Underground Ruins (8)
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Of all the rotten luck!
Owen sighed.
'An enemy in front and a bottomless cliff behind.'
But when he realized what Bargulgu had dragged in, he flinched in shock.
It was an unbelievable sight.
"No way! Great Chieftain Kaladashyr…?"
The blood-soaked figure sprawled on the ground was unmistakably the Great Chieftain.
Owen couldn't believe his eyes.
"What happened? The Great Chieftain should be far stronger than you."
"I told you. It was my lucky day. He got caught in that explosion and was badly hurt. I took him down easily."
Unlike Owen, who had been flung away by the blast, the Great Chieftain had been caught full force.
The explosion from the backlash of hundreds of life energies had wounded even someone with a body of iron like the Great Chieftain.
"Why didn't you just kill him right away? Why drag him around?"
"This scum is nothing but a pawn of filthy demons. I can't give a warrior's death with a weapon. I'm planning to toss him off this cliff."
Soon, other orcs began gathering around.
Despite the explosion and the collapsing ground, dozens had survived.
The orcs stared in confusion at the fallen Great Chieftain and Bargulgu standing triumphantly over him.
"Shouldn't we help the Great Chieftain?"
"He's defeated! A loser is no longer Great Chieftain."
Debate raged, but the followers soon decided to abandon him.
They had wanted to serve an invincible leader from the start.
Not a bloodied failure like this.
Bargulgu smirked, savoring the shift in mood.
These orcs would witness him hurling the Great Chieftain to his doom.
It would redeem his tarnished reputation.
No longer a failed commander from the east—he'd be the terror who slew the Great Chieftain.
With the situation like this, Bargulgu felt a greater need to prove his legitimacy to his kin than to deal with some human.
"Behold! I suffered shame at his hands, but now he's beneath my feet!"
The orcs nodded fearfully at Bargulgu's roar.
Owen seized the moment to check his own status.
In disrupting the ritual, he had absorbed mana and gained three abilities.
The first was Dragon Scale, a dragon word magic from Tanares's rib mana.
It was one Tanares had often used in life, boosting both physical and magical defense for the target.
It worked on humans and dragons alike—truly versatile.
'Ah… So absorbing Tanares's leftover mana like this lets me collect the dragon word magics he used in life.'
Owen realized he could use dragon word magic despite not being a mage.
Unlike human magic, it required no incantations, reagents, or staves—just speaking the words.
The second came from Tanares's tooth: Dragon Tooth, another dragon word magic.
He'd seen this one plenty.
It greatly enhanced a weapon's attack power and granted special properties.
Oddly, it worked on dragon teeth and claws too.
'These two I'm used to. Tanares slapped them on me whenever he got bored. But what's the third…?'
This one struck Owen as bizarre.
'Definitely fire-related, but unusual.'
Astonishingly, the flames purified and burned away demonic power.
A potent ability, but unaware of Shata's Star, Owen wondered where it came from.
'Where'd this power come from?'
He'd gulped it down without thinking, just to stop the ritual.
He hadn't expected such a windfall.
'Weapons or skills specialized against demons are exceedingly rare. Their value is beyond measure.'
Owen weighed whether these powers could take down Bargulgu.
'Worth a shot. He's weakened without his tattoos. But too risky.'
He decided to stall for time.
If Grenville found him, the odds would shift.
"Human Reaper!"
"Human Reaper!"
The gathered orcs began cheering for Bargulgu.
Abandoning the fallen Great Chieftain, they'd switched sides in an instant.
Bargulgu acknowledged their support with a raised hand, then stomped on the Great Chieftain's arm, snapping it.
Crack!
A dull thud, and the arm bent unnaturally.
"Gah!"
The unconscious Great Chieftain's eyes snapped open, but he was already done for.
The explosion had left him too injured to rise.
"Great Chieftain. Life's a mystery, eh? That's what makes it fun."
"Grgh… You bastard!"
The Great Chieftain ground his teeth, only to scream again.
Bargulgu had crushed his other arm.
Having brutally broken both arms, Bargulgu tore off the skull necklace from the Great Chieftain's neck.
It was one of the Great Chieftain's symbols.
"You're no Great Chieftain anymore, Kaladashyr."
"You cur! Bargulgu! A mongrel biting its master!"
The Great Chieftain bellowed, veins bulging.
Bargulgu only delighted more.
"Kaladashyr, maybe treat your pet dog better next time? Krhahaha!"
Grabbing the Great Chieftain by the hair, Bargulgu dragged him to the cliff edge.
"Let go! Release me, you lowly scum!"
The Great Chieftain struggled, but with both arms broken, he was helpless.
Soon he was at the brink of the unfathomable dark abyss.
"Bargulgu! Think again. No need to go this far…"
"Farewell. I'll take your place."
"You ungrateful wretch!"
Bargulgu's reply was to hurl the Great Chieftain over.
"Graaaaaah!"
He screamed as he plummeted into the void below.
Owen could scarcely believe what he'd witnessed.
'The Great Chieftain… dead? Like this?'
