Chapter 120:
We kindly ask for your understanding regarding the inconsistency of character pronouns, particularly for the Entities (ex. The Greedy Predator). In Korean, pronouns are rarely used, making it challenging to ascertain a character's gender or identity until later narratives unfold. Given this is a guest-funded site, the time to backtrack is better used to keep other works' going. On a more important note, refrain from sharing this work on social media to ensure our survivability. Thank you for your cooperation!
Zombie Nique.
Seora used to think her nickname was given because of her constant healing, preventing people from dying. But now she realizes that’s not the case.
Whenever she bit someone, they died… That’s why they called her a zombie.
‘SShe’s even smiling. How terrifying. I shouldn’t provoke Monique without reason..’
It felt like chains would lash out at her if she misbehaved. Seora hurriedly moved toward the troublesome dragon.
Seong Jarim and Ali were fighting the head of greed, while Michael and Kang Sejun dealt with the head of envy, which had control over Garcia’s mind. Julian, who had regained his senses, fired arrows at the dragon’s body.
Only sloth and lust remained.
Seora’s lips twisted as she looked at the head of lust, its mouth wide open toward Julian. Finally, it was time to put an end to that thing.
<You’re the most annoying one! I should have killed you first!>
The green head suddenly fixed its gaze on Seora, intensely reacting with fury over her resistance to the allure of the “Path of Sin.” Well, then, come at me. I’ve been aiming for you too.
Just as the dragon’s fangs were about to sink into Seora, she enclosed herself in a cube. Thud! Despite the loud impact, she endured it with the help of Seong Jarim and Monique’s healing. Seora reached outside the cube and firmly gripped the dragon’s fang.
<I will swallow you!>
As the dragon lifted its head, Seora’s body floated in the air along with the cube. However, as long as she held onto the cube, it couldn’t devour her.
“Is your reach not long enough to tear me apart?”
Of course, Seora wasn’t completely at ease. Her arm holding the fang trembled, prompting her to act swiftly. She aimed the gun barrel outside the cube, which had transformed into a shotgun, perfect for wide-range attacks.
With a bright smile, Seora pulled the trigger.
<Kyaaaaaaagh!>
Bang! With a sound, dozens of holes pierced the dragon’s mouth. Blood sprayed, and Seora’s hand holding the fang slipped away. Although she had dealt significant damage, it was becoming overwhelming. Seora released her grip and, along with the cube, floated in the empty air. At that moment, her eyes met the dragon, writhing and covered in blood-soaked cube fragments.
‘Ah, this feels ominous.’
And her premonition turned out to be accurate.
A peculiar energy gathered in the dragon’s perforated mouth. It wasn’t a breath, but an attack comparable to it—the Dragon Pierce.
“Yun Seora, watch out!” Ali, who was nearby, shouted. Seong Jarim, realizing the situation late, was horrified, and Kang Sejun hastily cast a protective spell around Seora, but it was too late.
They were too far away, and the Dragon Pierce had already been unleashed. Seora let out a bitter smile.
“I’m done for.”
The Dragon Pierce descended. Kang Sejun’s protective barrier shattered with the first wave, and even the cube collapsed.
The durability of the Regeneration Jacket, bestowed by the administrator, was significantly depleted. Seora’s blood gushed out from the skill’s aftermath and the Dragon Pierce’s impact.
‘It hurts…!’
But she couldn’t let her guard down here.
〖“Seora!”〗
The anguished cry of the administrator continued to stir Seora’s fading consciousness. If she lost consciousness now, the administrator might interfere. That couldn’t happen.
‘Administrator, I’m fine. It’s just a minor injury. So please, calm down. Don’t come here, just stay where you are.’
The administrator didn’t want his existence revealed. He even resorted to threats against extraordinary individuals like Baek Huiwon to maintain his anonymity.
Though their reasons might differ, Seora understood. She had once held the same sentiment. She wanted to respect his wishes.
‘I appreciate your concern, but I will fight until the end.’
The path she treaded was also a path to meet the administrator. It was the path she had chosen. So no matter how arduous or injured she became, she would persist until she reached the end.
‘I wonder if my mother felt this way too.’
Despite swallowing blood, Seora smiled. For the first time, she comprehended her mother’s constant self-sacrifice. Of course, she had no intention of sacrificing herself for strangers as her mother had done.
