Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Survival Competition (9)
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No need to watch our backs. Nothing puts you more at ease during a fight. I already knew the Emperor basically had a favorable view of me, so I figured I could trust the people he'd assigned to me.
Since we had no idea what might come flying out of this lab—practically enemy territory—I signaled the two of them to cover our rear and provide support.
With the power of the Demon God infused into it, the holy sword would be our main firepower. I held my left hand out front, pulling my right hand back toward my body with the sword ready for defense. Naewon Cham. Just saying it now, but I'm glad I'm ambidextrous.
Maybe because I'd gone all out earlier to break through, my body—accustomed to the goddess's power—was creaking a bit, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.
I'd already steeled myself for the possibility of going full throttle right into combat. Ignoring the cracks spreading across my right arm and the golden blood trickling out, I charged forward.
Unfortunately, this opponent didn't have any clear weak points. It was a gimmick-type boss where you'd have to tank the enhanced dragon's attacks head-on and smash every single gem embedded in it.
The dragon slammed its short forelegs into the lab floor, and crystals like the ones studded across its body sprouted up from the ground.
Smashing the growing crystals as I advanced, I eventually gave up and leaped upward. There were just too many.
After eyeballing my sword to check for any damage from batting away the crystals, I jumped straight onto its body—a space where that magic couldn't be used. No attacks of that sort came from atop the body, but the dragon shook itself violently to throw me off, and its black gems repelled my sword strikes with tremendous force.
"Bind it!"
Still, the silver lining was that I had comrades I could count on, and their skills were top-notch.
I dug my toes into the shaking platform to hold on, waiting for its movements to slow.
First things first—I brought the holy sword in my left hand crashing down on the gem right in front of me.
The gem shattered into pieces with an explosion like a bomb going off, and I was slightly pushed back by the blast. Cutting through the black smoke, I searched for my next target.
For a normal dragon, the power source would be its heart.
But this modified one drew its power from the gems embedded throughout its body and innards.
Blocking the occasional bursts of mana with the goddess's power, I cleared out all the gems around its back.
Partly due to the black smoke I'd inhaled and the cracks starting to spread badly on my left arm from overuse, I finally jumped down.
"Cough. Back is clear."
"I'll take the next one."
"With the goddess's power..."
"I know. Shopkeeper. Be right back."
Big Sis Mina sprang cleanly into the air. With wings of light, she poured the World Tree's power into her specialty bow, raining hell on the gems—it looked easier for her than for me.
Well, actually, with the attack organs that doubled as gems reduced, she could safely bombard from the air now. We'd gotten the order just right.
I pinned down its twitching foreleg with my reinforced body and smacked its oncoming maw away with the goddess's power surging through my left arm.
Yura was binding the dragon's neck with magic while intercepting spells aimed at Big Sis Mina.
Two near-superhuman allies tying it down and smashing the gems.
It was a straightforward, safe plan at its core, but things would change once phase two hit.
And that phase two was ridiculously simple.
■■■■■■■■■■-!
Letting out a monstrous screech, the dragon rose—even at the cost of parts of its body crumbling and breaking—and unleashed its magic.
It ripped out the gems embedded across its body, healed the wounds with flesh, and swallowed the extracted gems whole.
From here on, it fully transformed into a long-range bombardment boss, so we'd have to dodge, block, and strike as best we could on our own.
"Let's try to dodge everything if possible."
"Yeah."
"This is manageable."
Both of them seemed to share my 'we got this' vibe, checking their bodies and gear with relaxed smiles.
Whew. Alright, then—first breath barrage as the signal.
"Here we go!"
Our original spot was engulfed in pitch-black light and obliterated entirely. Diving to the left of its breath-spewing head, I targeted its neck. Big Sis Mina, who could fly, circled in front to bait the breath attacks, while Yura mercilessly sliced into the fresh, gem-studded flesh that had just sprouted.
『Hold on. Something's off. On paper, this thing could topple a small nation single-handedly.』
Well, Big Sis Mina and I both wielded the counter— the goddess's power—and Yura was the Empire's top pick for Captain of the Imperial Guard.
