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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 56: Going to the UN (1)
[Pollux says you barely survived.]
[Aurelia says there are no abnormalities in your body.]
Even though I thought about the dragon god Drakia, neither of the two gods seemed to react much.
Is it because of the Dragon Heart?
I don’t know the details, but at least it’s good I didn’t get caught.
But what on earth is this seal for?
Does it help block thoughts from being read, like with Aurelia?
Looking through the skill window and the description of the Dragon Heart, nothing seems to have changed.
The same goes for the status window.
For now, it seems I can't figure it out.
I’ll deal with this later.
When I look around, I noticed that magic circle that had grown significantly larger than before.
My armor and clothes were completely burned away, leaving me naked.
The bracelets that summon my armor and bow are also gone.
Thankfully, Yeoui didn’t melt before the dragon’s breath, so I stored it in the inventory.
[Grooaarrr…]
The Black Dragon Arkardian growled like a beast.
Did they say he would lose his rationality?
So, that’s the state he’s in now?
Hmm, then this might be my chance.
I pulled Yeoui out of my inventory and enlarged it.
"Focused reinforcement. Thunder God."
With the Dragon Heart, I no longer need to worry about mana consumption and pour in mana generously.
I thrust the sword straight into the chaotic magic circle.
The magic circle quickly began to shrink, and my experience points shot up.
It would be nice to monopolize the magic circle like this, but…
“Graaaah!”
As soon as I pierced the circle with my sword, Arkardian let out a furious roar and charged at me.
If he were still rational, he wouldn’t resort to a full-body charge like this.
He’d simply cast a dragon spell and knock me away.
It seems he’s entirely acting on instinct now.
“Kraaa!!”
Arkardian spewed toxic gas from his mouth.
Even without rationality, he’s still just as annoying.
I shrunk Yeoui and dodged his attack.
The massive dragon then tried to crush me with his sheer bulk.
Each wing movement sent strong gusts of wind, and toxic gas surrounded me in every direction.
“Fire Wall. Flame Strike.”
I used fire magic here and there to create escape routes, but his overwhelming size maked it hard to find a safe path even at full speed.
Drip. Drip.
Dragon blood dripped from where the Angel’s Sword is embedded, but the dragon doesn’t seem to care.
Without rationality, he can’t use dragon spells, which is good, but his reckless, full-force attacks make it seem like I’ll get trampled any moment.
“Summon Flame Chariot.”
I climbed onto the Flame Chariot, which had been reverse-summoned earlier, to dodge his attacks.
I thought I’d be crushed by his speed, but riding the chariot allows me to stay alive.
Tsk.
A dragon is still a dragon, rational or not.
I can’t handle him alone.
I need someone to distract him.
[Groooh… Master. What happened? My consciousness was forcibly taken.]
The Phoenix, which had been inside my head, suddenly wakes up.
“I entered his body and got thrown out. Since then, he’s lost his mind. Can you distract him? No, wait. Attack the magic circle.”
[The chaotic magic circle directly? That’s fine, but can I rescue Diana from the flames first?]
“Huh? You can do that?”
[Yes. Attacking the circle with more numbers will be more effective than me alone.]
“Alright, then.”
I feel a burning sensation on my forehead, and the Phoenix emerges.
Smaller than usual, about the size of a pigeon, the Phoenix looked briefly at the dragon before flying toward Diana.
[Graaaah!]
The dragon charged at me again, aiming for a body slam.
Dodging his attack, I tred countering with a strike.
“Enlarge, Yeoui.”
I stack the Yeoui’s cutting power and strength to their maximum and stab with all my might.
Clang!
But the Yeoui stops abruptly against the dragon’s scales without penetrating.
Even without rationality, his defense remains impenetrable.
Deciding it’s futile, I keep darting around the cave, dodging his attacks, until reinforcements arrive.
“This is Team 1. We’re rejoining the fight!”
“Ugh, I’m in so much pain. Damn dragon.”
Warriors riding elemental horses poured in from the cave entrance.
Oh!
Perfect timing.
“The dragon has lost its rationality. I’ll draw its attention, so focus on attacking the magic circle!”
“Yes, understood!”
Seeing the dragon focus solely on physical attacks against me, they seemed to grasp the situation and spurred their horses toward the circle.
After about five minutes of dodging the dragon’s attacks, burning away his toxic gas, and running around the massive cave, reinforcements finally caught up.
“I’ll join the fight too!”
Diana, previously engulfed in flames, joined the fray wielding twin swords made of fire.
Her clothes have burned away, but flames covered her body like a protective suit, making her resemble a fire spirit.
[Groooar…]
Arkardian, who had been relentlessly chasing me, turned his attention toward the magic circle.
Protecting the magic circle takes precedence for him.
Taking a breather, I unfold my wings and follow him as he flies toward the circle.
Riding the chariot, I soar above him and aim Yeoui at the wound where the Angel’s Sword is embedded.
My target: the dragon’s injured flesh.
“Focused reinforcement!”
This time, I apply concentrated reinforcement directly to the Yeoui.
Its strength, sharpness, and size increased significantly.
This should work.
As Arkardian is distracted by the magic circle, I charged at full speed and thrust the Yeoui straight into the wound left by the Angel’s Sword.
Squish!
The sensation of piercing flesh.
That satisfying feeling of finally stabbing the dragon that seemed impervious to any attack!
[Kyaaa!!]
Arkardian spread his wings and roared.
The light-imbued Angel’s Sword overlaps with the Yeoui.
However, the blade stops short before advancing further.
Something is blocking it.
