Ch.94Retry

While I was distracting the Manticore’s attention, the human users began their supporting fire.

It was the moment when the smell of gunpowder and thunderous gunshots, which had disappeared 20 years ago, reappeared in this world.

[KRAAAACK!]

As overwhelming firepower concentrated on it, the Manticore’s health was shaved away in an instant.

Naturally, its gaze turned toward the humans, and I frantically swung my sword to redirect the Manticore’s attention.

As my snow-white blade wrapped in shadows grazed the bridge of the Manticore’s nose, white bone was exposed beneath.

I struck its exposed bone without hesitation.

Crack!

[KRAAAACK!]

With a short scream, the Manticore began shaking its body violently.

Due to its movement, I too was swung from side to side as I clung to it.

The motion was dizzying, but I endured by binding the Manticore’s face and my body together with shadows.

At that moment.

With a thud, my body plummeted.

Despite the warning through my Mystic Eye, I couldn’t avoid it. The Manticore’s attack was just that fast.

As my rapidly falling body crashed into the asphalt, the Manticore followed up with another attack.

The same attack from 20 years ago.

After swiping with its front paw, it began to press down on me.

The difference from 20 years ago was that I could withstand this attack.

Though the bones in my upper body, which were directly exposed to the attack, were crushed, they regenerated instantly, allowing me to move right away.

“Ugh, grrrrr…!”

The world turned red from the blood flowing down.

I looked at the world through the same eyes as that day 20 years ago.

The Manticore had pinned me to the ground and was turning its head.

I had to move without hesitation. If I delayed even a little here, the second-generation users who trusted and followed me would suffer greatly.

“Haaah!”

With a short battle cry, I leaped up again, aiming for the Manticore’s face.

The wings spread behind my back pushed against the air, increasing my speed, and with the sound of a massive explosion, I managed to plunge my sword into the side of its face.

Squelch!

The moment my shadow-wrapped sword tore through the beast’s facial skin, its large eyeball moved and focused on me.

I felt as if the surrounding air froze under that cold gaze, devoid of any emotion.

But it was only for a brief moment. I extended my leg wide and swung my sword toward its eye.

Slash!

[KRAAAAAAACK!]

A scream erupted, incomparably louder than before.

The high-pitched sound was so intense it burst my eardrums, momentarily making me lose my sense of direction.

Of course, they regenerated quickly, but that brief gap caused me to be knocked down again by the Manticore’s front paw attack.

Thud!

Even though I protected my body with shadows, the beast’s attack power still damaged me.

My arms and legs twisted, and my ribs broke, piercing my internal organs.

The fact that my skin didn’t tear and spill my entrails was probably because I had raised my specs enough.

Thud!

My body began to slide along the ground from the impact.

In this state, I couldn’t hold the Manticore’s attention for long. I immediately released my children.

“It’s a lion!”

“Eeeek!”

“Hiyooo!”

The snow-white girls rushed forward and began clinging to the Manticore’s body.

Some climbed up its legs to pound on its belly, while others, like me, jumped into the air and clung to its face.

Thanks to the brief opening created by hundreds of children, I was able to complete my regeneration.

At that moment, the Manticore began to rampage.

As it flapped its massive wings and swung its tail like a whip, werewolves and vampires who had approached were knocked away, and my children too were caught in the attack, splattering red blood as they fell to the ground.

At that moment, the Manticore raised its front paws and stood on its hind legs.

Immediately after, the Manticore’s chest began to swell significantly.

When faint flames began to flicker around the Manticore’s mouth, I realized what this pattern was.

It was clearly the breath pattern that would unleash massive damage in all directions.

This pattern, which I couldn’t even witness 20 years ago, suddenly appeared.

This breath attack was classified as an instant-kill skill even in the game.

What kind of disaster would unfold if those hot flames poured out in this reality?

As I began to move my shadows in preparation for the imminent attack…

A thunderous sound—kwarlrung!—was heard.

Then something incredible happened.

A blue lightning bolt that flew in from a distance struck the Manticore’s face, and its massive body collapsed, unable to withstand the impact.

I frowned and traced the blue lightning.

The lightning that had struck the Manticore was falling to the ground, having lost its light.

The identity of the lightning was Hwang-gu.

Hwang-gu’s condition was not normal.

Her body was limp and her eyes were closed, as if she had poured everything into that single strike.

The black smoke rising from her body indicated that her condition was serious.

“Hwang-gu…!”

I wanted to run to her and check her condition, but I couldn’t.

