Night of the Prophets (7)
Park Jinwoo briefly scanned his surroundings at the system message announcing that Ignir’s Flames of Destruction was about to be cast.
“There’s a platform over there! H-hurry up and get on it!”
“This platform’s a four! Kill one of them!”
“Die, die! Just die already!”
“Guh…!?”
The Prophets scrambling in panic as they hunted for the numbered platforms stood out the most.
Watching them swing weapons at people they’d been chatting with just moments earlier just to match the numbers on the platforms, Park Jinwoo’s face twisted in disgust.
“Honestly… what a pathetic sight.”
Clink-clink!
Gleipnir responded to its master’s emotions, lengthening its chains. Once the chains had extended far enough, Park Jinwoo looked at a nearby Prophet and gave the order.
“Kill.”
Clink-clank-clank!
Obeying its master’s command, Gleipnir coiled its body into an S-shape, then launched itself forward like a spring, shooting straight at one of the Prophets. The motion looked exactly like a snake striking its prey.
Whoosh!
“What the hell is that sou—”
The Prophet standing on the platform marked with a 1 turned at the strange noise behind him. That was the last thing he ever saw.
Thud!
His head was pierced clean through in a single strike. The Prophet’s body went limp as he died instantly. Gleipnir then flung the corpse aside like trash.
Crash!
Park Jinwoo glanced at the body Gleipnir had tossed, then quickly stepped onto the numbered platform the Prophet had been standing on.
Absolute Shield activated!
Right on cue, the first Flames of Destruction erupted from Ignir’s maw.
ROOOOOAR——!!
The heat and destructive power of the Flames of Destruction made the earlier ordinary breath look like a candle flame.
“Whoa… that really is something. Fire resistance and even 40 Constitution mean nothing in front of that breath.”
Park Jinwoo genuinely marveled at Ignir’s Flames of Destruction.
He’d put some distance between himself and Ignir while going for the numbered platforms, and he had fire resistance, yet the heat still reached him all the way here.
This is looking impossible…
When he’d first arrived at Anguk Station, Park Jinwoo had taken a quick look around, noting the locations of fire hydrants and extinguishers.
He’d planned to slap a cold enchantment on the hydrant water or extinguishers and cancel out Ignir’s breath if the regular breath and Flames of Destruction looked manageable.
But after seeing the power of both the regular breath and the Flames of Destruction, that plan was dead. No—he felt its complete impossibility.
“Damn it… I could probably block a regular breath with cold-enchanted hydrant water, but…”
It was nowhere near enough to stop the Flames of Destruction. Park Jinwoo realized that cold-enchanted hydrant water alone could never stand against Ignir’s ultimate attack.
“…KRAAAAAH!!”
“L-let me in! Let me onto the platform, you bastards…!”
“P-please, just save me…!?”
Park Jinwoo watched the Prophets who failed to reach a numbered platform get burned alive and vanish in Ignir’s massive flames, then glared at the dragon.
As the ten-second duration of Absolute Shield neared its end, Ignir finally stopped spewing the Flames of Destruction.
Sizzle…
In 1 minute, the platforms will regenerate.
The moment Ignir’s attack stopped, Absolute Shield vanished and the platform beneath Park Jinwoo’s feet disappeared. A system message floated up at the same time.
“Now!”
Park Jinwoo sprinted toward a nearby fire hydrant. Even if it couldn’t fully block Ignir’s breath, it was still more than useful as a means of attacking the dragon.
But Ignir wasn’t about to just sit and watch.
KRAAAAAH!!
The instant the casting time for Flames of Destruction ended, Ignir charged straight at Park Jinwoo.
“Ugh…!”
Crunch!
Park Jinwoo spun around at the roar behind him just in time to see a Prophet who had been in Ignir’s path get crushed under the dragon’s foot and die.
“What the hell? Is this dragon obsessed with me right now? Kinda flattering…!?”
Ignir charged with its eyes rolled back, locked solely on Park Jinwoo.
As the distance closed, Park Jinwoo quickly abandoned the idea of using the hydrant and raised his gun toward Ignir instead.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets Park Jinwoo fired struck the massive dragon’s body dead-on. Unfortunately, they had no effect.
Clink.
The bullets, blocked by Ignir’s hard scales, fell to the floor completely flattened. Park Jinwoo didn’t feel disappointed that his attack had failed. He’d only fired them as a deterrent, so it wasn’t a waste at all.
“…Still, this is getting a little dangerous.”
