Chapter 522: Gate Successfully Cleared? (1)

Chapter 520

"Human took me for a fool?" the King asked with a wicked grin as he increased the pressure around Ray’s neck.

The cracks grew louder and louder.

Even though Ray’s neck was broad, the Ogre’s massive hand was still large enough to completely swallow it, holding him tightly in its grasp.

This left the Tribrid dangling from the beast’s hand like a helpless child.

His grip on his weapon slowly loosened as his yellow eyes became increasingly bloodshot.

*Ho-How did it detect me? E-Even the Five-Spined Aberrant was unable to detect me. Wh-What sort of a bea—?!*

"Hu... No. Wrong to call you ’human.’ Yo-you are no human. Yo-you are different. You don’t have the smell of a human. And I don’t hear the voice to kill you."

Ray’s brows drew closer in confusion.

*Voice? What’s this bastard talking about? Does it mean to tell me that there’s another form of intelligence controlling it? Or—?!*

"Vo-voice?" Ray croaked out in a whisper.

"You know nothing, human. Even though King doesn’t hear a voice to kill human, King will still kill you for killing my soldiers. King is no fool."

And then, Ray’s eyes stretched wide in pain as the King squeezed harder than ever before.

The Tribrid could swear he felt several veins pop in his neck.

"Hu-hu-human doesn’t take King for a fool. Human knows King is a fool," Ray croaked out with a smirk on his face.

The moment the Ogre lifted a brow, Ray released his dagger, letting it fall toward the ground.

Only for Nebula to emerge from the earth in a cloud of purple mist.

Her hands curled around the falling dagger, and she thrust it forward, driving the weapon deep into the Ogre’s chest.

The steel sank several inches into his flesh until only the guard remained outside.

The Ogre King staggered backward in pain as his grip around Ray’s neck loosened, causing the boy to drop from the beast’s grasp and crash onto the ground.

"Gasp—!"

"Huuu.... KUH, kuh.... KUH...."

Ray desperately tried to draw in a fresh breath of air, but the moment he did, he was overcome by a violent coughing fit.

Nebula pushed the dagger even deeper, forcing the King to stagger backward under the pain.

His veins throbbed faster as a dark green hue could be seen spreading across his body.

Nebula’s crimson eyes burned with hatred as she glared directly into the King’s eyes.

"Yo—!!"

The King swung his fist downward, only to realize that he was much slower than before.

Because in the very next moment, Ray blurred forward.

His fingers curled around a sword dropped by one of the King-rank Ogres.

With a wild swing, the sword lodged deep into the King’s arm.

Ray pushed harder.

The blade tore through the flesh, forcing the hand out of the King’s arm.

Blood oozed from the wound like a fountain.

The Ogre King was stunned as he coughed out another mouthful of blood.

He wasn’t okay.

Something was wrong with him from the inside.

These injuries on the outside were nothing compared to what he was experiencing internally.

Pushing himself off the ground, Ray summoned another dagger into his grasp and plunged it deep into the King’s neck.

"Knowing its rank, I knew it would take a while for the dagger to take effect. And when I found my mark the first time, with the poison already in your bloodstream before now, I figured it would be much easier the next time."

A hint of confusion glistened in the Ogre’s eyes as he felt his body weakening with every passing second.

Ray dragged the weapon free and stabbed him again.

Nebula did the same.

And with that, the duo desperately stabbed and stabbed.

System messages flashed repeatedly before Ray’s eyes as the pair of daggers poisoned the beast and drained his life force again and again.

With every plunge, the effects became stronger, causing the beast to grow increasingly groggy.

"Thi-this is what I did to her. And I’m doing the same to you. I said it; you both will make a great couple."

Ray pulled the dagger out once more.

Then he noticed one of the King’s eyes changing to a different shade.

"Want to call your hammer?!"

Tchaaaak—!

The cold steel tore through the changing eye, causing the King to unleash a thunderous roar of pain.

His second hand reached out to grab the boy, only for Nebula to move.

One of her bladed hands stabbed through the King’s remaining arm, pinning it firmly to the ground.

THUD—!

The King allowed himself to collapse onto his knees as blood poured down his body with every stab.

Again.

And again.

His mind became hazy.

His vision blurred.

His breathing grew increasingly ragged as blood continued pouring from the countless wounds covering his body.

A streak of green spread through his veins, crawling toward his remaining eye.

The once-proud Ogre King had been reduced to this state in a matter of moments.

The debilitating wounds he had suffered before, combined with the injuries inflicted upon him now, were finally taking their toll on his mighty body.

All the energy within him seemed to drain toward his core.

His limbs went limp almost immediately.

His breathing stopped.

Yet his remaining eye remained open.

Nebula slowly rose to her full height while Ray continued stabbing again and again.

And then, right there in that silence, his System finally responded, almost as though it were annoyed by how long he had been doing this.

[DING!]

[QUEST COMPLETED! Tier 3 Gate cleared successfully.]

[Rewards will be distributed....]

Hearing the System’s notification, Ray finally allowed himself to stop.

A look of disbelief remained in his eyes as the daggers disappeared back into his inventory.

His breathing was ragged.

His body slowly reverted to its original state, the brown fur retreating from his arms as the transformation faded away.

He coughed, specks of blood escaping his mouth as he drew in another deep breath.

As he continued coughing, the System kept raining notifications down on him.

But Ray decided to mute them for now.

He had more than enough time to check his rewards later.

For now, he pushed himself back to his full height.

He inhaled sharply.

Then exhaled.

A satisfied grin slowly spread across his face.

Because there, standing in the middle of the burning chamber, was the sole winner of this death match.

Only one person had come out on top despite all the odds being stacked against him.

Despite his opponent being overwhelmingly powerful.

Despite being pushed to the very limits of his strength.

Only one person remained standing proudly.

RAY FUCKING DAWSON!!!