Ssssss.
Blue flames flickered over the spearhead.
They were the concentrated form of immense qi—something that even the Wyvern’s steel-like hide and scales could not stop.
There was no way they couldn’t pierce the eye, the Wyvern’s only real weakness.
“What are you looking at, you fucking bastard?”
Without the slightest hesitation, I drove my spear into its enormous eye.
Crunch! Ssssss!
Hide? Scales?
Nothing could stop the spearhead.
Blood gushed out, and Scorching Yang Qi burned through the retina. The vertically slit pupil expanded, and the creature’s maw opened so wide it looked as if it might tear apart.
—Graaaaaaaah!
It was a howl from the depths of its soul.
An inhuman shriek I had never heard before burst from its mouth, which was stretched wide enough to split.
That nearly blew out my eardrums.
Even though I had raised my internal energy to protect my hearing, my ears were still ringing.
After driving in the spear, I landed lightly on the ground and watched the creature writhe.
Boom! Kwooooom!
It thrashed wildly, swinging its one intact wing and tail in every direction. Then, at some point, it suddenly raised its head.
—Grrrrr.
The monster’s house-sized head.
Black blood poured from its eye, which had been crushed almost halfway.
It was a horrifying sight—enough to make even a fairly gutsy person step backward. But as I watched, I felt refreshed, as if someone had opened a hole in my chest.
“You’re one dumb son of a bitch. You still haven’t learned your lesson after what happened three years ago?”
Even if it had lost both eyes, it still had other senses.
The creature’s head, trembling from pain, turned precisely toward me.
—Hu. man.
“Why, Wyvern?”
—How. did. you. even?
At its voice, filled with disbelief, I curled up the corners of my mouth.
It was almost a shame that the creature couldn’t see my smile.
“If you wish hard enough, the entire universe will help you. Something like that.”
—My. ma. gic. was. per. fect!
“Ah, I’ll give you that. It surprised me.”
What kind of monster was a Wyvern?
A body and wings as large as buildings. Hide tough enough to deflect most attacks. The ability to use a breath attack.
I truly had never imagined that a creature capable of displaying such terrifying power with its natural physical abilities could also use magic.
I also never imagined one measly Slow spell would cut my Agility by fifty.
According to the System notification I had heard then, the dragonkin trait had strengthened its magic several times over.
But I still had one trump card left.
“I’ve saved up quite a few points over the years. Saving is a habit of mine.”
Back when I had been a rookie in the Murim, I had raised my stats with every point I earned.
I had been weak then, and my situation had been so precarious that anything could happen the very next day.
But as I gradually grew stronger, I realized something.
These could be weapons, too.
Just as martial artists concealed their ultimate techniques until the very end.
—What. kind. of. orc. shit. is. that?
“What do you think? It means your magic won’t do a damn thing to me.”
I leisurely opened my Inventory and took out a new spear. When I tapped the spearhead with my fingernail, a clear sound rang out.
The blind creature’s body jerked at the sound.
—What. are. you. plan. ning?
“You already know. Why ask?”
Step. Step.
Each time I approached, the creature’s tightly hunched body flinched.
“We need to settle our accounts. Including three years of interest.”
There was no room for compromise. This battle would end only when one of us died.
And the one dying here today would not be me.
“I’m going to kill you.”
—Kraaaaaah!
But the creature wasn’t about to take it lying down.
It had lost one wing and both eyes to me, but it was still unquestionably a Named Monster. It had enough strength left for one final struggle.
—Heal!
Sssssss.
Black magic once again wrapped around its enormous body. The blood stopped flowing at once, and new flesh began to grow. It was far faster than any healing magic I knew.
But the magic didn’t end there.
—Dark. Bin. ding!
Shrrrrrrk!
Thorny vines suddenly shot up from the wasteland covered in dust and dirt, wrapping tightly around my entire body.
At the same time, a System notification rang out.
Beep!
System
Lv.??? Carus has used Binding Magic!
Due to the dragonkin trait, the magic is enhanced!
Strength temporarily decreased by 10!
Stamina temporarily decreased by 10!
Agility temporarily decreased by 10!
The thorny vines slowly crawled up from my ankles to my legs, waist, arms, and finally my neck.
The sawlike thorns jutting from the vines pierced through my thin leather armor and dug into my skin.
Beep.
System
Paralysis Poison has entered your body!
Nerve Poison has entered your body!
Status abnormality: Poisoned!
“……Huh. What the hell is this?”
—Grrrrr.
The creature—or rather, Carus—let out a triumphant laugh. Its horribly shattered eye was already gradually returning to its original form.
—You. let. your. guard. down. hu. man!
“Let my guard down?”
I thought about it for a moment, then nodded.
“Yeah. I did let my guard down.”
—……Why. are. you. so. calm?
“Usually, when someone acts relaxed in a situation like this, it means one of two things. Either they’re bluffing their ass off, or…”
Ding.
System
The effect of Unaffected by a Hundred Poisons has been applied!
Paralysis Poison has been neutralized!
Nerve Poison has been neutralized!
Status abnormality: Poisoned has disappeared!
“Or they have a good reason to be.”
As soon as I finished speaking, I took another step.
The thorny vines, each as thick as my thigh, tightened around my entire body, but they couldn’t stop my advance.
“While I’m at it, I’ll splurge on a bonus. Fifty Strength. Fifty Stamina.”
Ding.
