Chapter 131
“W-what? What the hell?”
Vladimir swung his staff around, flustered.
“I can’t use skills for 24 hours? No way! How can there be such a broken skill in the world?”
Before he could even finish complaining—
“Hoon! Above!”
Olena shouted from behind.
When I looked up, dozens of engraved magic circles were aimed straight at us.
Kugugugu!
Everyone flinched as the resonating magical power twisted through the space.
This was bad.
“Damn it.”
We couldn’t ignore the destructive power of the beams fired from those circles.
Each one could pierce the ground—pierce even a dragon’s hide.
“T-Team leader! What do we do? My skills are sealed, so I can’t even dodge anymore! Are we screwed?”
“Wait and see!”
Taat!
I shifted my weapon into a simple bracelet form and kicked off the ground.
At that moment, Aranvalon’s magical power erupted.
Bang! Kwang! Kwaang!
Violent beams poured down behind me.
If one of those hit, my skin and bones would be torn to shreds.
‘Still.’
Even as I sprinted at full speed, I kept tracking the direction of the magic circles.
‘Thank goodness.’
Aranvalon was only aiming for me.
The leader of the skeletons tormenting him—the team leader.
‘And the reason he sealed Vladimir’s skills, too…’
It wasn’t because Vladimir was a threat.
It was to catch me.
Which meant—
I had to pull away and keep my teammates safe.
Bang! Kwagagagang!
I ran without stopping, dodging the downpour of beams.
Then—
Kuuuuung!
With a heavy crash, the ground in front of me collapsed.
Aranvalon had flown over and smashed the ground with his forefoot.
“Team leader!”
“Hoon! Be careful!”
My teammates shouted from behind, but I ignored them.
I just kept running with everything I had.
I was only human. Fear was inevitable.
But my judgment was right.
‘I have to get on top of the dragon.’
Aranvalon could fire beams because I was at a distance.
If I closed in, he wouldn’t be able to cast so freely.
“Hoo!”
Even with all my training—
“Hoo, hoo!”
Using my body like this still felt awkward.
The crushing magic.
The dust blasting up.
My body weaving through all of it—it all felt unfamiliar.
I’m a Necromancer, not a swordsman or a spearman.
And then—
Kwaaaang!
“Heeup!”
My vision lurched forward.
A heavy force slammed into my back.
No way.
Did I get clipped by a beam?
I tumbled, losing my balance from the momentum, but I didn’t feel any real pain.
“Heut!”
I twisted with the roll, regained my footing, and ran again.
Kwaaang!
Another beam slammed into the exact spot I’d just been.
‘…Shit.’
A chill ran down my spine.
I could feel those yellow eyes locked on me.
That sticky murderous intent.
If I lost focus for even a moment, a beam would skewer me like a spit.
‘I didn’t get hit by something like that.’
Probably flying debris—rock blasted up from an impact.
[Skill: Pain Resistance]
[Rank: S]
[Effect 1: Resists pain.]
[Effect 2: The more pain you feel, the duller your senses become.]
Ultimate Pain Resistance.
A bruise like that barely even tickled.
And then—
Pyeoreureuk!
I felt something unusual.
Water spinning around my body.
‘Olena.’
She’d cast a protection spell on me in that split second.
That water barrier must’ve helped blunt the impact, too.
‘It would’ve been nice if the Elder were here.’
But the Elder’s summoning time had already run out, and he’d returned.
Kugugu!
The muscles around Aranvalon’s ankles slowly swelled.
As I got closer, he was about to kick off and take flight again.
Seuseut!
I shook my hand, transforming the bracelet back into a spear.
‘Okay. Let’s fight.’
So what if I’m not a swordsman or spearman?
Before I was a Necromancer—
Wasn’t I walking the path of the Legacy of the Ten Thousand Arts?
I narrowed my eyes and focused.
Kwaang!
I dodged a beam that struck right in front of me and kicked off the ground.
In response—
Hwoong!
Aranvalon spread his wings and leaped.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I drove the spear forward with both hands, stabbing into the end of his foot.
Pook!
It sank in smoothly.
“Master! Are you alright!”
“Master, it’s dangerous! You should come down!”
Sunny and Eldrin shouted somewhere nearby, but I couldn’t spare them a thought.
I locked my arms, tightened my back, and hauled myself up onto his foot.
‘Keep going up.’
My target was his face.
Digging straight into the center like I’d done with the Great Demon Dragon—piercing the heart—was nearly impossible against this thing.
And for most creatures, the vital point is the head.
Seuseut!
This time, I split the weapon in two.
Two swords, just the right size.
“Heuaaaap!”
I roared and drove the blades into his hide, one after the other.
Pook!
Left hand.
Pook!
Right hand.
Over and over, I stabbed and climbed.
Heat surged through my whole body.
My wrists and forearms screamed like they were going to burst, and every muscle protested.
‘I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him no matter what.’
I forced my mind into a frenzy.
I couldn’t stay rational right now.
I had to unleash the anger buried deep inside.
Unleash the ferocious hunting instinct.
That was the only way.
Now was the time to squeeze out strength beyond human limits.
This bastard.
Swaeeeeek!
Aranvalon shook his body violently.
The ground became the sky, and the sky became the ground.
High in the air, he spun a full 360 degrees.
‘Huh?’
Oh, so that’s how you want to do this?
A thought flashed through me.
I don’t know why.
