Chapter 130
Pride — Part 2
Editors: Sebas Tian, Speedphoenix, Joker
"Do not get ahead of yourself, mongrel," said the dragon . "For your petty tricks shall not defeat me!"
The strength of the explosions I had hammered him with had left him bloodied, but they hadn't finished him off, so he assumed that my attacks were unable to prove fatal . As such, he decided to ignore my traps . He flapped his wings and dove straight at me . He was moving much faster than he was before; he shot through the air like a bullet . His newfound speed was obviously a result of his rage .
Though he was fast, speed was all he had going for him .
"Oh yeah," I smirked . "You might want to be careful of invisible walls . " There was a splat the moment after I issued the warning . The dragon ran face first into a solid wall made up of air around us . He kept flapping his wings as he thoughtlessly rushed through it, but the shock had rattled his brain and caused him to veer off course .
Technically speaking, I hadn't hit him with a trap . Rather, I had used a feature the dungeon called "Hardening . " Hardening was normally something that was meant to be used on walls, floors, and ceilings of boss rooms . Its intended purpose was to harden their surfaces and allow the boss to go all out without subsequently destroying the dungeon . But it could be used for much more than just that .
Hardening was capable of functioning on a wide variety of targets . It could work on both air and water so long as I specified the area it was meant to target . I had discovered this aspect of hardening while messing around in an attempt to make the girls an aquarium . I had hardened a block of water in hopes of circumventing the need for an actual glass display case . Touching it, I confirmed that the whole thing was tough as a chunk of concrete, which unfortunately also led to the conclusion that it couldn't be used for its intended purpose . Fish weren't exactly capable of swimming in concrete, after all . Not that they could even get inside of the damned thing to begin with .
Long story short, the skill was flexible and could be used for more than just its intended purpose . And that was exactly what I did . I used it to create an invisible wall in midair, right between Fuckface and I . The odd application of the ability made it cost much more DP than usual, so I hadn't bothered making more than just one . It was the kind of trick I only expected the dragon to fall for once .
“Curse you!”
The dragon began screaming at me as soon as he recovered from his confusion . He then began channelling an incredible amount of magical energy with all of it centred in his mouth . It seemed like he intended on unleashing the spell that Lefi had shown me the other day, the strongest spell a dragon could use . Its roar .
I knew that his wouldn't be nearly as powerful as Lefi's, but I still didn't want to let it hit me . I would probably die if it landed, even if it only grazed me . With that piece of knowledge in mind, I promptly initiated evasive action, but he kept his mouth trained on me with all the accuracy of a seasoned marksman . He continued tracing me until suddenly, the magical power contained within his mouth detonated .
There was a series of explosions—not a single one of which was orchestrated by the brainless excuse of a dragon . Heat was expelled into his surroundings in the form of fire and air . The aftermath had travelled so far that even I had been affected .
He had once again fallen into a trap, a rare magic-based mage killer that used any and all nearby mana as fuel for its blast . It worked like a grenade chucked at a gas station . The explosion triggered by the dungeon's defensive mechanism had caused a chain reaction that led to his own magical powers being used against him . The explosion wouldn't have been anywhere near as big had he not tried to channel his roar .
And that was why I had made him shift his aim . The goal I had in mind had been to get his mouth close enough to the trap to pop it . And the gullible idiot fell for it .
Getting smacked around by the manchild had taught me something important: he wasn't actually well versed in the art of battle . He was able to act incredibly quickly . His attack power was through the roof and he could cast spells so quickly he made the entire process seem trivial . But that was it . He was a bundle of raw stats, but that was all he was . His attacks were simple, and he had all the spatial awareness of a headless chicken .
Long story short, he was a terrible fighter . He was so lacking in skill that he wasn't able to put down someone that was many, many times weaker than him . He was everything Lefi wasn't . The Supreme Dragon had accompanied me on a hunt whilst in her dragon form on just a single occasion . And yet, the way she fought had burnt itself into my mind . The acts of violence were performed with such finesse that I couldn't help but think of them as beautiful . She carried herself with such grace that I almost couldn't believe my eyes . She had demonstrated that she was truly deserving of her title as the strongest member of this world's most powerful race . Never would I forget the magnificence that was the Supreme Dragon, for it had etched itself into my soul .
