Crunch!
The poisonous dragon’s jaw twisted, its jagged teeth clashing together. With a rough grinding sound, the dragon let out a low growl.
A twin-headed poisonous dragon. Once subdued by a dozen top-tier heroes decades ago, it was now filled with malice.
Monsters reaching rank three were naturally endowed with intelligence, yet the poisonous dragon had lived purely by primal instinct.
The dragon harbored hostility and murderous intent towards that unpleasant light attempting to purify it.
‘What is that?’
Within that swirl of malice, the leader of the Death Cult, Kyowon, felt perplexed.
Kyowon compensated for his insufficient offerings through his followers and himself. A devoted follower died on the spot, and Kyowon lost his physical form, transferring his consciousness to the dragon’s body.
Time was running out. The dragon’s mind was too powerful for Kyowon to handle. Although blessed by the gods, he could only mildly guide and manipulate its actions.
Eventually, his consciousness melded with the monster’s body. This incomplete link was bound to collapse soon.
He had been devouring humans and monsters alike, feeding on sacrifices to prolong his time, but destruction was inevitable.
Kyowon didn’t care. In fact, he felt a sense of ecstasy.
Through the blessing of the deity, he achieved a kind of spiritual integration. In that moment, he felt as if he were one with the gods.
Thanks to that, he could faintly sense the divine will. It felt overwhelming, as though his soul might be crushed, yet he could certainly feel it.
‘Hostility.’
As the sun set, a subtle hue enveloped the dark land and sky.
The world, once drenched in dark and damp green, suddenly brightened.
The source was high in the sky.
Three pairs of dazzling wings fluttered.
With each flap, an aurora-like afterimage was etched into the dry sky.
A beautiful aurora unfolded in the heavens.
Even Kyowon might have thought those wings were beautiful, but the divine presence held hostility.
‘Hostility?’
Was it truly hostility? Kyowon momentarily pondered.
The deity harbored hostility towards those wings. It wanted to rip them apart, to ensure they would never dare to fly again, to uproot them entirely so they could never encroach upon the skies.
And then…
‘Die—’
– Saaaaaaaaa—!
Kyowon’s consciousness began to fade.
Instead, the awareness of the poisonous dragon surged to the surface. The dragon didn’t hide its hostility. With a ferocious roar, it unleashed its venom.
A vast amount of magical power coated its mouth.
The dragon’s magic was not just poisonous. It possessed immense power befitting its rank.
Simply releasing its magical energy would overturn the surroundings, becoming an attack that spread powerful toxins.
This kind of magical emission was a primary means of attack for large monsters.
The dragon opened its jaws. This was an attack meant for destruction, not through poisoning.
– KWAaaaaa!
Enormous magical energy burst forth.
A jet of dark green light pierced the air.
The magical beam shot straight toward Lee Ha-yul, whose wings were spread wide.
Lee Ha-yul flapped his wings.
Zzzt! Sparks erupted.
In the poisonous dragon’s vision, it seemed like the tail of lightning was visible, but the head was nowhere to be seen.
In an instant, the target vanished.
The missed magical beam pierced the air, drawing a path in the ground that ultimately exploded. A mound of half-melted earth shot up.
Following its senses, the dragon quickly turned its head.
The scenery shifted, and soon it observed wings, now predominantly yellow and light green.
Confusion flickered in the dragon’s mind. Such speed? It was hardly something it couldn’t perceive.
Whooooosh! Suddenly, a fierce gale swept in. The storm that had been unleashed from the front wiped away some of the toxic scales.
The toxins were stripped away, revealing the scarred scales on its head.
Zzzt! Lightning crackled around the wings.
Lee Ha-yul accelerated. He clenched his right fist.
Golden light flickered from his tightly clenched fist.
‘Homogenization, White Night.’
– Kwanng!!
The poisonous dragon’s head jerked back violently. The magical protection covering it shattered. Fragments of broken scales scattered, and more blood and venom gushed forth than before.
A second White Night attack followed.
Intuition screamed warnings.
Lee Ha-yul immediately flapped his wings. The elemental spirit of lightning within his wings stirred. With a spark, he accelerated.
Just moments ago, the dragon’s tail whipped like a whip.
Crack! The air and ground were violently shattered along the tail’s trajectory.
As Lee Ha-yul widened the distance, he narrowed his eyes and fluttered his wings.
Even a slight brush of the dragon’s tail was enough to cause decay.
Before the poison could seep into his body, he swiftly severed that part and poured magical energy into restoration.
Though he expected it, he felt pain.
It was like his skin was being slashed by a dagger, and the tender flesh inside was being scorched by a branding iron.
The wings of the heavens were artifacts.
Even if they tore apart, it shouldn’t cause pain, but in this ‘connected’ state, some sensation could transfer.
Currently, Lee Ha-yul was intertwined with the heavenly wing feathers.
He had conceived the method for some time, but it was his first attempt this time.
Before, he had been unable to attempt it. He couldn’t grasp how to achieve the connection.
