Side Stories: Chapter 26
Zich gained the title by leaving all the strategic thinking to his subordinate Marilyn and squashing every problem that appeared in front of him with brute strength. It was a simple method that would’ve led to instant death for most, but with Marilyn’s capabilities on top of his enormous power, the brash method turned into an all-around perfect solution. It was easier to execute than now because he didn’t need to consider all the damage done to the people in his surroundings. On the bright side, Zich had Windur and the World Tree’s mana now, and he was able to gain perfect control of this power in the past year. At this point, even the Demon Lord from his pre-regression days wouldn’t be able to put up a proper fight against him.
‘Thus, for someone to ambush Zich?’ Lyla wanted to suggest better ways for a person to kill themselves–preferably one that didn’t cause much harm to others. Lyla crossed her arms. Since Zich stepped forward, she thought it wouldn’t take long for the situation to regain order. Her mind quickly strayed off to other matters in a situation that caused no threat.
‘Can I expect something in an ambush of this scale?’ She recalled what Zich had told her not long ago. She thought it was nonsense then, but if he had said those words foreseeing this incident…her heart beat faster. As she dwelled in her thoughts, completely distant from the current battle, another figure moved. Chelsea was gripping her fist tightly.
‘Good!’ When she saw Zich slice through the dragon’s breath, she almost raised both arms and cheered.
‘No, I should’ve just let it out!’ she thought.
Exuberant cheers were already popping out of the crowd, and some shook their hands like mad. This atmosphere quickly spread across the surroundings. Most people, except a very small minority, had already stopped evacuating. Even the masses realized that the scary Bellids and the undead monsters no longer posed a threat. Thinking that they were safe, people’s attention naturally focused on the battle in front of them. It was a battle between the legendary dragon slayer and the dragon resurrected as an undead; a scene that only poets would sing in songs was unraveling before them.
Perhaps, the people’s response was abnormal, considering that the undead dragon still stood before them and Bellids were still in their midst, holding them hostage. Yet, the might that Zich showcased easily turned an abnormal reaction into a normal one.
‘I really got in the right lane this time!’ Chelsea wanted to thank her past self who chose Zich after a serious conversation with Pina.
‘I should never get out of that side from now on!’ she thought. The man who was already like a monster to begin with, had returned after becoming an even greater monster. If anyone thought otherwise after witnessing a scene like this, they would seriously be one of a kind.
Chelsea met eyes with Pina. She raised her thumb and Pina also raised hers in response. Though Chelsea usually thought of Pina as an arrogant know-it-all, she had never felt more camaraderie with her than right now.
Kieeeeh! The undead dragon screeched and rushed toward Zich. It looked like it was planning to press its gigantic body against Zich after seeing that its breath didn’t work. Bam!
A large footprint formed on the ground. Yet, Zich had already escaped to the side. The dragon continued to extend its feet toward Zich. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Die! Die! Die! Dieeee!” Every time the dragon placed its feet down, Piros cursed. Yet, neither the dragon’s wild movements nor Piros’ rage could injure Zich.
“Stay still for a bit!”
Bang! Zich swung his mana-filled fist into the dragon’s stomach. The dragon staggered backward, but its scales took no damage.
“Ha, hahaha!” Piros’ voice was filled with hope. ‘That guy’s attack doesn’t work on the undead…!’
However, he stopped thinking this when he saw Zich’s fist heading for the dragon with a strange movement. Zich moved as if he was dismembering parts of the dragon. Piros felt a great foreboding feeling envelop him, especially after everything Zich had shown him until now.
“Good.” Zich nodded and let his hand down.
What in the world was he thinking?
‘I should just push forward!’ Piros thought. Trusting in the undead dragon’s hard scales that had previously defended against Zich’s attack, Piros pushed forward. In response, Zich swung Windur against the dragon.
Slice! It was an ominous sound, and it was more chilling because Piros felt no shock. He hurriedly turned to where he heard the noise.
Boom! The dragon’s right arm fell to the ground with a loud crash. The area where its arms used to be was empty. The shoulder joints were just dangling there meaninglessly. Piros’ head became completely blank. Yet, Zich’s attacks didn’t care for his situation at all and struck the dragon. Piros thought the dragon’s scales would at least be able to put up a good resistance, yet Zich’s attacks easily pierced through the dragon. The dragon swaggered with its one remaining arm, but even that soon became tattered in an instant.
“Uh, ahhhh!”
“Kieeeeeh!”
Piros and the undead dragon screamed simultaneously, and the dragon moved wildly.
“Hey! Don’t move!” Zich shouted. “Other people’s parts are also going to be damaged!”
“Other people’s…what…?” What was Zich talking about? Piros wondered, but he knew Zich was dissatisfied about something. Was it connected to his weakness? Piros shuffled through his head, yet Zich’s way of thinking surpassed the realm that Piros could reach.
“Sir Zich! You do not have to consider that!”Hans knew what was going through Zich’s head and shouted. Yet, Hans still couldn’t change Zich’s will.
