146 – Abyss – 1

The evil dragon was indeed a being beyond their reach.

At a single flap of its wings, the atmosphere tore with a roar, as if hit by grand magic.

At a single scale that fell, the earth melted as if tens of thousands of liters of acid had been poured over it.

The mana in the area turned into a deadly poison to humans upon contact, due to the curse spreading through its breath.

―Kuaaaaaaaakh!

That was to say, it was by no means—by no means an enemy that should have been suppressed by tentacles hundreds of meters thick filling the sky, unable to even properly resist before being torn apart like paper.

An existence capable of such a feat, even considering Gi-jun’s narrow experience, would not be easily found on this continent.

If so, the answer was simple.

That existence had come from the outside.

“A-Ah……”

“……Biche.”

Gi-jun always checked the messages sent by Biche as quickly as possible, no matter what.

Since she had already experienced Leta for a long time, the casual remarks she tossed out were often of great help, and even if they weren’t, just looking at her messages was a great source of energy for Gi-jun.

Thus, when Biche sent him an annoyed message earlier complaining about having to pay taxes, he had smiled a little, and when she suddenly started praising him, he had tilted his head in confusion.

However, only now at this very moment, as she descended as the ‘Demon King’ in the skies of Valahia—a place where absolutely no one could enter.

Gi-jun could finally realize why Biche had sent him such messages.

‘Fairy damage compensation. The fine paid by the fairies of the Fairygarden civilization—I was supposed to receive half of the additional 30% of this year’s taxes!’

After making the choice to send it straight to Biche, he had soon erased that fact from his mind, which was why he had forgotten about its existence until now.

However, as this year’s taxes were settled, the compensation was naturally calculated and distributed—and upon receiving it, Biche, whose costs were originally thought to be far short, had them met immediately, allowing her to descend directly into Leta!

“Th-That is……”

Patum, who was about to make a reckless charge toward the evil dragon while mounted on his wyvern, spoke in disbelief as he saw the giant black tentacles descending from the sky rip the evil dragon’s body to shreds.

“That is not the power of Leta. Was even the evil dragon merely a medium to summon that existence……?”

“No, she is my master. She came to help me.”

At Gi-jun’s immediate reply, Patum wore an expression of disbelief.

“How did you meet her?”

“In the tutorial. She was the ‘examiner’.”

Of course, she had never displayed such a terrifying ability in the tutorial, but—

After the tutorial ended, as she trained Gi-jun for ten years.

Once when she first lectured him on transformation-type skills, and once when they had their final spar.

She had shown glimpses of that dreadful ability.

He had thought it was terrifying just from those glimpses, but he had never imagined she could push back an Epic-rank enemy declared by the system like this.

“This is not a situation to be joking around.”

If even Gi-jun was in such a state, how could Patum believe it? He shook his head with a bizarre expression.

“That is a calamity. I cannot even comprehend how such a thing could hide its power and stay in the tutorial, yet you took it as your master?”

“Patum, she has a clear personality and is close to me, so I wish you would stop calling her ‘it’. You can tell by watching her actions, can’t you?”

Amidst the two calamities running wild, Gi-jun and Patum were the only ones who could at least speak.

The others were stiffened by the overwhelming majesty unleashed when the evil dragon was born, unable to even open their mouths, and on top of that, Biche’s appearance had intensified the debuff further.

Particularly, as for the ability Biche wielded—Gi-jun felt his body clock, which had activated from the moment the evil dragon appeared, spinning even faster just by observing her power.

Even his unique ability that ignored all status effects felt a burden in accepting it.

Ultimately, he would succeed in resisting, but it was unavoidable that the process would be long and somewhat painful.

“……Forgive me for not being able to believe whatever you say right now. But what is clear is that it is meaningless for us to act rashly at this moment.”

Meanwhile, Patum stopped just as he was about to charge, catching his breath as he spoke.

Even if Biche was an enemy, there was no need to hastily antagonize her while she was dealing with the evil dragon.

Gi-jun was already getting a headache, wondering what he would do if Patum attacked her after she finished the battle.

