Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: The Demonic Dragon's Sanctuary (2)
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A deafening roar—
With the dragon's roar, my body felt slightly heavier.
[You have been exposed to Dragon Fear.]
[You have partially resisted the effect with your Status Effect Resistance. Agility -20%, Stamina -20%]
I can't believe it. Even for Dragon Fear, it's cutting my stats by a percentage.
And this was after I'd partially resisted it...
Still, it wasn't enough to immobilize me, so I flew back to my companions as fast as I could.
“Hyeon-ung?”
“Wasn’t that sound Dragon Fear?”
Thankfully, my companions seemed fine, either because they were far enough away or because Rina had put up a defense.
“I was just trying to scout, but I got caught. There's a dragon and a massive horde of monsters over that hill.”
“Massive? How many?”
I was about to explain that there had to be tens of thousands, but there was no need.
“That is… quite a lot.”
When I turned around, the hill I'd just come from was stained black with a legion of monsters.
“Whoa, just how many of them are there?”
“I told you there were a lot. Alpen, get inside. You too, Elaine.”
They were pouring down toward us, and it didn't look like I'd have time to summon Bio.
We formed a defensive formation, protecting Alpen, a non-combatant, and Elaine, whose combat abilities were unconfirmed, in the center.
As I gripped my sword in preparation for the clash, something flew up from behind me.
“Nix? Nix! Come back!”
I hadn't even fed it any mana yet, but Nix was flying swiftly toward the monster army.
“Hey, Alpen, you try calling it.”
“You didn’t feed it mana during the break?”
“No, I did, but...”
“Then you probably don't need to worry.”
Just as Alpen said, Nix's body began to glow red, even though it hadn't absorbed any mana from me.
It's getting bigger and bigger. What's happening?
Last time, it was about the size of a Harpy Queen, but now it looked to be much bigger—at least 15 meters from head to tail.
“It’s gotten huge.”
Just like before, it shot out golden feathers.
KABOOM— KABOOM— KABOOM—
Wherever a feather landed, a massive pillar of fire erupted, blowing the monsters apart.
[You have defeated Arpeus's Vassal, the Elite Goblin Warrior.]
[You have defeated Arpeus's Vassal, the Elite Orc Knight.]
...
Of course, larger monsters like the one-eyed giants could withstand a single feather, but it was meaningless.
KABOOM— KABOOM— KABOOM—
The feathers Nix was spewing were so numerous they looked like beams of light.
[You have defeated Arpeus's Vassal, the Cyclops Leader.]
[You have defeated Arpeus's Vassal, the Minotaur King.]
[You have defeated Arpeus's Vassal, the Dark Wyvern.]
[You have leveled up.]
...
So many system windows announcing monster kills and level-ups popped up that I could barely see in front of me.
“Nix seems even stronger than before.”
“Um, Hyeon-ung? Just how much mana did you feed it during the break?”
“Whenever I had a spare moment? It has a huge appetite.”
My Golden Dragon only eats 300 gold a day and that's it, but Nix will eat endlessly, as much as you give it.
“Mister, it looks like we don’t even need to step in.”
Just as Rina said, it seemed Nix could wipe out the monster army all on its own, but I couldn't let my guard down yet.
“Don't get too complacent. The dragon I saw hasn't shown up yet.”
After about three minutes, the rate at which notification windows appeared started to slow down.
Of course, our Nix was still in its Sunbird mode, spewing feathers and devastating the hillside.
“How dare a mere bird touch my vassals!”
With an enraged voice, dark clouds began to gather above Nix, and in an instant, darkness fell.
“Hyeon-ung! I think the dragon is preparing a wide-area spell. Rina, you too, put up a barrier.”
A two-layered barrier, one milky-white and one azure, formed above our heads.
“Hyeon-ung, what about Nix?”
Just as Timi warned, a sound like thunder rumbled, and soon something began to pour down… huh?
[The Sunbird uses Ra's Authority, Immortal Sun.]
The dark clouds vanished in an instant, brightening the surroundings. Not only that, but a round, golden sun rose in the sky, replacing the red moon.
