-The grinding sound of teeth-
The Two-Headed Venom Dragon's maw twisted as jagged teeth ground together, emitting a low growl. The venom dragon, slain decades ago by a dozen top-tier heroes, seethed with animosity.
Monsters of the third tier typically possess intelligence, yet the venom dragon had lived purely by its primal instincts. Now, it radiated hostility toward the unpleasant light that sought to purify and harm it.
'What... is this?'
Amidst the dragon’s corrupted soul, Gyeolwon, the leader of the Death God Cult, was bewildered. With insufficient sacrifices, he had offered his followers and even his own being, transferring his consciousness into the dragon's body. This left him with limited time, as the dragon’s mind was far too powerful for him to control. Though the god’s blessing afforded him some influence, it only allowed him to nudge the creature’s actions.
Thus, his consciousness had become entwined with the monster's form, creating an unstable entity doomed to perish before long. Though Gyeolwon extended this life by devouring humans and monsters alike, the end was inevitable.
But Gyeolwon did not mind; in fact, he felt ecstasy. Through the god’s blessing, he felt as if he were one with the divine, albeit faintly. The overwhelming presence threatened to crush his soul, but he felt something—something he recognized as the god’s intention.
'Hostility.'
The darkened land and sky took on an ethereal hue, the murky green fading as vibrant colors illuminated the sky above. Three pairs of prismatic wings flapped, leaving auroras in the clear sky.
Even Gyeolwon felt awe, fleeting though it was, at the sight of those wings. But the god, it seemed, bore animosity.
'Hostility?'
Could it really be just hostility? Gyeolwon pondered, his thoughts clouded by the god’s intense hatred toward those wings. The god wished to tear them apart, to ground them so they might never fly again.
And then...
'Jeal—'
-ROOOOAAARR!-
Gyeolwon’s awareness faded as the dragon’s consciousness surged to the forefront. The dragon no longer concealed its malice, releasing venomous fumes and immense power in a deep roar. The sheer force of its mana brought destruction in its wake, carrying poison and devastation alike.
The dragon opened its jaws wide—not for poison, but for a destructive mana blast.
-BOOOOM!-
A massive beam of green-black energy shot out, cutting through the sky toward Lee Hayul.
In response, Hayul’s wings flared open.
CRACKLE! Lightning sparked.
To the dragon, it appeared as if lightning tails streaked by. The head itself was invisible, the target vanished in an instant.
With the target missed, the beam struck the earth, carving a long line of destruction and sending plumes of scorched earth skyward.
Sensing movement, the dragon quickly shifted its gaze.
A flash of yellow and green wings appeared, stirring a flicker of confusion within the beast’s mind. Such speed—surely it should have been able to perceive it?
WHOOSH! A fierce wind suddenly blew, peeling away a layer of the venom covering the dragon's armored body and exposing the wounded scales underneath.
CRACKLE! Lightning danced around Hayul’s wings as he accelerated, his right fist clenched and glowing with golden light.
‘Assimilation—White Night.’
-BAM!-
The dragon’s head jerked back, the protective mana shattered, and broken scales scattered as more venomous blood sprayed from the impact.
It was the second White Night strike.
A warning instinct flared.
Hayul immediately flapped his wings, activating the lightning spirit. With a burst of lightning, he accelerated, leaving his previous position just as the dragon’s tail lashed through the air where he had been.
CRACK! The tail’s trajectory tore through the ground and the air alike.
Pulling back a short distance, Hayul narrowed his eyes, a part of his wing’s edge having been tainted and quickly rotting. He swiftly severed the infected area, flooding it with mana to heal the damage.
As expected, pain lingered.
It was like having flesh scraped by a blade and then seared with a hot iron.
The Sky Wings were artifacts, and ordinarily, their damage wouldn’t cause pain. But in this current 'connected' state, the sensation was transmitted faintly.
Hayul’s Sky Wings were now connected to him, an idea he had only recently conceptualized but was attempting for the first time. Observing how the circuits linked to the Proof of Protection had given him the insight needed to connect his own circuit to the Sky Wings.
