────?!!
‘What…?’
The Seven-headed Dragon is clearly telling Jo Gi-man and the First Clone to fight.
He’s telling them to kill each other and seize the reward.
“Wh-what… what kind of nonsensical bullshit is that!!!”
Jo Gi-man shouted with bloodshot eyes.
But the Seven-headed Dragon had already summoned an ornate sofa, sitting there with a teacup taken from the space.
Gulp-
“Shall we make a bet?”
“Not particularly.”
“Just guess who will win. No conditions.”
After gulping down his tea, the Seven-headed Dragon said that while looking at me.
“Bet on Jo Gi-man.”
“That’s probably safe.”
What’s the difference anyway?
A clone created by Jo Gi-man couldn’t possibly surpass the main body…
At that moment, artifacts like necklaces and rings were released from Jo Gi-man’s body and flew towards the Seven-headed Dragon.
“AAAAAAAH!! What the hell are you doing!!”
Jo Gi-man screamed as if he were having a fit, and the Seven-headed Dragon looked at him nonchalantly and said,
“I like to think I’m surprisingly fair.”
“Shut up!! Don’t talk nonsense!!”
‘Ah- to fight without my gear… and the Seven-headed Dragon is already weakened. The injuries I caused him haven’t fully healed yet. I don’t know how this will go.’
So right now, Jo Gi-man had to fight against his First Clone in a state that’s not even half-power.
“Guhh… tsk!”
Jo Gi-man no longer expressed dissatisfaction with the Seven-headed Dragon.
Having been together for a long time, he probably thought it was useless to say anything since he knew the Seven-headed Dragon’s personality better than anyone.
“Kneel. Right now.”
Jo Gi-man said to his clone.
“Do it yourself.”
“…. Fuck off.”
But the clone unabashedly raised its middle finger.
Instead, it smirked and pulled out a dagger from its robe.
“What?! This crazy bastard?”
Veins bulged on Jo Gi-man’s forehead, as if they were about to burst.
There’s no greater insubordination than this.
If Ainz or Zweihander ever defied me like that, how would I feel?
‘I would be stunned. I would be angry. I would be excited.’
Whatever it was, it’s not a good state when fighting.
Anticipation became reality.
Creeeeak──!!
BANG!!
An unexpected draw.
The clone was countering all of Jo Gi-man’s patterns, but at each moment, Jo Gi-man showed signs of surprise at the clone’s unpredictable movements.
‘Is it the difference in mental preparedness…?’
The clone had clearly been preparing its movements to strike the main body for quite some time.
Did Jo Gi-man give his clone too much freedom?
‘Something to think about…’
“Hahahaha!!”
“Heeek!!”
Jo Gi-man, who was absolutely on the defensive, despite being superior in power, seemed shaken mentally, maintaining a standoff for a while.
But from the middle of the fight, he began to take the lead again due to a decisive difference.
CRACK! CREEEEK───!!
‘The level of the Lightning Strike is different. Everything else isn’t that different, but that skill in particular stands out. Why is that?’
I recalled memories from my past life.
Jo Gi-man had expressed affection for [Lightning Strike] several times.
“It’s my perfect creation.”
Back then, I just thought he had an unusual fondness for his skill. But thinking back on it now, it might have been one of the few original skills he’d implemented.
‘So, that’s why the difference with the clone is so pronounced.’
And how many minutes had passed?
“JEENZAAANG…!!”
The First Clone, grabbed by Jo Gi-man, was floating in midair.
“Gahh- Gahh- You little shit! How dare you betray me!!”
The contest seemed to conclude with Jo Gi-man’s victory.
“From today onwards, I’ll take care of all the clones! Absorbing the power of the clones should be enough to fill in what you see as lacking! So-”
Jo Gi-man was appealing to the Seven-headed Dragon.
He promised not to disappoint again. That he’d do better.
Despite the bravado, the content itself was pitifully cowardly.
But when the Seven-headed Dragon pretended not to notice and groomed his nails instead, Jo Gi-man began to lower his posture even more.
‘He’s not even paying attention.’
That meant this moment was critical for Jo Gi-man.
[Blink]
Fwoosh───!!
“GUH?! Cough…?!”
Honestly, isn’t this infuriating?
The person who utterly changed my life is acting like I don’t even matter.
