As the Feathered Serpent looked down at us, the priest’s voice echoed through the air.
– My power… It’s overflowing! Was I truly so insignificant until now?!
Apparently, his consciousness remained even after he’d sacrificed himself and been absorbed.
It would disappear on its own with time, but we’d probably beat him to death before that happened.
In any case, I looked up at the Feathered Serpent and let out an impressed exclamation.
“Wow, you’re looking better than before. You’ve really filled out, and you’ve even got feathers now.”
– …Your tongue is as lively as ever. But you are still nothing more than a mere insect. I shall graciously overlook your insolence.
“That’s awfully generous of you. So can we go?”
Krrruk—
The Feathered Serpent let out a low cry.
The priest also burst into a hearty chuckle.
– Hoho… Of course not. I meant that I would grant you a swift death.
“You’re pretty revengeful for a transcendent being. Is it because you’re just wearing one’s shell?”
Perhaps those words struck a nerve.
The creature began radiating undisguised killing intent.
– …I’ve changed my mind. I shall take you into this body and make you suffer for all eternity.
“You’re not very consistent, either. You’re pretty disappointing in a lot of ways for a transcendent being~”
– Krrruuuuk—!
The Feathered Serpent roared once more.
Apparently, it had decided there was no longer any point in talking.
A moment later, it slightly coiled its long body, then began swimming through the air.
In an instant, it swept over our heads, golden feathers fluttering down in its wake.
At the same time, every tribesman in the area brandished their weapons and charged toward us.
They were essentially the same as the ones we’d faced in [Feathered Serpent Altar] and [Feathered Serpent Temple], except now they were completely enveloped in golden light.
It’s basically a buff.
Their ranks had jumped all the way from D to B+ to match the dungeon.
Considering their sheer numbers, they were actually more threatening than the Black Snake Faction warriors.
“But our Qyu-qyu is even stronger.”
“That’s right, junior!”
“Hold them off for us.”
“You got it, junior!”
With a bright smile on her face, Dang Gyu-ri stepped forward to meet them.
Sssssss…
The shadow beneath her feet spread wide behind her as thick pillars rose and a roof closed over them.
From the completed [Shadow Corridor], her Qyu-Shadow undead emerged.
The Lab Director, Shadow Commander, Blood Sword Commander, and Ghost Demon.
Jingle…
With the Ghost Demon’s buff supporting them, the two commanders plunged into the middle of the enemy ranks and began swinging their swords without mercy.
Slash, slash, slash!
Three or four tribesmen fell with every stroke, yet they blindly continued tightening the encirclement as though the concept of fear simply didn’t exist.
Not that it mattered. Most of them were cut down before they could even get within a certain distance, and even if they did make it through, they’d still have Dang Gyu-ri to deal with.
‘he ground battle should be stable for now.
What really mattered was the aerial battle, and our preparations for that were steadily coming together as well.
Seo Ye-in and Chattering Sloth lined up what looked like large travel suitcases in one place.
The ones we’d received from the Hye-seong Group scholarship students.
“The new weapon.”
“The new weapon.”
As they channeled mana into them, the suitcases all sprang open at once, revealing intricate machinery inside.
With a continuous series of metallic clicks, they joined together and transformed, rising high like a tower.
Then it tilted slightly toward the Feathered Serpent, revealing that it wasn’t a tower at all, but a massive gun barrel.
Seo Ye-in’s eyes sparkled as she added an explanation.
“Anti-aircraft mode.”
She and her mirror version took their places at the mana anti-aircraft cannon and began operating it in earnest.
As they activated skills like [Mana Bullet] and [Impact Bullet],
Vmmmmmmmm—
With a mechanical hum, the gauge bars mounted beside the barrel began filling one segment at a time.
It’s charge-based.
Vmmmmmmmm—!
The first few segments were red, but as the charge climbed higher, they turned green.
That meant it was ready to fire.
It looked like charging it even further would turn the gauge yellow, but Seo Ye-in apparently had no intention of waiting and signaled her mirror image with a glance.
The next instant, the barrel spat blue fire.
Booooom—!
A blue explosion erupted against the Feathered Serpent’s neck.
Judging by the way it roared in pain and writhed, the shot must have dealt considerable damage.
– Krrruuuuuuk—!
– How dare you insignificant insects—!
The priest shouted as well, thoroughly enraged.
At that, Seo Ye-in and I exchanged glances.
“If we’re just insects, shouldn’t getting hit by us not hurt? That’s what I’m thinking.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
“I don’t know why he’s getting angry at insects, either.”
“I don’t know.”
…
Apparently remembering that talking to us only made him angrier, the Feathered Serpent fell silent again and resumed the battle.
With a sweep of its tail, the golden feathers drifting through the air converged on us.
They explode on contact.
Needless to say, they hurt.
And since they were feathers, each one moved at a different speed and followed a different trajectory.
That made them difficult to predict and even harder to dodge, which played a small part in making this dungeon so unpopular.
We can handle it, though.
Dang Gyu-ri and I weaved this way and that, and the feathers that narrowly missed us exploded as they struck the ground.
Boom, boom, boom!
The mana anti-aircraft cannon is the problem.
It was far too large and heavy to move, so dodging was obviously out of the question.
But if we abandoned it and dodged on our own, it wouldn’t last long.
We’ll just have to block them.
That was why I’d kept the Lab Director in reserve.
It climbed on top of the anti-aircraft cannon and inflated its upper body like a balloon.
Then it took the falling golden feathers head-on.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
At that, the priest who’d seemed like he would never speak again couldn’t resist making another remark.
