228 Chapter 228

Damien was flung backward.

The recoil from his unleashed magical bullet was too much to handle.

The blast was so powerful that the barrel of his gun, Black Queen, shattered into pieces, scattering in all directions. Damien, the shooter, found his arms scorched to a cinder as he was hurled backward.

Just as Damien was about to crash into the ground, Lucas and Evangeline dashed forward to catch him.

Thud! Thud!

"Ugh!"

"Eugh!"

Though they managed to catch Damien, all three had to tumble onto the ground.

They lay in a sandwich-like pile—Lucas at the bottom, Evangeline in the middle, and Damien on top.

Evangeline, splayed out in the middle, let out a defeated sigh.

"If you had such a powerful attack, why didn't you use it sooner, Damien?"

Lucas, who was on the bottom, chuckled wryly.

"Well, at least we're alive. I thought it was the end for us."

Damien, who had been half-dazed, looked at his charred hands.

"It was a combination of good luck, timing, and it's not like I can use this move often... Ah, my arms..."

Lucas and Evangeline each took out a potion and poured it over Damien's arms.

Damien himself also used healing magic on his arms.

Though they weren't fully healed, Damien gripped the handle of the shattered Black Queen.

*Clack, Clack!*

Suddenly, the shattered barrel of Black Queen reassembled itself.

It returned to its original, simple handgun form, though it now appeared ashen, as if drained of all its energy.

Lucas and Evangeline helped Damien to his feet, and the trio slowly approached Jormungandr.

***

Nameless and I stood in front of Jormungandr's motionless head.

I swallowed hard as I looked at the immense, unmoving head.

"...Is it dead?"

"No."

Nameless ran her fingertips across the serpent's gray, shimmering scales.

"It took a massive hit, but it's healing."

"What?"

"This creature's vitality is enormous. Most importantly, its brain is unharmed."

We had only destroyed what appeared to be nerve centers protruding like spines; Damien's magical bullet had pierced from the back of the snake's neck through to its tail. The brain was perfectly intact.

"It suffered near-fatal damage, but it will eventually recover."

Right on cue, a long breath escaped from the snake's gigantic nostrils and mouth. Holy crap!

Startled, I blurted out, "Then we should kill it before it heals!"

"...Ash."

Nameless explained calmly.

"Jormungandr is not just a simple monster. It possesses divine qualities from the Age of Myths. Only a being of equal divinity can kill it."

"... "

"We mortals can't kill it."

Is this another 'unkillable' assessment?

Is that why, even in the game, the objective wasn't to kill it in a raid but merely to drive it away?

"Given its injuries, it will probably spend hundreds of years recuperating in its lair," Nameless added, taking her hand off Jormungandr and turning to face me.

"Shall we send it back?"

"Hmm..."

The objective was to repel it, not kill it, but still...

"What the hell is this?!"

That's when it happened. Kellibey leapt forward, popping out from behind us.

"We have to kill it, no matter what!"

The eyes of the old dwarf shone with a terrible avarice.

"Don't you see the incredible resources we could get from dissecting this snake? Your city won't lack for materials for at least six months!"

"..."

"We can make weapons! And armor! Hell, even the scales could be used to reinforce the walls! And if anything is left over, give some to me!"

A rather blunt but practical reason.

"Who says we need divine might to kill it? You won't know until you try! Just get me a big hammer, and I'll crack this thing's skull open myself! What's the big deal? I could even become a dwarven god!"

"Hmm."

Kellibey did have a point.

The materials that could be sourced from this massive snake. If they could be utilized, they would be invaluable.

It really seemed killable... Was there no way to give it another beating?

I heard footsteps behind me. When I turned around, Damien was walking toward us, supported by Lucas and Evangeline.

"Your Highness."

"Damien."

I grinned and patted Damien on the shoulder.

"Well done."

I decided to save the lengthy praise for later. Damien blushed and smiled at my simple compliment.

"Alright, Damien. You were the one who caught this monster, so the decision is yours."

I pointed at Jormungandr, who was huffing heavily.

"Do we finish off Jormungandr here, or let it go?"

Damien rolled his large brown eyes as if contemplating.

"But I didn't really catch it, did I? I just landed the final blow after everyone else wore it down..."

"That's what they call a war achievement."

Well, it's typically the ranged DPS who lands the killing blow, anyway.

Damien hesitated before he walked up to Jormungandr.

That's when it happened.

"I must... go... to the end of the world..."

A clear thought flowed from the giant snake in the form of a voice.

"I must head... north..."

Everyone jumped back in surprise, except Damien who remained in his place.

He looked into Jormungandr's eyes and muttered softly,

"You want to go to the end of the world, too?"

Then, the snake's gigantic eyes slowly opened.

Jormungandr looked at the boy standing before it, the one who had pierced its body with bullets.

"..."

"So you too..."

Damien turned to me, his head bobbing slightly.

"...Let it go."

Kellibey screamed and pulled at his nonexistent hair. What a waste.

"I shot the strongest magic bullet I could, piercing all the soul cores in my sight. But it didn't die."

Damien looked down at the magic gun in his hand.

"Maybe this outcome was determined at that moment."

I nodded my head.

