NOVEL WEB Chapter 187
The Wolf kept running through the Black Forest. The forest seemed to have a murderous intent, wanting to kill the Wolf, and likewise, the Wolf was setting the forest ablaze.
Everywhere, the black branches loomed, and the tentacles of the Disease had terrifying power; just brushing against them could mean life or death.
If he didn’t wrap himself in a storm, the wind would tear him apart as it broke through the wall of sound, scattering black magic and tearing the shadows infused with magic.
It was a fight between being devoured or caught. A moment’s mistake could be fatal—death was a precarious line, and absurdity manifested in that very moment. It was only himself who faced death from a slip-up or misjudgment.
Against a faster, stronger, and overwhelming monster, the only advantage the Wolf could have was predictability. He stepped on tentacles and leaped through debris, running on.
Yet still, he couldn’t see the edge of the forest. Of course, the Disease was moving just as desperately as the Wolf was trying to escape. The monster that revealed itself on the ground was much faster than the Wolf.
As the massive jaws finally caught up, the Wolf sprang with force, rolling several times. The ground quaked, making it hard to maintain balance, while a tentacle pierced the Wolf’s foot, digging deep into him. It split and began slithering under skin and flesh like a vine.
“……!”
As his legs made a move of their own towards the Disease, the Wolf summoned the Void to consume his own leg. Yet, the invading tentacle persisted due to the Disease’s horrifying status. It lunged once more to engulf the Wolf but was consumed in flames.
In the meantime, the earlier missed throat of the Disease was gulped down. The only thing that got chewed and swallowed by that huge jaw was dirt and broken ground. The long tongue of the monster licked its lips as if savoring the moment, saliva dripping down to corrode the earth. It was acidic, if not as formidable as the Disease’s, yet enough to send a shiver through the Wolf’s chest.
When he looked up, he realized there was still time left for spell chanting.
For now, he had to break out of the Black Forest and create some distance from it. A secondary objective was to smash the Venomous Dragon’s shell to expose its insides. Only then would the Great Magic work properly.
Of course, the top priority was surviving. The Wolf suddenly pivoted towards the approaching jaws. The tentacle that had sprawled out trying to intercept only pierced the ground uselessly. As it shook, the Wolf widened his eyes.
The ground was rising. Just as he tried to step on it, the tentacle moved even faster.
—The future where he would be impaled and die pathetically, brains spilling out, like a blackened branch.
To avoid that fate, the Wolf bent down, and the chilling black branch just barely brushed by. As the previously flat ground tilted 90 degrees and stood like a wall, the Disease’s massive jaws crashed down like a speeding train, swallowing the earth whole.
But again, all that the Disease could chew and swallow was dirt and sand.
Just before being wholly engulfed by the giant jaws, the Wolf had already slipped through the shadow to the opposite side of the rising ground.
Emerging from the shadows, the Wolf immediately used his momentum to leap up, unleashing a burst of flames wrapped in a storm. Without a moment to breathe, the Oxygen saturated with Dragon Blood presented the Wolf with his next chance.
The raging flames and the pursuing tentacle. As the black flames surged up from the branches like they were setting the fuse ablaze, the Disease had to abandon its tentacles.
Just a few, only a few tentacles were severed. The relentless monster scraped the very bottom of the earth and kept advancing.
In the meantime, the Wolf landed on the sharp-earth spikes but created a foothold with magic as it swayed.
The flames burned unceasingly. The tentacles did not catch fire easily, yet could not extinguish the raging flames. The black branches burned like flammable materials, drawing a line. The Disease’s grotesque body could not cross the massive flames.
“―――.”
The hissing, boiling fury was still ever-present. Though saliva dripped down between sharp teeth, the Disease did not make a sudden move.
Amidst that strange standoff, the Wolf realized his legs had regenerated, while the marang surrounded by flames was being eyed by the Black Forest.
The Disease thought this fight was getting annoying.
