Chapter 313

The crystal-and-lava-and-stone golem let out a great roar and shuddered.

No — Yu Ji-hyeok wasn't even sure if that sound was a roar.

The thing that had been struck by the sticky smoke and breath was floundering and staggering, and a noise like an ancient dead tree snapping burst from its gaping mouth, so he simply assumed it was screaming.

[Juno!!! You worm, less than a centipede, how dare you!]

Minerva roared as she seized the golem's shoulders with both feet, crushing them in her grip, and yanked with everything she had. The golem flailed its arms helplessly as it was dragged forward, but Minerva swiftly lashed its arm with her tail and began tearing into its body in earnest, ripping it apart in hideous fashion.

[You shameless thing, is it Ahriman? Did Ahriman put you up to this filthy business!!!]

Minerva yelled as she finally hauled the massive golem down and slammed it onto the ground.

She tore into the golem's body and ripped at it like she was clawing up the earth itself, and every time she flapped her wings and shifted her feet, Yu Ji-hyeok's body — still clutched in her grip — swung wildly.

He was straining with everything he had to break free of her.

"Ugh...!"

In that instant, his body suddenly vanished.

Han Su-yeong, who'd been bracing herself to catch him, flinched in surprise — but a moment later he tumbled out of a shadow that had appeared right beside her, dumped out like a sack.

"Ji-hyeok! Oh, the blood—!"

"I'm fine, don't worry, Su-yeong. I'm really fine."

Still half out of it, Yu Ji-hyeok rambled as he reached out a hand to reassure her, then asked with a blank look on his face.

"...Do I really look fine?"

"Of course you don't, you idiot! Your body's a complete wreck!"

Han Su-yeong burst out, then started casting whatever healing magic she could on the blood-soaked mess in front of her, her voice trembling. Yu Ji-hyeok placed a hand on his chest, intending to deactivate the half-shattered King of Thorns.

[Do that and you'll black out instantly, so don't.]

Yu Ji-hyeok froze at Sbeungali's words.

When he asked what that meant, Sbeungali let out a small sigh and muttered.

[...Do you even know what state your body's in? Thirty of your bones alone are crushed. Not broken — crushed. Even I, who don't know much about the human body, can tell that a person in your condition would be better off dead. The only reason you're still alive is those inhuman abilities of yours.]

He went on to explain that the Earth's Lifeblood Yu Ji-hyeok had taken long ago, Minerva's Dragon Blood, the King of Thorns' doping effect, and Han Su-yeong's blessing were all working together to keep him breathing.

[On top of that, you're currently under anesthesia. Well, more accurately, I've tampered with your nervous system so you can't feel pain. You're just numb to it — the wounds themselves haven't healed, so keep that in mind.]

'...You're saying my bones are crushed to powder? But I can move just fine.'

[That's because I've fixed your skin, muscles, and bones in place with thin needles inside the armor.]

'What?'

In short, he'd stitched Yu Ji-hyeok's body together by driving fine needles into him like thread.

When Yu Ji-hyeok demanded what the hell he was talking about — tampering with nerves, driving needles into his body, none of which he'd ever heard before — Sbeungali grumbled back at him.

[What's the shock for? If I hadn't done this, you'd be good and dead by now. Frankly, consider yourself lucky your body wasn't pulverized after a beating like that from Minerva.]

"Yeah... I guess that's fair...."

Yu Ji-hyeok let out a small groan as he shifted into a sitting position and nodded.

In the distance, Minerva and Juno were going at each other like mad.

He watched them and quietly muttered.

"...So that's the bastard who locked Ji-na away and put me in this state, huh?"

[Technically speaking, the one who turned you into pulp was Minerva.]

Ignoring Sbeungali, Yu Ji-hyeok started to push himself up — and staggered.

Han Su-yeong caught him quickly under the arm.

"Now what are you trying to do."

"You already know, so why ask."

Yu Ji-hyeok's flat answer drew a small sigh from her.

"...Just in case you needed to hear it — killing Juno right now isn't going to bring your sister back."

