Chapter 150: Legion Commanders Unleashed
Luruye's face hardened.
A disaster was approaching.
She could feel it in her bones.
‘The spells on my body…’
‘All of them undone?’
‘In an instant?’
What was a witch?
One chosen by the Witch Society.
Was that something easy?
Far from it.
Across thousands of planets, countless races continued to produce people born with an innate talent for magic.
These were the people society called geniuses.
The Witch Society selected only the best among those geniuses, then subjected that elite group to an even harsher selection.
Those who survived both rounds of selection became the true geniuses recognized across the dimensions: witches.
Of course, there were 'mongrels' outside the Witch Society who called themselves witches, but they were ultimately pale imitations, woefully inadequate.
Luruye was a true witch.
She had completed her apprenticeship and earned the title of full witch.
She was even an elite of the Raven Faction.
She was confident she could crush even higher-dimensional beings with her magic.
Yet…
‘They were undone.’
‘Naturally.’
‘This is bad.’
If the spells had unraveled after an intense magical duel, she might have seen a path to victory.
But this was different.
It was like a massive tidal wave sweeping away a child’s sandcastle.
The magic had been taken away as if it had never existed.
She glared at the culprit.
A woman in a wide-brimmed hat was staring straight at her.
An unmistakable stench of corpses wafted from her.
She was undead—a banshee, no less.
Normally, a lowly undead creature like that would not have been worth a witch’s glance.
Yet this banshee exuded suffocating pressure.
Her body instinctively knew.
At least where magic was concerned, this creature existed on an entirely different level.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced in Luruye's mind.
It came from her days as an apprentice, when a senior she trusted had casually told her a strange story.
—Hey, Luruye. Do you know the secret history of the 'Cataclysm Era'?
The Cataclysm Era.
A time when the Witch Society had barricaded itself in the First City with impenetrable barriers, catching its breath for a long while.
It was also known as the era when five Archwitches died, and new ones rose.
But that was all the information available.
As if someone had deliberately erased it, records from that time were virtually nonexistent.
Luruye, an apprentice then, was full of curiosity.
So she asked her senior.
She had asked why it happened.
The answer was absurd.
Undead were to blame.
All seven Archwitches confronted them, and five died. They had no choice but to hide in the First City and activate its ancient legacy.
‘I thought it was just a joke back then.’
When she pressed for details, her senior’s answer was no more serious.
—I only heard it in passing, so I don't know the details. That's just what they said.
Weird rumors floating among witches weren't exactly rare. So she'd let it slide.
Why now, of all times, did that long-ago conversation resurface?
And why on earth was a monster like this roaming the lowest dimension?
Luruye stared at Iris.
“… An immature witch.”
“You'll have to help me too.”
“Use everything. If you want to live.”
With that, Luruye pulled three round pills from her bosom.
Elixirs developed by the Witch Society.
Even full witches could not obtain them freely.
They were reserved for faction elites, and only the best among those elites ever received one.
The effect was simple.
They activated the brain and body, optimizing them for magic.
A kind of doping agent.
Side effects were obvious.
But now wasn't the time to worry.
Her three heads swallowed the pills.
Mana flowed much faster, as if a blockage had cleared.
Her brains heated up like they were overheating.
Her thoughts accelerated dramatically.
What made a great mage?
Speed of thought.
Speed of casting.
And overwhelming spell power.
Luruye had three brains.
In this moment, her power had more than quintupled.
Sssss…
Azure mana rose from Luruye's exhale.
The banshee's eyes sparkled, as if she'd spotted a fun new toy.
—Whoa. Not a total idiot anymore? When did you make those?
“…”
Luruye fell silent.
Even after doping, the chilling tension remained.
One lapse in focus, and all her mana would scatter and melt away.
She couldn't afford to respond.
Flutter!
Cute wings sprouted from the banshee's back. She flapped them and took to the sky.
—Minwoo! I'm gonna play with her! That cool, right?
“Do as you like.”
Kim Minwoo replied.
He had long since gauged the witch and dragon's levels via Victory's Law.
A 130% stat boost.
That meant the two disasters dragged into the Gate were at least in the high 1500s.
In an ordinary S+ Gate, monsters that powerful should not have been possible.
S-rank gates topped out at 500+ level mobs, and + only pushed it to 700-800 at best.
But here they were.
‘Of course, weaker than Ifrax.’
Ifrax was a raid boss.
These two were merely intruders who had been dragged into the Gate.
Naturally, they were weaker than a true raid boss. That made the battle manageable.
Merhen was a perfect counter to the witch and could handle her.
That left the pack of dragons watching them warily.
—Hiiing!
Dullahans mounted draconic steeds.
Dolsae held the front while specters and skeletons filled the ranks behind him.
He looked up at the dragons in the sky.
His gaze passed over the ice dragon’s minions
and settled on the largest dragon, which watched in silence.
