Chapter 437
Chapter 437
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 438
Chapter Title: Desperate Battle Against Cruas
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The situation was heading straight for the worst.
Kim Jin-cheol, humanity's hope, could no longer join the battlefield, and most of the wizards on the ground had lost their combat capabilities in the indiscriminate bombardment.
But the situation had only grown unfavorable—it wasn't a confirmed defeat yet.
No matter how immense the enemy's power, it wasn't truly invincible.
Cruas drew up his mana and unleashed countless black spheres at me.
At the same time, I concentrated all my mana into my legs and charged forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Massive explosions erupted in my wake.
With the thought that even one hit could kill me, I desperately dodged the attacks.
Then, leaping up from the ground, I extended my hand toward him.
Whoosh!
Golden mana left a straight afterimage as it shot toward him through the darkness.
Unfortunately, my attack was blocked by the barrier he had conjured.
I wasn't disappointed.
I hadn't expected it to resolve so easily from the start.
I drew up my mana again, preparing a follow-up strike.
And as if refusing to give me any opening, Cruas's black spheres flew toward me.
Using Air Walk, I leaped high into the sky once more, evading the attack.
Swish!
In an instant, my body was above his head. I extended both hands, gathering mana.
Cruas calmly looked up at me and filled his mouth with flames.
Just as he was about to unleash his breath attack.
Boom!
A massive fireball slammed into Cruas's head.
At the same time, the breath veered off course and shot into the empty sky.
—Kim Sunwoo!
Yoo A-yeon's urgent cry from the ground.
She had created the opening.
'Now!'
[Activating effect 'Fighting Spirit.']
[Activating effect 'Heart of the Great Nature.']
[Activating effect 'Gravity Weight.']
The three effects stacked, surging new power through my body.
I aimed for the spot between his neck and torso—the widest weak point visible through Outsider's Blessing.
"......Hup."
I took a short breath and released the compressed magic sphere.
Fwoooosh—
The sphere pierced precisely between Cruas's neck and torso.
It was indeed a weak point; a massive scream, on a whole different level from before, echoed out.
Then, reinforcement wizards like Sword Ghost, Lee Seo-jun, and Kim Deok-hyun soared into the sky and swung their weapons massively into the wound I had opened.
Following them, Association executives like Michael and Flame Emperor provided support.
Rooooar!
Under the renewed onslaught, Cruas twisted his body this way and that, showing signs of agony.
But their attacks only inflicted momentary wounds, failing to bring about any major change.
Because every time they hit, his flesh rapidly regenerated, returning to its original form.
Does his regeneration have no limits?
—......It's not like he's some berserk demon or anything.
I felt bewildered watching it too.
Demons could at least have their regeneration suppressed with 'Demon Slayer' or 'light attribute' magic, but disaster-class beasts didn't even have that.
That was when.
"Huh?"
I spotted something odd on him.
Scattered across Cruas's black hide were patches of stark white decay that wouldn't regenerate.
And those white patches were slowly expanding, almost as if corroding his body at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
Seeing that, a strong doubt arose in me.
Why isn't that part regenerating and just rotting?
"Wait. Don't tell me?"
I realized the identity of the white scars.
Their positions felt familiar—they were exactly where my attacks had succeeded.
"Is it a hidden effect of the Dragon Slayer trait?"
......No.
Dragon Slayer doesn't have that kind of effect. Then......
"Chaos."
Cruas was born with the 'Fate of Immortality,' and I possess 'Chaos,' the power that defies fate.
My Chaos might be eroding his flesh, destroying his immortal fate.
"......So that's it."
That explained why he said dragging this out wouldn't benefit him. The puzzle pieces were finally falling into place.
"......We can win this."
I had no idea how to counter his endless regeneration, but now I'd found the strategy late.
He's not immortal. Given time, he'll slowly die.
"Alright. Let's do this."
I had to press this momentum and restrict his movements.
Using mana, I drew a ritual circle in the air. It soon took the form of a magic circle, and with a burst of strong light, she was summoned.
"......Uh, ung-ae?!"
