Chapter 273

Light.


And heat.


Monsters shouldn’t have attributes, but if you had to force it, the attributes of the Bimoa in front of you were exactly these two.

Just by looking at it, it didn’t seem like it would be good at close combat, and in reality, that seemed to be its weakness. The monster was wary of the dragon getting close, and whenever it tried to close the distance, it responded with a barrage of light beams. The endless barrage made it impossible to approach.

*Ping!*

A beam of light grazed the dragon’s shoulder, and Azahadaka flinched. The more Bimoa’s light beams concentrated, the stronger they became, and if dispersed like a curtain, their power weakened. But the condensed beam was strong enough to burn even a dragon.

Even though it didn’t directly hit and only grazed by, the shoulder burned with pain. And this wasn’t even a special technique—it was just a normal attack, fired dozens of times a minute. But in other words, that was all it had. This monster hadn’t shown any other abilities so far.

Where did the terror of the Demon King Grimudo come from? It came from his endless capabilities. On top of his exceptional Power Techniques, he possessed a multitude of skills that, even just one, would make him a ruler of an era. No one knew the limits of his power.

Mental techniques. Refinement methods. Masterful magic. And boundless magical power…


Even if you managed to counter one, it would mean nothing. Sealing one strength wouldn’t diminish the rest, making him impossible to deal with.

Of course, this monster, Bimoa, was clearly different from the Demon King. But the dragon started to feel something familiar, and it knew exactly what that feeling was.

It was the same feeling it had just a few days ago! A sense of utter helplessness, unbecoming of a dragon that prided itself as the ruler of all creatures, began to rise.

-You’re a Black Dragon who controls darkness, right? Isn’t light your weakness? Why are you being pushed back like this?


[It’s different! If it looks so easy, why don’t you fight it yourself!]

You couldn’t even call it versatile. This monster just kept shooting, shooting, and shooting. But that was enough!

It only had one pattern, but there was no way to counter it. The sheer gap in power made it impossible to break through.

*Kyaak!*

While the dragon was busy dodging beams, the half-dragon girl resting on its back suddenly let out a guttural roar. The Dragon Breath, an evolution chosen by the dragon to kill dragons, shot out a clump of pitch-black darkness.

Wherever it passed, the world was dyed in darkness, and even the stars lost their light. All light along its path was extinguished, leaving a line of black darkness.

In the face of this terrifying march of darkness, Bimoa neither flinched nor showed fear. It simply gathered more light in its eyes and released it. The beam and the clump of darkness collided, neither gaining ground, and both dissipated.

“This can’t be…! How… how…?”

Yanid nearly collapsed in shock for the first time. Her face turned pale, and her words stuttered.

Bimoa’s beam had been blocked for the first time, but there was no joy. Instead, fear rose in her heart.

The dragon had never been disappointed by the power of its breath before. What had once instantly killed the renowned monster Griffin?

Although it had been blocked once by Epirna, she had been visibly exhausted afterward. This time, however, the breath, unleashed with full power, was merely canceled out by a beam. There was clearly something wrong with the power of that beam. How could it fire such powerful attacks every second? Is this even possible?

[At this rate, we have no chance! But if we attack together, it’s different. What are you hesitating for? Everyone, move out! Now!]

Now it was clear what it meant to say that strategy and tactics are meaningless in the face of overwhelming power. If we could just break through that one beam, we could defeat Bimoa, but the difficulty of that alone was astronomical. Still, if we attacked together, there was a chance.

[That thing only has one eye! No matter how fast it moves its eyeball, it can only shoot one beam at a time! If we attack from all sides, we can take it down!]


“That makes sense!”

Yanid spread her wings and flew up. No matter how you thought about it, there was no flaw in the logic. The dragon’s big head wasn’t just for show. Even while being chased by beams, it had figured out Bimoa’s weakness…

-If we attack from all sides, we have a chance!

Oberta also cheered and flew up. As a spirit, most physical attacks didn’t affect her, but Bimoa’s beams contained immense magical power. If she were hit directly, it would be the end. So she had been cautiously waiting for an opportunity on the dragon’s back.

And now that opportunity had come. A chance to safely attack the monster while preserving herself! It might seem cowardly, but she was an evil god after all.

The more she thought about it, the better the plan seemed. With the dragon drawing Bimoa’s attention and keeping its eye focused, she and Yanid could attack from the sides.

*Twitch.*

But before that joy could become reality, Bimoa’s eye twitched. Something like bubbles formed at the edge of its eye, and like small bubbles breaking off from a larger one, they floated away from the eye and began to roam the eyeball.

*Ping!*

A moment later, light burst from those bubble-like things. A part of the split eye stared directly at Yanid and began to follow her as it rotated around the eyeball. Yanid’s eyes nearly popped out at this unheard-of situation.

“What… what is this…?”


-What, what the hell? How is this even possible? This is so unfair!

Another eye split from the main one and shot a beam at Oberta. The main eye was still focused on Azahadaka, and the beams from it showed no sign of weakening.

It became clear that the assumption that Bimoa was weak against multiple opponents was completely wrong. Three eyes were now shooting beams in three different directions. The situation hadn’t changed at all, and the battle hadn’t improved.

-Hey, you lizard! You said we had a chance if we attacked together! Are you trying to get me killed here?


[That’s unfortunate. My apologies!]

The goddess, now beyond caring about dignity, roared in anger, but Azahadaka had no time to argue. The dragon was too busy dodging beams. More importantly, who could have known that the eye could split and merge at will?

No one knew except Demon King Grimudo and Bimoa itself. This monster had only just appeared in history today. The mistake was forgetting that monsters are inherently irrational beings.

‘The night the Milky Way blooms? No…’

The priest watching the situation from the dragon’s back swallowed a sigh. He had been thinking that they had to defeat this thing, but was that really the case?

Bimoa was powerful, but it was just a weapon without independent thought. Its essence was no different from the corpse army once controlled by the Underground Castle.

This monster had only risen because they had invaded its territory, and it had no further connection to them. Even if they didn’t defeat it, it would likely stay near the Polaris Fortress for an eternity. So, what needed to be done was clear.

“Roka, can you help me? While Azahadaka, Oberta, and Yanid keep its attention, we need to reach the core and plant the Thorn.”

The wolf’s ears perked up. Roka, who had been about to join the fight to help the dragon, the god, and the half-elf, quickly nodded.

Even if she joined, it wouldn’t break the stalemate. One side was supported by Divine Power, and the other drew strength from the Primal Body.

If they kept fighting like this, it might take months or even years to win. But did they have that kind of time? Even if they did, was it worth it to defeat Bimoa at such a cost?

“Then get on my back, Master. No, I’ll come to you.”

The wolf, walking lightly on the dragon’s trembling body, picked up her master and jumped off the dragon. The eye that had been staring at Azahadaka split again, this time spitting out several smaller eyes. Each one glowed ominously as they stared at Roka.

“But… where is the core?”

The confident wolf suddenly hesitated. The dragon’s booming voice echoed from above.

[Follow the tail!]


“The tail? Oh, that way?”


[Not my tail! Follow that thing’s tail!]

Ah. Then there was no problem. The wolf dashed across the snowy field.

At the end of Bimoa’s tail, deep within the ice, lay the core of the Primal Body.