Domain Clash
Domain Clash.
From that collision, a neutral zone was born.
KRAAAAAASH—!
"Interesting—! That power of yours. You dare try to stand against mine?"
Crimson lightning tore straight through Jinwoo.
The power of Weakness pierces through you!
Your will surges. HP is restored.
"Thanks for the support."
At the same instant, Pur streaked forward.
He's gotten a lot faster.
As a Banshee Lord, Pur moved as if his body had grown lighter—almost like a ghost given form. With every step he shed cold mist, crashing toward Shadow Wing's minions. First charged right behind him.
Crackle—. Snap—!
Even while locked in the domain struggle, Jinwoo raised his bow and leveled it at Shadow Wing. For a heartbeat the dragon assumed the arrow was meant for him.
"That shot earlier—was that you too?"
Jinwoo didn't answer. He simply whipped the bow around.
His aim settled on the kobold pack.
An obsidian arrowhead—one of the stock he'd been saving—sat nocked on the string.
FWIIIIISH—!
BOOOOM—!
"Kieeeek!"
In an instant, half the kobold swarm was gone.
But a dragon's power was not so easily spent.
"Yes. A sound judgment."
Far better than shooting at him, at least.
And yet—
"Even a sound judgment means nothing."
High above, still waging the domain war, Shadow Wing unfurled his wings wide. Fresh kobolds materialized and surged forward once more.
"Mortus!"
Jinwoo called.
"Lock them down."
"As you command."
Mortus raised the Sky Stone Orb high and poured every scrap of dark energy he possessed into it.
"Soul Bind."
Darkness erupted from Mortus, reshaping into chains that snared hundreds of monsters at once.
Mortus's power is no joke either…
Binding hundreds in a single cast was the full measure of his current strength. Under ordinary circumstances, wringing out that much power would have been nearly impossible.
What he lacks, the Sky Stone Orb makes up for.
An orb. Mage-exclusive gear really does have some excellent traits.
The Sky Stone Orb flared bright. Its special option—Sapphire's Azure—activated, lifting his mana.
On its heels, Mortus triggered a special skill.
Power of the Sky
Raises the caster's mana ceiling beyond its limit.
In that instant, Mortus's mana shattered its ceiling.
Boom—!
While Mortus held every last one of Shadow Wing's minions in place, Pur arrived.
"Hero Skill!"
"I obey!"
Netherworld frost flooded the area around him. Pur exhaled a torrent of ice-blue cold and, in the same breath, swung World Tree's Judgment without restraint.
KRAK—! KRAGA-GAK—!
Blaze Worms froze solid and shattered where they stood. First charged in on Pur's heels.
"First!"
"Yes. Master."
Just hearing his name was enough; First understood the order. His target was the Obsidian Golems.
First dropped into their midst and took the golems' incoming blows on his body.
KRAGA-GAK—!
He weathered the strikes on the Sky Stone Basago Armor, then—timed perfectly to their attack windows—drew the Orihalcon Lightblade in a flash and cut. It was almost like a quick-draw technique.
"Your swordsmanship's improved."
"To. Collect. Materials. More. Perfectly."
First had honed his blade work for one reason: cleaner material harvests. Jinwoo gave him a thumbs-up.
"Number One really is different."
The care of his first retainer left Jinwoo in excellent spirits. So this is what they mean about how reliable the eldest is. Of course, that was also the thought of a firstborn himself.
Pur followed up, blanketing the Obsidian Golems in netherworld frost and locking them down cleanly. He was every bit as serious about material collection as First.
"Pur!"
Jinwoo called him, then waved to Pin.
"Pin—!"
Pin scooped Pur onto his back and rocketed skyward. The target: Shadow Wing, hanging high overhead.
Right now, Pur is the strongest I've got.
Netherworld frost and World Tree's Judgment. The synergy is excellent. The World Tree's power inflated the frost's properties even further.
First keeps hunting whatever minions Shadow Wing keeps summoning. Mortus covers the gaps.
For a moment, Jinwoo's eyes met Shadow Wing's. The look asked, clear as words: Aren't you coming yourself? A taunt, pure and simple—but Jinwoo didn't take the bait. He couldn't have even if he'd wanted to.
The gear his retainers wore was him. I'm fighting with my own hands either way.
FWIIIIISH—!
Pin poured everything into the climb. Shadow Wing flicked a wing and slid backward, casually slipping past Pin's charge. The bird that had been flying in a straight line banked hard.
"So you do have a few tricks."
Shadow Wing bared his teeth at the oncoming Pin.
"Plague Gale."
He beat his wings once.
A green whirlwind howled straight at Pin. The bird spun and wove, dodging the plague gale by inches.
"A little more!"
They were almost in range. Just a bit closer and Pur's attacks would connect.
"Pin—!"
Pin triggered a dive skill. His speed spiked; he closed on Shadow Wing—
"Phantom Veil."
But the dragon cast. A pure white curtain bloomed in front of him, and as if he had torn space itself, Shadow Wing was suddenly far away.
"Pin—!"
Another hard bank. Pin was certain of one thing: holding back would never be enough to catch this dragon.
Dark energy streamed from Pin's body.
FWISH—!
