Chapter 96
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 096
Chapter Title: Fallen Dragon. (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘It’s impossible to fight a monster like that.’
He absolutely didn’t want to admit it, but the moment he laid eyes on the dragon, Rolang was convinced of it deep down.
Anyone would have thought the same.
……Look at this scene.
As if mocking Rolang’s thoughts, three beings stood against the dragon. A sight hard to believe with one’s own eyes. Yet it was happening right before them.
Kagagak—!
The dragon’s claws scraped across the dirt ground, lunging toward Woojin. An attack that swept across like a tidal wave in terms of sheer area. Dodging it seemed utterly impossible.
In response, Woojin hurled himself straight toward the oncoming claws. An act no different from suicide. Moments later, the dragon’s claws raked through the spot where he’d been.
But strangely enough, Woojin rose to his feet without a major scratch. Rolang, who had been intently watching the situation, realized why.
‘He slipped through the gap between the claws…’
It was like an acrobatic stunt leaping through a flaming hoop. An evasion that could only be described as insane. Yet Woojin deflected the dragon’s attacks this way every single time.
How could he perform such a dangerous feat without the slightest hesitation?
‘……Yurgis.’
The name suddenly came to mind.
The hero of humanity from centuries ago who had hunted the Old One threatening the barrier. Yurgis must have fought the monsters of the Demonic Realm in just this manner.
In other words… the scene unfolding before him was the revival of the ancient myth that young Rolang had once idolized.
‘It’s unbearable.’
Entranced, Rolang pulled out his violin. The Holy Knights around him panicked and tried to stop him, but it was futile.
He couldn’t abandon this inspiration.
“Goddess… I offer this melody to you.”
With those words to the heavens, Rolang tucked the violin under his chin. A Holy Knight lost in a trance, playing a solo violin amid the battlefield. The passionate melody pierced through the clamor of battle and struck their ears.
Woojin glanced sideways at the sight.
‘……He’s doing that crap even here.’
That guy’s not right in the head either.
Freshly reminded of this, Woojin refocused on the enemy before him. In fact, getting distracted in this situation was even crazier than playing the violin solo.
The dragon bared its massive jaws.
Puhwaaak—!
Venomous acid flooded out from its throat like a torrent. An acidic breath. The three beings reacted differently to it.
Tung!
Knartash used Blink to create distance, then leaped back with all its might.
The Naga King Beskan retreated as well. He slithered away like a snake, moving so fast his body blurred.
‘Instant Acceleration.’
A technique that multiplied speed several times in an instant. Using it, the Naga King evaded the breath.
Woojin watched enviously.
‘It has a lot of good tricks…’
For the record, Woojin didn’t have anything like that.
So he had to rely on his legs. Woojin dashed frantically to dodge the oncoming venom. He’d once had tricks like that himself.
‘……Damn thunderclap.’
After claiming the dragon’s inner core and inheriting the thunderclap, Woojin had lost most of his previous abilities.
The dragon’s power had devoured all of Woojin’s old tricks. In exchange, it granted him immense physical prowess, thunderclap, and dragon scales.
Tak, taak!
Woojin kicked off the ground repeatedly like a triple jumper, circling around the dragon.
The dragon vomited venom repeatedly. The acidic breath poured after Woojin’s heels. Each time it closed in, he ramped up his speed even more.
While Woojin held the dragon’s attention, the Troll Queen and Naga King gathered their strength.
Kuduk, kuduuduk!
Knartash’s muscles swelled massively. Its claws and fangs elongated. Crimson light flickered ominously from its eye sockets.
‘Berserk.’
A technique only elite troll warriors could master. Not to be outdone, the Naga King summoned one of its cherished powers.
Shaa aaa—
Pale frost enveloped the king’s body. Icicles and ice chunks sprouted across Beskan’s form. It looked as if he’d donned armor sculpted from ice.
‘Glacial Armor.’
A technique that wrapped the body in ice serving as reinforced exoskeleton. It boosted strength and toughness, while enabling more erratic attacks.
With their powers fully unleashed, the Troll Queen and Naga King charged at the enemy’s flanks.
Knartash kicked off the ground and leaped, clinging to the dragon’s side and slashing wildly with its front paws in alternation.
Chwaak, chwaaak!
Fresh claw marks etched into the dragon’s body one after another. As they overlapped repeatedly, the scales finally tore open, revealing the gooey flesh beneath.
The Troll Queen burrowed into the dragon’s side like digging a tunnel. On the opposite flank, the Naga King stabbed at the dragon’s ankle with his trident.
The wound Woojin had previously made in cooperation. Beskan relentlessly prodded it with the trident’s prongs. It seemed he aimed to sever the ankle tendon.
‘Good call.’
The bigger the body, the greater the strain on the legs. Taking down a colossal foe started with crippling the legs—that was textbook.
But the Dragon Abomination didn’t just sit there.
The dragon swept its front paw forcefully across its side to shake off Knartash, then lifted its leg to crush Beskan.
At that, Beskan slammed his trident into the ground with all his might. He positioned it point-upward, then accelerated away.
The dragon’s sole came down onto the prongs.
Puuk!!
