Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: The Savior of Aachen
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It was like a tidal wave. At least, that's how it looked to the ranged DPS unit.
Flames filled their vision.
There was no escape.
“Get down!”
A figure cloaked in red and black shouted as it blocked the path between Choi Yu-ra and the flames. It was Seong Yu-jin, who had been standing by in case a monster detachment attacked the ranged unit.
Having activated her Armor Arnak, Seong Yu-jin raised a shield radiating a red aura. Choi Yu-ra crouched, covering her head, as the wave of fire finally swept over the ranged unit.
It was hot. But the flames didn't touch her directly. Choi Yu-ra lifted her head amid the inferno. She saw Seong Yu-jin’s back, standing firm before her.
The flames didn't just kill with their heat.
Choi Yu-ra couldn't breathe properly. Seong Yu-jin was much the same.
Even with the power of Armor Arnak, the pain was excruciating.
If only she had the Rune of Flame.
It was a useless thought.
Seong Yu-jin gritted her teeth and endured the wave of fire.
Just when she thought she had reached her limit, the wave of fire finally parted and vanished.
“Gasp!”
As Choi Yu-ra finally managed to draw a breath, a terrible smell assaulted her nostrils. It was the stench of burning flesh. She couldn't bring herself to look around.
Not everyone was dead. A few had dodged the wave of fire itself, and some, despite taking a direct hit, were still alive.
But far more had perished.
Seong Yu-jin staggered and fell to her knees. Instead of helping her up, Choi Yu-ra pulled out her anti-materiel sniper rifle.
Straight ahead.
Instead of spewing flames again, Andras simply opened its maw wide. With a ferocious roar, it charged, intending to crush Seong Yu-jin, Choi Yu-ra, and the surviving members of the ranged unit.
Choi Yu-ra pulled the trigger.
The large-caliber anti-materiel rifle spat fire, and the bullet pierced Andras's scales.
But it was shallow. It hadn't penetrated deep. Andras's charge faltered slightly, but its momentum didn't slow.
Something stronger.
Not a shot to stop it, but one to push it off course!
KABOOM!
Two ballistae simultaneously fired massive bolts. The attack came from Andras's flank, forcing the beast to twist its body. Diverging from its original path, it trampled the ground right next to the ranged unit.
The remaining soldiers of the city's regular army, who had fired the ballistae, cheered. Seong Yu-jin quickly turned, grabbed Choi Yu-ra by the waist, and ran. Even then, Choi Yu-ra fired another shot from her sniper rifle at the back of Andras's head.
“You son of a bitch!”
“KRRROOOOAR!”
Andras's roar drowned out all other sounds. Both the massive ballista bolts and Choi Yu-ra's second shot had broken its scales, but they failed to inflict significant internal damage. Pushing itself back up, Andras turned toward the ballistae.
“Damn it!”
“Hurry!”
The city's regular army hurriedly began to reload the second bolts, but it was too late. Andras leaped. The soldiers had no choice but to abandon their siege weapons and run, and both the ballistae and catapults were crushed under Andras's massive feet.
A simultaneous attack from Andras and the monster unit.
It was far worse than they had anticipated. They hadn't considered a scenario where the city's army would be so helplessly annihilated.
But one thing remained unchanged.
The protocol for when Andras and the monster unit moved together.
Kang-seok charged toward Andras. The beast was even larger than the Abomination he had faced in the cemetery, but he didn't slow his pace.
Andras was massive; Kang-seok was small.
Andras was fast, but Kang-seok was more than twice as fast.
“Wooooah!”
Draw its attention. Focus Andras's gaze on one spot.
Originally, this wasn't a job for Kang-seok alone. But as the situation had changed, the plan had to be modified.
Seeing Kang-seok charging at it, Andras gathered flames in its mouth.
Instead of trying to hit the small and nimble Kang-seok with its tail, claws, or bite, it intended to take him down with an area-of-effect attack.
Kang-seok's mouth went dry, but he just grinned fiercely. Trusting in the Rune of Flame Seong Yu-jin had placed around his neck, he pushed his speed even higher.
The flames poured out. Kang-seok plunged into them.
