Chapter 539
“Eeeeek!”
“Mogiii Mogii!”
A live scream and the recorded sound merged as one.
Salamander flailed its whole body desperately, but a body moving at full acceleration didn’t obey its will.
“This is…!”
Pendragon’s movements halted for the first time.
The form flying toward him was all too familiar.
Black scales, bright amber eyes, and that unique cry.
It had to be the ancient dragon he’d been searching for all this time.
Forgetting about crushing golems, Pendragon snatched Salamander up.
“At last… we finally meet. I’ve searched for you for so long. Another of my kind… huh?”
But.
When he finally had it in his arms, Pendragon’s face twisted fiercely.
What he’d caught wasn’t an ancient dragon, but a fire spirit.
A fake, dressed up in a convincing disguise.
“Mo, mogiii?”
Salamander whimpered pitifully, voice full of sympathy and yearning.
And those became Salamander’s last words left in this world.
“You filthy little wretch dares to deceive me?”
Whoosh!
“Kieeek!”
With a blast of hellfire, Salamander was forcefully banished back to the spirit realm.
At once, Pendragon’s rage erupted, and he chased after Jinhyuk even more fiercely.
He had to make up for the ten seconds he’d wasted.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
The stones on the ground shattered as his speed surged.
[Pendragon activates ‘Pentacle Maker’!]
“Out of my way!”
A unique multidimensional spell.
Flames of different colors burst forth.
“Groooar!”
“Oooooh!”
The highest-grade golems evaporated on the spot.
Even the turrets powered by superior mana stones stood no chance.
Pendragon’s overwhelming might changed the very landscape of the ruins.
And this wasn’t even his true form—he was still in human-shaped polymorph.
“Damn it, do something!”
Jinhyuk shouted.
Boss monster or not, from Nanoleaf’s perspective, if Pendragon wasn’t stopped, his own lair would be reduced to rubble.
He couldn’t just sit back and watch someone burn his house down.
[Nanoleaf activates magic engineering ‘Nanotechnology’!]
Kkiririk…!
Chachachachacha!
Tiny crystals poured from the walls.
Like a swarm of locusts, thousands of crystals whirled through the air.
The swirling crystals soon took shape.
“Groooar!”
A giant wolf with seven heads.
Its body was massive, even at a glance.
From each wolf’s mouth, a powerful beam of light gathered.
Seven beams condensed into one straight line.
Kwakwakwakwa….
…Tukwaaang!
“…Hup!”
For the first time, Pendragon was knocked back.
The shock of the small breath attack jolted him to the bone.
“Tch, what an annoying toy you’ve made.”
Of course, it wouldn’t stand a chance in a real fight, but the important thing was that taking down that wolf would cost him another dozen seconds.
Meanwhile, Jinhyuk cheered inwardly.
“Nice, nice!”
No wonder Nanoleaf needed those three days.
Normally, it would have been an annoying enemy, but right now, it was the most reliable ally he could ask for.
⁕⁕⁕
At the same time.
On another floor of the Tower, an invisible war was about to begin.
Grit!
“I can’t stand that bastard breathing for even one more second.”
Zeus, unable to contain his anger, crushed the bowl of ambrosia in his grip.
“……”
“……”
The crushed food soiled the table, but no one dared say a word.
That’s how sky-high Zeus’s fury had become.
“We took heavy losses too. Kali ended up like that. The Eden bastards tucked tail and ran the moment things turned against them.”
“The balance of power itself is starting to collapse. After the last incident, even the Demon Realm is rapidly expanding under Berial’s influence.”
The Thousand-year Deity ‘Shiva’ and elephant-headed ‘Ganesha’ both added their remarks.
A heavy atmosphere settled.
After the last great war, Olympus and the Thousand-year Deities had suffered irreparable damage.
In contrast, Ragnarok, Egypt, the Demon Realm, and the Veteran Corporation gained more recognition than ever before.
If things kept going this way, it wouldn’t be strange if they lost their own territories.
Having two crowns within one faction was also a threat.
The ‘Crown of Domination’ and the ‘Crown of Pureblood.’
Those two relics, symbols of absolute power in the Tower, absolutely had to be recovered.
“What about the dragons? As far as I know, they haven’t joined in yet?”
Hades asked.
Hermes, who had remained silent, spoke up immediately.
“They’re locked in a fierce struggle over the new Lord’s seat… They seem to have no energy to get involved elsewhere. Even when I visited, they treated me coldly.”
“Damn lizards, why do they always do such useless things? Do they really think electing a Lord by vote makes sense… tch.”
Ares cursed.
As the god of war who valued strength above all, he couldn’t understand the dragons’ mindset.
“Can’t we pull in the Spirit Realm or a third faction?”
Some upper mid-tier factions had considerable power and influence.
If they could recruit those neutral players, their forces would grow considerably.
But—
“That won’t be easy either. Everyone wants to just wait and see for now…”
Hermes trailed off.
It truly felt like all paths were blocked.