My body just moved.
It felt like it would work—so I threw myself into the air.
I yanked the twin swords free, snapped them back into a spear, and slammed it down.
‘Because at this timing…’
Hwooong!
As he rotated, Aranvalon’s head was coming around under me.
Why climb that massive body step by step when I could take the shortcut?
“Heuaaaap!”
I fell with accelerating force.
A sharp, tingling pull twisted my gut.
Even with death waiting if I missed, my eyes never left the dragon’s head.
And just as I expected—
Right as his huge spinning head came under me—
“Die!”
I thrust the spear with everything I had.
Midair, but my posture was perfect.
My body instinctively formed the stance that drew out power most efficiently.
Pook!
The spear stabbed in.
Gravity drove my body into his hide.
A dull shock rocked me, like my organs were bursting and my bones were cracking.
I didn’t let go.
I stabbed with poison.
‘Of course.’
A spear this small couldn’t truly hurt him.
‘But what if the Toxin Mist gets inside?’
Jureureuk!
I whispered to the Toxin Mist, returned and coiled around my heart.
‘Please. This can be a playground for you, too.’
Toxin Mist was picky.
It wouldn’t move unless the place was more fun than inside my body.
But this dragon—
He’d already tasted it inside the Great Demon Dragon.
He’d already savored that sweet moment of destruction, rampaging however he pleased.
Keueu?
So—
Jureuk! Jureureuk!
He answered my will.
He forced his way in through the spear.
Kuaaaaaaa!
Aranvalon howled in pain.
His skin trembled, glowing as it reacted.
‘Good.’
Proof that the Toxin Mist was working.
A grin almost rose at the satisfaction curling up from my toes—
And then—
Kwaaaang!
Something heavy slammed into my left ribs.
No—before I could even process the hit, the spear slipped from my hands.
“Keoheok!”
Red blood sprayed from my mouth.
My vision shook violently.
What the hell did a bug like you do to my head!
Aranvalon’s roar crashed over me.
In my blurred view, dozens—no, hundreds—of engraved magic circles hung in the air.
What…
What hit me?
Was he really using that much magic on me alone?
In an instant, pain flooded from my toes all the way up to my skull.
Without a doubt, it hurt more than the Elder’s massage ever had.
“Keueueup!”
Energy poured from countless magic circles, battering me again and again.
Bang! Kwaaang! Bang!
Beam after beam struck.
It hurt.
So much I couldn’t even speak.
‘Shit.’
Am I going to die like this?
Yeah…
Is that what a dragon is?
The strongest race, without rivals in any world.
Kuaaaa! Take out what you put in right now! Otherwise, I’ll make you live in pain for an eternity, neither dead nor alive!
His condition didn’t look good either.
Kuoong!
He stopped flying and dropped to the ground.
And then—
Woowoong!
A certain force surged from Aranvalon and caught my falling body.
I stopped midair, suspended upright.
Those yellow eyes—burning with rage—filled my vision.
‘Shibaal.’
This…
This is too scary.
I wanted to speak, but all I could hear was air hissing out of my lungs.
I forced my head to turn and assessed the situation.
Down below, the skeletons and my teammates were still attacking.
The dragon—Toxin Mist in his head—held me in place, glaring like he wanted to tear me apart.
“Kkeueu.”
I tried to move.
My body wouldn’t respond.
Some invisible pressure pinned me down.
What are you doing!
He shouted.
If you don’t take back what you released on me, I will make you live in pain for an eternity, neither dead nor alive!
Kugugugu!
His voice hit hard enough to rattle my eardrums.
I forced a voice out through lungs that wouldn’t cooperate, and aimed it at his face.
“Fuck… you.”
Yeah.
If I truly valued my life, I’d recall the Toxin Mist and beg him to spare me.
But from where we were now, nothing was stupider than that.
Would Aranvalon save me if I pulled it back?
After all this?
No.
Whatever happens, he won’t just let us go.
“Keuheet!”
I laughed.
Yeah, it’s going to hurt.
Toxin Mist is also a monster that can dominate a world—just like your dragonkin.
If you were in perfect condition, you could’ve removed it easily.
But now—
You’ve got less than 5% of your original power left.
Try removing it if you can.
I can’t help it!
Did he hear the ridicule in my eyes?
His twisted expression contorted even more.
Just die!
Woowoong!
One of the brown magic circles warped.
The largest.
The darkest.
And it was pointed at my heart.
“……”
Cold sweat slid down my back.
I could feel it instinctively.
That was different from everything he’d done so far.
If that hit me, I’d be finished.
“Heueeup…!”
I clenched every muscle I had.
Focus.
It’s not over until it’s over.
Die.
He declared it, as if my life were his to end.
Then he released the magic.
Kukung!
A dark beam was about to fire from the circle—straight into my heart—
Seuseut!
A force wrapped around my body.
Like someone was switching me out with something else.
I was definitely suspended in the air—
But now I could see the ground.
Not just the ground.
I could see my companions.
Olena. Capu. Zhang Wei.
Myoi Hana. Maximilian—
And…
“Uh…?”
Vladimir wasn’t there.
I jerked my head up.
Hastily, I looked back to the sky.
And there—
“Keoheok!”
Vladimir hung there, pierced through the heart, blood pouring out.
‘What…?’
My heart sank.
What the hell just happened?
(T/N : Not Vladimir!!!!!!)