Chapter 119
The blue trail embedded itself in the upper part of the massive heart.
Crack.
Ian felt the solidity in his grip as he adjusted his hold on the sword hilt. Hanging on, he drew the sword down with all his might.
Tahumrit momentarily stiffened.
Crunch—
A deep, lengthy gash appeared across the heart. The blue sacred power blazed, incinerating the corrupted magic spreading along the crack.
Screech—
Tahumrit finally released a pain-filled scream.
Ian did not stop. The blade continued slicing through the heart, intensifying the screams until a chilling sound abruptly silenced them—Archeas had twisted Tahumrit’s neck, contorting the corrupted dragon’s massive head into an unnatural angle. The violet glow in its eyes faded.
Snap.
Thunder rumbled from within the swirling storm clouds, and an ashy blizzard spread. The vast amount of corrupted magic, left masterless, flowed out more swiftly than it could evaporate.
While gazing at the limp and twisted head of Tahumrit, Ian eventually shifted his gaze to Archeas, whose one side of its neck was torn. The look in Archeas’s eyes, as it stared at its fallen kin, was not one of joy but of sadness and exhaustion. Archeas’s gaze then returned to Ian at the heart’s center.
Ian spoke up. "Can you catch me, please?"
Archeas’s eyes became slightly curved. With a wrenching sound, one of its front paws slowly withdrew from being deeply embedded in Tahumrit’s ribs. It seemed capable of bearing the weight of this massive dragon with just one arm.
What do we do with this corpse? I guess I own about one-third of it…
Thought Ian, observing the situation.
His brows furrowed as he reconsidered the massive heart he was leaning on. A critical question arose: why hasn’t the quest completion window appeared?
…No way.
Ian’s arms tensed.
Defeating a boss in the game was no straightforward task, as striking its weak spot did not automatically ensure victory. This was true when facing a dragon, a creature that defied common understanding and existed in an undead state, making the battle even more challenging. It might delay its death even with its neck broken and heart pierced.
Swoosh.
As if to prove his suspicions, the spreading purple magic stitched the split heart back together. Ian felt the pressure binding the sword blade. The blue sacred power flared up violently, and magic surged through it.
This f*cking—
Ian’s face contorted in frustration. The lifeless head of Tahumrit suddenly reignited with a violet glow, glaring at Ian.
Archeas, startled, widened its eyes and attempted to push its paw back into the ribcage, but it was slower than Tahumrit’s sudden attack.
With a hideous scream, Tahumrit’s dislocated jaw opened, and the ashy blizzard and flowing corrupted magic rapidly intensified.
A massive explosion and shockwave enveloped the area. Although the intertwined dragons absorbed most of the impact, Ian still had to curl up and shield himself with the Force Field Barrier.
—Vengeance■■... must... ■■...!
Desperate thoughts echoed in his mind.
As the explosion intensified, Archeas wrapped itself in a golden barrier. Ian struggled to continue slicing with his sword.
How dense can this magic possibly be...?
Despite his full effort, the sword moved only slightly. It seemed more likely to break than to make a significant cut.
Tahumrit spread its drooping wings, just like the two wings of magic, with the tips beginning to disintegrate into dust.
Insane…!
Ian realized the creature’s intent. Deciding to abandon the Sword of Judgement, he prepared for its final desperate act.
I can get the sword back later from the remains.
With that thought, he placed his foot on the heart and readied to leap.
Swoosh.
The corrupted magic formed a blurry shield around the split chest.
—You cann■ escap■■■...■■!
Crackling and grinding, alongside the visceral sounds, Archeas’s front paw crushed into Tahumrit’s ribs, shattering one side of its chest completely. A paw tumbled away with it, but Tahumrit seemed unfazed by the loss.
Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.
With a roar of surprise and alarm, Archeas voiced its shock.
However, Tahumrit, not minding its disintegrating body, flapped its wings and had already broken free from Archeas. Upside down, the battered form of the corrupted dragon surged upwards.
