Chapter 357

〈Chapter 357〉 Part 1, Chapter 15

Nucleon.

This monster, whose name reeks of radiation from the get-go, grew by devouring fuel rods in a secret underground facility beneath Pyongyang that housed nuclear reactors.

– “Using cubes as a power source to infinitely replicate nuclear missiles.”

Though technically flawed in many aspects, the cube made it possible, and the crudely crafted nuclear missiles were nearly infinitely replicated through the cube’s power.

Then, out of all things, a single monster burst into the research facility, devouring all the researchers and people inside.

The problem? The researchers had sealed off all barriers. Too dumb to escape, the monster ended up eating everything inside until there was nothing left.

All the nuclear fuel rods…

And then it ate the cube too, swelling in size as Nucleon continued to grow—

Gurgle.

It let out a burp.

Radioactive gas seeped from its mouth as they attempted to bury the research facility with bombs, intending to entomb it deep underground.

BOOM.

That was the full story behind the Pyongyang Incident.

Though buried underground, Nucleon remained surrounded by an abundance of nuclear waste and radioactive materials.

Even if it woke up now, there’d be enough to last it till late 2025—and it happily devoured anyone who came to kill it until its belly was full.

Satisfied, Nucleon fell back asleep underground.

Around eight years later, when fresh magical energy began flowing on the surface, Nucleon broke through the ceiling and bit down.

Eat.

What rolled around filled with massive magical energy wasn’t a monster or hero but Phoenix’s ultimate technique.

WHOOSH.

Though it carried the essence of a nuclear explosion, this was an incredibly pure flame. The blazing fire left Nucleon utterly baffled.

Glup.

BOOM.

A magical nuclear explosion erupted inside Nucleon, signaling the start of the Nucleon Raid.

* * *

Nucleon let out a loud roar: “WAAAAH!”

Contrasting its adorable cries which assaulted human hearts, beams of laser filled with radiation shot out of its mouth.

PABAAK!!

Laser beams colored like fluorescent green substances fired in all directions. My raid members and I dodged them from our respective positions.

First Pattern: Laser Barrage.

[If you get hit, you’re instantly fried! Dodge at all costs!]

The spirits followed my warning, focusing solely on evasion. Surrounding Nucleon placed at the center of the battlefield, we each stayed within our own zones, dodging lasers.

PSSHH!

One laser grazed my wing. Fortunately, it didn’t damage it, but the moment it touched the ice wall, it exploded.

FSSHUUU—

The ice wall started melting away. Bubbling and boiling like a powerful acid, the magic-based barrier quickly dissolved.

“Hey! Are you sure this is safe?!”

From my right flank, Seok Harang shouted while deflecting lasers with a spherical protective shield. Abandoning evasion, Seok Harang created a brute-force protective barrier in front of her. The lasers bounced off the shield, splashing everywhere upon hitting it, and melted the barrier wherever they landed.

[Relax! You’re fine! Don’t whine over something this trivial!]

This is just the first pattern. The main event hasn’t even begun yet.

CHURR, CHURR.

Nucleon perked its ears and looked around. Despite tearing up and coughing continuously, it spat out blood laced with radiation every time.

“This guy’s nasty.”

While firing cannons mid-flip, Hwanryong grimaced at me from my left flank.

“You’ve always been heartless, even when fighting chaos. Don’t you have any humanity?”

[Looks can be deceiving, right? This is the apex of all monsters, the sole king!]

“But still!!”

Thanks to possessing Xiaolin, Hwanryong knows exactly what I’ve done. While dodging lasers by flying around, he refrained from attacking.

“Too cruel!”

[It’s because this thing eats anything that it’s suffering!]

GURGLE.

Nucleon vomited out glowing green substance from its mouth. The puddle of glowing goo on the floor had faint blue flames licking at it.

Dottem.

My Chang-yeom doesn’t extinguish until the enemy is completely dead. To put it out, either kill me, suppress it with stronger magic, or cut off the flesh.

“He’ll keep burning from the inside until he dies!”

[I used the ultimate skill for that very reason!]

Nucleon was burning from the inside. Its tough exterior resisted even Seok Harang’s Ice Lance without a scratch.

