Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Chapter 17 - Night of Mana #3
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Luther's new weapon, the Chain Axe, was anything but ordinary.
In the world of Dragon Hunter Origin, where massive siege weapons designed to combat evil dragons were plentiful, it was rare to find an axe quite as enormous as this one.
Even with muscle enhancement magic, its sheer size and weight made it nearly impossible to handle.
On top of that, Luther's axe featured a rotating blade, which raised the difficulty even further.
[Activating the nanosuit's muscle enhancement function.]
[Dispersing the load from enhancement across the entire body.]
Without a complete nanosuit, even Luther wouldn't have been able to wield the Chain Axe.
But things were different now.
Thanks to the nanosuit covering his entire body, Luther could employ muscle enhancement on an entirely different level from before.
Gripping the Chain Axe with both hands, Luther felt its substantial weight and kicked off the ground.
Through his visor, he saw the Demon Beast Lord Balakia turning away as if fleeing from the Mana Vortex.
[The target is attempting to leave the battlefield.]
[320 meters remaining until the target escapes the Mana Vortex's range.]
It was impossible not to recognize the Mana Vortex, now expanded to a diameter of dozens of meters.
With all the mana in the surrounding area being sucked into it, fleeing was the natural response.
[The Mana Vortex is projected to persist for approximately 14 more minutes.]
[The target has begun moving!]
Luther could see it too.
The Demon Beast Lord Balakia's body exceeded 30 meters in length, putting its shoulder height at over 10 meters, but since its entire frame was made of gaunt bones, its movements felt utterly surreal.
"Integra!"
[Initiating high-speed maneuver!]
Boom!
Luther's body shot upward at a diagonal angle after kicking off the ground.
At that instant, under Integra's coordination, the thrusters on his backpack and legs erupted in flames.
Luther's leap, slicing through the wind, was practically flight.
[Distance to target: approximately 200 meters.]
[Distance for target to escape Mana Vortex: approximately 260 meters.]
[Commencing second leap!]
Crossing dozens of meters in an instant, Luther kicked off the ground once more.
With the sensation of the ground vanishing beneath his feet, Luther traversed the air again.
"Grraaa—"
As it gradually distanced itself from the Mana Vortex, a faint darkness began to return to the Demon Beast Lord Balakia's flesh.
The sight of thin shadows layering over its stark white bones was profoundly eerie.
Boom!
Luther executed his third leap.
Despite the thunderous roar from behind, Balakia didn't so much as glance back—it pressed forward relentlessly.
[Distance to target: approximately 100 meters!]
Membranes formed on Balakia's wings.
If it got just a bit farther, it would undoubtedly take to the skies again.
"Integra! Missile!"
[Firing!]
As Luther leaped once more, he launched the missile mounted on his left arm.
The missile struck the joint connecting Balakia's wing to its body, exploding in a burst of flames.
"Grraaa!"
Balakia, which had been charging blindly ahead, instinctively whipped its head around.
And in that moment, Luther made his final leap.
Staring straight at the turning beast, he swung the Chain Axe with all his might.
Kagagagagang!
Sparks flew as the saw blade spun.
The wing bone struck by the Chain Axe shattered like glass, and the right wing crashed to the ground.
"Grraaa!"
Balakia twisted its body with a howl of agony.
Luther used his leg thrusters to adjust his trajectory midair, evading the thrashing.
"Haa."
Landing on the ground, Luther rolled once to stabilize his stance before turning to face Balakia.
[Approximately 150 meters until escape from Mana Vortex influence.]
[Massive energy reaction detected at the center of the target's chest.]
Just as Integra said.
Unlike the other areas thinly coated in shadow, the inside of its ribcage was filled with darkness.
The core of the Demon Beast Lord Balakia was undoubtedly there.
Luther swallowed once.
With one wing severed, Balakia wildly lashed its tail, devastating the surroundings.
Snapped trees tumbled across the ground, and thick clouds of dust enveloped the area.
"Gra!"
Finally, Balakia spotted Luther.
A sickly yellow glow emanated from within its skull.
Facing it head-on, Luther assessed the situation.
The Mana Vortex had drastically reduced its power.
It couldn't use Death Flames, and summoning an undead legion was out of the question.
Even emitting death energy would be difficult.
But even so, this was the Demon Beast Lord Balakia.
In its current state, it still overwhelmed Valboa and Astra.
[The target's tail is splitting!]
Just as Integra warned.
The tail sweeping the ground suddenly divided into three prongs, each lunging toward Luther like a serpent.
[Displaying predicted paths.]
[Must approach the target!]
The tails rained down from above.
Luther charged straight ahead, dodging the first tail while swinging the Chain Axe wide to deflect the one coming from the left.
Clang!