“Kuaaaargh!”
It wasn't just the voice that I presumed to be the dragon's; a scream erupted from our side as well.
“Kyaaaaaa! Hyeon-ung, my body feels like it's melting… I'm going back.”
Elaine vanished.
It seemed to be a skill that damaged not only enemies but also allies who possessed demonic energy.
The dragon I'd seen earlier materialized out of thin air.
Thud—
It plummeted straight to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
It seemed to have been hiding with some kind of magic before getting hit by Nix's skill...
The sun vanished in an instant, and the red moon reappeared.
It looked like Nix had overexerted itself.
Shrinking back to its original size, it flew weakly toward us.
“Poyo…”
It looked completely drained, like it had pushed itself too far.
“Alpen, you take care of Nix. Hanna and Rina, follow me. Milli and Timi, clean up the remaining monsters, then back us up.”
As I gave the order, I drew my sword and charged straight toward the dragon.
I learned my lesson when I first went to the 50th floor with Bio to fight the Gold Lycanthrope.
When an opportunity presents itself, you have to finish the job, no matter what.
I ran at full speed and, pouring mana into my sword, swung it at the demonic dragon's torso.
Clang—
Even though I'd poured all my mana into it, my sword was deflected as if it had struck steel.
Clang—
Hanna's sword, shimmering with golden energy, was also repelled.
“Are you the master of that bird? An attack like this won't even leave a scratch on my… Ugh!”
CRACK—
Rina's mace, glowing with a white light, seemed to be effective.
“It’s pretty tough. But I don't think it's unbreakable.”
CRACK— CRACK—
Each time Rina swung her mace, a loud crack echoed as the scales buckled.
But the dragon was so massive that it didn't seem to be taking much damage.
“You lowly humans… Ack!”
An arrow and a large fireball flew from my companions' direction and struck the dragon's head directly.
KABOOM— KABOOM—
The dragon rose into the air again. The magic and explosive arrow seemed to have had little effect, not even leaving a scorch mark.
“It's absurdly tough.”
“Most dragons wouldn't be able to block that. This one is no ordinary dragon...”
Kwwwaaaa—
[You have been exposed to Dragon Fear.
You have partially resisted the effect with your Status Effect Resistance. Agility -10%, Paralysis 3 seconds.]
As it let out another roar, my body froze.
“Just a moment!”
Rina flicked her hand urgently, and a white light spread out, enveloping Hanna and me.
[The effect of Dragon Fear is nullified by the Goddess's Blessing.]
Thankfully, the effect was immediately dispelled, but the mana in the atmosphere began to churn violently.
“Isn’t that thing about to use its breath attack?”
As if to confirm my suspicion, the demonic dragon opened its mouth toward us.
“I… I can't block that. Everyone, scatter!”
Almost simultaneously with Rina's warning, a black beam erupted from the demonic dragon's mouth.
Kwwwaaaaaa—
I quickly threw myself backward.
A massive crater formed, its edge just a single step from where we had been standing.
The ground at the center of the crater was even oozing red magma.
I quickly understood why Rina had said she couldn't block it.
It was on a completely different level from the breath of the Elemental Drake we'd fought when I went to help Tae-soo.
“You dodge well, like little rats.”
Of course, we weren't just taking it one-sidedly.
Two orbs of white flame once again aimed for the demonic dragon's head.
“Do you think the petty magic of humans will work on me?”
Just as they were about to reach the dragon, they vanished without a trace, like a candle being snuffed out.
Timi's arrows, which flew in next, were easily dodged. It was incredibly fast for its size.
“Hanna, do dragons have any weak spots?”
My sword bounced off, and magic didn't work. I was getting frustrated.
“If you look under its neck, there's a single scale that's inverted, unlike the others. That's a common weak spot for all dragons.”
So it's that legendary reverse scale.
“You could have told me sooner.”
“Can you even get close? And for a dragon of that caliber, even its weak spot will be tough.”
Still, it had to be better than anywhere else, right?
I flew up and approached the beast.
“Hmm, you're not human?”
Clang—
Sparks flew, and my sword still didn't penetrate, but I persistently aimed for the same spot.
