Chapter 329

"Just you wait — I really am not letting this slide."

Han Su-yeong ground her teeth hard enough for them to make a sound, muttered the words, and swung both arms through wide, sweeping motions.

Every time her arms moved, the crystalline orb and the buckler spun in the air around her, and they smothered the tidal waves — surging in with enough force to swallow the boat whole in an instant — back down.

But that was the limit of it.

What she could fend off were only the threats bearing down on her immediate surroundings.

A driving storm, lightning crashing down.

Waves rolling in with the force to swallow them whole.

If the great flood of long ago — the one said to have drowned the world — had ever truly happened, she thought, this must have been what it looked like, and she lifted her eyes to the sky.

[GRAAAAAAH!!!]

— BWOOOOOOOOO!!!

A black dragon in the sky, a white whale in the sea.

Both creatures, each with power more than enough to destroy the world several times over, had long since lost any trace of reason.

What was left in them was nothing more than the singular thought of bringing the other down.

"Seriously — what am I even supposed to do here…."

Han Su-yeong muttered, her voice halfway to a sob.

Yu Ji-hyeok, who'd been right beside her only moments before, was no longer here.

I'll be out in no time, so don't worry.

He'd left those words behind and let himself be swallowed by Venus.

…Yes, he'd been explaining the plan to her for days, so even shocked, she'd just barely managed not to crumble and held her composure together.

The problem was Minerva.

The instant she'd seen him swallowed by Venus, Minerva had shuddered all over, reverted to her original form on the spot, and thrown herself into a tangled fight with Venus.

No — could what they were doing even be called a fight?

Even as she thought it, Han Su-yeong let out another sigh.

In her head, the separate request Yu Ji-hyeok had made of her was surfacing.

"How exactly am I supposed to calm her down…."

She muttered the complaint in a voice halfway to tears, and her mind drifted back to what had happened only moments ago.

After pushing on toward the middle of the sea for nearly two full days, they'd finally found a suitable spot.

They'd burned one more day there finishing every preparation, and only after word had come from the Smith of Yado that the item he'd been asked for was ready did Yu Ji-hyeok finally lay out, in detail, the plan he'd been turning over in his head.

…The moment she'd heard the absurd thing he was proposing, Han Su-yeong had had to fight off the urge to tear his hair out, and only she would ever know how hard that had been.

Once the matter was settled, he'd coated the harpoon thoroughly in his own blood and started weaving World Tree branches over it, and Minerva, watching from the side, had abruptly held out a pale white wrist.

Why not put my blood on it as well?

He'd nodded at her offer and pricked her finger with the harpoon's tip.

While he was carefully rubbing Minerva's blood into the harpoon, Su-yeong had stretched out her own arm toward him.

Three was better than two, she'd added.

He'd thought about it for a moment, then pulled out a separate knife and cut his own finger to draw blood.

His blood and Minerva's were both lethal venom; what would happen if they touched an open wound was anyone's guess.

Maybe drinking his blood a few days back had built up some resistance, but right now, in this kind of situation, she had no desire to run the experiment.

Well — shall we wait, like Jiang Taigong fishing¹?

He'd thrown the line out, still as breezy as ever even thinking back on it, and with the harpoon now bound tight with World Tree branches, he'd flung it out with everything he had, exactly like a man casting a line.

The harpoon splashed down and sank into the sea.

Beside him, Minerva had been watching with the same bored look she'd been wearing.

She'd gone along with the plan because of how confident he was, but her face still said she didn't quite buy it.

And what, exactly, is this Jiang Taigong of yours?

Someone who fishes for time, not for fish.

……???

Minerva had tilted her head as if his words made no sense at all.

Even so, she stayed crouched right next to Yu Ji-hyeok, staring blankly at the scene.

Overhead, seabirds were wheeling and crying, hoping someone might toss them something to eat, and the slap of waves against the hull tickled pleasantly at the ear.

It was a peaceful scene, far too peaceful for people on the verge of a showdown with a Seven Calamity.

At least one of us has to stay sharp.

She'd told herself that, and started checking her gear and getting her mana circulating — and then Yu Ji-hyeok, who'd been holding his arm out like a fishing rod, had burst out laughing.

Su-yeong, what are you doing already? Who knows how long this'll take. It might be a while. So instead of stiffening up, sit down somewhere and—

In that instant, the boat lurched and rocked hard.

……

……

……

The three of them had fallen silent at the same time, as if on cue.

The boat they were on had been made by the Smith of Yado, and over the past several days they'd come to know firsthand that it could ride out any wind or current.

There was only one thing that could rock a boat like that.

Don't tell me it actually came—

Minerva muttered it as if she couldn't believe it, even as she stripped off the cardigan she'd thrown on over her dress, and Yu Ji-hyeok began silently hauling on the World Tree branches, drawing the harpoon back in.

By then, all three of them could tell that something was rushing up at them from deep beneath the water.

And at tremendous speed.

…It's here.

Someone whispered the words.

The next moment, something enormous burst up out of the sea, water spiraling around it.

— BWOOOOOOOOO!!!

A roar shook the earth and sky, loud enough to set the sea itself slapping.