“...!” Ian’s eyes widened as he struck the magic barrier with his shield. The magic amassed in the storm clouds above poured down relentlessly.
Boom, boom, boom, boom—
The scenery was engulfed in a fierce burst of purple magical power.
Ian, crouched and looking through the gaping ribs, saw magic raining down, causing Archeas to plummet. Even as it screamed, it regained its composure. The endless expanse of a golden barrier unfolding around Ian slowly etched itself into his vision.
Boom, boom, boom!
The cataclysmic explosion that seemed to mark an end enveloped the barrier, and suddenly, the entire scene receded into the distance.
***
“...”
An eerie silence enveloped Travelga. No one wandered the streets. The silence began the moment a great noise echoed from beyond the northern skies.
It had been less than two days since reinforcements from Karlingion had headed north. The noise from the north, near the Bellium Fortress, was not a good omen. The barbarian settlers gathered in a few houses shared the same sentiment.
"...Don’t worry. Everyone will return safely," Askel reassured as he moved from house to house, though his words did little to comfort.
As Thesaya followed him into another house, faint anxiety tinged her face.
"Ian must be alright, right? There is no way he—"
"Don’t even utter such nonsense," Charlotte cut her off, leaning against the wall.
"Ian won’t die. He promised—"
Roar—
The ground trembled anew, this time with a noise of a completely different magnitude.
The beastfolk and the vampire fairy halted their conversation.
Thesaya removed her eyepatch and locked eyes with Charlotte. Without waiting, they both leaped onto the roof of the building. After hopping across several roofs, absorbing the continuous booms, they finally stood side by side on a narrow chimney. The landscape before them became visible.
Darkness filled the sky, with dense storm clouds in the north and flashes of light in the distant sky.
Thesaya sighed as she watched the scene. freēwēbnovel.com
"What in the world is happening..."
Her ears perked up suddenly, and she quickly turned around, her eyes flashing red. The silent darkness held with only the look of the few villagers peeking out their doors out of curiosity.
Thesaya narrowed her eyes, which Charlotte noticed.
"What’s wrong?"
"... Nothing. Just had a strange feeling," Thesaya muttered, turning back to the front.
Soon, she forgot her ominous feeling entirely. Because in the distant sky, piercing through the dark clouds, a massive being traced a violet arc through the air, following a parabolic trajectory at incredible speed toward the east.
As it approached close enough to be over Travelga, Thesaya stammered out:
"A dragon...? Is that a dragon...?"
Charlotte merely blinked. To her, it appeared the same. A creature of such enormous size with wings could only be a dragon, though its appearance was bizarre. Almost skeletal, tattered all over, and crucially, flying upside down. The strangely twisted and limp thing was not a tail, but a head.
The violet trail glittering in the air was the remnants of magic from its disintegrating wings.
As the dragon changed its trajectory, one wing dipped deeply, revealing a torn torso. Charlotte’s mouth fell open wider. In the midst of the flickering purple magic, familiar glows of red and blue shone brightly.
SCREECH—
With a harrowing scream, the dragon scattered a gray breath down to the earth. The flashing blue light intensified, and a small silhouette briefly emerged.
As Charlotte continued to stare at the retreating figure of the dragon, she eventually sighed, "Ian...?"
***
"f*cking hell..."
Clutching the sword he had just drawn, Ian thought to himself that this situation was certainly not in any game he had played.
No matter how evil the creators were, pushing a player into such an extreme scenario seemed unreasonable. But now, such thoughts were to change nothing. He was already standing atop a dying dragon’s heart, soaring through the sky at an incredible speed.
Or, more accurately, it was falling.
Ian felt the altitude decreasing incrementally.
Clearly, it plans to die with me.
Muttering to himself, Ian glanced up at the magical barrier overhead. There was no need to stab at the heart again—the creature would die on its own soon enough, as the dispersing magical energy within the heart was palpable. Before the beast hit the ground, however, Ian knew he needed to escape.