System
100 Bonus Points have been consumed!
The points have been applied to your stats!
Crack. Crrrunch.
I tore and shattered the vines with overwhelming power and Strength.
Carus’s magic had been greatly strengthened by the dragonkin trait, but its actual level was not particularly high.
“Slow magic, binding magic. What’s next?”
Its eye had already almost completely healed.
When Carus saw me emerge from the vines unharmed, its maw fell open.
—You…you!
I casually brushed off the pieces of vine clinging to my arm.
“Don’t you have any other magic? You were so confident that I thought you’d at least know factoring, but you’re actually just a master of addition and subtraction.”
—How. did. you?
“My own magic.”
—Your. own. ma. gic?
“Yeah. Magic.”
I shifted the iron spear in my hand into a reverse grip.
That was the entirety of my preparation. This spear was my magic, and the creature would never be able to stop it.
“Huuup.”
I drew in a deep breath. The muscles throughout my body meshed together like tiny gears, and the world slowed down.
I leaned back and threw my arm forward.
Along with a spell I hadn’t had time to memorize.
“Burst, sesame.”
Whoosh! Fwoooooosh!
Against the red sunset coloring the horizon, a blue flash pierced the creature’s eye, dyed an even deeper shade of blood.
It burned, shattered, and exploded.
Crack!
—Graa…aaaaaaah!
Listening to its scream of agony, I walked toward it. With every step, familiar faces flashed past my eyes.
Faces I would probably never forget for as long as I lived.
Since that day three years ago, shackles had always been fastened around my ankles.
Anger, guilt, the desire for revenge. Emotions that had piled up, layer upon layer.
All of it had been heavy and overwhelming. So heavy I couldn’t take even one step.
But now…
At some point, I had grown enough to bear that weight.
I could finally offer belated comfort to the spirits of those who had died before me.
Yes. Now, finally.
Just as I murmured those words silently in my heart, mana rippled around the creature writhing in pain.
—Kraaaah! Slow! Dark Binding! Magic Arrow!
Three spells erupted in succession.
I kicked off the ground and sprinted forward. The moment I shot beyond Slow’s area of effect like a streak of light, thorny vines and dozens of mana arrows blocked my path.
Sssshing! Shrrrk!
Everything was sliced apart along the semicircle traced by blue flames. Realizing that its attacks had failed, the creature flapped its one remaining wing.
There was no need to aim at such a huge target. Once again, a flash shot from my hand.
Swoooooosh! Thud!
—Kyaaaaaaah!
Whoooosh!
A sharp scream rang out. Then the creature’s tail, bristling with spikes, came flying at me with a terrifying boom as it split the air.
Boom!
But I had already leaped half a beat ahead of it.
The rocks scattered across the wasteland like reefs rising from the sea shattered into powder.
Open Inventory. Equip.
As I descended, I swung my spear.
Shraaaak.
The severed tail rolled through the dust with black blood spilling from it.
—Kraaaaah!
Shrrk. Shrrk. Shrrk.
It was like perfectly meshing gears.
I blocked, dodged, and cut through every attack the creature hurled at me in its desperate struggle.
Then I suddenly realized that no more attacks were coming and stopped my hand.
—Krrk. Grrrk.
Two severed wings. A severed tail. Two eyes that could no longer function.
Ragged breathing, ready to stop at any moment, escaped from the creature’s maw as it lay submerged in a great pool of blood.
I watched it for a while before opening my mouth.
“Do you want to live?”
—……
“Then use your healing magic. I’ll wait.”
—Will. you…save. me?
“No. It just feels like a waste to send you off like this.”
—……!
“Endure ten more times. After that, I’ll kill you.”
The creature’s body trembled. Its gaping eye, pouring dark-red blood like a waterfall, turned toward me.
—You. are. cruel. hu. man.
“Compared to what you did, this is nothing.”
—I. only. did. what. I. had. to. do.
“I know.”
Humans killed monsters, and monsters killed humans.
Their killing of one another was a history and a chain that had continued for decades. And also…
“I’m no different.”
Completing my revenge. That was what I had to do now.
After a short silence, a single word filled with resignation escaped its mouth.
—……Kill. me.
The strength slowly drained from its twitching body.
I aimed my spear at the creature’s blood-caked brow. Then I whispered in a low voice.
“Thank you.”
For staying alive until now. And for dying by my hand.
With that barely audible whisper, I drove the spear forward.
Shnk.
The Scorching Yang Qi flowing from the spearhead as it gently pierced through the center of its brow rampaged like a wild beast, devouring and burning everything in its path.
The skull harder than steel. Flesh. Brain matter. Everything else.
Ding.
System
You have defeated Lv.115 Carus!
You have achieved the Achievement Named Monster Defeated!
You have achieved a great Achievement. A corresponding Reward will be granted!
You have perfectly cleared the A-Rank Gate, The Black Wyvern’s Nest!
Calculating all Rewards…
You have acquired an enormous amount of EXP and Fame!
Level Up!
Level Up!
…
System notifications washed over me like waves. I released the spear shaft, which had grown hot, and thought,
I did it. Finally.
What more was there to say?
The shouts of other people brought me back to myself as I stood there in a daze.
“Mr. Jin Taekyung!”
“Taekyung!”
Team Leader Choi, Butler Kim, Im Kkeokjeong. Song Song.
My guildmates, whom I had met through new connections. My people.
Watching them race toward me, I let out a weary laugh.
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