Ch.71EP 2 Gorgon

[ROAR!]

As the point where the force was concentrated broke, the Gorgon’s massive body began to stagger.

The Gorgon started to fall due to that staggering.

Its legs buckled, and its head plunged into the ground along with the severed horn.

I stared at Hwang-gu with my mouth agape.

Her eyes glowed red from the Berserk Potion’s effect, and crimson energy rose from her body.

Hwang-gu exhaled a long breath as if trying to cool her reddened skin.

“Haaaa-“

Only then did I realize that Hwang-gu’s arm wasn’t normal.

As if from the recoil of shattering the horn, Hwang-gu was letting her arm hang limply.

There was no way to tell whether the bone was broken or the muscle was damaged, but either way, using her right arm seemed impossible at the moment.

I retreated alongside Hwang-gu, avoiding the falling Gorgon.

Thud-!

“Hwang-gu… you!”

“Charlotte! Now’s our chance!”

Hwang-gu cut off my call.

Normally, I would have given her a light knock on the head for being disrespectful, but I closed my mouth when I saw her right arm.

The limp arm was trembling slightly as if in spasm.

Her expression wasn’t good either. One eyebrow was contorted as if she was enduring pain.

Hwang-gu ignored her own pain and rushed toward the Gorgon.

Her action was right. In this situation, there was no time to worry about minor injuries.

“Haaaah!”

Aurel was still clinging tightly to the Gorgon’s body, pouring all her attacks into it.

Though her attacks were weak, those feeble strikes had finally managed to bore a large hole in the Gorgon’s body.

At that moment, the shouts of vampires could be heard.

“Attack! Now’s our chance!”

Looking around, I saw vampires who hadn’t been visible until now rushing toward the Gorgon.

None of them were unscathed. Judging by the black smoke rising from their skin, they must have been shot with silver bullets while fighting humans.

The vampires’ all-out attack began.

The Gorgon started writhing as it received those attacks.

I too quickly jumped up and unleashed my subordinates onto the Gorgon.

-Yaaah!

-Hyaaak!

The children were bursting with rage as if seeking revenge for their sisters who had died first.

At that moment, Yeppi, who had been pounding on the Gorgon’s body, slipped into the large hole.

That hole was the one Aurel had bored into the Gorgon’s body.

Seeing this, the other children followed suit, rushing to go in as well.

As numerous children poured into the Gorgon’s body, it let out a much more painful scream than before and suddenly rose to its feet.

“Ugh!”

This caused many vampires who had climbed onto its body to fall off.

I checked the Gorgon’s health through my Mystic Eye.

The Gorgon’s health, which had remained at about 60%, was rapidly decreasing from the moment the children entered its body.

While the exterior was covered with tough skin, the interior seemed to be not so sturdy.

I jumped off the Gorgon’s body and picked up its horn that had fallen to the ground.

Looking at its sharp end, it seemed like it could be used as an awl.

[GROOARRR!]

The Gorgon shook its head as if the place where the horn had broken off was painful.

This caused most of the vampires clinging to its head to be thrown off.

The brief opening Hwang-gu had created.

That short time was more than enough for all my wounds to heal.

“Wabaraaat!”

I shouted, aiming the broken horn at the Gorgon.

It was a reckless act. I would be charged at again.

But if I disappeared from its sight, it would rampage and attack the other vampires.

I had to stand firm and endure until it fell.

Chirp chirp-!

Look, even Jjakjjak the sparrow was attacking the Gorgon with its entire body.

Of course, whether those attacks would damage the Gorgon was questionable.

It wasn’t just Jjakjjak. Everyone present was risking their lives to attack the Gorgon.

They trusted me. Because they believed I would endure until the end, my kin were facing the Gorgon without turning away.

[GROOARRR!]

The Gorgon’s roar began again.

Due to its reduced health, the Gorgon’s phase changed.

Rumble-!

The moment the roar that burst from the Gorgon’s mouth reached the sky, the sky dropped blue lightning.

The Gorgon received that lightning directly.

More precisely, it captured the lightning in its horn.

Crackle-!

The remaining horn menacingly emitted lightning.

But that lightning was flickering very precariously.

Like a fluorescent light about to go out.

If Hwang-gu hadn’t broken one of its horns, that power would have been fully unleashed.

Here it comes.

Boom- Boom- Boom-!

The Gorgon started running, stomping the ground.

Hwang-gu, who was riding on top of it, used her whole body to pound it, but her movements didn’t seem as powerful as before.

As the lightning-wrapped horn approached, I thrust the severed horn with all my might.

Crash!

A battle of strength against strength.

But naturally, I was the one being pushed back.

With a huge explosion, my body was pushed back significantly.

My feet sank deep into the ground, making my already small stature even smaller.

