Chapter 495
Previous Dooms and ancient dragons had formed new personalities as they could not endure their long lives. Therefore, Caso became hasty, Green had wanderl.u.s.t, and Entegasto was silent but cruel. Arukuda had a greed that could never be satiated with anything. It would have done so to tirelessly devour Gold.
It did not take its eyes off me even while chewing. The s.h.i.+eld was composed of half the heart of the Great Silver and Red. And…
“Please prepare, Lord Doom Arukuda. I cannot confront this guy alone.”
Joshua was waiting for Arukuda to get up. My face distorted as I understood Joshua’s thoughts.
Remember how Entegasto was annihilated? Doom Kaos never allowed Dooms to fight without his permission. Entegasto was exterminated because it was discovered that he was scheming for my death along with the b.a.s.t.a.r.d Lunea. It was eventually subjected to a punishment equivalent to execution.
Joshua had urged Arukuda to take control of a group by using another group’s power. He had planned to make Doom Kaos remove Arukuda, and at the same time, transfer the strength he possessed to me. He had prepared for today even while risking his own death.
That was understandable if the only meaning of his life was helping me. However, that burdened me. There was no need to hurry so much.
As expected, Joshua did not even glance toward Gold. He seemed to be aware of the situation here. Although he wasn’t as strong as Arukuda, he had the power to deal with ghosts. He must have hurried today from the moment he found out that Arukuda was chewing on Gold. It would have been nice if he gave me a hint.
At the end of the past era, Doom Caso invaded the mainland as the commander of the attack. This happened decades later from today. That meant the seal on Caso was released around then, and this was directly related to the death of the Great Red, the one who had sealed Caso.
There was also a possibility that Entegasto had killed Red, but judging from Entegasto’s injured condition, which showed no signs of getting better, it was likely that Arukuda had killed Red. That must have been the time when Arukuda successfully swallowed Gold.
So, Joshua. Arukuda will take decades to completely digest Gold.
Right then, I heard a voice.
“I will give you a chance, Doom Man,” Arukuda said. It was clear that he was enjoying the moment without rus.h.i.+ng the cue. He must have thought that he had trapped me with no way out.
“Dedicate what you have to me. A spear would be great. The s.h.i.+eld would be nice, too. But there is something you should not leave out…”
Arukuda salivated just by thinking about it, and an enormous amount of saliva gushed out of there.
Joshua spoke, “It is the power of holiness, Lord Doom Arukuda. But don’t covet it any further. Lord Doom Kaos would not allow it.”
If Yeon-Hee had seen this, then she would have reprimanded his impa.s.sive look again. Arukuda looked down at Joshua in disapproval. It was the first time that Arukuda’s gaze had been taken off me.
“Yes, I had been waiting for this moment. Right now.”
“Contempt for the weak!”
I shouted the name of Joshua’s most powerful abilities and threw myself forward.
[* System]
[Reconstructing System Administrator Odin’s capabilities. (Rebuilding)]
[You have entered the Realm of the Ultimate.]
Zap!
[You have used Hermes’s Teleportation.]
[You have used Odin’s Thunderstorm.]
[You have used the strengthened Indra’s Sword.]
***
Arukuda’s face appeared head-on as soon as I jumped through the s.p.a.ce. Indra’s Sword, which exerted lightning power until either the caster or the target died, was closing the distance to Arukuda.
However, the Thunderstorm was nothing more than decoys from the beginning. As soon as a reflexive movement was detected in Arukuda’s huge eyeball, I made another leap through s.p.a.ce.
Pop!
If possible, my goal was to pierce Arukuda through from under its chin to its skull.
[You have removed the strengthened Indra’s Sword.]
[You have created Odin’s Slaughter.]
[You have used Odin’s Slaughter.]
As the inner world had suddenly altered, a strong rotating force occurred at the tip of the spear at that moment. The two lightning powers that had reached their peak overlapped on each other. This was not only at a point at the end of the spear, but also along the entire spear, the fist that held it, and the whole arm.
Whiiiiiir—
All kinds of lightning forces were concentrated there, rotating and forming a power that seemed to grind down everything they touched.
[You have used the strengthened Hermes’s Teleportation.]
…
[You have used the strengthened Hermes’s Teleportation.]
I used a total of four consecutive leaps.
Papapapat!
The mysterious attack that had sprung from Arukuda’s body struck the s.p.a.ce behind me. Even looking at the shockwave that bounced off the s.h.i.+eld, every second was risky. The timing was when a brief pause took place. My wings started flapping in the air.
Whoosh—
I thrust out the spear as the gap narrowed by an inch. Arukuda’s chin was towering like a ceiling, so I aimed precisely at the center. Demons sprung out from all directions, but my calculations were quick. There was no need to stop the attack. Such lowly demons would be of no use to stop me.
Sure enough, the moment the tip of the spear touched its chin, a bad premonition overwhelmed me. Its blood poured out instead of being evaporated. Although it was just a few drops to Arukuda, it was a large amount of blood in reality.
The blood was sticky. My face became flushed and throbbing once my spear, along with my fist, went into its flesh. I could not even open my eyes well. There was no doubt that his blood had a heat equivalent to scorching as I felt such pain even with the s.h.i.+eld!