It was a wave of fire spewed from Andras's mouth, large enough to swallow a person whole. It was by no means small, and Kang-seok was buried in the flames as if caught in an avalanche.
The stream of fire continued, scorching the ground and distorting the air with its heat.
And then, in mid-air.
Andras cut off the flames. Relying on instinct, it twisted its entire body.
A massive sword of light grazed its neck. Immediately after, a sigil of light struck the same spot.
Knight of Knights, the Sigil of the Absolute Knight!
“Kraaah!”
No matter how colossal the beast, it couldn't be unharmed after a blow to the neck. Andras let out a pained groan, and Kang-seok kicked off the air, landing on its flank.
Fortunately, the Rune of Flame had withstood even Andras's fire. Still, swimming through a wave of flames was a truly terrible experience.
After taking a deep breath, Kang-seok kicked off the ground again. There was no time to rest.
Instead of turning to attack Kang-seok on its flank, Andras opted to use its entire body as a weapon.
A mountain was collapsing.
That's what it felt like to Kang-seok.
The urge to use First Movement: Overdrive—the ten-second miracle—surged within him, but he suppressed it. Staring straight at Andras's massive body as it fell to crush him, he executed a series of backdashes.
The ground shook. Having narrowly avoided Andras's attack, Kang-seok stumbled backward and fell. Andras hurriedly righted itself and raised a foreleg toward him.
Even its foreleg was like a landslide, more than enough to crush him in an instant. But Kang-seok wasn't looking at the leg. He was looking a little further beyond.
Abigail and Curios were fighting the monster unit. They had never been part of the 'Anti-Andras' unit to begin with.
The ones Kang-seok was looking at.
The ones who had been waiting for him to join them!
“Lightning Kick!”
As Andras's full attention was on Kang-seok, a brilliant bolt of lightning struck its hind leg. Three players from Rigveda Heroica simultaneously unleashed their Lightning Kicks, slamming into the beast's leg.
Individually, they were less skilled than Park Hyeong-sik, whom he'd fought alongside in Gawain's Temple. The highest adventurer rank among them was only three-star. But the power of their Lightning Kicks was not lacking in the slightest.
Andras shrieked. Its massive body tilted as if to collapse.
And someone was there to drive a wedge into that stagger.
“Aaaah! Jet Stream Banana!”
Mounted on a black steed, Yang Jun-gyu, half-crying, galloped past Andras's hind legs. Dozens of banana peels poured out from his left hand, which he had stretched toward the ground.
It was ridiculous, but the effect was tremendous. Having completely lost its balance, Andras collapsed where it stood.
“Aim for the neck!”
Someone shouted. The mages of the 'Anti-Andras' unit, like Jessica and Bart, unleashed every spell they had.
It was spectacular. Fire and ice scattered as lightning roared.
Andras was certainly huge, but not so colossal that there was nothing they could do.
Kang-seok, who had quickly distanced himself when Andras fell, also drew Durandal. This time, he was determined to embed Knight of Knights in its neck.
Through the agony, Andras saw him.
The one creating this turn of events.
[I acknowledge you.]
The voice pierced their consciousness. Not just Kang-seok, but everyone on the plains heard Andras's voice.
A blue light erupted from Andras's entire body. A presence so immense it couldn't be compared to anything before washed over them.
What he had seen in Gawain's Temple.
What the Demonic Beast Cimeries had tried to do just before it died.
He couldn't let it happen. He didn't know what the true power of the 72 Demonic Beasts was, but he couldn't let it unleash it at will.
Kang-seok stomped the ground.
Andras glared at Kang-seok.
Sensing something was wrong, Jessica and Bart chanted spells as if their heads would burst, while the other players and adventurers also prepared to unleash their strongest attacks.
Choi Yu-ra watched them all.
Instead of firing her last remaining bullet at Andras, she set down her sniper rifle. Grinning fiercely, just like Kang-seok, she ripped the dog tag from her neck.
She was summoning the giant of steel.
Choi Yu-ra's ultimate trump card!
“Gigantes—Down!”
[Requesting Gigantes Drop.]