Park Jinwoo’s eyes rapidly scanned Anguk Station before he stowed the now-useless HK416 into his My Room.
Luring Ignir himself and wiping out the Prophets had gone well so far. But knowing he couldn’t let his path overlap with his companions’, Park Jinwoo racked his brains, searching for a route that wouldn’t cross theirs.
The platforms have regenerated!
Had a full minute already passed? The message that the platforms had regenerated appeared.
Agile Footwork activated!
Slash!
“Gah!”
Park Jinwoo sliced through the neck of a Prophet in his path as he ran, thinking.
As expected… do I have to hold out until the Apostles get burned by Ignir’s breath and drop the Blue Ice Pills?
Park Jinwoo recalled the elixirs the Apostles had brought to hunt Ignir. He was certain that if he took those, victory was guaranteed.
But the real question is whether I can survive until then…
While thinking, he glanced behind him.
KRAAAAAH!
A winged, fire-breathing lizard charging with its massive jaws wide open.
Maybe I shouldn’t have provoked it, fuck…
For a moment Park Jinwoo regretted the past—how the thrill of seeing a dragon he loved, the anticipation of dragon meat, and his dream of becoming a dragon slayer had blinded him into taunting Ignir.
But then his expression hardened completely.
“Ha… since when did I become such a coward?”
Park Jinwoo stopped running, muttered to himself as if in monologue, then turned around and glared at the charging Ignir.
I just need to tank it head-on until Kim Dokja plants the flag and gets the ‘King of No Killing’. I’ve been overthinking this.
He decided to keep it simple.
Slap!
Park Jinwoo closed his eyes and smacked both of his cheeks hard with his palms.
“Stings like hell…”
Feeling the burning heat and sting in his cheeks, Park Jinwoo put on a calm smile again and faced what was in front of him.
KRAAAAAH!
When the distance between them shrank to almost nothing, Ignir raised one of its front legs.
“………Come at me!!”
Seeing that, Park Jinwoo gripped Barisada with both hands and roared at Ignir.
Whoosh!!
Ignir’s front leg, powerful enough to casually pulverize the entire platform of Anguk Station, swung down to kill Park Jinwoo.
As if determined to block the attack head-on, Park Jinwoo brought the flat of Barisada’s blade up against Ignir’s descending foot.
BOOOOM!!
When Ignir’s front leg and Park Jinwoo’s Barisada collided, a massive explosion of sound rang out. At the same time, the enormous force in Ignir’s leg sent platform fragments and dust flying into the air, soon forming a giant cloud of dust.
Grrrind!
“Khh…!”
Inside the dust cloud, Park Jinwoo was blocking Ignir’s attack head-on. But as the dragon kept pouring strength into crushing him to death, he clenched his teeth and forced every ounce of power into his body just to hold on.
Clink-clank-clank!
Then Gleipnir moved, shooting toward Ignir’s face.
Slash!
KIIIIEEEK—!!
Gleipnir pierced one of Ignir’s eyes. The dragon screeched in agony and staggered backward.
“Huff… huff… crazy bastard… packing way too much mass for its size…”
It had only been a few seconds—the time Park Jinwoo had held back Ignir’s front leg. He glared at the dragon with exhausted eyes.
Fortunately, the short-term gambit he’d planned had worked. Despite the exhaustion, Park Jinwoo still managed a smile.
Blocking a mid-level disaster like Ignir head-on had drained a huge amount of his stamina, but permanently taking one of the dragon’s two eyes was a massive gain.
KRAAAAAH!!
Ignir roared with pure rage. The roar was filled with fury at permanently losing one of its eyes to Park Jinwoo’s scheme, and at being wounded twice by a mere prey animal.
Once again, massive flames began to swirl inside Ignir’s maw. At the same time, Park Jinwoo—currently the closest to the dragon—felt the heat directly.
Sizzle.
“Fuck… even just preparing that flame, and when I’m this close, Barisada’s blade and Gleipnir’s chains start heating up? That’s insane… these are cold-enchanted weapons!”
Park Jinwoo’s face filled with shock as Barisada’s blade and Gleipnir’s chains began to heat from the mere preparation of Ignir’s Flames of Destruction.
As the heat transferred to the hands gripping Barisada and the Gleipnir wrapped around his waist, Park Jinwoo’s expression twisted in pain.
Whoosh!
While preparing the Flames of Destruction, Ignir swung its tail at the dazed Park Jinwoo.
