part1 · 079-ep79

Episode 79: The Ancient Dragon's Wrath

The Ancient Dragon charged straight at the Ren it had just sent flying.

《Dragon's Roar》 carried a powerful paralytic effect. The dragon was certain Ren's body had gone rigid, unable to move.

The massive body came bearing down all at once.

But—

"...Not even close."

Ren stood up. His body answered without a hitch.

The paralysis from 《Dragon's Roar》 hadn't touched him at all. 《Status Ailment Resistance》 EX. Its effect nullified paralysis completely.

The dragon's eyes went wide. The prey that should have been frozen stood there, unbothered. At the sight, the Ancient Dragon's charge stalled for just one breath.

That gap—

Ren didn't let slip.

"...Now."

Ren kicked off the ground. He closed the distance to the dragon in an instant.

Magic flowed into the magic sword. Wind wreathed the blade.

"—Hah!"

Ren swung the magic sword through with his whole body behind it.

—Slash!

The dragon's scales split deep. Several black scales dropped to the ground.

And—

blood flowed from the wound.

The Ancient Dragon went still. It stared at the blood running from its own body.

A body that had never once been wounded. And now, a clear scar was carved into it.

The dragon's eyes flew wide open.

The next instant—

"Gwoooooargh!"

The roar shook all of floor 100.

Dreadful magic erupted from the Ancient Dragon's body. The air trembled. The ground shook. The magic all around it was dragged toward the dragon in a rush.

The dragon glared at one thing only — Ren, before it. Clear hostility burned in its eyes.

A red glow was born at the dragon's mouth. Fire magic. Around it, wind magic whipped into a violent spiral.

The fire roared up huge. The wind wrapped itself around it.

But the dragon didn't stop there.

With 《Magic Manipulation》, it worked the two magics at will. The spiraling fire and wind were drawn in, slowly, toward a single point.

The once-massive fire compressed. The wind spun faster still, whirling around the flame at blinding speed. The tighter it compressed, the denser the magic became.

The air around it warped. The heat climbed in a rush. Even so, the dragon poured in more magic.

"...!"

Ren's expression changed.

This was clearly unlike any magic before it. The dragon was concentrating its vast magic into a single point.

Before long—

The giant fire at the dragon's mouth had been compressed to something unnaturally small. And yet, opposite to its size, the magic packed into it was terrifying.

The wind circling it spun faster and faster. Around the flame, the wind coiled into vortex after vortex.

The Ancient Dragon's jaws opened wide.

And—

the compressed magic was released, all at once.

—BOOM!!

A colossal torrent of fire and wind erupted at dreadful speed.

At first it was a single massive stream. But as it advanced, the wind dragged the surrounding air into it, and its scale swelled rapidly.

The fire coiled into a vortex. Wind whirled furiously around it.

The ground blew apart chunk by chunk, scorched rock whirling up into the air.

It was less an attack — more a disaster given form.

"...!"

Ren leapt sideways at once. In speed, he had the edge. He'd simply escape outside the attack's range.

But—

the vortex of fire and wind kept spreading — toward where Ren fled.

"...It's spreading!"

Ren pushed his speed higher. Right. Then left.

Even so, the fire and wind pressed in everywhere he ran. The wind dragged in more air, widening the attack's reach all the while.

The more he ran, the less room there was left to escape into.

"...Damn it!"

Ren pushed his body strengthening further still. He ran at full power.

But—

it wasn't enough.

The torrent of fire and wind closed on Ren's body. In a flash, Ren concentrated his magic.

Even so, he couldn't dodge it clean.

—BOOM!

A dreadful shock swallowed Ren's body whole.

"Gwah...!"

His body was flung away. Slammed into the ground, it rolled on and on.

Agony shot through him everywhere. Bones shattered. Muscle tore. Blood ran from burned skin.

And then Ren stopped moving.

That instant—

the ring on Ren's finger gave off a pale light.

—Snap.

The ring shattered. The light of the broken ring was drawn into Ren's body.

The next instant—

the fatal wounds carved into Ren's body were gone — completely.

The ring had taken Ren's death in his place.

But—

the damage from that dreadful impact remained.

Right after. A change came over Ren's body.

《High-Speed Self-Regeneration》 Lv.10.

The power activated.

Burned skin regenerated at speed. Torn muscle knit back together. Shattered bones returned to their shapes.

The flowing blood stopped, and wound after wound sealed shut. Under 《High-Speed Self-Regeneration》, Ren's body was repairing itself at a staggering pace.

But—

his consciousness didn't return.

The shock had been too violent. Ren's awareness had sunk deep beneath the surface.

The Ancient Dragon approached, slowly. It looked down at Ren, lying on the ground.

He didn't move.

And—

the presence it had felt from him until moments ago was gone.

The dragon judged Ren dead. Without attacking further, it turned away from him.

But—

inside Ren's body, the regeneration had never stopped.

Wounds sealed. Bones knit. His body returned, little by little, to what it had been.

And—

a breath later.

Ren's fingertips twitched.