[Time until Gigantes Drop: 5 seconds.]
[* 1,500 Kron consumed to request Gigantes Drop.]
[* You cannot request a Gigantes Drop for the next 15 days.]
The sky split open. Something enormous tore through the air, its intense friction heat igniting into flames.
Even Andras, whose attention had been fixed on Kang-seok, looked up at the sky.
Staring at the same spot, Choi Yu-ra raised her middle finger.
“Too late.”
It wasn't for her to pilot.
This time, she had summoned it for one purpose.
The immense physical force generated by a five-meter-long chunk of iron falling from high in the sky!
KRA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-BOOM!
Choi Yu-ra's Gigantes slammed into Andras's back. The beast had twisted its body just before impact, but it was too large to evade the Gigantes with such a small movement.
For a moment, the blue light radiating from Andras died down. The beast shrieked from a blow more powerful than any it had received in the battle today.
The Gigantes was shattered. And so was Andras's back.
Once every fortnight.
1,500 Kron per activation.
The drop time made it impossible to target nimble foes like humans.
But it all depended on how you used it.
Using the steel giant as a single bullet was just one of many tactics.
At the incredible sight, the players, adventurers, and even the monsters were momentarily stunned.
But Kang-seok was not.
Having anticipated the Gigantes Drop, Kang-seok hadn't slowed his movements for even a second.
Andras wasn't dead.
The blue light had merely dimmed, not disappeared completely.
He had to land the finishing blow.
Kang-seok scrambled up Andras's body. He drew Durandal, intending to plunge Knight of Knights into its shattered back.
Andras truly felt its life was in danger. It instantly released the power it had gathered for its transformation to move its body. It abandoned the transformation, choosing instead to throw Kang-seok off.
Andras shook its body violently. Kang-seok was flung from its back, and Knight of Knights uselessly cut through the air.
Kang-seok rolled across the ground. He instinctively broke his fall, but he couldn't completely negate the impact.
Andras thrashed about. It swung its massive tail, blocking the approach of the adventurers and players. Perhaps because of its broken back, instead of raising a foreleg, it turned its head toward Kang-seok.
Kang-seok pushed himself up from the ground. He had dropped Durandal while tumbling, but he immediately gripped it again with his left hand.
His eyes met Andras's. The beast opened its maw wide, and instead of picking up Durandal, Kang-seok extended his right hand.
A decisive power-up at a decisive moment.
That was all well and good. But he refused to let it be like what happened with Aden, the Gnoll King.
He had met the conditions last night, after completing the rescue quest.
And so, last night, he had paid the price.
He had achieved it by spending almost all the Kron he had saved.
P+K+S+HS+Voice Recognition
Second Movement: Black Flame Dragon
The Dark Destiny Lord's second transcendence.
A technique of power, corresponding to the Overdrive of speed!
He brought his right hand, half-clenched like a bird's talon, in front of his head.
He completed the command with a keyword he'd rather not have shouted.
“Cry out! Dragon of Black Flames!”
The bandages wrapped around Kang-seok's right arm instantly unraveled. They transformed into jet-black chains, and an aura like black flames erupted from his entire body.
Andras sensed the crisis.
It spewed out what little power it had left for its transformation in the form of flames.
Blue flames.
This was different from the wave of fire. A cold flame that even the Rune of Flame couldn't block poured down on Kang-seok.
He would freeze. And then, he would shatter.
But that didn't happen. A jet-black shield blocked the blue flames.
The other person who hadn't stopped moving when the Gigantes fell.
The one who was therefore able to reach him in time.
The shield froze over. Seong Yu-jin let out a pained groan.
But she didn't collapse. She held on to the end, and as she shook off the last remnants of the blue flames, she roared.
“Destroy it!”
He vaulted over her shout. He soared toward Andras's wide-open mouth, still spewing blue flames.
→↘↓↙←→ + HS
Rest in Peace: Black Bullet
One of the Dark Destiny Lord's two super moves.
Kang-seok himself became a jet-black bullet. Burning with black flames, he plunged into Andras's mouth. It wasn't enough power. He still needed one more blow to shatter Andras's head.
