Chapter 749

Crunch.

The sound echoes.

Crack.

The noise of devouring, crushing bones and tearing flesh.

Scratch, scratch.

The eerie and unpleasant chorus of millions of bugs writhing and spewing out resonates endlessly.

Deep within the Sky Mountain Range, in the Lake of Magi, where even snow and ice have turned black, Nidhogg devoured and absorbed monsters to rebuild its lost body.

Having lost the dragon’s skeleton that served as its framework, its form was more twisted than ever.

Only the head, forelimbs, and wings remained of the dragon’s skeleton.

Below the torn waist, instead of a dragon-like lower body, a massive, squirming mass of flesh, formed from the melted and fused corpses of various monsters, clung to it.

Like a lump of meat that had been packed tightly and then rotted and swollen.

The purplish-black flesh was dotted with white mold and mysterious mushrooms, and as the larvae feeding on the rotten corpses wriggled out, black ooze dripped, emitting a foul stench.

A grotesque and repulsive form, far from a successful regeneration. But for the bugs that had lost the dragon’s skeleton as a reference, it was the best they could do.

Though its combat ability had severely declined, the successful restoration of its internal organs had at least halted the creeping death that had been approaching them.

—

【Krrrrrr….】

Nidhogg, submerged in the magi and feasting on monsters, raised its head with a growl. It had sensed something intruding into its territory.

Though it couldn’t identify the intruder due to the distance, the presence was unnervingly distinct even from afar.

-Thump!

The dragon’s heart pulsed violently.

Disgust. Anxiety. Inexplicable hatred. Why were these emotions surging?

Though inwardly flustered by the inexplicable emotions, Nidhogg abandoned reason and surrendered to the instinctive impulse rising like flames.

The massive shadow began to swim toward the surface, its jaw clacking.

—

======[Ha-shal-leur]======

Ophelia’s Soul Compass led us to the northwestern peak of the Sky Mountain Range.

The summit of a massive mountain, sliced off as if cut by a blade, with a frozen caldera lake at its center.

I was certain Nidhogg was hiding there.

A massive lake perched atop a mountain peak so daunting that few would dare to climb it. What better terrain for a dragon to conceal itself?

As we walked toward the peak, my conviction grew stronger.

At some point, the faint but distinct residue of magi began to permeate the air.

Step by step, the closer we got to the peak, the clearer the stench became.

No doubt. It was there.

“—So, you all wait here. I’ll lure it down.”

After reaching a relatively gentle snowfield, I stopped the group, who were preparing to climb the towering peak.

In my judgment, fighting up there would be suicidal.

The terrain was too narrow and treacherous for a battle with a dragon, and the footing would be unstable.

No matter how thick the lake’s ice, it wouldn’t withstand the shock of a dragon and a hero clashing.

If we fell into the lake, even if rescued immediately, the cold would freeze us in moments.

Even if we avoided falling, being swept off the peak by the dragon’s attacks would mean a fatal plunge from hundreds of meters.

Without flight capabilities, the group would surely perish.

So, we had to fight here. On this gentle slope, where there was no risk of falling into the lake or plummeting from the peak.

“Finally, it begins! That bug bastard, this time for sure…!”

Asha tossed aside her bear hide and activated her mechanical arm, flight device with wings and a fuel tank, and a lance equipped with a pile bunker, smiling.

Nigel, Ja-han, Milia, and Asha expressed their concerns, urging caution, while Damien let out what seemed like a sigh of relief, as if he had expected me to send him.

…That guy, is it really true he has no emotions? With expressions so natural, he could have retired all his fellow actors if he’d become a theater actor instead of a knight.

Seeing that expression, I felt an overwhelming urge to mess with him, but this time, I decided to let it go.

If I sent Damien and he got swallowed in one bite, I’d be pounding the ground in regret.

A knight of heroic caliber, and a flying one at that, surely wouldn’t be eaten like a snack… but you never know.

This guy is crazy enough to try to match a dragon’s flight speed and get devoured without a second thought.

—

For that reason, I left the group on the slope, soared into the sky with flames erupting from my body, and flew like a comet toward the peak where Nidhogg was coiled.

Looking down, it was clear.

As I had predicted, Nidhogg was hiding in the caldera lake at the peak.

No doubt about it. The entire frozen lake was tainted with magi, turning it pitch black.

[What a foul stench. Truly unpleasant.]

‘Right? The rot is practically vibrating.’

As I approached the black lake, the stench grew stronger. I gathered flames of karma at my fingertips, close enough for the rune flames to reach the lake.

“Kenaz.”

The compressed, superheated flames shimmered like crimson dew, boiling and bubbling.

At the tip of my outstretched index finger, a beam of karma flames, capable of melting and burning everything in its path, was charged.

It’s gonna be hot, you bastard.

With a smirk, I aimed my finger at the spot where the magi was thickest and prepared to unleash the concentrated karma flames like a crimson beam—

-KWAAAAAAANG!

—Just before I could, the black ice exploded like a volcano, and a massive head burst through the surface.

A head resembling an ant’s, with beetle-like mandibles and four pairs of eyes. Just as the group had described, it was Nidhogg.

【Gyaoooooo-!】

The sphere of magi concentrated in the center of its gaping maw was also just as described.

Dragon’s Breath.

The essence of destruction that had felled Elpinel’s saintess, Lacey, and turned half the imperial capital into lava, was now within its mouth.

Likely, it had sensed me from beneath the surface and swam up, ready to unleash its breath.

[Evade!]

“Tch…!”

I hastily released the compressed karma flames and shifted the flames to my back and legs.

The carefully charged beam of karma flames was wasted, but this wasn’t the time to regret it.

Firing it now would only clash with the dragon’s breath, and engaging in a power struggle with a dragon’s strongest weapon would be foolish.

There was no time to lament the wasted technique.

-KWAAAAAAAH!

Almost simultaneously with the dragon bursting through the surface, a waterfall of black flames filled my vision, cascading toward me.

The heat alone was enough to melt all the snow and ice on the peak, revealing the wet soil beneath.

Even with my resistance to fire, I couldn’t dare to take that head-on.

…The trajectory was straightforward, so I could evade it by flying faster than the breath, but still.

“Bit excessive for a greeting, don’t you think!”

Typical of a bug, so cowardly.

Attacking with a ultimate technique without even a greeting, where did you learn such manners? Clearly raised without a mother.

I evaded the breath by the skin of my teeth, spewing flames from my back, then turned in mid-air and descended like a meteor toward the dragon, flames erupting from my legs.

With Durandal drawn, I infused it with immense feats.

【Kyahaaaaak!】

Nidhogg’s response was simple yet effective. It kept spewing its breath, turning its head to chase me.

A despicable attack method.

Like sweeping dust with a broom, the dragon’s breath swept relentlessly in all directions, forcing me to evade like a mosquito dodging a fly swatter.

For a full two minutes.

The little bastard’s lung capacity was no joke.

Even the dragons in the original work couldn’t sustain a breath that long—was that some kind of balance patch for the players?

During those two minutes, I thanked Or-han, who had shown me that humans could fly, as I desperately evaded the dragon’s breath.

Really, if I hadn’t seen Or-han flying with punches and developed my own flight technique, I’d still be jumping on the ground, unable to evade.

Thank you, Or-han.

I’ll set up a grand ancestral ritual table for you later.