About the landing...
Ian checked the magic remaining in his body. The scale in his hand had long since fallen away, but he still kept some of the dragon’s magic within him.
If he used the Whirling Barrier and Whirlwinds judiciously, he might be able to land with only a few broken bones.
There wasn’t really another option. Deciding swiftly, Ian tightened his grip on the Sword of Judgement. He felt cracks in the blade, but its sacred power still shone brightly—enough for his purpose.
With a loud crack, Ian swung the sword at the magic barrier. The effect was dramatic. The once unstable barrier, after a few hits, fractured.
—That… won’t ■■… You ■■ meant... to ■■…
An echoing thought tried to impose itself over Ian, as a massive shadow loomed overhead.
Realizing it was a wing, Ian’s brow furrowed with irritation. With a creak, the remaining front paw awkwardly moved to shield him from above. An additional barrier formed from the haphazardly interwoven dragon bones appeared over Ian’s head. The violently flickering magic made the barrier untouchable, even though it wasn’t tightly sealed.
This bastard really means it.
Ian gritted his teeth. It was impossible to shatter all the bones above him, especially with a sword beginning to crack.
Eventually, Ian looked down again. To escape this prison, he had to ensure the creature’s complete demise.
Crunch!
Ian slammed the sword into the heart. Sparks flew where sacred power met magical energy. Ian continued to strike, feeling the blade’s cracks widen, yet the sacred power also intensified, as if determined to fulfill its purpose until the end.
With a final, loud snap, the magic around the heart shattered. The sword plunged deeper. Ian pushed it to its limits, and in response, the sacred power blazed brilliantly.
Crack, crack-crack—
Cracks spread throughout the heart. Purple magic surged, interlaced with flashes of blue light.
R—OAA—R—
Below him, Tahumrit’s death scream echoed as a final breath.
With a burst, the sword exploded, and the heart disintegrated in all directions. Ian fell downwards, finally landing.
The quest completion window appeared. Closing the window, Ian first observed the remnants of the Sword of Judgement.
…Thanks, he thought briefly.
The body of Tahumrit was collapsing around him. Its wings and limbs flowed down like blossoming flowers.
Finally, the outside became visible. He was plummeting at an incredible speed. The ground was not far.
Swoosh.
That was when the fragmented heart’s magic whirled up around him.
f*ck—
Boom, boom, boom!
With nearly simultaneous timing, the explosion of the fragments catapulted Ian outward. He spun wildly, feeling chunks of the dragon’s magic dissipate within him, clearly sacrificed to protect his body from the magical blast.
There was no time to mourn the loss. Ashen magic swept in Ian’s eyes, creating the Whirling Barrier. He slowed his rotation slightly, but the situation was still dire.
Boom!
As the remains of Tahumrit crashed to the ground, Ian faced an onslaught of soil and shattered dragon bones.
He quickly raised the Field Force Barrier.
Crunch!
The shield scraped the surface of the bones, twisting his trajectory as it broke. The Whirling Barrier then thrust him aside. Another bone brushed his arm, and Ian realized his left arm had broken—neither the Blessing of Battle nor the dragon’s magic could fully protect him from physical impact.
Quickly, he raised another Whirling Barrier and stretched his right hand toward the ground.
Swoosh!
A gust shot out, reducing his speed slightly. The next moment, the shock slammed his body upward. Ian realized that instead of crashing into the ground at an angle, the combined force of blessings and the dragon’s magic had propelled him back up.
With his dragon magic completely gone, he sensed numerous fractures all over his body. Fortunately, he hadn’t lost consciousness, but his situation had not improved.
Ian sensed his impending death. Everything seemed to slow down in his spinning vision: dragon bones scattering, darkness and dust swirling, the ground approaching again, and his status window.
Feeling the wind intensify, Ian allocated all his remaining attribute points to his Health. Next to his basic resistance skill, he upgraded the common skill, Primordial Vitality, to level five.
That was his last conscious act.