He stiffened for a second, then answered in an overly serious voice.

"...That's not why."

"Oh, is that so? Ji-hyeok, you've still got a long way to go before you can fool me, you know that?"

Han Su-yeong supported him with one arm while flicking her other hand to shatter the crystal shards drifting in from all sides. She stared at Minerva — still impaling herself on crystals as she lashed at Juno without the slightest flinch — and went on.

"You know this too, right, Ji-hyeok? That we can't afford to act carelessly in this time period. Honestly, I wanted to argue against meeting Minerva in the first place. But... well, Minerva remembered you, didn't she? Which meant the two of you had met in the past, so I figured meeting her was the right call...."

Her voice took on a faintly weary tone.

"This is way outside what either of us expected."

"Yeah."

Yu Ji-hyeok agreed with her.

Honestly, he hadn't seen this coming either — Juno suddenly showing up at this point to throw a wrench in everything was something he genuinely hadn't accounted for.

"At this rate, isn't Juno just going to die? I mean, not that I'd mind, but...."

"No. I don't think so."

Yu Ji-hyeok shook his head as he looked at the golem, which was roughly comparable in size to Minerva.

"Of the Seven Calamities, Venus is the largest, and Juno comes next. Minerva's third, if you want to rank them. But look at that thing — far from being bigger than Minerva, it's actually a little smaller, isn't it?"

"Which means...."

"It's not the main body. That one can split itself similarly to Milited, but in its own way. ...The one saving grace is that, unlike Milited, when its clones get destroyed they can't be reabsorbed back into the original body."

Yu Ji-hyeok muttered the words as he started weighing what he ought to do here.

Step in, or pull back.

If he stepped in, how should he move.

While he was still working through it, Minerva — who'd been silent until now — spoke to him quietly.

[Cut in.]

"What?"

[I'll explain later. Insert yourself between us.]

Minerva pressed him again, her voice firm.

[Trust me. Trust me, and lend your strength to my past self right now.]

Yu Ji-hyeok gave a quiet nod.

His reasoning was simple — she had no reason to scheme anything that would harm him.

He relayed this to Han Su-yeong, then coughed up a small, sticky cough.

"My blood — did you drink some?"

"Yeah."

Han Su-yeong nodded.

"Even from far off, I could feel it... so I took a sip right away. Oh, and I had another one a little bit ago."

"...Good. Then for now, get into my shadow, Su-yeong. Any other time, fine, but with Juno scattering fragments all over the place, it's too dangerous to leave you out here."

"But...."

"It's fine."

He stretched dramatically as he flashed her a reassuring smile.

"I'm not falling for the same trick twice."

"......"

Han Su-yeong stared at him with worry on her face, but eventually nodded as if she understood.

"Hey, Ji-hyeok."

She started to say something, then gave a small shake of her head. Then she slipped obediently into his shadow. With Han Su-yeong's safety secured, Yu Ji-hyeok wasted no more time and activated the King of Thorns again.

[...Good.]

With that, he became a single arrow and shot straight toward Juno.

"Yes, my lord."

From far off, Landschi — who'd been watching the fight between Minerva, Juno, and Yu Ji-hyeok — quietly murmured.

"Confirmed. ...Juno cut into the middle of Minerva's duel, and at present they appear to have formed a joint front against Juno."

His eyes took in everything.

The way Yu Ji-hyeok remained intact after being struck by Minerva again and again.

The way he cut straight into the fight and tore one of Juno's arms off.

The way he started talking down Minerva, who had naturally flown into a rage at having her duel interrupted.

"Let's see...."

Landschi quietly stirred his senses and focused on the conversation between Yu Ji-hyeok and Minerva.

Far as the distance was, for a dragon like him it was well within range.

• You bastard, butting into my fight yet again...!

• Same goes for you. By that logic, you were the one having a grand time pounding on a person not too long ago.

• Ugh...! Th-that was....

• And I'm just as pissed as you are about my fight getting interrupted. So what do you say?

• ...To what?

• First, let's drive off the interloper who broke up our fight. Then we can settle things between us. Sound fair?

