'My arrow did nothing..'
It was a close range attack that should have hit the Ice Dragon with a critical hit, but to think that it was able to withstand my arrow boosted with Lucifer's lightning..
'Is it because Noelle is an ice elf that the Ice Dragon has become stronger than the previous times? It definitely is..' I thought with gritted teeth.
..Rustle!
While in the middle of fighting the Ice Dragon, I was forced to withstand its ice breath multiple times with Frostina as well as helping HwanGi and Raiden to attack the dragon.
Seeing as only having 4 people to fend against the dragon, we all knew that we shouldn't waste much of our energy and focus on attacks that may lead to fatal wounds to the dragon.
Which was why I told them to strike the back of the dragon's head, eyes or its legs.
RUMBLE!
"Tsk! Fall back, HwanGi!" I exclaimed toward HwanGi who was releasing flame onto Bianca's leg.
The Ice Dragon knew we were after its weak spots which led it to be even more cautious.
As it happened, the Dragon was lifting up its leg and would have stomped onto HwanGi if I hadn't warned him.
HwanGi, retreating from the Dragon's foot, shouted his thanks toward me. "That was a close call. Thank you, JoonChul-ssi!"
Whoosh~
"If you want to thank me, keep your eyes wide instead of almost being stomped." I told him.
Suddenly, Frostina got to my side. "The Ice Dragon. It seems harder, my liege."
"Then we definitely need to fight better." I uttered before dashing toward the Ice Dragon at full speed.
"Indeed."
Clatter!!
Eventually, I was shooting my charged arrows at Bianca before switching to my daggers and climbing onto the steps of thin ice made by Frostina to help me get close to the Ice Dragon.
As fast and fierce as I could, I swayed my blades at its neck thousands and thousands of times. 'This is more difficult than what I expected.'
Clattering!!!
[Attack me with all your power.]
"That's the plan." I said after watching my strikes doing no good against the scales of the Dragon.
…But even if it didn't, the flame on my daggers would.
[It stings.]
Not even divine flame could do any more damage despite it being an effective element toward ice.
"Hm?"
Out of the blue, I had a glimpse of someone going toward the throne while I was landing on the floor.
There was no doubt that every player here wanted to lessen the difficulty of this stage by killing the vassals of the dragon.
..If only that bastard (Alexandrite) didn't tell them about this information, these players would have stood still and cowarded from the snow leopards.
'Damn.. It's fine. Louis and Crystal can handle this.'
As if my doubts were gone within a second because of knowing Louis and Crystal would defend the twins, I witnessed my doubts increasing again and again from this sight.
FLARE!!
"That flame. That crimson flame.." Baffled, I uttered when I became aware of what this person's 'Numbers' was.
The moment the flame caught my eyes, the flame also devoured the javelins that Louis had sent to attack the player.
Even as Louis was manipulating his javelins in a way that would be hard to see and defend against, the flame was engulfing Louis' javelins as if they were nothing to begin with.
"Who is that guy? I can't even see because of the fire blocking him." I groaned because I couldn't use my skill to identify him.
..All at once, I realized something crucial..
"My liege!" Frostina's shout resounded at the last second before..
SMASHHH!!!!
The tail of the Ice Dragon with icicles that drilled deeply into my body, breaking and tearing my bones as though they were just toothpicks.
…And that wasn't all.
BANG!!
After being knocked away by the sway of a tail, the ground displayed a trail of ruinous path that was destroyed. It showed just how much I was in a gut-wrenching state after being brutally slammed into the wall.
[Hidden Skill, 'Simulation' Lv. 2 has offset the pain.]
"Urk..!" Pain was nothing to me, but I still let out a groan, along with a handful of blood splashing out of my mouth. "Darnit.."
Not only was it surprising that I was distracted while in a battle, I was ashamed of myself for losing focus over a guy.
..But was it a good thing to notice that guy first?
"I made everyone worried because of my mistake." I frowned while getting back on my feet.
In spite of the situation and state I was in, I still had the time to gaze at the throne's direction, dumbfounding my glance when I least expected it.
"Wait.. what?"
Thunderstruck by what my eyes told me, I spotted Louis and Crystal being on the defensive with injuries that could have killed them.
