Chapter 28
—‘……I can’t believe it even after seeing it with my own eyes.’
Lightning bolts falling at the speed of light missed by a hair’s breadth.
The chunks of land floating disorderly in the air became stepping stones for him to advance.
The collapse of spacetime magic.
The resulting chaos.
However.
—‘That boy…… is a human, yet he is manipulating miracles.’
All this chaos could not even dare to block Ruth’s path.
No. Far from blocking him, it was instead being used by him.
There was no need to mention the land chunks serving as stepping stones.
Kwaaaaa—!!
The blade-like winds that should have originally torn Ruth apart had ‘coincidentally’ transformed into a propulsive force gently pushing his back forward.
Kwarurung—!!
The indiscriminately striking lightning bolts destroyed the meteors that had been falling along Ruth’s path.
Ruth advanced like a gale, kicking off the floating land chunks with a calm expression, as if this were nothing new.
It was a spectacle as if the entire world had become Ruth’s ally.
Entur was so shocked that she kept stopping momentarily while trying to lead the way.
“Why do you keep stopping, Ancient Dragon? Every second counts. Shouldn’t we hurry?”
—Huh? S-Sorry……
Entur, looking embarrassed, unconsciously apologized and resumed guiding him.
And a short while later,
Ruth saw it.
Kwaaaaaaaa—!!
In the middle of the void, a massive heart floated leisurely like a full moon.
And piercing straight through that heart was a single silver greatsword still radiating terrifying divine power.
It was the moment he finally reached Entur’s heart.
—It was a long…… an endlessly long time of suffering.
“……”
Entur’s voice was filled with countless emotions — joy, regret, anger, and more.
—Ruth Fried. Great one, please put a period to this one’s long ordeal.
“Yes.”
Boom—!
Ruth nodded, kicked off a land chunk, and closed the distance to the heart.
The heart, which had stopped pulsating long ago, had turned as black as coal.
Ruth grabbed onto the bulging, multicolored blood vessels on the heart’s surface as support, then
Clench!
He fearlessly reached out and gripped the hilt — the handle of <Balmun>.
The moment contact was made, the divine power covering the greatsword began to surge with even greater intensity.
Anyone else would have already been devoured by the divine power and burned to ashes at this point.
However.
—Ah, aaaaah……!
Ruth was different.
The fiercely writhing golden flames could not inflict even a single wound on him.
Because he was qualified.
Because the star blood flowing through his veins and the divine power shared the same nature.
There was no reason Ruth could not touch <Balmun>.
Even though she knew this fact, seeing it actually happen left Entur unable to contain her overwhelming emotion.
“……Hoo.”
Ruth also let out a sigh with considerable surprise in his eyes.
He wasn’t surprised by the fact that he could pull out <Balmun>. He had already known that, so there was no reason to be shocked.
He was surprised for a different reason.
Gush—.
The moment he applied slight force with both hands to pull out the sword,
Pitch-black blood flowed out from Entur’s heart.
Dead blood that had accumulated inside the heart for a long time.
The instant it emitted a thick bloody scent,
[You have discovered ‘Dragon Blood’!]
“……After star blood, now it’s dragon blood?”
Dragon blood.
There was almost no part of a dragon’s body that was useless. From scales to internal organs, claws, heart — every part was used as a major material for elixirs or legendary equipment.
However, there was one part that was uniquely useless: the blood.
‘But would it really be useless to a Blood Mage?’
Blood Mages were characters who grew stronger through the blood of others.
The blood of humans or monsters was consumed as fuel for skills.
The blood of Constellations served as a link to gain rare authorities.
Therefore, dragon blood surely had some use as well.
Otherwise, the system message would not have appeared in the first place.
Swaaaak—.
When he carefully activated the <Blood Absorption> skill, the pitch-black blood flowing from the pierced area was sucked into Ruth’s body.
[You have absorbed ‘Dragon Blood’!]
[Your body’s constitution is changing into a structure more suitable for handling ‘Dragon Authority’!]
As expected.
A message akin to a reward followed.
And it was one that naturally brought a smile to his face.
‘A timely effect. Could this also be thanks to the good fortune from the goblin’s horn?’
Ruth planned to create the strongest weapon using the <Dragon Eyes> he had obtained as the final trial reward.
And any weapon crafted with <Dragon Eyes> would unconditionally be granted one of the ‘Dragon Authorities.’
Now that his body had changed to better handle ‘Dragon Authority,’ how could he not smile?
‘But whether it’s dragon blood or anything else, if I don’t get out of here safely, it will all be meaningless.’
Ruth set aside his joy for the moment and poured strength into the hand gripping the hilt once more.
<Balmun> fiercely spewed golden flames as if resisting.