Is it bone?
“Thunder God!”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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[Graaaah!]
I channel electricity through the Yeoui embedded in the dragon’s back.
But it doesn’t seem to deal much damage.
Arkardian ignores me entirely and continues flying toward the magic circle.
“Get out of the way!”
“Arghhh!”
“It’s the poison!”
As the dragon charges toward the magic circle, those unable to evade are trampled instantly.
Even those who manage to dodge are melted away by his toxic gas.
Tsk.
I’ll just have to focus on attacking the magic circle.
I reduced my weapon's size and dashed toward the chaos magic circle to attack it.
Then, the black dragon attacked me again.
Dodging with my flaming chariot, I left the rest to attack the magic circle.
When the dragon and I clashed repeatedly, the dragon would shift toward the circle again.
We spent about an hour like this.
Our numbers increased, and the magic circle's size rapidly diminished.
The dragon was just circling around endlessly.
It seemed like we were on the verge of victory.
Then suddenly, the world stopped.
[Gruuuuuurrrr…]
In this frozen world, only the black dragon moved.
It crushed the hunters surrounding the magic circle underfoot and stood at its center.
The magic circle had shrunk to a size smaller than the dragon itself.
Standing there, the dragon spoke for the first time.
[At this rate, the magic circle will collapse. I shall offer my body and dragon heart to open the Gate of Chaos.]
A voice devoid of any emotion, like a machine.
As soon as it finished speaking, the dragon's body turned blood-red.
Starting from its feet, it began to melt and was slowly absorbed into the magic circle.
As the dragon was devoured, the magic circle rapidly expanded.
It was no longer confined to the ground but began to stretch upward as well.
People who came into contact with the magic circle vanished one by one.
As if they had never existed.
Even I, riding the flaming chariot in the sky, saw the blood-red magic circle creeping toward me.
I tried to move my body to dodge, but I couldn't.
And as the magic circle touched me…
[Returning to Earth.]
A message appeared: returning to Earth.
Huh?
So, I’m not going to die?
[The summoning ritual ends imperfectly as Akardian sacrifices himself. However, the magic circle remains incomplete. The power of the Lord of Death decreases by 95%.]
You successfully completed the quest "Interrupt Akardian's Summoning Ritual."
Does this mean the summoning ritual interruption succeeded?
Well, with a 95% reduction, it makes sense.
That much reduction should make it manageable even with Earth's forces, right?
[You receive 1 random B-grade or higher item box.]
At least the reward isn’t bad...
[The dimensional gate to Kevrian will remain closed for ten days in Earth’s time.]
With that final message, my vision went dark.
When I opened my eyes again, the familiar surroundings of the association's top floor greeted me.
“Hey. You alright?”
“Yeah.”
Jinseong handed me a water bottle as he approached.
He looked at me and grinned.
“Just a while ago, you were fighting butt-naked. Now you're back, fully clothed. Fascinating.”
Tsk.
I thought my lower body was concealed while riding the flaming chariot when more people joined in.
“What? I was covered, though.”
“Haha. From certain angles, it’s hard to be completely hidden. Why do you fight standing like that? Is it your style to feel things as you battle? You’re such a pervert.”
“Hey. I wasn’t ‘standing.’ Got it?”
“Don’t lie, you rascal. That’s not what ‘not standing’ looks like.”
Sigh.
It’s hard to explain that my enhanced stamina caused… growth.
Looking around, I noticed hunters watching me with amused expressions.
What were these people doing during such a critical moment?
“Haha. Just in case, I told them to delete all the footage.”
“Geez… thanks, I guess.”
“By the way, a message said we can’t access Kevrian for ten days. Did you see the same thing?”
“Yeah. Maybe it’s because we progressed to the next stage?”
“That’s correct.”
Our conversation was interrupted by Alena, the elf.
She approached me and bowed deeply in greeting.
“Hunter Kim Jiho, interrupting the magic circle of the Black Dragon Akardian is an extraordinary feat. You’ve given hope that our homeland might recover… We’re truly grateful.”
Alena suddenly began expressing her gratitude at length.
“Well, it’s still too early to say things are fully resolved. What happens next?”
“The battlefield will shift. From now on, you’ll be fighting the undead army of the Lord of Death.”
Hmm.
If only 5% of their power is active, it should be manageable, right?
“Has the difficulty level been assessed?”
“It hasn’t been measured yet. However, we believe this is the best opportunity for Earth. Other areas have made no progress.”
“I see.”
“Yes. That’s why our support team has requested a meeting with the UN Security Council. We plan to propose deploying forces.”
“Earth’s forces?”
“Yes, though it would primarily consist of D-rank hunters or higher.”
Mobilizing all of Earth’s D-rank or higher hunters…
Could it work?
I suddenly recalled how the dragon's single word killed thousands at once.
Fighting godlike entities, sheer numbers seem useless.
But maybe the 95% reduction makes it feasible?
“This opportunity will never come again. If Kevrian resets, the Lord of Death’s forces will target you directly from the start, Hunter Kim Jiho. Now, when their power is limited, is the best chance.”
“That makes sense.”
“Also, Hunter Kim Jiho, you may need to attend the UN meeting.”
“Understood.”
The UN, huh?
Looks like I’ll be heading straight to New York after returning.
“Our team could arrange a private jet for you. Would that be alright?”
Elves offering a private jet… they think of everything.
As I was marveling at the offer, I noticed Kang Shia pointing at herself behind Alena.
Oh, right.
Kang Shia also offered a private jet.
“Ah, I already have prior arrangements for that.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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