'Is it because of that guy earlier? Of course, it is.. I can still see the crimson flame as reddish as hell.' I gritted my teeth.
'Noel and Noelle are unconscious because of the Ice Dragon.. and even if they were awake, fire against ice..'
My mind was slightly panicking.
Then, my eyes grew wider and angrier once I became aware that the guy who was responsible for the hellish flame and Louis' and Crystal's injuries, was already taking action in slaughtering my childre—the Absolute Twins.
'Fuck!'
SWISH!
"As if I would allow that!" I scowled when I changed my target to this person, sprinting with the mindset of protecting the twins from this person's fierce and flameful fist.
It was wrong of me to leave behind the others who were fighting the Ice Dragon, but it made no difference since my clones were doing the work for me as though I wasn't gone in the first place.
Exactly like that time where I dealt with that bastard (Alexandrite) with Asher..
At that moment, I pondered. '..I shouldn't just rush in without a plan and leave my comrades like that.. Have I become a fool?'
Maybe because my head was having a concussion from the dragon's knock earlier or..
'Master! Concentrate!' Lucifer's warning unknowingly rendered out by my mind.
It could be that Eric's subconsciousness was overwhelming me with his emotions that it caused me to do something unlike me...
SPLATTER!!
[Hidden Skill, 'Simulation' Lv. 2 has offset the pain.]
[Hidden Skill, 'Simulation' Lv. 2 has offset the pain.]
Arriving in front of the twins thanks to copying Asher's portal skill, I found myself to have a fist carving through my stomach with ease, not even allowing blood to bleed out.
My body may have suffered a lot from the dragon's attack, however.. to think he was able to punch a hole straight through my gut.
'It's hard to breathe..' I narrowed my eyes.
In front of me, this person sneered as though he was underestimating me. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
In any case, I found myself in a difficult situation because of my impulsive move to jump in without using any defensive skills.
'..Holy shit, Satan.' Infuriated, I scolded myself.
———
Swissh…
Behind the throne in the boss room, there stood a tree that was blooming bigger and bigger by the minutes.
As larger as it could sprout, this tree was fluttering its gorgeous leaves around and about, winding aimlessly in the chilly air.
In that moment, a gasp filled with accomplishment echoed out of Mya's lips while she dazed upon the tree in front of her.
"Plum blossom tree.. It looks so magical..!"
Her eyes were faintly tearing up from this marvelous view, and Mya had already covered her gaped mouth from her overflowing prosperity.
"We did it! We really did it!" Mya cheered with her dirty hands clenched in joy.
Mirai, right beside Mya, formed a smile on her face while watching Mya being so adorable and gleeful.
As though her thought and expression didn't match up, Mirai wondered. 'It should have taken longer to grow this tree, even with me and Mya, how is it possible for this tree to sprout this fast?'
'Maika. If it's about winning this fight quickly, then it's all good~' Mirai giggled despite being suspicious of the tree's growth.
* ( "Maika." Japanese → English "Whatever/It's fine." )
Mirai then spoke while wiping away the filths on Mya's hands. "That's right. We handled our duties very well, didn't we?"
"Aunt Mirai, what must we do now? We already planted the tree, shouldn't we go and help our friends?"
"I guess so, seeing how we don't have to watch over the tree."
"Great! Then we should hurry and surprise ahjussi!"
"Hehe, alright." Mirai grinned contentedly.
In no time, these two had got off from their spots and went toward where their friends were.
Equipped with their weapons and were ready to fight, they had eyes that were determined to battle.
...Until…
"You're back early, Mya and Mimi."
"Captain…?"
Straight in front of her point of view, Mirai's resolved glance took a 180 degree turn into a horrified and fazed gaze.
"I'm alright. Go protect the twins." Words leff out of his mouth while Mirai was looking very awful by the sight.
'How could Captain..?!' Mirai thought.
JoonChul didn't know how much it hurt for Mirai to witness him this way, even though it was a common sight to behold, it was still something that every one of JoonChul's comrades wouldn't want to see constantly with their saddened eyes.
'No way. So much of his b-blood.. Ahjussi!'
It was a different reason for Mya since she was witnessing JoonChul who was like a benefactor to her, horrifying her from viewing this scene.