“No! As the master, I can’t damage something that belongs to my disciple!” Zich replied.
Then, Zich pointed at the dragon’s right leg with Windur. “Wasn’t the portion distributed to you on the right leg? Don’t worry. I will return yours and everyone else’s parts like how they were before!”
Piros then realized what Zich was saying. He scanned the undead dragon in shock. Only the dragon’s torso was filled with injuries, and there wasn’t a single scratch in other places. The dragon’s torso had been distributed to Zich. When Piros realized this, he despaired. This meant that Zich specifically only attacked the parts that were already in his possession and left the other areas untouched.
‘He can do that while facing the undead dragon?’ Piros sensed that Zich moved with absolute ease.
‘No!’ Finally, Piros truly felt that no matter what scheme he planned out or what existence he brought back, he couldn’t win against Zich. He felt this truth in his core.
‘It was all wrong from the beginning!’ Piros lamented. He had miscalculated his opponent’s strength. Now, he was in a situation where he couldn’t guarantee his life, much less a victory.
‘I-I need to escape!’ Following his will, the undead dragon stretched out its wings. It flapped its wings hard, and the dragon floated into the air.
“Huh, huh?”
“It’s escaping! That guy is escaping!” Weaklings who wouldn’t have even dared to meet his eye without Zich blabbered on, but it wasn’t time for him to punish them right now. Piros then turned to the sky. He saw the warm sunlight, the blue sky, and pure white clouds. It was a sight that immediately brought peace and calm to people, but as a Bellid follower, Piros had pretty much never properly stared at the sky. This was because his temple of worship was always near the water flowing on the earth. Now, Piros stared intently and desperately at the sky, wishing that he would get closer to it and get farther from the hands of the monster that existed below the earth’s surface.
Slice! Yet, the ominous sound he heard ringing in his ears once again cut through his small hope.
‘No!’ The undead dragon stopped ascending. Its body teetered, and while clutching onto the dragon’s shaking body, Piros checked the cause of this change. He didn’t see one of the dragon’s wings. He looked down and saw the wing in question flying fast below. The wing was also a part that belonged to Zich. Piros didn’t know what to think. No matter how strong the dragon was, it couldn’t fly without wings. Soon, the dragon’s body started falling like the wing that had fallen before it. At the end of his destination, Piros saw the indescribable monster waiting for him on the surface.
Piros gave up on the dragon. He tried to escape the city alone by flying. Boom!
“Kuh!” A strong pressure gripped his body. He felt like a bug being played by a giant, and this formless pressure pushed him onto the dragon’s head again and pressed him down against the dragon’s hard scales. He grew closer and closer to the ground. Pop! Pop! The dragon’s body shook like a frail leaf at the mana shockwaves fluctuating from below. There was no damage at all, but Piros despaired once more when he realized the reasoning behind Zich’s actions. He was controlling the situation so that the dragon didn’t fall on top of the masses.
Piros took his eyes away from the approaching ground and looked above. The bright blue sky felt so far. Baam!
“Kuh!” When the dragon clashed with the surface, the shockwave was transferred to Piros. Unlike the holy knights with trained physiques, a priest like him had a body like a common person. He felt pain all over his body—his skin, muscles, organs, bones—everywhere. He couldn’t even describe which part of him was hurting and how. It just hurt. Soon, the pressure pressing down on him disappeared, and his body rolled off the dragon’s face.
“Kuh!” Since his already injured body experienced another shock, Piros felt a pain so strong that it felt as if his soul was popping out of him. Yet, he couldn’t even let out a scream, and his whole body cracked after leaking out a short cry.
Thud, thud! He soon heard the sound of footsteps. There was no way Piros didn’t know who those footsteps belonged to. His whole body shook. He didn’t know whether it was because of the pain or fear, but Piros was too scared to confirm the owner of the footsteps in person. Soon, the sound of footsteps stopped, and a shadow was cast over him. He could no longer pretend to be ignorant and slowly raised his head. He saw the blue sky and Zich—the representative of the dragon slayers and the Bellid annihilators and the one who stomped him as if he was a small bug.
“Kurgh!” Piros threw up blood. Seeing this, Zich clicked his tongue.
“Guys who act beyond their limits tend to meet an end like you. Fools who think they can change the world according to their wishes with just one sneaky scheme.” Zich’s words pierced his heart. Piros had no more mental and physical energy left to respond, and Zich didn’t really want a response from him either.
“Didn’t you enjoy your time recently? You tried controlling a dragon, though it was undead. You must have had a good time thinking what would happen after tarnishing the Karuwimans’ name and dragging down the Pope, the Saintess, and the cardinals in Yuras.”
Piros recalled how he thought today would be the greatest day of his life. It had been a great misconception—today was the worst day of his life. Zich raised Windur, and Piros had to stare weakly at the strange-looking sword that looked like a tree branch aimed at him.
“How was your sweet moment of hope?”
These mocking words were the last sound that Piros heard.