Clink!
Startled, Park Jinwoo drove Gleipnir’s chains into the wall like the three-dimensional maneuver gear of the Survey Corps from Attack on Titan and desperately dodged the tail.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Just as Park Jinwoo was breathing a sigh of relief at successfully dodging Ignir’s tail attack, he heard someone running toward him from the side and glanced over.
Then his expression went blank.
“Dokja-ssi…?”
The person running toward him was Kim Dokja. Seeing her charge this way with a hardened expression, Park Jinwoo hurriedly checked behind Ignir.
The flag holder of Anguk Station?!
Realizing that the flag holder of Anguk Station was right behind Ignir, Park Jinwoo ground his teeth.
Is this fate…?
Of all places, he and Ignir had stopped right where the flag holder of Anguk Station was. At that realization, Park Jinwoo let out a hollow smile.
“Jinwoo-ssi!”
Kim Dokja called his name. When Park Jinwoo turned his gaze to her, she was reaching a hand out toward him.
Clink-clank-clank!
Understanding her intent, Park Jinwoo extended Gleipnir, wrapped it around Kim Dokja’s arm, and pulled her in.
Kim Dokja landed lightly in his arms, then frowned at the heat she felt from the chain and grumbled.
“Thanks for pulling me, but this is seriously hot…”
“What were you thinking coming here? Didn’t you see the message earlier?”
Park Jinwoo lightly ignored her complaint and scolded her a little.
Kim Dokja’s face hardened at his scolding as she spoke.
“You don’t need to worry about that. However…”
She glared at Ignir and the five Apostles desperately running this way from behind her to catch her.
“If I just plant the flag in the holder behind that mid-level disaster, I’ll be fine somehow. But… Jinwoo-ssi…”
“…Looks like you have a plan. Don’t worry about me. I’ll just kill a few of those five quickly and use the numbered platform over there.”
Park Jinwoo already knew what Kim Dokja’s plan was, so a sad expression crossed his face. But he quickly composed himself and glared at Ignir as he spoke.
“I just need to get you near that flag holder, right?”
“Yes, but can you do it?”
“Ha! If I can’t, we both die, so I have to pull it off.”
Finishing his words, Park Jinwoo smiled and pulled on Kim Dokja’s arm.
“Wha…?”
Kim Dokja looked bewildered by his touch, but she let herself be pulled without resistance.
Soon Park Jinwoo brought her behind him, grabbed both of her arms, and made her wrap them around his neck.
Once Kim Dokja was fully on his back, Park Jinwoo put on a sly smile and said,
“So the legend that fighting a dragon gets you a beauty is true. Getting to carry a beauty like you on my back, Dokja-ssi… I could die without regrets.”
“…Even in a life-or-death situation, all you can think about is women? You’re a real pervert, Jinwoo-ssi.”
Even with Kim Dokja’s contempt-filled scolding right in his ear, Park Jinwoo just smiled.
“Well, isn’t that what being a man is? Anyway, hold on tight. We’re short on time, so I’m gonna drive a little recklessly!”
KRAAAAAAH!!
Ignir let out a massive roar. Then, as if the charge was complete, an enormous heat began radiating from its mouth.
Clink-clank-clank!
Park Jinwoo lengthened Gleipnir, then grabbed the chain and hurled it toward a platform pillar.
Clink-clank-clank-clank!!
Thrown with all the force of his 40 Strength, Gleipnir flew at terrifying speed. It wrapped around the platform pillar, and at the same time the chain began rapidly shortening.
Whoooosh!
Park Jinwoo and Kim Dokja flew along a path that would avoid Ignir’s Flames of Destruction as the Apostles watched.
But Ignir turned its head to track the two of them and poured out the Flames of Destruction.
“Can’t you go any faster?! The flames are about to hit us!”
Kim Dokja urged Park Jinwoo in a panicked voice as the flames slowly approached them. Park Jinwoo answered with a voice full of laughter.
“Don’t worry and just get ready to land!”
“Land? What do you me— Kyaa!”
Park Jinwoo quickly spun the body of Kim Dokja, who had been on his back, around to the front, then slipped his arms under her back and the crooks of her knees, supporting her. The classic “princess carry” pose.
Along the way, the soft sensation of Kim Dokja’s chest sliding from his back across his front almost made him break into a lecherous grin, but since she was looking at him, he held it back with superhuman willpower.
“We’ve reached the destination! Get ready!”
“Yes!”
