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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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There are certain tropes that appear consistently in games, novels, and manga.
“Demons are vulnerable to holy power.”
“The hero and childhood friend can never be together.”
“The Demon King takes double damage from holy swords.” And so on.
…While there’s a strange one mixed in there, the point is…
…powerful enemies have weaknesses.
And this trope applies to dragons as well, the apex predators, the strongest species.
Moreover, unlike other powerful enemies with a single weakness, dragons have two.
The first weakness is their reverse scale.
Dragons are born with immense power and scales harder than steel. And the hardness of their scales increases over time, eventually reaching a point where they can effortlessly deflect even sword energy that can cut through steel.
But whether it’s a curse from God, or a blessing for other species…
…among the countless scales covering a dragon’s body, a single scale…
…just one, is inverted.
And unlike the other scales, this reverse scale is incredibly fragile.
It doesn’t require a sword imbued with sword energy.
Even an ordinary steel sword…
…can pierce the reverse scale.
And the moment it’s pierced, even the strongest species, blessed by God, will suffer a critical injury, or more commonly, instant death.
Of course, if you’re overwhelmingly stronger than a dragon, you don’t need to worry about reverse scales or anything like that.
But if you want to kill a dragon and lack the necessary power, you need to fulfill three conditions.
Courage and audacity to approach a dragon.
Stamina and agility to survive against a dragon.
Perseverance and focus to locate the reverse scale among the countless scales covering a dragon’s body.
But what if you don’t meet these three conditions?
Then you should give up.
With insufficient abilities, you won’t even be able to get close to a dragon, let alone kill it.
But if you absolutely must kill a dragon…
…then you need to find a weapon imbued with dragonslaying power.
The ultimate weapon against dragons.
With such a weapon, you don’t need to locate the reverse scale among the countless scales.
You don’t need the courage or audacity to approach a dragon.
You don’t need exceptional stamina or agility to survive.
You can still kill a dragon.
That’s how effective a dragonslaying weapon is against dragons. It’s practically their natural enemy.
The sword said to have been wielded by Saint George when he slew the dragon.
Imbued with dragonslaying power from cleaving through the dragon’s flesh, bones, blood, and soul.
– Inflicts Holy damage (Weakened) to ‘enemy’ on attack.
「Increases Holy damage by 50% against Demonic beings.」
「Increases Holy damage by 100% against Evil beings.」
「Increases Holy damage by 200% against Dragons.」
– Inflicts Fire damage (Weakened) to ‘enemy’ on attack.
「Increases Fire damage by 50% against Demonic beings.」
「Increases Fire damage by 100% against Evil beings.」
「Increases Fire damage by 200% against Dragons.」
– Inflicts Soul damage (Unavailable) to ‘enemy’ on attack.
「Activates Soul Destruction (Unavailable) against Dragons after accumulating a certain amount of damage.」
– Ignores ‘enemy’ defense on attack.
「Destroys Dragon Scales against Dragons.」
– Increases health and mana regeneration by 100%.
「Further increases regeneration speed by 100% against Dragons.」
– Holy Flame Shield (Usable once).
「Can block a Dragon’s Breath.」
– Dragonslaying aura constantly applied (Weakened).
– Holy Power +150 (+50)
– Health, Strength, Agility +50
– Indestructible.
[This is an ‘Imitation’ form of Astra. Some effects are restricted.]
[Imitation Duration: 12 hours]
[Imitation Cooldown: 24 hours]
– With this sword, I shall slay the wicked dragon.
An aura imbued in weapons that have slain dragons.
Dragons instinctively fear these weapons…
…and loathe their wielders.
– Reduces a ‘Dragon’s’ stats by 40%.
– Reduces a ‘Dragon’s’ regeneration ability.
– Incurs the hostility of all ‘Dragons’.
And among them, Saint George’s Ascalon possessed the most powerful abilities.
‘As expected of Ascalon.’
While Greed was writhing in pain, I quickly scanned the weapon’s abilities and let out a gasp of admiration.
‘Even the imitation is incredible.’
The greatsword in my hand wasn’t the genuine article, but an imitation.
Moreover, its abilities were weakened due to Astra’s Imitation.
Despite that, Ascalon’s inherent abilities, which seemed to be System-granted, were extraordinary.
And as befitting a weapon wielded by a saint…
…it possessed powerful abilities not just against dragons, but also against demonic and evil beings.
‘This is practically a custom-made anti-Greed weapon.’
Was Greed a demonic being?
Yes.
Was Greed an evil being?
Yes.
Was Greed a dragon?
He was now.
‘Even an ordinary dragonslaying weapon would be lethal against the current Greed.’
But fortunately for me…
…and unfortunately for him…
…Astra had imitated Ascalon.
‘Since he’s a trinity of demonic, evil, and dragon…’
…the Holy damage was increased by 350%.
And the Fire damage was also increased by 350%.
The damage I could inflict on Greed had reached its maximum.
‘With this, I don’t even need to find his reverse scale.’
Since I could inflict such devastating damage…
…I didn’t need to bother searching for his reverse scale. I could simply destroy his scales and attack his flesh.
Of course, if I found his reverse scale, I would stab it without hesitation.
Piercing his weak point would be far more effective than attacking his exposed flesh.
Whoosh, whoosh.
I swung Ascalon experimentally.
White flames, holy flames, formed from holy power, trailed behind the blade.
‘It’s light.’
A 2-meter long greatsword, wider than a shield, taller than myself…
…felt as light as a twig.
