Chapter 97
Each time the dragon beat its wings, fierce gusts of wind swept violently across his body.
His clothes flapped like a banner. Even the skin on his face rippled under the force. Woojin lowered his head, gripping the machete tightly with both hands.
How do I stop this bastard?
As if it had gone mad, the dragon was rising straight toward the sky without hesitation.
Because of that, Woojin’s body dangled in midair. His legs kicked uselessly in the void as he barely held on, using the machete embedded in the dragon’s nape as a handle.
…Even that was no easy task.
The machete trembled and began to slide out. His full weight was bearing down on it.
At this rate, I’ll fall.
If he wanted to hold on, he had to drive it in deeper. Deciding so, Woojin tightened his grip.
Puuuk!!
The half-loosened machete plunged deep into the dragon’s neck. The entire blade was buried, leaving only the handle protruding. Now it was stable.
That buys me some time.
Just as he thought that—
“Gwoooaaargh!!”
The dragon’s roar battered his ears.
The deeper stab must have jolted it with pain. In a panic to shake him off, the dragon began performing aerial acrobatics.
It spun.
Like a figure skater pivoting on its head, the dragon rotated violently as it ascended. Woojin was dragged along helplessly, flung about by the motion.
This was insanity beyond insanity.
He could no longer tell which was sky and which was earth. The dragon’s movements were so violent that his belongings began flying off one by one.
The daggers strapped at his waist—each fell away, vanishing into the distant void behind them.
Snap—!
Something else just tore loose and flew off. A sudden sense of emptiness. Woojin reached toward his neck.
“…Ah, damn it.”
It was the pendant containing Claire’s portrait. Something he would take out and look at from time to time. Something he had quietly treasured. Now it was gone.
His temper flared instantly.
“…Enough of this.”
Woojin clenched his teeth. His eyes shimmered red with lightning.
Bzzzzzt!!
He poured Firestorm into the machete. Lightning coursed along the blade and into the dragon’s body. The dragon shrieked and twisted violently.
But its wingbeats did not stop. It had some resistance to lightning.
…It didn’t matter.
Woojin had no intention of stopping either. He unleashed lightning relentlessly.
You picked the wrong day.
He increased the output of Firestorm even further.
His condition was excellent; he could endure the strain of unleashing such power. His rage burned hot, and he had absorbed divine power from the paladins.
Crimson lightning raced across the dragon’s body. Even with resistance, it could not endure this brutal barrage forever.
But the dragon did not simply endure it.
Long bone shards sprouted along its nape. In the next instant, they shot forward like thrown javelins.
Clang! Kkagakang!!
Loud metallic crashes rang out. Woojin had already covered his entire body in dragon scales. Even when struck by the bone shards, he endured without much difficulty.
He did not stop pouring lightning into it. When that failed to bring results, the dragon changed tactics.
Fwoooosh—!
It opened its mouth and spewed venom. Since it was flying forward, the poison was naturally carried backward by the wind—like a fumigation truck dispersing smoke as it moved.
Woojin was drenched in it. The toxin was so potent that his fingertips tingled.
From here on, it was a battle of endurance.
Either the dragon would be burned to death by lightning, or Woojin would succumb to the poison. One of them would never touch the ground alive again.
Let’s see who wins.
They had come this far—this had to end.
The dragon spewed venom. Woojin unleashed lightning. Neither ceased. Even amid this exchange, the dragon continued beating its wings.
And as they climbed higher and higher…
The dark storm clouds of the sky drew close enough to touch. They had ascended too high—yet the mindless dragon did not stop. It seemed determined to go as far as possible.
Fwoosh!
Dragon and man pierced through the storm clouds.
And what greeted them was a clear, open sky. Beneath their feet stretched an endless horizon of clouds.
“…Wow.”
A breath of awe escaped him.
For a moment, he forgot they were fighting. The sight before him was so magnificent, so unreal, that it felt detached from reality.
How did I end up here?
The thought surfaced suddenly.