“I feel like I’ve done my part to keep an eye on you at this point.”
The ‘Cheongwol’ that pierced Jo Gi-man’s heart emerged, soaked in blood, and surfaced to smell the outside air again.
“I imagined so many times how I’d defeat you in a fair fight. But isn’t it ridiculous not to kill you when I could? I think it’s fine to do that to a monster like you.”
I pulled out ‘Cheongwol,’ which had pierced his heart, quickly binding him before mercilessly carving him up.
[Flame Cut]
[Flame Cut]
[Flame Cut]
With each time I sliced into him, one more Flame Mark was added.
Thorns surged from his entire body, piercing him hundreds of times.
[Flame Explosion]
BOOM───!!
By the time I had completed the third flame explosion, Jo Gi-man was already sending me a pleading gaze of mercy, having lost the will to counterattack.
It’s common for an opponent facing death to send such a look, but this time, I felt no sympathy at all.
“When you gouged out my eyes, what did you get out of it? How did Yeon-su fare?”
“What the fuck… Guh! S-save me…”
Did he sense death was closing in?
In the end, Jo Gi-man showed me his ugly side, begging for his life.
The yellow liquid dripping from his lower body wafted a reeking smell.
His body trembled like a puppy shivering in the cold, giving me immense satisfaction.
Yet this bastard does not die.
I began to come up with a perfect way to kill this monstrosity.
I laid out precautionary measures just in case.
‘I must summon a great being…’
If I set off two more Flame Explosions, a colossal existence far beyond estimation would descend.
Just a little more— hurry!
“··· Kya? Kyaahahahaha!!”
But the laughter of the Seven-headed Dragon warned me.
Not to go any further.
“No way, you’re going to sneak up on me? You cowardly bastard! I really didn’t see that coming! This is a path I’ve never seen before in this world! Hahaha!!”
It was the Seven-headed Dragon who bound my arm.
The one who had just been observing from a distance threw me out from there.
Whoosh—
I lightly landed on the ground, regaining my balance.
“That’s not happening. I’ve already invested way too much.”
With one of his heads blown off and brain matter spilling out, and his chest cavity wide open with flames bubbling up, Jo Gi-man still seemed to be a card the Seven-headed Dragon needed to protect.
“That’s enough. Eat.”
At the Seven-headed Dragon’s command, Jo Gi-man’s First Clone rapidly began to crawl on the ground in a low posture.
Its target was Jo Gi-man, who lay collapsed, glaring at me.
I didn’t understand.
“Don’t try to comprehend. This is just for fun.”
The Seven-headed Dragon spoke as if he could read my mind.
Mind reading? I wouldn’t be surprised if he had such abilities, but considering he’d observed the world for ages with a puppet like Jo Gi-man, perhaps just looking into his eyes meant he could read thoughts.
“Fun… amusement…”
“Right. In fact, Jo Gi-man here was quite an interesting fellow. Just look at that. His own created clone is diligently crawling to consume its original body. Creating a being with such a sense of self is impossible without a significant desire.”
‘That’s true. Even Gori absolutely obeys my orders. The ‘Traces’ are a bit different, but in a broader sense, they aren’t independent beings either.’
“But this is it. His greed got the better of him. Before long, he became more faithful to his own desires than my commands. Disgraceful… But his vessel is still remarkable. He’s the only one in this world capable of accepting my power. That’s why I was prepared. Luckily, there’s this excellent imitation here as well.”
– I will never betray the evil god… Gahh- Gahh-
While diligently crawling, the clone flinched and gave a servile smile to the Seven-headed Dragon.
‘I see… But you won’t get your way, Seven-headed Dragon.’
“Eh?!”
The Seven-headed Dragon realized something was off, but it was already after the incident had occurred.
A tremendous explosion erupted, engulfing Jo Gi-man and his nearby clones.
‘Did you think I would just be swinging a sword?’
In the moment I engraved the Flame Mark, I had laid five hundred [Skeleton Bombs] hidden in stealth on the ground.
But not just any skeleton bombs.
These were top-class bombs made using the bones of the highest-grade monsters I had ever defeated.
When a staggering five hundred of them detonated simultaneously, it would create a mega bomb far surpassing the power of a flame explosion.
KABOOM───!!
