Chapter 167:
“What is that…?”
The Espers were stunned by the sudden appearance of the massive dragon.
It radiated a power comparable to the five dragons confronting them, which only added to their shock.
“Wow, he wasn’t this big before.”
Grayson, however, was impressed for a different reason.
Airok had seemed much smaller when he first saw him at the flower shop. He had grown into a full-fledged dragon in such a short time.
A dragon powerful enough to rival, perhaps even surpass, the dragons inhabiting this Rank 1 dungeon.
‘When Jae-yi said she hired a dragon as her flower shop employee, I thought it was just another one of her eccentricities.’
He hadn’t expected the dragon to grow this much and come to their aid.
He shuddered, thinking about what might have happened if he had killed Airok, ignoring Seo Jae-yi’s pleas.
He would have to apologize to Airok after this was over.
“Don’t worry. That dragon is our ally. He’s completely subservient to Seo Jae-yi; he won’t attack us.”
Grayson reassured the Espers.
But his words did little to calm their nerves. Seeing their bewildered expressions, Grayson chuckled, finding the situation rather amusing.
The dragons’ faces hardened at his laughter.
<What’s so funny, insect? Does it amuse you to mock us?>
Airok sneered at the dragons.
<It does. I find it hilarious that I’m about to kill you all.>
<You think you can kill us all by yourself? Or do you think those humans can? You fool. You’re not worthy of being called a dragon. Die a pathetic death, a traitor to your own kind.>
“Master! They’re laughing at me! They said I’ll die a pathetic death with you for siding with humans!”
Airok immediately tattled to Seo Jae-yi, relaying the dragon’s furious words.
It was the same message, but subtly twisted in his retelling.
“Oh, really? They’re mocking me?”
Seo Jae-yi’s lips curled into a predatory smile, unaware of the actual words.
“Logi, I’ll give you the first pick. Which one do you want?”
“Really? I get to choose first? Then I want that green one, the second one from the left. He’s been smirking at me; it’s annoying.”
“Okay. Then I’ll take the one in the middle.”
Seo Jae-yi pointed at the red dragon, the one that had been talking non-stop.
“I don’t like its incessant chatter.”
She would rip its head off and shut it up for good.
“Maggie, tell the others to divide the remaining three amongst themselves.”
Grayson relayed her instructions.
Three teams stepped forward, and the rest retreated to the rear with the Guides. They would join the fight if needed, transported by Elizer.
“Okay, then…”
Crack, crack.
Seo Jae-yi cracked her knuckles and stretched her arms wide.
The surrounding temperature, which had been suffocatingly hot even for Espers, dropped drastically.
“I’ve lowered the temperature within a 5-kilometer radius.”
The dragons were startled by the sudden drop in temperature, while the Awakened’s eyes lit up.
The battlefield had been adjusted to their advantage.
“Logi, go!”
Seo Jae-yi grinned, pointing forward, her excitement fueled by the energy surging around her.
Airok roared, a deafening sound, and lunged at the green dragon. The two dragons clashed in the sky, a flurry of teeth, claws, and roars, quickly disappearing into the distance.
The other Espers, taking it as a signal to begin, also charged towards their chosen targets.
Only Seo Jae-yi and the red dragon, the one that had been chattering incessantly, remained.
<You think you can defeat us?!>
The dragon roared, flames flickering menacingly between its teeth. It looked ready to unleash its fire breath.
“Eli!”
Seo Jae-yi, a predatory grin on her face, called out.
“Send me to its head.”
Elizer immediately activated his ability. A purple portal appeared beneath Seo Jae-yi’s feet, and she was pulled in.
In the blink of an eye, she was high above the ground. She landed on the red dragon’s head.
“Wow, it’s hot, as expected of a fire dragon.”
The intense heat scorched her face and hands. But instead of flinching, she tightened her grip on its scales.
This level of heat was… pleasantly warm.
<How dare a measly human climb on me!>
The enraged dragon thrashed, soaring upwards and then diving down, trying to shake her off, but Seo Jae-yi, clinging tightly to its scales, wouldn’t budge.
The dragon, gritting its teeth, increased its body temperature, the heat intense enough to melt even an S-rank Esper’s skin. The air around them grew thin as the oxygen burned, making it hard to breathe.
But Seo Jae-yi endured.
Her overload level was currently at 0%.
She was in peak condition; this level of heat couldn’t harm her.
