we get?”

Johan scooped up a ladleful and poured it into an empty glass bottle.

“This one goes to Ralph….”

If Ralph Schnell had seen this, he would have shouted, asking where the promised rest—a half ladle and five drops—went, but Johan nonchalantly took just one ladleful.

Continuing like this, Johan filled six bottles in total and then pushed the bronze cauldron towards Yuri.

“Here, your share. Drink up.”

About a third of the Harmonious Divine Water remained.

If it were any other elixir, Yuri would have snatched it up even in his sleep, but he couldn’t easily bring himself to grab the bronze cauldron.

With a wary squint, he glanced at Johan.

“Old man, I’m asking out of concern… Did you get some secret order to poison me?”

“Why would I waste expensive poison on someone like you? I could put a hole in your head and kill you anytime.”

Thwack—.

Yuri, struck on the forehead, was flung backward.

After rolling a few times, he quickly stood up and shouted.

“Ouch!”

“Like I always say, I hit you to make it hurt. This punk, even when given something good, throws a fit.”

“…But no matter how you look at it, this doesn’t look like an elixir.”

“Oh, you fool! Do you know how good this is for your body?!”

“How good is it? Does it increase mana a lot?”

“Mana? Well, it won’t not increase mana, but there’s not much effect on that front.”

“What the… then why take it?”

An elixir that doesn’t boost mana?

Then why even bother with this stuff?

…Was clearly written all over his face as he glared at Johan, who let out a sigh.

“The Harmonious Divine Water is an elixir imbued with the energy of thunder, and it has two main effects.”

“Those two effects don’t include mana enhancement, right…….”

Thwack—.

“Gah!”

As Yuri clutched his forehead and stood up, Johan asked him.

“What do you think is the most important organ for those of us who navigate the briefest moments, like we do?”

While holding his forehead, Yuri immediately answered without a second’s hesitation.

“The eyes.”

That answer came from his experience.

When his level was lower, it wasn’t much of an issue.

But as his level rose and he became more adept at handling Cloud Step and Thunder Wing

.

As a single second started to feel longer, Yuri found his vision struggled to keep up with the movements.

Therefore, he answered Johan’s question without any hesitation.

Hearing this, Johan smiled.

“It seems you haven’t wasted your efforts. Yes, the eyes… that is, vision is indeed an essential ability for those of us who wield such fleeting moments.”

Johan lightly tapped the cauldron with the ladle.

“And when you drink the Harmonious Divine Water, you’ll gain a technique for your eyes that pairs well with Thunder Cloud.”

“…Really?”

“This brat, do you think I’m lying? Why else would this Harmonious Thunder be a treasured heirloom of the Redner family?!”

Of course, that heirloom would now fade into history, but Johan didn’t bother to mention that.

Meanwhile, Yuri, realizing the sincerity in Johan’s voice, slowly crawled toward the bronze cauldron.

Noticing the change in Yuri’s gaze as he looked at the ‘fresh, twisted underworld sewage,’ Johan smirked and shared the next effect.

“And secondly! The Harmonious Divine Water’s energy… In other words, the world’s purest and cleanest thunder energy will break down any foreign substances that invade your body. Poisons, diseases… even alcohol.”

“What?”

“In other words, drinking this means you’ll never have to worry about minor ailments or poisoning, nor will you have hangover problems! For the reeeest of your life!”

Yuri’s eyes widened at Johan’s explanation of the second effect.

“You mean… poison won’t affect me?”

“Well, honestly, it’s not that all poisons will be ineffective. But apart from a few poisons that the Bone Clan tabooed… your body will be immune to poison.”

“……?!”

Yuri, who was already troubled with the issue of poisoning, felt like his solution had just appeared before him, making the ‘sewage’ in front of him look different.

Seeing the complete change in his gaze, Johan chuckled.

“So, are you still not going to drink it? If you don’t want to, forget it. Instead…….”

As Johan tried to pull the cauldron back, Yuri quickly snatched it.

And then.

“Thank you very much!”

Gulp, gulp—.

Yuri immediately gulped down the Harmonious Divine Water as if afraid it might be taken away.

Yuri’s Adam’s apple bobbed repeatedly as he chugged.

Watching this, Johan’s eyes twinkled as he chuckled.

“Oh, by the way……. The aftertaste is really something. Like you said, it tastes like fresh sewage from hell. Hahaha.”

No sooner had Johan finished speaking than Yuri dropped the cauldron.

Clang—.

The cauldron rolled on the ground, and Yuri clutched his throat, screaming.

“Graaagh!”

With the horrific taste overwhelming his senses, his mind froze completely.

Grrooaaak—.

His eyes rolled back as he instantly collapsed to his side.

Thud—.

Yuri lay sprawled, motionless as if dead.

Beside him, the bronze cauldron lay empty, not a single drop left inside.

* * *

Ugh—.

Recalling the previous day’s events made Yuri’s face go pale as he remembered the horrific taste.

He fought back a retch that threatened to surge up.

‘If we’re talking taste… that was definitely poison.’

Yuri, who rarely flinched at pain, had fainted on the spot from the mere taste alone.

It was truly a taste so horrific that it paralyzed the tongue, scorched the throat, and twisted the very soul.

But the effects were undeniable.

Sssss—.

Taking a deep breath, Yuri inhaled deeply, and the toxic aura, with a rich floral scent, spread throughout his body.

And at that moment.

Crackle—.

Yuri felt thunder energy arise within his body, tearing apart the poison aura.

It was a strange and fascinating experience.

As he observed the changes occurring inside him, it didn’t take long for the poison to be completely eradicated.

Smirking, Yuri looked at Susan.

“You asked earlier, why I chose you over anyone else. The reason’s simple.”

“…….”

“Because you were the easiest target.”

“You….”

“Even if I set Gunther Ryder aside, you were easier than Goetz Röthen. That’s why I picked you.”

At Yuri’s mocking grin, Susan gritted her teeth.


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