He had once intended to live casually, working as a hunter, taking it easy. And yet here he was, in a situation beyond absurd.
What had he come this far for?
As that thought lingered—
Woojin glanced downward. The place they had just risen from. The clouds there were swirling in a circular depression.
Crackle, crackle—
Red lightning flickered within the storm clouds. He had passed through them wreathed in Firestorm earlier. It was as if the clouds retained its lingering resonance.
As if entranced, Woojin extended his hand toward the storm clouds.
Bzzzt!!
A bolt shot from his fingertips and struck the clouds. The lightning vanished as if swallowed whole. A strange silence followed.
KRAAA-BOOM!!
Suddenly, the storm clouds flared red with thunder. The lightning he had cast roamed wildly within them. With each passing moment, the power of Firestorm visibly amplified.
Lightning grows where there are storm clouds.
Realization dawned. Woojin let out a quiet chuckle.
“…Ah. So this is how you use it.”
Only now did he truly grasp how to wield Firestorm.
He snapped his fingers. Sparks burst like flint struck by a lighter.
Boom, boom!
In response to his gestures, lightning flashed within the storm clouds. Woojin watched calmly for a moment—then clenched his fist tight.
CRAAAAACK—!!
The sky blazed red in an instant.
Like a volcanic eruption, a colossal bolt of Firestorm surged downward, engulfing both dragon and rider in searing brilliance.
“Ghk! Gwoooaaargh—!!”
The dragon’s body blackened as it burned. It convulsed violently.
Thunder roared as the dragon’s screams tore through the heavens.
Woojin shouted as well.
“Now just die already!!”
He poured lightning back into the machete he was gripping. It was as if he and the bolt spewed out by the storm clouds were striking in tandem.
Something snapped with a sharp crack.
The wingbeats stopped. The dragon’s blazing, sulfurous eyes lost their light and dimmed.
He had killed the dragon.
And then… the strange buoyancy vanished, and gravity—forgotten until now—returned all at once.
They began to fall.
“…Ah, damn it.”
The curse slipped out like a sigh. Woojin’s body plummeted alongside the dragon’s corpse.
What now?
He was usually well-prepared, but he had never once thought to carry a parachute. He had seen scenes like this in movies, though.
Skydiving.
He had wanted to try it once.
Of course, like most items on a wishlist, he had never truly intended to follow through. But given the situation, what choice did he have?
He awkwardly adjusted his posture.
He turned his stomach downward and spread his arms and legs wide to reduce his speed as much as possible.
The wind battered his entire body. As he broke through the storm clouds, the world below came into view. Everything within sight looked like toys.
“This feels strange.”
As he grew accustomed to the endless fall, it almost felt like he was floating in midair.
Terminal velocity… was that what it was called?
Even when falling from great heights, the speed does not increase infinitely.
Just as raindrops falling from the sky do not hurt much, a falling object eventually reaches a maximum speed and accelerates no further.
If that was true, then as long as he endured the impact at this speed, he should survive.
I’m covered in dragon scales anyway. I shouldn’t be too badly injured.
Some items would inevitably be damaged or lost from the impact.
The machete was still embedded in the dragon’s nape. He had intentionally left it there—better lodged in flesh than lost in the fall.
The bigger problem was…
…I think I’m going to land in the inner region.
The dragon abomination had flown recklessly northward. As a result, Woojin was falling deep into the demonic realm—the inner zone.
He had come so deep that returning to the Wall would take considerable time.
No helping it. I’ll just have to suffer through it.
He steadied his posture again.
He needed to brace for impact. As he ran the calculations in his head, the ground rapidly approached.
Black forests, ruined fortresses, volcanoes spewing dark smoke—what had seemed like toys doubled in size with every passing moment.
He had returned to the earth.
KWA-A-A-ANG!!
The dragon’s corpse hit the ground first, exploding with a thunderous crash. Shortly after, Woojin landed—relatively gracefully.
Thud, thump, rrrumble—!