“Monique, it’s okay! You don’t need to heal me!”
As the chains infused with Monique’s mana flew toward her, Seora shouted. Though a response warned her against reckless actions, she disregarded it and activated her skill once more.
“Activate skill.”
The cube unfolded, encompassing her body and the dragon’s head this time. Her remaining health and mana rapidly depleted.
“Yun Seora! Don’t push yourself! Start with the healing!”
“Seora!”
“Hey! If something happens to you, how will I report to your brother!?”
Outside, Kang Sejun, Seong Jarim, and Ali anxiously shouted. They were such worrywarts. She had no intention of dying at all.
Seora chuckled within the confines of the cube. Her lips quivered as her stomach churned. The second Dragon Pierce was forming in the dragon’s mouth.
However, before that, a short notification appeared before her eyes.
【The wearer’s health has fallen below 20%. The secondary ability of the Regeneration Jacket is activated. Attack power is doubled for 10 minutes.】
The secondary ability of the Regeneration Jacket was worth its price. With its activation, Seora felt a surge of power coursing through her body, despite the mounting fatigue. She had purposely refrained from receiving Monique’s healing for this very reason.
‘Now, then…’
Amidst the intensifying heat inside the cube, Seora pondered.
How was the upgraded skill, “Spatial Domination,” different from the previous “Field Domination”?
Killing ghost-type creatures, preventing monsters from escaping the gate and harming allies, immobilizing non-living objects in a specific location—wasn’t it a waste to use it only in such ways? Especially since it was an L-class skill. With a name like “domination,” shouldn’t it be capable of more?
If she could completely dominate the space within, could she possibly utilize it in a different manner?
Seora took a deep breath. Her reddened left pupil focused on a specific location—not the position of the cube, but its interior. The place she needed to reach.
“Yun Seora!”
Kang Sejun’s cry seemed to be the catalyst as Seora murmured quietly.
“Teleport.”
Her body vanished. Those observing from outside widened their eyes in astonishment.
<Ugh!>
A brief gasp followed. It wasn’t Seora’s voice, but the final scream of the dragon.
As Seora descended toward the ground, she found herself suddenly inside the dragon’s mouth, clutching a peculiar blade that appeared to have been torn sharply, its edge adorned with a distinctive design. The blade, infused with the doubled attack power of an Awakened, pierced through the dragon’s mouth from its snout to its throat.
Thud, thud. Hot liquid dripped.
<Guh, ugh…>
The Dragon Pierce weakened. The dragon’s once intense gaze, fixated on Seora, lost its focus. Until that moment, Seora had shown no movement at all.
【The head of Lust has been destroyed.】
With the long-awaited message, the crown shattered. As the decapitated head of the dying dragon began to descend, Seora finally sheathed her blade.
“Yun-!”
Kang Sejun immediately flew over. However, the collapse of the cube happened faster than anything else.
【Warning! Excessive use of skills has caused a decrease in control. The cube is destroyed.】
‘Ah, I succeeded, but… this mana consumption is no joke. Perhaps I became too greedy.’
Teleportation within the cube. The effect was truly beyond imagination, but it seemed that more training was required to master it.
With a faint, weary laugh, the cube shattered. Amidst the darkened sky, alongside the fragments of red glass, Seora’s body descended toward the ground.
‘Administrator, I’m fine… Just a little exhausted…’
She couldn’t. If she succumbed to unconsciousness, it would genuinely shock the administrator… But her thoughts couldn’t go any further.
〖“Seora!”〗
Though the desperate cry reached her ears, Seora eventually lost consciousness.
***
As Seora descended, her body convulsed visibly, even from a distance. Kang Sejun, who had swiftly flown towards her, only then realized that the blood covering her wasn’t solely from the dragon. Her physical body had reached its limits due to the excessive use of the skill.
“Shit!”
Just as Kang Sejun attempted to catch her with magic…
“Huh… the cube?”
The cube, which had been shattered, reappeared and gently caught her. Fortunately, she landed safely and peacefully. But what had transpired? Wasn’t Seora completely unconscious?
“Ah.”
Kang Sejun encountered an obstruction as he tried to approach and examine her. Grr. Sharpened fangs snarled menacingly at him.
Beside the cube, unveiled in all its magnificence, stood none other than the nine-tailed fox that Seora had named Elizabeth and held dear.