The Hunt (2)
The Hunt (2)
As soon as I got the information, I prepared to go to Russia immediately, taking only Shin Su-ah and Baek Yeon with me.
It wasn't a trip or a vacation, so there was no luggage to pack. I intended to increase the size of my avatar and fly there, but Choi Soo-young vehemently opposed it, so that plan was scrapped.
I wondered if the Russian side didn't allow us to come, but that wasn't the case.
They allowed the visit itself.
However, they requested that we ride the transport ship they prepared, as they wanted to welcome us as distinguished guests.
"Then when is that transport ship coming?"
"They said they sent it right away, so if we leave now, it should be ready by the time we arrive at the airport."
I was worried about wasting time, but that was a relief.
We headed straight to the airport, and just as Choi Soo-young said, a large, sturdy transport ship was waiting there.
The transport ship prepared by the Russian side took off as soon as we boarded.
A few hours after starting the flight toward Russia.
We had chatted a bit when we first departed, but just as we were starting to get bored because we ran out of things to talk about.
Deol-keong-deol-keong-
The inside of the aircraft shook violently as it hit turbulence.
Ordinary people might have panicked, but the people gathered here were not ordinary.
Perhaps because everyone from the transport pilot to the staff who guided us were Awakened, everyone remained calm even though the aircraft was shaking from the turbulence.
Just as everyone was sitting still, waiting for the turbulence to pass.
Perhaps having received a call from the pilot, a crew member stood up from their seat and went to the cockpit.
And a short while later, the crew member returned and approached with a serious face, saying.
"Could you follow me for a moment?"
"What's the matter?"
"It's difficult to explain in words... I think you'll have to see it for yourself."
At the crew member's expression, which was tinged with embarrassment and a hint of fear, we looked at each other for a moment and nodded.
Let's just follow them for now.
Having decided that, we stood up and followed the leading crew member, and beyond the cockpit window, a tremendous sight was unfolding.
I don't know where it started, but a massive dark cloud, large enough to cover the entire Russian sky, was swirling and gathering at a single point.
The others might not know well because of the distance, but as soon as I saw the dark cloud, I realized it was Koschei's doing.
Perhaps he didn't even intend to hide it in the first place, as Koschei's Black Magic Power was thickly spread throughout the entire dark cloud.
Looking at the sky where Koschei's Black Magic Power was fully detected, a question arose.
'Was that guy this strong?'
When I saw Koschei inside the auction house.
The scale of the power he possessed was by no means this much.
Of course, that doesn't mean he was weak.
The power he possessed was strong enough to easily defeat even hundreds or thousands of S-rank Awakened.
But compared to the enemies I had met.
That is, compared to Odin, Freya, Apophis, Poseidon, etc., it fell short enough to say the class was different.
But for a guy like that to...
To wrap his Black Magic Power around a dark cloud large enough to fill the territory of a country, and Russia at that.
It's just too different from when I met him at the auction house.
"I'll have to get off here."
I had originally intended to fly off as soon as we landed in Russia anyway, but I had a premonition that I shouldn't give him any more time.
Shin Su-ah and Baek Yeon nodded, as if agreeing with my opinion.
"W-wait. The home country is currently preparing a banquet to welcome the distinguished guests!"
"Can you still talk about a banquet after seeing that?"
The crew member in charge of guiding us tried to hold us back in a panic, but when I pointed to the dark cloud outside the window, their pupils shook violently.
She knew it too.
That what's important right now isn't the welcome banquet, but resolving that situation.
Meanwhile, Baek Yeon, who I don't know how she knew the layout of the transport ship, pulled the door opening lever, and the transport ship's door opened high up in the distant sky.
A strong wind blew and brushed past everyone.
I ignored the wind and flew up into the sky, and as I exited the transport ship, I increased my size.
And Shin Su-ah and Baek Yeon landed on my back.
After confirming that both had landed safely, I cast a separate protective spell on them, as it could be dangerous since I planned to fly to the destination quickly now.
I located him through the spell I had placed on Koschei and set off in that direction.
As I accelerated in an instant with a few flaps of my wings, the surrounding scenery changed rapidly.
The distance to the mark placed on Koschei's soul narrowed rapidly, and just as I thought we were almost there, a city appeared before my eyes.
A ruined city, just like the one I saw at the auction house.
Seeing the dark clouds swirling and gathering above it, it seems I found the right place.
Before landing in the city, I warned the two.
"I don't know what method he used, but he's become stronger than I thought. Both of you, be careful."
"Don't worry. We're not dead weight anymore."
"We can protect ourselves, so please take care of the enemy commander."
