Chapter 187: The Strongest Snake (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 187: The Strongest Snake (5)
Bang!
The muzzle flashed, illuminating the darkness before blinking out. A succession of static, snapshot-like scenes followed, heightening the suspense like a technique from a horror movie.
□ ■ □ ■ □ ■ □ ■
As the cycle of darkness and flashes of light repeated, Kang Geomma dashed forward resolutely, heading toward a pair of red dots in the far distance.
However, despite his explosive speed, the distance didn't close easily. He had to approach while hiding behind the stalactites floating in the air.
Feeling the wind brush past his cheek, Kang Geomma thought to himself: I'm about to enter the range of the Evil Eye of Petrification. He had to move fast enough to remain invisible to the beast's eyes, using the cover to conceal his approach.
A single mistake would be fatal. If their eyes met even for a split second, his body would stiffen into solid stone.
From here on, agility was more important than raw speed.
There are too many things to worry about, starting with the terrain.
Even so, because his mind worked rapidly, his feet took the next step without hesitation. He maintained his composure amidst the hair-raising tension. It was all thanks to his 'Mental Rank.'
About a hundred meters left.
He still hadn't caught a proper glimpse of the Basilisk. If it were massive, it would have revealed itself by now, but that didn't seem to be the case. Judging by its silhouette, it was roughly the size of a human.
Yes, that was actually better. If it were as huge as a Dodogasu, slicing it up would have been a hassle.
Kang Geomma moved his feet even faster, weaving seamlessly between straight lines and curves.
Hon's eyes widened in sheer astonishment.
How can a human move like that?
It felt as though time flowed differently for Kang Geomma alone. Every time he dashed to the next cover, his blade flashed briefly.
In a situation where merely closing the distance was a struggle, he was deliberately weaving in those minor actions. At first, she wondered why he was doing that. But as he drew closer to the Basilisk, she realized the reason.
He was cutting through the magic power flowing in the air as he advanced. He was doing this to prevent the effects of the Evil Eye of Petrification from reaching where they stood. Even though his own life hung in the balance, he was moving with his party members in mind.
Setting aside the fact that a human could see magic power, cutting it like a thread? An unbelievable sight was unfolding before her eyes. It was the most astonishing feat among all the shocking displays he had shown since they arrived here.
If Kang Geomma were merely a strong human, she would have stopped at admiration. But every single one of his actions carried a clear purpose and consideration for others.
You are...
As Hon's lips parted, Choi Seol-ah barked at her.
"Hey, pointy-ears! Keep your eyes on the prize!"
"...Ah!"
Hon snapped out of it. She gathered her magic power and spread it even wider. Possessed by the Marksman, Choi Seol-ah fired her gun, dropping rocks in just the right spots.
Fluorescent particles bounced like rubber balls and seeped into the icicles, gluing the stalactites in midair with magic power.
They mapped out the optimal route. With their support, Kang Geomma finally closed the distance to within twenty paces of the Basilisk.
The smell of gunpowder and gun smoke continued to rise. Choi Seol-ah's hand reached down to her waist.
Now the real fight begins.
The space between the Basilisk and her lord was a wide-open clearing. Therefore, they had to plant more icicles there. Only then could her lord hide himself right before the Evil Eye was activated. The more obstacles blocking the Basilisk's line of sight, the better.
But trouble always strikes at the most critical moment...
Huh?
Choi Seol-ah reflexively looked down. Her ammo pouch was suddenly empty. The finger-sized lumps of lead she could feel numbered fewer than ten. Only nine bullets rolled around loosely inside.
"Ah."
Dumbfounded, Choi Seol-ah let out a gasp. She froze in that exact posture. We're fucked.
When the gunfire suddenly ceased, Kang Geomma leaned his back against a rock for the time being. Just then, he heard the sound of the Basilisk moving behind him. The chill of the rock seeped through his back. A shiver ran down his spine.
Damn it.
Even without seeing it, Kang Geomma could feel it. The beast was approaching while activating its Evil Eye.
It, too, had been biding its time, just like him.
Even if he lured the Basilisk here, it would still be a problem. There wasn't much time left for Hon to keep holding the cover in place.
At most, she can hold out for about a minute.
He was cornered like a rat in a trap. Fighting with his eyes closed, relying solely on his sensory perception, was too risky when he didn't know the Basilisk's true strength. He had also come too far to retreat, and he had to keep the duration of the [Blessing of Painlessness] in mind.
