How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 128: The Dragon Slayer (1)

—Rumble! Crackle!

Strange noises echoed around me. It could have been the internal organs shifting or the aftermath of external collisions—or maybe both. Either way, the dragon’s insides were just as I expected.

“Ugh!”

I couldn’t breathe; it was suffocating. And I couldn’t see a thing. But I was relieved to have Olena’s water barrier, which provided me with a faint but steady supply of oxygen. It also seemed that I had accurately infiltrated the space Capu had mentioned.

“Hurry up, lad.”

Of course, the biggest relief was that even in such a perilous moment, the elder was with me.

“Staying here too long will do no good. Whether it’s a person or an animal, when something invades its body, the natural response is to instinctively protect itself.”

“Like white blood cells?”

“White blood cells? What’s that?”

Ah, right. The elder wouldn’t know anything about modern science.

“There’s this thing called the immune system, and it’s a part of it.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“Yes.”

—Whoosh!

I adjusted my grip on the godslayer-rank spear. At the same time, I let out a short breath.

The old man was right. This wasn’t the time to waste energy. I needed to act quickly and achieve my goal.

Which way should I go?

I closed my eyes. After all, the dragon’s core was brimming with immense energy. I only needed to feel it using the Great Blue Heart Technique.

It’s that way.

—Rumble…

I felt the powerful flow of energy and turned in that direction.

“That’s right. Head there, lad,” the old man spoke softly. “With that absurdly overpowered weapon of yours, carve your way forward. There’s no path here anyway. The direction you take will become the path.”

Oh, that was poetic—the path was wherever I decided to go. It made me feel like a great explorer.

I transformed the spear into a short dagger. Holding it horizontally, I plunged it into the flesh ahead.

—Slash! Stab! Squish!

What would have been impossible to penetrate—dragon bones and skin—was easily pierced by the godslayer-rank weapon.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

—Splash!

Blood gushed out.

—Squelch!

My hand touched the slimy flesh. It was an unpleasant sensation, but I didn’t care. Olena’s barrier was still intact. Her magic was indeed convenient. The flowing water circled my body, washing everything clean.

“…”

Without a word, I kept moving forward. Planting my feet firmly, I pressed onward. Using my left hand, I grabbed bones or muscle to push my way through.

“That’s it. Keep moving.”

I did as I was told.

“Every step you take brings great pain to this dragon. So go wild! Stab, slash, and release all the poison you’ve got!”

“Ah, the poison.”

Listening to the old man’s murmurs, I focused again. I continued releasing the poison mist I had injected earlier.

—Boom! Boom!

Distant drum-like sounds echoed.

“Groooarrrr…”

A deep growl reverberated. It seemed the poison was working.

“We’re almost there.”

Thanks to Vladimir’s precise teleportation, the dragon’s core wasn’t far.

“Just a bit further! Almost there!”

With the old man’s encouragement, I pushed forward. The journey was far from easy.

—Squeeze! Slash!

The surrounding muscles twitched, trying to attack me. Some even turned into sharp spikes, slicing at me.

“Looking at this, it reminds me how truly fascinating a living organism can be.”

It hurt. It stung. But I didn’t care. The more I hurt, the more pain this Giant Magic Dragon felt.

Just you wait, buddy. I’ll make you suffer even more.

“Sunny, Eldrin.”

[Using skill ‘Summon Skeleton Knight’ (A-rank).]

[Consuming 10 energy.]

[Summoning ‘Bonehead 1.’]

[Using skill ‘Summon Skeleton Knight’ (A-rank).]

[Consuming 10 energy.]

[Summoning ‘Sun Spear.’]

[Using skill ‘Summon Skeleton Knight’ (A-rank).]

[Consuming 10 energy.]

[Summoning ‘Eldrin.’]

…

I summoned my skeletons to the path I had already carved.

“My lord, where is this…?”

“Master, is this the inside of the Giant Magic Dragon?”

Sunny and Eldrin spoke with their usual loyalty, but Eldrin, in particular, sounded oddly excited.

Makes sense.

The Giant Magic Dragon was her mortal enemy, after all.

“Use everything you’ve got to attack.” Clenching my teeth, I commanded, “Summon your subordinates, use all your skills—just deal damage.”

“Yes, Master. As you command.”

“Thank you for giving me this chance, Master.”

Nodding at their responses, I continued forward. As the dragon’s flesh tore open, the convulsions grew more intense. The distant screams became louder.

“Grraaaahhh!”

With a fierce roar, the dragon’s body jolted up and down.

“Stay focused!” The old man shouted.

“It’s thrashing like mad because it knows it’s in danger! You’re almost there! Push through and stab your weapon into its energy core!”

And that’s exactly what I did. Blood splattered everywhere, but I kept pushing forward. And finally…

“Guh!”

I reached the core; the sheer intensity of the energy ahead made me cry out. Under normal circumstances, just approaching it would have melted me alive. But thanks to the breath attack, I had a chance.

—Stab!

I poured all my energy into the weapon. Utilizing the Great Blue Heart Technique, I wrung out every ounce of power I had.

—Splash!

Blood gushed, and the vibrations intensified, but I didn’t stop.

—Stab! Stab! Stab!

I kept stabbing repeatedly, almost madly.