He'd never imagined the infamous hybrid lord Kaladashyr would end this way.
He'd treated his subordinates as sacrifices, only to become one himself.
"Did you see? I, Bargulgu, have slain the hybrid lord Kaladashyr!"
The one-armed orc, covered in scars, bellowed in triumph.
Owen had front-row seats to the birth of a new Great Chieftain.
Bargulgu hung the skull necklace around his own neck.
The watching orcs touched their foreheads and bowed in respect.
Having slain the Great Chieftain himself, his claim was beyond doubt.
The necklace would dangle from his neck until he fell in defeat or death.
A chill ran down Owen's spine as he bit his lip.
'He's changed…'
With the necklace and title, Bargulgu suddenly seemed immense.
Not that he'd grown stronger—his wounds had weakened him.
He'd need relentless effort to replace his lost tattoo power.
Yet now, he exuded the dignity of a conqueror.
'Yes, those called heroes have moments like this.'
Owen felt dismay, wondering if he could even match Bargulgu in a fight.
Then, turning to Owen, Bargulgu said something unexpected.
"I owe you thanks."
"What?"
"Without you, I'd have lived as a loyal mutt forever. But look at me now. The dog has become the master! Krahat!"
"…Not sure that's worth congratulating."
"Think what you will. Since you helped me, I'll repay the favor. Now, kneel. One swift blow to the head—no pain."
Bargulgu picked up a club from the ground.
Harsh words, but generous by orc standards.
They loved tormenting foes in creative, gruesome ways.
But Owen refused flatly.
"I'd rather stand and die like a man than kneel for mercy."
"Bold!"
Bargulgu laughed approvingly and advanced.
Then the ground shook again.
Rumble!
An ominous vibration.
"New Great Chieftain! We must retreat!"
"Fall back! Hurry!"
The orcs, scanning with torches, sought escape.
Bargulgu clicked his tongue in regret.
"Tch! Pity."
Lingering meant burial alive.
But he had time for one club swing at the pest before him.
Bargulgu swung without hesitation, sword or no.
"Farewell!"
The blow was devastating—enough to shatter a small dragon's skull.
But Owen was prepared.
He activated Dragon Scale and caught the club barehanded.
Clang!
It should have been a thud against flesh, but it rang like shattering metal.
Bargulgu, expecting an instant kill, stammered in shock.
"Wh-what?"
Blocking barehanded? Unbelievable.
And Owen's hands weren't ordinary.
A translucent blue sheen, like dragon scales, encased them.
Bargulgu had never seen anything like it.
He gazed at the human in awe.
"What… are you?"
Before Owen could answer, Grenville's cry echoed from above.
"Kekekegek! Kek! Eung!"
A sharp, savage voice.
Any listener would tense—it was a dragon on edge.
Reacting to the metallic crash, no doubt.
Owen called out instantly.
"Grenville!"
"Eung!"
Grenville wailed joyfully, as if saying 'Found you!'
Bargulgu decided to retreat.
The human wielded unknown power, and now a dragon was incoming.
No easy kill.
Rumble!
The cavern showed fresh signs of collapse.
"Hurry! Great Chieftain!"
"We must go!"
Other orcs grabbed his arms, forcing the issue.
He couldn't die buried just after claiming the title.
"Fine, leaving one revenge target alive isn't bad. You're now the archenemy of the orc Great Chieftain!"
Glancing at Owen, Bargulgu turned away.
Retreating, he shouted to his new followers.
"I could fight more, but I withdraw for your sake! I'm not like Kaladashyr! I don't abandon brothers!"
Pure hypocrisy.
Forced to flee, yet taking all the credit.
His group hurried off.
Rumble! Boom!
Larger cracks spiderwebbed the ceiling.
Falling rocks made it deadly.
Owen groped through the dark, moving carefully.
Without the orcs' torches, visibility was zero.
Suddenly, everything lit up.
'Ah!'
Sensory sharing had activated.
Definitely Hyper's night vision.
"Grenville! Hyper!"
As Owen shouted, his two dragons descended swiftly from the cave wall.
"Eung!"
"Kek!"
Delighted to reunite, they rubbed their faces against him.
Owen was thrilled too, but time was short.
He stored Hyper in the dragon scroll and mounted Grenville.
"Let's get out."
"Et-ung!"
Grenville could cling to any surface—wall or ceiling—so escape was straightforward.
Then the cavern truly began to quake. Chunks of ceiling plummeted like the sky falling.
Kaboom!
Dozens of tons of rock crashed down.
They pulverized the remaining ground.
Kuooo!
Clinging to the wall with Grenville, dodging debris, Owen thought they'd be buried alive at this rate.
Then a beam of light pierced from above.
A brilliant shaft sliced diagonally through the dark like a spear.
"The surface!"
The repeated collapses had broken through to the top.
Screams erupted from above as orcs tumbled down.
'Right—the outer walls! Where the orcs were camped.'
The outer-wall orcs had plunged into darkness as the ground gave way.
Dozens plummeted past, illuminated starkly by the light beam.
"Grenville! Up there!"
"Eung!"
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