Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: Power Word Kill
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Nothing was visible in my field of vision.
Rumble! Roooar!
The dragon's organs squelched, tickling my ears.
'Hearing a familiar sound means...'
Vladimir's spatial magic had succeeded.
"Good."
Whoosh!
I swung the God-Slaying Spear into position, and the first thing I did was summon the Absolutes.
Rustle! Plop!
The space was fairly wide, so they materialized without issue.
Of course, with no light around, I couldn't see them—but I could feel them all.
The brutal training with the Shadow Shepherd wasn't for nothing.
"My lord. Should I use Solar Chain Strike over there?"
Rumble...!
Sun pointed his spear at the spot where an enormous flow of mana surged.
I nodded.
"I'll clear the path as you wish, Master."
First.
Sun, gripping his spear, and Eldrin, nocking her bow, followed my will.
The Sun Spear's 'Solar Chain Strike.'
And Eldrin's 'Moonlight Fall' shared one key trait.
Both skills generated 'light' on their own.
No matter how sharpened my senses, the difference between having vision and not was huge.
Flash!
Sun's spear blazed.
Swoosh!
Eldrin's arrow traced a parabolic arc alongside the light.
Crimson dragon blood and writhing organs came into view.
As expected from those I'd tested before—they performed perfectly without adjustments.
Next.
"Arin."
"Yes, Professor."
"What's the most effective spell from here to hit that heart?"
I borrowed the wisdom of Eloise Arin, one of the four Great Tower Masters of the Magic World.
"No, wait a second... Professor."
Arin raised her hand with a grave expression right then.
Huh? Suddenly?
"This... isn't dragon tongue magic. It smells like Ancient Magic... Oh no! Dana!"
"Yes?"
Dana, standing beside her, tilted her head.
"Now! Surround the Professor with Radiance! Hurry!"
'Radiance' (Lv. 5) was Dana's cheat skill that rendered the target 'invincible' for about five seconds.
Suddenly, why...?
"Hurry!"
Dana met my eyes, but I nodded quickly.
If Arin said so...
There must be a reason.
* * *
Eloise Arin.
The being evaluated as the worst Tower Master in the history of the Cosmic Magic Towers.
And the Follower of Ancient Magic closest to SSS Grade.
Sss...
That's why she could definitely sense it.
'Definitely...'
It wasn't a scent picked up by smell.
It was the presence she felt as a Follower of Ancient Magic.
The smell of the archive.
Could that comforting aura truly be something felt inside a dragon?
'No, absolutely not.'
Arin shook her head firmly.
She had observed Jisu Dragon Briath's magic all this time.
It was dragon tongue magic.
Different in texture from Ancient Magic.
Like the difference between an orangutan and a gorilla.
Even the same magic felt like different species.
'And.'
A magic that froze the surrounding air with suffocating pressure even before casting.
Moreover, if it was mana swirling in violet hues...
She knew only one such spell.
'Power Word Kill.'
She'd never seen it in person, only read about it in the archives.
- A spell that kills a single target.
- The pinnacle of instant-death magic, capable of erasing even a constellation if it lands properly.
No.
Absolutely not.
Arin's heart raced.
She was finally living a satisfying life.
All thanks to the Professor.
'The Professor dies?'
Arin's eyes turned ice-cold.
Her thoughts accelerated, but entering a state of extreme focus made time slow.
'I must stay calm. Stay calm.'
For now, Dana's Radiance had bought five seconds.
She had to do something in that time.
Having Dana, an Absolute, by the Professor's side was a stroke of luck.
'But Radiance alone can't escape Power Word Kill...!'
Violet mana was already enveloping the Professor.
Once the white Radiance guarding him faded, it would infiltrate rapidly, and then...
Instant death.
Tick, tock!
Seconds ticked by.
The spare five seconds became four, then three.
That's what made 'Power Word Kill' (SSS Grade) so terrifying.