The Wolf wielded various abilities. However, the only real threats were two things: the flickering haze and the black flames. The rest he could endure with his body.
He had overwhelming strength, speed, and means of attack; so why couldn’t he kill this black beast?
Why were those arrogant red eyes still shining? Why couldn’t he devour it? Instead of killing, the tentacles that blazed in flames and got chewed by the haze enraged the monstrous entity, causing it to roar.
“―――!”
The booming resonance trembled through heaven and earth.
***
Disasters struck with an overwhelming sound. Debris from afar began to be heard. —Debris. The broken pieces of the Floating Island and buildings from the Square came floating up, suddenly making their way in.
“……!”
Gigantic debris that could no longer be called mere fragments. A shower of thorns sprouted from the black branches covering the surroundings.
As this unprecedented scale of attack covered the area, the Wolf gritted his teeth. Were these attacks truly threatening? Not at all. He could dodge or block them without any issue. If it wasn’t for the Disease’s main body and tentacles, he could consume and incinerate them with the Void and the raging flames. But the direction they were headed was where the ancient dragon was.
Of course, he could escape into the fantasy world, but the Wolf had to keep his eyes wide open. Hong Yu-ri was off the back of the ancient dragon. The crimson magic was desperately trying to escape, but he realized he would be too late.
—The red-haired girl, hitting her head against falling debris, pierced by thorns, falling unconscious into the tentacles, and then being swallowed by the massive jaws. When that throat finally gulped down, the Wolf snapped back to reality.
“Hong Yu-ri……!”
A future that had not yet become reality. He ran to break the prediction revealed by his extrasensory perception, but the Wolf instinctively knew he could not alter that prediction. Because his future self was also running at an incredible speed.
Even still, he kept running. Whether possible or impossible, he had no choice but to do so. Utilizing his momentum and bursting through the storm, he extended his tentacles towards the end.
Before he knew it, the debris was almost upon him. Realizing too late, Hong Yu-ri frantically reached out, but the Wolf was unable to grasp her hand in the end.
Thus, the broken remnants of the Square crashed down upon where Hong Yu-ri had been.
***
The relentless onslaught of the Black Forest and the quaking earth. Somewhere in there lay the invisible marang. Worry surged whenever the Disease moved, but it also meant that the Alpha was still alive.
However, no one could guarantee how much longer he could survive. Thus, Hong Yu-ri focused intensely. She had to complete the magic as quickly as possible to help.
Faster, even faster…!
Her hasty magic attempted to weave spells, but she frowned at the lack of something fitting. What had previously worked so seamlessly was now misaligned, altered.
The magic circle simply would not appear. With every spell she chanted, the doubts only grew. It wasn’t entirely impossible, but it just wouldn’t come together.
“…….”
Anxiety surged. While cursing silently, Hong Yu-ri felt a strange disconnect, forcing herself to try using magic, when suddenly,
“Hong Yu-ri!”
A voice she had heard countless times startled her. Why were they stopping mid-fight…? Turning her head, Hong Yu-ri was met with a deafening noise and the ground and black thorns rushing towards her.
“……!”
In her intense focus, she had missed it. No, it wasn’t just a question of whether she had seen it; countless debris came flying in, completely blocking her view. Not only that, thorns were flying in while the jaws of the Disease followed, aiming for the Alpha.
She reached out, but she couldn’t grab the Alpha’s tentacle.
—Because at that moment, she was already in another space.
As if all that had just happened was a lie, the floating debris, the monster’s forms, even the Alpha were nowhere to be found.
…Did she die? No, that couldn’t be it. She knew where she was.
“Kyuuwuuut…!”
The Fairy-type Monster knocked her with its tail as if trying to snap her back to reality. Hong Yu-ri felt a small sense of relief. The Fairy had brought her to the fantasy world and saved her. Reflexively wiping her forehead, she grimaced at the horns that had sprouted. Cold sweat was pouring down her body. Then, anxiety washed over her. She was alive, but what about the Alpha? Could he survive there? The possibility sent a chill down her spine.
