Talion Fortress Siege (6)
Yeong-sik...
Kang Ha-rin alternated her gaze between the monster in the black suit and the woman with brown hair, trailing off uncertainly.
She had never heard of any rankers with such distinctive appearances joining the subjugation force.
'No, that woman... I feel like I've seen her somewhere before...?'
She narrowed her eyes, rummaging through her hazy memories.
At that moment, the brown-haired woman spoke up.
"Explanations can wait. Let's deal with that monster first."
Tiriya, her hair color and facial features altered by magic, addressed Kang Ha-rin in a calm voice. A mysterious, radiant glow emanated from her body.
"...Got it."
Kang Ha-rin nodded and readjusted her grip on her longsword. The situation was far too dire to press for their identities.
Yeong-sik, clad in the Lacteon Type 2 mechanical suit discovered in the royal palace report, turned his head slightly toward Kang Ha-rin.
'Good, she doesn't recognize Tiriya.'
He had thought she might spot her despite the minor changes to her hair and features via magic, but it seemed he was in the clear. For him, who needed to keep Salvatore Guild's participation in the subjugation force a secret, this was welcome news.
Intense flames erupted across his entire body.
"Pathetic insects multiplying."
Rekras, spewing fierce flames from his whole body, glared at Yeong-sik and Tiriya with a savage growl.
Yeong-sik's expression hardened at the intense heat radiating even through his suit.
'I have to finish this in five minutes.'
The operational time left on his current suit, the Lacteon Type 2, was a mere five minutes. He had to take down Rekras before that limit expired.
"Blade."
A black blade emerged from the back of the suit's left hand.
With Yeong-sik's low mutter, a black blade appeared from the back of the suit's left hand. It gleamed with far sharper menace than the one he usually wielded.
The ground cratered deeply, as if struck by artillery.
Yeong-sik kicked off the ground ferociously. The earth couldn't withstand the heavy impact and caved in like a shell explosion. At the same moment, a brilliant boost light erupted from the suit's back.
His body, turned into a streak of black light, shot toward Rekras.
Rekras raised his left arm toward the approaching Yeong-sik. The flames enveloping his body gathered before his left arm, forming a solid shield.
The blade bounced off the flame shield.
The blade clashed with the flame shield and ricocheted away. Yeong-sik winced at the searing heat transmitted through his hand.
"Hah!"
Kang Ha-rin charged at Rekras right after Yeong-sik. Her longsword with its pristine white blade swung toward his right flank.
Sizzle!
"Eut!"
Rekras formed an identical flame shield on his right arm to block Kang Ha-rin's attack. She swallowed a pained groan as the heat searing her palm through the blade blistered her skin.
"Heavenly Light!"
While Rekras blocked Yeong-sik and Kang Ha-rin's assaults, Tiriya circled behind him and extended both arms. A streak of pure white light shot toward Rekras.
Rekras, about to press his attack on Kang Ha-rin with her burned hand, spun around in alarm to block the light beam with a flame shield.
Rekras's body was shoved backward by the crushing impact.
"Kuhk."
Rekras grimaced fiercely at the relentless barrage. Even with Avatar of Fire active, he could handle one-on-one or even two-on-one against someone like Kang Ha-rin, but three was pushing it—he was struggling to keep up.
Yeong-sik's foot whipped toward Rekras's waist amid the eerie wind.
Having just blocked Tiriya's attack, Rekras twisted his face again and conjured a flame shield at his waist. The moment he saw it forming, Yeong-sik's eyes flashed.
'Boost.'
A faint boost light emitted from Yeong-sik's right shin, causing his waist-targeting kick to curve downward abruptly.
"Kuhk!"
Yeong-sik's foot struck Rekras's knee dead-on. The suit's inherent destructive power amplified by the boost made it an attack no dragonian scales could shrug off unscathed.
Rekras's stance crumbled, his body staggering.
"Triple Strike (三擊)."
Kang Ha-rin seized the opening. Her longsword blurred as if splitting into three illusions, slashing Rekras twice in rapid succession.
"Kraaaah!"
A groan of agony escaped Rekras's lips. The strike, landed while his guard was down, carved a deep gash across his body.
Rekras's face contorted.
"You bastards!"