I knew that Lefi was an exception, a special entity that existed far outside the norm . But even so, I had expected more out of the Potatolord . He was a member of her race . He was supposed to be the king that presided over their people . And yet, compared to her, he was nothing . He may as well have been a vegetable . His title came off as exaggerated bullshit, a label slapped onto a weakling for the sake of irony . I would have been long dead had he even the slightest bit of martial skill . That was just how high his raw stats were . Only now did I truly understand why Lefi had seemed so confused when she learned of his title . He didn't deserve to be the Dragonlord . He couldn't have possibly earned the title of king through legitimate means . There had to have been some sort of external factor that had played into his ascension .
The smoke caused by the explosions cleared as I contemplated my opponent's abilities . And there, I saw him with his body covered in burns . His eyes had rolled back in their sockets; he was unconscious . I knew dragon was super effective against dragon . Using his own magic against him was a great idea . Alright, here's my chance!
I knew that I wouldn't be able to inflict any significant damage if I just ran up and started trying to whack him, so I drained the rest of my DP in order to set a series of traps in his vicinity . But his eyes spun back around right as I started . Shitface had regained consciousness .
He roared . He roared a bestial howl that no longer contained any semblance of meaning or intelligence .
"What th—!?"
And then, he lunged at me . He turned towards me and flew in a straight line without any regard for his surroundings . My traps pelted him with attack after attack, but he didn't stop .
I clicked my tongue and leapt to the side to avoid his charge, but a magical energy signature appeared right where I landed . The earth in front of me burst in an explosion and launched me into the air .
His claws closed in from above .
It didn't matter how hard I flapped my wings . I couldn't escape . I had no choice but to allow him to smack me back into the ground .
I coughed up even more blood as my body was assaulted by the impact . It hurt so bad I could see sparks . But I couldn't afford to let my momentum carry me . I couldn't afford to allow my pain to control me . Because, as I tumbled, I saw . I saw his fangs close in and threaten to tear me limb from limb .
A lack of action would result in death .
I manually activated a nearby trap, one that caused a giant iron pole to pop out of the ground . The impact threw him off course and allowed me to just narrowly avoid his jaws . They were so close that I could hear the gnashing of teeth as they closed literally right by my side . I rolled to get a bit further away from him so he couldn't follow with another bite, only to sense even more magic .
I clicked my tongue and immediately dragged my unresponsive, battered body into the air by flapping my wings with all the power I could muster . A moment later, the place where I stood was pierced by dozens of pitch-black spears .
The shitlord's actions were even faster than they had been before . It was almost like he had used his anger as a battery, like he had clocked himself up in order to operate at a higher voltage . He had shifted gears . At the battle's onset, he had been a cat, and I a mouse . But now, he was a tiger, a tiger using all of its might to hunt its prey . Damn it . I wish I took him out while he still had his guard down . Honestly, though, I kinda figured things wouldn't all go according to plan .
He turned towards me and once again tried to close in . This time, he spouted fire from his mouth as he gave chase . What the fuck!? Is this asshole supposed to be some sort of titan? Like Godzilla or something!?
I dodged the flames by using my wings to move myself through the air . The fireballs weren't as deadly as a roar, but they were still dangerous in their own right . Each projectile was superheated by an incredible amount of magical energy, and the rate at which he could fire them was outlandish . He didn't care that I was dodging them . He continued to shoot a veritable bullet hell's worth of fireballs right at me . Shit . I gotta do something . He's either going to burn me or catch up if I don't figure something out .
He continued to pop trap after trap as he chased me, but the retarded dragon didn't care . Some of them hit him hard enough to momentarily stop him in his tracks, but he would also resume charging at me the moment he regained control .
I was fast .