Like a skipping stone, he struck the ground and bounced a couple of times before rolling across the dirt, sliding more than a dozen meters from the impact point.
Lying flat on his back, Woojin stared up at the sky he had just occupied.
“…Ow.”
A groan slipped out.
He would have liked to remain like this, but he couldn’t afford to linger. Every demonic beast in the vicinity must have heard that commotion.
Staggering to his feet, dragging one leg slightly, he headed toward the dragon’s corpse that had fallen ahead of him.
They had fallen together; it wasn’t far. He approached the body.
Shk!
He pulled the machete free from the corpse. Thankfully, it seemed undamaged, though the blade glowed red-hot from the prolonged lightning.
It looked as though it had just been drawn from a furnace.
With that blade, Woojin began butchering the dragon.
Slash, schhk!
Each swing cleaved through the dragon’s torso with ease. Perhaps because it was infused with Firestorm, the machete felt even better in his hand than usual.
When he split open the dragon’s chest—
A massive inner core, as large as a boulder, came into view. Its surface was charred black.
Woojin examined it with his inner sight.
There’s still some vitality left.
If another beast were to consume it, the dragon abomination might revive.
Judging that unacceptable, Woojin swung the machete repeatedly, shattering the core into pieces. It was no simple task; the core was enormous.
As he did—
…beasts began to approach.
Drawn by the scent of blood, they came.
They circled cautiously at first, observing. They must have noticed that Woojin’s condition was far from ideal. A wounded creature is always the first target.
Enemies gathered from all sides. Massive lion-like beasts charged toward him.
Woojin gripped the machete tightly. Each time he swung it, a red comet-like arc carved through the air.
Boom!
Thunder rolled.
That hadn’t been him. The storm clouds began pouring down heavy rain.
A sudden downpour.
Not exactly a welcome guest. As rain drenched him, his stamina drained even faster.
…I’m exhausted.
His condition was worse than ever.
He had unleashed Firestorm recklessly, been drenched in dragon poison, and free-fallen from the heavens. His body was a mess in every sense.
But he could not show weakness.
Woojin deliberately tore the lion-beasts apart more brutally than necessary. Seeing this, the rest of the pride hesitated in fear—then abandoned the hunt and fled.
Another grim battle ended.
I need to find somewhere to shelter from the rain.
Using the machete like a cane, Woojin limped forward. After walking a while, a cave of suitable size came into view.
He lay down inside it.
Let’s sleep for about an hour.
Just as he was about to close his eyes—
Footsteps sounded outside the cave again.
Woojin turned his head.
What he faced was a spider-beast as large as a bull.
A sigh escaped him.
Even resting is difficult.
Just as he began to rise—
Swish, swish—
The spider lifted a pair of its front legs and waved them side to side, like someone shaking glow sticks at a concert.
An incomprehensible action.
Woojin blinked.
What was that supposed to mean?
It didn’t stop there. The spider began doing something even stranger.
It started spinning webbing across the cave entrance—as if sealing it shut.
Woojin watched in a daze.
He shouldn’t allow such bizarre behavior to continue…
But—
…I don’t sense any hostility.
So he kept watching.
Before long, the entrance was completely covered in thick webs. As if satisfied with its work, the spider left without lingering.
A short while later—
Multiple presences gathered outside the cave.
The lion-beasts Woojin had fought earlier. Their numbers were far greater this time.
Did they bring reinforcements?
It seemed time to fight again. Woojin picked up his machete and prepared.
But the lions examined the web-covered entrance…
…and, without much hesitation, turned away.
Entering a spider-beast’s cave was a waste of time. Just as the first expeditionary force had struggled to hunt spider swarms in the past, the lions abandoned their search the moment they saw the webs.
And so, Woojin was able to rest in peace.
He was utterly bewildered.
Why did that spider-beast help me?
He tried to guess the reason…
Then quickly gave up and lay back down. After such a day, he was too exhausted to think clearly.
…For now, just sleep.
He closed his eyes.
The hunter soon fell into a deep sleep.