The trident pierced straight through the dragon’s foot. The prongs jutted out from the top of its instep. The pain must have been excruciating—the Dragon Abomination let out a piercing screech.
“Grraaaargh!!”
The dragon glared ferociously around it. Long bone shards sprouted from its body. Moments later, they launched sequentially toward the enemies.
Bone fragments hurtled like javelins.
Beskan crossed his arms to shield his upper body. Pale ice coalesced in an instant, quickly forming a massive shield.
Kwak, kwagwak—!
With sounds like shattering ice, the bone shards embedded into the ice shield one after another.
Tung!
Knartash Blinked behind Beskan. Using the Naga King as a shield, the Troll Queen caught her breath.
Knartash suddenly furrowed her brow. Glancing down, she spotted a bone shard lodged in her side.
Puhuk!
Knartash yanked it out. Beskan quipped as if offering well-wishes.
“Don’t tell me you got hit by a blind shot like that?”
“……It’s just a scratch.”
The Troll Queen snarled back as she stood, clearly stung by the hit to her pride.
Soon, the bone shards stopped.
The two prepared to rejoin the fray. Beskan, having left his trident behind, formed long ice blades on the backs of his hands. Knartash licked her wounded side, applying saliva.
Just as they were about to charge again… Knartash tilted her head.
“……Where’d the guardian go?”
Woojin had vanished from sight for a while now. Beskan readily answered.
“He retreated to safety before the attack even started. His situational awareness is no joke.”
When the Dragon Abomination showed signs of preparing its assault, Woojin had sensed it a beat early and pulled back to safety, dodging the bone shards.
The Naga King had barely mustered his power in time to block, while the Troll Queen had reacted too slowly and taken a hit.
Naturally, a pecking order emerged among the three.
“……I need to step it up.”
Knartash growled and charged at the enemy. Watching her back, Beskan smirked faintly.
The king and queen clashed with the dragon once more.
Woojin had pulled back a step from the fight for the moment.
‘It’s almost over.’
Rolang’s violin solo reached its finale. Woojin stood beside him, appreciating the melody. Soon, Rolang finished and lowered the violin.
Golden radiance enveloped Rolang. He emanated a divinity denser than ever before.
“……I want to join the fight too, but my skills aren’t up to jumping into that melee yet.”
He’d only be a hindrance.
So saying, Rolang extended his right arm and placed a hand on Woojin’s shoulder.
The other Holy Knights followed suit. Forming a circle around him, they laid hands on Woojin’s body. Their divinity seeped into him.
“How is it… Can you feel it?”
Rolang asked. Woojin gave a thumbs-up in reply.
Vitality surged through him.
‘Time to put this power to use.’
Woojin leaped back into the fray. In his absence, Knartash and Beskan had steadily whittled away at the dragon.
He approached silently from behind.
Woojin stealthily climbed onto its back, then dashed forward along its spine.
Soon, the dragon’s head drew near.
‘I’ll sever the neck like this.’
Not a difficult task.
The knife mark Woojin had carved long ago remained intact on the dragon’s nape. Though it had mostly healed upon rebirth as an abomination, it looked far weaker than the rest of its body.
With the cut line already marked, he just needed to slice along it. Woojin stood on the nape like an executioner and raised his machete high.
……But he couldn’t swing.
Sensing something ominous, the dragon abruptly thrashed its head. Woojin staggered, losing balance. He’d plummet at this rate.
‘Gotta hold on.’
Puk!
In the urgency, he stabbed the machete into the nape to halt his slide.
But perhaps that pain triggered a memory.
The dragon flinched and stiffly raised its neck. A sudden steep incline. To avoid falling, Woojin gripped the machete handle with both hands.
Feuduk, feudeuduk—
‘What’s that sound?’
Woojin whipped his head around. What he saw were three pairs of wings. The dragon’s wings, limp until now, began to flap.
‘……No way, right?’
A bad premonition crawled up his spine.
The dragon abomination had forgotten how to fly. But instinct didn’t rely on memory.
The dragon thought.
If its neck was severed like this, it would die again.
……It had to escape.
Feudeudeuk!!
The dragon beat its wings. Seeing it, a curse slipped from Woojin’s lips.
“Son of a bitch…”
He had to stop it.
Decapitation would be ideal, but…
With its neck rigidly raised and head shaking wildly, getting close was impossible. The near-vertical slope made climbing up futile too.
Like clinging to a tree branch jutting from a cliff, Woojin barely held on by the machete he’d stabbed in.
In a pinch like this, only one option remained.
Bbajijijik!!
He channeled thunderclap into the machete. The dragon writhed, seared by the lightning. But somehow, it endured the shock.
‘……Thunderclap won’t stop it.’
The thunderclap ability originated from this dragon. Thus, it had resistance to lightning. Much like how Woojin had shrugged off the dragon’s venom without much trouble earlier…
The dragon’s wingbeats quickened. Then came a strange floating sensation. The people below panicked.
“Get down here right now!”
“Wh-what?!”
Shouts rang out.
Knartash bellowing, Rolang cursing, Beskan barking orders… But the voices faded into the distance in an instant.
The only sound was the roaring wind.
‘……We’re screwed.’
Woojin soared into the sky with the dragon.