Just before, he had figured it out. He distinctly observed the process of the Guardian’s proof and the connection of circuits.
He only needed to replicate that. He connected his circuit to the heavenly wing feathers.
– Saaaaaaa!
The dragon roared in rage.
Blood dripped profusely from its head wound. The dragon’s throat let out a deep rumble as it summoned magical energy.
Thicker magical power enveloped its scales once more.
Venom oozed from between the scales, clinging to its entire body.
Lee Ha-yul frowned.
What he had just cleaned off was once again covered in armor of magic and poison.
He intended to strike while there was an opening, but opportunities were nonexistent.
‘It’s faster than before.’
Was the dragon hindering its own strength? Its movements continued to accelerate.
Just moments ago, the tail whip had almost grazed him.
‘Should I blow it away with wind again?’
Since he had shown it once, there was a possibility it would anticipate him next time.
He needed to be cautious.
While the dragon could withstand several hits, he would be finished with just one wrong brush.
Whoosh! He flapped his wings. The colors of his wings returned to the radiant spectrum.
The unfamiliar level of acceleration weighed heavily on his body. He couldn’t overuse the speed granted by the elemental spirit of lightning.
Moreover, his body felt light-headed. It was as if he were getting a cramp.
‘Tch.’
He unleashed a fierce gale. The dragon’s toxic scales were blown away, and the nearby poisonous gas dispersed.
Then, before the toxins could fill back up, he charged in and struck.
Even so, he was poisoned. A minute amount of toxin? Or perhaps it was the remnants of the poison that had been blown away only to refill?
Either way, he was affected by a very minor amount.
He could treat it.
It wasn’t lethal.
‘Close combat is not ideal.’
However, poison was always lurking around the poison dragon.
If he approached too closely and got splattered, he would undoubtedly perish.
Not to mention, lingering around would allow toxins to accumulate, inflicting deadly harm.
‘Range…’
He flapped his wings. With the auroras trailing behind, the red and yellow feathers soared forward.
He manifested spell magic. He poured magical energy into an attack spell that could be easily fired off, then unleashed it all at once.
The wing feathers sliced through the air viciously, while dozens of magical spells pummeled the dragon’s body.
Explosions erupted.
Fire spread over the venom, and lightning illuminated the dragon’s body.
– Chiiiii…
There were no significant wounds. Both fire and lightning were absorbed into the dragon’s venom.
Dozens of attack spells could not penetrate the magical barrier enveloping its body.
The dragon advanced to close the distance with its massive form.
It moved rapidly, not slow at all.
Simultaneously, its jaws opened.
In a retaliatory fashion, those wide jaws unleashed magical beams in quick succession.
He propelled himself backward while launching counter-attacks.
Hundreds of wing feathers and spells poured forth.
In air, the attacks clashed. Although there were many on his side, their power was significantly lacking.
He tracked the trajectories. An overwhelming amount of information swirled around.
Trajectories were easily predictable.
He aligned his movements according to the trajectories. Ignoring attacks that wouldn’t hit in the first place.
Potentially dangerous attacks were bent slightly off course.
Those he couldn’t evade simply required a slight shift of his body.
The spirit of wind orchestrated the overall movements while the spirit of lightning was responsible for instant bursts of speed.
Like an acrobatic flight, he weaved through throngs of incoming attacks.
Three pairs of wings fluttered. Behind them trailed a cascade of auroral light.
It was a beautiful scene, akin to a dance, and the poisonous dragon’s momentum became even more deadly.
– Saaaaaa…!
The distance shrank.
For some reason, it was difficult to maintain a comfortable distance from the enhanced poisonous dragon.
Unless he accelerated through the lightning spirit, the gap would continue to close.
‘And if it widens too much, that will be problematic as well.’
Lee Ha-yul reached out. The air rippled as his hand sunk into it.
A space pocket. A kind of storage created by applying space authority.
This was the first technique he implemented with the authority of space; he had quite a collection within.
His hand emerged from the space pocket, holding a bow.
A sturdy, colorless body without any decoration.
It was a large bow, perhaps two or three times Lee Ha-yul’s size.
It wasn’t a special artifact. Just a well-crafted, durable bow.
While flying, he grabbed the bow with his left hand and pulled the string with his right.
Creek… After a long time, the sound echoed as a magical arrow was nocked to the string.
An arrow formed and fed on magical energy.
It used to be blue, but now it was white.
The quality of the magical energy was high enough to ensure it was powerful, but it wouldn’t deal sufficient damage to the poisonous dragon.
‘Homogenization, Gop-hwa.’
Whoosh! The shape of the arrow collapsed. From his right hand, the flickering Gop-hwa repeatedly formed the arrow.
An attack he had carelessly launched at the Tower of Growth.
At that time, the situation was chaotic, and he had just released it randomly, but now he could put in additional steps.
He continuously invoked Gop-hwa.
It was different from before. The quality of the magical energy he used as fuel, his capability to manipulate it, and his fundamental understanding of Gop-hwa had all improved.
