Chapter 540
“Ahem! Everyone, follow my orders. I’m the leader recognized by the master!”
The spirit beasts led by Undine.
“Miyooo!”
“Hm. If we’ve been summoned, something troublesome must be happening again.”
Fried and Malang the Azure Dragon responded to Jinhyuk’s call as well.
“The opponent is a dragon. And not just any dragon—a fully mature ancient dragon. Our chances of victory are about 7.25%. Yeah.”
Frey murmured with a deadpan expression.
An undeniably formidable lineup, even at a glance.
Since Goguma couldn’t be sent out, this was essentially Jinhyuk’s full force.
They stood tall.
Pendragon’s movement stopped.
A moment ago, he’d been toying with the spirits as bait.
But now, the atmosphere had changed.
“Ho. For someone so hopeless, you’ve managed to gather some decent summons. Doesn’t look like it’s because of the master’s quality… Did you blackmail them with some weakness?”
“Weakness? That’s harsh. I’m just so good to them that they follow me unconditionally. Isn’t that right, everyone?”
Jinhyuk asked, as if seeking agreement.
Of course, not a single one answered.
They averted their eyes, coughed awkwardly, or looked as if they were about to vomit.
What ungrateful creatures.
This must be why people say being kind is pointless.
Right now, though, he had to focus on stopping that black lizard, even if it made him mad.
‘I’ll deal with you all later.’
Jinhyuk struggled to maintain his expression.
“All right, I’ll leave the rear to you. Just hold out for five… no, three minutes and it’ll be enough.”
With those words, he turned away.
“Who said you could just run away?”
Of course, Pendragon wouldn’t just watch.
With Dragon tongue, dozens of magic circles filled the air in an instant.
Eighth-circle fire magic unleashed all at once.
If even one hit, it would melt them to the bone.
At that moment—
Kwaaang!
Frey crossed two spears, inserting herself between Jinhyuk and the fireballs.
The raging flames split into quarters, blocked by her spears.
……
Pendragon’s eyes narrowed.
Dragon tongue, even at the same circle, boasted far greater power.
And this magic had been cast by an ancient dragon, no less.
Kwakwakwakwa!
The following fireballs were also broken up and scattered.
Flames drifted through the air.
…This wasn’t a coincidence.
“So, you’re a homunculus, not just an ordinary puppet. I’d heard you were completed, but this is my first time seeing one in person.”
“Yeah. It’s my first time fighting an ancient dragon, too.”
“They call you the ultimate weapon, right? But you chose the wrong master. To think you’d follow an incompetent, cowardly fool who throws his subordinates into danger.”
Pendragon held out his palm toward Frey.
“How about it? If you join me, I’ll treat you according to your abilities, not as expendable pawns. I might even give you this entire floor if you want. By the way, this offer goes for all of you.”
No matter how little one desired, the chance to rule an entire floor was tempting.
It meant unimaginable wealth and honor.
And the offer came from an ancient dragon.
He had the absolute power and ability to make it happen.
“The 33rd floor… Are you saying you’d give all of this to us?”
“This place is seriously huge.”
“Wow. Even the dead Salamander would come back to life for that deal.”
“I bet even Goguma would agree. Should I answer for him? Mogiii!”
“Quiet, everyone. My head hurts.”
“M-miyooo!”
“Hm. It does suit someone of my stature…”
Greed shone in everyone’s eyes.
If you put loyalty to Jinhyuk and ruling a floor on a scale, there was no question which way it would tip.
But—
“Sorry, but the master I chose is the only one for me.”
Frey instantly refused.
No matter what, betrayal was never an option.
She’d met someone who acknowledged and understood her, long before Pendragon.
“Y-yeah! I had no intention of betraying either!”
“Me neither!”
“Of course not!”
“Miyomiyo!”
“Ahem! Spirit beasts are beings of honor and pride. As a fellow dragon, don’t you find this disgraceful?”
With Frey taking the lead, it was hard for the rest to stab Jinhyuk in the back.
“If I’m to deal with that guy on the 48th floor, I need plenty of strong pieces, so I was hoping to spare you all… If you insist on dying together, so be it. I’ll show you just how foolish your choice is.”
Whoosh!
Black flames surged along Pendragon’s hands.
A sinister power that couldn’t be categorized by any circle.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
The ancient dragon began to move.
⁕⁕⁕
The endless corridor finally ended.
A brilliant light revealed a huge cavern.
[You have reached the deepest part of the ruins.]
[Boss Monster ‘Nanoleaf’ is looking at you.]
Chains engraved with runes clattered noisily.
At their center, Nanoleaf—appearing as a small boy—was bound.
His face was twisted with annoyance and dissatisfaction.
“Haa… I was living peacefully, and now look at this mess you’ve caused.”
“Can’t you just say I spiced up your boring life? Thanks to me, your heart’s racing with excitement.”
