Striking the Imugi's Reverse Scale

The Imugi swiftly retracted its tail and tried to launch its body into the air.

“Indeed. Even in its fallen state, a sacred beast remains a sacred beast.”

The Imugi thrashed left and right, struggling violently. The Polar Night binding it looked ready to snap at any moment…

“Who gave you permission to break free?”

The Polar Night power rippled and flowed in perfect sync with the Imugi’s movements. Nyx delicately manipulated the coils, channeling the energy with masterful efficiency to match the creature’s every twist and surge.

Impressive. So it can be used that way too.

“Krrraaaar!”

Power concentrated within the orb. The Imugi prepared another spell.

“Your opponent is me.”

How dare it look away while I stand right in front of it?

Nyx had committed the majority of her Polar Night power to restraining the beast. Even a graze from its sorcery would inflict critical wounds.

Internal energy wrapped around my forearms like scales and erupted all at once. My fist slammed into the creature’s torso. A powerful rebound jolted up my right arm.

“Krrraaaar?!”

The Imugi hadn’t escaped unscathed either. It writhed in agony, then lowered its upper body and swung a foreleg.

I couldn’t dodge from this position. Right after using the Dragon Emperor Fist, I couldn’t draw up fresh internal energy. I met the Imugi’s foreleg with Brute Force, the most powerful physical technique I possessed.

“Ugh.”

A groan slipped through my lips. Even with the strength-amplifying Brute Force, I was still pushed back by the Imugi’s casual swipe. Its raw power had to be at least four times my own.

The Imugi continued raining down blows with its forelegs. Fighting in mid-air put me at a severe disadvantage. Both martial techniques and hand-to-hand combat needed solid footing to exert their full power.

In that case…

I needed to drag the beast down to the ground.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I wrapped the Imugi’s foreleg in Polar Night after deflecting it with Brute Force, then used the recoil to shoot myself higher into the sky. Now positioned above the creature, I had a clear view of its exposed crown.

The instant my strike connected with its black scales, the Imugi’s massive body shuddered violently and plummeted downward.

“Krrraaaar?”

The impact probably wasn’t that great. Heavy Strike was only a 1-star skill. In terms of pure strength amplification, it was barely one-eleventh the power of Brute Force. I had used it for a different reason entirely.

Its secondary effect knocked the target back three meters.

If the Imugi had no resistance to knockback or forced movement, it would suffer the full force of the skill. Before it could twist around and counterattack, I chained another Heavy Strike, driving it straight into the streambed.

BOOM!

When a ten-meter-long Imugi slammed into the ground, a massive spray of water exploded in every direction.

“Krrraaaar!”

Wind materialized by its spiritual power split into dozens of emerald blades that flew at me from every angle.

Perfect. Saves me the trouble.

I thrust out my right hand and activated the Mouth of Gluttony. Mana Absorption swallowed the straight-line gusts whole.

The remaining blades I deflected with Polar Night and my Thorn Armor. The impacts rattled my body, but I could endure this much.

Riding the momentum of my descent, I circulated the internal energy of the Asura Demon Spirit Heart Method.

Roaring black flames wreathed my leg. I hadn’t yet reached the realm where I could harm others with pure energy alone, but the profound principles of peak-tier martial arts made the flow of my internal energy visible to the naked eye.

My leg, extended at a sharp angle, slammed into the side of the Imugi’s neck.

“KRRRAAAAAR?!”

The Imugi screamed in far greater agony than when I had severed its tail.

“The weak point of all snake bastards is right there.”

The reverse scale. A common vulnerability shared by all dragonkin. Even this pathetic fallen Imugi, having one foot in the dragon lineage, possessed the same weakness—a single scale located just beneath the neck.

“Goddess.”

“Worry not. This one holds it firmly in place.”

Good. Preparations for the real fight were complete.

“Krrraaaar!”

Even while bound by Polar Night, the Imugi roared with feral rage.

Thick black clouds had gathered across the once-clear sky. Rain and wind howled as lightning flashed between the ominous masses—an environmental transformation caused by the Imugi’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sorcery.

Even after its fall from grace, it seemed a sacred beast was still a sacred beast. Despite being restricted by Polar Night, the Imugi unleashed spells whenever it found the slightest opening.

Wind Concealment and Thunder Concealment. Lightning sorcery took time to prepare but packed devastating power. Wind sorcery could be cast instantly but was weaker or focused on debuffs. Still, “weaker” was relative—taking a direct hit would be fatal either way.

“Hooh. So this is the ‘hand taste’ you spoke of.”

Sweat beaded on Nyx’s forehead. The Imugi’s overwhelming specs made simply holding it down an exhausting task. It was only because the creature had gone berserk after its fall that we could even attempt this. Had it retained its sanity, victory would have been impossible.

Its long tail moved with serpentine grace. Although bound by Polar Night, completely neutralizing its movements was difficult. The best we could do was prevent it from escaping more than a few meters.

The tail whipped around behind me.

The Imugi’s tail pierced straight through my back without resistance. Thanks to Phasing, I took no damage from physical attacks.

