Chapter 144 - CHIMERA (2)
Chapter 144 - CHIMERA (2)
Mount Plex, where Arkeman’s Dungeon was located, consisted of nine peaks.
The five peaks close to the village had many large and small mining tunnels. However, all but one were abandoned now.
“It was said that there was a lot of silver here in the past.”
Princess Darianne energetically spoke like a child announcing that they had had done their homework at home, and everyone, including Jude, listened to her story.
“There are several mines in the estate of Duke Spencer, which are mostly iron and copper mines. I heard that silver and gold mines are very rare.”
It was almost as if Princess Darianne was born and raised in the Spencer Duchy.
So it was natural that her story always ended about the Spencer Duchy.
“We’re almost there.”
At the crossroads between the seventh peak, which was the highest peak, and the eight peak, which was the largest peak.
The hole where the chimera regularly appeared from was on the seventh peak, and the entrance to Arkeman’s Dungeon was on the eight peak.
“Ah.”
Princess Darianne who had been chattering like a baby bird with a cheerful voice until now, had a gloomy expression for a moment.
But it was only for a while. Princess Darianne’s face became spirited again, and she said to Jude and Cordelia.
“I wish you two the best of luck. Orabeoni and unnie.”
“Thank you. May fortune be with you as well, Your Highness.”
“Don’t overdo it, okay?”
At Cordelia’s request after Jude’s greeting, Princess Darianne vigorously nodded her head this time.
“I’ll be fine since I have Sir Cornwell. There are other knights too. Duke Spencer’s knights are very strong.”
Princess Darianne thumped on her chest and looked at the knights in confirmation, and all of the knights responded to the princess’ smile with a smile too.
“Jude Bayer and Cordelia Chase.”
Sir Cornwell who had been by Princess Darianne’s side then approached Jude and Cordelia.
It was to go through their operation for the last time before they left.
“You’ll send a signal when the chimera appears, and our side will begin exploring at that time.”
“Yes, please enter as soon as the scroll shines.”
At Jude’s words, Sir Cornwell looked at the scroll before he nodded his head and spoke again.
“If the chimera escapes or you fail to defeat it, please don’t forget to send a signal again.”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
When Jude unreservedly spoke again, Sir Cornwell closed his mouth once and then said in a slightly soft voice.
“You’re still young. I hope you don’t overdo it with your desire to make a contribution. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir Cornwell. Thank you for your concern.”
“Ahem, ahem.”
After Cordelia gently responded, Sir Cornwell cleared his throat while Jude had a small smile as he suddenly remembered Count Chase.
“Anyway, let’s get going. I wish you good luck.”
“I wish you all the best of luck too.”
Jude and Cordelia waved their hands to the knights and Princess Darian before they headed straight for the seventh peak.
They had already investigated the place yesterday, so the two did not hesitate or stop walking.
“By the way.”
“Yes?”
“I said this yesterday, but…is it alright if Princess Darianne followed them?”
“Well…Sir Cornwell decided that it was fine, so I’m sure it would be fine. Besides, Princess Darianne isn’t just some powerless girl, right?”
“That’s true.”
Those who inherited the blood of King S?len, his direct line descendants, weren’t ordinary humans.
A strong divine power inherited from their ancestors flowed in their blood, so it was common for royal children to awaken some supernatural powers before they became adults, whether it was early or late.
‘It’s also the reason why the royal family was exterminated.’
Sacred blood flowed in the veins of the S?len royal family.
The extermination of the royal family was not just to destroy the S?len Kingdom but to cut off that sacred blood.
‘I mean, this is the event that will soon happen.’
But it had yet to happen here.
‘I won’t let it happen.’
Jude resolved to himself and then said to Cordelia who was energetically walking ahead of him.
“Cordelia.”
“Yes, mister.”
“Do you want a piggyback?”
“Gosh, are you alright?”
After all, they were almost there.
The seventh peak where the chimera would appear.
“I thought that it was cool yesterday, but it really is cool.”
“I think that he made it on purpose for the chimera.”
“Maybe it’s like that?”
There was a huge rock at the top of the peak, and it looked like a throne that was prepared for the chimera.
And a big hole underneath it.
