Chapter 412: I'll Be Taking Your Daughter

[Echidna...?]

The red dragon looked down at Echidna with shaking eyes. Silence fell.

"Hah," Oh Kang-Woo feigned laughter.

This dragon seemed to be Echidna's father who had left Echidna by herself in the past.

'Demonic Dragon Kargath, was it?'

He recalled the message window that he had seen a long time ago.

'I never thought I'd meet him in this way.'

"Hmm." Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.

He did not have a positive impression of Kargath. How could he, when Kargath was the reason why Echidna had gone through such misfortune?

'But still...'

That was not reason enough to beat him to a pulp in front of Echidna. Kang-Woo decided to try to converse with Kargath first.

"You must be Karg—"

[You bastaaaaaaards!! What are you trying to do to Echidna?!!]

Caldesann shook from Kargath's enraged roar before Kang-Woo could even finish his sentence. Kang-Woo frowned.

'What's up with this son of a bitch? What are we trying to do to Echidna, he said?'

Kang-Woo could not understand why Kargath was so enraged. He turned to Echidna.

'Why is he so—'

Next to Echidna was a red giant who had his hand on Echidna's back, and in front of her was a skeleton wearing a pink apron.

"Huh?"

'Oh, mmm. I can see why he's angry.'

Any parent would be enraged if they saw their daughter next to a demon and an Undead with no prior information.

'But... Was he not a demonic dragon?'

If that was the case, there was no way Kargath would be acting so sensitively from seeing Echidna with a demon and an Undead. Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion and scanned Kargath with the Authority of Insight.

'He... doesn't have demonic energy?'

Kang-Woo wondered if Kargath's demonic energy had disappeared like himself after he had become the God of Splendor, but he could not feel Deific Essence from Kargath either. He was confused by the incomprehensible situation.

[Step away from Echidna this instant!]

Kargath stomped his feet while roaring. He drew out a massive wave of mana and shot it at Balrog.

"D-Dad, no!" Echidna shouted hurriedly.

She stood up and stepped in front of Balrog. The mana blast quickly changed direction.

Crash!

The mana blast collided with the lake and created a massive pillar of water.

[No...? Wh-What do you mean, Echidna?]

Echidna clenched her fists and continued, "They're my friends. Don't hurt them."

She glared at Kargath, whose face turned as white as a sheet.

[Friends...? H-Have you been brainwashed by that demon?] he asked desperately as if he found it hard to believe.

"No." Echidna shook her head. She looked up at Kargath while biting her lip. She said in a low voice as if pulling out the emotions that she had suppressed all this time, "Dad... Where have you been... all this time?"

Her shoulders were trembling and her eyes were filled with rage and sorrow. Kang-Woo couldn't imagine how much of her emotions she had suppressed to stop herself from saying that until now.

Kargath remained silent for a long time. [I'm... sorry.]

He lowered his head.

"Why... Why did you disappear without a word? Why... did you... abandon me?"

[I did not abandon you!!] Kargath quickly shouted. [I did not.]

"Then...!!" Tears flowed down Echidna's cheeks as she bit her lip aggressively. "Why... Why..."

Echidna fell to her knees as she wept, the tears pooling at the tip of her chin. Balrog wiped her tears with his hand.

[How dare a filthy demon touch my daughter?!]

"Do you truly believe you have the right to say that?" Balrog slowly stood up and sneered at him. "Kargath... Yes, I remember hearing about you from Amon. A dragon cursed by the Dragon God for breaking a taboo due to his greed for Deific Essence."

Balrog glared at Kargath and continued, "Foolish dragon, do you know the demon named Lucifer?]

[Are you a subordinate of the Evil God?]

"No. That is not what I'm trying to say." Balrog slowly shook his head. He lightly patted Echidna's shoulder and continued fiercely, "I'm trying to ask if you knew that not even the Evil God abandoned his child."

Kargath flinched. He took a deep breath, flames lingering around his mouth, and then said, [I had... no choice. It was the only choice I could make... to lift the curse that the Dragon God placed on our family.]

Kang-Woo thought about what Kargath meant by a curse but was easily able to figure it out.

"In other words, you were cursed by the Dragon God because you fucked up, so you left your daughter to ask the Dragon God for forgiveness and get the curse lifted, right?"

He might not have necessarily asked for forgiveness; he might have made a deal with the Dragon God or even made threats. However he did it, it did not change the fact that he had left Echidna to lift that curse.

"Well, it seems like you managed to get the curse lifted since I don't feel any demonic energy from you, but..."

Echidna had suffered from isolation while Kargath had left her to lift the curse.

[Silence!] Kargath roared fiercely and continued in desperation, [You know nothing about the fate of a demonic dragon!! Demonic dragons are not acknowledged by any dragon! They are ostracized and exterminated! I... could not afford to pass on such a fate to my daughter.]