"Yeah. I'll trust you."
Perhaps because I had handled almost all the recent fights and they hadn't been of help except for cleanup.
The two people's eyes were burning with fighting spirit and passion.
Because I knew of their efforts, I just nodded, saying I would trust them.
They're saying it like that, so I have to trust them.
I entered the city and flew to the square in the center of the city where Koschei would be.
In the square, which I reached in a few flaps of my wings, Koschei and the remnants of Severniye Teni were standing in the center of a purple magic circle.
[You've come! You really came!]
"I told you to wash your neck and wait."
[You stupid fool! I thought so from the moment you stepped up for mere humans, but you really are a stupid fool! Do you not even know what a wizard's workshop means? How dare you barge in here!]
"Workshop or whatever. How strong could you possibly get? Do you think you can beat me?"
[Keu-heu-heu-heu! That is exactly why I call you a fool. What's the point of having such great power? When you have no thoughts.]
Tsk... somehow the repertoire seems exactly the same as what I heard at the auction house...
After ending up like this doing that, does he want to do it again?
Koschei, having sneered to his heart's content, raised his hand.
In his hand was a staff I hadn't seen before.
A staff made by joining bones of various sizes and shapes, decorated with skulls.
Kung!
As the staff struck the ground, the purple magic circle emitted a bright light.
[Watch closely! This is what true magic is!!]
When the bright light disappeared.
At first, I thought there was no change, but soon, things moving underground were caught on my Black Magic Power detection.
It's not on the scale of dozens or hundreds.
It's in the tens of thousands, exceeding thousands.
Entities with endlessly increasing Black Magic Power.
Things that looked like the same kind of skeletons I saw at the auction house rose from the ground.
Moving skeletons that dug up the dirt and came up from underground.
The number is a whopping tens of thousands.
Could he have wanted to show me this?
It looks like I could finish this off with one breath attack.
If so, I'm disappointed.
Just as I thought that, I remembered one thing I had forgotten.
The dark clouds that filled the sky.
What was he planning to use that for?
He wouldn't have made it just to raise a few skeletons.
Looking up, the dark clouds that had gathered into a single point soon became a sphere and descended to the ground.
The sphere of dark clouds, where negative Black Magic Power was wriggling, reminded me of something at first glance.
"An egg?"
The words Shin Su-ah, who was looking at the same scene as me, muttered unintentionally.
I nodded as if agreeing with that.
The dark clouds gathered into one resembled an egg.
And if that really is an egg...
"Is it hatching?"
"That's not a good sign."
Even if I don't know what's inside, if that's the source of Koschei's confidence.
"I'll smash it head-on."
"Are you sure that's okay? Wouldn't it be better to kill it before it hatches?"
"If I do that, it'll look like I'm scared of it. And it's already too late."
Thump-
Black Magic Power rippled around the egg as if it were pulsing.
The thumping sound got louder and faster.
It's a sign that it will hatch soon.
The egg, which had let out a few more pulses like that, soon.
Crack!
A cracking sound that shouldn't be audible was heard, and the dark clouds fell away.
What on earth will come out of an egg the size of a house?
The dark clouds completely dispersed, and the inside was revealed.
Inside, there were 'bones'.
A giant 'dragon' skeleton, shining with red light from between the deep eye sockets of white bones.
-Kwoooooooo-!!
The dragon made of bones, which roared roughly as if to imprint its presence on the world, raised its body and spread its wings wide.
[Keu-heu-heu! Surprised?]
"......."
[This is a Bone Dragon prepared to deal with you. To create this, in addition to my trump card, the dragon's bones, I poured in 80% of the grudges and evil thoughts of the dead and monsters lingering on this land. It's useless to regret it now. I'll replenish the materials consumed this time with your body.]
"......."
[Say something. Are you scared?]
"Yeah. If it's surprising as you say, it really is surprising."
[Kwahahaha! Die regretting that you walked into a wizard's space on your own feet...]
"That you thought you could beat me with just this!!"
A dragon?
And not even a real dragon, but a Bone Dragon?
Did he really think he could beat me with just this?
I don't know what kind of confidence he had to bring this out.
Ah, no.
This guy doesn't know that I'm the guy who used to catch dragons and cannibalize them, right?
Yeah, if he doesn't know, he might think that.
But.
If he doesn't know, he needs to get hit, right?
I prepared to fire my Breath to take down the Bone Dragon.
The moment I raised my Black Magic Power as the first step of preparing my Breath.
Thump!
Uh, what is this?
The essence of Niflheim that Hel gave me within my Black Magic Power reacted familiarly toward the Bone Dragon.