If there was a misunderstanding, they had to resolve it through dialogue, but if they could not, Gi-jun—

―Kyaaaaaaaa! You!

Then, the evil dragon spoke, instantly regenerating its body, which had been more than half torn apart by the tentacles.

Its voice was bizarre, half mixed with the Lord of Thorns’ voice, which had become quite familiar after fighting him back and forth today, and half with the voice of a much older man.

―Demon King of the outer world! Why are you here!

That voice echoed beneath the black sky, ominously vibrating the mind and body of anyone who heard it.

If the Lord of Thorns withered others by his mere existence, the evil dragon dragged people down to hell by spreading its cursed voice.

Gi-jun had a premonition that even if it contained the Lord of Thorns, it was already a different existence from his former self.

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference.

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference.

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference…….

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference.

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference.

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference…….

Because so many different types of status ailments invaded in succession, Gi-jun’s body clock could not resist them all at once and was repeating a sort of ‘computation’.

If Gi-jun had not hastily activated the holy relic in his arms to protect the party, the weaker ones might have collapsed by now.

In fact, Lectus, who was severely injured and hovering between life and death, had completely lost consciousness after the evil dragon’s appearance, and was tied tightly to the back of a wyvern, swaying limply.

Yet, the giant evil dragon glared at the Demon King and growled, without any way of knowing the hearts of the weak who were desperately holding on.

―Demon King, do you know what you are doing! To interfere with the grand finale of the Grand Quest!

“Of course, I have a rough grasp of the situation too.”

As if she had nothing to do with the giant tentacles ripping through the sky, she spread her bat wings and floated in the air, speaking leisurely.

However, she could not hide that the black mana rising above her horns stretched out like a complex spiderweb, connecting to the sky.

“What do you think is the reason I can wield my power like this? It’s because you broke the rules first, isn’t it?”

―Broke the rules? What――!

“You used a holy relic that you weren’t supposed to use. Are you going to feign ignorance? Well, thanks to that, my penalty was reduced, making it easier for me to move.”

Unbelievable.

Who would have thought that the Lord of Thorns’ trick would be detected, resulting in an indirect punishment like this!

As soon as Gi-jun arrived in the Lord of Thorns’ chamber and saw the bastard manipulating the holy relic, he had thought that the balance of the Leta continent was completely broken, but that was not the case.

Justice was alive and breathing!

And Biche was executing it…….

Even though she also belonged to the dark faction!

‘Wait, does this mean if Biche hadn’t come, we would have had to clash with the Epic-rank evil dragon just like that?’

Such a thought arose, once again planting distrust in the system within Gi-jun, but he decided not to think about it further for now.

―Do not mistake your place! You can never go back!

“That’s just your opinion――! Get torn apart!”

―Kuhwaaaaakh!

Meanwhile, Biche controlled dozens of tentacles again, grasping the evil dragon.

The evil dragon fanned dark flames that could burn the entire world.

It rebelled by shooting its scales in all directions and transforming them into small dragon-type monsters.

All of it was reduced to nothingness by the tentacles controlled by Biche and the black lightning-like mana emanating from her.

It was an overwhelming majesty, as if she could grab and split a star, something she had never shown when facing Gi-jun.

Just as Gi-jun watched this and wondered if it would end like this.

“Jun, get ready!”

Suddenly, Biche raised her voice and called his name.

“I cannot finish it off. My strength is running low, and that was the contract! Instead—I will lower its power to its original level! You can catch it at that level, right?”

“Of course!”

Answering energetically, Gi-jun gestured to Patum.

He was appealing to the fact that he was indeed close to her and that she was helping them—and as expected, Patum nodded, wearing a face of indescribable fear.

“I understand for now—let’s follow that existence’s words first. ……That aside, I feel like I’ve heard that voice somewhere before.”

“She said she used to be active in Leta, so you probably heard it back then.”

“Are you joking? If I had met an existence of that level as an enemy, I wouldn’t be alive today.”

It seemed that even Patum, packed with so much pride, could not pretend to be strong in front of Biche, who was pushing back the evil dragon all by herself.

While the two exchanged signals and prepared to charge, Biche began to weaken the enemy’s strength in earnest.

