Chapter: 465
Kwaaaaah-!
A massive mouth gapes wide and charges at me.
Kuuung-!
It crashes into the wall, shattering it completely.
I barely managed to escape, dragging my flailing arms.
Because I was underwater, moving was quite inconvenient.
Tsk…
I clicked my tongue and frowned.
It’s a problem that my body is wrecked, but there’s something else that’s a bigger problem at hand.
[Hand it over to me quietly!]
Every word it shouted echoed persistently in my mind.
Is it directly attacking my psyche?
Ugh, this is so annoying.
Not only is the physical aspect troublesome, but the mental part is a huge pain as well.
What the heck is this guy?
Given how many bizarre things he usually had hanging off him, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had even more up his sleeve.
But it appeared so abruptly, I couldn’t help but wonder.
A snake-like monster with blue scales.
It had an enormous size, and its sharp fangs were quite the sight.
What a ridiculous appearance it had.
So infuriatingly arrogant, it was almost nauseating.
Yet, for some reason, I sensed a familiar energy coming from this guy.
Hisss-!
“…!”
I raised both arms at the sensation coming from my left.
Kuung-!
As soon as I lifted my arm, it seemed like it had been waiting for that moment to launch its attack.
“Gah!”
I felt a heavy weight slam onto my arm. It attacked me with its tail.
The impact sent my body hurtling away.
Kwaaak-!
The pain was so intense, it made me wonder if it was even right to be underwater.
I was pushed and flew, smacking into the wall.
Damn, it’s powerful, indeed.
This was so ridiculous it prompted a nervous laugh.
No matter how you looked at it, the situation was dire.
How on earth did it come to this?
One of my arms is mangled, and my bets aren’t working right.
Is it because the bowl is broken? That could be a possibility.
It’s not quite like I’m an ordinary person, yet I’m trapped in a situation where I can’t show a hint of my original abilities.
To face something like that in this state?
This is bullsht.*
It was beyond absurd.
I twisted my body.
Dduudduuk-!
The monster’s claws sank into the spot where I had been standing.
I tried to distance myself somehow, but it wasn’t easy.
My arm felt numb. Is it cracked?
Doesn’t seem that serious, though.
Without being able to use my defensive techniques, I found my defense lacking.
It was too risky to block, so I absolutely had to evade.
Kwaaak-!
That, too, was impossible. My battered body flailed helplessly.
Ugh.
The shock rattled my insides.
I barely protected my head, but my already injured arm got twisted again.
Damn, this really hurts like hell.
With the pain making a mess of my thoughts, I tried to regain control of my mind and body.
Bam-!
The monster’s arm quickly dove in, seized me, and pinned me down to the ground.
Kuuung-!
Once again, shockwaves rocked the surroundings.
The impact sent bubbles swirling upward, and I bit my lip as I felt my bones creak.
[Insignificant creature.]
[I have shown you mercy as your noble superior, yet you still don’t know your place.]
[Did you think you could actually win? You’re merely a fleeting mortal!]
“Ugh, could you please talk like a normal being?”
My ears were itching so much it was driving me insane.
Thud! I tried to twist my way out, thinking of breaking free, but the force pinning me showed no signs of relenting.
[Stop your childish antics. There’s no hope for you. So just surrender to me…]
“You want my body?”
[Yes.]
The corners of my mouth lifted as I heard that.
This was already the second time I’d heard this speech.
“You think you’re great and mighty, so hand over your body, and you’ll find peace.
Since there’s no way to win anyway, just hand it over willingly!”
The more I heard it, the more questions bubbled up in my mind.
“So, why do you keep asking for it?”
[I said this again…]
“Why not just take it from me, you little brat?”
…
At my words, the creature froze for a moment.
I couldn’t help but smirk at that.
I’m no fool; it’s something I could figure out right after facing off against this creature.
I can’t beat this monster with this current state of affairs.
This was evident just from looking at my current predicament.
Even the bastard lurking to eat me would know this.
But…
“Why do you keep begging?!”
With my persistent inquiries about handing it over, I started to feel like I grasped something.
I shot a look directly into its remaining functional eye and asked, “You can’t just steal it, can you?”
[Krrrrrr…]
“I’m the one who should be giving it to you, right?”
No answer came.
Just a low, melancholy sound filled the air.
But that was sufficient.
The overwhelming disparity was evident, and it seemed like he wanted my body.
All he could do was threaten me to hand it over, but he couldn’t take it by force.
