Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Exterminating Evil (??), Advent (9)
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As I gripped the sword with its crimson blade, a small gust of wind arose. The breeze lightly swept through my disheveled hair and grimy clothes before swiftly turning into a gale.
I entrusted my body to footsteps that moved on their own accord. Liv's voice faded in an instant as I passed by the soldiers burning with fighting spirit and arrived at the wasteland where a meteor shower was pouring down.
I swung my sword at the meteor crashing down from above, parting the curtain for a moment. Beyond it, there were far too many things that needed killing.
A white-haired mage stepped forward and met my eyes, letting out a startled hiccup. Gazes poured in from all directions, heedless of friend or foe.
Noise, explosions, heat, madness. The air on the battlefield was always razor-sharp.
Yet whenever I held my sword, a profound calm deeper than the ocean floor filled my inner self.
My life's work melted into this place. I gripped the leather-wrapped hilt as if it might shatter and precisely aimed at the target before me.
Karbius the Evil Slayer. The sole dragon survivor of the Empire's hunt, now aligned with the Demon King, was watching me.
A massive storm erupted from my sword. The demons, who had hesitated to charge, were swept away like leaves.
Modred, the Severing Sword, was it? Pretty useful. I muttered softly and waited leisurely. Until the bastard broke through the storm and set foot on the blood-soaked ground.
Sure enough, black wings that blotted out the entire sky emerged, scattering the sandstorm before my eyes.
An overwhelming size, a being of a different caliber altogether.
Just standing there exuded a pressure that could sever one's breath. Merely landing on the ground, yet screams echoed from beyond the mountains.
Its bright yellow eyes turned downward, and the atmosphere rumbled.
"Your tiny footsteps are but the death rattle of a worthless mortal that would scatter in a single flap of my wings. Your kind's lines are all so damn cringeworthy. Terra even recorded one giggling with magic, but I can't play it at your funeral. You'd be too embarrassed and kick open the coffin."
"You don't remember me?"
He probably never imagined I'd be here now, when I should be getting swept away in the canal.
But at this point in time, we had already encountered Karbius once before.
To be precise, we had retreated. None of the Four Great Evils had been defeated in their first encounters.
"Hero."
The lizard-like eyes staring this way curved into arcs. Karbius's sneer was vividly transmitted.
"I know. But what can I do? The others are busy."
The biggest problem I'd thought of since entering Baldur's Nightmare was exactly this.
Unlike when we defeated Karbius in the past, now there was no help from my comrades at all.
No Whitelett's sword to cover my flank, no Terra's magic support from behind, no Nova's spells to boost vitality.
And above all— no Eris's healing.
"It's fine. I knew it would come to this from the start."
That's why I decided to push myself a bit. Just like before, I had already prepared a way to deal with this guy.
Becoming a hero isn't hard. It just requires a little resolve. Three unique spells permitted to this body. I used one of them.
"Even if I die here."
"You'll die to me once more."
At this point, few knew the truth, but ancient dragons were existences that could not be resisted. The reason lay in their racial traits.
The dragons' innate dragon tongue, rooted in the origin of magic, reshaped the world not through calculation but through 'will.' A single word could overturn mountains and summon lightning. Humans had pulled that language into the realm of thought.
Moreover, the thick scales cloaking their skin granted absolute magic resistance, impervious to all magical influence.
From the beginning, mages— humanity— had no way to defeat dragons.
"No way..."
That's why Lehel stared into the storm, unable to close her gaping mouth. Louis was fighting under the optimal conditions to slay a dragon.
Black wings sprouted from his back, and his arms, now several times larger, were covered in dragon scales. When his massive tail and arms clashed, the earth trembled from the impact.
Confirming the incantation etched on Louis's body, she muttered softly amid the clamor of the battlefield.
"Crazy, Terra, you bastard. How the hell did you even make that..."
A magic that bestowed draconic traits. The closest example was the Scout Squad's Skirmisher.
"That's closer to synthesis magic... Did they harvest a dragon's body and implant it into Louis?"
