ocean-life Chapter 79: Sacred Relic
Chapter 79: Sacred Relic
Chapter 79: Sacred Relic"Tsk, these flies."
The surrounding ground was completely overturned as if an earthquake had occurred, and there were silver puddles here and there.
"Collect every drop without wasting any."
"...Y-Yes! Yes, Hyung-nim!"
YongYong trembled, unable to even make proper eye contact.
A dragon feeling fear from overwhelming violence?
Anyone who heard this might dismiss it as nonsensical gibberish.
But when it came to the Oradge, it was a different story.
The Oradge in golden armor, shaking off silver liquid.
Red energy that hadn't fully dissipated was still leaking from his entire body.
Gulp-
He was a being who awakened the bestial instincts in a dragon.
He felt instinctive fear from the overwhelming violence just now.
"Hmm. Has it become a bit troublesome?"
He scratched his chin.
The man with the sword burst hundreds of times before finally failing to revive, and the woman retreated.
"No. I should say it's rather good. The more resources, the better."
How can he be so calm?
Hundreds of times? No. In fact, I couldn't even count accurately.
Even I, a dragon, couldn't follow what he did with my eyes.
Not only those who instantly recovered or revived, but also the Oradge who killed them all was extraordinary.
He didn’t think he would ever forget the image of the Oradge, who continued to kill them repeatedly like a machine.
***[Cough....]
The aftereffects still haven't faded.
What was that?
The battle was one-sided. Thinking they were evenly matched was a grand delusion. It couldn't even be called a battle.
A one-sided slaughter.
They had to die countless times under his merciless violence. And they repeatedly revived by consuming massive amounts of Sacred Blood.
Since she was in charge of long-range attacks, at least she was barely able to retreat. Of course, even that was achieved after dying dozens of times.
[Keuuuk....]
With little Sacred Blood left in her body, it was difficult to even regain her senses.
Th-That vicious human.
At first, she thought he was going all out. But when that bastard annihilated Kiriel, she realized.
He deliberately... didn't kill us right away!
That was right. As if he was watching them revive repeatedly, intending to extract all their Sacred Blood.
H-How is that even possible?
Even those 《Chaos》 bastards who covet Sacred Blood wouldn't do such a thing.
[Ugh.... Is this the right way?]
The fog has thickened. If she consumed a moderate amount of Sacred Blood, she could brighten her vision, but she didn’t have enough left for that.
[I need to conserve even a little.]
As she was carefully moving forward while conserving her Sacred Blood...
Kirruk-
Kuruk-
Along with the sound of an unidentified beast, a terrible stench hit her.
[!!]
That’s right. She shouldn't have only been wary of that golden armor punk. This world had long since become a battlefield with 《Chaos》.
She obviously should have been cautious of the Chaos beings too.
The presence of the golden armor punk in the previous battle was so overwhelming that she momentarily forgot.
But was it perhaps too late?
Thud. Thud.
Whoosh-
Something fell, cutting through the air.
Papak-
She hurriedly twisted her body and kicked off the ground.
Boom-
[Ugh!]
Even the aftershock pushed her body back.
When she opened her eyes and blew away the dust, a Kaiju appeared in her sight.
On the sunken ground stood a Kaiju with a sleek body and blades on both arms.
[A Higher Order Entity!]
Damn it.
Of all times!
[Cough!]
Silver liquid spurted from her mouth.
Usually... even if it was not a Transcendent Entity, she might be able to somehow face off against a Higher Order Entity, but the situation is different now.
A Higher Order Entity when she was low on Sacred Blood?
Even for her, it was too much.
Despair washed over her eyes.
Am I really going to die like this?
Should I have fought to the end earlier?
Was coming here a mistake?
Should I have come with another division?
Belated regrets flooded in.
No.
The uneasiness wouldn't go away. It felt like she would definitely regret it if she sent them like this.
In the end, she had to steel her resolve.
"If I return this time, I will speak to the Head about potentially gifting a Fruit. So please, listen carefully."
[A Fruit?]
[....]
[Is it true?]
[Ooh.]
Although Sacred Relics were said to be no less rare than Fruits, there was a decisive difference.
Sacred Relics could only be obtained on loan, and only those at the level of 1st Division leaders are given the opportunity.
On the other hand, Fruits could be gifted.
Gulp-
A proposal that could only be made by Eriel, a blood relative of a high-ranking figure.
All members of the 1st Division of the Red Branch were surprised.
[Are you serious about that?]
[If so, we can't easily dismiss this.]
[If Eriel is saying this much, he must truly be an extraordinary being.]
Seeing them finally listening to her words, Eriel felt complicated emotions, but she didn't show it.
[He is absolutely not an opponent to be underestimated. Please prepare thoroughly.]
She began to share the fact she had discovered.
His weakness, which seemed impossible to find as he appeared so perfect.
[It seemed he cared deeply for the boy next to him. Although he didn't show it, he seemed to be trying to prevent harm from coming to him.]
Presumably, the child was a dragon.
And he must undoubtedly cherish that child very much.
[So we must use a hostage!]
Hostage.
If she hadn't brought up the Fruit, they would have been very displeased, but now they were at least pretending to listen.
[...Alright. We'll take it into consideration.]
[Look forward to it. We'll handle it for sure.]
Only then did Eriel feel relieved.
[Yes, then I will return to the Sanctum.]
[Rest well.]
If she had said this much, even the haughty 1st Division would pay attention.
They would use the Sacred Relic right away, and they had a hostage too.
She felt a weight lift off her shoulders.
***"YongYong."
"Yes, Hyung-nim!"
"Why are you so weak?"
"Huh?"
"Haven't you been eating properly? How can you use any strength if you're so weak?"
"Ah, ha.ha."
Is this something you say to a dragon, the greatest and strongest race on earth?
"How can I fight properly when I'm worried about you?"
"Kuk!"
An emotion I'm feeling for the first time in my life!
Is this what powerlessness feels like?
The majesty of the Oradge made even a dragon feel powerless!
Still, I'm touched!
Is he worrying about me?
But that was only for a moment.
"If you die, it'll be a big problem, you idiot. Do you know how much that all costs?"
Ah... yes.
What was that called again? A walking bonus? Inventory?
...Still, it's nice that he's worrying!
"I'll do my best, Hyung-nim!"
"Hmm."
Is he not satisfied with something?
Karlstein looked at YongYong with a strange expression.
"Have you ever thought about getting surgery for body modification?"
"...Eh?"
Wh-What on earth are you saying?
That's the kind of line a mad Black Mage obsessed with experiments would say.
"I should get an estimate, huh?"
Huh? N-No, what estimate? I never said I would do it!
"A Cyborg Dragon, is it..."
What's with that ominous title?
I don't know what it is, but please stop considering it right now!
Tenggg!
Fortunately, YongYong wouldn't be dissected.
"Oooh, they're here."
"?!"
"Let's welcome our guests, YongYong."
Huh? I can't sense anything though?
YongYong struggled to keep up with the Oradge's conversation.