Episode 110 Dragon Hunt (2)
Cracks appeared and bones shattered, but the Bone Dragon relentlessly clung to the Mad Dragon, repairing itself endlessly. The Immortal King bombarded it with magic that pierced through its monstrous magic resistance.
A vampire hindered its movements, aiming for weak spots like its wings, and a humanoid… no, a parasite, was clinging to it.
[Kiyaaaaaah—!]
Frustrated and enraged, Heratos twisted his entire body, unleashing magic power in all directions.
Goooo—!
The hostile magic power, gushing out like a raging torrent, was destructive at close range, forcing them to keep their distance to minimize damage.
Heinz, who had been relentlessly slicing at the Mad Dragon with his blood blades, withdrew without hesitation…
"Oof!"
Thud—!
But Harley, unwilling to leave his prime spot, dug his claws and fangs into the dragon's wounds, resisting its attempts to shake him off.
Crack— Crackle!
An overwhelming pressure, imbued with massive magic power, erupted from the dragon's body.
Harley's body, which had been evolving and becoming tougher, started to tear and twist.
Even with "Regeneration", it would take a considerable amount of energy to recover from this, but Harley didn't care, bursting into a hearty laugh as blood gushed from his wounds.
"Ahahat! With the best tonic right in front of me, these wounds are nothing!"
His jaw extended like a snake's, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
Crack! Crunch!
Harley didn't care about his own injuries, diligently devouring the dragon's flesh and blood.
The exquisite ingredients were continuously absorbed into his body with the help of "Gluttony", becoming a massive energy source that regenerated his broken body, making it even stronger.
And as that process repeated itself…
《The individual meets the conditions and grows. The skill "Gluttony" evolves into the special skill "Voracity".》
Finally, the "Gluttony" skill reached its limit and evolved.
'Well, it's only natural after eating that much dragon flesh and blood.'
Skills required a certain level of 'achievement' to evolve, in addition to proficiency.
And clinging to a Mad Dragon's chest and devouring its flesh alive was a feat in itself.
Moreover, Harley had been constantly using "Gluttony" to maintain his monstrous body, so the accumulated experience points weren't insignificant.
He took advantage of a lull in the dragon's magic power surge to check the information about his newly acquired skill.
"Gluttony" helped him absorb difficult-to-digest substances, allowing him to eat more and faster.
It was an essential skill for him, who needed a massive amount of energy to maintain his combat power.
But the evolved "Voracity" was on a different level.
'This… has incredible synergy with Harley.'
He looked down at the dragon scales that were starting to regenerate from the wounds.
He had been extracting the scales and consuming only the flesh before…
Crack—
This time, he opened his mouth wide and bit into the scales.
Crack! Crunch!
Dragon scales were so tough that even Heinz, who had surpassed the level of a True Blood, had to use all his strength to break them.
But they couldn't withstand Harley's teeth and shattered like glass.
It was thanks to the powerful buff "Voracity" provided when consuming something.
And as he devoured a part of the Mad Dragon, something that had been flowing through its body was also ripped out.
'What's this?'
He could immediately see its effect.
The regenerative ability of the area he had bitten was significantly reduced.
'This is amazing!'
It wasn't just about being able to eat more and faster.
'Can I now absorb the concepts contained in what I eat?'
Simply put, he had just devoured not only Heratos's flesh but also the 'regenerative ability' and 'madness' contained in that area.
'It's not perfect yet, perhaps because of my low level and lack of proficiency… But it's enough for now.'
And to him, 'completely consuming and digesting' meant something more.
"Mutation" imprinted the new information, and he used "Physical Transformation" based on it…
A dark red scale sprouted from one of his arms.
'…A Mad Dragon scale.'
To create horns, he had to eat horns. To create a tail, he had to eat a tail.
Scales were no different.
He hadn't done that before because he could naturally obtain all the genetic information by consuming the magic stone, which contained all the monster's essence.
'I wouldn't have been able to create a scale before eating the dragon heart.'
No matter how powerful "Gluttony" was, it wasn't enough to completely digest dragon scales.
'It's not perfect yet. But this level of absorption efficiency from just one scale is incredible.'
