148 – Abyss – 3

[Chaos Shock Absorber (Unique) — Growth Type]

[Durability — 7,000/7,000]

[Defense (U) — 80]

[Option 1 — Absorbs and stores most of the shock applied to the area where the device is attached. The storage capacity has increased significantly, but there is still a limit. The stored shock amount does not dissipate even over time.]

[Option 2 — The skill ‘Shock Wave’ can be cast. Amplifies the stored shock amount to discharge it all at once in the form of a wave. After using the skill, shock cannot be absorbed for a short period of time.]

[An artifact born from an extremely ordinary magic engineering product for construction, deteriorated inside a Dark Mimic while harboring its owner’s resentment. Although it was normally exposed to high-quality light mana, the two manas mixed in the process of defending against powerful dark mana, evolving into a unique territory. Surprisingly, this has granted it the potential for further growth.]

[Chaos Shock Absorber (Unique) — Growth Type]

[Durability — 7,000/7,000]

[Defense (U) — 80]

[Option 1 — Absorbs and stores most of the shock applied to the area where the device is attached. The storage capacity has increased significantly, but there is still a limit. The stored shock amount does not dissipate even over time.]

[Option 2 — The skill ‘Shock Wave’ can be cast. Amplifies the stored shock amount to discharge it all at once in the form of a wave. After using the skill, shock cannot be absorbed for a short period of time.]

[An artifact born from an extremely ordinary magic engineering product for construction, deteriorated inside a Dark Mimic while harboring its owner’s resentment. Although it was normally exposed to high-quality light mana, the two manas mixed in the process of defending against powerful dark mana, evolving into a unique territory. Surprisingly, this has granted it the potential for further growth.]

It was shock and chaos.

No, that was what this item was.

Gi-jun stared with slightly blank eyes for a brief moment at the shock absorber, which had changed into a thinner and sleeker appearance resembling a metal plate while attached inside the shield, but…

He soon realized that now was not the time for that, gripped his shield again, and focused on the front.

‘Come to think of it, what about the broken King of the Well?’

He wondered if he could salvage some wreckage, but it was already completely shattered, and only its fragments were glittering as they fell to the ground.

Although its defense was lacking, he had memories of using the wind-blasting ability quite usefully, so he felt quite a bit of regret.

He also thought that since one Unique item was destroyed and he gained another, he had broken even, but frankly speaking, now that he had acquired excellent main equipment, an artifact that could be attached to the shield to further increase his defense was much better than a shield that had become a burden.

Moreover, as the grade of the shock absorber grew to Unique, hadn’t its own defense and shock absorption capacity increased significantly?

‘Now, I won’t have to hear that sound every time we collide.’

Immediately after Gi-jun thought that, a massive spear plunged vertically from the sky.

This time, he thrust forward the Silver Moon of Contradiction at the perfect timing to block the spear, but—

—Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep—!

“Of course.”

There was no doubt about the performance of the artifact since he had defended against an attack capable of bringing down even a castle to the extent that his wrists and arms only felt numb, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the familiar sound ringing in his ears.

Come to think of it, did it say that the shock amount would not dissipate even over time now?

Since the shock capacity was full right before the evolution, it was not surprising that it reached its limit in a single blow.

However, on the contrary, since a way to discharge the shock had been created, unlike before when it was a one-time use, it had grown into a main weapon that could be utilized throughout the battle.

If it was already this excellent now, what if it were to grow to Legendary grade…? Gi-jun felt infinite gratitude toward the Dark Mimic inside the bonus dungeon, which he had hunted so long ago that he could barely remember it now.

―I think that spear just now was aiming for the Hero, not the contractor. The wyvern is diving right below our feet?

At that moment, Lucy suddenly spoke.

Following her words, he looked down and saw that the wyvern carrying Fatum was indeed diving down almost vertically.

Biche narrowed her eyes as she checked that sight.

“On purpose below us? Didn’t those guys use us as a shield?”

“No way. Fatum has been drawing the evil dragon’s attention from the front all this time.”

He worried that Fatum might have retreated after sustaining a major injury while holding out against the evil dragon alone, but now was not the time to be concerned about his safety.

—Kyaoooooooooooo!

The evil dragon, obsessed with Fatum, twisted its body in midair and began to dive, chasing after him.

Just by the beast’s massive body flipping in midair, a more terrible pressure settled over the area, but—the wind mana that Fortis desperately emitted relieved it.

—Kyahaaaaak!

