kscans

Chapter 610 - The Dragon's Wrath

Incapacitated. I couldn’t move my legs of my own volition, but my upper body was free, and I could still use skills and whatnot—a very game-like, limited form of paralysis.

After being spammed with it so many times in just over five minutes, I had a good feel for when the ability would activate. The window for free movement after the effect wore off was about eight seconds long.

And the boss conveniently filled that gap with a spread laser that was almost impossible to move through—but after seeing it so many times, I could at least figure out a safe spot.

“[Rocket].”

I summoned not a shield, but a long, crimson spear. I didn’t leap back; I leaped forward, into a spot that would be shielded by the laser—not behind the boss’s massive body, but…

Above the mouth spewing heat rays, at an eyeball buried among the tentacles.

The moment I landed on one of the dozens of eyes, I activated [Water Enchant]. Lux had said that magic was “mostly ineffective,” but she wasn’t talking about its overall resistance, but that there were almost no effective parts.

In other words, it would work on any part not protected by the magic-negating shell. I had already confirmed this against the smaller mobs on the way here. Furthermore, following the common trope that ‘the inside of an opponent heavily fortified against a specific attack is actually extremely vulnerable to that same attack’…

“No matter how much you thrash, you can’t spit on your own head, can you?!”

As I left the interception of the reflexively sent tentacles to my ‘Red’ right arm, I slammed the butt of my magic-infused spear into the eyeball with all my momentum.

A clear scream mixed with rage echoed through the cavern—a critical hit, just as I’d predicted.

On top of the writhing, laser-spewing monster, I had finally managed to land a counterattack… but I had no time to catch my breath. By driving my spear into an eye buried among tentacles, I too was now buried in a sea of tentacles glowing red-hot from the laser emission.

Even with my star sword becoming a ‘Red’ scythe and reaping them, it couldn’t keep up while I was in the thick of it. Before the virtual sensation of heat, like a numbness, could burn through my avatar’s defenses and my HP, I made my next move.

Time to cool your head, you idiot mole.

“[Flood].”

One of its eyes snapped shut with a loud thud, spewing a massive damage effect. Using the spear, now held in place by the eyelid, as a foothold, I maintained my mount and called upon the water.

—Now then. In this virtual world, where the laws of physics and such are expressed in a slightly more exaggerated way than in reality, what happens when you douse a massive number of red-hot metal tentacles with a waterfall of cold water?

That’s right, a steam explosion.

‘—!!!’

I wasn’t expecting any damage from this, but with its entire head shaken by the sudden explosion, even the dragon must have been surprised.

It let out a bewildered cry, and as its massive shadow was swallowed by the steam… I, looking down from above, rode the blast wave and landed on the cavern ceiling.

I sent away the Mirari shields that had absorbed the impact damage.

I released the ‘Red’ of my star sword, which had successfully provided its support.

I activated [Rocket], [Ignition], and ‘Matoi’ in parallel.

I activated the [An=Ru Galta (Hypothesis: The Wedge-Armor that Sings of the King's Road)].

I fully loaded the [Frezon Revolver] six times.

Outer Force Output: ‘Kai’—maximum ignition.

Witness this, you monster. This is my everything-but-the-kitchen-sink, full-power attack.

“GET BLOWN… AWAAAAAY!!!”

I kicked off, landed, and unleashed destruction and a deafening roar.

The moment my left fist, loaded with every ounce of ‘power’ I could muster, connected, a dozen eyes around the impact point burst, and the mole’s massive body collapsed, shaking the entire chamber with a violent tremor.

A clean hit if there ever was one. It was a blow I was confident could take a huge chunk of HP off any regular half-raid boss, no questions asked.

And yet, the result was…

“Heh, I knew it.”

It didn’t even deplete one of its twenty-five health bars.

Well, can’t be helped. Just like the ‘White Throne,’ this is what an Over-Raid Boss is like—

“Guh—gh, hff.”

Just as I let out a wry smile at its ridiculous toughness, the mole’s ‘arm’ caught my body, which was frozen in mid-air from the recoil of my all-out attack.

The tree-trunk-like limb swung with a roar and snatched my tiny body. The immense impact of the collision instantly shattered the ‘Death Nullification’ effect of my [Aquamarine Rabbit Heart].

And my destination was the ground.

Having touched its wrath with that painful blow, it acted with even more ferocity than before—the dragon’s massive arm sandwiched my avatar between itself and the ground with absolutely no mercy.

Again, a roar that surpassed the last one. The ground shook so violently I thought the entire cavern might collapse. All I could feel was a sense of awe for this ‘dragon.’

I hadn't deluded myself into thinking I could take it on alone, but faced with such overwhelming power, I had no choice but to admit defeat.

So, this time, I guess this is it—

Well, that’s that.

But I’m a man of my word. I’m still going to pay you back at least ten times over, you know?

‘—’

My avatar wasn’t dispersed. I was still sandwiched between that overwhelming mass and the earth.

The dragon, looking down curiously at the bug-like creature beneath its foot that was neither losing its form nor its HP, began to move its foreleg to meticulously grind it into dust.

A feeling of immense confinement and pressure, and a vortex of unbelievable impact. To put it mildly, this was traumatic, but in the virtual world, I was used to gruesome death experiences.

So, its little game was actually a favorable move for me, who was pinned underneath… Now, it’s time. Are you ready, you mole bastard? Three, two, one!

“—Cala… d… bolg…!”

The key phrase, forced out from my mouth that I could barely open while being crushed.

The spear was not in my hand; it was in the eye of the dragon I had left behind.

Now, have a taste of your own medicine.

‘—!!?’

Remote activation of the [Demon Horn Spear: Crimson Valor]. The spear, fed by the life it had taken, spun and spewed magic, gouging out the inside of its eyelid and launching itself from the eye socket with great force.

Regardless of the amount of damage, the good thing about this game is that even monsters react when you hit a vital spot. The mole let out a pure roar of agony and reared back—its arm lifted, the shackles were released.

Exactly twelve seconds after the damage occurred, the frozen ‘time’ began to move.

I forced my body, still reeling from the impact, to kick out. The moment my outstretched fingertips touched the [Feidran Tyrantinus]…

the crimson ‘rabbit’s eyes’ seemed to explode with light.

“Here you go, a pain-sharing deal…!”

For the third time, a great roar far surpassing the previous two.

A shockwave that outpaced sound erupted—and the dragon’s colossal body was sent flying through the air.

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The Rabbit's Wrath. Funnily enough, in terms of materials, there's no rabbit involved in this outfit at all.