But at that moment—
“In the end, isn’t this all because of the Veteran Corporation… no, Kang Jinhyuk? Instead of worrying about other factions, we should focus solely on him. We should strike unexpectedly, not where he’s well-defended, but where he won’t expect it.”
A voice spoke up from an entirely different direction.
“Who are you?”
“How did you get in here…?”
The gods sprang to their feet.
‘Elysian,’ covered by layered barriers, was supposed to be one of the most private places in Olympus.
No one uninvited should be able to enter.
“Ah, no need to be so wary. I’m on your side, after all.”
The man smiled brightly and raised his hands.
He quickly introduced himself as a bonus.
“My name is… On a Diet for 25 Years… Ahem. Why did I ever pick that name… Forget it, just call me 25 Years.”
“Never heard of you.”
“Haha, does a name really matter? What matters is whether I can offer a way forward.”
25 Years shrugged slyly.
The gods’ wariness only increased, but Zeus actually admired his boldness.
Just showing up here undetected was no ordinary feat.
Besides, there were no better options.
“Fine. I don’t care who you are. Honestly, I’m not even interested.”
“Hahaha, as expected of the great King of the Greek gods. I like how direct you are.”
“Enough with the small talk. What’s this weakness of his?”
Zeus’s words brought a sly smile to 25 Years’ lips.
“Braham’s Ring.”
“A ring…? Did you say a ring?”
A ring, of all things—how absurd.
“That’s no ordinary ring. It’s the very medium that bound the Progenitor, Alice von Ataraxia.”
“…!?”
“The Progenitor!?”
At last, the gods’ faces changed completely.
They finally understood what 25 Years was getting at.
“Yes. Alice is Kang Jinhyuk’s most precious person. If you can intervene in that contract, you can flip this whole situation upside down. If the two of them end up as enemies, Kang Jinhyuk wouldn’t be able to lay a hand on Alice.”
“But taking that ring from him won’t be easy.”
“That’s right. So you have to strike when his guard is down. For example… when he returns to his own world.”
Inside the Tower, he always wore the ring, but the one exception was when he left the Tower.
Perhaps due to the familiarity of his own world, that was the best timing for a strike.
“Outside the Tower…”
“That’s actually pretty reasonable.”
“Whoever you are, you brought us a huge piece of information.”
The gods each nodded.
Up until now, the upper ranks hadn’t cared much about what happened outside the Tower.
System limitations were a big reason, but mostly there was no merit in going out of their way.
But not anymore.
As long as they could get rid of the ecological disruptor, Jinhyuk, they’d endure any loss.
Wrinkles deepened on the gods’ foreheads.
There was only one thing left to ponder…
Who exactly was this man, and what was his true goal?
‘Doesn’t matter.’
‘Whoever he is, there’s no way we can’t uncover his identity later.’
‘Let’s use him for all he’s worth.’
‘We can get rid of him after that.’
‘Huhu. I can see exactly what the gods are plotting.’
Each harbored their own schemes.
“Then, let’s work together.”
“Looking forward to it. Huhu.”
Another alliance was formed.
⁕⁕⁕
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
Once again, a Black Flame Orb whizzed right past.
Chiiik!
Smoke rose from evaporated rock and charred marble.
‘Phew. That was close.’
Jinhyuk swallowed hard and glanced back.
There was Pendragon, seething with hatred beyond mere rage.
He must’ve been infuriated by the trick with Salamander.
‘Just a little farther and I’ll reach Nanoleaf’s location…’
If he could join forces with the boss monster and fight together at the heart of the ruins, their chances of victory would rise significantly.
The problem was—
“Stop right there! If you keep running, I’ll tear you apart alive!”
No matter how fast he ran, Pendragon was steadily closing the distance.
Fortunately, Nanoleaf had set up spatial distortion barriers here and there. If Pendragon used Teleport, this game of tag would already be over.
Jinhyuk reached into his subspace.
“Eek!”
The spirit beasts who’d witnessed Salamander’s demise resisted with all their might.
But there was no escaping Jinhyuk’s iron grip.
In the end, even the defiant Undine was dragged out.
“Master! I… I still have so many things I want to do. I want to go to the beach, play in clean water… even try ice cream made from glacial snow.”
Yeah. Of course.
Normally, you’d grant a death row inmate’s last wish.
But right now, it was an emergency—there was no time for that.
Still…
…he couldn’t go as far as he did with Salamander.
Even in terror, there’s a line. Go too far, and he might face a mutiny.
“Don’t worry, Undine. I wouldn’t just send you off alone, you know?”
“R-really…?”
“I’ll send a powerful backup. No matter what, you’re the leader of the spirit beasts.”
“Leader… me? Right. I am the leader.”
Undine clenched her fist.
A title really does shape a person—or a spirit.
Her eyes were full of determination now.
In that case—
It was time to unveil the best hand he could play to match that expectation.
[Subspace inventory is opening!]
The subspace split wide open.
And from it, every one of the most powerful summons he’d stored until now appeared all at once.