Its sole remaining right wing flapped violently, as if to tear the surroundings apart.

At the very moment the vortex of flame led by Tilla fought against other vortexes swirling around the evil dragon’s body and managed to chase and hold onto the beast.

Gi-jun clearly envisioned a straight path leading from right before his eyes to the beast’s back, and shouted sharply:

“Lucy, Fortis!”

—Piyooooooooo!

As Lucy’s blessing greatly strengthened Fortis, as if it had been waiting, it expelled all of its remaining mana from the tips of its wings to accelerate.

Gi-jun leaned forward and charged, aiming for the back of the evil dragon, which had foolishly and completely forgotten about the existence of the one who had torn off one of its wings.

—Kiiiit!

One vortex that Tilla failed to block stood in Gi-jun’s way instead of its master, but the flame Ur unleashed with all his might pierced the center of the vortex, making a large hole.

Beyond that hole, of course, was the evil dragon’s still-intact wing joint.

Gi-jun thrust forward the Silver Moon of Contradiction, which emitted a brilliant silver light, with all his might—and unleashed the second Silver Moon Wave!

―Skill synthesis activated. [Shock Wave] enhances [Silver Moon Wave]!

―Skill synthesis activated. [Shock Wave] enhances [Silver Moon Wave]!

But what was this?

The moment something Gi-jun didn’t even know flashed past his eyes, a silver wave that was clearly on a different level than when he first used the skill slammed into the evil dragon’s wing joint—not just tearing off the wing, but blasting a massive hole right in the middle of its back!

―When you achieve impossible feats in succession, they are no longer impossible for you. Having obtained the [Evil Dragon’s Right Wing (E-)], the two wings have merged to become the complete [Evil Dragon’s Wings (Epic)]!

―The achievement of stealing all the wings of the Epic-grade evil dragon alone will be sung of for generations, and it may one day make you the master of an epic. Charm (L) has increased by 10. You have obtained 500,000 Leta Points!

―An achievement that surpasses limits! The skill Slaughter (R) has transcended its limit and grown to Unique grade! The skill Slaughter (U) has become Level 1. You can now slaughter even spiritual existences, transcending the limits of physical matter!

―When you achieve impossible feats in succession, they are no longer impossible for you. Having obtained the [Evil Dragon’s Right Wing (E-)], the two wings have merged to become the complete [Evil Dragon’s Wings (Epic)]!

―The achievement of stealing all the wings of the Epic-grade evil dragon alone will be sung of for generations, and it may one day make you the master of an epic. Charm (L) has increased by 10. You have obtained 500,000 Leta Points!

―An achievement that surpasses limits! The skill Slaughter (R) has transcended its limit and grown to Unique grade! The skill Slaughter (U) has become Level 1. You can now slaughter even spiritual existences, transcending the limits of physical matter!

Although the wings safely entered his inventory, blood, flesh, and bone dust also burst out like an explosion.

Lucy and Ur were both startled and generated light and flames to burn them away, but in the end, Gi-jun was left bathed in the evil dragon’s blood.

―You have been covered in the blood and flesh of the wicked evil dragon. [Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference.

―Divine iron is endlessly regenerated and tempered even amidst disaster. The level of the [Adamant (L)] skill has reached 30!

―You have been covered in the blood and flesh of the wicked evil dragon. [Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference.

―Divine iron is endlessly regenerated and tempered even amidst disaster. The level of the [Adamant (L)] skill has reached 30!

“…Biche.”

Gi-jun, who had barely managed to protect himself with the Adamant skill, asked Biche in a miserable state as the helmet and armor covering his entire body melted down.

“Isn’t there some kind of bonus here, like becoming immortal if you get covered in the evil dragon’s blood?”

“Since you survived after being covered in blood filled with horrific deadly poison and curses, you would certainly look like an immortal, wouldn’t you?”

Biche replied with a clean face without a single drop of blood on it, even though she must have showered in the erupting blood just the same.

Indeed, since the Adamant skill had grown by nearly ten levels while enduring that explosion of blood just now, it wasn’t completely wrong.

“Jun, your body isn’t hurt, right?”

“My body is fine. Everything else is ruined.”

“Then it’s fine. It’s just as I expected.”

“Damn it, it was full plate armor that I spent a fortune on…”

Gi-jun was relieved to find that his mask, which was at least a valuable item, and the Unique-grade breastplate he had previously obtained from the Dullahan had not melted.

It was also a relief that Fortis was safe because he had absorbed all the blood.