“Uwaaaaah!”
A Super Cancel, interrupting not a normal attack but the command skill itself. Followed by the final blow!
→↗↑↖← + HS
Knight of Knights!
He burned his very soul. He poured all his remaining stamina into this one strike.
Instead of a pure white sword, a jet-black sword poured out of Durandal.
Influenced by the Black Flame Dragon, the sigil of light, now turned jet-black, unleashed its power inside Andras's mouth.
It finally shattered and pierced through Andras's head.
A deafening roar was followed by a tremor that shook the entire area. A powerful shockwave, like a Wakening, radiated from Andras's massive body.
The monsters shrieked and fled. With its head pierced, Andras could no longer hold on and collapsed completely.
Kang-seok fell out of Andras's mouth and, upon barely landing on the ground, dropped to his knees. The black chains wrapped around his right arm, and the dark aura vanished as if it had been sealed.
Gasping for breath, Kang-seok raised his head. He saw a mass of blue light hovering over Andras's corpse.
A voice echoed in his mind.
[Strong human, what is your name?]
It was Andras's voice. There was no anger. He could feel respect and acknowledgment for the human who had defeated it.
And so, Kang-seok prepared to answer. With some difficulty, he straightened his chest and opened his mouth.
“Choi Ka—”
[I see. So your nickname—your soul's name—is 'Dark Destiny Lord'.]
“Huh?”
What? My soul's name?
[You remind me of White Darkness. Let us meet again someday, Savior of Aachen—Dark Destiny Lord.]
With those final words, the blue light vanished.
In its place, letters of light filled his vision.
[Quest Cleared]
[Quest: Defeat the Demonic Beast Andras.]
[Quest MVP: Choi Kang-seok (M)]
[Quest VP: Choi Yu-ra (F) / Seong Yu-jin (F)]
[Promoted from High-Grade Fighter to Champion.]
[Title Acquired: Dragon Slayer (Multiple/Minor)]
[Title Acquired: Demonic Beast Executioner (Multiple)]
He'd done it. He'd defeated it.
The Earth Dragon Andras!
It wasn't just the players. The adventurers and the surviving soldiers of the city's army realized it too. They had also heard Andras's final words.
Abigail was the first to raise her fist. She shouted with elation.
“Dark Destiny Lord!”
The Savior of Aachen.
The slayer of the Earth Dragon Andras!
Others joined in. Everyone raised their hands high and cried out the hero's name.
“Dark Destiny Lord!”
“Dark Destiny Lord!”
“O, Savior of Aachen!”
Every voice was thick with fervent emotion. They were all genuinely in awe of Kang-seok.
And for that very reason, Kang-seok's face turned beet red.
*‘S-stop it!’*
*Just use my name! Choi Kang-seok! You all know my name!*
But his wish went unheard. What's more, now even the players were looking at him and chanting the same name as the adventurers.
“Dark Destiny Lord!”
“Dark Destiny Lord!”
But for some reason, their tone was different from the adventurers'. It was no illusion that their voices were laced with irrepressible laughter.
*‘Yu-ra, you!’*
Choi Yu-ra was waving her arms the most enthusiastically, shouting 'Dark Destiny Lord'. No, she was clutching her stomach, out of her mind with laughter. It looked like she was about to start rolling on the ground.
*‘Y-Yu-jin, you too!’*
Seong Yu-jin covered her mouth with one hand and gave a small wave. No matter how she tried to hide it, her eyes gave away that she was smiling.
And amidst all this, Yang Jun-gyu's gaze, looking at him with pure admiration, was truly hard to bear.
[Congratulations, Dark Destiny Lord!]
[That was really, really cool! Dark! Destiny! Lord!]
[I'll tell you about the rewards and other stuff later!]
The final blow came from Iris.
Utterly defeated, Kang-seok collapsed on the spot, vowing internally that he would not forget this. Abigail, Kim Kang-san, and everyone else gathered around him, once again shouting 'Dark Destiny Lord'.
The Savior of Aachen.
Dark Destiny Lord.
It did not take long for his fame to spread throughout the Kingdom of Britannia.