Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Fate for the Prologue Boss (4)
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[Filthy worm! I swear on my life! I won't even grant you the mercy of death!]
Right after the necromancer bellowed, a massive ripple of mana spread outward.
The zombies smashed by Iron Dung Beetle, the clerk's group corpses, and even the zombies still standing were all dragged toward the necromancer.
Like iron filings pulled to a magnet, bones, flesh, and blood began swirling and clumping around the necromancer.
By the time Iron Dung Beetle pulled out his shotgun and chambered rounds, it had already become a mass larger than a truck.
[Death, reverse! Death, pile up!]
The writhing mass soon began morphing into the shape of a colossal giant.
Zombie flesh and bones formed arms the size of shipping containers, and the tangled faces of corpses created a visage as grotesque as something out of a nightmare.
Iron Dung Beetle yanked the pin from a grenade and hurled it at the monster's still-forming lower body.
The creature, just starting to extend its legs, toppled clumsily—but that was the extent of the damage.
Fresh corpses swarmed into the gaping hole in its lower body, repairing the wound in an instant.
[You think a mere grenade can topple my titan! The great Immortal King has decreed... Damn it, block it!]
Iron Dung Beetle switched targets, lobbing the grenade at the coffin containing the necromancer's true body. The incomplete giant desperately reached out, snatching the grenade in its fist, where it exploded silently.
The only sign of damage was the putrid blood oozing between its fingers.
[Kill him! Kill that bastard!]
—Kreeeeea!
The corpse giant's fist, obeying the command, came crashing down toward Iron Dung Beetle.
With speed unimaginable for its size, the fist struck with force befitting its mass, slamming both Iron Dung Beetle and the container behind him.
KABOOM!!
The container stack collapsed, unleashing a roar even louder than the grenade blast.
'Fast.'
Having taken the unexpected blow, Iron Dung Beetle swallowed hard amid the rubble.
He'd lost sensation in his left arm, which had blocked the titan's fist. And with blood filling his throat, it seemed a few ribs were cracked too.
*Ptui.* He spat out the blood pooling in his mouth and rose to his feet. The fully formed colossal corpse titan and the hovering coffin now loomed over him.
[Sturdier than expected, worm.]
Iron Dung Beetle didn't reply. He kicked off instead. The titan's fist smashed into where he'd stood a moment before.
Boom, boom, boom!
Iron Dung Beetle ran, the titan's fist in pursuit.
[Hahaha! Resorting to tag like the worm you are?]
Glancing back briefly, Iron Dung Beetle gauged the distance to the necromancer.
'Grenades and shotgun won't take down the titan. I need to target the main body.'
He halted, channeling mana into his thighs. The titan's fist seized the opening and swung at him. Or it would have.
Iron Dung Beetle leaped, barely dodging the fist, then planted his foot on it and sprinted up toward the titan's shoulder.
He reached the shoulder in an instant and was about to fire his shotgun at the necromancer's body when—
Flash!
Light erupted from between the titan's flesh. A sinister green curse lashed out at Iron Dung Beetle.
[Careful, virgin! You can block the curse, but not the impact!]
Thanks to clutching the unicorn horn at the last second, he avoided the curse itself, but he couldn't stop tumbling off the titan's shoulder.
Had the necromancer overheard the unicorn's spirit warning? The moment Iron Dung Beetle hit the ground, the titan's fist smashed down.
BAM! Taking the punch head-on, Iron Dung Beetle lost his balance, flew back, and rolled across the concrete pier.
[Damn! Virgin, you alright?!]
Iron Dung Beetle gritted his teeth and steadied himself. He'd only taken two hits, but bones and organs screamed throughout his body.
[Your durability is miraculous. Heh heh heh. Perfect for a good practice session before the big event!]
The necromancer's mockery echoed, but Iron Dung Beetle focused every ounce of concentration on evading the titan's attacks.
'...No chance of winning.'