He sighed and checked his shield and the shock absorber attached inside it.

“To think it would be strengthened just because they are both waves.”

He wondered if it made sense for a shockwave to strengthen a wave of light, but in the first place, the Silver Moon Wave was not pure light either, and there were already too many nonsensical things happening in Leta to question such a matter now.

Anyway, since he was now able to use a more powerful skill, he decided to accept it and move on.

More importantly right now, the evil dragon, having lost both of its wings to his exploding strike, was falling to the ground.

Gi-jun patted Fortis as they descended, chasing the falling evil dragon, and spoke.

“But that guy wasn’t flying by the strength of its wings in the first place, was it?”

“No, it was. Although it didn’t fly purely through the physical movement of its wings, it was able to float and move its body using a special magic power emitted from them. Moreover, the wings are one of the important organs responsible for storing and releasing a dragon’s magic power. Since it lost them entirely, it’s only natural that it can’t fly anymore.”

For reference, when he asked what else served as a dragon’s magic organs, the reply came that the head—especially the horn—and the heart were among them.

“It would be really great if I could obtain the heart—but it’ll probably be difficult.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s not a pure dragon. Even if it managed to maintain its wings and horn somehow, its heart wouldn’t be intact.”

Recalling the process of the evil dragon’s birth and how it had been torn to shreds by Biche as soon as it appeared, Gi-jun couldn’t help but nod.

If the beast had been in an intact state, no matter how much Gi-jun was armed with titles and skills that were its polar opposite, he would not have been able to tear off its wings.

―Oh? The Hero doesn’t seem to be dead yet.

Right before the griffin reached the evil dragon, Lucy tilted her head and spoke.

Just as a fierce wind rose near the ground and the wyvern seemed to soar upward—a golden light flashed from within, and a massive aura drew a straight line in the air.

Caught at the end of that trajectory was the massive horn growing on the evil dragon’s head.

Biche clicked her tongue as she saw it neatly severed and bouncing into the air.

“Jun should have retrieved the horn too.”

“I got the wings, so it’s fine. I’m glad Fatum seems to be safe.”

“Well—I wonder about that.”

Just as Gi-jun was about to ask why Biche had such a sullen reaction—

A gloomy wave spread out from the evil dragon’s body, which had crashed completely into the earth after losing its wings and then its horn, freezing the atmosphere.

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] resists soul interference.

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] resists soul interference.

“Wait, what is this—”

Before he could even say anything more—

A thick darkness exploded.

“Ugh?!”

Everything within the perceivable area warped and twisted.

While only the ticking second hand of his body clock resounded fiercely inside his head—Biche, who had observed something Gi-jun could not yet see, whispered quietly.

“Jun, now it is truly your turn. Hurry if you want to save the Hero.”

It was incomprehensible, but Biche had never been wrong before.

Gi-jun instinctively kicked off the griffin’s back and jumped, and Fortis, as if reading his mind, created wind with its wings to accelerate him.

As the ground drew closer, the figures of the evil dragon and Fatum were reflected more clearly in his eyes.

The evil dragon, having lost both its horn and wings, was writhing while vomiting thick blood and mist—and Fatum, who had lost his wyvern and stood alone on the earth, was approaching the beast.

The strange thing was that thick darkness was concentrating toward Fatum.

“Now…”

From the throat of the dragon, which had lost its power and become weak, the voice of the Lord of Thorns surprisingly flowed out intact.

Perhaps because a large portion of its existence as the evil dragon had been lost, the ego of the Lord of Thorns, which had been buried inside, had returned for a brief moment.

“Now it is your turn, Hero.”

“No matter how many times I say it, it is the same—the Hero does not die! Never!”

Turbid ash-gray was mixing with the golden light on the greatsword Fatum raised high.

Gi-jun felt a somehow ominous feeling from it.

Something worse than death was about to happen.

He was convinced that he could not let Fatum kill the beast like that.

“Subjugate the evil dragon and bring peace to the Leta continent. It shall be done, as it always is!”

“In the end, everything is just repeated! You will soon realize that you too are a part of the gear—”

Gi-jun gripped the Silver Moon of Contradiction with both hands, raised it high, and shouted.

“Ur, Lucy—!”

―Yeah, we can’t get the last hit stolen now! The contractor has to kill it!

―Kiiiiit!

Brilliant light and flames dwelled in Gi-jun’s falling body as he rapidly accelerated.

He cast Silver Moon Wave with the power remaining in his shield to add strength to the fangs.