To face that thing, I need more cover.
Ultimately, there was only one way through. Kang Geomma calmed his breathing and closed his eyes.
I'll trust Hon and Choi Seol-ah and wait.
Resolving himself, he toyed with the hilt of his sword. The suffocating silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity.
"Miss Boradori! Lord Kang Geomma is about to clash with the Basilisk! Hurry!"
This time, Hon called out to Choi Seol-ah. Seol-ah stammered, completely flustered.
"I-I-I only have nine bullets left."
"What?! You said you brought plenty! How many did you bring before we came?!"
"Well..."
Hon demanded an explanation, looking utterly dumbfounded. Seol-ah hesitated before mumbling in a tiny voice.
"...A hundred."
"No, Lord Kang Geomma clearly told you to bring spares, and that's all you brought?! Without those pieces of lead, that iron hunk is just scrap metal! You should have brought more!"
Seol-ah flared up. She felt incredibly wronged.
"Hey, pointy-ears! Do you have any idea how much one of these costs? Because of gun regulations, a single bullet is a million won! I burned a hundred million won just to come here! Our budget is already tight because of you!"
Hon lacked a sense of money. A hundred million won? Was that a lot? Frustrated, Seol-ah held up a single bullet.
"One of these is worth ten cuts of the Hanwoo beef we ate earlier. A hundred million won is a thousand cuts. Do you get it now?"
The tailored education was incredibly effective. The value of that piece of lead instantly clicked in Hon's mind. The so-called Hanwoo Conversion Method.
"A single piece of scrap metal like that can replace ten cuts of that heavenly meat?! Why?! Have humans lost their minds?!"
"Sigh, humans have their own circumstances that dragons wouldn't understand. Explaining gun control laws to you would just give you a headache. Ah, damn it, we don't have time to bicker like this..."
Choi Seol-ah stomped her feet in anxiety. With nine bullets, she could drop three rocks at most. On the other hand, they seemed to need at least ten pieces of cover.
Seol-ah bit her nails. As her pupils dilated in panic, the night Vendetta was wiped out flashed through her mind. Then, a word suddenly surfaced.
Magic Bullet.
Dropping rocks with ordinary bullets was impossible for even the best marksman. That was why she had to shoot repeatedly, shaving away at the roots of the stalactites.
But what if she used Magic Bullets? She could drop one rock per bullet—no, she could bring down three or four at once. The destructive power of a magic-infused bullet was comparable to a cannon.
But...
Seol-ah felt despondent. Her body could no longer use magic. For a human to wield magic power, they had to use a powerful demon as a host...
Her eyes widened. Reflected in her dilated pupils was a pair of long ears. The absolute peak of the demon ecosystem's pyramid, the mavericks of the demon world, the sole race that had signed a non-aggression treaty with the Corps Commanders. All sorts of modifiers lined up in her head.
Seol-ah screamed in a frenzy.
"Pointy-ears! Form a contract with me right now!"
"What? All of a sudden?"
At the completely out-of-the-blue demand, Hon's expression turned bizarre.
"No time to explain! You're a dragon, so you must know how to make a contract!"
The clash between her lord and the Basilisk was imminent. Since the crisis was right upon them, she skipped the explanation.
"Of course I know how to make a contract... But in case you didn't know, a contract always requires a price. A price of equal value to the demon who is the contractor."
"I know all that! Cut the trivial explanations and hurry up!"
Seol-ah had been a villain in her youth. She was well-versed in contracts.
"Grab my hand, quick. We need to sign the contract fast and help our lord."
After a moment's hesitation, Hon grasped her hand. Bluish streams of light intertwined like vines around their joined hands.
A faint pain flared in Seol-ah's forearm. She bit her lower lip and barely managed to speak.
"I, Choi Seol-ah, wish to form a contract with pointy-ea... I mean, Lady Hontail. In exchange for borrowing your power, I offer a one-year stay at my house."
Whoosh...
Sparks seemed to fly from the vine-like light, only for it to crumble into dust. It was a response indicating the price was nowhere near enough.
"Uh, why did it fail right when it was about to work?"
Even the pointy-ears, who was the dominant party in the contract, didn't know what would be equivalent. The subordinate party had to keep making offers to find the intersection.
"...A one-year stay isn't enough? You greedy, sly pointy-ears. What more do you want from me?! What, do you want me to sell my humanity again?"
