◈ 679. [STAGE 40] Gigantomachia (2)
Crossroads. On the castle wall.
“Haa haaa….”
Dusk Bringer let out a hot breath.
I had barely managed to block the fifth breath of the Night Bringer that had poured in just a moment ago.
The Night Bringer’s breath was extremely powerful, but the Dusk Bringer was able to withstand it with the help of all the remaining magic support artifacts and recovery support artifacts in the Crossroads.
Crackling, crackling…
All the artifacts were ruined.
“….”
Dusk Bringer, who was looking in that direction with a tired gaze, staggered and headed down the castle wall.
As she came down the castle wall, smoke rising from her small body, the soldiers all saluted her.
Dusk Bringer smiled bitterly, bowed, and then walked unsteadily.
“Thank you for your hard work, Grand Duke.”
Evangeline, who was waiting under the castle wall, spoke in a worried voice.
After negotiations with the kings, Lucas became the captain of the special unit, and the position of acting commander was passed to Evangeline.
Evangeline was given overall command of the troops on the entire front.
It was Evangeline who ordered the installation of magical power and body recovery auxiliary artifacts instead of the existing defense artifacts.
The instructions were indeed accurate, and Dusk Bringer was able to endure somehow.
She wasn’t sure if she would be able to endure it next time, but…
Dusk Bringer just nodded without saying a word, and Evangeline was about to say something, but just silently faced him and bowed.
Dusk Bringer walked to the other side. Evangeline, who was looking at him, turned her head to the side.
“And thank you to everyone on the scout team for doing their best in their duties.”
There stood scout soldiers who reported the news of the black dragon’s breath.
If the scouting team hadn’t given us the exact timing, the defense might have been more difficult.
So Evangeline was truly grateful to them.
Under the command of the acting commander, the soldiers of the reconnaissance team all bowed their heads. Evangeline continued.
“However, the reconnaissance team will no longer operate. From now on, the remote observation team will be in charge of scouting the black dragon, so please rest and wait.”
“yes? But Miss Evangeline… no, Acting Commander.”
The scout leader carefully presented his opinion.
“The darkness was too thick for the long-distance observation team to observe properly, so didn’t we take the risk and deploy as a close-range reconnaissance team? Even if we deploy a remote observation team again, what will happen…”
“Don’t worry about that. “Damian… the sniper team leader has decided to be deployed to the observation team.”
Everyone opened their mouths in agreement at those words.
Has clairvoyance. Damian.
If the best sniper on the front line observes with the best eyes in mankind, he will definitely be able to see through even the darkness.
“The sniper team at the nearest observation tower will scout out the Black Dragon’s movements. So, don’t worry about the scouting mission. You have been exposed to the evil dragon’s evil energy for a long time… so just rest.”
Evangeline, who was trying to look formal after saying that, smiled shyly.
“I’m glad everyone came back safely. “I was very worried because it was such a dangerous mission.”
“Actually, we almost got wiped out…”
The scouts of the scouting team looked at each other.
“Someone… saved us.”
“yes? “Someone…?”
“yes. Because I couldn’t open my eyes due to the black dragon’s evil energy, I couldn’t see exactly who it was…”
The scouts nodded.
“It was a very familiar voice… but it was as unfamiliar as hearing it for the first time… It was a strange experience.”
“Didn’t you say who you were?”
“Yes, that is…”
The last veteran scout to retreat relayed the man’s words.
“It’s our very old colleague….”
“A very old colleague…?”
Evangeline tilted her head.
“Where is he now?”
“It seems like it was left there. It looks like he was walking to the black dragon alone….”
“Walking to the black dragon alone…?”
Evangeline muttered shakily.
“Who and why…?”
It was then.
Tadat-!
Dusk Bringer, who had stopped in the hallway on the other side and was listening to what was going on here, quickly kicked the ground and started running.
“grandee?!”
Evangeline, feeling an ominous premonition, ran after him in a huff.
Dusk Bringer ran with incredible agility despite his injured body, arrived in front of the teleportation gate, and opened the magic door.
Hwaaaaaaaaaaa!
Black malice poured in from the other side of the completed magic passage.
Evangeline immediately noticed where Dusk Bringer was heading. Dusk Bringer was trying to go to the spot the scouts had mentioned.
“Stop, Archduke! “That teleport gate is already being corroded by the Night Bringer’s evil energy!”
