Chapter 772
Tadadadadat!
Simon, clad in Feer’s Bone Armor, was dashing across the plains with his cloak fluttering behind him.
Blocking Simon’s path were monsters of the grasslands and the residents of the ancient civilization.
A massive army stood in formation, waiting. Beyond them, the last head of the fleeing Hydra was visible.
‘No time to dawdle!’
He had to catch up, no matter what. Simon gripped his greatsword tightly, about to smash into the vanguard of the army.
Shuuuuuuuuuu-!
Supporting fire began.
With the sound of air splitting, blobs of paint reminiscent of abstract art’s strange hues fell from the sky.
Puuuuuuuuung!
Puuuuuuuuung!
The fresh green field of grass was transformed into a riot of dazzling, punkish colors. Monsters touched by Belya’s domain began to melt away entirely.
Puuuuuuuuuuung!
Puuuuuuuuung!
Simon turned his head slightly in awe.
<Belya’s Original – Thousand Transformations>
On the hill behind, Belya had raised both arms. She was relentlessly firing volleys of toxic cannons as though from a volcanic crater.
The world twisted into her palette of colors, infecting everything around. Even if there were monsters immune to certain toxins, it didn’t matter. As long as even one of the twenty components was effective, that alone was enough.
Belya’s overflowing world swept away the monsters in one flood. Watching this, Simon slowly opened his palm.
—It’s a stronger antidote, duration is five minutes.
Simon bit down on the natural antidote she handed over and swallowed. To describe it, it tasted like soggy sebum.
‘It only blocks the poison, direct hits are still dangerous.’
Simon braced himself, placing the greatsword in front.
‘That kind of risk I’ll have to take. Break through!’
Kicking the ground with force and straightening his knees, Simon’s body accelerated, leaving a black tail in its wake.
He didn’t even need to cut the monsters. He just sprinted straight down the line of collapse that Belya had created.
The paint meteors did not fall toward Simon, and no liquid overflowed onto the path he was running.
‘Amazing control, as expected of Professor Belya.’
Thanks to that, Simon broke safely through the monster army and lifted his head.
He locked onto the Hydra’s fleeing head. Darkness surged over his body as he pressed the Greatsword of Destruction against the ground.
“Huuuup!”
Kagagagagak!
The greatsword trembled from friction as it touched the ground. Dragging it as though cleaving the earth itself, Simon suddenly swung upward with all his might.
Kugugugugugugu!
From the tip of the sword, Feer’s mountain-sized slash shot across the ground, but suddenly the terrain shifted like a seismic upheaval, twisting the slash’s trajectory.
‘The terrain changed again!’
He could feel Myurr’s fierce will, determined not to lose the last head. Simon readjusted his grip on the sword and charged again.
Now the only way was to catch up and slash directly.
Kugugugugugugugugu!
But at this very moment, the entire grassland terrain was continuously changing. The forest that had been at eight o’clock moved to the center, the lake in the south shifted westward. Even rivers changed course, cutting across Simon’s path.
Simon leaped in a single bound across the river.
“I’ll never let you go!”
Kugugugugu!
As if to contradict Simon’s shout, a cliff rose so high it filled his vision.
Clicking his tongue, Simon tried to detour, but—
Puuuuuuuuuuuuung!
A paint meteor from the sky smashed into the wall. In an instant, a huge round hole was blown open in the cliffside, which melted down like ice cream under the summer sun.
‘Nice, Professor Belya!’
Simon kicked off the ground and vaulted the lowered wall.
Once again, the distance to the Hydra closed. Its scales were clearly visible.
[Khuhuhu! At this range, spatial slash would be best, boy!]
“Yes, Feer!”
Simon raised his greatsword while running.
He calculated the Hydra’s direction, its movements, as well as the wind and terrain variables.
Taaah!
He stopped his steps. His left leg skidded forward across the grass, while he repositioned the greatsword behind his waist.
A perfect slashing stance.
The target stood before him. Just as Simon’s arms began to move—
Kukwakwakwakwakwa!
As if waiting for this moment, a mountain of rock shot up in front of Simon. The Hydra was hidden behind the stone, and the world turned a murky brown.
But Simon’s concentration did not break.
He ignored the obstructing matter, focusing only on space itself. His two eyes widened, searching for something invisible—a third element.