"I don't need your humanity! Looking at you now, it doesn't seem like you have much of it left anyway. At any rate, offer something else."
"Ah, damn it..."
Seol-ah ruffled her hair in frustration. Before she could even open her mouth, she squeezed her eyes shut.
"...A one-year stay. And! I swear to serve you 1++ Korean Beef for one meal every single day!"
Flash!
The blue light flared intensely before dissolving into particles.
The contract was sealed.
* * *
I have no choice.
That was the thought that came to me after thirty seconds that felt like an hour. The stalactite I was leaning against was about to crumble. I might as well spring out and strike first before that happened.
I would have to fight with my eyes closed, but I had to accept the risk. I cast a glance toward Hon and Choi Seol-ah in the distance. They were holding hands tightly as if shaking hands.
A hollow laugh escaped my lips. Were they making up here of all places? It was absurd, but it didn't feel bad. How nice would it have been if they had gotten along from the start? Ending those trivial thoughts, I adjusted my grip on my Sashimi sword into a reverse grip.
I closed my eyes. The magic power, surging like waves, pricked my skin like needles. Its vast volume felt like a tsunami.
The Evil Eye of Petrification wasn't the only thing I had to worry about. The sheer magic power the beast itself emitted was monstrous.
Thud.
Thud? I almost opened my closed eyes in surprise. A Basilisk is a snake. Why did its footsteps sound like thuds? Until now, snake-type magical beasts had made slithering sounds. But this was unmistakably the footstep of a bipedal creature.
Something is wrong.
Just then, I felt a cold sensation flying toward my temple. Because I wielded a sword, I knew. This surprise attack carried the energy of a blade.
I lowered my posture until my waist was at a right angle. A sharp trajectory passed over my back, slicing my cover in half.
Swish!
It didn't end with a single strike. A blade flew in again from a low trajectory.
Channeling strength into my ankles, I kicked off the ground sideways. The momentum carried me into a flip. My body spun in a spiral like a rotisserie chicken.
Slash!
Blades passed simultaneously above and below me, parallel to the ground. A chilling sensation slid past both my upper and lower body.
"Fuck."
Exploiting a brief opening, I quickly moved to another cover. The blades pursued me relentlessly. I twisted my body or swung my Sashimi sword to deflect the attacks.
A snake using a sword?
Hon hadn't mentioned anything like that. In the first place, a snake doesn't have hands. Even stretching my imagination, the most it could do was hold one in its mouth and swing it. Dual wielding? What kind of nonsense was that?
To make matters worse, misfortunes piled up. The sound of rocks cracking and shattering began to echo from all directions. It was a sound signaling the end of our game of hide-and-seek. In an instant, I had lost the rocks I could use to hide.
I absolutely cannot open my eyes now.
I kept moving without rest. I hopped across the completely shattered rocks like stepping stones, dodging the attacks. The Basilisk used its dual swords to pulverize the rocks I had just stepped on.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Even if I wanted to clash with it, I had to fight with my eyes closed because of the Evil Eye of Petrification. But I couldn't just keep running away like this forever either.
The two choices clashed fiercely in my mind. This decision would determine the course of the battle.
I've decided.
Running away wasn't my style. I would slice this bastard up like a blind swordsman. Even if I had to take a risk, I had to break this cycle of evasion right here. Just then—
Boom!
A heavy explosion shook the area. One, two, three shots. Massive gunshots rang out in rapid succession. I glanced toward the source of the sound.
Choi Seol-ah's arm jerked violently. The bullets flew toward the ceiling like artillery shells. The recoil was so fierce that the revolver kicked back past her head with every trigger pull.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
Under the rapid-fire shots that roared like thunder, the icicles soon plummeted like hail. Hon radiated her magic power, freezing the falling rocks that filled the space in midair.
"My lord!"
"Lord Geomma!"
Choi Seol-ah and Hon shouted together. A blue energy shimmered between them, proving their tight bond.
A field they had created so I could run wild. Though I didn't know the details, I thanked them both in my heart.
Whoosh.
I immediately spun my body clockwise. I threw ten Sashimi swords toward the snake's tail visible through the dense cluster of rocks.
Like pushpins, the Sashimi swords pinned the tail down. Unless it was a lizard, it wouldn't be able to detach its tail. Now, the snake was the one cornered.
"Hold still."
I crossed my arms and swung. An X-shaped sword energy infused with Aura surged toward the Basilisk.