“….”
“There is a black dragon on the other side of the gate! Even the gate will soon be broken! “If you go there now, you won’t be able to return-”
But Dusk Bringer didn’t hesitate.
Flash!
I threw myself into the teleportation gate.
Evangeline screamed and tried to grab the Dusk Bringer, but at the same time as the light exploded and the Dusk Bringer disappeared beyond the teleport gate…
boom!
Dense darkness spewed out from the other side of the gate, and immediately the passage was forcibly closed.
Evangeline just blinked blankly as she stretched out her hand toward the collapsed magic door.
***
Boom! thud! Kugugugugung…!
In the forest, a duel between two dragons continued.
Ash avoided and destroyed all of Night Bringer’s attacks with incredibly precise movements and did not allow a single hit.
And, using all the means at his disposal, he attacked Night Bringer.
As Ash approached, he swung his fist, and a huge dragon’s fist made of magical power appeared in the air and struck down the Night Bringer’s chin. As he turned his body backwards, a huge magical tail appeared and flew over the Night Bringer’s body like a whip. I hit him.
When Night Bringer tried to counterattack by moving his large body, Ash created dragon wings made of magical power on his back, easily left the area, and said,
“Fuuuu….”
He gathered his breath and went to
school -!
I let out a breath.
A sphere of magic coalesced right in front of the mouth, and from there, a jet of pitch-black light shot out like a laser, emitting a sharp sound.
However, Ash’s expression was not satisfied even though he continued to attack without stopping.
“It’s really so strong…”
It seemed like a one-sided beating, but the problem was Night Bringer’s overwhelming stamina and regenerative power.
Night Bringer took almost no damage from all attacks, and even if it did, it regenerated almost instantly.
Ash clicked his tongue as he watched the breath he fired bounce off the Night Bringer’s scales and scatter around, and the scorched scales recovered to look like new after a while.
Currently, Ash has become a ‘dragon’ by stealing the black dragon’s blood, but his level of existence has increased and his magical output has increased several times or tens of times.
In the first place, it was so weak that it could not even be compared to the original owner of that blood, the Night Bringer.
‘If I had been a little more talented….’
If the eldest brother, Larc, had become a dragon, he would have used the legendary martial arts to fight the evil dragon with his sword, and if the second brother, Fernandez, had become a dragon, he would have fought the evil dragon and the beast with all kinds of mysterious magic and tricks. There must have been a fight.
Ash didn’t have much of a choice. In essence, he had poor talent and ability as a combatant.
But – experience.
The overwhelming depth of karma that only those who have experienced countless regressions and fought without giving up have.
This was Ash’s only weapon that no one else had.
‘I didn’t even expect to be able to take it down with a normal attack.’
Ash bit his lower lip and smiled.
What is the means by which one can kill the remaining evil dragon?
There was no need to worry. There was one thing Ash had been preparing from the beginning.
A means to kill your opponent fairly, no matter how big or small you are, even if you don’t have any sword or magic skills.
The weak’s attack method is optimized for giant-killing…!
‘Poison!’
Ash was a returner who had been through countless episodes. And there was a similar episode before as well.
Even then, Ash had become a dragon, Lark and Fernandez were not by his side, and there was a black dragon in front of him.
At this time, Ash improvised by implanting the ‘essence’ of proliferation and self-destruction into his own blood and then injecting it into the black dragon’s body.
Since Ash and the black dragon’s blood were completely identical in composition, the black dragon’s heart accepted the blood without question… and in the black dragon’s vigorous life force, the blood ‘proliferated’ infinitely and at the same time reached ‘self-destruction’.
In that episode, the black dragon was able to be defeated by administering this conceptual poison. Ash was planning to use the same method this time.
‘So I brought that ‘essence’ in advance as well.’
In Ash’s hand, Everblack – the human guardian beast was held in the form of a staff.
Human instinct is proliferation and self-destruction.
A contradictory race that wants to spread its species and at the same time wants to kill its own species.
From this branch, which had already completed its role as a magic lighthouse, Ash extracted only the essence of the human race and mixed it with the blood droplets on his fingertips.
It was a conceptual magic event so difficult and ridiculous that even the wizards of Crossroads would have frowned upon seeing it. But Ash did it as skillfully as breathing.
