Would You Mind Dying?
Choi Muryeong could not comprehend Lee Taepyeong's absurd words.
"..."
At least, not at first.
But soon, a certain scene replayed in Choi Muryeong's mind.
It was the image of Lee Taepyeong tearing through the harpies alone, as if he were a one-man army.
Killing Time.
A movement that even he, the Sword Emperor, could only vaguely sense but never track with his eyes.
The sensation that the world had ground to a halt, leaving only Lee Taepyeong to move freely.
Recalling the sight of the harpies' heads raining down only after Lee Taepyeong had stopped, Choi Muryeong made a decision.
It was a resolution that no ordinary hunter would ever make.
Steeling his resolve, Choi Muryeong opened his mouth.
"Understo—"
Thwack!
"Yeah, thanks."
Before he could even finish his reply, a dagger plunged into his neck.
Having pierced the carotid artery with surgical precision, blood began to pump out rapidly with every beat of his heart.
Thump.
Thump.
He had stabbed him so cleanly that it didn't even hurt. He only felt the hot sensation of blood rushing out.
"Cough...!"
Along with a dizziness he had never experienced in his life, Choi Muryeong felt the strength draining from his body.
Through his fading vision, he saw Lee Taepyeong's face...
"Don't worry, I'll bring you back in a jiffy."
He sounded completely nonchalant, as if he were talking about the weather.
Thud.
His limbs went limp. Lee Taepyeong caught the collapsing Choi Muryeong.
To prevent him from falling off, he tied Choi Muryeong's body securely to the wyvern's horn.
Then, with a soft metallic ring, Lee Taepyeong drew the Sword of Calamity.
The blood clinging to the blade shimmered.
"Just wait a bit."
With those final words, Lee Taepyeong lunged forward. Watching his retreating back, Choi Muryeong's eyes slowly began to close.
"..."
A warm, cozy sensation enveloped his entire body.
Is death... friendlier than I thought?
If so, I wouldn't mind dying a few more times...
With that absurd thought, Choi Muryeong suffered his first death.
I dashed like a madman toward the wyvern's head, praying that Choi Muryeong wouldn't kick the bucket before I reached its vital spot.
Damn it...
However, there was one problem.
The 'weak point' that should have been visible through my Execution Eye was nowhere to be seen.
If I could just spam attacks on its weak point and land a single critical hit, I could immediately trigger the Executioner's Block and kill it!
Why isn't it showing up?
It was impossible for a creature like this to have no weak points.
Tick...
The moment I reached its neck, Killing Time activated.
...Choi Muryeong is dead.
Reflexively, I drove the Sword of Calamity into the nape of the wyvern's neck.
Squish!
Though the hide was tough, the blade managed to pierce through.
Hummmmm!
The Sword of Calamity vibrated violently, emitting a strange, high-pitched hum.
Schlip!
I pulled the sword back out, but no blood splurted. The wound had already vanished.
Clack-clack-clack!
To be precise, its scales had slid back over to cover the wound. I quickly pivoted my body.
I need to ruin its eyes first.
Even if they weren't highlighted as a weak point, eyes were a universal vulnerability for almost every living creature.
They were soft, sensitive, and destroying them would rob the target of its sight. It was always the best place to start wrecking havoc.
Tap!
Even with Killing Time active, I didn't have the luxury of time like I usually did.
If only there were a few more monsters—no, even just one more thing to kill, it would have been fine.
"Tsk."
But since Choi Muryeong had already gone through the trouble of dying for me, it was better to stab the thing one more time instead of wasting time grumbling.
Splat!
The Sword of Calamity pierced the giant wyvern's eye.
Stab!
Stab!
Stab!
I gouged at it until the pupil was completely shredded. I wanted to rip the entire eyeball out, but that was asking too much in this timeframe.
For now, just keep stabbing.
Right below the eye was the jaw. For reptiles like this, the skin under the jaw was bound to be relatively soft.
If I got lucky and tore it open all the way to the throat, I might be able to target its blood vessels.
This was a bit of trivia I'd picked up after slaughtering countless lizardmen!
It was my favorite method for killing them: stab through the jaw and push straight up into the brain.
Usually, that was a one-shot kill. Though, of course, a giant wyvern would be a different story.
Crunch!
I ripped off a scale and wedged my foot into the gap. Bracing myself, I thrust the sword upward.
Squish!
As expected, the jaw skin tore open smoothly without much resistance. The tip of the blade sank into something soft, likely the tongue muscle.
Riiiiip!
I poured strength into the hand holding the Sword of Calamity. Then, using my body weight, I leaped upward—
Tear!
The skin ripped open, but the blade suddenly caught on something. It seemed the hide grew much tougher near the neck, preventing me from tearing it open as much as I wanted.
Of course, I could do it if I kept at it, but...
...Not enough time.
