I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 217: Changing the Dragon Plaque 2 (2)

No matter how loudly he screamed, Johan didn’t show up.

So what could he do?

The thirsty must dig their own well.

Eventually, Yuri decided to seek out Johan himself.

However, unlike his assumption that Johan would be in the training grounds, Johan was nowhere to be found.

‘What the hell? Where did that guy go?’

Yuri searched high and low, wondering if Johan had perhaps left again.

After a long while, he found Johan in an unexpected place, with an unexpected person.

“Ha!”

“Hah!”

Johan and Segyung were sitting face-to-face, drinking in broad daylight.

Holding nothing but their bottles, they were using Yuri as a topic of conversation and laughing loudly.

“Why are geniuses always so insufferable? Do they lose their humanity in exchange for their genius?”

“Heh, I never expected to hear such words coming out of your mouth, Johan.”

“I wasn’t as bad as that bastard! Damn brat. Ugh, blegh!”

“Well, he’s definitely more of a pain than you were at his age.”

“Compared to him, I’m practically a human being. He’s a beast, a damn beast!”

“Well, I’m not sure about a beast, but he sure doesn’t seem like he’s human.”

The two seemed to have grown closer, diligently badmouthing Yuri while taking sips of their drinks.

Or maybe they had called a truce because they now had a common enemy?

Yuri briefly gave them a dumbfounded look before remembering the urgency of the situation and ran over to them.

“Old man!”

At Yuri’s resounding shout, the two glanced at him briefly before turning away to mutter amongst themselves.

“Man, this brat won’t even let us enjoy a quiet drink.”

“Kkongsul, isn’t that brat your disciple? Go and tell him to shut up.”

“Why would he be my disciple? He’s yours!”

“He and I are just in a contractual relationship, exchanging favors.”

“If that’s the case, I’m basically a slave who lost a bet and had my skills stolen.”

“Honestly, I’m not much different from you. Actually, I’m worse off! Now I’m being scolded by him to quit swordsmanship and go learn your skills.”

“Hah… what a cursed mouth.”

Despite Yuri’s presence, the insults kept coming.

Normally, Yuri would have immediately argued back, but now was different.

“Old man! Kkongsul, you’re here just in time too. Look at this!”

Yuri hurriedly ran over to the two, showing them the metal he had carefully brought along.

A little while later, Johan took a close look at the metal and asked.

“Hm… So, this came out of your body?”

“Exactly! I told you that ghost was real! You didn’t believe me.”

“I never said I didn’t believe you.”

“……”

“I never said ghosts didn’t exist either.”

Yuri thought back carefully, realizing Johan had never called him a liar nor denied the existence of ghosts.

Feeling a bit sheepish, Yuri scratched his cheek while Johan fiddled with the metal he had received.

‘Hm… At first glance, it looks like ordinary metal.’

Even after careful inspection, there was nothing particularly unusual about it.

He handed the metal to Segyung.

“What do you think of it?”

“Hmm, let’s see…”

Segyung pulled out a long pair of glasses from his pocket and put them on one eye.

He began examining it meticulously.

He looked at it, tapped it, smelled it, and even put it near his ear.

After a while, he took off his glasses and turned to Yuri.

“So, this is the metal that the severed arm ghost gave you?”

“Yes!”

Yuri nodded eagerly.

“And the severed arm was in the Black Dragon Cave?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Hoo.”

Segyung’s eyes were full of intrigue.

Yuri, filled with anticipation, asked.

“Do you think you know what it is?”

“To be honest… it’s a type I’ve never seen before. Its structure and aura are beyond anything within my knowledge. What could this possibly be? For a material of this mass, it should weigh quite a bit… but this is far too light.”

“Then besides you, is there anyone else who might know? Is there anyone you can ask?”

“There are few who surpass me in knowledge about analyzing material structures—perhaps only a master from the Walker or Ramel Schools.”

“And even they wouldn’t know?”

“That’s what makes it so fascinating! The fact that such a material exists in the world! But one thing I can say for certain is that this definitely falls under the category of ‘metal’… Are you really saying this turned into a liquid and entered your body?”

“I’m telling you it did!”

“Try putting it in.”

“…It’s not something I can control at will.”

“Tsk, you can’t even do that?”

Under Segyung’s half-lidded gaze, Yuri grew irritated and snatched the golden metal, placing it on his palm.

The three of them fixed their gazes on the metal in Yuri’s hand.

But.

“……”

“……”

“……”

No matter how much time passed, the metal on Yuri’s palm didn’t disappear.

Amidst the ongoing silence, Johan and Segyung couldn’t help but make a comment.

“Tsk, useless brat.”

“What good is being a genius if you can’t even absorb a bit of metal with your palm?”

“Such a fake genius. That brat? A genius? What nonsense.”

Irritated by their unfair comments, Yuri lashed out.

“You damn old geezers…!”

And just at that moment.

Swoosh—.

The golden metal transformed back into a liquid and was absorbed into Yuri’s hand, disappearing from sight.

“……?!”

“Hup?!”

The two who had been mocking Yuri froze at the sudden occurrence before their eyes.

Meanwhile, Yuri excitedly exclaimed.

“See! It’s real!”

Segyung and Johan were left speechless.

“……”

“……”

Segyung was stunned, realizing that Yuri’s words were true—the solid metal had indeed turned into a liquid and was absorbed by the body.

Johan, on the other hand, looked as if he had just figured something out.

He turned to Segyung and asked.

“…Hey, Kkongsul, that was definitely… metal, right?”