Startled seabirds began wheeling away into the distance, crying as they fled, and from black clouds that had gathered from somewhere, lightning began to crash and a storm broke loose.

The terror that lurked in the deep, the lord of the sea.

The guide of seafarers.

The white whale with split pupils….

The Seven Calamity, Venus, had revealed her enormous form at last.

"Haahh…"

And the situation had carried straight through to now.

Yu Ji-hyeok, the moment he'd seen her, had thrown himself at Venus with a take it from here and let himself be deliberately swallowed; Minerva, who was supposed to walk a careful line keeping Venus pinned, had flat-out lost her mind and was throwing herself at Venus like she meant to settle everything for good.

"Right — her hide's so tough you can't get anything through from the outside, so you go for the inside. Sure, the logic checks out. It checks out, but who in their right mind walks into the belly of a Seven Calamity…!"

Even as she let the helpless frustration boil over, she kept her hands moving, weaving sigils.

When Yu Ji-hyeok came back out of Venus's belly, the spells would be there to protect him in case he got caught up in the storm and the waves.

[GRAAAAAAH!!!]

— BWOOOOOOOOO!!!

Minerva's fangs tore into Venus's face, and Venus's horn drove clean through Minerva's body.

Neither of them paid the steadily mounting wounds any mind; they stayed locked together as a single mass.

Watching it all with what calm she could manage, Han Su-yeong clenched her teeth.

As expected, Venus had the upper hand.

The two of them had figured Venus would throw herself in without a second thought, since for all the heavy wound she'd taken last time, her sheer durability meant it wouldn't slow her down — and that read was turning out to be right.

For all that Minerva could take to the sky, the battlefield right now was the middle of the open sea.

Which meant, in plain terms, terrain that couldn't have been more in Venus's favor.

And on top of that, Minerva wasn't keeping her distance and fighting cleanly — she was clamped right onto Venus, slugging it out in a brawl with no plan at all.

She'd thrown away her best skills and chosen the kind of grinding fight Venus was perfectly suited for.

"If this keeps up…."

Maybe—

Just as the unpleasant feeling was starting to lift its head:

— BWOOOOOO…!!!

Something was off about Venus.

Her shape had changed sharply from a moment ago, and the sound coming from her wasn't a thunderous roar anymore but a cry of pain.

[GRAAAAAAH!!!]

Right after, another dragon's roar tore through the air.

Minerva, hearing it, went still for an instant, then immediately started pulling back from Venus, and Han Su-yeong's face broke into a bright expression before she'd even realized it.

— BWOOOOOOOOO…!!!

A sound went up, savage enough to send a chill through anyone just listening, and Venus began thrashing her body as if in agony, letting out screaming cries.

The whale's body began to swell, like a balloon being pumped up.

Something inside was thrashing and writhing, struggling to get out — visible even at a distance.

Then, bursting straight through the whale's flank, a dragon broke into the open at last and shot up into the sky.

[GRAAAAAAH!!!!]

The dragon that let loose that thunderous roar didn't have black scales.

Like an old tree being overrun by a parasite, branches covered every inch of its scales without a hair's gap.

And the moment she saw it, Han Su-yeong knew exactly what it was.

The branches of the World Tree.

What Yu Ji-hyeok also called the King of Thorns.

The black-scaled dragon was wearing the World Tree's armor.

"Ugh, the smell…!"

That was the first impression that came to me, and the first thing out of my mouth, the moment I crossed into the body of the Seven Calamity Venus.

Actually, dying scream would be more accurate.

"Hwurkkk."

I was bringing everything in my stomach back up without quite meaning to when Minerva stepped into view a short distance off.

"That Venus would be quite cross if she knew. Despite how she looks, that one is rather… particular about dignity and decorum."

Minerva laughed openly and started looking around with frank curiosity.

The whale's belly was pitch black, and at her clear displeasure with the dark, she raised a hand and the whole place lit up like high noon.

"So what's the plan now?"

[Hahh… we head inward.]

The smell was so unbearable that I couldn't get a proper word out until I'd put the King of Thorns on.

The smell was bad enough, but on top of that I could feel a Seven Calamity's signature toxic miasma boring into me from every angle.

If I hadn't been someone with resistance to Calamity venom, I'd have melted down to the bone in seconds.

"And once we're in. Then what?"

Instead of answering, I shifted my grip on what I was holding so she could see it clearly.

Each of the Seven Calamities has something you could call a reverse scale — a single point of weakness.

For instance, the weight.

That was the item that had let me come out on top against the parallel-world version of myself in the dungeon Margo had made.

A tree branch.

That was what had broken me free of Sbeungali's brainwashing and shut down the mental link between us.

And, in my hand right now, the harpoon.

This one had the power to weaken Venus's abilities, paralyze her reason, and at the same time draw her in.

[Drive this into Venus's heart and she'll lose most of her power, no question. Then we seal her with what we've already prepared. Done.]

"Simple. Clean. I like it."

She was just smiling, satisfied, when Venus's body rocked hard and I staggered with it.

"…Looks like the past me isn't quite sticking to the plan."