The time limit was too strict.
For now, let's at least sever a blood vessel...
Cutting a major artery would definitely help.
Slash!
I literally began to saw at the wyvern's neck.
Spurt!
A blood vessel the size of a fire hose was severed, and blood began to pour out. Looks like I was getting another involuntary blood bath.
Drenched in blood, I was about to climb back up the giant wyvern's head when—
Click...
Killing Time ended.
At that exact moment, the giant wyvern began to thrash, letting out a screech that threatened to burst my eardrums.
"SCREEEEEEECH!"
Flap!
Flap!
With frantic wingbeats, it shook its head violently, likely due to its ruined eye.
"SCREEEEEEECH!"
Another shriek echoed, followed by—
"ROOOOOOOAR!"
A breath attack, unleashed blindly in all directions rather than at a specific target.
Fwooooosh!
While the beast shook its head and spewed a massive torrent of breath, I wedged my body into the torn flesh between its scales to keep from falling off.
Flap!
Flap!
Because its wingbeats were unbalanced, the giant wyvern's massive body began to wobble. It plummeted as if it were about to crash, only to soar back up sharply.
"Ugh...!"
I-I'm getting motion sickness...!
I felt like I was going to throw up the dried pollack soup I had for breakfast! As I held back my nausea and clung on, the giant wyvern soared high into the distant sky.
It looked around as if searching for an invisible enemy, then shuddered.
Letting out a bizarre, clicking sound, it began to fold its wings one by one.
...No way, right?
Please tell me it's not doing what I think it's doing.
Whoosh!
The giant wyvern suddenly went into a steep dive. And it was spinning as it did.
Spinning rapidly, the giant wyvern hurtled toward the ground. It was probably trying to use centrifugal force to fling off the foreign object clinging to its body.
It has that level of intelligence?!
Shit. I didn't expect this.
"Ugh...!"
If I got flung off here, it was instant death. Choi Muryeong would be fine since I tied him up securely, but...!
I grabbed onto the severed blood vessel with all my might to keep from being thrown off the giant wyvern.
It would definitely pull up before crashing into the ground. I just had to hold on until then.
The beast would need time to flap its wings and climb back up. I could use that window to slice its neck again.
If things went well, I could repeat this cycle and kill it—
Whoosh!
Just before hitting the ground, the giant wyvern spread its wings at the very last second. The sudden lift sent my body floating.
"Holy crap..."
I was going to develop a fear of heights at this rate! My arms were numb, and cold sweat was pouring down my back.
But there was no time to catch my breath. If I dawdled even for a second, this bastard would fly back up.
Stepping on the shredded flesh, I began to climb up the giant wyvern's head.
Right then, I felt a gaze lock onto me. Just a tiny bit, but it was definitely there.
"...!"
The giant wyvern's mutilated eyeball was turning toward me.
Ah. So it hadn't completely lost its sight?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the giant wyvern soared upward at breakneck speed. This was no mere glide.
This bastard...?
It pierced through the ash-colored clouds, climbing higher and higher. Once we broke past the cloud layer, an intense chill assaulted my body.
Crack, crackle...
Frost began to form, and my breath grew increasingly shallow.
...Is this what it was aiming for?
Seriously, it had this much brainpower? I thought it was just a flying lizard.
"Huuup!"
I held my breath and clung to the giant wyvern's horn.
A moment later, it went into another dive.
And it wasn't just a normal dive. It was flying at the speed of light while spinning like a roller coaster, making it impossible to hold on—
The wyvern's eye rolled toward me again.
It looked as if it were saying, Let's see how long you can hold on.
Wow. Now I'm actually pissed.
I can't keep this up.
Holding on was the best I could do right now. I couldn't even find an opening to swing my sword.
In that case, I needed to find a stable position that wouldn't be affected by its flight maneuvers. Only then could I start carving it up.
A place where the giant wyvern's tail and wings couldn't reach, where the skin was soft enough to cut unlike its thick back, and where I wouldn't be thrown off by its flying...
...Is it really the only option?
To be honest, I had considered it from the start. I had only held back because it was a completely insane idea.
But looking at the situation now, doing that insane thing seemed like the right call.
I sheathed the Sword of Calamity.
Then, I let go of the shredded flesh between the scales that I had been holding onto with all my might.
Instantly, my body floated into the air.
Fwooooosh!
Realizing I had let go, the giant wyvern frantically spewed its breath. However, because one of its eyes was ruined, the attack missed completely.
...Six seconds left.
I was safe from its breath for the next six seconds. Which meant this was my chance.
I located the giant wyvern and adjusted my trajectory. The beast also spotted my position and began to flap its wings.
"SCREEEEEEECH!"
The giant wyvern flew up with its maw wide open.
Man, the angle was perfect.
The wind direction was great, too.
I dove straight into its pitch-black throat.