– Your willingness to sacrifice yourself for your comrades is admirable. But how long can you endure?
Just as he said, the Lab Director’s body was being torn to shreds with every golden explosion.
It was fairly durable and even had regenerative abilities, but the damage was accumulating faster than it could recover.
Boom, boom, boom!
Eventually, it could no longer hold out and dispersed into black smoke.
Then it walked back out of the Gallery of Shadows without so much as a scratch.
The priest sounded dumbfounded.
“…What?”
“It’s a Qyu-Shadow undead.”
Then again, I suppose it would be unfamiliar to someone like him.
Of course, the Lab Director couldn’t block that many feathers all by itself.
And every time it was resummoned, there was a brief window when it was out of action.
A few feathers nearly reached Seo Ye-in and the anti-aircraft cannon, but just before they could, fist-sized puffs of cloud flew in and gobbled them up.
They were A-rank items with fairly high magic resistance, so they could handle one or two at a time.
Meanwhile, the anti-aircraft cannon continued charging steadily.
Booooom—!
Another powerful shot slammed into the creature’s body.
– Krrruuuuuuk—!
The Feathered Serpent roared in pain and fury.
Then, apparently deciding to change tactics, it began flying around at high speed.
The idea was simple but effective. If it kept moving around, it would be harder to hit.
Guess it’s about time I did my share.
[Activated ‘Octopus Limbs’.]
[Activated ‘Amplification’.]
[The rank of ‘Core’ has increased. (A+→S+)]
[The rank of ‘Wind Force’ has increased. (A+→S+)]
[The rank of ‘Spiral Explosion’ has increased. (A+→S+)]
[The rank of ‘Movement Command’ has increased. (C→A)]
[The rank of ‘Diamond Freeze’ has increased. (C→A)]
[The rank of ‘Mark of Concussion’ has increased. (B→S)]
[The rank of ‘Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger’…]
[The rank of ‘Frozen Spirit Shot’…]
…
I raised my staff and pointed it upward, causing currents imbued with physical force to spiral into a vortex and converge on a single point.
[Wind Force]
[Spiral Explosion]
Whoooooosh—
The Feathered Serpent struggled against the vortex, trying to break free, but with a two-rank gap between them, it was gradually dragged in and pinned in place.
The mana anti-aircraft cannon blasted it for the third time.
Booooom—!
Another screeching roar rang out, while the priest shouted furiously as well.
– How dare you! A mere insect dares—!
“Man, you really love the word ‘insect’, don’t you?”
Using it at a time like this only made things more embarrassing for him.
With its new tactic immediately shut down, the creature seemed ready to change strategies yet again.
This time, to something a little more aggressive.
Its feathers gathered in front of it, forming a golden sphere that continued to swell.
Back in [Feathered Serpent Temple], that was its ultimate move.
A move the priest had prepared back then by burning away his own life force.
It even had a homing function, and it would accelerate more and more over time.
The one it was using now was several times larger than back then, so naturally, its destructive power would be several times greater as well.
Back then, I had to rack my brain to deal with it.
I deliberately kept dodging until the sphere had accelerated as much as possible, then carefully calculated the angle and let it hit me on purpose.
As a result, [Distortion] activated and sent it crashing into the wall.
But I don’t have to go through all that trouble anymore.
It’s not like I only learned one or two skills over the past year.
I watched the golden sphere rapidly closing in with an indifferent gaze, then casually brought my staff up to meet it.
[Celestial Shift]
A tremendous force coiled around the tip of my staff.
I spun it around and hurled it straight into the midst of the barbarians.
Whoooooooooooooosh—!
In the blink of an eye, an entire cluster of them was wiped out.
– ……! ……!
The Feathered Serpent and the priest seemed too stunned to speak for a moment.
I casually tossed them a question.
“This is actually pretty satisfying. Got any more?”
– ……Fine, if that is what you wish—!
The Feathered Serpent began radiating an even more intense golden light than before.
All the feathers it had scattered throughout the battle converged at once, forming several spheres identical to the one from moments ago.
Those are basically its ultimate moves.
Normally, it would only bring this out once the battle had heated up to a certain point, but the timing had been moved up considerably.
Maybe it was because every tactic it tried kept getting shut down, or maybe because I kept getting on its nerves.
With that many, blocking them will be tough.
Even the Lab Director would be wiped out by a single one, and [Celestial Shift] could only deflect them one at a time.
So how was I supposed to deal with multiple homing projectiles that kept accelerating?
Just interrupt it.
Whoooooosh—
Wind was already gathering and compressing at my fingertips.
Right after preparing Wind Force,
[‘Mark of Concussion (S)’ has been inflicted on the target.]
[Duration 00:00:19]
[Cooldown 00:02:59]
I kicked off the ground and leaped into the air.
Then I used [Blink] to teleport directly above its head and brought my staff crashing down.
Booooom—!
Its huge body plummeted far below.
The golden spheres shattered into pieces, apparently because the “Concussion” had successfully triggered.
On top of that, the creature staggered in midair before crashing straight to the ground.
Kwoooooom—!
Now’s my chance.
Next, I pulled a [Magic Scroll – Summon Glacier (S)] from my inventory.
[Activated ‘Diamond Freeze (A)’.]
[Duration 00:00:49]
[Cooldown 00:04:59]
That added the effect of “The next Freeze inflicted cannot be removed”.
I tore the scroll cleanly in half, unleashing a tremendous surge of energy that sent the surrounding space rippling.
Then a huge glacier materialized and came crashing down, crushing the Feathered Serpent beneath it.
Boooooooooooom—!
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