At this rate, I would be buried in the ground.

Gritting my teeth, I used shadows to pull my feet back to the surface.

Crackle-!

Blue lightning began to swirl around the point where the horns met.

The moment the lightning spreading in all directions touched my skin, it burned black, bringing tremendous pain.

My body, unable to withstand the crushing force, burst open, and blood gushed out.

I couldn’t endure with my strength alone. The regeneration couldn’t keep up with the accumulating impact.

As I bit my lip, considering whether to call in the children…

Sizzle-!

A miraculous thing happened.

The skin that had been seared by lightning began to regenerate rapidly.

Strength returned to my trembling legs. My health, which had been rapidly depleting, began to fill up quickly.

At that moment, I pulled up the corners of my mouth.

The children and I are connected through shadows. This means that when the children absorb blood, it comes to me.

The children who had crawled into the Gorgon’s body were attempting to feed.

[GROOARRR!]

The Gorgon pressed down on my body with more force, as if in pain.

However, I didn’t fall.

As my legs broke, they completed regeneration simultaneously. The muscles of my body repeatedly tore and regenerated at the same time.

Thin blood vessels burst, endlessly spilling blood outside my body, but as much blood as flowed out, new blood was replenished.

The blood I was shedding wasn’t my own.

I was receiving the Gorgon’s blood through the connected shadows, and then spilling that blood outside.

It wouldn’t know.

That this act of attacking me was eating away at its own life.

As I heightened my senses, I could feel the movements of the children frantically moving around inside the Gorgon’s body.

Suddenly, a deep smile began to form.

I gave up on defense. The movement of shadows also switched to offense.

Crack-!

As I gave up on confronting the Gorgon, its sharp horn flew straight at me.

The moment the blue lightning flashed, a large horn dug into the center of my chest.

Crackle-!

My vision flickered from the massive impact.

Blood gushed out like a wave.

It felt like I was going to die, but I absolutely wouldn’t.

I couldn’t possibly die until the children stopped feeding.

At that moment, my gaze met the Gorgon’s.

I said I gave up on defense, but not on attack.

I thrust the severed horn toward it, putting strength into my waist.

Thwack-!

[GROOARRGH!]

The rapidly shot horn successfully pierced one of the Gorgon’s eyes.

It hastily closed its eye to protect it with thick skin, but the sharp horn had enough sharpness to pierce even that skin.

The Gorgon shook its head, letting out a pain-filled roar.

With my chest impaled on its horn, I couldn’t withstand the force and was thrown into the air.

As the horn pulled out of my chest, cold air rushed in.

I must be the only person to have a hole punched through the center of their chest twice in one day.

Flutter-!

I spread my wings by moving the shadows.

Immediately after, the hole in my chest began to close.

My body, which had been on the verge of death, returned to its original form in less than a second.

Not much longer.

I flew straight at the Gorgon and planted my fist into its head.

Bang-!

The Gorgon staggered as if it had received quite a shock.

However, the impact was greater on my side.

My right arm, which I had swung, couldn’t withstand the recoil and crumpled.

Broken bones pierced through the skin.

But this too returned to its original form in an instant.

“Hyaaaak!”

I attempted to attack with all my might.

Even as my body bent and tore, it returned to its original form.

The duration of the doping drug I had absorbed from Smooch was running out.

Once this effect disappeared, I wouldn’t be able to withstand the Gorgon’s attacks.

I had to finish it off now, by any means necessary.

The Gorgon’s massive foot trampled my head.

But it was okay. I knew that even if I was reduced to a puddle of blood, I would return to my original form if given a moment.

Crunch-!

Everything collapsed under the crushing pressure.

But the next moment, I was crawling up from beneath the ground.

Thud-!

A small, delicate hand grasped a piece of collapsed asphalt.

Immediately after, the body rose again.

As if it were a lie that I had bled, there wasn’t a single wound left on my body.

[Grooarr…]

The end of the battle, which seemed like it would never end, was approaching.

This was because the light disappeared from the Gorgon’s eyes, and its massive body collapsed to the ground.

Only then did I catch my breath. Unlike my intact physical state, my mind was in tatters.

I couldn’t even count how many deaths I had experienced in such a short time.

At that moment, the fallen Gorgon’s head began to stir.

I raised both fists, just in case.

But my worry was unfounded. The Gorgon did not revive.

The reason its head began to stir was because of the small girls moving inside.

-We’re outside!

-Fresh air!

-Charlotte!

Snow-white children poured out from the Gorgon’s mouth and eyes.

No, they weren’t white. The children were covered in the Gorgon’s blood, giving them a red color.

Just like Hwang-gu.

“Ha…”

I sat down with a sigh.

Though my body was intact, my legs had no strength, and I simply couldn’t stand.