Sparks scattered from the saw blade again.
Luther and Integra didn't waste the repulsive force from the collision.
With her superhuman computational power, Integra instantly calculated the optimal path and added thruster propulsion to propel Luther forward.
Boom!
The third tail smashed futilely into the ground, and Luther closed in right beneath Balakia.
"Gra!"
At such close range, the massive Balakia couldn't strike Luther.
It tried to create distance again, but Luther was a fraction faster.
[Activating stealth mode!]
Luther's body vanished.
While Balakia hesitated in confusion, Luther kicked off the ground, narrowing the gap further.
He even climbed onto its body, kicking off from its thigh bone.
[1!]
[0!]
Stealth mode ended.
Balakia's eyes caught Luther leaping toward its chest.
In Luther's hands gleamed the furiously rotating Chain Axe.
"Grraaa!"
Balakia cried out urgently, but it was futile.
Soaring high, Luther spun his body and slammed into Balakia's chest.
Kwarararararak!
The ribs collided with the Chain Axe.
Several shattered and pulverized ribs fell to the ground, but cleaving through the darkness entirely proved impossible.
Luther spun several more times in midair before landing, and Balakia extended both arms toward him.
Bone javelins poured from its arms.
[Master!]
Luther swung the Chain Axe with all his strength at the oncoming barrage, but blocking them all was impossible.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The first bone ricocheted away, the second grazed the saw blade.
When the third clashed with the Chain Axe, the fourth and fifth rained down over Luther's head.
Kwagang!
Luther abandoned trying to deflect them.
Instead, he pulled the massive Chain Axe in like a shield to protect his head and body, but even that had limits.
The seventh and eighth bones suddenly exploded.
Amid the deafening roar shaking his skull, Luther realized he was tumbling across the ground, engulfed in the blast.
The nanosuit covering his body kept him unscathed for now, but continued hits were unpredictable.
Luther pushed off the ground and lifted his head.
What entered his vision wasn't the ninth bone, but Balakia's gaping maw.
"Grararara—!"
Black flames poured from Balakia's mouth.
Not full Death Flames, but still a strike not to be underestimated.
No escaping it.
Could he block?
Reflexively raising his left arm, Integra deployed the shield, but it was laughably small to cover his whole body.
The flames cascading from the sky threatened to swallow Luther whole.
No—they nearly did.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three magic swords sliced between the flames and Luther.
Seizing the gap they created, Luther and Integra used the backpack thrusters to evacuate the area.
The massive magic swords embedded in the ground.
Among Arma's Elements of Nature magic swords, these were clearly the Wind Sword Windem, the Water Sword Ceres, and the Flame Sword Salia.
But how?
Arma should still be unable to move.
With the Mana Vortex's power rampant, flying four magic swords was impossible.
Yet Luther and Integra smiled instead of questioning.
They had discerned the source of this aid.
["Karen!"]
Boom!
The fourth magic sword—the Earth Sword Baros—impaled the darkness encircling Balakia's chest.
Integra pinpointed Karen's location.
Even amid the Mana Vortex, her psychokinesis had opened a path for Luther.
Balakia shrieked.
It lashed out with its three-pronged tail again, but Luther grabbed the nearest magic sword—the Flame Sword Salia—instead of his dropped Chain Axe, charging straight ahead.
Kwarararara!
The three tails hammered the ground.
But Luther, having leaped to evade, activated his backpack boosters and shouted.
"Integra!"
[Firing heavy flamethrower!]
A massive jet of flame from Luther's left arm blinded Balakia.
It faltered for a moment, and Luther aimed the Salia in his right hand at its chest.
But right then—
[Master! Brace for impact—!]
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Panicked, Balakia detonated its own ribs.
Luther couldn't escape unscathed from the chain explosions of over ten bones.
The nanosuit's armor shattered and peeled away like an inverted Claymore, and Luther's body was drenched in blood.
But Balakia couldn't avoid damage either.
Having lost all its ribs, it staggered back and collapsed onto its rear.
"Kuhk."
Sprawled on the ground, Luther exhaled.
His head spun from the explosions.
His left arm wouldn't move—likely pierced by shrapnel—and the burning pain across his body threatened to claim his consciousness.
He wanted to close his eyes.
To just fall asleep.
But Luther gritted his teeth.
Losing consciousness here meant the end of everything.
For himself, for Integra, and for this world's fate hurtling toward destruction!
[Injecting adrenaline.]
[Injecting painkillers.]
[Initiating self-repair.]
[Hang in there! Master!]
Integra's voice roused him once more.
The adrenaline surging through his veins reignited his will to fight, while the painkillers dulled the agony.
Luther forced himself upright.
He gripped the Flame Sword Salia, which he hadn't let go even while being flung away.