‘What I’m cutting isn’t the target…!’
His other leg stepped forward, his waist twisted.
‘…It’s space!’
Jjjeeeeeeeong!
The Greatsword of Destruction swung furiously. The mountain split apart, and at the same time—
Pyushushuk!
The Hydra’s back scales tore open, blood spurting. The Hydra screamed with a cry so pained it seemed to tear the sky itself. Simon exhaled a regretful “Ah”.
‘Too shallow!’
The gravely wounded Hydra began moving again. Simon’s legs momentarily lost strength from exertion, but he forced his body onward.
‘I must catch it!’
His breath caught in his throat.
His chest tightened, metallic gasps escaping through clenched teeth.
His legs felt like iron, his heart throbbed painfully, but still he ran.
‘This is my only chance!’
The wounded Hydra’s speed and Simon’s exhausted pace were almost the same.
But Myurr continued to shift the terrain, obstructing Simon. The distance refused to close.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, only that he chased in desperation.
‘Wait, that direction…!’
At last, Simon realized where the Hydra was fleeing. His eyes widened.
The Hydra was heading to a place with cover, to avoid being cut again—toward the ancient civilization’s city, where Simon had first gone.
A foreboding sensation swept his body.
‘…They evacuated, right?’
* * *
At the same time.
Inside the temple ruins.
“Simon! Where are you, Simon!”
“Simon! Answer if you can hear us!”
Dick, Maelyn, and Kamibarez each held lanterns, searching the collapsed temple.
Kamibarez had slipped into narrow gaps of the crumbling ruins, while Dick lifted debris with his gear.
For the members, staying here was the only choice.
Simon had gone off to lure the monsters, but his whereabouts became unknown, while Hydras appeared here and there causing chaos.
They could never abandon Simon and leave.
“Haa, where is he?”
Maelyn muttered worriedly, hand on her waist. Emerging from the crevice, Kamibarez already had teary eyes.
“I’m worried about Simon.”
“It’s okay, Kami!”
Dick shone his light into another crack and added,
“Maybe he just blacked out for a moment when the temple collapsed earlier. Let’s hurry and find him, then get out of here!”
“Yes!”
While the two rummaged diligently around them, Maelyn walked toward the broken wall and peered outside the temple.
‘What was that just now?’
She sensed a strange tremor outside. Her eyes scanned quickly.
Kuung!
“Wahh!”
“Hhk!”
The temple shook violently. The cracked walls split apart completely, debris crashing down.
Startled, Kamibarez slipped and hit her head. Dick rushed to support her, but then the cracked ceiling caved in with a crash.
<Freezing>
Saaaaaaa—
The world around them turned white.
The collapsing temple froze in place, just as it was about to crumble. It was as though time itself had stopped.
Dick, who had been shielding Kamibarez, looked up at the ceiling in shock, then turned toward Maelyn.
“Whew.”
“‘Whew’, my ass! Commoner, you take Kami and get out through this gap.”
“What about you?”
“That snake-like monster just appeared. I’ll go stop it.”
Saying so, Maelyn leapt outside.
She soon found the cause of the temple’s collapse. The Hydra, with a massive sword wound across its back, was toppling temples as it pushed through.
There was a huge scar down its back, blood endlessly streaming.
Kwaaaang!
As the Hydra passed, another temple crumbled under its body. With Simon’s whereabouts unknown, she couldn’t just leave the beast be.
More than that, Hongpeng, who looked as though she might collapse at any moment, was desperately chasing after the Hydra. She felt certain there was a reason for it.
<Ice Track>
Launching into the air, she created a path of ice beneath her feet. At the same time, with her other hand, she cast a new black magic spell.
<Cruel Blizzard>
Kwoaaaaaaaah!
A storm of hail battered the Hydra with fury. The wounded Hydra roared ferociously, opening its jaws wide.
Tukwak!
Tukwak!
Poison Breath spewed forth, but she stepped deftly onto icy footholds in the air, dodging with grace. Then, spinning midair, she summoned ice in her right hand and fire in her left.
“What are you staring at!”
<Dark Prominence> <Dark Everfrost>
Whoooosh!
Kwadudukudukuduk!
Two black magic spells struck the Hydra’s torso at once. Maelyn, panting heavily, gave a faint smile.
