The Hidden Element of the 62nd Floor

The hidden element of the 62nd floor.

The condition looked easy enough. All I had to do was gather fifteen million dark mana.

However.

There was one prerequisite attached to it.

The player must not belong to the 'demon' race.

"Demons on the sixtieth floors don't find it difficult to meet those specs."

The races connected to the Tower of Babel weren't limited to mortals. There were others, like the dragonkin I encountered during my promotion match. The angels of Angelus. The demons of the demon world. And various other species that had transcended mortal limits from the moment of their birth also climbed the tower.

The only comfort was how few of them there were.

"It seems Solomon's will is embedded within it."

After Solomon's death—or rather, after he ascended to constellation status—Lemegeton was split into five parts and wandered across countless dimensions. The legends of Lemegeton scattered throughout those dimensions were all based on that event. That was why it had suddenly appeared here as a hidden reward on the sixty-second floor.

"I don't know the exact reason either."

"Come on. How many times do I have to tell you that regression isn't omnipotent?"

While seriously preparing for my regression, I'd been too busy cramming in every single opportunity I needed to seize from the tower and the gates. I hadn't had the luxury of digging into every tiny detail.

The fishing rod, now saturated with dark mana. The immense energy that threatened to slip its leash poured into the hook.

I exhaled slowly.

Moving the dark mana clinging to the hook, I sent it sinking beneath the surface of the lake.

"Shh."

From this point on, I needed to focus. I'd set out delicious bait. It would be annoying if some random trash took the hook instead.

I carefully controlled the dark mana so it wouldn't disperse.

Ten meters.

Twenty meters.

And then the hook descended to around fifty meters.

Don't ask me why the lake is this deep. Take it up with the Old Gods who built the Tower of Babel. How the hell should I know?

Alright.

Preparation to catch a big one was complete. Time to begin.

I shook the dark mana I'd been hoarding so preciously in every direction. Black currents spread through the depths of the lake.

Rumble—

A blue flash like lightning illuminated the lake's surface, instantly creating countless ripples.

"A courtship dance."

The light rising from below the lake was merely the prelude.

Something struck with a crunch! It bit down hard on the hook wrapped in dark mana.

***

Good. Bite secured.

"Goddess. Protect me for one minute."

My strength stat had multiplied several times over. It felt like I'd grasped the power of omnipotence. The kind of absolute might that suggested I could tear the world apart with a casual swing of my hand.

Of course, if I actually did that, my own body wouldn't survive intact. My Endurance stat had bottomed out, so I couldn't fully wield this overwhelming power. If I mishandled the immense force now permeating every single muscle fiber...

It would be my own body that got torn apart.

I channeled that overwhelming power through the fishing rod.

WHOOOOSH!

Whatever had bitten the hook began thrashing wildly. The entire lake started boiling and churning.

"Fuck!"

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"What the hell is going on?"

"Fishing's ruined. Completely ruined."

Don't curse me out loud. I'll show you something awesome.

"Hup!"

The moment I yanked the fishing rod upward with all my might, the lake water surged skyward and something massive was ripped free.

What had taken the bait was an enormous serpent nearly fifty meters long.

Glossy black scales. An old-fashioned beard attached to its snake-like head swayed in every direction. The black pupils set in pure white sclera repeatedly contracted and dilated. The orb it held in both hands scattered countless rays of light.

"A half-baked snake acting all high and mighty with its introduction."

Sniff, sniff. Its whiskers twitched.

"I've eaten a lot of things."

Why is this guy acting like this? In my previous life, we skipped the conversation and went straight to fighting.

"I politely decline being selected as the popular menu item."

I was usually the one who ate. Not the one being eaten.

***

"If you keep talking until my power returns, it'll lighten the goddess's workload."

See? It's already been fifty seconds.

I stood up and brushed the dirt off my backside.

"In my country, there's a profession called a snake catcher."

"The kind of work where we beat up snakes like you."

One beat late.

Flames erupted from Gangcheoli's eyes. And I don't mean that metaphorically—it was literal fire.

"Whether I get eaten or killed, it's the same result. Guess I'll have to resist."

Toward the imugi that looked down arrogantly, I crooked my finger.

"Stop flapping that three-inch tongue and come at me already."

* * *

The corrupted dragon floated dozens of meters above the lake. Nyx muttered in a displeased tone.

"Yeah, you should."

I gripped the black iron mace created by condensing dark mana.

The mace fell in a wide arc. A long shadow stretched over the corrupted dragon's head.

Black darkness reminiscent of midnight gathered above its horns. The surrounding landscape began to distort. Like a painting done in abstract or surrealist style, the boundaries between objects blurred, losing their original colors and twisting wildly.

A twisted seon magic that deviated from reason and logic. A distorted law that handled the power of the negative dimension rather than natural elements manifested in this world.