In truth, Louis was fighting Karbius on nearly equal footing. His swung sword sliced unerringly between the dragon's scales, even cleaving the sky above.
"Now! Fire!!"
"Knights, form ranks!"
In the midst of it, the battlefield turned into pandemonium as demons pierced Lehel's magic barriers and clashed with allies. Surrounding the site where Louis and Karbius battled, the enemies pressed their assault to destroy the canal no matter what.
The knight order charged out, and large-scale magic was unleashed to support them. Corpses rose, and cursed mists spread.
In the chaos, Liv locked eyes with the green-haired girl she had seen before amid the crowd.
The acrid smoke, her father's voice commanding the troops— in that instant, all those surroundings felt faintly distant.
—Don't get too lost in the illusion.
Dominic's final warning suddenly echoed in her mind.
The severing sword plunged deep into its vitals. The scales protected only against external magic. With a light twist and pull from inside, chunks of flesh were shredded away entirely.
At the same time, formless blades flew in from all directions. Blood spurted from areas not dragon-humanized— arms, legs, and parts of the chest excluded.
The first unique spell was for defense and mobility. Yet even so, fully evading all magic cast via dragon tongue was impossible.
I had no intention of taking its neck unscathed anyway, so I immediately closed in and tore off a wing. With a crunch, the massive body tumbled across the ground.
The deafening roar burst my eardrums and blood vessels in an instant. Magic began raining down simultaneously from the skies.
After finally shattering the wing bone, I was flung away. As I barely lifted my head, a massive gathering of karma energy loomed before me.
"Ha, this is insane..."
A breath aimed at the canal behind me. Evaporating the magic circle at the riverbed along with the water would cancel the spell.
It was also the attack that massacred everyone left in Greenwood Forest.
When we defeated Karbius before, Whitelett had blocked this attack, but now it fell to me.
After a small deep breath, I raised my sword. And just as the pitch-black dragon's breath poured forth, I activated the second unique spell.
Everything the gel-like aura brushes turns to nothingness. No light, no heat, no sound.
White Knight Whitelett's unique spell. My eyes, ears, and even mind turned utterly white, entering complete no-mind.
But that's fine. Swords don't think.
A single kick births a mound at my heel. A punch shatters steel-like scales into fragments.
I snap the fragile wings trying to take flight, clinging on, and break off the massive horns.
And I swing. One strike. Strike after strike upon strike.
Ignoring the crumbling blade and my equally crumbling flesh, I keep slashing.
Even as one arm crumples under a heavy forepaw, even as my skin chars from the remaining breath in its maw, I drag the mountain-like beast down before me.
Forgetting the fading noises around me, the cheers from afar, and the rising sun, I waged a deathmatch with it.
And just as I moved to deliver the final blow to its heart.
Snap.
The severing sword in my hand broke. For a mere artifact to endure this far was impressive.
I'd heard that line before too. But unlike then, it was impossible to finish it like this.
No matter how much I scraped with dragon scales of the same hardness and toughness, severing its breath was out of reach.
Holy sword. If only I had the holy sword.
Karbius drew in a massive breath for its final struggle. Around its heart, on the verge of capture, karma began condensing once more.
With no choice, I turned my head and gazed at the rippling canal beyond.
And with the Magic End, I deactivated the first unique spell that had always been active.
Crack.
This time, I didn't know what snapped. Or what broke. But the final act needed to end it was properly executed.
A formless sword born from my limp fingertips. As it pierced in, it penetrated bone and reached the heart. Then, violent tremors wracked Karbius's body, pinned beneath me and thrashing.
This time too, I slew the dragon.
As I withdrew my hand and staggered forward, the crowd parted like the Red Sea. Midway, I bumped into a familiar black-haired girl silhouette, but I didn't stop.
Step, step.
I was heading toward the canal. Throwing myself there would take me to where my comrades were.
Then I could change the future this time. That was my only thought.
"Ah..."
My mouth opened, and a small sigh escaped on its own.
"Eris..."
At that moment, someone fiercely grabbed me as I toppled into the water.