―Leta will not accept you――!

“What a coincidence, I was about to say the same thing! It’s time for you to come down now!”

Cracks seemed to run between the tentacles wrapped tightly around the evil dragon’s torso, and then, revealing bright red, sharp serrated teeth, they opened their mouths wide and began to bite the evil dragon!

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference…….

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference…….

Only now could he be sure what category her ability belonged to.

There could not be many types of abilities that triggered a status ailment resistance skill just by watching them being used from afar.

Did the evil dragon mention the ‘outer world’ earlier?

It was clear.

She was wielding the power of the Outer Gods from the world of the American novelist Howard Phillips Lovecraft, commonly referred to on Earth as the Cthulhu Mythos!

―Kuaaaaaaaakh! It cannot end in vain like this! Never!

“Yeah, I figured you would start forgetting your main purpose by now.”

Parts of the evil dragon’s body were disappearing ‘permanently’.

It was not simply biting off flesh, but a higher-dimensional predation—for instance, closer to the extortion of ‘blood’ or ‘soul’ that had been core to the battle with the Lord of Thorns so far.

“Why did you offer your soul anyway? That wasn’t your original will.”

Unlike the evil dragon that was quickly turning into tatters, Biche, who actually wielded such a terrible power, spoke in a calm and casual tone as if she knew the original Lord of Thorns—

“This is it. I want to break it more, but—any further and I would be in danger.”

―Demon King―! You will regret it, regret…….

After confirming the evil dragon’s appearance, which had become like half-crumpled trash unlike its grand majesty upon arrival.

She suddenly erased all the tentacles filling the sky.

The blackly opened sky closed, and the dark red storm clouds that originally dominated the skies of Valahia returned.

Although a large hollowed-out hole remained in the middle, except for that, no trace of the giant tentacles could be found anywhere.

Gi-jun was tense, unable to believe that those massive powers had suddenly vanished and wondering if Biche had also disappeared with them.

“Jun, do you happen to have anything to eat?”

Hearing Biche’s voice whispering softly in his ear, he could finally feel relieved.

Before he knew it, Biche had taken the seat behind him and was sitting on the griffin.

It was a bonus that she was hugging his chest from behind with both arms, as if they were riding a motorcycle together, speeding down a highway.

Lucy, who had been silent since the moment Biche appeared, finally exploded in anger upon seeing this.

―This devil, the moment we meet after a long time!

“Calm down and don’t misunderstand, spirit. I’m just standing by to activate my ability quickly even if I have to bear the penalty, just in case Jun gets hurt.”

Although Biche spoke in a dry voice as if she had no ulterior motives, Gi-jun knew that her heart, pressed against his back, was beating rapidly.

She might have been glad to see Gi-jun, but more than that—she must have been extremely worried about him.

He knew that although she pretended to be perfectly at ease, she must have been stomping her feet in anxiety inwardly.

He had come to know at least that much by now.

“More importantly, food. Give me something you made. You have some, right?”

“Right now? I do have some, but—that would be poison to you……”

“No, it’s not. It’s the best restorative, so give it to me quickly.”

Having no choice but to hand over a box of baby choux he had made in bulk previously to Biche, who spoke urgently, she tossed a few choux into her mouth, chewed, and let out a sigh with a ‘Phew’.

“Yum—now I feel like I can live.”

“……Are you really okay?”

No matter how one looked at it, the tentacles she wielded were darkness/evil attribute itself.

It was impossible for her, who handled such power, not to be damaged by the food containing the power of light and soul made by Gi-jun.

It was silly to point out that obvious fact now, but Biche casually ate a few more choux as she replied.

“You saw just now, right? *Munch, munch*……”

“Yeah.”

“*Gulp*, actually, it’s an ability with quite a few side effects. Both on the body, but especially on the mind.”

It seemed likely.

In fact, even now, he could feel Biche’s mana refusing to stabilize and trying to run wild.

What suppressed it was, unbelievably, the baby choux Gi-jun had handed over.

“Actually, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to brandish my power so freely. You still don’t know how amazing you are, do you?”

