Necromancer Pursuit (6)
A colossal something heavy and immense began slowly revealing itself from the gigantic gate blotting out the sky, plummeting toward the ground.
BOOM!
The massive entity crashed onto a village building, and the sheer impact sent tremors through the earth, kicking up clouds of dust and whipping up fierce gusts of wind around them.
Sensing something amiss, Illyana hurriedly erected a barrier to shield herself and Elenoa from the raging winds.
"Urgh!"
In stark contrast, Riod—who had charged to sever Renat's neck—was flung back by the blast. Even Eunhyeon, caught in the gale while pinning down Marius, was forced to release him and evade.
In the ensuing chaos, threads of mana spun from Renat's hand—Magical Steel Threads—wrapped around a nearby building, anchoring her against being swept into the sky. At the same time, threads from her other hand coiled around Marius's torso, yanking his limbless body helplessly into her arms.
"Gaaahhh!"
Though stitched up, blood oozed anew from his unhealed flank. Renat gritted her teeth and clutched Marius's trunk tightly.
Only after the winds died down and the dust settled did Illyana dispel her barrier and crane her neck to identify the fallen mass. Upon recognizing its enormous bulk, she muttered absently,
"A... dragon...?"
Elenoa paled as realization dawned on the identity of the village-engulfing behemoth.
"And not just any dragon. That's..."
"An Ancient Dragon."
Four hundred years ago, alongside the demons that suddenly invaded Earth, one of the Transcendent Beings had emerged.
Like the Gumiho, it wielded power rivaling the Divine Beasts, revered as supreme existences. Among dragons, only a scant few could resist demons through raw might alone.
Even among them, the Ancient Dragons—those who had amassed vast knowledge and power, reaching the Ancient grade—were thought long extinct.
The dragons now on the Arkena Continent were all lifeforms recreated by the Seven Goddesses after the world's near-destruction: mere hatchlings yet to shed their infancy.
Thus, Eunhyeon couldn't make sense of the current situation.
"But... it's a corpse...?"
Parts of the Ancient Dragon's body were rotting, flesh torn away to expose bone. Its wings on both shoulders were riddled with holes, utterly useless.
How on earth had they obtained an Ancient Dragon's corpse?
"What kind of magic is that..."
"That's her ability. It seems like a spatial transfer spell. She can teleport herself and those she permits, or conversely, store monsters in a pocket space and summon them at will."
The sudden appearance of beasts in the village stemmed from this summoning ability, akin to Renat's own.
"That explains the lack of storage warehouses for beast corpses or alchemy workshops at their bandit lair base. She kept the monster bodies in another space, pulling out parts to graft onto human corpses on the fly."
Riod murmured in realization at Eunhyeon's explanation. Elenoa stared dumbly up at the dragon corpse, chilled to her core.
"How is that even... possible..."
"...Where the hell did she get an Ancient Dragon corpse?"
Eunhyeon asked in a frosty voice, eyeing Renat—who had put maximum distance between them, positioning herself near the dragon's body.
"I never planned to use it. This was my absolute last resort, saved for the very end... I never imagined I'd have to deploy the Magical Steel Threads and the dragon corpse here..."
Unlike Renat's grumbled mutter, Marius—cradled in her arms—was wildly excited.
"This is all Her glory! I still don't acknowledge you! So let me test if you're worthy of Her favor!"
Marius bellowed arrogantly from his limbless torso, a ridiculous sight no one dared mock. The fanatic gleam in his spittle-flecked eyes was anything but sane.
Elenoa blanched at the implications, given he was a necromancer and the dragon corpse now crushing village buildings before them.
"Hey... aren't necromancers supposed to control only human souls...?"
"Ordinary ones, yes. But if that lunatic was raised by the mad bitch from my memories, then the rules change."
"What do you—"
"Riod. How's the village evacuation?"
Eunhyeon asked again, though he'd already sensed it.
"Everyone's cleared to the outskirts. No idea if anyone was under that dragon-crushed building."
"It's fine. No one's—"
"I, Marius Holton! I offer my soul to recreate a fragment of Her great work! Accept my trial!"
With those words, the Ancient Dragon's corpse began to twitch faintly.
Rumble rumble rumble
"Fuck..."
Why were his bad premonitions never wrong?
The colossal body shuddered, life flickering into the dragon's eyes.
No—not life.
Its opened eyes glowed red, pupils unfocused. What filled them was thick death qi manifested through black magic.
Its rattling jaw slowly lifted skyward.
As dark, inky mana gathered in its gaping maw, Eunhyeon mentally calculated the time until it reached critical mass.
Finishing his math, he shouted urgently,
"Illyana!"
"Got it!"
Sensing the ominous mana buildup like Eunhyeon, Illyana erected an omnidirectional mana barrier around them.
"Lady Elenoa!"
[O Goddess! Protect the lambs under the gaze of the wicked goddess from all harm!]