Thanks to my drawing its attention, one of Timi's white flame orbs, which had flown in again, struck its torso.
Boom—
Timi's white flames could reduce most monsters to ash, leaving not even bones behind, but the dragon simply shook its body once, and the flames died down.
Still, the spot where the white flame first made contact, an area about the size of my torso, was left with a very faint, blackened scorch mark.
The top priority was the reverse scale, but since it was guarding that area so vigilantly, it seemed targeting that spot was the next best thing.
“Was that just a bluff earlier?”
“What are you muttering about, you rat!”
“See? It's not like you're completely unscratched.”
“You wretched human insect!”
I feinted to draw its attention, then abruptly changed direction to aim for the scorched spot, but it must have anticipated this, as a massive tail came swinging from the right.
CRACK—
It seemed impossible to dodge, so I pulled back the sword I was about to swing and used it to guard my body.
I braced for impact, gritting my teeth, but… huh?
There was no impact at all.
“Mister! I can’t block it a second time, so dodge properly!”
Shards of a milky-white barrier flew past me.
It seemed Rina had cast a barrier just before the tail hit.
I tried to swing my sword again, but the dragon that had been in front of me vanished with a flash of blue light.
What?
Did it run away?
The mana in the atmosphere began to churn violently.
“Everyone, be careful! It's another breath attack!”
With it being invisible and the mana in turmoil, I couldn't tell where it was aiming.
A moment later, a black beam shot down from the upper left, heading for Hanna and Rina.
KABOOM—
Thankfully, they both dodged it, but Hanna's escape was a close call.
I immediately descended.
“Hanna, are you okay?”
“Yes. I've never seen a dragon like this before. It's incredibly tricky.”
Once again, the air churned, and a breath attack poured down.
Using some kind of invisibility magic seemed to have slightly reduced its power, but not being able to see it made it far more difficult to deal with.
Fortunately, everyone was dodging well and seemed to be getting the hang of it, but all my companions were showing signs of significant fatigue.
But that demonic dragon was firing off its breath attacks as if it were using some kind of infinite mana cheat.
As long as it remained invisible like this, I couldn't aim for its reverse scale or anything else.
I had no choice.
I wanted to try and handle it with just our team, but this enemy was on a completely different level from any we'd faced before.
I think we've done all we can...
As I flew to dodge a breath attack aimed at me, I quickly opened my inventory and took out a card.
Conveniently, Elaine had been unsummoned, so there was an empty slot. I didn't need to send anyone back.
“Bio! It looks like a dangerous situation, so come out now. Bio Rein, Master of the Forgotten Space!”
A purple light burst forth, and Bio appeared.
But the moment he appeared, the world began to wash over in gray.
Rina, Hanna, all my companions, even my Golden Dragon—everything in the world came to a complete stop.
“B-Bio? Did you do this?”
“You said it was an urgent situation, so I used a little trick, but it doesn't seem all that dire.”
No matter how I looked at it, it felt like time had stopped.
“What in the world are you...”
“Oh, I haven't seen those wings before. Where did you get them?”
“This is no time to be admiring my wings. This place is...”
Before he even heard my explanation, Bio began to walk slowly through the air.
How is he flying without wings...
“Hey, don't just go without an explanation...”
“There's no need for explanations.”
The situation when I first saw the demonic dragon and the video I saw when I obtained Bio's companion card were similar. I knew it...
“You two know each other, don't you?”
“Perhaps. In any case, a creature of this level is certainly beyond your current abilities or those of your restricted companions... Ah, pretend you didn't hear that last part.”
Restricted companions?
“What do you mean by that?”
“Didn't I tell you to pretend you didn't hear it? Shouldn't we deal with the dragon first?”
He seemed reluctant to talk about it, so I nodded. Bio took about five slow steps forward.
Clap—
Bio clapped his hands lightly once, and the gray world regained its color.
Clap—
He clapped once more, and the massive dragon materialized before our eyes.
“How… how could a mere human break my unique ability...”
“Have you forgotten my face already?”
“N-No way...?”
“It's been a while, Arpeus.”