He had been evolving his body by consuming the dragon's flesh and blood, but the efficiency was low because it wasn't the magic stone.
But the completeness of the scale he had just embodied showed that the absorption rate had increased several times over.
His thoughts went deeper.
Harley's "Mutation" aimed to become a perfectly evolved being by collecting genes from various species.
It was a miraculous product created using the blood of a dragon from another dimension, a dragon with completely different characteristics from the dragons of Auterica.
And in this world, dragons were the closest to the pinnacle of life.
Moreover, the Mad Dragon had undergone physical evolution beyond its limits due to madness…
'Ignoring the penalties for now.'
Harley's body was also extraordinary, so he could endure that much.
"Tsk— My mouth is watering. Kuhhuhut!"
He wouldn't become a complete dragon just by eating its heart.
There would be some loss of efficiency, no matter how high the absorption rate was.
But the important thing was…
The Mad Dragon's heart would bring Harley closer to perfection.
"Kkahahahat! You bastard! Let me see your heart!"
Harley, excited, bit into the dragon's wound again.
With the power of "Voracity", he only had to move his jaw a few times, and the flesh was torn off and swallowed.
Crack! Crunch!
Dragon scales, which were so tough that even Heinz, who had surpassed the level of a True Blood, had to use all his strength to break them…
Crack! Crunch!
…Shattered like glass under Harley's teeth.
It was thanks to the powerful buff "Voracity" provided when consuming something.
And as he devoured a part of the Mad Dragon, something that had been flowing through its body was also ripped out.
'What's this?'
He could immediately see its effect.
The regenerative ability of the area he had bitten was significantly reduced.
'This is amazing!'
It wasn't just about being able to eat more and faster.
'Can I now absorb the concepts contained in what I eat?'
Simply put, he had just devoured not only Heratos's flesh but also the 'regenerative ability' and 'madness' contained in that area.
'It's not perfect yet, perhaps because of my low level and lack of proficiency… But it's enough for now.'
And to him, 'completely consuming and digesting' meant something more.
"Mutation" imprinted the new information, and he used "Physical Transformation" based on it…
A dark red scale sprouted from one of his arms.
'…A Mad Dragon scale.'
To create horns, he had to eat horns. To create a tail, he had to eat a tail.
Scales were no different.
He hadn't done that before because he could naturally obtain all the genetic information by consuming the magic stone, which contained all the monster's essence.
'I wouldn't have been able to create a scale before eating the dragon heart.'
No matter how powerful "Gluttony" was, it wasn't enough to completely digest dragon scales.
'It's not perfect yet. But this level of absorption efficiency from just one scale is incredible.'
He had been evolving his body by consuming the dragon's flesh and blood, but the efficiency was low because it wasn't the magic stone.
But the completeness of the scale he had just embodied showed that the absorption rate had increased several times over.
His thoughts went deeper.
Harley's "Mutation" aimed to become a perfectly evolved being by collecting genes from various species.
It was a miraculous product created using the blood of a dragon from another dimension, a dragon with completely different characteristics from the dragons of Auterica.
And in this world, dragons were the closest to the pinnacle of life.
Moreover, the Mad Dragon had undergone physical evolution beyond its limits due to madness…
'Ignoring the penalties for now.'
Harley's body was also extraordinary, so he could endure that much.
"Tsk— My mouth is watering. Kuhhuhut!"
He wouldn't become a complete dragon just by eating its heart.
There would be some loss of efficiency, no matter how high the absorption rate was.
But the important thing was…
The Mad Dragon's heart would bring Harley closer to perfection.
"Kkahahahat! You bastard! Let me see your heart!"
Harley, excited, bit into the dragon's wound again.
With the power of "Voracity", he only had to move his jaw a few times, and the flesh was torn off and swallowed.
Crack! Crunch!
He burrowed into the dragon's body, devouring its flesh and blood.
Normally, the wound should have regenerated rapidly, preventing any intrusion…
But now that its regenerative ability was suppressed, there was nothing to stop him.
______________________
[Kyaruruuk—?]
The Mad Dragon, Heratos, felt something strange and looked at his chest while wrestling with the Bone Dragon, which was bound by black chains.
