Chapter 249: The Thousand Curse Dragon (1)

I'm Not a Regressor

Chapter 249: The Thousand Curse Dragon (1)

Ohjin's party went on for three hours until the atmosphere cooled. Once a certain song rang from the TV in the living room, people naturally felt that it was time for them to go.

"Haha. I enjoyed the party! I'll contact you again next time!" Manager Han said as he left.

"Bye, Manager Gorilla!" Ohjin exclaimed.

"Wh-what do you mean?!" Tears welled up in Manager Han's eyes.

"Take care, Ha-eun! If you need any equipment, please stop by the lab!" Sihoo said.

"Oh, for free?" Ha-eun asked,

"Err..." Sihoo scratched his head. "If it's fun, I guess?"

Ha-eun smiled and patted the boy on the shoulder. "I'm just kidding. I'll bring a pile of starstones when I visit."

"We'll be heading out first," Manager Han said as he guided Sihoo out.

"Yes, get home safely!" Rebecca said as she poured the rest of her alcohol down her throat and turned to look at Ohjin, who was lying face-down on the table and breathing heavily. "Why is he like that? Did he drink a lot?"

"Huh?" Ha-eun tilted her head. "I barely saw him drink anything, though." She tapped him on the shoulder and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Ohjin raised his head and stared at Isabella, who was sitting across the table from him.

Looking satisfied as if she'd eaten a big, hearty meal, Isabella stood from her seat and said, "I'll start cleaning~" She hummed and took away the plates.

Ha-eun tilted her head, sensing that there was something strange between the two.

Meanwhile, Rebecca smiled. "So there wasn't only one competitor, huh?" she mumbled before, still in her chair, she leaned in toward Ohjin and whispered, "Really... aren't you too bold to be doing things like that in front of people?"

"...!" Ohjin's eyes widened as he flinched and turned to give her a stunned look. The woman held her stomach and laughed in response.

Ha-eun was still confused and tilted her head. "What? Why are you laughing all of a sudden?"

"Hahaha! It's nothing." Rebecca said before getting up from her seat. "I'll also be going now. Invite me again next time, Mr. Seventh Star." She winked and walked out the front door.

"Haa..." Ohjin held a hand to his forehead as if he had a headache.

"Are they slowly leaving?" Vega, who'd eaten her fill, flew over to Ohjin. "What...?" Maybe it was because she'd eaten too much, but she lost her sense of balance in mid-air and fell.

Thankfully, Riak was quick to react and caught her on his back. "Are you okay, Vega?"

"A-ahem! I lost my balance because I was drunk!" she exclaimed.

"C'mon," Ha-eun disagreed, "just a glance, and I can tell that it's because you ate too much. Why are you blaming the alcohol?"

"Shut up!!" Vega flew straight at Ha-eun and yanked on her earlobe.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Just when the living room was getting noisy again, Woohyuk approached Ohjin and said, "Ohjin..."

"Woohyuk, are you going to go home now?" Ohjin asked.

"Yes. Before that, I have something to ask you, to be precise... It's a question for Ha-eun."

"What?" Ohjin asked.

Ha-eun who'd been play-fighting with Vega turned to look at them with wide eyes. "Huh? Me?"

Woohyuk gave Ha-eun an embarrassed look. "Well... it's not something I should be saying at a party, but I'm going on a business trip abroad tomorrow." He gave a deep sigh before getting directly to the point. "Have you heard that named monsters are back in action recently?"

"Oh, yes. I heard that."

They didn't know what the connection was, but they'd heard that the named monsters, which had been inactive since the Black Star Organization began their activities, were popping up again.

"Korea didn't suffer as much as some others, but there was a time when we faced a disaster at the hands of a named monster."

"..." Of course, Ohjin was already very familiar with the aforementioned 'named monster'. No... He couldn't help but know. "The Thousand Curse Dragon, Barbatos," he said as his eyes went cold.

Woohyuk gave a solemn nod. "Yes. Recently, we detected that the Thousand Curse Dragon resumed its activities in North Korea."

Six years prior, back when Ha-eun had already been an Awakener for six years, a named monster had turned North Korea into a massive swamp and settled there before leading a group of monsters to the south.

A major war had broken out in the middle of downtown Seoul, causing thousands of people to be slaughtered. The guilds, who'd been at odds with each other, joined hands in an unprecedented act of unity while the Awakeners gathered to fight the named monster.

Of course, Ha-eun had also been there. Awakeners had been of much lower level and number back then, so she'd directly faced the dragon in the leading group as the most skilled Awakener in South Korea.