Just before Fatum swung his greatsword—the blood-colored fang that plunged vertically from the sky finally bit the back of the evil dragon’s neck.

“Kahak?!”

The moment the dragon’s neck was torn and broken with a bone-chilling cracking sound, a black shadow surged from its entire body and swept over Gi-jun!

―The Epic-grade evil dragon of blood and thorns sacrifices its soul to cast a curse of wrath upon you. However, the Light Mana and Spiritual Power that have reached the Legendary realm, along with the skill Salutaris (L), resist this to weaken the curse.

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists soul interference.

―Resistance Great Success. A highly positive modifier is given to [Salutaris (L)]. The [Salutaris (L)] skill has reached Level 35! Light Mana (L) and Spiritual Power (L) have increased by 5 each!

―The Epic-grade evil dragon of blood and thorns sacrifices its soul to cast a curse of wrath upon you. However, the Light Mana and Spiritual Power that have reached the Legendary realm, along with the skill Salutaris (L), resist this to weaken the curse.

―[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists soul interference.

―Resistance Great Success. A highly positive modifier is given to [Salutaris (L)]. The [Salutaris (L)] skill has reached Level 35! Light Mana (L) and Spiritual Power (L) have increased by 5 each!

Aside from feeling a sense of déjà vu from the message, he had certainly felt this sensation of a horrific curse enveloping his entire body before.

It was a curse that anyone living under the influence of the system ruling Leta could never overcome—but he had already overcome the system once before using only his unique skill.

With the addition of the skills he had honed so far, even if it was a curse manifested by an Epic-grade enemy, there was no room for it to squeeze in.

“Gurgle… H-How…”

The evil dragon, which was still alive and holding on despite having sacrificed its soul to cast the curse, gasped as if it were about to draw its last breath upon seeing Gi-jun completely unharmed.

Gi-jun, who had completely shaken off the darkness, responded with a snort to the astonished evil dragon, twisted and pulled out his shield—which was still faintly glowing—from the beast’s neck, and faced Fatum, who had approached right before him before he knew it.

“As always—!”

Sure enough, his eyes were completely out of it, and he didn’t seem to recognize Gi-jun properly.

In other words, he had been about to swing his greatsword just like that.

“Get a hold of yourself, Fatum!”

“Ugh?!”

Lucy’s healing light, emitted in the nick of time, bound Fatum in place.

As Gi-jun felt relieved seeing the darkness recede from the suffering Fatum’s body, the ground beneath his feet squirmed.

He knew it because no system message had appeared—but the evil dragon was indeed still alive and had not died yet.

“The one who destroys darkness will always, without fail—become the new darkness. That is Leta’s absolute rule, its truth, so how—”

“Wait, what does that…”

“Jun is an exception, you see.”

Before he knew it, Biche was standing at the head of the fallen evil dragon.

She whispered to the evil dragon, looking at Gi-jun with eyes that were soft as could be.

“He will never be stained. Unlike us, to the very end—even beyond, when facing the gods, up to the moment he confronts the enemies of the outer world.”

“Unlike… us…?”

“Yeah, well. You must have guessed it roughly too.”

At Gi-jun’s shocked voice, Biche replied with a bitter smile.

“It’s not that we were of the dark faction from the beginning. Me too, and in the distant past, probably the Lord of Thorns as well.”

“I… remember. I have met you before.”

Perhaps because the pain still remained, Fatum barely opened his mouth to speak, holding his throbbing head with one hand.

“The Hero of Light, Beatrice… A predecessor of mine, a summoner-born Hero who left legendary achievements… I only knew that you had died fighting the Demon King…”

“I didn’t fight against the Demon King, junior.”

Biche said, smiling bitterly.

“I became the Demon King. Just like you were about to become just now.”

The Hero did not die.

Fatum had only known it as a belief shared by all Heroes from generation to generation.

An expression of a strong will never to yield to the darkness covering the continent.

In fact, it was nothing but the ultimate self-mockery.

The Hero did not die.

They only became a new darkness.

‘That was how it was.’

Gi-jun closed his eyes gently and recalled what had happened in the past.

The fairy who had appeared when the tutorial ended constantly called the Demon King ‘Hero’.

It was neither a metaphor nor anything else, let alone referring to the Hero of the tutorial.

The Demon King of the past had really acted as a Hero in Leta.

With this, Gi-jun was finally able to resolve one of the riddles that had been weighing on him, but…

Far from feeling relieved, that fact only made him feel more suffocated.