Not until the energy Baek Joo-won had filled her with was depleted.
She inhaled deeply, taking in the dragon’s heat.
The scorching heat filling her nostrils, the embers searing her lungs, the crimson red engulfing her vision.
A scene of utter devastation stretched beneath her, the landscape ravaged by fire, but instead of fear, she felt a thrill of exhilaration.
There was no one to protect here, no home to worry about.
She glanced at her receiver; her overload level was still at 0%.
Seo Jae-yi, reassured, unleashed her full power.
Hot breath escaped her parted lips. Her skin and eyes flushed crimson, just like when she overloaded.
She grinned, baring her teeth, and punched the dragon’s head.
KABOOM!
A deafening roar echoed through the air, and the dragon’s massive body shuddered violently.
<Aaaaaargh!>
The dragon’s scream, echoing through the dungeon, was so loud that even the other combatants turned to look.
“Its head is so thick; it’s still not dead?”
Seo Jae-yi muttered, her arm buried up to the elbow in the dragon’s skull.
Her fist, so small compared to the dragon’s massive size, hadn’t been enough to kill it, even though she had struck a vital point.
But the dragon, sensing the danger, thrashed even more violently, trying to shake her off. But she wouldn’t budge, her fist still embedded in its skull.
“Can a fire dragon be burned?”
Seo Jae-yi, still clinging to its head, opened her hand. Flames erupted from her fingertips, burning the dragon’s skull from the inside.
Even a dragon couldn’t withstand the flames of Earth’s strongest Heat Esper.
<Agh!>
The dragon, for the first time in its life, felt a chill of fear. Its head was burning, but it felt like its heart was being ripped apart.
It was pure terror.
<Raaaaar!>
The dragon screamed and flew towards a small hill made of rocks, slamming its head into it.
“Ugh!”
Seo Jae-yi groaned as she was buried under the falling rocks. Her arm felt like it was about to break, so she had to pull it out of the dragon’s skull.
She pushed the rocks off her and jumped to her feet. Her right hand was covered in the dragon’s blood.
The dragon, having finally shaken her off, flapped its wings, preparing to take flight again.
“Maggie!”
The wind created by its wings gathered behind her as she yelled.
If Elizer opened the path, Grayson would be her stepping stone.
As she leaped towards the dragon, the wind lifted her high into the air.
She took out a coiled whip from her combat uniform pocket.
Whoosh!
She gripped the handle and infused it with her power, the whip bursting into flames. Seo Jae-yi swung the flaming whip.
Crack!
The long whip wrapped around the dragon’s neck, the thorns on the whip digging into its scales. The dragon thrashed again as her scorching heat seared its flesh through its scales.
Seo Jae-yi held onto the whip tightly and, using Grayson’s wind, spun her body, landing gracefully on the dragon’s back.
“Ah, this isn’t as comfortable as its head.”
Its constantly moving wings and the obstructed view were annoying.
“Huh?”
The dragon, realizing she was on its back again, suddenly changed course.
It wasn’t fleeing. It was heading towards the gate, now quite far away, more precisely, towards Elizer and the rear support team, where the Guides were.
And its body began to heat up, far hotter than before.
It was preparing to unleash its fire breath on the Guides.
“It’s trying to use strategy.”
It was trying to exploit the Espers’ instinct to protect their Guides.
But it didn’t know one thing.
Brute force trumped strategy!
Seo Jae-yi grinned and grabbed the membrane of its wings near the joint.
Her hands, gripping tightly, muscles bulging beneath her combat uniform, tore through the membrane.
<Raaaaar!>
The dragon roared in pain, its body twisting in the air.
Seo Jae-yi relentlessly attacked its wings, scratching, punching, and kicking.
Crack, crack, crack!
She continued her assault, ignoring its screams, until the membrane was torn to shreds.
Then, she wrapped her arms around its wing and, with a powerful heave, snapped it completely.
Crack!
The dragon shrieked in agony as its wing broke, thrashing wildly in the air, but it couldn’t prevent its descent.
But Seo Jae-yi didn’t stop. She continued attacking its wings even as the dragon spiraled downwards.
The veins in her arms, back, neck, and even her face bulged as she strained every muscle in her body.
She took a deep breath and twisted her entire body.
Crack! Rip!
The dragon crashed to the ground, its bones snapping, flesh tearing, blood spraying.
Boom!
A cloud of dust rose as its massive body hit the barren ground.