"Gra!"
Balakia rose similarly, opening its maw.
To unleash black flames again. Sensing it instinctively, Luther charged with full power.
He would burrow in.
Unleash attacks on its chest.
A simple thrust wouldn't suffice.
To sweep away the darkness flooding its chest, he needed a far more powerful strike.
"Luther!"
Karen's voice echoed from afar.
Thus, Luther didn't halt his charge toward Balakia.
And in that moment, Karen understood.
Having witnessed Luther's battles countless times, she intuitively grasped his intent.
Black flames gathered in Balakia's mouth.
Luther kicked off the ground, and instead of manipulating the embedded magic swords, Karen unleashed psychokinesis toward him.
Bang!
Luther kicked off the psychokinetic platform.
Balakia reflexively lifted its head to track Luther soaring higher than its skull, and Luther raised his right arm holding Salia skyward, shouting.
"Integra!"
[Combine sequence!]
[Access code: Pile Bunker!]
Boom!
The backpack launched from Luther's back fused with his right arm.
Simultaneously, the Flame Sword Salia substituted for the Pile Bunker's pile.
Balakia stared at Luther.
Luther stared back at Balakia.
Locking eyes with it, he spun his body and kicked off another psychokinetic platform from Karen, charging.
"Grararara—!"
Black flames surged up Balakia's throat.
At the same instant, Luther's fist—the Flame Sword Salia—smashed into Balakia's chest.
Kwaaang!
The fist embedded, and the darkness churned.
From the point pierced by Salia, shadows spurted like blood.
But it wasn't over yet.
The real attack was just beginning.
Luther propelled himself with the remaining thrusters.
Karen assisted with psychokinesis, and Integra detonated the charges.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Pile Bunker's propellant exploded in sequence, driving the Flame Sword Salia deeper into Balakia's chest.
With each blast, the darkness convulsed like an explosion it couldn't withstand, and Balakia screamed.
"Graaa!"
Its shriek unleashed black flames skyward.
But Luther didn't stop.
Roaring alongside Integra, he triggered the final charge!
Kwaang!
The Flame Sword Salia launched from the Pile Bunker.
The already churning darkness in Balakia could no longer halt Salia's advance.
Kwarararara!
The Flame Sword Salia pierced the darkness.
It transfixed the heart hidden deepest within, shattering it utterly as it pressed on.
It destroyed the beast's sole heart completely.
"Graaaaaaaa—!"
Balakia wailed, rearing its neck.
The black flames erupting from its maw blanketed the sky, its final death cry.
Rumble—!
The Demon Beast Lord Balakia's body collapsed.
As the darkness dissipated, the exposed bones fragmented and crumbled to dust, scattering away.
"Haa."
Luther, who had landed—or rather, rolled to a stop and collapsed flat—exhaled.
Through his visor, he saw Balakia's bone dust drifting and the rippling purple sky.
[Acquired a massive amount of combat data.]
[Target's life signs completely extinguished.]
[Master's victory.]
Integra's gentle voice was more welcome than ever.
As if sensing Luther's feelings, she continued in an excited tone.
[That was an incredible performance.]
[This moment has undoubtedly brought massive change to the world of Dragon Hunter Origin!]
[Awarding 2 shop points to the master who accomplished something extraordinary.]
Her affectionate, endearing voice brought a smile to Luther's face, but he couldn't help tilting his head at the end.
"Wait, just 2 points?"
He had no idea the maximum or what accumulating them would do, but for this feat, only 2 points?
Integra chuckled at his question, materializing before his eyes via augmented reality.
[Because my shop is precious.]
She winked mischievously.
Luther laughed again, extending a hand toward Integra.
"Integra."
[Yes, Master.]
"We won."
He had defeated the Demon Beast Lord Balakia on the very day it awoke.
He had prevented the destruction of Venus City and the western regions.
His heart pounded.
His chest swelled with emotion.
Thrown into a game-like world facing inevitable doom, for this moment alone, he could rejoice purely.
He had changed the future.
Twisted the trajectory toward annihilation, if only slightly.
With these hands, he had saved countless lives.
Integra gazed softly at Luther's face.
Tilting her head at his radiant smile, she smiled tenderly back, reaching out as if to caress his cheek—knowing she couldn't touch.
[Yes, Master. We won.]
[It's our victory.]
Whispering sweetly, Integra soon laughed again.
She had expected Luther to grin back excitedly, but instead, he passed out with that smiling face.
She understood.
Today's battle had been that grueling—and that magnificent.
[Good night, Master.]
Whispering softly once more, Integra stroked the air as if caressing his untouchable cheek.
The wind blew.
As the Mana Vortex began to dissipate, the Night of Mana faded away.