Episode 111 Dragon Hunt (3)
Just as he began to burrow into the Mad Dragon's body,
Harley realized that this task was much more difficult than he thought.
The fact that he couldn't breathe for long periods of time wasn't a problem for him, but this hostile space itself was a huge obstacle.
Crackle!
He endured the pressure of the muscles squeezing him from all directions and diligently moved forward, constantly moving his mouth and chewing.
If he stopped eating for even a moment, he would be pushed back out.
'I knew it wasn't just about suppressing its regenerative ability, but isn't this too much?'
The area Harley directly bit into had a significantly reduced recovery rate, creating an opening, but it was different for other areas.
As it became difficult to directly regenerate the damaged area, the dragon was trying to fill the empty space by proliferating and pushing out healthy tissue like cancer cells.
It was something only the Mad Dragon, which could no longer be considered an ordinary creature, could do.
Of course, its speed was slower than normal regeneration, so he could slowly move forward by eating the flesh with "Voracity"…
'Does it make sense to be able to freely expand and change your body like this? Where are the laws of physics?!'
Harley grumbled inwardly and continued to dig a tunnel with his transformed mouth and saw-like teeth.
His body, which was over three meters tall, was also compressed to its limit for smoother excavation.
And as he was diligently moving his body, complaining shamelessly,
Rumble—!
A shockwave, he didn't know how many times it had happened, shook his body.
A high-density magic power wave, generated directly inside the Mad Dragon's body, was trying to crush his entire body with murderous intent.
Crack! Crack!
It was different from when he endured it outside before.
This time, the source was all around him, and the distance wasn't just close.
The horrifying pressure, indiscriminately unleashed to eliminate the intruder, was enough to turn him into a puddle of blood.
At the Mad Dragon's will to eliminate the intruder by any means, Harley…
Munch, munch!
Just diligently moved his mouth and recovered his body.
'It knows it's useless. How persistent.'
It was a much stronger attack than what he experienced outside, but the damage he received was no different.
In other words, it was a trivial injury that he could fully recover from.
The reason was his changed appearance, more precisely, his skin.
'The Mad Dragon's scales are more effective than I thought. The magic resistance is beyond imagination.'
His transformed mouth and hooked claws were the same as before, but dark red scales now covered his entire body.
He was no longer in a form that could be called human.
Thanks to consuming a large amount of scales before entering, they were more complete than when they were first created.
'If it hadn't been for this, I would have had to give up and dismiss myself.'
Thanks to the dramatically increased defense from the Mad Dragon's scales, he was able to get this far with only minor injuries like broken bones, burst blood vessels, and crushed internal organs.
If it hadn't been for that, his recovery speed wouldn't have been able to keep up with the rate of destruction, and he would have had to dismiss himself in a near-death state.
'But not now.'
Not only was he able to acquire energy faster thanks to the increased efficiency of "Voracity", but he could now directly absorb the dragon's 'regenerative ability'.
With the best tonic, dragon meat, he could easily shake off these injuries!
As Harley diligently moved his jaw, his body, which had been damaged from prolonged exposure to hostile magic power, quickly recovered.
And it finally reached a critical point.
《The individual's recovery ability has surpassed its limit. The skill "Regeneration" evolves into "Super Regeneration".》
Harley's regenerative ability finally leveled up after constantly stealing the Mad Dragon's 'regenerative ability'.
'Oh— good. I expected this to happen, but finally!'
He could immediately feel the effect of "Super Regeneration" in his body.
His flesh was still being squeezed from all directions, and the magic power waves continued relentlessly, but…
His body recovered much faster than before, and that led to increased work efficiency.
Crack— Crunch!
It was a shame that he couldn't express his joy with a hearty laugh because he was busy eating.
And the good news didn't end there—.
'…I finally, arrived!'
Harley finally faced it.
Thump—! Thump—!
The 'Mad Dragon's Heart', beating violently.
It took a long time because of the dragon's desperate interference, but the distance he traveled wasn't that great.
It only took less than ten minutes.
'That's…'
Harley looked at the dragon's heart, which was as big as his upper body… more precisely, at the crystal that was fused to one side of it and emitting a faint red light.
It was the source of the dragon's power and a treasure that was even called the ultimate magic stone.
The Dragon Heart.
But…
'I roughly expected it, but I can't use this as a medium.'
Actually, he hadn't decided on how to handle the Dragon Heart.
He was leaning towards using it for Harley's growth, but the new avatar that would be born using it as a medium was also very appealing.
But he immediately realized it after seeing it in person.
'…The skill isn't reacting. Is it because it's contaminated by the abyss's madness?'
He couldn't use this Mad Dragon's Dragon Heart as a sacrifice for "Customization".
'The magic power inside is completely mixed with madness and transformed. This isn't a Dragon Heart, but rather… the essence of a completely different, independent 'monster of madness'.'
And for some reason, it was connected to the madness dwelling in the dragon's entire body, as if roots were spreading from it.
It was a much more advanced method than what he had seen in the monsters so far.
'…Is it controlling the madness throughout its body from the center, using the heart as a medium?'
As expected of a dragon.
Even while consumed by madness, it had devised its own method to use it efficiently.
'Oh, this seems quite useful.'
And it wasn't bad news for Harley either.
After all, it would all become his, wouldn't it?
Harley grinned ferociously and crawled towards the heart, extending his hand.
Thump—! Thump—!
The heart started to beat even more violently, as if sensing danger.
