Chapter 289

The flames Kongsami shot out struck Docheol, and immediately after, Shadow Thief mimicked my Art Formula and poured Curses upon Docheol.

But it was useless.

The scales of Docheol, who had become a complete dragon, were completely deflecting the attacks as if they were armor.

Cheong Joohwa fired special Talismans and Arietta threw Cursed Tools meant for throwing, but the results weren’t much different.

“Not even a scratch….”

“Ordinary attacks won’t mean anything anymore.”

Not only that. The power of the attacks Docheol had been lightly firing since a moment ago was nothing ordinary.

Because of that, for a very brief moment, a subtle standoff between us continued.

Within that, I realized the creature’s scheme and quickly heightened the group’s alertness.

“Its actions are passive. It must still be affected by the wounds it received earlier and is clearly buying time to heal.”

“…That makes sense. Oppa is probably right.”

Then, it was Kwimae, who had been staying a step back from the fight until now, who stepped forward.

“It seems my time to act has come.”

Kwimae fanned a folding fan she had produced from somewhere, continuously reciting some kind of Jooeon. Astonishingly, as she did, her appearance, which had been that of a young black-haired girl, transformed into a mature white-haired woman.

“Docheol, we must finish our unfinished match, mustn’t we?”

[Do you think you can stop me now?!]

Kwa-rur-rung—!

A red lightning bolt that made one’s flesh crawl just by looking at it shot towards Kwimae, but for some reason, using some kind of Art, it all veered away from her at close range.

Immediately after, a mist imbued with the Power of Illusion filled the area around Docheol.

[Pathetic trickery!]

As Docheol released its power, the mist lost form and dissipated. Seizing that opening, Kwimae caused mysterious flowers to bloom from the ground, sending sparkling powder into the air above.

Furthermore, Hochoong, who had been watching, assisted by firing a dazzling light, quickly disorienting Docheol’s eyes.

[This is….]

Docheol, its body touched by the powder, flinched and writhed in agony. Soon, it borrowed the power of Natural Qi to summon a whirlwind, blowing it all away.

“…As expected, it’s not easy. I didn’t think the power I had hidden would only be this much.”

True to the epithet of being versed in the Thousand Arts, Kwimae tormented Docheol with various Cursed Techniques. Unfortunately, however, it seemed a distant prospect to inflict effective damage.

Seizing a moment’s respite, Docheol let out a roar. The ground split, and hot steam began to envelop us.

Kwa-deu-deudeuk!

Pshhhiiik—!

“Wall of Azure Heavens!”

“Dragon’s Forest World!”

Each member of the group used their respective Defensive Spells to barely block it. I changed the enhancement target of Dark Noon’s Mist Veil to Black Yin and Shadow Thief, borrowed wings, and flew up into the sky.

[A futile endeavor.]

“Isn’t that for you to decide?”

The moment my words ended, Seo Jian, who had drawn Natural Qi from deep within the ground, created a massive Water Dragon and shot it at Docheol.

Simultaneously, Arietta summoned the downpour of Blood Needles she had shown in the previous fight with Bikang, and Sophia, who had drawn up a monstrous level of Spiritual Power, deployed a Grand Attack Spell.

“Blood Rain.”

“Heavenly Thousand Rotation Wave!”

A truly unprecedented storm of consecutive attacks.

Even Docheol had no choice but to repeatedly defend against the attacks flying in one after another without a moment’s respite.

Puh-buh-buh-buhk!

Jjeo-eong!

A few streams of Blood Needles that couldn’t be blocked in time struck Docheol’s scales, followed by the impact of the Heavenly Thousand Rotation Wave digging in.

Aiming at Docheol, which staggered momentarily from the blow, I drove in Hectail’s Grand Art, Death Transcending Wheel.

Pa-seu-seu-seuk!

[Kheuhk!]

Clearly, an equal fight was taking place. However, even after attacks poured with full Spiritual Power, Docheol showed little sign of falling.

Its extraordinary defensive power and recovery ability were offsetting most of the damage we inflicted.

‘…This isn’t good.’

Except for Sophia, who possessed an immense innate amount of Spiritual Power, the rest of the group would inevitably continue to tire as the battle dragged on.

Especially in a situation like now where ordinary Cursed Techniques were ineffective, it was no exaggeration to say we were forced into enormous energy consumption.

We needed some means to definitively, effectively bring Docheol to its knees.

“Truly the foremost among the Nine Children of the Dragon. To think a fight without being pushed back against opponents of this caliber was possible.”

Kwimae made an expression of disbelief mixed with exasperation, then smiled faintly and provided a clue to the somewhat weary group.

“Current Docheol is in a state where the essence of its existence is mixed, neither one thing nor the other. It’s hard to see it as having achieved a perfect balance of power.”

Even so, Docheol was strong. Frankly, if its own power was this formidable, it wouldn’t matter what happened.

However, from those words, I too could infer one possibility.

“Does that mean there might be a weak point somewhere?”

“That’s right, Oppa. Its defense is absurd, but when I tested it earlier, there was definitely a suspicious part.”

No wonder she had been bothering Docheol with various Arts, knowing they couldn’t be fatal. It seemed Kwimae had been keeping that part in mind from the beginning.

And then Kwimae, pointing to the back of Docheol’s head, continued.

“Though very small… current Docheol has a Reverse Scale. If we accurately strike that part, we might be able to greatly diminish its power.”

In any case, in this situation, it’s difficult to decide the outcome through ordinary offense and defense.

We nodded and shifted our gaze back to Docheol, who was preparing another fierce attack.

“Patrons, I will create the opportunity.”