Gretel flinched in surprise at being summoned into the sky, flailing her short arms and legs.
She looked down at her feet and spotted the massive black dragon, her expression turning to shock again.
But only for a moment.
Through the power of [Bond], my will was conveyed, and Gretel grasped the situation in an instant.
"Gretel!"
"Ung-ae!"
Gretel climbed onto my shoulder and immediately clasped her hands together.
A powerful mana aura poured out, and countless vines extended from the magic circle in the air toward Cruas.
Whoooosh!
Ssssssh!
The vines soon bound one of Cruas's wings.
With one wing restrained, Cruas showed a panicked reaction.
[......Kuh. What is this now?]
With his movements slowed, I shouted to everyone.
"Aim for the parts that have turned stark white!"
—......Turned white?
Sword Ghost, who had been swinging his longsword at the dragon, stepped back and examined Cruas's body.
Lee Seo-jun, Kim Deok-hyun, and the other wizards who hadn't lost their combat ability followed suit, observing Cruas.
—The white parts...... Ah, found it.
—Is that it?
And at my shout, Cruas showed a flustered reaction.
[......You've figured it out, huh.]
—Let's go!
The all-out assault on Cruas resumed.
Cruas tenaciously destroyed the vines binding his wing, and in the gaps, the wizards relentlessly targeted his white scars.
I too unleashed compressed magic spheres into his body, creating new wounds.
Grraaaaaawr—
Cruas let out a massive roar and erupted black mana explosively from his entire body.
The shockwave shredded the vines binding him in an instant, and the nearby reinforcement wizards were exposed to the black mana, crashing to the ground.
I was no different. The sudden black mana eroded my body, twisting the flow of mana in my flesh.
A horrific pain exploded, and I plummeted to the ground as well.
Boom!
Then Cruas vented his rage, raining dozens of black spheres down on the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground kept exploding under the barrage, sweeping people away and knocking them unconscious.
Yoo A-yeon, Sword Ghost, and Kim Deok-hyun, who had just coordinated with me, were the same.
Under Cruas's endless bombardment, they too lost consciousness or became combat-ineffective.
"......Urgh!"
Before long, my body was a wreck—bones broken in places, muscles torn, unable to move.
"Cough!"
Blood burst in my mouth. In the excruciating pain, I couldn't do anything.
[Achievement 'Pain Transcending Death' unlocked.]
[Obtained 3,000 points as reward.]
['Pain Resistance' proficiency greatly increased.]
......And so time passed.
His endless attacks finally stopped.
No one capable of fighting remained on the ground.
Looking at the scene, I felt true despair for the first time.
I had found his weakness and thought we could win.
Was it a fight we could never win from the beginning?
[......Now it's all cleared up.]
Cruas's small mutter reached me.
Confirming that the humans who had hounded him so persistently had lost their combat power, he seemed to regain his leisure.
[......I, Cruas, shall pay respects to you humans. To think you'd push me to......]
Cruas trailed off while muttering to himself.
Looking up at him through my blurred vision, I saw the white scars from my attacks slowly expanding.
[......Can't drag this out any longer.]
Muttering that, Cruas glanced down at the unconscious Lee Seo-jun on the ground, then turned his gaze to me.
[Shall we bring this to an end, then.]
Whoooosh!
Black mana began condensing in the mouth of Cruas, who had turned to me.
A deep, instinctual terror rose at that lethal mana.
But my body wouldn't move.
Because it had been completely shattered.
......Am I going to die like this?
"Urgh!"
I bit my lip.
How did I even get this far?
To die without doing anything?
"......Don't make me laugh."
......And then.
A new energy began spreading from deep in my chest.
It flowed through my entire body, rapidly regenerating my shattered flesh.
[Your body has been pushed to the extreme.]
['Berserk Stage 3' activates.]
[You can temporarily use demonic energy.]
['Partial Berserk' activates.]
In an instant, my body returned to its original state.
Feeling the mana explosively surging from within, I rose to my feet again.
"......Urk."
Excruciating pain wracked his entire body as Lee Seo-jun slowly opened his eyes. At the same time, memories flooded back.
