147 – Abyss – 2

“Vile dragon! I shall never forgive you for tarnishing the Hero’s honor and the prestige of the Empire—!”

Casting aside all thoughts and filled with redoubled courage, Patum charged straight ahead, aiming for the evil dragon’s massive head.

Gi-jun’s choice was a bit different.

He aimed for the wings of the beast, which had been tearing through space and leaving the area increasingly devastated with wind containing strange mana each time they swept through the air.

Even though Biche had played a major role in weakening it, the beast was still the boss marking the final chapter of this Grand Quest.

No matter how greatly Gi-jun had been strengthened, he would not be able to kill it in a single blow, so he thought that he had no choice but to dismantle its body by tearing it apart piece by piece.

‘—My Slaughter skill is strongly insisting that I do so!’

Various powers gathered within his Legendary-grade shield, the Silver Moon of Contradiction, which he gripped tightly with its pointed tip, shaped like an iron, aimed forward.

His Light Mana, the spirit power of Lucy and Ur, the power of the divine iron refined by the Adamant skill, and even his Anti-Blood Power.

Although it had been reborn as an evil dragon, the beast’s origin was a vampire after all, and the source of its strong regenerative ability, when examined closely, was also the power of the blood filling its entire body.

Even if only to suppress that, Anti-Blood Power was essential.

“Light alone would have been enough, but you’ve added some incredibly strange things in the meantime.”

Watching the powers of his various skills, along with all the titles Gi-jun possessed, overlap on the shield and reborn into a form far more suited to a Hero’s strike than that of the Hero’s own, Biche shook her head in amazement and muttered.

“I was lucky. I also met many good people.”

“Oh, you know it well. That is all a Hero needs.”

Having seen something like this, it was indeed natural that the Hero would want to make him his successor.

Even if working as a Hero would not bring much good, if it was Gi-jun—

“Tilla, I’m sorry, but please go ahead!”

“I knew you would leave it to me!”

The moment they entered the sphere of influence of the evil dragon’s energy, Gi-jun shouted sharply.

At that moment, a red beam pierced above their heads.

Or rather, Tilla, her entire body wrapped in flames, had passed them by at rapid speed.

—Kuuuoooooo!

Whether it had sacrificed even the reason to speak in the process of having its entire body torn apart and reconstructed by Biche, the evil dragon, which had only been roaring despite seeing the enemies approach, suddenly created countless magic circles in the air and rained down massive spears of darkness.

“Is that a skewer too?”

Gi-jun shook his head at the sight of it delivering attacks that were endlessly loyal to its concept, even after becoming an evil dragon.

The greatest number of them aimed for Patum, and the next targets were, of course, Tilla and Gi-jun.

Surprisingly, however, Tilla, who had turned into a tiny speck of flame, nimbly slipped through the spears in a zigzag pattern, before dashing near the evil dragon’s left wing joint and triggering a grand explosion!

Seeing the beast’s left wing, caught in the explosion caused by Tilla, stop moving for a moment—causing the massive magic field formed in the area to disperse—Gi-jun hurriedly called Fortis’s name.

“Fortis, charge straight ahead!”

—Piiiiiit!

The beast cried out bravely, folded its wings, and charged straight into the pouring rain of spears.

Gi-jun raised high the King of the Well held in his other hand, forming an even more massive blood-red barrier using the power of Moonlight Blood Fangs.

The countless dark spears raining down upon it battered the barrier, as if they would crush Gi-jun’s shoulders and arms, but even so, the griffin’s speed did not slow down.

“You’re doing great, Fortis!”

—Piyooooooo!

—Crack

A somewhat ominous cracking sound echoed amidst Fortis’s cry, which grew even louder at his praise, but Gi-jun did not pay it any mind.

He had known from the moment it cracked earlier that he would no longer be able to use the King of the Well, which was why he had intentionally been holding the cracked shield.

—Kuaaaaaaaak!

“Do not believe that you can mimic all of its mysteries just by taking its form—!”