-ROOOAAAR!-
The dragon roared in anger, blood trickling from its wound. It summoned its mana, again covering its scales with a thick layer of venom and defensive energy.
Hayul scowled as the protective coat reformed.
He had wanted to follow up with continuous strikes in the exposed area, but there was no opportunity.
'It's getting faster.'
Perhaps it had been hiding some strength, but the dragon’s movements were indeed accelerating.
‘Should I use wind to peel off its armor again?’
But he had already used that technique once, and a second attempt might be countered. He had to be cautious.
The dragon could withstand multiple attacks, but he couldn’t afford even a single misstep.
WHOOOSH! His wings flapped, returning to their vibrant, prismatic hue.
The rapid acceleration placed strain on his body. Overusing the lightning spirit would be unwise.
His hands and feet tingled as if cramps were setting in.
'Tch.'
A gust of wind stripped away the dragon’s venom armor, sweeping away the surrounding poisonous gas.
Before it could recover, Hayul closed in and struck.
But he was still poisoned. Either remnants of the gas or fresh venom seeping into the area—whichever it was, he was being affected in minute amounts.
He could heal himself.
It wasn’t fatal.
‘Close combat is too risky.’
But the dragon's proximity always meant exposure to venom.
At a critical moment, he could be smothered in it, leading to certain death.
If not, even minute doses would accumulate over time, eventually proving lethal.
'Long-range, then...'
He spread his wings, sending forth streams of red and yellow feathers. Simple, rapid-fire offensive magic, imbued with his mana, was launched in a single strike.
A volley of feathers and dozens of spells assailed the dragon.
Explosions erupted.
Flames spread through the venom, lightning crackled over its body, yet there were no significant injuries. The flames and lightning were absorbed into the poison coating the dragon’s body, failing to breach its defense.
The dragon closed the gap, its hulking form deceptively fast.
Its maw opened, and it fired short, rapid mana blasts in counterattack.
Hayul twisted his body to dodge, unleashing another barrage of feathers and magic in return.
In the air, their attacks collided. While Hayul had the numbers, his power was notably lacking.
Observing the attack’s trajectory, he gathered data from his surroundings—more information than he could typically handle.
He could foresee the trajectory clearly.
He moved his body according to the path. Ignoring attacks that wouldn’t hit, subtly shifting the angle of those that would, and deftly dodging unavoidable ones.
With the wind spirit aiding his overall movement and the lightning spirit enabling bursts of speed, he weaved through the torrent of attacks as if performing an aerial dance.
His three pairs of wings flared, leaving aurora trails in the night sky.
It was an awe-inspiring spectacle that seemed almost like a deadly dance, spurring the dragon’s ferocity to even greater heights.
-ROOOAAAR!-
The distance between them shrank.
The enhanced dragon's speed made it difficult to create distance without using the lightning spirit.
And if he went too far...
Hayul reached out, dipping his hand into a ripple in the air.
The subspace, a storage space created with the power of spatial manipulation.
The first skill he had ever developed with spatial power, it contained numerous stored items.
After rummaging briefly, he withdrew his hand holding a bow.
A massive, plain, black bow, roughly twice Hayul’s size.
Not a special artifact—just a well-crafted and durable weapon.
While flying, he grabbed the bow with his left hand and drew the string with his right.
With a familiar squeal, the bowstring stretched taut, forming a white mana arrow.
The arrow, once blue, now glowed white—a testament to his heightened mana quality, though it alone wouldn’t seriously harm the venom dragon.
‘Assimilation—Guhwa Flame.’
FWOOOSH! The arrow transformed, cloaked in the flickering crimson of Guhwa Flame.
The last time he had used this technique was in the Tower of Growth, but now he added further refinements.
Summoning the flames once more, the arrows burned with a fierce brilliance, his superior mana control allowing for a more intense blaze.
He coated it with a white aura, the aura taking on a reddish hue as it was engulfed in flame.
A flap of his wings released more feathers, which fueled the fire further.
He combined it with magic and elemental power, enhancing the arrow’s strength to its limit.
-ROOOAAAR!-
The dragon roared, ceasing its scattered attacks and gathering a massive amount of mana in its maw.