Moreover, considering how he seemed to be subtly regulating his own strength to avoid accidentally killing me, it was clear.
“You can’t kill me, and you can’t take me away. Am I right?”
He was clearly in a situation where he couldn’t just do whatever he wanted to me.
Is it a matter of certainty? Not exactly.
But I was gradually transitioning into that state of confidence.
That was precisely reflected in his reactions.
His face contorted into a horrific grimace. His breathing became labored and frantic.
Yet, the fact that he didn’t go after me afterward was telling.
He couldn’t do a thing to me.
Which meant he had no substantial means aside from mentally coercing me into surrendering.
Naturally, even that could mean he had some backstory to it.
But why?
There had to be a reason he would need to do that.
And could this odd change stem from our little back-and-forth conversation?
I felt a slight loosening of the pressure that had been bearing down on me.
I shifted my body ever so slightly. It was impossible to completely escape, but I managed to pull my hand out a little.
Now the next question was, what do I do now?
‘… I get the issue, but.’
I understood what his predicament was, but that didn’t give me any tools to shatter this situation.
In the end, it would be up to me to deal with him.
How?
Do you expect me to have an answer for that?
If I did, would I be sitting here like this?
I had merely gained a modicum of confidence that I wouldn’t die.
But I had to keep cracking my brain over how to get through this situation.
At this rate, I didn’t think brute force would do the trick.
I wished I could at least play a gamble.
But the hollow feeling inside made even that impossible.
Great, just great.
It’s a total mess.
As I was twisting my body around while reflecting on that, my fingertips unexpectedly brushed against the monster’s body.
And then…
Woof-!
“…!”
[…Krrrrr!]
I felt something penetrate my being.
Simultaneously, the creature holding me swung its arm and flung me away like a ragdoll.
Phew!
I soared through the water.
Though it was the same situation as before, this time I wasn’t smacking into the wall.
Thunk.
I twisted my body to gently come to a stop against the wall.
Immediately afterward, I checked the condition of my body.
‘… Is my energy returning?’
Then I sensed a tiny bit of vitality returning, which I hadn’t felt until now.
I couldn’t help but let out a faint smile at that.
“Ah, so that’s what it was.”
[Krrrrrr…!]
My body might be in shambles and my spirit crawling at my feet, but aside from that, I felt a slight sense of relief at last.
Feeling a trickle of energy returning to my body, I looked over at him.
For someone I was seeing for the first time, why was he feeling so familiar?
“I did something, and it turned out to be you.”
I think I figured out who this guy is.
That guy.
“Blood energy.”
It was indeed blood.
The energy flooding from him was definitely blood, and the familiar presence emanating from him was that as well.
I have no idea why he sports such an appearance.
[Krrrrrrr-]
But it was clear that the bastard’s true identity was that of blood.
I said this while observing the growling creature with his face contorted in rage.
“You were quietly sleeping as if dead—why the sudden outburst now?”
The energy planted in my body was none other than by the Blood Demon.
When used, it exhibits absurd effects, but the backlash felt in my body afterward is immense.
From the get-go, I tried to avoid using it since it was energy granted by the Blood Demon.
Yet I was baffled as to why that power, buried deep within me, decided to rise up all of a sudden.
“Who the hell are you?”
[Don’t get it twisted.]
“What?”
[Because I was present, you got the chance to shed your skin. That body rightfully belongs to me.]
His claims made me frown in disbelief.
You’re saying you got an escape opportunity because of that guy?
‘Desensitization?’
What in the world could that even mean? The Blood Demon had used the same phrase with me too.
It appeared relevant to dying as a human.
What will happen if I go ahead with this shedding?
‘Is it supposed to turn me into a higher being?’
Would I become something immensely superior to what those humans typically are?
The phrase “higher being” felt unsettling by itself.
Maybe it was because I was continuously furrowing my brow. The creature seemed displeased and began directing its comments my way.
[You are not fit to become a dragon. You pathetic being.]
Dragon.
The term spat out by the Blood resonated loudly in my head.
‘If we’re speaking about dragons…’
Upon hearing that, the image of the creature flashed back into focus.
A long, snake-like body with limbs, a mouth that appears to be torn apart along with menacing fangs.
There’s that massive frame.
I thought I understood it to a degree, but now it seemed pretty darn similar to the dragons that until now were only discussed in legends.
And that makes it all the stranger.
Because when the current day speaks about dragons in the Central Plains—
‘They’re all hundred-level monsters!’
It referred to the ranks of white monsters that broke through the White Magic Gate.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.