[We just need to buy time! So don’t attack!]

“…I simply cannot sit idly by!”

From the opposite side intercepting green lasers with arrows, Karna finally snapped.

“I do not have the patience for such time-wasting! And how can we wait for our own destruction against such a formidable foe?”

[Huh?!]

“Brahmasutra!”

Karna climbed the ice wall, ran across the ceiling, and pulled back his bowstring with Vijaya aimed downward.

PABAAK!!

A thick golden beam of light shot from the ceiling toward Nucleon’s upper body. As if trying to deliver a swift death and reduce its suffering, Karna aimed the arrow of light straight at where the beast’s heart—or core—would likely be.

PAKANG!!

“What?!”

Karna’s Brahmasutra grazed Nucleon’s emerald-green skin and embedded itself into the ground. It triggered a massive explosion.

BOOM.

Nucleon casually grabbed the Brahmasutra under its paw like squishing a bug. Despite the huge explosion beneath its paw, Nucleon pressed down and extinguished it as though pressing out a cigarette butt.

Then Nucleon lifted its head skyward.

“Oh no—”

Karna was mid-air after kicking off the ceiling and falling due to gravity when Nucleon began gathering an enormous amount of mana in its mouth.

[Crap.]

I flapped my wings, flew towards Karna, and snatched him around the waist. In my desperate attempt to change direction, one of the radioactive lasers pierced the tip of my wing.

“Phoenix!”

[Breath incoming!]

Nucleon held the breath in its mouth, swirling it around like gargling. My heart sank.

‘Who’s it targeting?’

Three possible directions:

Me and Karna ahead, Hwanryong who moved to the rear, or Seok Harang standing still with her protective shield up.

[Seok Harang, dodge!!]

“Ugh!”

Seok Harang dropped her shield and hastily moved, but starting from a standstill, she wasn’t fast enough.

CHURRRR.

Nucleon turned its head toward Seok Harang,

GOOOOAAAAAAHHH——!!!

With a roaring sound, a green, glowing breath attack erupted. Just in case anyone forgot this was a radioactive monster, the breath shot out in the shape of a radiation symbol.

And right in the middle of its path was Seok Harang.

“KYAAAHH!!”

Seok Harang screamed but instinctively gathered mana in front of her. An icy crystalline barrier blocked the breath’s trajectory, but the impact sent her crashing into her own barrier.

“GHRAUGH!”

Seok Harang’s mana greatly fluctuated. The traces of mana escaping between her clenched teeth indicated she’d taken significant damage from the breath.

CHURR.

But Nucleon also coughed. The radiation it exhaled still carried remnants of my Chang-yeom, and its fur was gradually turning cyan.

“Urgh, this hurts so much!!”

Seok Harang unleashed her mana after collecting it, shattering her protective barrier. Spreading her butterfly wings as wide as possible, she instantly created hundreds of icicles.

[Of course, getting hit wakes you up.]

No matter how cute a puppy may be, once it bites someone, it becomes a mad dog. And if that someone happens to be you, the mad dog becomes a bastard dog.

And as with all dragon beasts, the brief moment after releasing a breath attack is the perfect opportunity to deal damage.

[Now! All-out attack!]

Seok Harang’s attack served as the trigger, and the other spirits didn’t miss their chance.

SLASH!

Hwanryong dashed to Nucleon’s feet and swung her crescent blade widely. A gray blade sliced through Nucleon’s Achilles tendon.

WHOOSH!

Simultaneously, a geyser of green blood erupted. Filled with all kinds of radioactive contaminants, Hwanryong panicked and transformed her body into a spirit form.

PABAAK.

The widely sprayed blood melted the entire ground. In her spiritual state, Hwanryong disengaged, and I threw Karna to the opposite side.

“Brahmasutra!”

Just like his initial approach, Karna crossed the ceiling while lowering Vijaya downwards.

Apparently, his pride was deeply wounded when his signature move was brushed aside with a mere kick. He imbued even more mana into the arrow this time and fired it.

PABAAK!