Kang-Woo smirked. "Wow, I would think that the Dragon God cursed you because he fucking hated you if I didn't know any better."

He approached Echidna, whose shoulders were trembling with her head down, and placed his hand on her head.

"It sure is nice to be able to say that you had no choice."

Phrases like it was all for your sake, it couldn't have been helped, and that there was no other way... They were all so sweet that they could completely erase one's bitter regrets.

"To be honest with you, I have no idea what to feel," Kang-Woo remarked.

He could not even imagine the feelings of a parent since he did not have children or parents. The concept of family was a complete enigma to him.

"But..." Kang-Woo patted the crying Echidna. "Do you seriously believe Echidna wanted that?"

He stared at the crying girl. To her, Kargath had been everything. She did not care about the fact that she was a demonic dragon or that she would be ostracized by other dragons. Kargath had made her the loneliest dragon in the world to save her from isolation; it was truly ironic.

[You know nothing!] Kargath exclaimed.

"That's why I said I have no idea, man."

There was no need for Kang-Woo to know about what Kargath had felt and the resolve he had to make to leave Echidna or what sort of tearjerking story was hidden underneath. None of that mattered.

"What matters is that..."

Kang-Woo pulled Echidna toward him by the shoulder. Echidna's eyes widened as she was pulled into Kang-Woo's embrace.

"Kang... Woo?" She looked up at him with shaking eyes.

Kang-Woo said to Echidna while embracing Echidna, "... Echidna is my Familiar."

[What did you say?] Kargath's eyes widened.

He knew very well what the word Familiar entailed.

[H-How dare you?! You've been enslaving Echidna?!]

"Whoa there, don't get the wrong idea. At least say that I subordinated her."

[Get away from Echidna!] Kargath roared madly.

Kang-Woo grinned and looked toward Echidna. "You heard him. What should I do?"

Echidna hesitated as she trembled and bit her lip. She then slowly grabbed Kang-Woo's clothes and wept. "Don't go away. Don't leave me alone again..."

Kang-Woo smiled widely. "Oh man, what do we have here?" He turned to Kargath. "It looks like you'll be the one to be abandoned this time."

[You bastaaaaaaard!]

Kargath raised his head and charged at Kang-Woo in fury.

Kang-Woo extended his arm toward Kargath and commanded in Soul Speech, "Kneel."

Boom!

[Kurgh!]

The massive Kargath was pushed down by an unknown power. He stared at Kang-Woo in shock.

[H-How can a human use S-Soul Speech...?] he muttered as if he couldn't understand. He shouted desperately while twisting and turning, [My child! Come here! You are being deceived by that human!!]

"Urgh." Echidna bit her lip and turned to face Kargath. "Dad..." She stood up straight and continued after much silence, "I was so... so lonely when you first disappeared."

[That's...]

"I was okay with being a demonic dragon. I didn't care even if I was ostracized and hunted down. All I wanted was... to be together with you, Dad. But why... Why did you disappear... without a word?"

More tears flowed down Echidna's cheeks.

[Echidna...] Kargath said with a trembling voice.

Echidna raised her head after crying for a while and said as if she was releasing her pent-up emotions, "I'm not gonna go to you, Dad. The place where I belong... is here now."

She gripped Kang-Woo's clothes tighter. Kang-Woo smiled as he placed his hand on Echidna's shoulder. "You heard her."

He cackled.

Cha Yeon-Joo watched in silence.

She knew exactly what was going on. She knew that Echidna had chosen Kang-Woo over Kargath of her own accord and that Kargath was reaping what he had sown.

'But...'

She stared at the despairing Kargath and the cackling Kang-Woo who had his hand on Echidna's shoulder.

'Why does that son of a bitch look like the villain here?'

[N-No!! A-Anything but my daughter...!]

"Maybe this wouldn't be happening if you treated her better when it mattered~"

'Dude.'

[A-Aaaaahh!! Wh-What are you planning on doing to my daughter?!]

"Hahaha! I can at least guarantee that she'll have way more fun with me than she ever had with you."

'Oh Kang-Woo, you son of a bitch.'

"I'll send you pictures from time to time. Ones of her smiling very happily, that is."

'You crazy bastard.'

"Pfft! Bwehehehe!! Right then, I'll be taking your daughter!"

Yeon-Joo stared at Kang-Woo in shock. "He's..."

'A fucking scumbag.'

erigiii's Thoughts

What are your thoughts on Kargath's decision? I agreed with his decision at first, but why was he inside this random mountain if he got forgiveness from the Dragon God? Maybe he returned home after getting the Dragon God to lift the curse but saw that Echidna had disappeared, and ended up shutting himself in this mountain after years of searching for her.

If that's the case, I kind of feel bad for him... I don't believe he made that decision for himself; I want to believe that he made that choice for the sake of her future. However, Echidna was only a little girl (by dragon standards) at the time and doesn't fully appreciate his choice now that she is happy with her new family.