"The Thousand Curse Dragon... appeared again?" Ha-eun asked. She and her allies back then had barely managed to drive the Thousand Curse Dragon out in exchange for dozens of Awakeners' lives, but they hadn't managed to kill it. The dragon had also left her with a cruel parting curse that'd stolen her sight.

"Yes. It's not moving too much yet, but I'm sure it's back." Woohyuk took a picture out of his pocket that showed a purple dragon walking through downtown Pyongyang. The picture, which showed the city devastated by a monster invasion, was crystal clear.

"..." Ha-eun's expression stiffened when she saw the picture. A dragon with purple scales, symbolizing curses and poison... It was the Thousand Curse Dragon, just as she remembered it.

"What...?" she mumbled. No, there was one difference... "What's with the black horns?"

Two horns sprouted from the dragon's head.

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Translator - Rainypup

Proofreader - ilafy

* * *

She didn't remember any horns like that back when she'd fought the dragon.

"We don't know why it has horns now," Woohyuk said. "However, other than that, it looks exactly like the Thousand Curse Dragon we know of."

"That's right..." Ha-eun slowly nodded.

Woohyuk continued. "As far as I know, Ha-eun, you participated in the Thousand Curse Dragon subjugation the first time around... Is that right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Can you tell me what you know about the dragon?" Of course, she was the perfect person to ask for information on the named boss. Who could be a better person than the one who'd directly faced it?

"Are you planning to subjugate the dragon again?" Ha-eun asked.

"Yes. If we wait, then we don't know when he'll lead another monster wave." That made sense. It was wisest to wipe out an enemy before they could become a proper force, after all.

"..." Ha-eun frowned as if recalling a nightmare she didn't want to remember. "First of all, its curse attacks are very tricky. It used colorful curses, as you'd expect from its name."

The Thousand Curse Dragon used everything from debilitating curses that caused headaches and vomiting, to curses that slowed you down, to curses that caused terrible pain. It had an uncountable variety of curses at its disposal.

"You have to watch for when its scales shine. The intensity of the curse changes depending on how many scales are shining."

"I see."

"Hang on a second, Ha-eun." Sunyoung quickly took out her smartphone and began to record. "Please say that again."

"Compared to its size, it's weak in close combat. Its movements were on the slow side."

"What's its flight capability?"

"It can't fly. It has wings, but I've never seen them in use." Ha-eun recounted the terrible memories of the past and relayed all that she knew.

"Do you happen to know where the nest is?"

"The nest? I don't know where the nest is."

"Hmm... Could you at least make a guess?"

"Well, even if you say that, nothing comes to mind." Ha-eun scratched her head with an embarrassed look on her face.

Woohyuk let out a deep sigh. "As expected, not even you know where its nest could be." They'd have to find its nest if they wanted to take out the named monster before it gathered more power. Unfortunately, he was at a loss. "If only I knew where the nest was..."

-If only I knew where the nest was...

Bzzt—

Ohjin's vision twisted, and Woohyuk's voice, muttering the same words as before, resonated in his head. 'This...' His eyes shone as the Black Heaven's newest trait activated, and a familiar feeling assaulted him.

-Woohyuk, O-over there! Th-that's the nest!

He heard Shinhyuk yelling in excitement as the nest's location naturally flowed into his head.

"Fuu..." Woohyuk breathed out a long sigh. "I'm sorry to remind you of bad memories on such a good day."

"No, it's fine," Ha-eun said. "You're going on a business trip tomorrow?"

"Yes, I heard the named monsters also resumed their activities overseas, so I'm going to see what else I can find out."

"You're working hard."

"Haha. Someone has to do it." Woohyuk stood up and grabbed his coat. "Well, we'll get going. I enjoyed the meal."

"Yes, go ahead," Ha-eun waved goodbye.

Meanwhile, Ohjin watched him leave without saying a word.

Click—

The door closed, signaling the end of the rambunctious party.

"Shall we clean up now?" Ha-eun asked.

"I'll help you!" Vega exclaimed.

"..." As the other two cleaned up, Ohjin closed his eyes and thought over some memories. The smell of medicine wafted into his nose, and he recalled Ha-eun lying in a hospital bed and trembling amidst an unfamiliar darkness.

He knew where the being who'd taken her light from her was, and a blue fire kindled in his eyes as he slowly opened them. "Everyone, I have something to say."

"What?" Ha-eun asked.

Vega turned to look at him as well. "What are you talking about?"

The only other three people in the room—Ha-eun, Vega, and Isabella—were all waiting for his next words.

"You know what we just heard about the Thousand Curse Dragon?" he asked them.

"Oh, yes," Isabella said.

"Let's slaughter that bastard."

Ohjin felt sorry for the Valhalla Guild, but if it was something that had to be done, then he would do it himself.