Its jaws expanded, and the aura around its mouth grew fierce—a prelude to another mana beam.
This beam, however, was vastly more potent than the previous one.
The ground trembled, and air was sucked into the dragon’s mouth.
The gap between them had narrowed significantly.
At this range, Hayul knew he couldn’t escape the blast’s range unscathed.
He observed his left arm—his prosthetic, the Proof of Protection.
The synchronization was complete. A wealth of information flooded his mind.
Hayul made his decision. Rather than avoiding the attack, he pulled the bowstring taut.
The bow began to melt under the intense flames, unable to fully contain the fire’s fury.
Just then, the dragon’s jaws parted.
For an instant, the sky flickered, and a beam as wide as a skyscraper surged forward.
There was no sound, only the sight of the ray obliterating everything in its path, leaving the earth scorched in its wake.
Caught in the beam’s path, even before the venom could take effect, his body would be obliterated.
Facing the blast, Hayul did not release his arrow.
‘Manifest—Space.’
The same ripple effect occurred as before.
A distortion spread through the space ahead, as if a stone had been thrown into a pond.
A sharp creak echoed.
A sound that no ordinary ears could detect—the vibration of space itself.
In front of Hayul, a spatial barrier materialized.
-KRRRRACK!-
The mana beam collided with the barrier just inches away from him.
It couldn’t penetrate.
The green-black beam clung to the wall, spreading like liquid around the edge.
The dragon intensified its attack, but the spatial barrier remained unbroken.
Even for a monster of this magnitude, maintaining such an immense beam was unsustainable.
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Gradually, the beam weakened.
Its attack thwarted.
Next came the counterattack.
Withdrawing the barrier, Hayul curled into himself, enveloping his body in his wings.
And then, he released the bowstring.
The arrow, on the verge of breaking the bow, shot forward.
The red streak tore through the air.
The beam, now weakened, couldn’t halt the arrow.
The crimson line sliced through the green-black beam and surged back toward the dragon.
The dragon’s eyes widened in alarm as its own attack was cleaved, and the flaming arrow raced toward it.
Faster than the dragon could react, the arrow pierced its head.
-ROOOOOAAAARRR!-
The Guhwa Flame exploded, lighting up the night sky in a crimson blaze.
A fierce heat wave swept over him, searing his skin.
.
.
.
A moment later, Hayul unfurled his wings, taking in the scene around him.
The earth was scorched, and flames danced across the overturned soil.
All the venom had evaporated.
Where the flames hadn’t reached, the ground was blackened.
Even the sky was tinged red; the poison gas seemed to have dissipated as the burning embers floated on the wind.
Yet, Hayul’s expression remained grim.
Instead, his face contorted in frustration.
Amidst the fiery blast zone, a serpent coiled within the flames, its scales charred and covered in ash, still smoldering from the Guhwa Flame.
Its head, previously hidden, rose from the center of the coil.
The venom dragon’s murderous gaze glinted.
'...Dammit.'
Suppressing a curse, Hayul considered his options.
White Night could shatter the dragon's head if he struck it repeatedly. But the risk of succumbing to the venom was high.
The Guhwa Flame could burn it to death, yet that would worsen the collateral damage caused by the undead dragon.
Another option...
He had many techniques to prolong the fight, to evade the dragon without taking damage.
'No.'
Even though he had told Ji-yeon he would run, Hayul didn’t intend to flee.
He wanted to kill the Two-Headed Venom Dragon before any further damage was done.
But, at present, he had no technique powerful enough for that.
'...Taesan.'
Though he didn’t have it himself, he could meet the conditions for the skill.
Ji-yeon had manifested the Taesan.
He had gathered ample data. Although it was incredibly difficult to mimic the three Great Families' unique abilities, it wasn’t impossible.
If he could replicate Taesan, there was a chance.
The Third Loop, when he had mastered all three techniques: Guhwa Flame, Changhae, and Taesan.
Though the instability of the early loops remained, its raw power rivaled his abilities in the later loops.
With all three, he could deliver a decisive blow to the Two-Headed Venom Dragon, leaving it with no chance to survive.