• ......

• Better yet, somewhere no one else can interfere — just the two of us, settling it. Without anyone in our way. That's what you want too, isn't it, Minerva?

• ...I'll not be swayed by the words of a lowly mortal. After I crush Juno, I'll grind your bones and flesh between my teeth, so prepare yourself. And above all, don't presume to call this Minerva by name, you insect.

Landschi silently studied the two of them.

Even as they kept up the back-and-forth, they were moving in skillful coordination, driving Juno into a corner.

No — coordination wasn't quite right....

"...It's more like he's matching Minerva, one-sidedly."

Landschi muttered to himself.

Right after, Yu Ji-hyeok drove a thorn spear into Juno's body once more and nodded as if a thought had clicked into place.

• Ah, I get it. You're scared right now, aren't you?

• Scar—?! Hold on, what did you just dare to say to this Minerva...!

• What, no? You're spooked, so you figure you'll use the chance to quietly finish off the guy who's already half-dead — that's it, isn't it?

• You — you maggot, how dare you speak such an insult to—!!!

• Am I wrong? Come on, Minerva. After all, I'm the first human ever to put a scar on your horn.

• Shut up!!! I told you to shut your mouth!!!

Minerva exploded in fury, and Yu Ji-hyeok let out a quiet snort of laughter.

At his reaction, her body began to tremble with rage — but precisely because of what he'd just said, she couldn't bring herself to strike him.

If she attacked him now, with his back completely exposed, she'd be admitting to his accusation herself.

• No. I'm right, aren't I. Be honest, you think so too. And you said so yourself, didn't you — that you'd deliberately left the wound on your horn untreated. Which means you'll carry that scar for the rest of your life, and for someone who claims to be the strongest, that'd be one hell of a stain on your name. The only way to wipe it off would be to beat me in a proper, fair fight... but, well, I get it. The odds of me taking a near-fatal hit like this again are basically zero, even from your point of view. After all, this only happened because two of the Seven Calamities jumped me at once, right? Honestly, knocking me off while I'm weakened like this would be the convenient call for you.

• You — you—!!! You arrogant—!!!

Minerva glared at Yu Ji-hyeok as though she were having a seizure.

Then, without warning, she unleashed a high-temperature breath toward the half-collapsed Juno.

It was fierce enough that even Landschi, watching from a distance, flinched in spite of himself.

• Damn you, Juno...! Die, just die already!!!

Minerva — as if venting her fury — smashed Juno, crushed it, stomped on it, and finally even tore into it with her teeth. By the time the massive golem had been reduced to scraps with nothing left of it, she was huffing and barely catching her breath as she muttered.

• ...I'll grant you one month's grace.

• What?

• One month! I said I'd give you one month to heal the body that this Minerva, in her error, ravaged!

• You half-killed a person and you're giving him only a month?

• Shut up!!!

Minerva bellowed as she glared at Yu Ji-hyeok.

Even meeting eyes with a dragon of unfathomable size, he didn't shrink back in the slightest.

At the sight of him, Minerva once again felt a flare of irritation rising in her despite herself.

• ...Regardless, it's a month. I'll not wait beyond that. And if you try to run off and break our agreement, I will not let it slide. Are we clear?

The instant she said it, Minerva took flight and started off somewhere.

Watching her go, Landschi thought that this was supposed to be the place she'd settled in as her nest for the time being — so where on earth was she going? — but he didn't lift his gaze from Yu Ji-hyeok.

He quietly raised a hand to his ear.

"...Yes, my lord. Juno's silence has been confirmed. In addition, Minerva said she'd grant a month's grace and departed the area. ...Yes."

Landschi nodded.

"As you commanded, I will retrieve Juno's fragments without fail."

All for my lord's great cause.

Landschi murmured the words to himself as he watched Yu Ji-hyeok's retreating back — Han Su-yeong supporting him under one arm — disappear into the distance.

"......"

Right now — right now, that back was wide open enough that even he could find a clean opening and run him through — but Landschi shook his head.

Not yet.

At the very least, now was not the time.