Perhaps the evil dragon was breathing out a breath, as a heat from fierce flames was felt above his head.

Patum, opposing it, must have also been squeezing out all of his remaining power to resist, as a brilliant golden light erupted and extinguished the heat.

Unlike those who were fighting with their lives on the line, Biche, who was spectating with a light heart as if she had come on a picnic, muttered in a somewhat cold voice.

“That guy seems to be near his limit, yet he’s overdoing it.”

“Yeah, we have to finish this before Patum collapses—!”

If Patum drew the evil dragon’s attention from the front, Gi-jun would only be grateful.

Finally breaking through the rain of spears, Gi-jun led the griffin and charged straight toward the beast’s wing joint.

It was a vacuum-like space, formed as the surrounding mana was completely emptied by the explosion Tilla had triggered.

While it had been difficult to move properly earlier due to the space being filled with the evil dragon’s mana, his body grew light in an instant upon stepping inside.

“Fortis!”

—Piiiiiit!

Knowing that this opportunity would not last long, Gi-jun gave a final burst of speed.

Fortis kicked off the air hard and charged as if he would headbutt the evil dragon.

As they drew closer, the beast’s left wing expanded boundlessly and came into Gi-jun’s sight.

Gi-jun gripped the shield in his left hand with all his strength and pulled it back behind his shoulder.

The moonlight filled to the brim within the Silver Moon of Contradiction held back its brilliant light, waiting for the moment it would be unleashed.

—Kieeeeeeeek!

“Hup!”

Just as the evil dragon, noticing his approach, tried to flap its wings, Tilla, who had finished her attack and regrouped, soared into the air and unleashed flames.

Reacting to her movement, the wing reflexively moved upward, completely exposing the bare wing joint.

“Now!”

—Piiiiiiit!

Gi-jun, who dashed like an arrow alongside Fortis, thrust his left arm forward with power.

He accurately drove a massive blood-red fang into the starting point where the beast’s left wing grew from its back—

“Silver Moon Wave!”

He cast the skill contained within the Silver Moon of Contradiction.

The intense wave of purification was a fatal poison to that existence, which was like the embodiment of the concept of evil.

This was the result of the wave’s power being entirely focused and poured inside the beast.

A burst of light and a roar surpassing Gi-jun’s realm of perception erupted, and the world was dyed pure white in an instant.

—A bold and reckless, yet great attempt! You have succeeded in permanently severing a body part from an enemy that has reached the Epic realm. You have obtained [Left Wing of the Evil Dragon (E—)]. As a rare artifact that is the source of evil power, this alone is a treasure that will be recorded in history books, but if you obtain the other wing, its power will become more complete.

—An achievement that transcends limits! The Slaughter (R) skill has grown significantly, reaching level 85! The connections between the elements that make up existence seem to be faintly visible.

—A bold and reckless, yet great attempt! You have succeeded in permanently severing a body part from an enemy that has reached the Epic realm. You have obtained [Left Wing of the Evil Dragon (E—)]. As a rare artifact that is the source of evil power, this alone is a treasure that will be recorded in history books, but if you obtain the other wing, its power will become more complete.

—An achievement that transcends limits! The Slaughter (R) skill has grown significantly, reaching level 85! The connections between the elements that make up existence seem to be faintly visible.

A part of the beast’s back exploded as if hit by a bomb, and its massive left wing was torn out by the roots, soaring into the air.

As the most definitive proof that Gi-jun had succeeded in tearing off the beast’s wing, a system message appeared—and the wing entered Gi-jun’s inventory right away.

Without a doubt, among the things Gi-jun had obtained since crossing over to Leta, excluding the Fragment of Unique Territory, this was the most precious spoil of war.

‘If I tear off the remaining side as well, Slaughter might reach the Unique grade.’

Considering the difference in grade between Gi-jun and the evil dragon, it would have been praised as a great attempt even if he had failed, but because he had suddenly succeeded thanks to all kinds of titles wrapped around his body, skill effects, and the cheat-like performance of the Silver Moon of Contradiction, the skill had grown absurdly.