‘What I’m bad at is casting large-scale magic, but I’m good at small, detailed things like this…!’
The poison loading has ended. Ash had his signature dangerous smile on his face.
‘He’s still bleeding. Then this poison also works.’
When the black dragon transcends the physical body and becomes completely assimilated with the night, it enters a state of myth. Instead of blood, darkness will flow through its body.
Then, poisoning through blood will not work.
So, they tried to deal with the black dragon before it went north and finished its assimilation with the night, and fortunately, the poison was still barely able to pass through.
‘When blood is still flowing in his body. Inject poison…!’
Flap-!
Ash soared into the sky, spreading his magical dragon wings behind his back.
For a moment, he shouted at Ash, who had stopped high in the sky,
“Huhuhuhu hahahaha-!” good night. “Struggling a little more!”
The Night Bringer unleashed all kinds of attack methods while pouring out a beacon of light.
Feathers, magic sound waves, magical power, and materialized darkness were tangled like a complex spider web and filled the sky.
Without hesitation, Ash plunged into the web-like net.
Going to school-!
Falling from the sky, Ash unleashed black flames on his fingertips, toes, elbows, shoulders – all parts of his body that could emit black flames, like the flames of an airborne thruster.
With the recoil of the flame, it twists and adjusts its body’s trajectory minutely, swimming in the air and falling smoothly. He narrowly avoided all attacks from the Night Bringer.
Ash performed acrobatics and fell right on top of the Night Bringer’s head.
Ash frowned slyly at the Night Bringer, who had a look of genuine admiration on his face.
“I was a dancer well-known in the imperial society.”
Ash then took a stance pulling his bow towards the Night Bringer’s face.
Black magical energy gathered in the air and took the form of a bow and string arrow. The arrowhead area was loaded with blood drops and concept poison that had been extracted a while ago.
What you are aiming for is the eyes.
Not only is it much weaker in defense than other parts, but it is also closer to the brain.
In the previous episode where poison was used, the poison administered through the eye caused death.
The aim was perfect and the poison was powerful. Ash was sure.
This is – got it!
“…?!”
But the next moment.
My vision turned white and I felt dizzy.
For a moment, Ash’s vision became dizzy and he was unable to breathe properly. The aim was disturbed and the arrowhead lost its direction.
‘uh?’
It wasn’t until the next moment that Ash realized.
Before I knew it, nosebleeds were flowing.
‘Why are you suddenly like this?’
After a moment of confusion, Ash suddenly came to his senses and turned the tip of his arrow again, aiming at the Night Bringer’s eyes.
“You can’t do that.”
The Black Dragon was an opponent who couldn’t be given a chance even for a moment.
《You can’t help but look away in front of me.》
Flash!
Newly loaded ancient magic was fired like cannonballs from the left and right sides of the black dragon’s head.
Ash tried to dispel the magic with his eyes as he had done before, but he said,
“…Huh?”
My mind was blank.
I had to construct an inverse arithmetic formula according to the magic the opponent was casting, but nothing came to mind.
at last.
Pubububung! Bubble bubbling!
I was unable to dispel the ancient magic that came my way and was beaten to death.
“Ugh…?!”
The bow and arrow loaded with poison broke, and Ash, covered in blood, fell to the ground.
Kugugoong…!
“Ha ha ha cough!”
Ash, who had fallen right in front of the Night Bringer, urgently tried to get up. But the sense of balance was also good.
The world was spinning. I started vomiting and memories began to mix and blink before my eyes.
Ash thought for a moment while holding his forehead where blood was seeping out.
What was I doing here?
A helpless smile appeared on the lips of Ash, who was spewing blood roughly from his burnt body after being beaten by magic, with his trembling arms on the floor.
“Damn… is that so…”
Ash realized he had misjudged.
He figured he would have at least one day. It was the minimum value determined based on long experience.
Since it had been 12 hours since I woke up, I assumed there would still be at least another 12 hours of respite.
But no.
Only 12 hours –
that was the limit that a soul that was worn out and once broken and put back together could endure, and it had already been exceeded.
Trying to hold on to his ego that was slipping away between his fingers as it collapsed like a sand castle…Ash gritted his teeth and glared straight ahead.
“Why are you doing this, player?”
Night Bringer lowered his long neck and whispered in a somewhat benevolent tone.
《It would be a little disappointing if this was the end of the encore.》
