Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 132

Weapon-Devouring Bastard – Episode 132

Early the next morning, I headed to the innermost part of the island.

I double-checked the supplies I had prepared and cautiously advanced.

Unlike ordinary territories that exude pure, dense mana, contaminated territories like the Demon Islands emit twisted mana that is harmful to living beings.

Ordinary people can become ill or lose their minds simply by staying for a short time. Even warriors with insufficient training can suffer internal injuries or even die from using magic.

Tingle!

With each step I took deeper into the island, I felt like I was suffocating.

The air felt like needles pricking my skin.

Even though I was wearing Eunhan [protective gear] and refining the mana around me with magic, the effect of the contamination was still significant.

If I hadn’t nearly completed the fourth level of Shinma Magic [a powerful, self-developed magic technique], I might have suffered internal injuries myself.

‘I think I’m almost there.’

The scent of contaminated mana grew stronger.

If about half of the mana in the air was contaminated near the center, now it felt like at least 70 percent was.

I walked for quite a while after that.

I could have reached the innermost part in a few minutes if I had run at full speed, but I took each step carefully.

‘……What is this?’

As I walked, I discovered a strange structure in a corner of the innermost area.

A structure piled high with junk, trash, branches, and vines.

Among the debris, I could see things like iron bars and the remains of old wooden boats that seemed to have been used by people who lived on the Demon Island before the Great War.

‘Is it some kind of altar or something with a magical significance?’

It didn’t feel like that upon closer inspection.

What should I say?

It’s quite large, but if I had to describe it…

‘A bird’s nest?’

Near the structure, there were huge feathers scattered everywhere, far too large to belong to any ordinary creature.

‘That unidentified monster.’

I was certain.

The traces of a flying monster that I had only seen from afar.

But I had never seen feathers like this before.

I had memorized the characteristics of most monsters, but I had never seen or heard of a monster with such unique feathers.

‘……It might be a mutation or a new species. Either way, this is definitely its nest.’

I immediately turned around.

Now that I had confirmed where its lair was, it was time to check the lair of the other one.

-Krrr…

As I did, I sensed the sound of some creature’s breathing from afar.

I strengthened the aura of haze covering my whole body and walked towards it.

-Krrr…

There, a monster was lying on its belly, panting.

Unlike the other lower-grade Dragonkin who seemed somewhat degraded, this monster had the complete appearance of a dragon.

A huge lizard-like form with massive wings sprouting from its back.

Just breathing was enough to move the surrounding mana, and each scale looked thick and hard like armor.

A Rank 4 Dragonkin monster.

Red Dragon Brekia.

‘That’s where the island’s ley line is located.’

I was certain as soon as I saw where Brekia was sitting.

The contamination that had been getting stronger as I went deeper reached its peak the moment I arrived here.

Brekia was coiled up here, in the truest sense, at the very center of the island.

‘I thought the territory competition wasn’t over yet?’

I hid my presence as much as possible and examined it more closely.

Then, I suddenly noticed that Brekia’s breathing was strange.

‘Wait, is that a scar?’

On the side of its abdomen.

It was covering it with its wings as if to hide it, but I discovered a huge wound on Brekia’s abdomen.

‘Could it be that it won the territory competition?’

The empty nest, Brekia lying wounded in the center.

Moreover, I could see a structure like the bird’s nest I had seen earlier on the spot where Brekia was sitting.

It was shattered and scattered everywhere, but it was definitely the remains of that nest.

‘But I felt the presence of that flying monster just yesterday. It couldn’t have completely eaten or killed it. It just won the battle against another monster and drove it away.’

Originally, a Rank 4 monster was in that spot, and it seemed that Brekia had won the competition and driven out the other one.

So there was another nest that seemed to have been newly made outside.

Either way, it was good for me.

Since it was quite far away, I wouldn’t have to worry about another Rank 4 monster, and Brekia was even injured.

‘Then let’s get started.’

Swish-.

I drew Black Night [sword name] and transformed Mujin [weapon/skill name].

I took a step towards the open space.

-Kreung?

Brekia raised its head for a moment, but by then I had already moved to just under its chin.

Kiiiiing!

A heavy echo of aura.

Brekia hurriedly got up, but Mujin was already being swung.

Mujin Form 2, Black Lotus.

The black lotus blooming at the tip of the sword had blossomed.

Kwaaaang!

* * *

Rank 4 Dragonkin monster, Red Dragon Brekia.

The monster, no different from a Rank 4 boss monster, was much stronger than the four leader-level monsters in the center.

‘It blocked it!’

The moment I unleashed Black Lotus as a surprise attack, a storm of mana raged in front of Brekia.

Half of Black Lotus’s aura was caught in the storm of mana, reducing its power.

As soon as the surprise attack failed, I leaped backward.

-Krrr!

As if not allowing that, scorching heat spewed from Brekia’s wide-open mouth.

‘Breath!’

I was too close to evade.