If it were just Ermina and me taking this on, I'd be dizzy just thinking about it.
No need to respond to the demon race's words—we just did what we had to.
And finally, with its neck and legs shredded, black blood pouring out, the dragon hunched over, screeching as it prepared its death throes.
This wasn't so much a desperation pattern as a straight-up zero-HP pattern.
A literal suicide attack right before death.
"Group up!"
"Yes!"
Confirming Yura had joined us, I plunged the holy sword in my left hand—fully charged with the goddess's power—into the ground before me.
Big Sis Mina raised a glowing green barrier on top, and Yura erected a standard magical defense.
Having such versatile teammates sure is nice.
She was sharp and skilled enough that I'd want to poach her if she weren't with the Imperial Guard.
As those non-fantasy fantasies crossed my mind, the dragon initiated its self-destruct.
Its body swelled up, and pitch-black gas leaked from it.
After a brief wait, the dragon exploded without so much as a death cry, sending a superheated storm of black smoke roaring toward us.
But we'd anticipated this, and our triple-layered barrier held firm without a wobble.
Three people who could bind even the world's strongest known boss make short work of it, huh.
We barely had time to wait out the storm before the smoke began to settle. What was left of the dragon looked like the black sludge we'd seen outside.
If that sludge was the end-product waste from creating this dragon, it wouldn't be all that strange.
『No way! The result of corrupting the minerals from a dwarf homeland, practically a spirit of the earth!』
"It's explaining everything for us."
"Yeah."
『I'll prepare something stronger next time! Just you wait!』
"Oh boy."
I thought it might give another hint or something.
Of course, when a demon gets genuinely pissed like that, retaliation was guaranteed, so we'd have to stay vigilant.
Demons like Svetlana with their nasty tempers might just club you over the head right after.
Anyway, there was nothing left to salvage in the thoroughly wrecked lab, so we decided to head up.
Flying, walking, hopping—we each made our way up and were greeted by a truly horrific sight above.
"...This isn't on us, right?"
"...It couldn't be helped. You won't say otherwise, will you?"
"Not my problem."
Due to the intense battle, the space above our lab wasn't just damaged—it had been turned into an empty lot.
The final self-destruct probably accounted for a big chunk of it, but in the end, the ground around here was trashed to the point where it'd take ages of restoration to make it usable again.
What a mess.
Still, whatever—the dangerous thing below was dealt with, and we'd successfully thwarted what seemed like the demon's underhanded scheme.
"Huh."
"What's up?"
"Did we see any weapons-like things when we came down?"
"No. Why... Oh."
"We came here because of weapon smuggling. But if the weapons aren't here..."
Trap? No.
That dragon was unequivocally a doomsday weapon meant to topple the dwarves' kingdom.
If anything, it was perfect for striking from within in response to an external assault.
"We need to redeploy people."
"I'll contact them now."
"I'll scout the area."
Watching Yura leave, I turned and spotted something odd.
The lump from earlier.
The lump approached me and dipped its head slightly.
I pondered its meaning for a second, then remembered the part that had turned gold in response to the goddess's power earlier. Despite the pain, I raised my arm and poured power into it wildly.
After taking the time to purge all that filthy waste sludge, a fluffy golden puppy appeared.
It had puffed up its fur to keep the mud off its body. Clever.
As I accepted the puppy's affectionate nuzzle, Dras approached and spoke up.
"No idea who, but some dwarf must've stuck that kid in the sludge—or mud, whatever. Taking it along should lead us to them."
"What was the purpose?"
"Who knows. Could've been to corrupt it, or maybe to purify that pit."
"Then I'll leave that to you. Puppy, go with Dras."
The dog barked "woof!" and started following Dras.
Smart one.
With nothing immediate for me to do, I decided to wait here.
Once everyone else had left, I rolled up my right sleeve. Golden cracks like tattoos were etched into my arm, showing no signs of healing.