A humanoid parasite had been clinging to him, gnawing at him like a bug, but he had just been keeping it in check, trusting in his tough body and near-infinite regenerative ability.
But.
He felt another surge of pain, and something was ripped out of his body.
[Kiyaaaaaah—?!]
Blood gushed from the wound, and its regeneration was significantly slower than before.
The parasite had burrowed deeper into his body, heading towards his heart.
Heratos twisted his body violently, but Hans wouldn't just let him go.
[KuoOoooooh—!]
Entracio lunged and hugged the Mad Dragon, preventing it from reaching its chest.
As the two corrupted dragons grappled, Harley's lower body wriggled between the Bone Dragon's ribs, burrowing deeper into Heratos's body.
[Kuhhuhut— Stay still. It'll be over soon. I'm feeling quite good, seeing my creation nearing completion.]
Hans, the creator of Harley, proudly muttered as he cast more magic to restrain the dragon.
It was a challenge even for him to subdue a mad dragon alive, but he was starting to feel a sense of accomplishment.
[Kyaaaaagh—!]
Heratos, sensing his impending doom, thrashed wildly.
He tightened his muscles, trying to crush the parasite that had invaded his body, and even bombarded it with highly concentrated magic power, despite the damage to himself…
But it continued to burrow deeper.
Kwaaang! Crack!
The Mad Dragon's struggles intensified as it realized it couldn't remove the parasite.
Entracio focused solely on clinging to it, pouring all his magic power into defense and regeneration.
He was gradually being torn apart, unable to fight back, but Heratos was in a more desperate situation.
[Hoooooop—]
He even tried to use his breath in his desperation.
But.
"Are you really trying to use your breath at this range? You've truly lost your mind."
Heinz the Second was already waiting beneath the dragon's jaw.
He was in full battle mode, using "Concealment" and "Invisibility".
"I haven't had much of a chance to shine yet. It would hurt my pride to end things like this, even if the opponent is a dragon."
The massive blood greatsword in his hand shimmered quietly.
The sword, created by pouring all his spare blood into it, was filled with Heinz's evolved bloodsucking factor, amplified by "Hybrid Evolution"…
And it was the perfect medium to unleash the full power of "Blood Mystery".
'It's not even paying attention to me. Is it too preoccupied, or does it think I'm harmless?'
With its sharp senses, it should be able to see through Heinz's "Concealment" if it focused…
But it was only focused on Hans and Entracio, ignoring him.
Either way, it would regret it.
Heinz's crimson eyes, using "Insight", analyzed the flow of magic power as the dragon prepared to unleash its breath.
He couldn't fully see through the dragon's body because of the difference in level, but there was no need to examine it in detail with such a violent flow of magic power.
'There it is.'
Heinz slowly shifted the sword to his left hand and gripped it with both hands.
It was the stance Heinrich had learned through "Comprehensive Weapon Mastery".
'I couldn't replicate "Logia Holy Combat", but this is good enough.'
He didn't need any fancy swordsmanship for this.
All he had to do was…
———!
Slash with all his might, using "Acceleration".
The blood greatsword elongated like a whip, cutting through the air—
And its tip, moving faster than the speed of sound, silently sliced through the Mad Dragon's neck.
And.
After a brief moment.
Whoosh—!
Kugugung—!
A shockwave erupted along the sword's trajectory, tearing through the air.
Whoosh—!
The Mad Dragon's massive neck was severed, and blood gushed out like a waterfall.
[Kuhurk—?!]
The magic power it had been concentrating for its breath exploded from the wound, further damaging its already fatal injury.
[Kuh, Kuhuck—?!]
The Mad Dragon staggered, having suffered its greatest injury yet.
But the wound was already rapidly regenerating…
'It's regenerating even after that critical hit. How monstrous.'
Heinz licked his lips, retrieving as much of the spilled blood as possible and storing it in his body.
Of course, he could also regenerate to that extent with "Super Regeneration", but it was still unfair for a creature of that size to have such regenerative ability.
'Well, it doesn't matter now.'
Yes, it was irrelevant whether the dragon regenerated or not.
Because Harley…
Was finally at its heart.