No matter the 'invincibility' state, once targeted, it wouldn't release until death.
Evasion? Reflection? Invincibility?
None mattered.
It shattered them all—that was Power Word Kill.
In other words, Radiance only bought five seconds; expecting more was futile.
'Damn...'
Arin's eyes wavered.
Two seconds left, and no answer in sight.
Then, the only option was...
To give up?
Even as a Follower of Ancient Magic, she couldn't block an SSS Grade spell from a dragon.
'However.'
Arin's gaze fixed on the violet 'Power Word Kill.'
That scent.
The one she'd briefly encountered in space last time.
The aroma of the figure in the pitch-black hood.
- Nice to meet you, child.
The warm, affectionate gaze and voice.
'Please.'
Only one second remained.
'Ancient Magic.'
Move.
Change the target of that Power Word Kill.
From the Professor to me.
Arin knew Power Word Kill's danger well.
Even as an undead, it would kill her if targeted.
It nullified the notion of an immortal race.
Whether manifested flesh or formless soul, contact meant annihilation.
But.
It didn't matter.
Without the Professor, she was as good as dead anyway.
He had already revived her once-dead life—he was her lifesaver.
'Please, Ancient Magic...!'
Arin gritted her teeth and pleaded.
'You know me. You like me. I know it. I feel it. Please grant my request.'
All Ancient Magic carried the will of 'Ancient Magic' (SSS Grade).
The dragon using dragon tongue magic.
Herself, a faithful Follower of Ancient Magic.
'Choose one...!'
The moment she clasped her hands in prayer, like Dana had.
Sss...
The violet energy overlying the fading Radiance shifted toward Arin.
Incredibly, the casting target had changed to her.
"Gah!"
Arin let out an involuntary scream.
"Pr-Professor...!"
At the same time, her dragon-bone body crumbled.
Crumble!
Bones turning to dust and scattering.
Yet Arin was grateful.
'Thank you, Ancient Magic...'
From her childhood.
The entity that revealed the universe's mysteries through the archives.
Yes.
To Arin, Ancient Magic was father, mother.
Parent.
'I revered you.'
In that moment as her consciousness faded.
She didn't notice.
The violet energy writhing, transforming.
* * *
"Arin...?"
In the brief five seconds Radiance lasted.
I felt all of Arin's emotions during that time.
She was my skeleton.
We shared soul and feelings.
"No!"
I shouted loudly.
That sight of her crumbling while calling for her Professor.
Arin had sacrificed herself for me.
She wanted to save me, even offering her soul.
That meant...
Because I entered here, Arin died in my place.
'Power Word Kill...?'
My Arin crumbled because of that strange spell the dragon cast.
Grit!
My teeth ground together.
My eyes narrowed slowly.
Rumble...!
In that instant.
An indescribable emotion erupted from my body.
Heat surged.
I knew I needed calm, but I didn't want to quell this rage.
Fine.
Rage was...
One of humanity's greatest boosters.
"You're... dead."
Fwoosh!
I swung my spear and charged madly.
I swung a spear with a skill meant for bare-handed fighters.
Myriad Arts.
Secret Technique.
Martial Advance.
Kagagang!
The God-Slaying Spear's sharpness effortlessly sliced through the dragon's innards, making Sun and Eldrin's hard work look trivial.
For some reason.
I suddenly wanted to mix in Poison Flash.
Maybe to inflict maximum agony on that damn dragon bastard?
Imbuing every chain strike of the Myriad Arts Secret Technique.
My body moved on instinct.
Myriad Arts.
Secret Technique.
Fusion.
Poison Flash Martial Advance.
After the five combo strikes ended.
Into the dragon's thoroughly ravaged, chaotic interior—straight to the heart.
Stabbbb!
I unleashed a frenzy of Poison Flash barrages.
Kagagaga!
Rage boiling, yet each thrust precise and concise.
Every ounce of Poison Flash energy transferred without waste.
I poured out all my seething fury.