“I pride myself on being unmatched among the Bone Clan when it comes to discerning the nature of materials. I can confidently say that was… definitely metal.”

“…I see.”

Johan, still wearing a grim expression, spoke to Yuri.

“Can you pull that out again?”

“…I’ll try.”

Yuri nodded briefly and extended his hand once more.

‘How did I pull this out again?’

Recalling when the metal appeared on his hand, Yuri remembered the scene where he had received a liquid mass from the severed arm in the Black Dragon Cave.

So, he tried to recreate that scene in his mind, but the metal did not appear.

‘What the hell? Why isn’t it working? What’s the problem?’

After struggling for a while.

Gurgle—.

Finally, a liquid rose up in Yuri’s hand, forming the familiar metal lump.

“There.”

Having succeeded again, Yuri started to get the hang of it.

‘It’s roughly… this kind of feeling?’

Although not exact, it was like drawing a mental image to extract something from his body.

And that sensation was one Yuri was well familiar with.

‘It’s similar to when I summon my Avatar.’

A sense he had instinctively honed since childhood, without anyone ever teaching him.

Though the feeling was somewhat different, it was close enough to what he knew.

Thus, Yuri was able to quickly adapt.

Gurgle, gurgle—.

In front of everyone, Yuri repeatedly pulled out and put away the metal.

As he internalized the experience from just moments ago, Johan observed and arrived at a definitive conclusion.

‘What the…?!’

Watching the golden metal appear and disappear repeatedly, Johan didn’t blink an eye.

A groan of disbelief escaped his lips.

“…I can’t believe this.”

“Huh?”

“That thing of yours… it’s not ordinary metal. It’s a type of spiritual entity.”

“A spiritual entity?”

“…An Avatar, in other words.”

“So it’s that after all…”

No wonder it felt similar to extracting an Avatar from his body.

As Yuri nodded in understanding, Johan’s eyes filled with confusion.

“This is… This doesn’t make any sense. But the results are right in front of us, so I can’t deny it. Damn… what on earth…?”

“Is it really that strange?”

Johan, wearing a heavy expression, answered Yuri’s innocent question.

“A spiritual entity manifested externally through spiritual blood—an Avatar—can physically interact with the real world. But even so, it remains fundamentally non-material. However…”

Johan trailed off, and Segyung exclaimed in disbelief.

“That’s impossible! That was definitely metal a moment ago!”

Johan nodded.

“Yes, it was. That was undeniably a material.”

The metal had been so perfect that even Johan hadn’t realized it was an Avatar when it was in metallic form.

“That’s why it makes no sense. There’s no way a non-material Avatar could turn into a material object.”

“So, in simple terms, you’re saying a ghost turned into a human?”

“Yeah, if you’re speaking simply… that’s the gist of it.”

Johan nodded at Yuri’s apt comparison.

He looked at Yuri’s palm with eyes that seemed astounded.

‘To think this could happen.’

The fact that an Avatar, which belongs to the non-material realm, could never turn into a material object had been a foundational belief for him—until today, when that belief was shattered by an item Yuri received from a ghost.

‘

And to make it even more absurd, it’s freely transitioning between non-material and material states.’

What kind of unbelievable occurrence was this?

Even more astonishing was the fact that Yuri’s spiritual blood was sealed by Johan himself.

So then, where on earth was that Avatar coming from?

Johan looked at Yuri with an incredulous expression.

“What… did you bring back?”

“If I knew that, would I be showing it to you old guys?”

Yuri’s eyes were filled with frustration.

Thunk—.

Segyung suddenly grabbed Yuri’s wrist.

His eyes were shining brighter than ever.

“…Research.”

“……”

“If we can study that and figure out how it works… we might open the door to a whole new world!”

Whether it was in the field of metallurgy or alchemy, uncovering the secrets of a metal that freely transitioned between material and non-material states could lead to groundbreaking innovations.

And there was no way a Bone Clan member could remain indifferent to such a temptation.

Just as Segyung’s eyes burned with the desire to research.

Thunk—.

Johan seized Yuri’s other hand.

“Let me join that research too.”

With a perfect subject for studying Avatars appearing, Johan’s research passion ignited for the first time in ages.

Thus, Yuri found himself with both wrists held by the two men.

‘S-Save me.’

Facing the real possibility of being dissected, Yuri’s face turned pale.

* * *

In a situation where it wouldn’t be surprising if Yuri ended up strapped to an operating table, he was saved by an unexpected visitor to the Demon King’s Castle.

“Hoo? So this is the Demon King’s Castle I’ve heard so much about? To think you built something this massive in just a few months, impressive.”

With a splinted arm, a body wrapped in bandages, and even a limp that required a crutch, the person who appeared was none other than the purple-haired Goetz Röthen.

He extended his neck, marveling at the Demon King’s Castle that stood prominently in a place he knew well.

Yuri, eyeing Goetz, asked flatly.

“You came all the way here yourself?”

“They shoved me out, saying that the one who proposed the idea should handle the negotiations personally. Well, they call it a negotiation, but in truth, it’s just dealing with annoying chores.”

“So you came alone?”

“Indeed.”

As Goetz nodded, a brief silence fell between them.

“……”

“……”

Meanwhile, Yuri spread the threads of his Magic Flow, confirming that there was indeed no one else around as Goetz had said.

He then lowered his voice to ask.

“…The mission?”

Goetz looked around as well before quietly replying.

“…Perfectly accomplished.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, their eyes met.

“Well done.”

“Thank you.”

Thunk—.

With satisfied expressions, they clasped hands.

Along with it, memories of a few days ago began to replay in Goetz’s mind.