Chapter 1007
She had come to a complete stop. Seoryu was still flying towards Harveti. She glanced at it momentarily before casting her spells.
『〈Quadruple Shield〉, 〈Immune to Harm〉, 〈Protect Magic〉.』
“Tsk—damn…”
The man let out a frustrated grunt as he watched the magic around Harveti grow even stronger and thicker. Seeing this, Harveti smiled.
It was proof that her assumptions had been correct.
『Kyaaahhhh—!』
『Breath… So, you expected that harming a fellow of the same clan would put you at a disadvantage with the Elder Council. Tsk tsk… If you had just endured a little longer, you could’ve secured your position as the next elder. In the end, you couldn’t shake off the rashness of being an adult.』
Even as the thick blue aura gathered around Seoryu’s mouth, Harveti didn’t show any signs of tension.
In a situation where she wasn’t even looking at the humans anymore, a clanging sound reverberated from her feet.
The man who had been leading the users was rolling at Harveti’s feet. He couldn’t withstand the backlash of his own attack and was knocked aside.
『Hmm? Hahaha, trying to face me by recruiting humans that can’t even put a scratch on my barrier! Seoryuuu!』
Harveti’s words started with a laugh but ended with a roar. Seoryu, having completed the preparation for its breath attack, had now approached Harveti’s immediate vicinity.
Harveti glared at Seoryu, but it was only for a very brief moment. Even now, she remained vigilant about her surroundings.
Realizing the weakness of the humans at her feet, she was convinced Seoryu wouldn’t use them. The true threat still lay hidden!
However, Harveti could find nothing. She focused once more on Seoryu. Within the breath’s range, just as Seoryu’s mouth finally opened!
She realized.
『What?! You—and ‘this’ is—』
Puhwahhh────────!
Seoryu’s mouth unleashed its breath. The dark green, highly acidic breath, with properties between liquid and gas, poured down onto the several layers of defense barriers Harveti had constructed.
“Ugh!”
“Ev-everyone, get back! We’re being swept away!”
The surrounding humans scattered frantically. As they hurriedly moved, a dull thud echoed.
Thud… It was still unclear what caused the sound. The acidic breath continued to rain down.
“Prepare to counterattack as soon as Seoryu’s breath ends!”
The breath, which seemed like it could go on forever, suddenly ceased.
“Good, it’s now! Everyone—
“… It seems there’s no need to counterattack.”
“—Huh?”
The users halted. They looked up at the Black Dragon hovering in the sky.
Seoryu also turned to look at the users. But neither side made a move nor uttered a word.
“Harveti… is dead.”
“With just one breath—how?”
Understanding the immediate situation took priority.
Seeing Harveti lying in a bizarre pose on the hill, the users were at a loss.
“What… should we do, captain?”
“So, for now… um… well—huh?!”
As the man leading the users hesitated and postponed his decision, a new lavender light flashed beside them.
With Harveti’s death, all of her used skills had been canceled, allowing for a teleport.
Appearing near them was another Black Dragon.
A dragon, its shimmering scales visible even under layers of protective magic, appeared and roared.
『You scoundrels! How dare you defy Lady Harveti!』
The Black Dragon bellowed as it flew straight towards Seoryu. The one caught off guard by the appearance of the dragons were, in fact, the players.
“A, a dragon—block it! Attack!”
At a male voice’s cry, the surviving players hastily began their assault.
However, a significant number of ranged DPS had fallen, and mages required casting time, so there was no immediate way to halt the approaching dragon.
『Seoryu, Seoryu! Do you even realize what you have done! 〈Poison Blaster〉, 〈Acid Claw〉!』
The Ancient-class male Black Dragon promptly used its skills.
“No way! Then—
Even with a mask on, the man’s distorted face was discernible. As he screamed and reached out, Seoryu began to move.
『Kyaaaaah—!』
Seoryu twisted its body and soared through the air. The newly arrived Black Dragon followed in flight.
The two attacks of poison and acid darted towards Seoryu without even registering, as if solely targeting Seoryu.
『I knew of your contemptible ambitions all along! You shall pay the price for dreaming beyond your means!』
Compared to the frenzied flight of the Black Dragon, Seoryu’s flight was simple in contrast.
Moreover, the Black Dragon was closing the distance with Seoryu while continuously launching skills, leaving the players watching from the ground in a difficult situation.
“Boss, if it goes on like this…”
“For now—we have no choice but to wait. There’s nothing we can do…”
“Instead of just waiting, shouldn’t we at least try to do something?”