“Die…”

To kill a dragon with human hands. To slay a transcendent being thought invincible. I wondered, Had any hunter on Earth achieved this before?

“Die…! Just die…!”

I could do it. And I would do it. Everything I said I would do, I had achieved.

Now, even my breathing stopped as there was no oxygen left anyway.

“Damn it!”

Holding my breath, I swung my arms like a machine, driving the weapon into the dragon’s heart.

“Grraaaahhhh!”

The Giant Magic Dragon’s agonized roar suddenly echoed.

“Hm?”

Aranballon tilted its head in confusion. It had clearly been losing. After the breath attack, it had been completely overpowered. Each gravity-laden strike tore at its insides and sent pain shooting through its nerves.

But now?

The Giant Magic Dragon thrashed wildly—violently.

Could it be?

Being a dragon itself, Aranballon quickly pieced things together.

Is this the work of those humans?

They were the ones who had caused it trouble by scattering its army of spartoi. Now, they were troubling the Giant Magic Dragon too.

“Hmm.”

It was unexpected. It had thought of them as mere insects. But now, they had caught its attention.

Well, in any case.

This was Aranballon’s chance. Just as the Giant Magic Dragon had exploited an earlier opportunity, Aranballon had no intention of missing this one. Smirking lightly, it swiped his claws.

—Whoosh!

At the same time, its draconic energy erupted.

“Now, perish for good, invader!”

It unleashed all the energy it had been carefully conserving.

—Crack! Crackle!

The immense energy tore through space, crashing into the Giant Magic Dragon’s abdomen.

“Grraaaahhh! You coward! Why now?!”

The Giant Magic Dragon’s face twisted in agony as the torrent of energy tore through its body.

“You’re calling me a coward? You called me greedy, but look at yourself. How pathetic.”

Aranballon didn’t stop there.

“I’ll rip your throat out.”

Taking advantage of the distracted Giant Magic Dragon, Aranballon lunged forward. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a reckless move. But now, it was certain of success.

Then…

—Chomp!

Its sharp teeth sank into the Giant Magic Dragon’s neck.

“…!”

The Giant Magic Dragon’s eyes widened in shock, but Aranballon pressed on.

—Slash! Rip!

Both claws tore into its abdomen, shredding through flesh. Using its massive body, it pinned the Giant Magic dragon down.

—Crunch! Smash!

Aranballon stomped and crushed its enemy’s chest.

—Rip! Tear!

Simultaneously, its claws tore at the Giant Magic Dragon’s abdomen, ripping the hide apart.

“Guh… Guh…”

The Giant Magic Dragon couldn’t even scream because Aranballon’s teeth had already pierced its throat.

“Hah… pathetic. Accept your death, invader.”

Confident of victory, Aranballon growled and declared the battle over.

“Your corpse will serve to feed my greed, so don’t worry.”

“Y-You… damn… Ugh… ugh…”

The Giant Magic Dragon’s yellow eyes dilated completely.

“This… cannot…”

It couldn’t believe it—it didn’t want to believe it. Even if bound by restrictions, even if previously sealed by humans, it was a dragon that had once dominated a world.

“This cannot be…”

It shouldn’t end like this without revenge. In a foreign land, killed by an unfamiliar dragon.

However, the outcome was already decided. And the Giant Magic Dragon knew it.

How had it come to this? Why would it end this way?

“That damned human.”

Joo Donghoon was the being from beyond its world that it had summoned to break its restrictions. Yes, that being had ruined everything.

Was it really greed? Was I wrong to be greedy?

“Heh…”

The Giant Magic Dragon laughed.

“Haha… haha…”

Its laugh, as death approached, was one of resignation. Its eyes showed that it had given up everything. And with those eyes, it gave Aranballon a final look.

“You may laugh now… You may think you’ve won.”

The Giant Magic Dragon’s eyes started to close.

“But you’ll soon pay the price for your greed.”

Those were the dragon’s final words.

—Thud! Boom!

The Giant Magic Dragon’s head fell lifelessly to the ground.

Dust rose in a massive cloud.

“Hmph, so much chatter from the defeated.”

—Slick.

Aranballon released its grip on the enemy’s neck. It looked greedily at the Giant Magic Dragon’s corpse.

But before that…

“You there.”

It turned its gaze to the humans floating in the air. Seven had entered, but only six remained. They stood on a platform of water.

“Hmm.”

Aranballon softly shook its head.

—Crack!

Its joints screamed in pain, and its head spun dizzily. Its body was in the worst possible condition. Wounds upon wounds had piled up, refusing to heal as blood still poured freely.

“What should I do with you?”

They seemed like enemies. But perhaps it owed victory to them. So should it just let them go?

“No.”

After all, if they hadn’t meddled with its army of spartoi, victory would have been certain.

Moreover, it was the Dragon of Greed. Once it claimed something, it never let it go.

“Yes.”

Aranballon nodded.

“I’ll graciously grant you mercy by killing you painlessly. That should satisfy us both.”

—Whoosh!

As the dragon began drawing in energy again.

“Hey, wait!” one of the insect-like humans shouted. “What do you mean ‘satisfaction’? Who gave you the right to decide that, you overgrown lizard?”

It was the man with the staff—Vladimir Lodygin.

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