With the divine power output surging this much, even Ruth broke out in cold sweat.
But resistance was futile.
How could a sword that had left its master’s hand possibly defeat a living person?
Swish—!!
A brutal sound of flesh being torn rang out.
It was the moment the legendary divine sword, which had pierced the dragon’s heart for over hundreds of years, was finally pulled out by Ruth.
And then.
Rumble—!!
A change occurred in Entur, who had been watching anxiously.
—Finally……!
Bright light like the sun poured out from the empty eye sockets of the thought form.
Immediately after, flames of cold that seemed to freeze the soul to its very core swirled and gathered toward Entur.
—Finaaaally!!
Entur.
The legendary ancient dragon, whose soul had been freed after hundreds of years, raised both arms and cheered.
***
“You bastard—!!”
The Tyrant of the North roared in fury.
Even though he was in such a wretched state that anyone watching would frown, he did not yield and charged forward with all his might.
Toward Belgious, who was radiating a sinister aura and trying to take over the ancient dragon’s body.
Kaaang—!!
However, <Frost Fang> failed to cut Belgious as Wolfgang had hoped.
Mirati, who had quickly rushed in and intervened, blocked the sword strike with a massive scythe forged from jet-black mana.
“You dare ruin this glorious moment? There is no creature more disgusting than an old man who doesn’t know his place and runs wild.”
“You damn black mage bitch……!”
Wolfgang poured aura into <Frost Fang> with all his strength, but the scythe didn’t budge.
It was partly because Wolfgang had already suffered serious injuries,
But more decisively, because the malicious energy radiating from Belgious was exponentially amplifying Mirati’s combat power as a black mage.
This was why those who practiced black magic worshipped evil gods.
The energy of an evil god served as a blessing that elevated black mages to the next level.
“If you had just stayed quiet, I could have killed you painlessly out of respect for the elderly. Why struggle so pointlessly? Hm?”
“Shut your nonsense, you wicked wench. The one dying today—”
Wolfgang stepped back to break the deadlock and swung his sword in a cross shape at lightning speed.
“—is not me, but you and that worthless god!”
Kwaaaaa—!!
At the same time, a storm of cold air that froze even the atmosphere itself swept forward.
The skill and power contained within that storm were hard to believe coming from an injured man, yet
Slice—!!
The black scythe swung by Mirati effortlessly erased the cross-shaped sword wind that had been fierce enough to split waves.
“They say even the Tyrant of the North becomes stupid when he gets old, right? In this state, can’t you even tell who is above and who is below?”
Fwoosh—!!
Behind the sneering Mirati, powerful mana condensed.
The black mana, fired like cannonballs, split into countless spears in mid-air and poured down toward Wolfgang.
Kwa-ga-ga-gak—!!
Wolfgang swung <Frost Fang> at light speed to deflect the spears, but the limit was clear.
The spears he couldn’t block inevitably tore through his skin and pierced him, leaving gruesome wounds.
“Kuuugh……!”
And when the bombardment ended,
Wolfgang’s knees helplessly touched the floor.
His fighting spirit still burned fiercely, but because a spear had pierced his shin, he could not stand up no matter what.
Forced to kneel before the enemy due to his injuries against his will, he bit his lip so hard it bled from sheer frustration and humiliation.
“Go on, beg like a dog, old man. Then I’ll kill you without pain.”
“Shut up and…… finish it.”
Wolfgang’s eyes, filled with intense killing intent, glared at Mirati.
He had no choice but to acknowledge it.
With fatal injuries to both legs that should support his body, he no longer had any chance of victory.
‘Damn it. At this rate, I won’t even be able to close my eyes in peace.’
Instead of looking at Mirati, who was raising her scythe to strike his neck, Wolfgang looked at Belgious, whose eyes rolled as he emitted the aura of death.
The moment that thing took over Entur’s body, the continent would become hell.
To die unable to stop the evil ambition due to lack of strength — it was unbearably mortifying.
“Then die well, old man.”
Whoooong—!!
With a mocking laugh and a chilling wind sound, the black scythe descended.
Wolfgang quietly closed his eyes before the approaching death.
Crunch—!!
The horrifying sound of skin being sliced by a blade rang out.
However.
“……What?”
The source of the tearing sound was not Wolfgang’s neck, but somewhere else.
He slowly opened his closed eyes. The scene that greeted Wolfgang was
“Why are you closing your eyes already?”
The back of Ruth, wearing a cloak fluttering with red flames,
And
“You son of a bitch……!!”
Mirati, who had somehow lost her right hand — the one holding the scythe — and was growling while pouring out a large amount of blood.
At the appearance of unexpected reinforcements, Wolfgang was left speechless.
