She seemed to be thinking about something for a moment, but finally, she nodded with a difficult expression.
"…I knew that this would be the case. Right now, if there is indeed a guardian in this labyrinth…it could only be my father."
"Are you sure that you are okay with this?"
Lilith nodded.
"…This is a holy ritual. Long ago, father even killed a guardian. And now, he too wishes to be slain by someone who is younger."
Good…I think, as I crack my neck, side-to-side.
With my ax in hand, I boldly move forward.
The black monoliths that stood in a circle—the moment that I entered it, it happened.
—Dragon Breath.
The scorching flames rushed towards me, but I ignored them as I continued to dash in the direction of the golden dragon.
My abnormal numbers in magic.
It transformed into a magical barrier, automatically creating a thin, light veil around my body.
As the dragon's breath used magic and MP as it's source, it could not deal any critical damage towards me.
The breath stops.
We were now less than 10 meters apart.
For a moment, the dragon looked a little surprised that I was unhurt, but then he laughed happily.
And then he spun without warning, like a spinning top.
His five-meter long tail swung towards me.
–It was fast.
But not so fast that I couldn't see it coming.
I twist away and dodge the attack.
There was the slightest scrape on the side of my stomach, but otherwise, I had evaded the tail.
Now, my turn…I think as I swing the ax down towards the joint between the dragon’s shoulder and its wing.
Bull's eye.
And then, the dull impact reverberates in my hands.
—it was hard.
But, it was not impenetrable either.
There were small streams of blood running from the dragon's wing. And blood was spraying all over my face like paint.
In the same position, the dragon spun like a top yet again.
His arm…no, front leg? Ah, it didn't matter which.
But it came rushing forward to smash me in the face with its claws.
Claangg! The sound of metal echoed in the chamber.
The attack was blocked by my ax, but the impact was so strong that it threw me into the air.
I flew for a few seconds before landing, sliding on the ground to kill the momentum.
And then I nodded with satisfaction.
—He was strong.
But, not so strong that I could not defeat him.
The experience points that I had farmed in this labyrinth were my nourishment.
I took countless lives, and they became part of my flesh and blood.
I laugh without fear, and the dragon too laughed happily.
And just like that, I once again charged to attack.
Claws clashed against ax.
I evaded the tail. And the dragon too avoided my ax.
His giant maw opened, exposing his deadly teeth.
Not wanting to allow him an opening, the Damascus Ax moves in.
The sounds of crashing metal continued, as did the cries of the air being cut.
—The strong pursue the strong.
For the first time, I felt like I could understand that sentiment.
The feeling of wanting to confirm just how strong you have become.
The reason that dragons held such combat to be something holy…part of me could understand it.
A match…it was the testing of power.
And the ultimate form of that was this ceremony for elder dragons. This match would turn into a death match.
It was a match for the dead, in order to decide who was worthy to live as the next generation.
And…I frowned.
After trading so many blows, I had come to a realization.
—He was strong…no, he was a little too strong. This was more than I had expected. This dragon who had raised Lilith, must be one of the strongest of the elder dragons.
In fact, with my current stats, I had predicted…that the dragon zombie would be easily overwhelmed by me.
However…things looked like they would only get worse for me if they continued like this.
My opponent had an undeniable experience in combat, and he was continuing to push me with true combat techniques.
On the other hand, I was quite hopelessly lacking in actual experience.
Eventually, I would commit a deadly error, he would take advantage of that mistake and press hard…and I would die.
It was the obvious outcome, if we just continued to strike at each other like this.
But, wait a moment. A smile cracks on my face.
It was still—not as if he was unbeatable.
If anything, it means that I can continue to fight like this for a while.
—Then….This victory would be mine.
I dodge the dragon's tail.
Quickly following, something moves over my head, just like a pigeon pecking at its food—the dragon's jaw comes down on top of me.
Accelerate.
I bound over to the side.
As if doing a sliding tackle, I skid across the ground and barely miss the fangs overhead.
—Skill: Iron Body Activate.
—Skill: Demon Gate Activate.
I had not activated these skills during the fight.
I had known that having the Physical Strength Boost x2 would have been more than enough to allow me to fight with the dragon. However, activating Iron Body and Demon Gate would not be enough with my real abilities.
However, in this specific moment.
If I used these two skills, at this moment alone, I would be able to move at a speed that greatly surpassed that of the dragons.
Accelerate.
Accelerate.
Accelerate.
And then, I move to the side of the dragon zombie.
To explain even further, this moment was a critical opening that was created right after the succession of attacks. In other words, it was the best possible timing.
—Here it is.
It's open body, defenseless and exposed.
I throw the ax to the side.
—Skill: Wrath of the Villagers Activate.
I concentrate all of my magical energy in the palms of my hand, then I turn them into fists.
—-If this wasn't enough… I don't even care!
"Goooooooooooooooo—!!!"
My deadly fists were charged with abnormal amounts of magic, and the attack landed as if being sucked into the dragon's stomach.