With a roar of fury, Rekras swung both arms wide. A massive storm of fire surged toward Yeong-sik and Kang Ha-rin.
"Heavenly Guardian!"
Pure white light poured from Tiriya's body, enveloping Yeong-sik and Kang Ha-rin. Shaped like angelic wings, it shielded them from Rekras's flames.
As Rekras's frenzied assault proved futile, Yeong-sik didn't miss the gap it created.
Three ports opened on the suit's right shoulder.
Yeong-sik aimed them at Rekras's neck, chest, and flank. Gears meshed with a click in his ear as targeting completed.
'Jericho Missile' Lock-on Complete.
Not one of Yeong-sik's personal weapons, but built into the suit itself. He knew how to use it but had never fired it before. Now, he unleashed it on Rekras.
Fist-sized micro-missiles launched from his shoulder toward Rekras.
Click.
The three incoming missiles split in half mid-flight. From each half, nail-sized sub-missiles poured out. In an instant, dozens, then hundreds rained down on Rekras.
"Kuhk!"
"Kuhk!"
A colossal explosion rocked the earth. The shockwave uprooted nearby buildings entirely.
Yeong-sik urgently called out, staring incredulously at the blast site.
Dozens or hundreds of nail-sized missiles—how much explosive could they even hold?
Yet the Jericho's destructive power exceeded his expectations. The ground where Rekras had stood was utterly devastated, dust blooming like fog.
He wondered if the precision targeting had even mattered. Yeong-sik shuddered anew at the fact that this was just 20% of the suit's capability.
'What the hell is this suit...?'
He gazed at the jet-black suit with an expression of utter bafflement.
"W-What the hell are you?"
Yeong-sik wasn't the only one stunned by the Jericho. Kang Ha-rin's jaw hung slack as she stared at him, and even Cheon Tae-hwang gaped in shock.
"Kraaaah..."
As the smoke cleared, Rekras emerged—in a state so ragged it could only be called a rag.
The battered dragonian clutched his forehead in dazed confusion, as if entranced.
"A-ah..."
A single memory flashed through his mind.
Kill the human.
A hazy voice echoed in his ears from some indistinct form. And that form sharpened, ever so slightly.
Rekras's eyes bulged wide.
"No... it can't be."
His trembling body fixed on Yeong-sik.
It can't be, the words spilled from his lips repeatedly.
"Why... why you..."
Rekras convulsed, dark red blood spraying from his body.
"Why yoooouuuu!"
"Kuhk! What's wrong with that guy?!"
Kang Ha-rin scowled at Rekras's sudden outburst.
Immense mana began gathering around the wrecked dragonian's body.
"Wh-what?!"
Disbelief colored Kang Ha-rin's voice. A sticky dread shook her to her core.
Sensing the colossal mana converging on Rekras, she shouted desperately.
"Dodge!"
Her urgent cry echoed. Even without it, Yeong-sik felt the overwhelming mana and kicked away from Rekras.
Multi-purpose Combat Suit Lacteon Type 2 usage time has ended. 72 hours required for re-embarkation.
"Damn it! Not now!"
Yeong-sik's face twisted savagely. The timing couldn't be worse—like it was scripted.
The now-inert suit crushed down on him heavily. What had granted him immense power now shackled him instead.
Biting his lip hard, Yeong-sik tried to input the release code to shed the suit.
"Kraaaaaah!"
The gathered mana surged into Rekras's mouth. Terrifying power coalesced before his gaping maw.
Yeong-sik's expression froze solid at the sight.
'Breath...'
The pinnacle of destruction—a dragonian's ultimate attack, inherited from true dragons.
The ground beneath Rekras melted.
A heat storm swept the area.
His body began rupturing, unable to contain the overflowing mana.
This was the price of transcending mere imitation—a true Dragon Breath.
Dark red blood gushed from Rekras's entire body. Undeterred even as his life poured out, he continued preparing the breath.
A beam of annihilation, capable of obliterating all around it, formed before his mouth.
"Kraaaaaah!"
Rekras mustered his last strength and unleashed the breath at Yeong-sik.
Not the fake dragon-mimicry breath typical of dragonians. This was infused with genuine draconic terror.
A blinding crimson light filled Yeong-sik's vision.