CH 365

He slowly emerged, overcoming the onslaught of my immense lightning power… So as he shed the guise of an extraterrestrial being and revealed his true form, he was now more formidable than ever before.

The shattered rocks were propelled skyward, accompanied by a flurry of dirt and debris. Despite my efforts to put some distance between us by leaping from one debris pile to the next, he remained hot on my heels, moving at a speed equal to that of an Awakened in Ender section.

The human mask on his countenance had vanished entirely. Sharp fangs now protruded out of his mouth while tough scales covered his entire body, even his face. Furthermore, his pupils were vertically slit and blazed with a crimson hue.

When his eyes glared with the determination that he would stick his fangs on my neck, I felt the air squirming in front of me. His ability to manipulate space was equally matched with that of the Guide in the Final Stage, exhibiting remarkable swiftness.

He was chasing me, but he had one hand stretched out in front. It wasn’t close enough to stab the Lightning Spear. Starting with his arm stretching out as if he was exiting the gate, his entire body came out. His grip was like a viper with its jaw wide open.

The tendrils of lightning power chewed away at his flesh, yet he remained seemingly unfazed, making no attempt to charge me with the intention of dying together. As the scales were shed from his body, revealing his rippling muscles beneath, fresh scales sprouted forth at a remarkably swift rate.

[You have used Gate Formation.]

[Power: 318 / 320]

I flung open the gate in the direction of his charging from, positioning the entrance directly in his path and the exit beneath my feet. This was to ensure that I would be able to capture him as he passed through and dropped below me.

To be precise, this occurred just as his tail passed through the gate. I was planning to pierce his body from his hip to the top with a spear that I held upside down, but he was too fast.

As his outstretched arm vanished from my line of sight, I suddenly felt an enormous pressure bearing down upon the top of my head. Although I had not witnessed it with my own eyes, I knew that his arm had been aimed directly at my head. His speed had been so great that I was unable to react in time to prepare for his next attack.

However, I couldn’t believe what happened at that moment. Something flashed in front of me, and I couldn’t confirm what exactly attacked me. My shield shattered from a single strike, and probably because my barrier had been weakened, I was enveloped in a searing heat that made everything I saw turn red instantaneously. I couldn’t tell if it was his actual fist or a projection aggregated with extreme heat that hit me.

When I opened my eyes, I had already fallen down the cliff. I seemed to be somewhere below the surface of the land. Something was tying me up. The red lines that even tied Hanuman’s tail were connected to his body.

Upon making eye contact with his vertically torn pupils, flames in the shape of arrows began to pour out of his hands. The sheer quantity of them was staggering, so much so that the blue radiance of my Lightning Spear was momentarily eclipsed.

They poured upon me with such ferocity that I was caught off guard. I wasn’t ready for his sudden onslaught. All I could manage was to raise the gate above my head, directly in the path of the arrows’ trajectory, and position the exit on his side, in the hopes that he would be vulnerable to his own attack.

Then, he slipped beneath me, gazing upward with eyes that promised to send me to hell. His forehead writhed as he continued to weave his way through the barrage of arrows raining down through the gate.

Despite this, I used all my lightning power to sever the binding lines that constricted me. The more the red lines and lightning power clashed, the more sparks flashed. He appeared to be fixated on my hand that clutched the Thunderbolt, eagerly anticipating the moment it would be relinquished and come crashing down upon him.

Right then, the surrounding bedrock layers couldn’t withstand our collision. A huge rock fell and was smashed to pieces by the fire arrows. From then on, a landslide occurred as everything all around us started to collapse.

As the dirt inundated my eyes, ears, and nostrils, the binding lines constricting my limbs suddenly went slack, providing a fleeting sense of liberation. However, his hand swiftly shot toward my neck, exerting a powerful force that felt as though he was attempting to decapitate me, rather than merely seizing my throat.

[Strongman has been activated.]

When his blade hit the center of my neck, his head tilted back. He wouldn’t have expected this.

[Forerunner has been activated.]

[Sensitive has been activated.]

[Gifted has been activated.]

I had been conserving these abilities, just as he seemed to have been holding back his final trump card. As I activated the Man Who Overcomes Adversity, these traits maximized my Agility and Sense to the extreme overload section. This was the moment for me, just as he took off his human skin and became stronger.

***

Breaking through the binding lines was a trivial task now. Although it required the entirety of my shield’s power, I needed to extricate myself from their restraints while he was preoccupied with defending against my attacks.

[You have used the Punishment of the Moong Water God.]

I had no intention of inflicting immediate damage with this skill, as it was designed to cause excruciating agony by scorching the skin on one’s wrists and ankles.

Everything was already on fire anyway. The bedrock was shattered into a fine powder, while the detonation had obliterated everything in its vicinity. Thanks to Ra’s Blessing, my Flame Resistance had surged dramatically, allowing me to shield myself and a portion of the surrounding area.

However, the infernal realm he had summoned was an ominous portent of the world’s end, as all kinds of flames were consumed by Ra's Sun Cape.