Golden lasers rained down on Nucleon’s back like a torrential downpour. Karna kept firing arrows even as he descended in a parabolic arc to the ground, pelting Nucleon’s legs with a hailstorm of arrows.

KWA-GWA-GWANG!

This time, Nucleon couldn’t smother the Brahmasutra. A chain of golden explosions erupted across its left half.

“It thought it was cute, so I spared it!”

Seok Harang slammed her raised arm down. Aligned ice spears pierced Nucleon from its head to its buttocks, and frost settled on Nucleon’s back.

CHURR, NYARR…!

Nucleon groaned with bloodshot eyes. Though not a fatal blow, it had taken hits from all sides.

Frost covered its back.

Bruises from explosions marked its left side.

Sharp cuts scarred the heel of its right foot.

And burns scorched its insides.

CHURRR!

Nucleon began thrashing around, rolling on the ground with its forelegs, and I took the chance to slip underneath it.

WHOOSH!

I set its abdomen ablaze. Blue flames erupted beneath its smooth hide, causing Nucleon to collapse as it tried to step forward.

KWAANG!

I pressed my gun against its belly and fired at point-blank range. Though not at ultimate skill level, the S-class monster-grade bullet managed to pierce Nucleon’s tough hide.

KAGA-GAK!

The explosive bullet lifted its belly dramatically, sparks flying as it detonated. I rode the blast wave to fly out from beneath its jaw.

KYAAAHHH!

Nucleon roared as it saw me slipping past beneath its head.

Burning must hurt the most compared to other pains, especially since its tough outer layer contrasts with its vulnerable innards being directly damaged by explosions.

[That’s why you shouldn’t eat everything indiscriminately.]

Having consumed humans, nuclear waste, and cubes, its appetite is far from ordinary.

CHERR—GULP

Even now, it’s opening its mouth wide to try and eat me.

[This guy has zero learning ability.]

Spraying radioactive mana merely by approaching and sleeping all day means it probably never fought before.

WHOOSH.

I severed my wings and plummeted to the ground. Nucleon foolishly swallowed only my fiery wings, and I channeled mana into one leg, propelling myself off the ground.

NYOONGH!

Despite its agony, Nucleon raised its foreleg. Its sharp claws aimed to slash me, and even a graze would surely tear my armor apart.

Too slow.

At this rate, I’ll get hit.

“Phoenix!”

Hwanryong materialized, holding me and disengaging from Nucleon at top speed. Thanks to her ramming-like carry, we gained some distance.

[Now!]

That brief moment gave me enough time to reconstruct my wings, allowing me to unfurl them just as Nucleon’s claw reached us, soaring into the air.

KWAAK!

Nucleon’s foreleg slashed through empty air, futilely pounding the ground. I hovered in midair with Hwanryong in my arms.

[Thanks.]

“Did I rescue you for nothing?”

[No. If I had countered, I’d definitely have been pinned to the ground and mounted.]

Thus, Hwanryong intervened perfectly. I held her and placed her on my shoulder.

[Still, capturing an SS-Rank monster with four of us is impressive.]

“This? It’s still standing on its own four legs.”

[Reaching this point in 30 minutes is remarkable. What comes next…]

KYAAAH!!

Nucleon screamed in pain, enveloping its entire body in mana. Emerald flames spiraled around its massive frame.

“That looks super unstable.”

[Don’t worry. Once this ends, Phase Two will begin immediately.]

“That makes it even more unsettling!!”

“Brahmasutra!!”

Karna fired another preemptive shot. The golden laser avoided the spiraling flames and aimed for Nucleon’s crown, but…

WHOOSH.

It got caught and dissipated within the swirling green flames surrounding Nucleon’s face. Karna fumed at his attack being thwarted again.

“Damn…! This won’t do, Phoenix! I’m using my ultimate!”

[Wait a bit. If we finish it now, we won’t get the core.]

If we come all the way here to Pyongyang and leave without a single core, it’d all be for nothing. I calmed Karna and reassured the spirits.

[Think of it like a shooting game. After all, this pattern is simple; it just charges straight.]

Pattern 3.

CHURR.

Charge.

[Does everyone like rodeos?]

WAAAAHHH!!

Nucleon, engulfed in flames, began charging.