“Hmm, perhaps. Alright. Attack! Once ready, unleash everything on the newly arrived Black Dragon!”
“Understood!”
After a brief discussion, they prepared to synchronize with Seoryu. Several attacks, including fireballs, were launched skyward, but they failed to breach the Black Dragon’s shield.
『You cursed insects!』
Was it enough that they captured its attention? The players froze at the angry voice coming from above.
『Kyaaaaah—!』
『Seoryuuu!』
However, the moment was fleeting. As Seoryu began casting magic with a roar, the Black Dragon’s attention shifted back to it.
The emerald mana gathering around Seoryu soon solidified and was launched.
Seeing the poison-laden spears and explosive fireballs, the Black Dragon scoffed.
『Foolish! You aimed to hit me with such low-level magic!』
The skills were directed straight at the Black Dragon. Not needing to stand still and take a hit, the Black Dragon swiftly maneuvered for evasion.
Seoryu flew again, but its speed was still not very fast. It didn’t take long for the Black Dragon to catch up to Seoryu.
『You shall not even find solace in rest; regret until your soul rots in hell!』
The Black Dragon began casting skills from behind Seoryu. Flying in a broad arc, Seoryu and the Black Dragon now hovered above the terrain where Harveti had died, right over the heads of the players.
“Attack!”
The players launched their skills again. The Black Dragon only briefly glanced at them. It had no reason to be concerned with skills that couldn’t even breach its shield.
『Kyaaaaah—!』
Dealing with Seoryu’s reverse maneuver and breath attack had been the wiser decision.
『”Breath? How dare an insignificant Adult-class like you use it against me!”』
The Black Dragon swiftly dodged to the side, yet the greenish breath grazed the edge of his shield.
Even to the users, it was evident that the Black Dragon had layered at least five barriers; Seoryu’s breath merely damaged the barriers slightly and should not have harmed his core body.
『”Hmm?!”』
Ordinarily, the Black Dragon would have launched a fierce counterattack.
However, encountering Seoryu’s breath caused the Black Dragon’s Black pupils to contract rapidly.
『”No? I see. You are— you are Seoryu— 』
The dragon, now resembling a startled cat, failed to finish its sentence with its eyes sharply fixated.
Suddenly, all the barriers that had enveloped him disappeared. The reason the barriers vanished was simple.
It was the same reason he was plummeting to the ground.
Seoryu’s breath blasted once more upon the corpse of the already dead and ashen Black Dragon.
Puhwaaaaaaaaaa────!
Even though the situation had ended, Seoryu was not complacent. The users near the dragon’s body shared the same caution.
None of them removed their masks or revealed their identities.
They quietly sent a whisper through the leader of the users to somewhere.
— Is this dragon indeed one of the targets?
— It seems so. Someone is investigating further, and we should hear back soon.
— That’s fortunate, but we need to consider the case of the third dragon arriving.
The man briefly scanned the surroundings with a tense expression. The users who received his signal remained vigilant without releasing their battle stances.
— Yes. Please prepare for now. Wow… But we indeed got startled. Harveti truly lives up to being the number one ranked dragon! To think it sent a whisper at the very moment of impact…
— I was equally surprised. Even though Ha Leeha-ssi reassured us, isn’t the loss greater than mentioned, which is quite concerning.
— Please, don’t say things like that. We’ve got Ram Hwayeon’s approval as well—besides, the benefits we gain this time will enable us to give a substantial contribution to Hwahong. We’ll ensure that the fallen users, I mean, employees, are duly rewarded.
— Hehe, I’ve been waiting to hear that.
Leeha sighed as he whispered with the man. Through his scope, he saw the man making a V sign with his fingers.
— Jachung-ajussi indeed can’t be underestimated.
— Then, I’ll collect everything from the corpse and return.
— Yes. Since the ‘work’ will be done later, for now, just do up to there.
Leeha smiled as he responded. Once he shifted his eyes from the scope, ja-Cheong was no longer visible.
Neither was the immense body of the dragon.
“Let’s see, I’ve got two achievements at least.”
One Shot, One Kill — acquired the Ancient Black Dragon achievement.
The Six Million Millimeter Man achievement has been acquired.
“Heh, six million millimeters, huh. Well, this distance is a bit over 6 kilometers at least.”
From the approximately 6 kilometers away where they stood, all that Leeha could see with the naked eye was the mountain, nothing more.