Taking advantage of the chain explosions, I finally escaped the ‘Void Space’ I had struggled to keep up until now.
At that fleeting moment, I locked eyes with the monster known as Jo Gi-man, whose body was exploding from the bomb.
(Save… me… just once…)
Jo Gi-man was pleading with me like that.
All this time, I had imagined countless ways to kill that trash, but this ending was not something I had thought of at all.
I wanted to make it more painful, more brutal, to let him howl with isolation and loneliness and regret for the long years.
‘If everything goes as planned, then is that what life is?’
I activated [Mimesis] once more, returning to the form of Yoon Han-gyeol.
– ?!!
The only remaining eye of Jo Gi-man widened in shock.
“Go to hell.”
(Y-you, Yoon… Han…?! Guhh…)
His final words, a moan laced with pain, were Jo Gi-man’s last utterance.
The upper half of the clone, with just one arm left, was biting Jo Gi-man’s leg.
The Seven-headed Dragon still mocked him.
Blood flowed from Jo Gi-man’s eyes as he was cast aside by both his creator and his creation.
– You have defeated the Evil God’s Incarnation!
‘───?!!’
I defeated the incarnation.
Jo Gi-man…
‘I killed him… I finally killed Jo Gi-man… I, I did it! I did it!!’
– Achievement [Evil Hunter] has been triggered!
– All Attributes increase by 30!
– You have gained achievement [Beginner Dragon Slayer].
– The presence of Dragon Lord recognizes you!
[Beginner Dragon Slayer]
– Damage dealt to dragon-type enemies increases by 30%, and damage received decreases by 15%.
– You have defeated your opponent at an extremely early stage!
– Experience points massively increase!
– Level up!
– Level up!
– Level up!
– All attributes increase by 100!
– A new possibility unfolds as you defeat your opponent.
– Trait [Thievery] reaches a new level!
[Thievery Lv.Max]
– Randomly steal skills and traits upon defeating a monster for the first time.
– Randomly steal skills and traits upon defeating a seeker.
Countless messages flooded my mind, but instinctively, I threw myself towards Jo Gi-man.
[Resurrection’s Drink]
Regardless of the ties of fate, I couldn’t let this golden opportunity of having someone like Jo Gi-man under my command slip away.
But.
– The Evil God resists the theft of the creature!
– The Evil God resists the theft of the creature!
‘Fucking hell!’
Whatever the Seven-headed Dragon had done, it blocked the activation of my skill.
– Activation of [Resurrection’s Drink] has failed!
– Calculating alternative compensation…
– The Evil God can no longer resist!
– The irrational resistance of the Evil God is reflected.
– Trait [Thievery] activates again!
– You have acquired Skill [Lightning Strike]!
– You have acquired Skill [Thunderstorm Barrier]!
– You have acquired Trait [Descendant of the Thunder God]!
– You have acquired Trait [Return of the Dead]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] has been triggered…
Messages continued to pop up endlessly.
Chills ran down my spine─
While I was escaping the space at the edge of the dimensional corridor, I sensed a chilling gaze from behind and quickly threw myself forward.
Zziiiiing───
I could see my position getting cleanly sliced as if a laser was fired, and cold sweat poured down like rain.
The Seven-headed Dragon had only flicked his finger, but the ground cracked as if an earthquake had hit.
‘Ah, Mimesis.’
I quickly returned to my original state of Flame Armor and ran without looking back.
Fortunately, the Seven-headed Dragon did not chase after me.
“Phew… It’s a shame I couldn’t save Jo Gi-man, but it might be better than obtaining a one-time skeleton.”
Lightning Strike and Thunderstorm Barrier are undoubtedly the ultimate attacks in lightning property.
Along with [Descendant of the Thunder God] that vastly reduces lightning property damage by over 95%, and [Return of the Dead] that allows for the acquisition of three random abilities upon resurrecting, they ranked among the highest skills I possessed.
Especially, [Return of the Dead] was almost made for me as a trait.
But I definitely thought I was fleeing, and before I knew it, I was back in the same spot.
‘Spatial movement?!’
“Where are you in such a hurry?”
The Seven-headed Dragon’s arm swelled up, transforming into a dragon form, indicating that he was very angry right now.
Still, he didn’t attack me because it meant he had something to gain from me.
“You should hand over the fragments before you go, right?”
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