At the same time, horrifying magic power and madness mixed together and erupted like a storm, but…
"Kkahahahat! You're quite a handful! Quietly become one with this body!"
He ignored the burden on his body and opened his mouth wide, biting into the transformed Dragon Heart.
And at the same time,
The 'madness' that had spread throughout the Mad Dragon Heratos…
Was slowly being ripped out, as if being pulled out by the roots, by "Voracity".
______________________
[Kuhurk—!]
Boom—!
The Mad Dragon, which had been struggling even while recovering from the fatal wound on its neck, suddenly froze and collapsed on the ground.
The reason was obvious.
Harley, who had invaded its body, was devouring its heart, so it was only natural.
It didn't die instantly because of its inherent life force, but its life was practically hanging by a thread.
And next to the incapacitated Mad Dragon,
"Oh… If it's now…?"
Heinz, who had appeared silently, looked at the writhing dragon with sparkling eyes.
The madness contained in its body was controlled by its heart, and Harley was currently absorbing it through that.
Like pulling out sweet potatoes… no, like slurping down long noodles.
Whoosh!
Heinz's hand swung lightly, and the Mad Dragon's neck was severed, spraying blood.
The wound was deeper than before because of its weakened defenses.
"Its regenerative ability… has also decreased. Significantly."
But that wasn't important right now.
There was something he had to confirm urgently.
Heinz carefully dipped his fingertip in the dragon's blood and brought it to his mouth.
"Hmm."
And after a moment, a satisfied smile slowly spread across his lips.
His fangs had already elongated, pleased with the exquisite dragon blood.
'I need Harley's cooperation, but that's nothing.'
The purified blood Heinz drank was carefully prepared by Harley, who was controlling the madness from the heart.
He had filtered the blood flowing to the neck wound several times to provide the cleanest blood possible.
Of course, it was impossible to completely remove the madness even with that effort…
"Tsk."
It wasn't completely tainted like before, so it was just an impurity that Heinz, who had already surpassed the level of a True Blood, could easily filter out.
[Ah… Aaaah—!]
At that moment, a dying voice echoed softly.
Dragon Heratos, now free from madness, gasped for breath and looked around with only his eyes.
[Why am I… And the Immortal King is resurrected…? And you guys are…?]
He rambled, seemingly confused by the current situation, as if he hadn't lost the memories of when he was consumed by madness.
Heinz didn't answer and just sank his fangs into the wound on his neck, ignoring his last questions before death.
'I should eat my fill after a long time.'
He had consumed a lot of the blood he had stored, so he was going to eat his fill this time.
There were no physical limitations when it came to blood.
[Aah… The Immortal King… has returned. What should we do with this world…]
Heratos's muttering gradually faded.
He felt sorry for him, facing death, but he still had no intention of answering.
'It's better to keep my mouth shut in case I accidentally reveal information.'
Who knows?
He might be resurrected in another body, reincarnated, or even regress to the past.
[…Immortal King…]
As he was thinking that, Heratos's gaze turned to Hans, who was floating in the sky, quietly looking down at them.
The Red Dragon looked at him with a complex expression…
…And then quietly breathed his last, his eyes still fixed on Hans.
'Is he worried about the Immortal King? He seems to have a lot of regrets.'
It was understandable, considering how he reacted when he first encountered Hans and the relationship between the Immortal Kings and dragons throughout history.
'But this generation's Immortal King has no intention of destroying the world, so I hope he rests in peace.'
He wished he knew that he was actually working hard to protect the world.
If it hadn't been for him, wouldn't the Mad Dragon have become another calamity for the continent?
[Hehehe, the bones are very strong, perhaps because of the madness. It'll be good material.]
So don't feel too wronged if I use your bones.
'Ah, and the blood, horns, and scales…'
Anyway, he would use them for good, so he would understand.
_______________________________
"Whew—"
Harley curled up with his eyes closed.
White steam continuously erupted from his body, which was burning hot.
His muscles bulged and contracted on their own, and the sounds of bones twisting and flesh tearing could be heard endlessly.
It was on a different level from the evolution he had gone through so far.
It would have been a great burden on his body just to accept the dragon's genes, but he had absorbed the madness he had extracted from the Mad Dragon, so it was only natural.
It far exceeded the amount he had accumulated while hunting the Twin Head Ogre and tried to consume him.
'It's too much to control. …I need to use the method that was engraved on the Dragon Heart.'
He started to weave the madness that filled his body.
Just like the Mad Dragon had controlled the madness by spreading its roots throughout its body, Harley carefully laid out circuits for the madness to flow through his body.
And finally,
《The individual's race has been changed to 'Dragonborn (Hybrid)'. You have acquired the special skill "Mad Dragon's Heart".》
《The individual meets the conditions and grows. The skill "Gem Eye: Telekinesis" evolves into the special skill "Gem Eye: Coercion".》
《The individual gains enlightenment through meeting the conditions. You have acquired the special skill "Madness Control".》
Crack! Crack!
Whoosh—!
The evolution of his body, which he had already experienced several times.
The quality… no, the level of the elements that made up Harley, including his muscles and bones, increased dramatically to match the change.
"Haa—"
He slowly opened his eyes, and red and green lights erupted from the darkness, illuminating the surroundings.
His two eyes, with vertically slit pupils, calmly observed the surroundings.
The place where the dragon that had lived for a long time died.
A new Dragonborn opened his eyes from the dragon's body.