A whirlpool formed by spray, the Punishment of the Moong Water God, was destroyed before it could reach him. Nonetheless, the recuperative qualities inherent to this ability were steadily restoring any injuries that remained unhealed by his natural regenerative capabilities to a certain extent, thereby preventing him from losing consciousness.

My desire to continue to fight within the boundary had completely evaporated as this place had become a favorable environment for him. The scorching flames didn’t seem to cause him any harm. Instead, he appeared to be able to manipulate them at will, just as he had when I witnessed him standing unscathed in the midst of a fire pit.

Swaaaaaak-!

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He tried to move the space while standing up. However, I shot the tip of the spear at his face. The battle had not lasted long enough for my Passion for advancing to the next level and the duration of Odin’s Thunderstorm to elapse.

Lightning fragments and flames exploded in his face. The heat from all directions was poking my whole body again, so I continued to attack him persistently. I trampled on his chest so that he wouldn’t be swept away by the storm and released the lighting power at the end of the spear toward him.

Just as he could handle flames in various forms, such as a sphere, tidal wave, or arrow, I was able to manipulate lightning in the same way. Lightning sparks began to flare up on his face. Of course, he attempted to free himself from my feet, but I swiftly detected any attempts using my highly attuned Sense and stopped him by using my unparalleled speed. This ensured that he remained trapped.

Zing!

His entire body fluttered with a huge movement whenever he was shocked by the electricity, and it wasn’t a surprise. Those were all reflexive on his part.

Despite receiving intense shocks that would have shattered his skull, it was remarkable that he endured them and persisted. His skin and facial tissues melted away, exposing the skeleton beneath his burning eyes.

Then, I was able to identify the reason why he had near-immortal resistance. The Skeletal Dragon that even the Living Worship… An energy that had filled the dragon was inside him in red instead of black. That was why it felt like he was staring at me even though he had lost his eyes. Every time the red energy fluttered inside the deep-cut sockets, it was accompanied with a deep set anger toward me.

However, even the Skeletal Dragon was eventually defeated in the battle against Doom Dejire, proving that immortality didn’t truly exist. Well… There was such a thing as ‘Resurrection’ though.

I constantly exerted lightning power to block his resistance. He had nothing left. All his muscles and organs were burned without leaving a trace. Even the heart that sent blood all over his body with heavy thuds was gone. All that was left was a blackened skull. But even that was cracking.

However, the intensity of the red energy circulating in his skull was increasing rapidly, and I recognized the familiar phenomenon as the energy concentrated toward his mouth. It was similar to when Skeletal Dragon would unleash its powerful breath attack. With energy vibrations more intense than the dragon, I could only assume that whatever he was about to unleash would be stronger than that of the dragon.

It was dead, but its last will at the moment of death might have remained and was preparing for the final blow.

I moved and created a gate in case a dead skeleton poured its breath down on me.

[You have used Gate Formation.]

The exit was toward the sky at the top of the boundary. Finally, the red energy exploded from his skull between the maxillary and mandible, and a fire, which was hard to describe as mere flames, erupted on another level. The skull twisted towards me.

The fire was wide enough to cover the entire gate, but even if I had expanded the gate, it wouldn’t have worked from the beginning. The damn alarm rang in my mind when the flame, which was supposed to disappear as if it was absorbed into the gate, poured out.

I quickly leaped to avoid the coming attack, but my foot got stuck in the edge of his breath. At first, I didn’t feel any pain, but when I saw that my lower legs were gone, my body twisted in agony. I couldn’t tell if I was actually screaming or silently crying as a searing pain flashed before my eyes. But that was only for a few seconds.

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity has been activated.]

I was able to stand on the ground now. In the direction where breath swept through, red lava was boiling and flowing through the cracks of the earth after melting everything. His skull was breaking apart into powder as if he had done his job.

[You have found and removed one of the Holy Knights, Dragorin ‘Red.’]

[Your master is satisfied with you.]

An unidentified energy came into me.

[You have obtained 60 Power.]

[Power 377 / 380]

[You have received a command from your master, Doom Kaos.]

[Find One More Dragorin ‘Red,’ and Remove It (Command)

If the direct blood lineage of the Ancient Dragon ‘the Great Red’ is eliminated, it will be forced to awaken from its long sleep even if its body is not fully healed. We should prepare for that moment. There is only one descendant of ‘the Great Red’ left.

However, don’t be conceited. You will have to be careful, especially in Elsland, as they now know you are here.

* The Queen of Elsland might be the Ancient Dragon ‘The Great Green.’ If that is confirmed, then you should remove her in advance.

* The majority of the Holy Knights with the blood of Ancient Dragons are not aware of their ancestors. However, being aware that families with significant lineage at this level are typically descended from Ancient Dragons could help you in locating them.

Alternatively, you could detect them by observing their anger and intensification characteristics, as their blood is filled with fury against your master and his subordinates.

- If the Queen of Elsland is an Ancient Dragon (Remove Queen of Elsland)

If you succeed: Additional inherent power will be given. An opportunity to challenge the ranking of the upper monarch, Doom Mount.

If you fail: No penalty.

- If the Queen of Elsland is not an Ancient Dragon (Additional Removal of Dragorin Red)

If you succeed: No reward

If you fail: Your master will be greatly disappointed in you.]