Again, she had to return. Faster than Hong Yu-ri thought, the Fairy shook its head, as if indicating otherwise.
“Kyu~~!!”
It seemed to say, “Now, finally realize.” Frustrated by the Fairy’s demeanor, Hong Yu-ri contorted her expression. What was so urgent? No, never mind. First, she needed to go back and…
In the instant the world shifted again, Hong Yu-ri saw a tentacle soaring towards her. Immediately, she formed a seal, creating a crimson chain, but it couldn’t even slow it down.
As she gritted her teeth against the overwhelming force and pushed herself back with magic, she was blown dozens of meters away. Not sideways, but downward. It felt like the air had become a wall, shoving her away without even grazing her.
“……!”
Tumbling down to the ground repeatedly, the realization hit her once more: this monster truly was a disaster. She coughed up blood, losing consciousness for just a moment, despite having advanced in her transformation.
What on earth… how was she fighting against something like this?
Filled with those questions, the black tentacles were roiling around her instead of her getting to her feet.
In that moment of sensing death, black flames ignited and enveloped her. She thought she would burn up instantly, but the flames were merely warm. —Of course, the raging flames and the Void were nothing less than the Wolf’s authority. It could incinerate anything, yet if the Wolf wished not to consume something, then nothing would be burned.
As she was about to be engulfed by the black branches, something even faster coiled around her waist, pulling her in. A familiar sensation. Before long, she found herself mounted on the Alpha’s back.
—The red eyes radiated light.
More than the fact that she was saved, knowing the Alpha was safe made Hong Yu-ri feel a rush. And even more than that, she had to devise a way to survive. The tentacles and the Disease were still in pursuit.
No matter how much she evaded, the distance was shortening. As long as she was being burned, she knew the Alpha would have its limits.
If it continued like this, she would become a burden on the Alpha, inevitably leading to its limits. Then… then perhaps…!
As soon as she had that thought, she felt a chill. Turning her head at the sudden coldness, she saw the tentacle freezing in place.
The Winter’s Master. The Great Magic unleashed by the Master of Indigo Square and their bloodline had frozen the Disease. Yet, it could not invade the Alpha wrapped in flames and herself. And when the winter lineage met the ancient dragon’s gaze, Hong Yu-ri gulped.
“……Ah.”
She began to understand what the Fairy had been trying to tell her earlier.
The frozen Disease soon began to move again. The truth was that no magic could kill the Disease. The frozen disaster monstrosity would awaken again and pursue her shortly.
…But now, it was fine.
Hong Yu-ri felt as though her own Dragon Blood was igniting. …Was it really an illusion? No, it didn’t matter. She understood now.
Finally, she finally realized.
This was the catalyst to complete the remaining transformation that had yet to end, activating her will, the will and blood of the dragon at the end of species. Her magic began to move. The flow of the whirling spiral only accelerated.
“…….”
At that, the Wolf sighed.
[Transformation in Progress (99%)] → [Draco Pale]
She could no longer revert to mere Elixirs. In that moment, Hong Yu-ri fully became a dragon.
As the unstoppable flow surged forth, Hong Yu-ri realized in her heart. She was no longer human. It was natural for the magic not to work properly. The way of using magic had completely changed. Just like a human doesn’t walk on four legs, and a dog can’t run on two, as a dragon, she too had to change her methods.
Moreover, the spell she had used differently was of a caliber unmatched compared to before.
“……!”
As the vertically split pupils penetrated through, the crimson magic circle hovering in the sky spun fiercely, scattering bright light. Raising her hand, Hong Yu-ri didn’t hesitate. The black dot twisted long, forming a spear that pierced the heavens along her fingertips.
By the time the Disease sensed it—
“Arde în abis și transformă-te într-o suliță neagră―!”
The twisted black spear, shaped into a spiral, was already piercing through it.