“That’s not funny! Never mind. So, what now? Your summons are strong, but they can’t stop that monster.”
“That’s true.”
Fried, being of equal rank, was still too young and inexperienced.
Frey could unleash her Unique Holy Spear, but she wasn’t strong enough to beat Pendragon.
And in such a cramped corridor, her mobility was limited.
Of course, if Alice received all the mana, it’d be a different story.
As the Progenitor of Ataraxia, she was an absolute being, even an ancient dragon wouldn’t dare challenge.
But.
If he did that, he couldn’t get what he wanted from these ruins.
‘I can’t use all my mana on Alice.’
The trace of Igni, the Fire Spirit King.
Finding it required several special conditions, none of which included Alice’s bloodline magic.
‘I think it’s time to bring it out here.’
Jinhyuk made up his mind.
Wooooong!
[Subspace inventory is opening.]
Amber eyes and jet-black scales.
“Mogiii!”
That distinctive cry echoed cheerfully.
Goguma snuggled into Jinhyuk’s arms.
“There, there. Good to see you, Guma. Doing well?”
“Mogii!”
Goguma wagged its tail.
Cuteness overload.
“So that’s the ancient species Pendragon’s been searching for. So your plan is to hand it over and save your skin, huh—ow!”
Nanoleaf’s words turned into a shriek.
Goguma started nibbling on Nanoleaf’s arm.
“Hey! Get this thing off me. Oww, I’m sorry, I misspoke!”
“Mogiii!”
“Don’t upset my baby. I’m about to explain the plan, so cooperate. You know what happens if you let pride get in the way, right? We’ll all die.”
“I get it. That’s why I called you here. But… you’re not planning to take out Pendragon and then betray me, are you?”
Nanoleaf’s voice was tense with wariness.
He’d seen firsthand how ruthless Jinhyuk could be, even to allies.
At best, this was a temporary alliance. They could stab each other at any moment.
“Ahem! Don’t be silly. Just recognize that I cleared the ruins, and once I find Igni’s trace, I’ll leave right away.”
“Really? You’ll leave peacefully?”
“You’ve seen for yourself, I don’t waste energy on pointless things once I reach my goal.”
“…Yeah. I’ve seen that for myself.”
An extreme cost-efficiency and focus on results.
Those words were more trustworthy than anything else.
Nanoleaf and Jinhyuk nodded to each other.
Thus, the alliance to defend the ruins was formed.
“So what do you want me to do? Here, I can use much stronger defenses and turrets than out in the corridor…”
“More importantly, use those chains to concentrate all the ruins’ mana in one place. Fire attribute only.”
“That’s a tall order, even for me. Filtering for only one element isn’t easy…”
“If you use nanotechnology to open the Arcane Core and use hearts number 2 and 7 as the main ones, you can do it.”
“…!?”
Nanoleaf drew a sharp breath.
His pupils widened rapidly.
“You… How do you know my abilities so well? Even I didn’t know which hearts to use.”
“Just a lucky guess. I figured someone like you would have a fancy ability with a name like that.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Whether you believe it or not isn’t the issue right now. Can you do it or not?”
“Haa, fine. But it’ll take time to break these chains.”
Nanoleaf began to manipulate the chains binding him.
Clang! Clunk!
The chains were both the source of his mana and shackles restraining him.
[‘Nanotechnology’ – Arcane Core activates!]
The stronger the restriction, the greater the power gained.
Nanoleaf began gathering mana along the chains.
Red runes shone all at once.
At that moment.
Bang!
Bang!
Pendragon kicked open the doors of the ruins.
“There’s nowhere left to run. This game of tag ends now.”
“Looks like it. But I’ve bought plenty of time running around.”
No reason to run anymore.
All the conditions were in place.
Jinhyuk drew two daggers.
At the same time.
The mana he’d saved up burst forth.
[Unique Holy Spear ‘White Night’ activates!]
Swoosh…
Snowflakes scattered, turning his vision white.
The boundary between night and day blurred as the white light erased even the blade’s shadow.
This was the pinnacle of the sword, the very extreme Cheon Yoosung had sought.
Pendragon sneered in the snowy mindscape.
“You think creating this world will let that sword reach me?”
A Sword Master could be a threat to dragons.
An Aura Blade could slice through even a ninth-circle shield or dragon scales.
But only with strong wizards and healers backing them up.
Alone, nothing could be done.
Pendragon had destroyed perfectly coordinated raid parties dozens of times.
Whatever Jinhyuk tried—
…He could see it with his eyes closed.
Bang!
Jinhyuk lunged forward.
Strands of white sword energy trailed afterimages.
But.
Wooooong!
Just before the blade touched him, Pendragon vanished.
“People think dragons only excel at ranged combat…”
A short-range spatial blink.
Then, the space itself exploded in a massive blast.
“But I actually prefer close combat.”
Kwaaaaang!
The place where Jinhyuk had stood was instantly obliterated.