Amid the tension, the massive holy dragon Ivelion spoke.
—Necromancer. Did you summon us?
“Probably?”
—How did you twist fate?
“Pretty well, I guess?”
Ivelion inwardly sighed.
He was a holy dragon over three thousand years old.
In this lowest dimension, where a sub-dragon under a thousand years old and an apprentice witch could dominate, he should have been a walking disaster.
Yet
his entire body ached.
His instincts screamed in terror.
A natural predator stood before him.
Honestly, he didn't want to fight.
He didn't care if that human caught the sub-dragon—he just wanted out.
‘Escaping's an issue too.’
Fleeing would wound his pride as a Legion member.
The real problem was that escape would not end the pursuit.
His instincts warned him that fate would continue binding him to this place.
If escape were that easy, the three-headed witch would've bolted first. They banded together knowing it wasn't.
Ivelion signaled the ice dragon and hatchlings.
He did not know how useful they would be, but he needed every scrap of help he could get.
The ice dragon and its group nodded tensely.
“Cedric. You've hunted plenty of dragons, right?”
—That one's over three thousand—a holy dragon tier. Too many to count individually.
Reliable guy.
Among the dragons, the greatest threat appeared to be the largest blue one.
‘Not the ice dragon.’
Witch Iris.
The gate's true boss.
Yet Iris was cowering behind the three-headed witch.
Similarly, the ice dragon hid behind the massive dragon.
It did not matter.
There were plenty of weaker dragons besides the holy dragon and the ice dragon.
Only Cedric and the specters could fight freely in the air.
That was fine.
‘Take down one dragon and the problem is solved.’
He could revive it through Death’s Land and use the corpse as a mount.
‘Perfect timing to swap bones on non-head parts too.’
Cedric truly had heaven-sent luck.
How else could a dragon comparable to the ancient dragon the Sword Sage had brought appear at exactly the right moment?
Lucky bastard.
The moment Kim Minwoo steeled himself for battle,
[Indomitable activates!]
[A random special modifier is granted!]
['Legion Commander Enhancement']
[In this stage, the two legion commanders' potential is partially unlocked!]
That instant.
[Merhen's 'Archmage' unlocks from SS to SSS…]
[Cedric's 'Spear Virtuoso' unlocks from SS to SSS…]
The core skills of his two legion commanders skyrocketed in rank.
‘Whoa.’
PoPo wasn't exaggerating about the trait.
Legion Commander Enhancement.
The first high-tier Indomitable proc exceeded expectations.
With their power boosted so dramatically, it was time to clash.
[Curse of Frailty (S) activates…]
[Curse of Aging (D)+9 activates…]
Curses amplified 50% by Ring of Ascension struck the hatchlings.
[The curse spreads…]
The curse spread through the formation.
[Death's Land (S)…]
Countless hands erupted from the ground beneath the airborne dragons.
He could not drain life from flying enemies, but every death would give him another corpse to revive.
The dragon pack didn't sit idle.
The moment curses hit, they unleashed breaths in unison, like they'd been waiting.
Breaths of every element surged toward them.
—Master. Leave it to me.
Cedric soared skyward, spinning his spear in a circle.
Cedric spun his spear like a circular shield. Was he really trying to block dozens of breaths with a single bone spear?
Even when one of them came from a holy dragon?
It should have been impossible.
Until a moment ago, it would have been.
Now things were different.
The breaths slid away like rain from an umbrella.
Dozens of breaths naturally dispersed over the spear.
“No way, that works?”
—It does. Now.
The scattered breaths faded.
Just before the dragons could unleash their spells, Cedric thrust his spear dozens of times into the air.
Pbababam!
As if space itself vanished, each thrust burst hatchling hearts and wings.
—Kieeeek!
The dragons crashed to the ground.
Without a heart, neither human nor dragon could live.
[Level up…]
[Level up…]
Even hatchlings averaged 500+.
The hatchlings lay dead across the ground.
—Hiiing!
Dullahan-mounted draconic steeds trampled them fiercely.
Mage spells poured down as bonus. Pleasant level-up messages weren't enough.
[Death's Land effect activates…]
Dead dragons rose as undead, shambling up.
Clack!
As if consoling silent grief, Hail swiftly mounted a revived corpse dragon.
Clunky Dullahan hordes scrambled onto mounts.
Flutter!
Undead soared skyward. Specters followed.
In the encirclement, only ice dragon and holy dragon remained aloft.
Even they were battered.
Somehow guarded vitals, but.
Cedric's space-transcending spearplay left them bleeding everywhere.
—Master. Leave today to me. I'll show you a true dragon knight.
“For real? Holy dragon? Safe to ride?”
—Of course. Riding the bus well in moments like this is skill.
He recalled Cedric at level 1.
Couldn't even talk right, blamed master's low level.
Now Cedric was starting to carry.
Truly.
‘I made one proper undead.’
His chest swelled with pride.