But even though I was slowing him down, he was faster . Though he looked like nothing but a bony winged lizard, he was still a member of the race that ruled the sky . There was no way I could match him in his own realm . He was slowly but surely closing in .
Without any further delay, I took a sudden turn in order to combat my disadvantage . I started to go straight up and ascended with all the vigour of a zealot attempting to reach the heavens . Shit for brains naturally followed without considering the consequences, only to scrunch up his face as his eyes were greeted with the sight of the sun .
Fuck yes! Dragon or not, looks like staring into the sun hurts your eyes, don't it? Too bad you aren’t any brighter than your scales, huh?
I spun around the moment he flinched and began diving straight at him .
"Die!"
He desperately tried to launch a fireball at me, but I avoided the late reaction with a flap of my wings . I raised my arms, swung Zaien, and shouted as we crossed paths .
I landed a heavy blow . I could feel the impact run up my arms as I delivered a cut that ran all the way from the tip of his jaw up through one of his eyes . Blood flew everywhere as he roared in pain and agony . I kicked the bastard to give myself enough momentum to wrench Zaien out of his flesh and immediately tried to open up just enough distance to avoid a counter .
Though I knew of his inexperience, I failed to account for it . He flailed . He literally flailed around randomly in pain . And as a result, his tail slammed into my side in the middle of my retreat . I hadn't braced myself for the unexpected attack, so I was sent flying into a tailspin . I tried my best to regain control of my body, but I couldn't .
The pathetic excuse for a dragon noticed my dilemma and immediately dove after me . His jaw drew closer . I couldn't correct my posture . I couldn't dodge .
He got me .
His jaws closed on the left side of my body and took off both my left wings as well as my left arm .
I groaned in anguish as blood gushed from my wounds .
Though I needed to balance myself, I couldn't . I was rendered incapable by the fact that I was missing half my wings, so I fell from the sky and smashed into the earth below .
And for a moment, I seemed to black out .
My mind went hazy . The scene I saw, the sky above, almost seemed blurry . Like I couldn't quite make it out .
“Master! Master!!” But Enne called for me . Her voice was desperate, dyed in panic . And because it was so different, it allowed me to focus . I used it as an anchor to get a grip on my consciousness and keep it from fading .
"Thank goodness," said Enne with a sigh of relief . "You're still alive, Master . "
I craned my neck downwards and gazed upon my body . My left shoulder and everything attached to it was gone . And although my right arm was still present, it refused to move . It was almost like it wasn't mine anymore . It wouldn't listen to me no matter how hard I willed it to act .
Both of my left wings had vanished . The midair encounter had torn them from my body . Like my right arm, my right wings were broken . I couldn't get them to function . And that was just the start of it . My whole body was fucked . There wasn't a single part of me that was unharmed . I had endured so much damage that I couldn't even feel the pain anymore . The only good news I had was that both my legs were still functional .
I was as ragged as an old dishcloth . My body was so riddled with holes that I might as well have been dead .
But I wasn't .
I was still alive .
I could still fight .
“Don’t move, Master! You can’t! You'll die!”
Enne desperately tried to stop me, but I laughed off her concern .
"Sorry Enne . But I can't stop now . "
I turned my glance towards my sworn foe, only to see a sight that put a grin on my face . He was hurt . The sorry excuse of a man was rolling around on the ground, roaring over and over as the wound, which almost seemed negligible compared to my own, inflicted waves of supposedly unbearable agony upon him .
Pathetic as he was, the man that had declared himself my enemy was still alive and well .
And so was I .
The duel had yet to end .
I was a demon lord . I could take plenty of punishment . Though I had suffered many an injury, none were so debilitating that I was rendered incapable of continuing . And knowing that both my enemy and I still drew breath was all I needed to push myself to fight .
Through force of will, I wriggled over to Zaien in a manner reminiscent of a caterpillar and used my mouth to grab her by the handle, the handle that had been smothered in crimson, dirtied by my blood . I poured my remaining strength into my shivering legs and got to my knees .
And then, I stood right back up and began to advance .