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The forbidden seon magic that defied providence collided with the black iron mace.

CRAAAASH!

My ears rang as the entire area around the lake was swallowed by a massive shockwave.

Even the power of darkness that had been shattering boundaries couldn't overcome the iron mace that manifested Barbatos's power.

But.

That was as far as it went.

The pure essence of destruction that had easily crushed demons' heads could advance no further and spun in place uselessly.

The aftershock from the collision between Darkness Breaking Dawn and the mace reached the players around the lake as well.

***

"Kuaaaaah!"

"What the hell are you doing!"

"M-my power is flowing backward!"

"Gurgle..."

They weren't even directly hit by the attack, yet they're acting like this.

"They're perfectly fine in reality though."

Anyway, since they didn't actually die, it's just them being dramatic.

This corrupted imugi was incomparably stronger than the fallen imugi I'd faced in gates during my previous life. Well, I'd fought it before the regression, so I already knew that. Nothing surprising.

Darkness Breaking Dawn was a powerful seon magic that distorted gravity with darkness and even scattered sacred light. I hadn't expected it to block Barbatos's iron mace strengthened by Demonic Power without taking any damage, but...

It had neatly removed a rather annoying technique right from the start.

"It's called a dragon for a reason. Attacks based on the four major elements don't work on it."

It had immunity to water, wind, earth, and fire-based attacks. There were ways to break through, but my current self couldn't use those methods.

Therefore.

Let's go with the straightforward method.

The explosive demonic energy I released along with my wingbeats tore through the ground. My body accelerated with the sensation of a roller coaster plunging from its peak.

My figure was reflected in the corrupted dragon's pupils.

What are you going to do about it? You can't use that confident Darkness Breaking Dawn right now anyway.

This guy wasn't a proper dragon. Once it exhausted all the seon energy stored in its wish-fulfilling orbs, it would be forced into close combat—a half-baked creature.

The moment its pupils contracted while tracking my movement, the fifty-meter body bent backward like a bow.

Thwack! The curved dragon's tail shot forward with elastic force.

An intense momentum like a collapsing mountain.

"Goddess, just watch."

While flying, I folded my wings and released explosive demonic energy once more. This time, straight ahead.

***

After accelerating at full speed and then stopping, I had to absorb the inertia completely. Even with a body strengthened by consuming various essences, it was a shock difficult to endure.

I ignored the pain.

Stun? Who cares.

Using the body strengthened by God's Wrath to ignore inertia, I activated another skill.

I fixed my body in the air using the blue energy wave that surged from beneath my feet. Unlike explosive demonic energy, this was stable power. It was similar yet different from the 'Void Step' technique that allowed one to walk on air after mastering light footwork.

In this stance, I could draw out the maximum power from any martial technique.

With Dragon Form added to God's Wrath, although not quite to the level of when I'd used Demonic Power, I felt as though I'd obtained omnipotent strength capable of ruling over everything.

Immense power capable of moving even a mountain concentrated in my clenched fist. It shot forward while spewing red vortexes.

A lethal strike where I squeezed out everything in a single instant!

Strengthened by both God's Wrath and Dragon Form, and further enhanced with the sharpness of Aura Blade that could tear apart even iron.

The tail that had bent like a bow and flown forward using elastic force collided with Reverse Scale.

CRACK!

My right arm that had unleashed Reverse Scale twisted violently. My shoulder dislocated from the massive ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠impact, and blood welled up between my torn scales.

A scream that shook heaven and earth. I wasn't the only one in pain.

Reverse Scale, wrapped in blue aura blade, had collided with it. In terms of pure power, it surpassed the latter half techniques of Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts.

My specs, enhanced by both Dragon Form and God's Wrath, completely overwhelmed Gangcheoli. The creature that had charged straight in without knowing this fact had its waist severed by Reverse Scale.

"Does it hurt for you too? It hurts for me as well."

Wow. Using Reverse Scale in full serious mode created one hell of an aftermath.

The reason my arm had twisted was because the destructive power contained in Reverse Scale had been too strong for even my Endurance stat to handle. If this was the result of receiving only part of the recoil...

***

If the corrupted dragon that had taken the attack directly with its body was fine, that would be even stranger.

Thanks to God's Wrath, there was no hindrance to my movement, but...

There was no need to maintain the injuries. The broken bones returned to their proper positions and healed. The scales torn by the excessive impact also regained their original form.

It seemed the corrupted dragon bastard still hadn't come to its senses.

Excessive dieting leads to yo-yo effects and suffering.

"This was the best way to end it quickly."

Believe the words of a veteran newbie.

Thanks to pulling out Darkness Breaking Dawn in the first exchange, I could throw a bold gambit.

A corrupted dragon was such a tricky boss monster. If it turned into a war of attrition, it would become annoying.

Therefore.

"Now rest for a while."