Shotgun and grenades couldn't touch it. The unicorn horn offered no more than a shield, and even his superhuman body was hitting its limits.
'I was careless.'
The original plan was simple: grenade ambush.
Simple, but he'd thought foolproof. No necromancer could block a grenade flying out of the dark.
Arrogance.
He should have been more thorough. Prepared more than he had.
An anti-tank missile or landmines... might have given him a shot against the titan.
'Retreat?'
Bang!
Pondering as he fired the shotgun at the incoming fist, Iron Dung Beetle watched the titan falter briefly before regenerating and charging again.
Shotgun shells left: two. Grenades: five. Bullets: twenty.
'Victory... is unlikely.'
Even dumping all his firepower, toppling the necromancer was impossible.
'Retreat.'
Iron Dung Beetle considered the word again.
If no path to victory existed, retreat was a valid option.
One step back for two steps forward—perfectly rational, commonsensical.
But...
'No.'
Iron Dung Beetle clenched his teeth.
Behind the word "retreat," faces of dead comrades flashed.
His comrades, unjustly slain. He'd buried them just three days ago.
He'd buried their bodies in the earth, sworn vengeance before their graves, and shed blood that hadn't even dried.
'Absolutely no retreat.'
He knew it was irrational.
But just as common sense didn't exist in blazing fire, vengeance held no room for common sense.
From the moment he'd chosen revenge.
He had only two choices left.
"Die, or kill."
Iron Dung Beetle reversed his fleeing steps. The titan, chasing him like a cat after a mouse, halted, and the necromancer mocked him.
[Given up on tag already, worm?]
Iron Dung Beetle didn't answer. Instead, he recalled Park Neti's Flying Leg Art—her movements, the muscles used in her kicks, the mana flowing along them.
Next came the titan's movements so far. Overwhelming power and speed from sheer size... thus, simple motions.
The two memories merged, leading to one question.
What would Park Neti do against that monster?
Before the answer formed, the attack began.
[Enough fun. Now, embrace eternal agony.]
The titan's fist cleaved the air, plummeting down. Simple, but devastating overhead smash.
!!!
Impact hit before sound. Dust billowed from the pier as the ground cratered deeply.
Yet Iron Dung Beetle stood.
One step away. Just one step from the fist, staring up at the necromancer.
[What the hell? Kill him!]
The necromancer moved the titan's fist. The massive hands of corpses hammered down on Iron Dung Beetle's head, again and again, pockmarking the pier with craters.
But again, Iron Dung Beetle stood.
The necromancer's skull rattled in shock. Sensing mana in place of flesh and nerves, he could feel what Iron Dung Beetle had done.
Dodged. Like a feather swept by wind.
Iron Dung Beetle slipped between physical fists, between follow-up strikes, between shockwave flows—evading every attack.
But man wasn't a feather. No, even a real feather couldn't slip those gaps...
[...What trick is this?]
As the necromancer faltered at the incomprehensible reality, Iron Dung Beetle leaped.
***
"Whoa, what the hell is that?"
Seti, peering through binoculars, muttered unwittingly.
Beyond her lenses, at Pier 13, David battled Goliath once more.
Goliath was a massive giant assembled from hundreds of corpses.
Undead Titan, was it? A monster from rare magic found only in history books.
Originally a spell using thousands, tens of thousands of bodies to create walls taller than city battlements—the famous B-29 bomber had records of downing one.
The one rampaging on the pier now felt less oppressive, likely due to fewer corpses consumed...
'Still, not something one superhuman can handle alone.'
Seti smacked her lips and shifted to David, dodging on Goliath's opposite side.
Unbelievable compared to the rookie superhuman she'd seen days ago.
No, could you even call that rookie-level?
Just the Feather Step evasion from Flying Leg Art put him above her own instructor.
"He picked it up perfectly after seeing it once..."
Watching Iron Dung Beetle narrowly evade the titan's fist, Seti let out a hollow laugh.