The battle with Cruas. And being exposed to his mana blast, losing consciousness.
How long had he been out?
Lee Seo-jun slowly moved his body.
"Ugh."
It wouldn't respond properly. Muscles damaged, several bones fractured.
Gritting his teeth, he used mana to force his muscles to move.
With horrific pain, his body began to shift bit by bit.
"Hoo."
He finally managed to stand after much struggle.
At that moment, an enormous mana presence came from somewhere.
Looking up, a shocking sight met his eyes.
"......Kim Sunwoo?"
Far away, Kim Sunwoo was facing Cruas alone.
But his state was abnormal.
One eye was pitch black, and he was fighting using demonic energy, a power no human should wield.
Screeeeech!
Every time Kim Sunwoo's magic hit, a massive scream erupted from Cruas.
Enraged, Cruas conjured black spheres and unleashed them at Kim Sunwoo, vaporizing his arm and shoulder.
But Kim Sunwoo's body regenerated in an instant via super-regeneration, returning to normal.
"......Unbelievable."
Turning at the voice from behind, Lee Seo-jun saw Flame Emperor watching Kim Sunwoo's fight, covered in wounds.
"......Flame Emperor?"
He looked surprised at his appearance.
Instead of answering, Flame Emperor stared blankly at Kim Sunwoo's battle and spoke.
"......What the hell is that guy?"
Deep confusion laced Flame Emperor's words.
They had branded Kim Sunwoo as humanity's enemy and hunted him, but at some point, he had become humanity's last hope.
If Kim Sunwoo fell here, there would be no one to stop Cruas until Kim Jin-cheol's rift seal broke.
Lee Seo-jun turned back to Kim Sunwoo.
A brutal fight hard even to watch with one's own eyes.
Instinct told him to help, and he tried to draw up mana.
Then Flame Emperor said.
"Stay put. That's more help to him."
It was frustrating, but not wrong.
Interfering clumsily in this state could just burden him.
—Urgh.
The people who had lost consciousness began waking one by one, sensing the battle's aftermath.
Association wizards, guild wizards. Yoo Ara, Yoo A-yeon, Choi Seo-yoon, Yoon Ha-young, and others.
All of them stared blankly at Kim Sunwoo facing Cruas alone, their eyes trembling wide.
Boom!
—Guhhh!
His body vanishing under Cruas's overwhelming mana, only to regenerate and fight on—it was too brutal.
—......Kim Sunwoo.
And before long, both of Kim Sunwoo's eyes, previously only half-black, turned completely black.
An immense demonic energy then exploded outward from his body.
[......Persistent bastard.]
Cruas's movements gradually slowed. Unlike his name of black dragon, white spots were appearing all over his body.
Despite clearly dominating, Cruas seemed the more desperate one.
Then, a rift opened beside Kim Sunwoo, swallowing his arm.
Cruas had used his authority to seal one of Kim Sunwoo's arms.
Caught off-guard, Kim Sunwoo was immobilized.
[......I'll end you in one go.]
Cruas soared high into the sky. Black mana began condensing in his mouth.
An overwhelming mana unlike before.
Intending to incinerate his entire body before super-regeneration could kick in, killing him instantly.
"......N-No."
Everyone watching realized the crisis. If this continued, Kim Sunwoo would die.
Whoooosh!
Black demonic energy gathered slowly in Cruas's mouth.
Cruas flapped his wings massively and unleashed it straight at Kim Sunwoo.
Fwoooosh—
—Nooo!
It was then.
Just as the black-mana-infused breath shot toward Kim Sunwoo, something massive burst out in front of him amid tremendous mana.
It took the breath in Kim Sunwoo's place, a huge hole punched through its body as it tilted.
But it regenerated quickly, regaining balance.
Then it swung a massive arm, smashing a fist into Cruas's head.
Boom!
The sudden events unfolded in an instant.
Cruas crashed into the ground.
Everyone reacted with shock at the unexpected turn.
Lee Seo-jun stared blankly at the massive thing and muttered.
"......A tree?"