‘Well…’
…when you could wield and fire two heavy miniguns simultaneously…
…a single greatsword was nothing.
I chuckled, recalling my inflated strength stat, thanks to Atlas Armor and Astra, and looked at Greed.
—!
「—!!」
Greed was roaring in pain, his cries echoing throughout the alternate world.
He hadn’t been this pained during our battle at the outpost.
Had he become more sensitive to pain after transforming into a dragon? Or was it because Ascalon’s effects were so potent?
He was writhing in agony, spinning in the air.
‘Probably both.’
Ascalon’s effects were potent, but…
…I had also burned the inside of his mouth with holy fire.
He might have been able to endure it before his transformation…
…but as a dragon, now sensitive to pain, it must have been excruciating.
I channeled mana into Ascalon.
And I circulated the holy power that filled my body.
[Holy Power: 60 (+200)]
My holy power stat, significantly increased by Ascalon.
The holy power, now exceeding my mana, flowed through my body at my will…
“Is that… holy power?”
…and enhanced my and Arthur’s physical abilities.
“Lee Yu-jin, you could wield holy power?”
Arthur looked at me, bewildered.
I nodded.
“For now.”
It wasn’t a lie.
Once the Imitation duration ended, or if I deactivated it…
…I wouldn’t be able to enhance my physical abilities with holy power like this.
Of course, if Astra imitated another holy-related item, I would be able to, but…
“…You never cease to amaze me.”
Arthur, unaware of that, was simply amazed.
As we were having this brief conversation…
—!
「L-l-l-lee Y-y-yu-j-j-jin—!!」
…Greed, writhing in agony, roared my name.
He stopped spinning in the air, flapping his wings.
Seeing that, Arthur transformed the sword energy enveloping Excalibur into flames.
“…Lee Yu-jin, do you have a plan?”
She asked, her eyes filled with tension, yet calm and collected.
A plan? I did.
“It’s simple.”
I would break his scales.
And Arthur would attack the exposed flesh.
“Hmm… I’m not sure if my attacks will be effective, but alright.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
His exposed flesh wouldn’t be able to deflect your attacks.
“So, as soon as I break his scales, unleash your sword energy on his flesh.”
“…I see. So, I can damage him if his scales are gone.”
It wasn’t just damage.
Since Excalibur possessed holy power, it could inflict damage comparable to a dragonslaying weapon.
Moreover, holy power was highly toxic to Fallen, even more so than holy energy.
“He’ll scream in agony when holy power pierces his body.”
Not only would his physical abilities be weakened, but he would also suffer continuous damage, like poison.
And the pain was a bonus.
“I see.”
Arthur nodded in understanding.
Her expression seemed to relax somewhat.
She must have been worried that she would only be a hindrance…
…but now that she knew she could inflict significant damage on Greed if his scales were broken, she seemed relieved.
—!
“Here he comes.”
“Hmm.”
Greed roared, a mixture of pain and rage, and charged towards us.
Arthur nodded gravely.
She raised her flaming Excalibur, its blade engulfed in golden mana, and assumed a combat stance.
I stomped my foot.
And I launched myself towards Greed, pushing off the telekinetic platform.
Whoosh—!
Perhaps because of the holy power enhancing my physical abilities…
…my speed was on a completely different level compared to before.
「L-l-l-lee Y-y-yu-j-j-jin—!!!」
The distance between us closed rapidly.
And as soon as I entered his attack range, he swung his massive hand, his rage now exceeding his avarice.
Whoosh—!
A sound like ripping wind rang out.
His giant claws, aiming to tear me apart, flew towards me.
But their speed, unlike before, was significantly slower.
His stats were reduced by 40% due to Demon Slayer (S)’s “Contempt for the Weak” and “Demon Hunt” passives, and another 40% due to Ascalon’s dragonslaying aura.
Even a dragon, with its immense power, couldn’t help but be weakened.
“Phew.”
I exhaled slowly.
Click.
I raised Ascalon.
Whoosh!
Holy flames surged from the blade.
I gripped the sword tightly, its blade completely obscured by the flames.
I watched his claws approaching with calm eyes.
And the moment his sharp claws were about to reach me…
…I swung Ascalon.
With all my might.
Flash!
A white flash of light traced a path through the air.
Exactly along the trajectory I had envisioned.
In the exact direction I had intended.
The cheat turned my thoughts into reality.
And the result…
Boom—!!
Crackle—!
…his sharp, seemingly indestructible…
…giant claws…
…cracked and shattered.
And not just his claws.
Slice—!
The sword energy, extending diagonally, sliced through his middle, ring, and little fingers…
…along with their scales.
—!
「…—!!」
Greed screamed in pain as his severed fingers fell to the ground.
And…
Whoosh—!
…the holy flames, following the trajectory of the sword energy, incinerated the falling fingers.
“……”
I stared blankly at the white ash falling like snow.
‘…I don’t even need to break his scales.’
And as I was having that thought, I felt an intense gaze from behind me.
I turned around.
“……”
“……”
Arthur, who had been preparing to push off the drone golems the moment Greed’s scales were broken, was staring intently at me.
As if asking, “Am I even needed?”
Her gaze made me chuckle awkwardly.
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[Your Text Here]
I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but I really hope the author eventually drops their habit of overusing the “…” to extend sentences to another line. It makes things much harder to read when I have to mentally pause between a sentence. While it’s somewhat okay during combat for sound effects, outside of combat, like during the explanation at the start, it’s just mentally exhausting. It’s not something the author did at the start either, it’s a habit that’s developed within the last 30ish chapters.