Of course, Feather Step wasn't impossibly hard to learn. Strictly speaking, it was feasible to pick up by peeking over a shoulder.
But learning and mastering were worlds apart. If it could be mastered in two days, it wouldn't be a secret art.
"The world's vast, and geniuses abound."
Hard to believe even seeing it, but if all that stemmed from raw talent... she could confidently rank it among the top five she'd witnessed.
In some ways, surpassing even that vaunted hero candidate—
Flash!
While Seti looked away briefly, green light flashed atop the titan.
Curse. Titan and necromancer unleashed it simultaneously at the superhuman.
But it didn't touch him. An ivory barrier around him repelled the green curse, prompting curses from the necromancer.
'Uragan's Hilt. So he had it after all.'
Seti recalled his parting words.
He hadn't said he'd "save" Uragan's Hilt—he'd said he'd "hand it over."
She'd suspected, and sure enough.
A twinge of being tricked prickled her chest, but it faded quickly.
'Whatever, he was selling it to me anyway.'
Watching Uragan's Hilt block every curse from the necromancer, she eagerly anticipated getting her hands on it.
"Oh, finally going on the offensive?"
The David-and-Goliath bout was cresting. Iron Dung Beetle, focused on evasion, now struck back at titan and necromancer.
"But that won't be enough."
Fingering the weapon beside her, Seti thought.
Shotgun, grenades, and kicks.
All decent, but lacking the decisive stone David used against Goliath.
Without that one big hit, Iron Dung Beetle would tire first.
'S time to help?'
She set down the binoculars and hefted her weapon—a warhammer, the combat maul she despised. Its heavy iron weight traveled up her arm.
She didn't know how much longer the fight would last, but without her intervention, Iron Dung Beetle would die.
Park Seti concluded, ever the rational thinker.
But...
THUD!
A heavy boom from Pier 13 rolled over her, tousling her hair.
"...Huh?"
The titan was collapsing. Its massive body clutched a container stack to steady itself, only for both to crumble together.
'How?'
Seti snatched up the binoculars, scanning Pier 13.
Atop the fallen titan's head stood Iron Dung Beetle.
Far from normal—lips stained crimson, likely from vomited blood; body trembling faintly, muscles at their limit.
Yet he stood.
'What the hell did he do?'
Not grenade or shotgun. Flying Leg Art? But it held no technique to fell such a beast.
As if answering her curiosity, Iron Dung Beetle moved. He raised a quivering leg.
Knee-high lift, short breath, eyes steeled with resolve.
His foot smashed down on the titan's head.
Kuuu—ooo—!
Short impact, endless titan scream, rotten flesh and filth erupting like shrapnel.
Seeing it, Seti shot to her feet unwittingly.
"...True Strike?"
Mana gathered in the sole, maximized rebound; body enhanced for a simple stomp.
But infusing that simplicity with intent and power demanded how much training and insight? How many candidates despaired at True Strike's wall?
Her father, countless failures she remembered. Even she hadn't mastered it easily.
Yet Iron Dung Beetle unleashed True Strike, rendering all that effort moot. Without guidance, without aid.
"Ah...."
As the shockwave faded, the titan's head lay cratered like a shell strike.
Unlike wounds from grenades and shotgun that regenerated, this one didn't.
Likely, the impact shattered the spell itself, overwhelming regeneration.
Seti stared blankly, then clamped her mouth seeing Iron Dung Beetle atop the titan's head.
He looked half-dead. Barely alive.
'Recoil was too much.'
Body and mana couldn't keep up with the technique's power. Right now, he could barely twitch a finger.
And Seti wasn't the only one noting Iron Dung Beetle's state.
The crimson-black coffin hovering in the sky.
From within, the necromancer flicked his hand, weaving a spell.
'Can't let him die like this.'
Confirming Iron Dung Beetle and necromancer, Seti kicked off, raising her warhammer.
Silvery-white light flashed from her warhammer, slicing through the pier's darkness as it flew.
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