* * *
Earth Guardian Dragon.
Briath panicked.
- What?
To eliminate the insolent intruder inside him, he'd even unleashed 'Power Word Kill' (SSS Grade).
SSS Grade—Ancient Magic at that—consumed considerable mana even for a dragon.
He'd accepted the cost.
- It escaped control?
As a mana-sensitive species, the dragon sensed it immediately.
The target had changed.
Moreover, at the end, it had warped into something not quite 'Power Word Kill.'
- How...!
Briath couldn't believe it.
A mere human altering Ancient Magic that even dragons struggled with!
And then.
Boom! Rumble!
- Graaaah!
Agonizing pain struck near his heart.
A dragon's bones and hide were tough, but to protect the interior.
With his insides breached, all he could do was panic.
With even Power Word Kill blocked, what could he do!
Briath felt suffocated.
Breath caught in his throat.
Outside, vermin swarmed madly.
Inside, some parasite gnawed at his heart.
No countermeasures.
Kagagaga!
Firing stronger magic.
Twisting his body to disrupt the intruder's center.
- Graaah! Graaaaah!
Pain only intensified.
Wounds only widened.
- This.
Briath had to admit.
He'd let his guard down.
Humanity wasn't inferior.
Not solitary and proud like dragons, but united.
But.
Don't get your hopes up!
I am a dragon!
The strongest, most beautiful race in this vast cosmos!
Whoosh! Fwoooosh!
The Earth Guardian Dragon flapped his wings with all his might.
Not toward the ground, but higher into the sky.
- Khrrgh, even if I die, you won't die alone.
Piercing the clouds, the dragon slowly looked down.
He ignored the shock inside.
And then.
Crack!
He opened his maw.
Yes.
The dragon intended to muster his last life force for a breath attack.
This time, not at the empty sky—but the ground.
* * *
The dragon in agony.
Then soaring into the sky.
Watching it.
"...This."
Jack Smith, the Demon King mid-battle, widened his pupils.
What did that mean?
"It actually succeeded?"
He'd heard the Skeleton Emperor gathering people and chattering.
He'd dismissed it as a desperate hail mary.
But for it to truly work.
"...!"
Hasera, elegantly slashing through the air, was stunned too.
"As expected..."
Sophia, continuously unleashing spells with mana support from the mages, let out an exclamation.
"I told you. Our Skeleton Emperor is one hell of a guy."
Sss!
Rustle!
The Big 3 leaders gathered, gazing into the sky.
"Truly lives up to the name."
The Tower Master, looking a decade older from blood loss, smiled faintly.
"Piercing that ironclad dragon and landing a hit."
"Not just a hit."
The Demon King muttered.
"Feel the dragon's aura rampaging? That's proof of a perfect opening."
"Right."
Sophia nodded.
Plus, hearing that horrific Earth Guardian Dragon scream was a first.
Joo Dong-hoon had now achieved what even the Demon King and Heavenly Demon couldn't.
"But not time to let our guard down yet."
The Demon King eyed the sky.
He sensed it.
The dragon preparing its final struggle.
It might doom this Yucatan Peninsula.
No—the entire Earth.
- We have to go up.
Swish!
Hasera soared skyward first, carving letters in afterimages with her sword.
"Me too..."
As the Tower Master gripped her staff tightly.
"No."
The Demon King shook his head.
"Rest. That's enough."
"...But."
The Demon King saw through the Tower Master's state instantly.
Her crumbling body held by sheer willpower.
Facing a magic lord with human magic warranted it.
"You three—the sky's ours: me, Heavenly Demon, and the Emperor. Tower Master, find what needs doing here."
With that, the Demon King vanished into the air with a sss!
The Tower Master tried to speak more.
"..."
Pfft.
She let out a chuckle and relaxed her grip on the staff.
'Right.'
Fighting isn't the only role.
Surely preparations on the ground too.
"Hoo."
Her breath misted into the air.