Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

Chapter 421




Chapter 422: Victory is Sweet

Victory is sweet. It’s so addictive that some people dive in and can’t get out—like a drug. That’s what victory was.

Occasionally, you might encounter a rare, ambiguous victory, but still, you had to enjoy it. It was both a privilege and a duty bestowed upon the winner.

“Cheers~!”

The wooden cups clinked together. Of course, we weren’t sitting in some tavern.

Pandemonium was not a place you could escape from in just half a day.

Jumping onto the trees might offer a way out, though.

But wandering around in a state where you couldn’t even tell what was beneath your feet was exceedingly dangerous, so that idea was discarded.

We dug a hole and started a campfire. With Yeon-woo always carrying his outdoor set, there was no shortage of food, sleep, or anything else.

Sizzle, the delicious sounds and aromas simultaneously stimulated our senses. Meat and sausages lined up, ready to cater to various appetites.

“Wow…!”

“Looks delicious!!”

Shar and Tae-oh couldn’t hide their admiration. From Yeon-woo’s perspective, their reaction was somewhat perplexing. After all, they were kids who ate Riley’s chef-level cooking every day.

“It’s just grilled meat; what makes it look so good?”

“This is different!!”

“Right! Dad lacks feeling!!”

“It does look good, yes…!”

Noel nodded as if the kids were right, joining in as she drooled over the grilled meat and vegetables.

Noel and Yuri both had inventory-type artifacts, but it seemed their capacity wasn’t very large.

The grocery selections were mostly focused on satiety relative to space, and they were even considering the option of eating monsters in a pinch.

In such a scenario, it was understandable why Yeon-woo was so excited by the artifact that provided ingredients in real-time. After all, good food could save the world, right?

“If I had known, I should have brought Yeon-woo along from the start.”

“Treating someone like food is a bit much.”

“Food is incredibly important, you know, Yeon-woo.”

With a serious face, Yuri tilted her cup as she said this, and Yeon-woo couldn’t help but nod.

Although he said that, at that time, he was in the martial arts realm and couldn’t bring him along even if he wanted to.

The atmosphere, which had been somewhat stagnant just a moment ago, suddenly became vibrant.

The air inside the cave grew warm as it circulated, and a breeze came through the pre-made hole, making us aware of the heat on our faces.

I busily grilled meat and sliced sausages, moving them in front of our party. With four mouths to feed, Shar and Tae-oh were devouring food at an unbelievable speed the moment they joined in.

At this rate, supply couldn’t keep up with demand. Deciding so, Yeon-woo fiddled with Relin’s Warehouse.

Two more grills appeared beside him, and mana surged from his body.

“I never expected to go this far just for grilling meat.”

In an instant, Yeon-woo split into two. A clone using the power of deception stood beside the original, looking dumbfounded.

The original silently pointed towards the kids’ eager faces.

Tae-oh and Shar couldn’t be helped. The clone nodded and began utilizing the grill with all its might.

“Pfft, what the heck is that! It’s not meant for this… Ack!!”

“Pfft!”

“Noel sister, I fell!”

Noel burst into laughter, holding her belly, causing her chair to topple over. The cave filled with laughter. Flushing in embarrassment, Noel stood up.

The Master’s keen senses indicated which meats were cooking to perfection and which were not.

With a mere swing of the knife, the meats fell onto the plates with a satisfying sound.

He hadn’t intended to become a master for this, but since he had, he might as well make use of the skills.

To forget about the hardships and sorrows so far, the party raised their cups. Of course, the kids were served juice.

*

The calm night in Pandemonium had its charms.

Darkened air and the silhouettes of trees dressed up in suits.

The overly abundant leaves blocked every ray of light from entering, yet, even in such a place, light was still there.

Tiny bugs flitted about. Green light trickled from the bugs’ behinds—a refreshing glow that contradicted the belief that horrendous demons lived in this forest, filling the view completely.

It was a sight that could evoke emotion in anyone. Yeon-woo quietly gazed at it, pulling out a small glass vial from his pocket.

It was a tiny vial, once containing a potion, but it had been emptied by Noel, leaving only the container. Inside, a thick, red liquid lingered.

Blood. Very red, very thick blood. Its origin was crystal clear.

‘Demon King’s blood, huh.’

Although it was referred to as the blood of the Demon King, since the last being that the King possessed was a noman, it wouldn’t be wrong to say it was noman’s blood.

It was odd to be holding someone else’s blood while getting lost in sentiment, but it couldn’t be helped.