“I’ll help too, so just focus on seizing the moment.”

Hochoong and Kwimae coordinated and slowly began to time their move. I also borrowed Black Yin’s wings again, flying into the air and closing the distance.

[Pathetic!]

Docheol once again dyed the sky dark and summoned red lightning, but Azure Dragon desperately suppressed it.

[…I leave the rest to you.]

Soon, Azure Dragon, having exhausted its strength, returned to the Cheongsimok. The group did not miss that momentary opening.

Chwa-ra-rak!

Kwimae’s unfolded fan once again changed the flow of the atmosphere, driving away all the dark clouds Docheol had summoned.

Simultaneously, Hochoong also poured his full strength into deploying his unique Binding Art.

Hoo-woong.

“Curse Demon Heaven Formation.”

Like before, streams of light flowing along the ground bound Docheol’s body.

Docheol writhed, trying to break free, but even in its now stronger state, it didn’t look easy.

[Khuk… Truly a powerful Art. To think a Taoist Master of this caliber exists in this era besides Seo Cheonye.]

As if unable to believe its movements were restricted even momentarily while in dragon form, Docheol let out a scoff of disbelief.

And seizing that opening, those with free hands all aimed for Docheol’s Reverse Scale.

‘The back of the head… it’s definitely there.’

Cheong Joohwa poured out consecutive Advanced Arts to draw its attention, and Yoo Haon prepared a strike imbued with the Power of Demon Slaying.

Moreover, even Sophia began deploying another Grand Art, so even the mighty Docheol became wary and coiled its body tightly, crouching.

‘…Death Transcending Wheel is ambiguous for this.’

Docheol’s Reverse Scale was about the size of a finger segment. For targeting such an extremely small area, Hectail’s Art, Death Transcending Wheel, wasn’t efficient.

With Black Yin’s help, I continued to close in, holding a different kind of Jooeon on my lips than before.

[Useless effort!]

As Docheol roared, filled with Spectral Energy, heaven and earth shook.

An intense shock that made internal organs tremble and ears feel like going deaf. But even that couldn’t stop us, each having reached a certain realm.

“Now, Oppa!”

As Han Seoa concentrated her mind and deployed an Art Formula, the scales covering the area near the Reverse Scale transformed into numerous butterflies and vanished.

And right there, Seo Jian’s Water Spear and Sophia’s Heavenly Thousand Rotation Wave struck directly.

Kwa-ga-gak!

Jjeo-jeo-jeo-jeok—!

[Kheuuhk—!]

A slightly wider area of scales was torn off, and for a moment, Docheol writhed violently.

It had failed to withstand the power of the repeated attacks, and its defensive posture crumbled.

Immediately after, Yoo Haon’s follow-up strike flew in.

“Trust Shattering Shade!”

Jjeo-eo-eong!

[Kheuhk!]

A Grand Art filled with the Power of Demon Slaying—even for Docheol, properly enduring it in a state of broken defense was a distant hope.

Yoo Haon’s Trust Shattering Shade accurately struck the area near Docheol’s Reverse Scale, and in my vision, I clearly captured the crack forming on the Reverse Scale.

‘Now…!’

There was no room for hesitation.

Focusing all my strength and spirit, I immediately finished reciting the Incantation, completing one Grand Art.

“Great Thunderclap Strike.”

The Art Formula used by Shin Noeul, Unit Leader of Jeokhwadan, a precise Offensive Spell capable of effectively striking an exact point.

A Spear of Spiritual Power, floating about ten meters in the air, strikes Docheol’s Reverse Scale in a form resembling a lightning strike.

Ping!

Kwa-deu-deu-deuk—!

[Kraaaaah!]

Perhaps because my level had risen, its power was far stronger than Shin Noeul’s. The already cracked Reverse Scale shattered completely, and Docheol let out a pained groan.

Docheol, beginning to plummet to the ground, couldn’t regain its momentum and collided with the earth with a great sound.

Kwa-aaang!

Pshhhik.

Billowing clouds of dust and turbid Spectral Energy beginning to erupt in all directions.

And within that, Docheol, catching its breath, had already shed its majestic dragon form and reverted to the Horned Specter form we had seen at the very beginning.

“…Kheuk, kheuhk.”

It was such a tenacious, powerful foe that we couldn’t let our guard down, but its pained expression didn’t feel false.

As Kwimae predicted, Docheol’s power had not yet overcome its instability.

“It seems the match is decided.”

“Ridiculous… talk!”

Docheol, veins bulging, rose to its feet again, but the imposing majesty from before was gone.

At the very least, it wasn’t enough to face all of us who still had strength left.

“Why don’t you give up now? You lost, Docheol.”

Kwimae, having returned to her young girl form, smiled faintly. Hochoong also approached nearby, taking a vigilant stance to prevent Docheol from doing anything reckless.

Docheol remained silent, as if unwilling to admit defeat to the end, but it felt like it had at least realized in its mind that there was no hope.

“Since we have won, we must receive our due.”

“Do you mean to mock me, a mere human? I have no attachment to life, so kill me now.”

But we couldn’t do that. We had made a promise with the people of the Pyeong Clan.

“Does a method exist to undo the Specter Transformation of Pyeong Eunha, which you orchestrated?”

Docheol seemed reluctant to answer, but sensing something questionable in the situation, it soon opened its mouth and spoke briefly.

“Pyeong Eunha, you mean the girl you stole away. But I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s what I want to ask. What do you mean by ‘a method to undo Specter Transformation’?”

Frowning, about to retort at those words, I felt, for a brief instant, an indescribable sense of foreboding.

And shaking it off with effort, I opened my mouth again to ask a question.