Just as its strikes couldn’t touch me, I couldn’t exert physical force while in this state either. But magic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was another matter.

“Ice Spear.”

I could chant as much as I wanted. An ice spear strengthened by the Protection of Greed stabbed into the Imugi’s tail, driving deep into the wound I had created earlier.

“KRRRAAAAAR!”

Its scream echoed throughout the entire valley. Even in spirit form, the sound made my ears ring. I poured Polar Night energy into the widening wound and tore it open further.

The Imugi went berserk. Staying here any longer would be dangerous.

The moment I escaped its attack range, Phasing dissipated.

“You certainly enjoy thrills, my partner.”

“I’m just trying to inflict maximum damage on that snake bastard.”

Thrills could freeze to death for all I cared. Phasing had a penalty—if material existed where I rematerialized, the overlapping sections would be completely erased. I had clung close on purpose, trying to land one more solid blow.

Sparks flew from the orb before transforming into a massive web of electricity that covered the entire area ahead. Dodging was impossible. If I retreated now, Nyx—who was holding the Imugi—would take the hit instead.

Not bad. It had actually used its head.

A blade forged from Polar Night energy. Tyrannical internal energy fused perfectly with the sword. Sword Qi Incarnate—the ability to materialize energy as a physical form, something my current martial level should have made impossible. It was only feasible because Polar Night contained the very concept of night, the origin of all darkness.

I swung the Dark Shadow Soul-Chasing Sword downward.

CRACK!

The wide-spread lightning net was sliced cleanly in two.

“Krrraaaar?!”

The Imugi looked visibly shaken. Casting that last spell had consumed a great deal of its power. Of course, cutting through the net had drained me as well, but—

My depleted reserves filled instantly. And that wasn’t all. My strength didn’t come from martial arts alone.

I charged forward with ferocious momentum and rammed the Imugi’s body. Its massive frame staggered violently for a brief moment.

Two seconds of stun.

This thing might be huge, but it was completely full of openings.

A boss monster equivalent to something from the 30th floor of the Tower or higher should have possessed basic resistance to status effects. The duration of crowd control should have been reduced by at least fifty percent. Yet this Imugi couldn’t resist a single debuff.

It was overwhelmingly strong physically and wielded terrifying sorcery, but it was still only half a dragon at best.

Mud erupted from the streambed. The clear water turned murky in an instant, transforming a twenty-meter radius into a swamp. At Nyx’s gesture, the Polar Night binding the Imugi dragged it downward. Dozens of bony hands joined in, shoving the creature’s massive body deep into the mire.

Oh? Had it finally regained its senses out of desperation? The Imugi had cast its spell from within the swamp where its own body was trapped. A violent burst of wind began pushing away both the mud and the Polar Night.

But it was already too late.

The creature was stuck flat against the ground with its weak point completely exposed. It had just finished casting and couldn’t chain into another spell. It was practically begging me to kill it.

I charged once more. My Phoenix Kick struck the reverse scale I had targeted earlier.

“Krrraaaar!”

Another stun. The duration had been slightly reduced due to the penalty, but it didn’t matter. I had no intention of prolonging the fight against a snake that had bared its greatest weakness.

The internal energy of the Asura Demon Spirit Heart Method concentrated at my fingertips. Using the momentum of a charging rhino, I drove my fingers into the raised reverse scale.

BANG! BANG!

Repeated strikes caused cracks to spread across the scale.

“Hah… do not struggle so violently.”

Nyx let out a pained groan. Attacked continuously at its weak point, the Imugi began to rampage wildly. The Polar Night that had held it until now began to snap one by one, and the Skull Hands were smashed to pieces by its thrashing.

“Finally coming to your senses now that you’re on death’s door?”

Too bad. Even if it regained its mind at this point, it was far too late to escape.

I gathered the scattered Polar Night into a single blade once more, covering it with internal energy. The same sword that had cut through lightning now sliced through the cracked reverse scale.

SHIIIIING!

Blood gushed from the wound created by the Dark Shadow Soul-Chasing Sword like a broken dam. The crimson torrent surged upward before crashing down again. It looked like rain.

“Contractor, are you unharmed?”

“I’m fine. But you look like you pushed yourself too hard, Goddess.”

“Fufu. This one is the night itself. Something of this level is nothing at all.”

Her hands and feet were trembling. She had pushed a homunculus body to its absolute limit while wielding divine power. There was no way she was fine.

I couldn’t leave her like this. I draped Nyx’s arm over my shoulder.

“W-w-w-what is the meaning of this behavior?!”

“What does it look like? I’m supporting you.”

“This one has no need for such things!”

Her face had turned bright red. After seeing how much power she had expended in the fight, it was obvious she was at her limit. As expected of a goddess—her pride was truly something else.

“Rest somewhere without water.”

I guided Nyx to a large rock outside the reach of the stream.

“Where are you going?”

“To devour the Imugi’s corpse first.”

This was the essence of a fallen Imugi. It was a separate reward from the ‘fortune’ I had originally sought. In my previous life, another player had claimed it, so I never had the chance. A wide smile spread across my face as I began to devour the Imugi’s remains.