[Warning: Doom Arukuda’s trait ‘Warrior’s Boiling Blood’ has been activated.]
[Warrior’s Boiling Blood (Negative Effect)
Not only is the heart hot for a warrior.
Effect: Magic Damage acc.u.mulates when it strikes the target. When Magic Defense is exhausted, it switches to Physical Damage. When Physical Defense is exhausted, it switches to the debuff ‘Scorching Burn.’]
As the entire vibration of the spear grew fierce as I ground its bone in its chin, I was buried to my shoulders. It poured strength into its jaw movement and pressed down on the spear. It was an incredible force, seemingly unconcerned with the fact that its jaw bone was being ground into pieces.
Arukuda was surpa.s.sing me only with pure muscle strength. The resulting pressure and distortion of s.p.a.ce looked as if it would swallow me on the spot. It was no wonder the Baclan Corps admired Arukuda!
[Reconstructing the abilities of System Administrator Odin. (Rebuilding)]
[Strength: MAX]
[You have activated the blessing ‘Aura of Scarlet Flame.’ (Odin’s Scarlet Flame s.h.i.+eld)]
The Aura of Scarlet Flame overlapped the vortex of lightning and randomly sparking embers. I wrapped my arms with my tail to boost my strength and continuously struck the air with my wings. Embers began to spread on Arukuda’s jaw and holes big enough to push a log through had formed in its face, but it still remained st.u.r.dy.
[Warning: Doom Arukuda used the Unique Power ‘Limitless Power.’]
“Euk.”
My elbow that was wielding the spear was bent. It was due to the suddenly increased pressure. Despite putting everything I could into increasing my strength, I could not surpa.s.s Arukuda.
What the f.u.c.k is this power?!
With my arm bending, the spear sc.r.a.ped out from inside its jaw. Yet, for its giant physique, it was a tiny wound. That did not matter because at least I had not been completely overwhelmed by it.
[Your Magic Defense has been depleted.]
[Doom Arukuda’s Negative Effect ‘Warrior’s Boiling Blood’ will convert to physical damage.]
Nonetheless, buying time would only disadvantage me in a situation where I was already steeped in. I lifted my s.h.i.+eld instead of my bent spear. I needed to block his monstrous power urgently. Not only that, but there were also creatures running toward me from the back while I was struggling against it.
This was Arukuda’s territory.
[Odin’s Thunderstorm has been removed.]
[You have created the strengthened Fire h.e.l.l of the King of h.e.l.l.]
[You have used the strengthened Fire h.e.l.l of the King of h.e.l.l.]
[You have defeated the group of Screaming Evil Spirits.]
…
[You have defeated the group of Madly Laughing Evil Spirits.]
Roar!
When I tried to blink my eyes, I could no longer open them again because of Arukuda’s blood sticking around there. Even though my vision was blocked, I could replace it with my sensory network.
However, when a frenzied pressure burst from Arukuda once again, I was knocked down. I also could not stop a number of warning messages from appearing. Fortunately, I did not crash into the ground as I managed to leap through s.p.a.ce just before the collision.
Papapat!
I arrived at the next destination after repeatedly jumping through s.p.a.ce.
Zzak!
A bright light flashed with a screeching noise that would pierce my eardrums. It was already too late by the time I realized there was an attack waiting for me there. I could feel the trait of painful death. As soon as I was. .h.i.t, all the muscles attached to my spine began to twitch.
The same attack was falling again, so I jumped far across s.p.a.ce. The figure of Joshua las.h.i.+ng at the spot I was just standing was caught in my Sense. It was clear in the message as well.
[You have been struck by Joshua’s skill ‘Death Strike.’]
The attack that had struck my back had originated from Joshua’s whip.
“Follow my plan, Joshua! Quickly activate your skill…”
The acc.u.mulated pain was peaking, so I could not finish my sentence. The headache from the Realm of the Ultimate and Joshua’s strike depleted most of my defense.
[Doom Arukuda’s Negative Effect ‘Warrior’s Boiling Blood’ will convert to scorching burn.]
[High-ranking Shaman Yapoon’s Transmission Necklace has been destroyed.]
[Warning: You lack Spiritual Resistance.]
I clenched my teeth, and I could feel the broken teeth inside my mouth. Arukuda’s giant face was tilting towards me. A large amount of blood was spilling again from the hole in its jaw.
[Warning: Doom Arukuda’s ‘Warrior’s Boiling Blood’ has been activated.]
Arukuda may not have used all his strength, but neither had I. The Man Who Overcomes Adversity had not been activated yet. I took all the blood he was pouring out. All I could think was that I must not miss this chance. I did my best to focus on the movements happening above me.
[The blueprint ‘Doom Arukuda’s trait, Warrior’s Boiling Blood’ has been added.]
Only then could I start screaming.
Aaaaaaaaah.
My mouth would not open because of his blood, so the scream only echoed inside me.
[You have created the insignia ‘Time Reversal.’]
Wait for me, Arukuda!
[Time has been reversed.]
It began again.