She muttered it, but the inside of her tone said she understood perfectly well.

"Well, in her place I'd have done the same. I'll say this now — you have no idea how grateful I am that I was able to attach myself to your shadow."

She gave me a small smile.

"Wherever you go — even if it should come to dying — I'll be right there with you. You can't imagine how much comfort that gives me."

Her words were as direct as ever, and I gave a small smile back.

[That's the kind of line that flags trouble, you know.]

"Flag? What is that supposed to mean?"

[Bad omen.]

"What omen could ever be impudent enough to slow you and me down?"

Minerva laughed and slowly closed her eyes.

The shadow at her feet split, divided, and split again — countless lines branching off — and in a heartbeat they were stretching out toward every corner of Venus's body.

Quite a while passed before she opened her eyes again and nodded.

"…I've found Venus's heart. Core would be the more accurate word. At your running speed, you'll reach it in less than five minutes."

[Good. Let's go.]

"It would be best to hurry. If the fight drags on at this pace… Venus might just slip down into the deep sea."

She walked over to me as if it were the most natural thing in the world and held both arms out, like she wanted to be picked up.

I was staring at her for a beat, wondering what she was doing, when her brow creased ever so slightly.

"…You've been off entertaining only the past me for a while now, haven't you, and not me at all."

She grumbled it and held her arms out again, fingers curling impatiently.

"When else am I ever going to get to come out here in peace? Come on, hurry."

I spread my arms in silence.

Minerva sprang up to me at once and folded herself tight against my chest.

"Hm, a touch hard. Still, I suppose I can bear it for now."

She murmured it in a smiling voice, then quietly leaned her head against my chest and whispered:

"Anyway, make no mistake — the moment Venus slips into the deep sea, it's over. Even you, no — anyone — no one beats Venus in the deep sea."

[Got it.]

I nodded and she let out a small sigh.

Our memories were already shared, so I was already breaking into a run toward Venus's core.

"One more question."

[What?]

"How exactly do you plan to get out of here?"

I broke into a grin under the King of Thorns at her question — not that she'd be able to see it.

[Remember when I turned into a dragon last time, and you appeared as a doppelgänger?]

"How could I possibly forget."

[That's how.]

Holding her, I tapped at the King of Thorns covering my body.

[I could use Margo's authority and Sbeungali's authority at the same time. Same goes for your authority, Minerva, doesn't it? On top of which—]

I let the King of Thorns covering my face draw back.

When she got a look at my face, Minerva's eyes — for once — went round in genuine surprise.

— And I've already tested it.

"Wait — that face is—!"

— Hngh, my voice sounds weirder than I thought.

The reedy, wind-leaking quality of it made me snicker before I could stop myself.

[SKILL]

Dragonification (Unique, Limited)

You are about to become a dragon.

— You can transform into the form of a dragon.

— In this case, the form is based on the dragon you share the deepest connection with, and your stats are determined by the depth of that bond.

— Depending on the skill's proficiency, partial transformation of individual body parts is also possible.

Right now my face and part of my upper body had taken on a dragon's shape, while the rest stayed human.

Loosely speaking, you might call it a half-dragon form.

Skill proficiency had built up from repeated use, and that was what made it possible.

— Anyway. Hold on tight, Minerva.

As I said it, I drew the King of Thorns back over my face.

There wasn't really a reason for it.

It was just that the dazed way she was staring at my face had started to feel like a lot.

[The moment I drive this harpoon in, we're getting out of her body.]

I drove off the deck of my feet and shot forward.

Her core was almost in reach now.

Two dragons spread their wings and each let out a roar.

One of them out of relief, the other out of fighting spirit.

[GRAAAAAAH!!!]

A heartbeat later, the dragon wearing the World Tree's armor seized Venus's body — now with a massive hole punched through the flank — in a vise grip.

His eyes glittered, making clear he had no intention of letting her use her own ability to escape.

— BWOOOOOOOOO!!!

Venus twisted in resistance, but she couldn't break out of his grip.

The World Tree branches blanketing the dragon's body began shooting off one after another, as if each had a will of its own, and burrowed deep into Venus's flesh.

[GRAAAAAAH!!!]

Satisfied that she was anchored, the dragon began to beat his wings and rise into the sky. Only then did Venus catch on to what he was about to do, and she began screaming in a pitiful voice and thrashing her body.

[GRRR…!!!]

For all that she'd been wounded, Venus still held the distinction of being the largest of the Seven Calamities.

Which naturally meant she was that much heavier, and the dragon clad in the World Tree was grunting and straining as he worked to drag her up out of the sea.

It was then.

[GRRRGH.]

Another dragon swept in and seized hold of Venus's body.

Minerva — until only moments ago, the one who had been waging that life-and-death fight against Venus.

— BWOOOOOOOOO!!!

Venus let out a great roar, as if this couldn't be happening.

But her resistance amounted to no more than empty flailing.

— BWOOOOOO…!!!

And then, at last, the enormous white whale came fully into view.

Hauled limp into the air, caught in the grip of two dragons.

1. 1waiting patiently for the right opportunity to come to you naturally, without trying to force or manipulate the outcome.