CHAPTER 59 — Corrosion of Fury
The dragon's dead sockets burned with violet embers, its rotting wings stretched wide. Wind howled through hollow bones, and each movement was followed by the sickening grind of decayed joints. Purple fog bled from its flesh like venomous steam, crawling across the ground with predatory hunger.
Zodac stared, jaw drops.
"Oh no, I'm so screwed."
The words slipped out before he could restrain them. His heart lurched in his chest, but instinct snapped him awake. Fear could come later—if he survived.
"I can't waste any more time."
He raised Kogestu overhead, mana flaring. His blade shimmered green.
"Kogestu—Crescent Slash!"
He swung once, twice—two crescent blades of light slashed through the air, aimed directly at the dragon's neck. They cut through mist, striking bone—
—and passed harmlessly through like wind.
The crescent waves dispersed into particles.
"What the…?"
No impact. No damage. Not even a scratch.
The undead beast turned toward him with slow, dreadful purpose. Its jaw cracked open wider than any living creature should allow. Rancid air burst forth, and the mountain trembled under its weight.
Zodac's instincts screamed.
He leapt backward just as the dragon lunged down, snapping at where he had stood. Air pressure alone sent debris flying.
"Oh great—here comes the flame."
He thrust his palm forward.
"Hectorgon Shelter!"
Light exploded in interlocked hexagons—shields forming around him in a domed barrier. A shimmering emerald dome locked him inside, sealing both ground and sky.
"Well… that's new," he muttered, briefly impressed despite himself.
A memory flashed back—
---
*Last night, before sleep…*
Zodac lay stiffly on an old straw bed, crest panel hovering before him. His eyes lazily scanned through skills until a line shimmered into view:
**Skills:
— Shelter (Unlocked)**
He had blinked twice.
"…Shelter? Since when?"
He smiled faintly—then closed the panel, rolling over.
---
Now that unassuming skill had become a lifesaver.
But instead of flame, the dragon spat pure concentrated death.
A torrent of dark purple fog blasted from its jaws like a hurricane of poison. It struck the Hectorgon barrier with violent force, spreading across its surface like ink in water.
Outside the dome, everything disappeared in violet haze. Sound muffled. The world became a blurred nightmare of venom and shadows.
Zodac's heart thudded.
*That attack would've killed my lungs .*
He waited until the roar ceased—and made his mistake.
Out of his own stupidity l, He dismissed the shield, thinking he could use the fog as cover.
The moment the barrier fell, the system panel flashed violently before him:
**
His eyes widened.
"Corrosion—!?"
He inhaled—
—and agony seared his throat.
*COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!*
His lungs burned like acid. Vision spun dizzy and dim. Before he could gather breath—
**WHAM!**
A massive tail slammed into him like a battering ram. Ribs cracked. Air fled his lungs. Zodac flew backwards, body whipping through air like a ragdoll before bouncing across the rocky ground.
He tasted blood.
He lay there, gasping, every muscle screaming. The fog swirled thickly around him, clinging like oil. His skin prickled with burning sensations— life being sapped.
Death was not creeping in,
It was sprinting.
But Zodac pushed against the ground, trembling, and rose. Like a corpse refusing to stay dead.
His hair shadowed his eyes. Breath ragged. A dark line of blood trailed from his lip—yet he smiled. A cold, vicious smile.
"…Now you've done it"
His voice was low, chilling.
He closed his eyes. Mana surged like rushing tides. Blood pumped with unnatural rhythm. His body hummed as crimson light glowed beneath his skin.
"Blitz—Full Drain."
The world blurred as all in Mana in Blitz pumps instantly to his body.
When he opened his eyes, his pupils were burning red like embers in a storm. Kogestu materialized in his grip, as if drawn by hunger.
In the next heartbeat—
He vanished.
Wind split apart as he shot forward, tearing through fog with feral speed. Each step left cracks in stone. His aura radiated with killing intent capable of frightening smaller creatures.
He emerged before the dragon like a lightning bolt.
*GRROOOWWWWLLL.*
The beast lowered its skull, sensing danger. Its broken jaw trembled, then widened.
A massive surge of noxious fog burst forth.
Zodac reacted instantly—conjuring Hectorgon Shields mid-air like stepping stones. He leapt off the first shield, legs coiling—
**BOOM—he launched.**
Poison swept beneath him, missing by inches. He vaulted onto a second shield, using it as a springboard. The dragon hovered above ground—wings nothing but bone rags, yet sustained by mana rather than muscle.
*Impossible… it shouldn't fly like that.*
No time to question.
Zodac arced upward—high above the beast. The sky stretched wide behind him. Fog churned below like a sea of death. Green mana spiraled around his blade.
One clean strike.
One decisive blow.
He descended—down upon the monster from above
Victory so close he could taste it—
Then the dragon's head snapped up.
Its chest bulged. A sphere of concentrated toxin formed like black star-fire, then detonated upward in an explosion of purple blur.
It hit him point-blank.
The world became poison as thick purple fog encircled him and he was caught at the center of it.
His lungs collapsed with agony. Vision fractured. Gravity seized him—and he plummeted.
He hit the earth like a falling stone.
**THUD!**
The system panel flickers as red warnings filled his vision.
He groaned, forcing an arm beneath him. Blitz mana flickered—seconds left before it burned out completely. He needed space. He needed air.
He swung Kogestu blindly—
"Kogestu—Whirlwind!"
The blade carved a spiraling arc. A slash wave shot forward from Kogestu into the fog in a desperate attempt to destroy it.
Zodac staggered to his feet, gasping ragged breaths. Sweat dripped down his chin. Poison still gnawed at his veins, but clarity returned to his eyes.