Because the fallen Manticore was beginning to rise again.

No choice. I called out to my most reliable eldest daughter, Yeppi.

“Yeppi! Take care of Hwang-gu!”

“Yes! Understood!”

With my command, Yeppi began running, taking care of her siblings.

How reliable she looked…

I flew toward the Manticore with a faint smile.

The fallen Manticore swung its tail as it rose.

That whip-like tail attack tore through the air, turning all users approaching the area into a bloody mess.

Unlike 20 years ago, the Manticore’s body was now in tatters.

Its health status confirmed through my Mystic Eye was at 47%.

If I pushed a little more, I could take down this giant lion’s head.

“Hayaah!”

The moment I dodged the quickly swung whip and stabbed my blade into its body, the Manticore’s upper body rose once more.

Just like before, the Manticore’s chest began to swell significantly as if preparing for a breath attack.

I desperately shouted as I leaped toward its mouth.

“Everyone get away!”

My voice might not have reached them. But I didn’t have the luxury of repeating the same words twice.

Defying gravity, I sprinted up the Manticore’s body and jumped into its mouth.

My body began to burn from the massive flames forming inside its mouth, but I didn’t stop moving.

Immediately, I released hundreds of children using shadows.

Children directly exposed to the flames burned and screamed, but some sacrifice was unavoidable in this situation.

“Attack!”

“Hiyaak!”

“Die!”

“Hiyoo!”

The children began to riot in the Manticore’s mouth following my command.

Although the Manticore’s mouth was large, it wasn’t enough to handle hundreds of children at once.

As a result, some children were pushed and shoved by others and ended up sliding down the Manticore’s throat.

“Eeeek~”

How much time had passed since dozens of children slid beyond the throat?

The Manticore’s mouth began to twitch violently, and then a rough wind burst from beyond the throat, pushing me and the children outside.

[Keeeck! Kueeeck!]

Hundreds of girls poured out along with sticky saliva.

I was among them as well.

I frowned as I wiped away the sticky saliva.

I had managed to block the breath pattern, but this sticky saliva made my movements heavy.

“Eeeek…”

“Hueeee…”

Looking at the children who were limp and covered in saliva, it seemed the Manticore’s saliva had a debuff effect.

I called the children back into the shadows and rushed toward the Manticore.

After that, the Manticore continued to try to unleash its breath, but each time, I jumped into its mouth and turned its insides into chaos, allowing me to interrupt all its patterns.

After about an hour, the Manticore’s massive body lost its strength and collapsed.

Thud!

“Huff… huff…”

I breathed heavily.

I had defeated the Manticore, which I thought was impossible to take down 20 years ago, so easily.

Despite bringing it down, there was no cheer.

The second-generation users were all waiting for my words.

“We won…”

At that moment, light poured from the Manticore’s corpse, forming a small orb that flew toward me.

Inside the orb were two small angel wings, a ring with the Manticore’s face on it, and a sword that seemed to be made from the Manticore’s teeth.

***

Just because we defeated the Manticore didn’t mean this world would change immediately.

I left a few reliable werewolves and vampires who could operate under the sun at this location and returned to Seoul.

If changes come to the castle, they will return on their own.

Hwang-gu, who returned to Seoul, immediately brought her food bowl.

She wanted to eat the snow-white wings that dropped from hunting the Manticore.

“Huff huff…”

Hwang-gu held her food bowl and panted.

In the form of a girl, not a wolf.

“Do you really have to eat it like that?”

“Woof!”

Hwang-gu, barking in her girl form, circled around me, urging me to give her the wings.

In the end, I had no choice but to sigh and hand over the wings.

Hwang-gu had the power to absorb the characteristics of bosses by hunting them and eating their byproducts.

If she ate those wings completely, snow-white wings would sprout on her back.

After Hwang-gu devoured all the wings, a day passed.

As I expected, snow-white angel wings sprouted on Hwang-gu’s back.

Flap flap!

“Waaah!”

Hwang-gu was very happy with her wings.

She went around all of Seoul, showing off her wings to second-generation users.

After finishing her boasting and returning, Hwang-gu immediately began training to fly.

At first, she asked me about flying methods, but how would I know?

My wings were wings that couldn’t fly in the sky.

In the end, Hwang-gu had to take Aurel’s chirping sparrow as her flight instructor.

Chirp chirp chirp-!

“L-like this?”

Flap flap-

Hwang-gu conversed with the sparrow and continuously flapped her wings.