Crackle…
The fact that a flameful fist was digging into his gut while he stood guard in front of the Absolute Twins, was extremely incensing and shocking.
"Captain!!" Mirai cried out, watching JoonChul flipping the person who was attacking him.
Hearing her shout, JoonChul turned and looked before telling her. "Take care of Louis, Crystal and the twins."
Out of the blue, Mya exclaimed after regaining some composure. "Ahjussi! Come back! You're already in grave danger by fighti—"
Her sentence was sadly cut short when Mirai had rested her hand on Mya's shoulder, gazing at Mya with an expression that meant it was okay despite it looking so regretful.
Mirai then smiled bitterly. 'It is always like this. Captain has always been such a baka..'
In view of the fact that Mirai knew JoonChul since she was a young child, she understood what kind of person he was, and by talking back to him wouldn't do her any good in this situation.
"...Alright, I trust you, Captain!" She uttered.
"Do well, Mimi-Chan." JoonChul formed a cheeky smile on his face which prompted Mirai to blush in the process.
Flustered as she always was, Mirai pouted. "Baka.."
———
No matter how long time can pass in this moment, I wondered why it felt slow.
CLASH!
I glared while I spoke to the person who was fighting me. "I don't know who you are, but so be it."
"Didn't you hear what the angel said? Just let me kill the twins and the problems solved."
"Bold of you to think I would allow that."
..CLANK!
Chains against chains. If it's a fight you want, then I won't give you a chance to even escape.
In my point of view, masked away with reddish fire, a fiery man with eyes that could be distinguished immediately except his caramel skin, were radiating with brown amber irides.
'He's strong.' I thought while having a slight peek at his look. '..and handsome.'
If I were to describe his look, I would say that he could slap HwanGi twice in the face, almost like this person's look was in another world.
'Damn, why can't I have those looks?' I grumbled with my villainous face.
CLANG! CLANK!
Our own chains collided and clashed numerous times, penetrating each other chains without a halt to our movements.
An eye for an eye, an attack for an attack.
If anyone thinks this was all, then they are wrong. Because right now, I was healing myself with Mirai's web, wrapping it on my exposed stomach.
[Player '666' has activated the Hidden Skill, 'Hellfire' Lv. 4.]
WHHOOSHH!
It didn't matter if I were to look at his status or find out what his name was, because I didn't have a window of opportunity to do so.
"Not giving me a chance to grasp your strength, huh?" I smirked as if I was enjoying this fight.
..CRASH!!
By and by, I got curious as to how much skill he got to be able to fend off against my skills enough to prevent me from glancing at him.
[Player '666' has activated the Hidden Skill, 'Backfire' Lv. 4.]
When I tried Louis' skill, 'Marine Javelin' as a decoy, this guy countered it back at me with double its strength and speed.
Although I knew the hidden skills within 'Numbers' 666, I didn't know the normal skills.
However..
..Am I going easy on him?
"...I have no time for this." I grumbled before advancing at this person with chains rushing to him.
Judging by how he's not dodging, I assumed he's going to take this attack head on with a look on his face that would anger me.
I mused with furious furrowed brows. 'He's making me hate good-looking people.'
An expression that was belittling me just because I was going easy on him, was on this person's handsome face, taunting me even more with that look of his.
Lucifer warned me. 'Master, don't be jealous.'
I ignored Lucifer's words when I was an inch away from puncturing the chains into this guy's body.
Swoosh!!
With a quick reflex, he had struck his own chains forward to bring a stop to my chains' movement, yet I had already predicted he would be overly cautious on his front.
Which was why I aimed for..
[Imitation of 'Portal' Lv. 3 has been activated.]
[The Hidden Skill, 'Skill Imitation' has gone up a level!]
[Imitation of 'Portal' Lv. 4 has been activated.]
..His back.
STAB!
"UACCKK!"
Once my chains went through the portals, they had advanced from behind this guy's back and had savagely bashed right into him.
Despite that, with my chains in the back, I had to deal with this guy's chains piercing with immense speed that were ready to poke holes in my already hole-full body.
[Imitation of 'Portal' Lv. 4 has been activated.]
"Now die." I sneered.