“How’s that taste….”
At that moment.
The Hydra’s scales suddenly loomed before her eyes.
Thud!
She was slammed into the temple wall along with her foothold.
Unconscious, Maelyn collapsed down the temple stairs. A thin line of blood trickled from her forehead.
Ssssss!
The enraged Hydra opened its jaws to kill her.
Poison dripped from its flickering tongue. The sign of Poison Breath.
“Haa! Haa! Haa!”
And from afar—
Simon, clad in Feer’s Bone Armor, was running toward them.
‘No! No! No! No!’
He was late, delayed by Myurr’s interference.
In that time, the Hydra had entered the temple. Maelyn, who had been searching for Simon there, fought and was knocked unconscious.
Now the Hydra was about to unleash Poison Breath.
‘Maelyn!’
It felt as though a dagger had pierced his heart.
If Maelyn died like this.
If he could never return to that daily life back at school.
It would be irreversible. He knew he’d live haunted by guilt for the rest of his life.
‘I have to stop it!’
Though searing pain flooded his body, his mind drove him forward. His brain spun with desperate calculations, seeking a solution.
Spatial Slash. The distance was too far.
Ranged slash. She’d be hit before it landed.
What about using the ‘sword’ power in the Greatsword of Destruction? Same problem—the speed of liquid-based techniques was too slow.
Projectile throw with the greatsword? Feer’s Bone Armor would need time to reassemble.
The only option was to run.
That fact tore at his bones with anguish.
What use was being a Legion Commander, if he couldn’t protect the friend before his eyes?
Helplessness coursed through him.
[Have you given up already, boy.]
Feer’s voice echoed in his head.
[When you were a first-year, there was a certain simplicity to you. But now, with a bigger head, you hesitate, calculate, think more than before.]
“This is Maelyn’s life on the line! Of course I have to be more cautious…!”
[Not bad, but the problem is, when your calculations lead to despair, your spirit falters.]
Simon’s pupils shook at the words.
Feer’s voice grew sharper.
[Too many useless thoughts. Think simpler, clearer.]
Simon’s eyes turned bloodshot.
[What you need to save your friend isn’t a method. It isn’t some brilliant idea.]
His blurred vision steadied, strength returned to his legs.
[It’s will. Force your will through the principles of the world, tear apart every obstacle in your path!]
He saw Maelyn in his eyes.
Still far away, yet as clear as if seen through a telescope.
He moved toward her.
That alone filled his mind.
[Kahahaha! Yes, that’s it!]
His vision, filled with her figure, shook violently up and down.
[Like your father, who threw away everything to save the priest!]
He would save Maelyn.
Nothing else mattered. In this moment, he would explode his body and soul.
Fwoooooosh!
‘Save her!’
The distant sight, narrow like through a telescope, suddenly—
Whoooooooosh!
Was right before his eyes.
He didn’t know how, but in a blink, the Hydra’s scales filled his vision.
Simon swung up the greatsword. His whole body erupted with black-blue smoke, exploding upward. For a moment, he thought the greatsword’s form had shifted into something else. His body felt twisted like a demon’s.
But such trifles no longer mattered.
<Legion Technique – Leap>
Simon swung his weapon, emerging at her side.
He had torn and twisted space itself to leap through.
Whooooooong—
The world split in two.
The sky and the air.
No, the entire ruin split in half and floated into the air.
Simon, feeling extreme tranquility, slowly lifted his head.
Screeeech.
The massive Hydra’s head was soaring skyward.
Then, as though defying gravity, everything suspended above began to split apart and crash down. Simon leapt away, carrying Maelyn.
* * *
Maelyn, who had lost consciousness, opened her eyes.
Her head was hazy.
‘…Where is this?’
Was it a dream?
Right, she had been fighting that monster.
Was she dead?
The world was filled with collapsing ancient structures, pouring down like rain. Cold winds howled. She was floating high in the sky.
And before her, a blurry face appeared.
‘Simon?’
She was being held in someone’s arms.
A man clad in massive Bone Armor, draped in a cloak of shadows.
Simon’s blurred face faded like smoke, replaced by the visage of a huge skull helm.
“…Could it be, Lord Feon?”
How unfair.
If this was a dream, it was far too blissful a dream.
Already, she feared the sorrow of waking from it.
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