—Kuaaaaaaaak!

Meanwhile, having its wing torn off by a minnow-like existence and its balance shattered, the evil dragon ran wild in a frenzy, but this only served as a good opportunity for Patum, who was facing the beast from the front; thus, with his eyes flashing as if determined not to miss the chance, he swung his greatsword to exploit the beast’s openings.

“Jun, back off for now.”

—Contractor!

However, just as Gi-jun was about to target the beast’s remaining wing, Biche and Lucy warned him at the same time.

Gi-jun grabbed Tilla, who had been flying around it looking for an opportunity to attack together, and quickly retreated—and in the next moment, he felt the fine hairs on his skin stand on end.

—Kyaaaaaaaaak! It is just a meaningless struggle! In the end, you too—you too!

With a crunch, tens of thousands of thick, sharp thorns erupted from the evil dragon’s entire body.

The thorns, each extending over dozens of meters, ruthlessly whipped through space before triggering explosions; then, turning into sticky black droplets of blood, they swept through the area once again.

Lucy shot out light, vaporizing all the blood droplets flying toward them, and laughed.

—The Contractor’s attack must have been extremely painful. It is already consuming its True Blood. Ah, what consuming True Blood means is that it is attacking by permanently consuming a portion of its maximum health.

“Thank you for the very intuitive explanation, Lucy.”

“What Jun tore off was not a simple wing, but one of the organs that refines and amplifies the beast’s mana. Since it was ripped out all at once without even a chance to regenerate, it must have been fatal for the beast, which was already in an unstable state.”

When Biche asked what that shield was made of, he replied that it was the Divine Beast he had mentioned last time, and she nodded, instantly understanding.

She thought to herself that, indeed, one would need at least the power of a Divine Beast to take down an evil dragon.

“If we tear off just one more wing, it will no longer be able to maintain its dragon form. If you attack it just one more time with that skill from earlier—”

“That’s impossible. It’s a power that can only be used after charging it with moonlight.”

Not only was it not a skill that could be charged just by receiving moonlight for a short moment, but crucially, there was no moonlight in this space right now.

There were only dark storm clouds all around, along with clouds of blood formed by the evaporated blood.

Biche, who had been making a troubled expression along with him, suddenly spoke of something that came to her mind.

“Then, should I fly up into the sky with this for a moment and bring back some moonlight?”

—Are you stupid? How could an evil being like you carry this and move—Ouch! She hit me! Contractor, the demon hit me!

The two already had light expressions, as if they were certain Gi-jun would win against the enemy, but Gi-jun could not bring himself to laugh along with them.

The evil dragon’s thorn explosion attack that had filled the space was terrifying, but more than that, he was worried about Patum.

When Gi-jun retreated, the other had instead been hacking at the evil dragon’s face as if it were an opportunity.

In such a situation, could he have possibly avoided the beast’s attack—?

—Dragon—! Yes, hand over that which you possess!

At that moment, the evil dragon began to cry out again.

The beast’s gaze was directed past its own head—

Seeing the golden aura flashing high up in the sky, Gi-jun was relieved to no small degree.

Patum had also survived that terrible wide-area attack and was still engaged in battle.

“Jun!”

Tilla, who had temporarily retreated to check on the party members, flew in quickly, cutting through the darkness as she shouted.

“Gin seemed to feel something from that skill just now—perhaps he can help you?”

“—Ah?”

Recalling anew the fact that the Silver Moon of Contradiction and Gin shared the same origin, Gi-jun hurriedly steered Fortis and headed to where the party members were gathered.

Ji-hye and Lora, who had been putting their heads together while channeling their mana and blood power to see if they could do something, cast extremely blatant stares at Biche as she clung to Gi-jun’s chest—but Gin ignored Biche and shouted straight to Gi-jun.

“Lord Jun, the shield!”

As expected, Gin was the only one he could rely on.