Well, our original goal was to beat it up and let it go anyway. The term is "Unkillable."

"...But how do we let it go?"

I looked at the sprawling colossal serpent, Jormungandr, and clicked my tongue.

"At this rate, it might take months for it to recover here, huh?"

Transporting it on a truck wasn't an option, and leaving it here posed a risk to the city walls if it began to thrash about. How could we send it back?

"Let me."

Damien raised his magical gun, his arm trembling from his injuries.

"I can heal it enough for it to go back on its own."

"What?"

We all widened our eyes in disbelief.

Is that even possible?

Damien aimed his empty magical gun at Jormungandr.

Whoooooosh—

Transparent healing magic gathered within Damien, flowing into the gun's chamber.

Without hesitation, Damien fired.

Bang!

The clear magic bullet shot out with a crisp sound and dissolved into Jormungandr's body.

Damien lowered his magical gun.

"That was a healing magic bullet. It should regenerate one of Jormungandr's damaged cores, allowing it to recover."

Everyone looked at Damien as if he had lost his mind. Sweating nervously, I asked, "Is that even possible?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure, but—"

Damien scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"I just instinctively felt that this would work."

I wasn't sure whether this was a new skill Damien had acquired or what, but the effect was indisputable.

Shhhhhhhhh!

Grrrrrrrr…!

As one of the damaged cores regenerated, Jormungandr struggled to slowly raise its massive head.

And then, it silently gazed at all the humans present… and especially at Damien.

"…I will not forget…"

What does it mean? Wait, it won't forget our 'favor,' right? Not holding a 'grudge' or anything, right?!

Grrrrrrr—

Just then, Jormungandr's long neck quivered, and its gigantic mouth opened wide—spitting out a transparent orb the size of a human head.

"..."

What is this?

Everyone stared at the orb in astonishment. Could this be the legendary Orb of Ascension?

So it's... repaying us?

Grrrrrrrr…

Jormungandr nodded once, slowly turned its immense body, and began to crawl back towards the south.

Watching the giant creature that we had fought so desperately to repel over the past three days retreat so peacefully was both disappointing and a relief.

The exhausted heroes and the soldiers who had been watching tensely from the walls started to collapse one by one onto the ground.

And in the rising morning light, we silently watched the retreating figure of the giant serpent.

"Jormungandr was a force of nature from the mythical age," Nameless explained in a peaceful tone, as if reading an ancient folktale.

"It razed cities, overturned farmlands, and destroyed civilizations. And in its wake, new forests, new valleys, and new civilizations were born."

"…"

"Through destruction, it brought about regeneration—a natural law from the mythical age."

I had thought it was worm-like because it burrowed into the ground, but it actually served a role similar to that of an earthworm.

"…In ancient times, typhoons, droughts, and blizzards were all considered gods. They destroyed livelihoods and took countless lives."

In a moment's time, Nameless watched the retreating scales of the snake wistfully.

"But now, humanity has overcome typhoons, droughts, and blizzards. The gods who once held the reins of destruction and renewal have lost their divinity and become mere weather phenomena."

"..."

"Even Jormungandr, the World Serpent that once tore through worlds to bring about their destruction and renewal, is now reduced to a deity going around in circles, hindered by these southern walls."

Nameless chuckled bitterly.

"In a few hundred years, even the last semblance of divinity might be lost, turning it into a monster that's simply eradicated."

I snorted.

"That's just the course of nature, I suppose."

Lost in these strange musings, I abruptly turned my gaze and yelled.

"Kellibey! Get your hands off that!"

Kellibey, who was secretly inspecting the Jormungandr's Orb with intentions of giving it a whack with a hammer, jumped in surprise. I gritted my teeth.

"Hey, old man! That's Damien's! Why are you trying to hammer it on your own accord?"

"What, what! I'll have to turn it into equipment for you anyway! What's wrong with checking it out a bit earlier?!"

Damien looked on at our bickering with a wry smile.

The morning sun was rising.

Another defensive battle was drawing to a close.

***

[STAGE 9 - CLEAR!]

[STAGE MVP - Damien(??)]

[Character Rank Changes]

- Damien(??)

[Leveled-Up Characters]

>Main Party

- Ash(EX) Lv.44 (↑3)

- Lucas(SSR) Lv.47 (↑2)

- Evangeline(SSR) Lv.47 (↑2)

- Jupiter Junior(SSR) Lv.56 (↑1)

- Damien(??) Lv.48 (↑5)

>Sub Party 1

- Kuilan(SR) Lv.44 (↑2)

- Tuesday(R) Lv.37 (↑2)

- Wednesday(R) Lv.36 (↑2)

- Baki(R) Lv.36 (↑2)

- Ontherock(R) Lv.32 (↑1)

>Others

- Lilly(R) Lv.30 (↑1)

[Characters Dead or Injured]

- Jupiter Junior(SSR) : Minor Injuries

- Damien(??) : Minor Injuries

[Acquired Items]

- Jormungandr's Orb : 1

[Stage clear rewards have been given. Please check your inventory.]

- SSR-Rank Reward Box : 1

>> Get Ready For The Next STAGE

>> [STAGE 10: Humans and Monsters]

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