Pin threw everything into the chase, but Shadow Wing slipped his charge with lazy ease—a few wingbeats, a dive, and when they closed, a spell to slip free again.
"Don't you ever tire of this?"
Shadow Wing's taunt drew a reaction from Pin, but he still couldn't match the speed. In the end he was reduced to chasing the dragon's tail.
On Pin's back, Pur waited for his moment. Pin couldn't catch Shadow Wing's pace—but Pur tracked every motion with his eyes.
FWISH—!
The instant Pin tried once more to match the dragon's movement, Pur struck at Shadow Wing's carelessness.
To the dragon, Jinwoo's retainers were less than insects. That was why he kept dodging by a hair's breadth, toying with them.
Pur did not miss the opening.
In the crossing instant, he seized Pin's shoulder and kicked off hard from the bird's back.
THUD—!
Pur's body flew true, slamming into Shadow Wing and latching onto a wing.
"Oh-ho."
"Got you."
Pur blasted netherworld frost at full force and raised World Tree's Judgment.
"You're not running anymore."
He poured every ounce of strength into the weapon. This attack pattern was already exposed. Another chance this clean would not come. So he would land it once—perfectly.
FWIIIIIIIIISH—!
Pur swung World Tree's Judgment with everything he had.
But—
"Collapse."
World Tree's Judgment froze mid-swing. Pur's arms shook as he strained to force the weapon through, but he could not overcome that crushing force.
"Grrraaagh—!"
Dragon-tongue. The most fearsome power a dragon possessed—and it was bearing down on Pur now.
"Zun."
KRAAAAAASH—!
A spell of collapse. A dense mass of magic smashed into Pur in an instant. Still clinging to the wing, he was torn free and fell.
"Piiiiin—!"
Pin cried out and caught the falling Pur.
"I'm fine."
Fortunately, Pur was intact—though the damage was severe. It was the first truly overwhelming force he had faced since becoming Jinwoo's retainer.
"Hah."
Taking that dragon-tongue magic had taught him something.
"That bastard kept taunting us…"
Just now, he had fought in earnest.
"He's afraid of this weapon."
If he weren't, he would simply have taken the hit and sneered. Instead he had dodged. That alone was proof enough.
"One more time."
If the attack only connected—if it only touched him—they could hurt that dragon.
"Pin."
"That last method won't work. So just get me the distance, all right?"
Pur said.
"I'll handle the rest myself."
FWIIIIISH—.
Pin took to the air again at full speed.
"Quite the durability. Yes—you'll need at least that much."
Shadow Wing snapped his wings wide.
"This time I'll smash you properly. So thoroughly you won't rise again even if you die."
Pur gave Pin a signal. Even with a fair stretch of sky between them, the moment the signal came, Pin cried out.
"Now!"
Pin accelerated. The gap closed in a heartbeat.
"Netherworld Frost."
Pur swept World Tree's Judgment through empty air and cast the frost into the void. An ice path unfurled.
Crack—. Crack-crack-crack-crack—!
The path of ice began at Pin's back and stretched all the way to Shadow Wing. Pur stepped onto it and triggered netherworld frost once more.
SHAAAA—!
Pur's speed rivaled the dragon's own reactions. Before Shadow Wing could shatter the ice road, Pur was already on him.
"I won't miss this time."
He swung World Tree's Judgment with crushing force, dark energy flooding his entire body as he fired a special skill.
Soul Slaughter
And on top of that, he unleashed the power bound into World Tree's Judgment.
Judgment
Attack Power +15%. Guarantees a critical hit.
FWIIIIIIIIISH—!
Building a road of netherworld frost was a method even Shadow Wing hadn't expected. His reaction lagged—if only by a hair.
But—
"You almost touched me, you lowly thing."
Shadow Wing spoke—then loosed dragon-tongue.
"A fine attempt."
"Creva."
The Word of Stillness. The instant it fell, Pur's body locked. He trembled, just as before. But one more step—if he could move even a little further—
KRAK—!
"Oh-ho."
Even under the Word of Stillness, Pur moved. And, if only barely, he connected.
"Your will alone is remarkable. The souls within your body made it possible, I see. Hmm. No—not only that."
Shadow Wing's gaze settled on the weapon.
"An overwhelming faith in that armament of yours. Very well. Let's see, then."
Shadow Wing's jaws yawned wide. He fixed on Pur, who could no longer fully resist the dragon-tongue.
A terrible power gathered in his maw—a green, corrupted light.
"Nether Breath."
SHAAAAAAAAAAAA—!
The devastating breath roared toward Pur—or would have, in the instant something streaked in.
FWISH—.
BOOOOM—!
"Yeah. Figured as much."
"That was close."
Jinwoo, who had loosed the arrow, clicked his tongue. Pin dove in a panic and hauled Pur free. Pur was heavily damaged.
"I can still fight."
"Pin."
But the outcome would only be the same.
"Hmm."
Shadow Wing looked down at Jinwoo—arrogant, remote, his eyes saying plain as day that no mere retainer could ever defeat him.
Jinwoo's face twisted. First stepped forward at the sight.
"I. Will. Go."
First had already closed the distance, asking to be given the task.
"No. No."
It wasn't that Pur and Pin were being pushed back that had put that look on Jinwoo's face.
"That breath. I can't put it in the forge."
"……."