As soon as Gi-jun handed the shield to Gin, he poured all of his remaining Silver Moon mana into the shield as if he had been waiting.

Without any need for troublesome actions like basking in the moonlight, the Silver Moon of Contradiction, its energy charged in an instant, returned to Gi-jun’s hand while shining with even greater light than before.

It felt as though he could use the skill not just once, but even twice.

“Thank you, Gin.”

“No, if even something like this can be of help—”

At the sight of Gin, who seemed completely intimidated after being thrown into a scene that could truly be called a clash of legends, Gi-jun wanted to console him by listing how much help he had been, but.

“Thank you so much, it was a big help!”

Because he could no longer leave Patum to face the evil dragon alone, he only replied as such before immediately turning Fortis around to dash toward the evil dragon once again.

“Tilla, I ask of you once again!”

“Anytime—!”

Having lost one wing and running wild, the evil dragon poured out a large amount of blood, scattering countless thorns that could not possibly be counted, and was protecting itself with dozens of whirlwinds created by raising a wind filled with sharp, fierce demonic energy.

Swept up in the whirlwinds and rotating rapidly, the black, sharp thorns simultaneously served as both spears and shields.

Tilla, however, as if it were all the better, wore a deep smile on her lips and charged into the whirlwinds.

“Flames, when they meet wind, you see—!”

—Kyahaaaaaat!

Immediately after the brilliant flames were swallowed by the whirlwind.

Just as a bright light seemed to flicker inside it—the flames spread through the entire whirlwind in an instant!

In the process, she also completely burned and vaporized the black thorns swirling inside the whirlwind to crush enemies.

Surprisingly, Tilla directly manipulated the whirlwind that had turned into a giant vortex of fire, clashing with and pushing away the other whirlwinds, and began to forge a path toward the evil dragon’s wing once more!

“She is……”

Watching Tilla’s struggle, Biche spoke in an astonished voice.

“If things go well, she might even go beyond that.”

“What? Don’t send her off to some strange place. I’m going to keep her in my party.”

“That is exactly what I meant. It seems she will be able to follow you to the very end. She is very reliable.”

As she said those words, Biche wore a very satisfied expression.

For some reason, Gi-jun was slightly displeased by that.

Although he would be at a loss for words if asked what exactly displeased him when his master was speaking highly of his companion—anyway, it was still slightly different from the reaction he had wanted.

Thinking to himself that this was highly ridiculous, he followed behind the flaming whirlwind and charged toward the wing.

—Piyooooooo!

The target was the beast’s right wing.

The process was exactly the same as before.

It was to drive the fang into the wing joint and detonate the wave of purification.

More than half of his Light Mana still remained, and Lucy and Ur were still going strong.

Because he had been sucking the blood of vampires all day long, his Anti-Blood Power was also overflowing.

“Jun!”

As he raised his head at Biche’s sharp warning, he saw a massive black thorn that had rushed right in front of him.

Because his concentration had been scattered by idle thoughts, he was a little late in noticing it—but fortunately, just before the thorn could pierce his forehead, the King of the Well he raised blocked it.

—Crack

Or rather, it failed to block it completely and ended up completely shattered and crushed.

Fortunately, thanks to the King of the Well buying time as it broke, he was able to block it completely this time with the Silver Moon of Contradiction held in his other hand.

—Piiiiiiiiiiiii—!

The one letting out the violent shriek was not Fortis, but the Shock Absorber that he had detached from his useless armor and attached to the Silver Moon of Contradiction before the decisive battle with the Lord of Thorns.

Although it was a quick exit as always, he thought he should just be grateful that it allowed him to move while ignoring the impact for a single hit, and he was about to urge Fortis forward, when.

—The Shock Absorber (R), having absorbed more than a certain amount of impact, transcends its limit and grows.

—The Shock Absorber (R), having absorbed more than a certain amount of impact, transcends its limit and grows.

To be honest, a message he had not expected in the slightest appeared before his eyes!