[Vesta's Blessing]
[Divine Protection, Resist Shield]
Her prayer—laced with uncharacteristic urgency and desperation—betrayed her panic.
Thankfully, the Goddess Vesta heeded her devotee's frantic plea.
Four seconds had passed.
Eunhyeon then summoned a shield far larger than the one from the Arkys Great Labyrinth's Trial Chamber.
Infusing it directly with Verdandi's divinity, he hurled it toward Riod.
"Riod!"
"Mm."
Grasping Eunhyeon's intent without words, Riod caught the shield and drove its long stake deep into the ground, securing it—six seconds total.
He then grabbed Illyana and Elenoa by the arms, shoving them inside—seven seconds.
"Hyeon! What about you?!"
"Hey, you!"
No matter its size, the shield couldn't cover four people. Eunhyeon boldly pushed the two women inside.
Ignoring their worried cries, he focused on fortifying the barrier.
After Illyana's mana barrier came his own second layer. Then he produced four gems, unleashing their mana into the air.
[Elycia Gem Amplification]
[April's Birthstone, Diamond]
[September's Birthstone, Sapphire]
[October's Birthstone, Opal]
[December's Birthstone, Turquoise]
⟨ Amplification Ritual ⟩
Reinforcing Riod's shield.
Strengthening Illyana and Eunhyeon's mana barriers.
Elevating Elenoa's heightened divine magic once more.
Stabilizing the internals to prevent clashes, the setup now rivaled a fortified mini-citadel.
'Goddess. You can protect me, right?'
[Of course.]
'I'll trust in you, Goddess.'
[I'll do my utmost to reward the heart that relies on me.]
Verdandi's confident reply came with the soft press of her ample bosom against his head. Her arms wrapped around him from behind, enveloping him in immense divine power.
"You... that aura, don't tell me...?"
As the sole priestess attuned to gods, Elenoa alone sensed the divine power surpassing holy energy. She gaped at Eunhyeon in shock.
He pressed a finger to his lips, smiling quietly. Then, the ten seconds he'd foreseen elapsed.
The shuddering Death Dragon—its maw condensed with death qi—gaped wide at Eunhyeon's party, unleashing all its mana in a devastating Death Breath that engulfed their barriers.
"Guh...! This psycho! For real!"
Illyana's outermost mana barrier cracked instantly under the direct hit. Grinding her teeth at the overwhelming force, she poured more mana to repair it—but the cycle of cracking and mending proved too much. Soon, it shattered helplessly.
Elenoa's divine barrier fared better. The Death Breath stemmed from death qi, rooted in necromantic black magic—arch-nemeses to holy power derived from gods.
Yet it merely lasted longer than Illyana's; cracks soon spiderwebbed across Elenoa's barrier too.
"No... I can't...!"
Desperation clawed at her—no countermeasures came to mind.
Her divine barrier finally broke, and Eunhyeon's mana barrier fractured in seconds.
"Hey! At this rate, even your barrier will—huh?"
Glancing back frantically for Eunhyeon, the women found him absent from the barrier's interior. For a split second, flight crossed their minds—but they dismissed it instantly.
He'd never run; he'd prepare a counter.
So he judged the three of them—Riod, Illyana, Elenoa—could hold without him?
'How...?'
Eunhyeon's mana barrier shattered at last, and the Death Breath slammed into Riod's steadfast shield.
"Nngh!"
"Hold!"
Teeth clenched, legs and arms straining, Riod gripped the shield against the breath. Though weakened after breaching three barriers, it still battered relentlessly.
Even frail Illyana and Elenoa lent their meager strength, but it wasn't enough.
"How in the world... wha—?!"
As despair blanked her mind, Elenoa jolted at the holy power resonating from the shield enveloping her.
Touching it to brace, the innate holy energy responded to her.
'Maybe...?' No time for doubt—action now.
Her judgment was swift.
[O Goddess!]
Drawing on the shield's holy power, she prayed anew. White light erupted from Riod's desperately held shield.
[Vesta's Blessing]
[Holy Sanctuary]
Verdandi's divine power, converted into premium holy energy within the shield, exploded like fireworks through Elenoa's prayer, bolstering it.
As if sanctified by the blessing's name, Riod's stance and shield stabilized.
"This is..."
Riod, bearing the brunt, felt it most acutely. The shield's holy aura countered the breath, purifying death qi and sapping its power.
The fading breath finally vanished entirely against the holy surge. The three emerged to assess.
"We... blocked it...?"
Marius had dubbed it a "trial," but Renat had been certain of victory moments ago.
Seeing the weakening Ancient Dragon post-breath, her face twisted in dawning failure.
"At this point, I should just run—"
"No."
A chilling voice thick with murderous intent sounded right behind her. Overwhelmed by Eunhyeon's killing aura, Renat froze rigid as stone.
"No hesitation this time. No need for intel."
[White Light Flash]
A single streak of pristine white slashed across Renat's throat.