He didn’t hesitate, urging the magic to consume everything and ramping up its intensity.
He enveloped it in fierce energy. The once white energy turned red due to the influence of Gop-hwa.
Flapping his wings, he began pouring feathers forth.
Red and light green feathers latched onto the Gop-hwa.
New flames served as both fuel and power source, and the wind augmented the intensity of the flames.
Magical and elemental arts contributed to enhance its might.
– Saaaaaaah!
The dragon roared. It ceased its random attacks and amassed colossal magical power.
Its tightly closed jaws puffed out significantly, as if it were storing something inside.
It was a prelude to the magical beam like before.
Yet this time, the magnitude was incomparable.
The ground around it trembled. The air was being sucked into its jaws.
The distance had narrowed considerably.
If fired from this distance, it would be impossible to evade.
Facing it, Lee Ha-yul observed his left arm… his mechanical arm.
The Guardian’s proof. Synchronization was complete. As that moment occurred, a certain piece of information became etched into his mind.
Having made his decision, Lee Ha-yul didn’t flee but pulled the bowstring even tighter.
The bow which couldn’t fully contain Gop-hwa began to gradually melt away.
Prior to that, the dragon’s jaws opened wide.
In an instant, the world sparkled. The dreary colors splashed across the sky. A magical beam, as thick as a skyscraper, surged forth.
There was no sound. Instead, the trajectories ripped through the air, shattering the ground and anything else in their path.
It was certain that the raw power would leave no trace of a corpse before determining poisoning.
Facing this, Lee Ha-yul didn’t release the taut bowstring.
‘Catalyst activation, space.’
Just as before.
Ripples emerged in the space.
The air trembled as if a stone was tossed into a lake.
A creaking noise echoed.
A sound that could never be heard by normal ears, resonated with the shifting of space.
Immediately afterward, a wall of space stood erect before Lee Ha-yul.
– KWAgaGAGAGAGAK!
Right in front of him, the magical beam was halted.
It could not penetrate.
The dark green light failed to pierce the spatial wall and curved around it into a circular shape along the surface.
To breach that wall of space, the dragon intensified its magical beam’s output, but it couldn’t break through that barrier.
Despite being a monster, maintaining such output of a magical beam was beyond its capability.
Gradually, the intensity of its beam began to wane.
The attack had failed.
What followed was always the opponent’s counterattack.
Withdrawing the barrier, he crouched and enveloped himself with his wings.
At that point, he finally released the tension on the bowstring. The string, trembling as though ready to snap, twanged.
The arrow was released.
The gust of wind surged like a storm, battering against his wings.
A red streak was drawn.
The magical beam was already sufficiently weakened and could not block the arrow.
The red arrow pierced right through the center of the dark green magical beam.
The poisonous dragon opened its eyes wide. Its own attack was cut through, and the fire arrow surged forth.
Faster than the dragon’s response, the arrow struck its head.
– Kwanaaah—!
The arrow carrying Gop-hwa exploded.
The dark night sky was dyed red.
Fiery storms raged across the world.
A heatwave surged, searing the skin.
…
After a moment, he spread his wings wide, releasing the grip that had surrounded him.
Lee Ha-yul glanced around.
The ground beneath, drenched in red flames, bubbled ominously.
All the dragon’s venom had evaporated.
Where the flames did not cling, the charred earth lay exposed.
The sky was also red. The poisonous gas had presumably been blown away, swirling into a fiery tempest.
But Lee Ha-yul’s expression didn’t brighten.
In fact, it contorted in disgust.
At the site of the explosive fire.
A coiled serpent emerged. Its scales heavily charred, ash swirling about, and the still smoldering Gop-hwa was gnawing at the surface of the poisonous dragon.
Soon, the head that had been stuck in the coil lifted.
The fierce, fiery gaze of the poisonous dragon gleamed.
“Geez…”
Lee Ha-yul swallowed a curse and began to strategize.
White Night. If struck in succession, he could break its head. But with multiple uses, the chance of him being poisoned first was extremely high.
Gop-hwa. Continuously roasting it could kill, but it would increase the damage caused by the raging spirit.
Alternative methods… There were many. If he used them all, he could toy with the dragon while buying time.
‘No.’
He may have told Ji-yeon he would flee, but Lee Ha-yul had no intention of running.
He wanted to kill the twin-headed dragon before greater damage could occur.
But the magical techniques he had at his disposal could not output more than this.
‘…Taesan.’
He didn’t have it yet.
However, he could meet the necessary conditions for the technique.
Taesan, which Ji-yeon had manifested.
He had accumulated some information. Mimicking the unique abilities of the three great families was quite tricky, but not impossible.
If he could replicate Taesan, there would be a possibility.
The three-circle spellset.
Gop-hwa, Changhae, Taesan; all three were handled in the same round.
Though it possessed the initial round’s unique instability, its output could rival that of the later rounds.
With all three, he could deliver a killing blow to the twin-headed poisonous dragon without leaving any chance for survival.
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