In an instance, I summoned forth multiple portals where his chains may pierce me, sending all of them to one place.
"HUEK!!!!" The guy shrieked as he was being pummeled with his own chains from all over his body.
Aware that this guy posed no threat to me, I was prepared to squeeze him tight with my chains, doing a gesture with my hand to let Lucifer know how much force needed to crush this guy.
I stared down at this person just like how his disgusting eyes did to me. "You chose this upon yourself."
Slowly but surely, my hand was turning into a fist, commending the chains to tighten and compressing his body to swiss cheese.
Swoosh!!
"..?"
All of the sudden, when this guy was on the verge of death's door, someone unexpectedly and quickly appeared before me, cutting the chains out as well as attacking me.
Clank!!
Immediately, I furrowed my brows, changing my chains into a sword. "What the hell, Asher?"
A sword colliding with the blade of a scythe, sparked many fire particles to show how much force was put into these sharp weapons.
'Is she going for the kill or.. Is she trying to save this guy?' I wondered about this situation.
Moments after we clashed blades, that guy had suddenly disappeared with the portal Asher had generated just for him.
Whereas, I was disappointed in myself for not even checking out this guy's status when I had the chance to do so.
'I keep disappointing myself today, aren't I?' I bit my lip. 'Tch!!'
And I didn't have the luxury to be mad about that guy's escape since it wouldn't be more troublesome than fighting against Asher.
"What is your purpose?" I asked Asher who wasn't talking to me when we clashed.
Clang!
A short while later, Asher finally took a moment to respond to my question after knocking my sword back. "What can I say? I don't want my leader to die just yet."
"Oddly for you to say that when you're always power hungry for 'Numbers'."
"Oi, at least I'm patient enough to allow the prey to flourish until I eat it."
"Is he your guild master?"
"Maybe or maybe no—"
FLARE!
Not allowing us to even have a casual conversation, the Ice Dragon's rage was fueled onto its ice breath before it was blasted and was circling all the area with a ray of freezing chill.
Rumbling!!
"Darn, bro. Couldn't give me a moment of peace?" Asher grumbled at the dragon.
To be honest, I nodded since I agreed with Asher on that part. "What a way to kill the mood."
"Haha, lmao."
In any case, a beam of ice breath was emanating fast toward our direction, but I knew exactly that I wasn't the one in danger.
"So long, JoonChul!"
And Asher wouldn't have any problem with this when she obviously hopped into her portal and relocated elsewhere.
"Isn't that cheating?" Vexed, I spoke.
Even though I wanted to use the portal as well, I couldn't afford to do so, seeing how the throne and my guild members were behind me.
Watching the ice beam getting closer and closer, I thought. 'This isn't difficult to defend against..'
Usually I wouldn't have fared well with the ice beam as a result of not having any fire type skills.
However, after coming across that guy, I could finally make use of something more effective against ice.
[Imitation of 'Hellfire' Lv. 4 has been activated.]
BLARE!
A burst of hellish flame was cooking up waves of fireworks at this ice beam, burning down as a means of defense against the Ice Dragon's ice breath.
[Hidden Skill, 'Simulation' Lv. 2 has offset the pain.]
[Hidden Skill, 'Simulation' Lv. 2 has offset the pain.]
[Hidden Skill, 'Simulation' Lv. 2 has offset the pain.]
"Ugh.."
Groaning despite having a skill that neutralized the pain, meant that the ice breath was on a whole different level unlike the previous ones, enough to rival my hidden skill and make me groan in slight pain.
"How is this possible? The dragon managed to fight so well despite battling against my guild." I said in slight surprise while tanking the ice beam all at once.
In spite of the Ice Dragon having to fight for a long duration, it was able to launch an ice beam of this caliber.
'Bianca.. How bold of you to use my children's ice powers for your own means.'
I didn't know why, but my eyes were fueling with rage from the thought of imagining how much Noel and Noelle were suffering from this Ice Dragon.
I was sure that Eric's emotions were taking over me, but I was too outraged to even think about it.
"I'm going to bring you hell, ice lizard."
FLAREE!!!
I sneered with wrath, clenching my sword before unleashing a gale of hellish flame to engulf the entirety of the ice beam.