I immediately raised Mujin, which had transformed into a shield, in front of me and drew up as much aura as possible.

Kwaaaang!

An intensely bright light burst out right in front of my eyes.

Even though I was blocking it with aura, I felt like my whole body was burning up.

In fact, the surface of the stone that the breath had brushed past melted and flowed down like ice.

I couldn’t keep blocking the breath like this.

I immediately grabbed Black Night, which I was holding in my other hand.

Breath was, after all, a form of magic unique to the Dragonkin.

And Black Night cuts through any magic.

Sgagaak!

In an instant, the scorching heat was split in half.

A very brief gap.

I didn’t miss that gap and kicked off the ground, escaping from the range of the breath.

But at that moment.

Hwaaaak!

I felt an ominous flow of mana behind me as I leaped.

The moment I looked behind me with the Magic Eye [ability to perceive magic], I was horrified.

‘It can even use primal magic?’

A method of magic unique to monsters, pouring out mana according to instinct rather than creating magic through formulas or calculations.

It had already prepared while I was blocking the breath.

And the primal magic that had already been charged was opening fire towards me.

Bang! Kwaaaang!

Dozens of mana bullets poured down like a downpour.

I gritted my teeth and focused solely on evasion, relying on my Magic Eye and intuition.

And as soon as the magic ended, Brekia approached in an instant, using its nearly 10-meter-tall body.

-Kuaaaang!

Spark!

Brekia’s claws and Mujin collided. Sparks flew as mana clashed.

Breath and primal magic when far away, and close-quarters combat using the Dragonkin’s unique strong physical abilities at close range.

Brekia was making the most of the Dragonkin’s strengths.

‘It doesn’t look like it’s injured at all!’

-Kareuk!

Kwarung!

Even as the close combat continued, primal magic poured down without a break.

Even though I found the location where the magic would fall in advance with the Magic Eye, I couldn’t create an opportunity because it rushed at me without giving me any room to dodge.

‘A little more……!’

I focused solely on evasion, scattering those attacks as much as possible.

Whether it was feeling anger at the human who had disturbed its rest in its territory, or whether it was feeling annoyed at this moment for not being able to deal with that one human.

Brekia was focused only on killing me, with its eyes turned upside down.

Kwang! Eudeudeuk!

The cliffs and trees in front of Brekia were not even obstacles.

Perhaps thinking that it couldn’t catch me escaping with magic and breath, Brekia rushed at me using only its body.

Kukung-.

Brekia, who leaped very lightly with its heavy body, drew an arc and fell in front of me.

‘Keuk!’

Kwaang!

I deflected Brekia’s forefoot and the mouth that it thrust out with Mujin and Black Night.

The moment I deflected the attack and tried to kick my body backward, its tail swung in from the side.

And I was slightly late in reacting and ended up allowing the attack.

I momentarily surrounded my aura with Eunhan to reduce the impact, but my body floated up and rolled across the ground several times.

-Kruaaaaak!

Brekia rushed in immediately as if it had no intention of stopping there.

“……Hoo.”

And I stopped running and slowly got up from my seat.

“It was hard to drag you here.”

I let the aura flow into the ground.

Brekia’s vertically torn eyes looked at the ground as if embarrassed.

Dark, muddy beads were scattered everywhere.

My hidden card that I had prepared, the Purification Bomb.

Deudeudeuk!

The moment my aura touched the Purification Bomb, it began to tremble as if it were a kettle boiling over.

And in an instant.

Kwaaaaaang!

Those dark, muddy beads all burst, emitting bright light.

* * *

The Purification Bomb is not actually a real bomb.

Of course, a slight explosion occurs due to the sulfur and nitric acid, but in fact, the lethality is almost non-existent, and the reason why those two materials are included is to affect a slightly wider range.

The effect of the Purification Bomb is not physical force, but purification as its name suggests.

To temporarily change the flow of twisted mana into a pure one.

It is also difficult to handle, so it is not something that can be used carelessly, but once it can be used, it has the effect of purifying the surrounding mana instantaneously.

The ingredients of the Purification Bomb were originally medicines used by the assault team when they had to camp in a dungeon or gate.

However, depending on how it is used, it can exert great utility in certain situations like this.

Right now.

-Kieeeeeek!

Brekia let out a terrible scream.

These monsters, which had been affected for a long time by the mana spewing out from the contaminated ley line, had no resistance to the flow of pure mana.

“Hoo…….”

On the contrary, I even felt a refreshing feeling as if the air had become fresher.

The dark, muddy mists that were all around were momentarily pushed away by the chemicals scattered around.

-Keureuk! Keureureureuk!

Brekia twisted its body, letting out a painful scream as if it had swallowed poison.

-Kruaaaaaang!

But Brekia glared at me with its eyes turned bright red and rushed at me again.

Although it was affected by the Purification Bomb, Brekia was also a proper Rank 4 monster.

I didn’t expect that such a strong monster would fall with just this one blow.

But it had weakened.

That alone was important to me.

Woooooong!