“You sometimes talk as if only my cooking is amazing, just like before.”

“Fufu, of course not. The truly amazing thing about you is something else entirely.”

“It looks like he’s about ready too,” Biche said, pointing her finger into the air.

In the direction her finger pointed, the body had shrunk to easily a third of its size when it first appeared, from repairing the wounds gouged out by Biche—

Yet, the black-scaled evil dragon, still radiating a pressure that made one certain it had a foot in the epic realm, flapped its giant wings and growled.

Thinking that this was the result of a balance patch, he realized that the monster was by no means an absolute existence after all, which felt slightly amusing.

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference.

―Resistance successful. A highly positive modifier (30%) is applied to all skills and titles possessed.

―The effects of the titles [Conqueror of the Behind Dungeon (L)], [Limit Transcender (L)], [The Last Hero (L)], [Giant Killer (U)], [Griffin Rider (U)], and [Vampire Hunter (U)] are active.

―You have been thrown into a void space ruled by the evil dragon, where traces of the Outer God remain. It is an environment where it is difficult to keep one’s life, let alone fight, and one is busy just surviving. Due to the influence of the Adaptation skill, all abilities increase by 20%. The Adaptation skill transcends its limits and grows to Uncommon rank!

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference.

―Resistance successful. A highly positive modifier (30%) is applied to all skills and titles possessed.

―The effects of the titles [Conqueror of the Behind Dungeon (L)], [Limit Transcender (L)], [The Last Hero (L)], [Giant Killer (U)], [Griffin Rider (U)], and [Vampire Hunter (U)] are active.

―You have been thrown into a void space ruled by the evil dragon, where traces of the Outer God remain. It is an environment where it is difficult to keep one’s life, let alone fight, and one is busy just surviving. Due to the influence of the Adaptation skill, all abilities increase by 20%. The Adaptation skill transcends its limits and grows to Uncommon rank!

Just then, the body clock’s computation finished, and a massive modifier was granted to him.

In a way, it was only natural that the result obtained from resisting the debuff was as massive as the debuff the opponent gave.

Just by the appearance of that system message, Gi-jun was confident that the key to victory had been handed to him.

Seeing a smile play on Gi-jun’s lips, Biche smiled and egged him on.

“Finish it quickly. You have to finish it fast for that…… date.”

She didn’t need to say that right now.

Perhaps wanting to boost Gi-jun’s courage, Biche cleared her throat with a ‘Ahem’ and continued.

“We have to go on a date, don’t we?”

As for her heart rate.

It was to the point where one would worry that her heart might burst at any moment.

Gi-jun tried desperately not to burst into laughter as he replied.

“Of course. I’ll finish it quickly.”

Before charging straight toward the evil dragon, he took one last look around.

Starting with Lucy, who was throwing a wild fit.

The evil spirit that suddenly became docile at the appearance of an existence that overwhelmed it.

Ur, who was making a cry mixed with friendliness while finding it fascinating to meet the devil Lucy always cursed at for the first time.

Patum, whose eyes looked as if they would pop out in shock upon seeing Biche and Gi-jun in such intimate physical contact right next to him.

And even the party members, who had barely recovered from the shock thanks to the effect of the unique ability shared by Gi-jun, but were astounded by the existence of Biche suddenly hugging Gi-jun from behind rather than thinking of fighting.

“……Did everyone hear that? We have to fight that evil dragon, not this person. Got it?”

When Gi-jun cleared his throat and said that due to the gazes being overly focused on Biche, they all glared at him with expressions that asked if this was the time to say such things—

“Understood.”

Lora unexpectedly sorted out the situation.

“I will hear the explanation after everything is over.”

No, she had merely postponed her explosion.

“We cannot afford to die, if only to hear the story from Sir Jun.”

“I really want to hear the story too……!”

Ji-hye, who had already met Biche once before, shouted as she vigorously shook her head back and forth as if headbanging.

“So for now, let’s finish off that lizard first!”

―Kyaaaaaaaaakh!

As if mocking her words, the evil dragon roared.

Taking that as the starting signal, the wyvern ridden by Patum and the griffin ridden by Gi-jun raced through the air!