As the Tyrant trembled with a sliver of hope, Ruth’s declaration pierced his ears without the slightest tremor.
“The fight is only just beginning. You can’t close your eyes yet.”
“What? The fight is only just beginning? Bullshit.”
“……”
“Just because one brat showed up, you think a miraculous comeback is going to happen…… Ugh, fuck. It hurts, you damn brat!”
Mirati shook her right arm, where the severed cross-section was clearly visible, while venting her anger.
Even though her arm had been cut off, she only showed irritation and not the slightest sign of despair.
That was only natural.
Belgious’s energy, which dominated the area, had not only strengthened her combat power but also her regenerative ability.
A wound like this should have regrown quickly with just a bit of effort—
“……Huh?”
……or so it should have.
Why?
There was no reaction at all.
It didn’t take Mirati long, as she stared blankly at her severed arm, to realize the cause.
Whoooosh—!
“Huk……!”
A terrifying cold air instantly covered the entire space.
Even Belgious, who had been leisurely trying to implant his soul into Entur’s body, froze at the cold.
No, he was more than frozen — he was being overwhelmed by it.
As a result, the evil god’s energy diminished, and Mirati’s regenerative power, which had been boosted by Belgious, inevitably dropped sharply as well.
Kwa-deu-deuk—!!
The air around Belgious tore apart like a drum being ripped open, and at that moment, a woman revealed herself.
—Shall we begin the revenge match?
It was Entur’s thought form.
However, she was completely different from before, when she had only been helplessly pushed back.
Not just on the surface, but from within as well.
Her previously blurry silhouette had become clear enough to show every facial feature,
And the cold air flowing from the thought form was so powerful it seemed capable of freezing everything under the heavens.
Crackle—! Crunch!!
Even the talismans that had been sealing the thought form’s spiritual power could not withstand the cold and were destroyed.
<What the……>
At the transformed presence of Entur, Belgious’s single eye shook violently as if caught in a storm.
<Just what happened to you……?>
—There is no need for a soon-to-be-dead bastard to know!
<How unsightly for a loser to act so disgracefully! It’s just a worthless body rolling around like trash anyway. You should be grateful that I’m willing to use it!>
Belgious swung his six viciously raised claws wildly.
Kwaaaaa—!!
Six strands of slashes, powerful enough to overwhelm even a 9-star Sword Master, tore through space and charged toward Entur.
However, Entur merely snorted as if it were laughable and
Crackle—!
Instantly summoned hundreds of ice chunks and poured them down onto the ground.
Some of them blocked the incoming slashes, while the rest completely buried Belgious.
<……!!>
Even a Constellation had no way to resist such overwhelming violence.
The falling ice chunks brutally shredded Belgious’s entire body.
Having manifested completely, the pain he felt was vividly intense.
Unable to endure it, he let out a scream.
<Uwaaaaaaaaah!!>
“Ah, no……!!”
Mirati looked back at Belgious, who was being pushed back helplessly, and fell into the same despair.
To have such a variable appear at the very last moment. This was a nightmare.
“You haven’t been hit enough. You were distracted.”
At that moment, Ruth spoke in a cold, merciless voice devoid of any mercy, and
Baaang—!!
“KyaAAAAK?!”
With a tremendous explosion, Mirati let out a shrill scream and collapsed.
Ruth had blown off her leg with the shotgun created from <Blood Weapon>.
“Fuck! Fucking fuck! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you, you damn brat……!”
Baaaang!!
“K-Kuhuk!!”
Ruth also blew off her remaining left leg.
At this point, even Mirati, who had been spewing curses, could only writhe while shedding tears and snot.
Step—.
The sound of footsteps approached.
Mirati stopped her piercing screams and looked up.
There, Ruth was looking down at her with an utterly cold gaze.
“I-I don’t want to die…… I don’t want to die……”
“……”
“P-Please spare me…… Since you’re a person too, you have the same blood flowing in your veins, right? Hm? So please…… just please……”
Ruth silently stared at the woman begging for her life.
The reason he had gone through all this hardship even after clearing the trial to the end was entirely because of this damn black mage.
If the timing had been even slightly off, the entire trial could have gone up in smoke.
In his heart, he wanted to blow her head off as well, but……
“I’ll spare you.”
“Ugh, ughhh!!”
“But that person over there doesn’t seem to have any intention of sparing you.”
“Ah……?”
After saying that, Ruth heartlessly walked past Mirati.
Step, step—.
The shadow that then fell over her body belonged to Wolfgang.
The moment she saw his face, Mirati gave up all hope.
“Go ahead and beg like a dog, you black mage bitch. Even then, I’ll kill you as painfully as possible.”
“Ah, fuck—.”
Crunch—!!
<Frost Fang> was driven into Mirati’s face.
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