Strangely enough, he had felt it was odd since a while ago. After all, every Demon King left behind some part of their body or tool upon their demise.

Toyo left his energy and core, the Demon King of Alkeon left blood, and Mokyo left the very concept of a Demon King. He hadn’t confirmed it, but he heard that the Heavenly Demon left an arm behind after fainting.

It wasn’t so bizarre. Even a tiger leaves its skin after it dies; there’s no rule that a Demon King shouldn’t leave anything behind.

However, if every fragment that had been left behind so far did not overlap even once and was entirely distinct, it wouldn’t be odd to feel some suspicion.

‘…Are they going to assemble something later?’

What a ridiculous thought. Assembling the fragments of a Demon King would be bizarre, and there was no reason to do so.

What good would it be to bring about a Demon King with his own hands in a world that was getting closer to peace?

‘But now, there are four left.’

Out of the nine Demon Kings, four were dead, and five remained.

One had begun taking an interest in humanity instead of destroying this world, meaning it was practically four.

As for Leviathan, well, there was still some room for adjusting perceptions.

‘Getting to know my kids and being able to communicate with them.’

Though it sounded a bit odd, it meant they could threaten him by holding his kids hostage.

Heh heh, considering he had never had a lifelong friend, it was obvious he wouldn’t resist.

It felt like quite a bit had happened. It almost felt surprisingly easy, given how much had occurred.

Even if he stopped here, the situation from before his regression might not arise again, a vague illusion began to swell.

However, as mentioned before, Hwayo and Moryo stood out as the most dangerous of the Demon Kings.

It was best to deal with Saturday quickly, while Hwayo and Moryo were the worst and the strongest by themselves.

‘You’re doing well, Choi Yeon-woo.’

Just a little more effort. He didn’t know how to deal with those two.

*

What was most important at the moment? It was to get home quickly. Noel and Yuri also agreed with this sentiment.

Recognizing their need for a place to rest without being seen outside for a while, they invited her to their home.

As they would be staying at Yuri’s residence, they could certainly provide a resting place.

Fortunately, there was no great issue in communicating the news about defeating the Demon King. Yuri had enough acquaintances who could contact Alkeon.

After leaving a letter with the merchant they found on the way back to Earth, they returned home with ease.

It wouldn’t be long before chaos ensued. They just needed to relax in the meantime. Couldn’t they wait to receive congratulations until after they were well-rested?

“Home sweet home!!”

Driven by the single-minded desire to get home quickly and rest, a march towards death commenced, and they managed to reach Harmony City after several days.

Although it was a grueling schedule, no one opposed it, which easily indicated how much the two had struggled in Pandemonium.

Yeon-woo, completely worn out, dashed at the front door, howling.

Could it be that the password had changed? For a moment, that thought crossed his mind, but thankfully, his partner wasn’t that cruel.

Noel and Yuri appeared to be in a hurry to sleep, as they returned home first.

Fatigued to the bone, Yeon-woo opened the front door and stumbled in, kicking off his shoes as he collapsed.

He was seized with the impulse to just fall asleep like this, but the two kids supported him.

“You have to wash up before sleeping, Dad. Just a bit more, okay?”

“Yeah. If you sleep dirty, Mom will say something. We don’t want to hear Mom nag!”

“You didn’t even walk, you traitors…!”

Naturally, the two kids weren’t walking at all. In truth, there was no need to walk.

If they were inside Yeon-woo, it would automatically carry them, so why would they bother walking? Thanks to this, Tae-oh and Shar had plenty of energy left after sleeping sufficiently.

“But I didn’t want to walk.”

“Neither did I…”

In hindsight, it wasn’t that Yeon-woo enjoyed walking and running either.

However, he thought it was better for him to be the one struggling rather than the kids.

“Alright, let’s wash up. I need to show I’m a decent human. It’s been a few days since we met.”

“Great idea! Just leave the rest to us!”

“Hmm, I’ll make sure Mom feels sorry for Dad.”

“What exactly are you planning?”

He wasn’t sure what it was, but he had a hunch that it wouldn’t be something detrimental to him. Thus, Yeon-woo nodded firmly at the kids.

Ridiculously, their plan turned out to be perfect.

While Yeon-woo was sleeping like a corpse, Nea, upon hearing the adventure tales of how much Yeon-woo had struggled, embellishing it about 1.5 times, felt sympathy for him and offered a knee pillow.

When Yeon-woo woke up, the sight of Nea’s wonderfully caring eyes greeted him.

The soft touch of her thighs and the beautiful sight of Nea was…

“Bliss.”

(To be continued in the next part)


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