The moment they neared the flag holder of Anguk Station, Park Jinwoo quickly set Kim Dokja down and charged at the Apostles.
“Y-you, what?!”
Slash!
Using Barisada, Park Jinwoo beheaded four of the Apostles. Then he hoisted the fifth Apostle—who was standing there blankly—over his shoulder and sprinted to the platform marked with a 2.
Absolute Shield activated!
Crash!
“Guh!?”
Having safely reached the numbered platform, Park Jinwoo carelessly flung the Apostle he’d been carrying onto the ground. The fifth Apostle slammed face-first into the floor.
Park Jinwoo turned his gaze toward where Kim Dokja was. Just then he caught sight of her successfully planting the flag into the holder.
“Dokja-ssi, what are you doing?! Hurry and get out of there!”
“Representative!”
From behind the defenseless Kim Dokja came voices like screams from Jung Heewon and Lee Seongguk.
““Dokja-ssi!””
Then Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon cried out her name in voices like wails.
“Dokja-ssi! Hey, Kim Dokja?!”
Park Jinwoo also called Kim Dokja’s name in a loud voice just like Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon.
He already knew she would choose the ‘King of No Killing’ as the flag’s special privilege, so he wasn’t truly worried, but he still called her name to avoid raising his companions’ suspicions.
Soon, Kim Dokja was swallowed by Ignir’s Flames of Destruction. In less than two seconds her entire body burned up and vanished.
……………
Park Jinwoo quietly turned his gaze. The fifth Apostle beside him was just staring blankly at the spot where Kim Dokja had disappeared.
A penalty has been applied to the Hidden Piece.
From the next turn, the number of platforms generated will decrease.
Then the Flames of Destruction and Absolute Shield both vanished.
Slash!
Park Jinwoo cut the throat of the fifth Apostle, who was still standing there blankly and defenseless. Then he sliced open the Apostle’s stomach as well.
In 1 minute, the platforms will regenerate.
Roll…
The moment Park Jinwoo killed the fifth Apostle and cut open the stomach, a Blue Ice Pill immediately tumbled out. He stared at it expressionlessly, then turned his gaze to where the corpses of the Apostles he’d killed earlier had been.
Unlike the fifth Apostle, the other four had vanished without even leaving ash in the Flames of Destruction, but four blue-green orbs now lay in the spots where their bodies had been.
“Gleipnir.”
Clink-clank-clank.
At Park Jinwoo’s command, Gleipnir’s chains lengthened and retrieved the four Blue Ice Pills that had been left lying where the Apostles died.
Park Jinwoo picked up the Blue Ice Pill that had fallen to the floor along with the four Gleipnir had brought, then swallowed them all at once.
You have consumed Blue Ice Pills.
Effect:Cold attribute temporarily unlocked.
Attribute Stack Effect:Blue Ice Pill attribute damage increased!
Bonus:+200% cold attribute damage added.
A freezing chill that feels like it will freeze your heart covers your entire body.
“Hooo…”
Park Jinwoo shuddered at the cold chill spreading through his entire body, white breath escaping his lips.
“Enchant. Apply cold attribute to clothes.”
Exclusive skill Enchant activated!
Park Jinwoo’s clothes temporarily gain cold attribute resistance.
Due to Barisada’s influence, the cold attribute resistance granted to Park Jinwoo’s clothes is increased.
“Ignir. You killed my companion. So…”
Park Jinwoo glared back at the dragon that was glaring at him, then walked toward the fire hydrant beside him.
Crunch!
He casually ripped off the hydrant’s door, quickly scanned the usage instructions written on it, and began pulling out the hose.
“Enchant. Cold on the hydrant.”
Exclusive skill Enchant activated!
The fire hydrant temporarily gains the cold attribute.
The Blue Ice Pills react to the cold attribute applied to the hydrant!
Attribute Stack Effect: Blue Ice Pill attribute damage increased!
An additional 30% cold attribute damage is added.
Total of 230% cold attribute damage has been added.
Click.
Park Jinwoo then began opening the hydrant’s valve all the way, gripping the nozzle and aiming it at Ignir.
“Playtime’s over.”
With the valve open, he could feel a massive amount of water flowing through the hose.
“Listen well, mid-level disaster Ignir. A modern, state-of-the-art dragon slayer kills dragons with a fire hydrant. Remember that.”
At last, the time for dragon-slaying—and dragon-tasting—had arrived.
“I’ll soak you and kill you!!”