The hole was nearly 10 meters in diameter and was steep enough to be almost vertical, but it was obvious to them that Arkeman made this hole on purpose, though they were not sure about the rock at the top.
“Well, let’s do our part today.”
“By the way, mister. How much time do we have left?”
“Uh…about 40 minutes?”
Jude had taken into account the time it would take for Princess Darianne and her group to arrive at the eight peak when he planned their schedule.
40 minutes from now.
Cordelia suddenly smiled at Jude’s words and said in a quiet voice.
“Shall we have lunch then?”
“Already?”
“We have to be strong before we fight. And I wanted to eat it. Since this morning. We also cooked it together this time.”
“Hey, Princess. Today’s lunch is packed sandwiches, right?”
“Yes, yes, a delicious ham and egg sandwich.”
“Since when is putting ham and eggs between bread considered cooking?”
“It’s not? No. Why are you discouraging this Cordelia? I mean, I did my best.”
Cordelia pouted her lips as she complained, and Jude eventually nodded.
“Alright, let’s eat.”
“Hmph, it must be delicious. I put my heart into it.”
“You put your heart in putting it together.”
“Hey, why do you keep doing that? Don’t you know that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step?”
“Well, the willingness to learn is also important.”
Jude smiled and put down the basket after having prepared a place to sit, and Cordelia hummed as she took out the sandwiches and orange juice from the basket.
“It seems like we came here for a picnic. The view is also nice.”
“Yeah.”
They were in the highest peak after all.
“Here, it’s the best that I made.”
As if she was being generous, Cordelia handed him a sandwich that was precisely cut in the shape of a right triangle, and Jude received it and laughed at that moment.
Because he remembered the sandwich that Cordelia tried to cut into the shape of a star but ended up being ruined.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I just like it.”
“Do you have a fever? Have you gone mad?”
“No, it’s not.”
Jude grinned and bit into the sandwich he received, and Cordelia also took a bite of her sandwich.
“Mmm.”
Perhaps it was because of the surrounding scenery, or because he really felt like they were on a picnic, or because Cordelia put her heart into it like she claimed.
Jude smiled at the sandwich that tasted more delicious than usual, and Cordelia smiled in relief from seeing Jude’s reaction.
***
Around 30 minutes later, at the deepest part of Arkeman’s Dungeon.
The chimera opened its eyes at the same time as usual, and lit a big torch with its wing before it flew straight up to the ground.
Arkeman’s chimera had a typical appearance.
It had three heads consisting of a lion, griffin, and a drake. It had a bear’s body, eagle wings, and a highly venomous snake as its tail.
But one peculiarity was the fact that Arkeman’s chimera was a magic tool and not a creature.
Although the materials he used were real beasts like common chimeras, its operating principle was more like an undead monster such as zombies and skeletons.
Arkeman created this chimera not because he specialized in the creation of magic tools and not biology, but because it was better for a machine rather than a living creature to guard the dungeon for a long time and to do exactly what it was ordered.
And one more thought of Arkeman was added to this.
‘Isn’t it inhumane for a living creature to be stuck in a dungeon forever and act as a gatekeeper?’
Like an eccentric archwizard, Arkeman’s humanity sometimes revealed itself in strange places.
In any case, the chimera was created as a magic tool by Arkeman, and like a machine, it went out of the dungeon to absorb the sun’s heat at a fixed time without a single error for over a hundred years.
A familiar road that it had passed hundreds of times.
The chimera’s eyes began to shine after it passed through the short distance space leap magic circle in the middle.
Above its head.
A place where the bright sun shined unlike the always dark dungeon.
“Kuoo.”
The chimera widely flapped its wings and headed for the exit above its head. In order to get out of the dungeon, feel the wind, and face the sun again!
“Kuoooo!”
It was the moment when the chimera roared and left the exit.
Baaaang!
A tremendous impact struck the chimera with a roaring sound.
At the completely unexpected tremendous impact, the chimera was unable to recover from its senses even after it was thrown into the rock while rolling on the ground.
So what had happened?
What on earth had happened?
“Bingo.”
15 minutes before the chimera came out of the exit.
Jude stood in front of the exit as he clenched his fist and began to gather his energy.
Power of the Sun?was one of the skills of the Supreme Sun Divine Art that he inherited from Landius.
‘The longer you gather your energy, the stronger will your power be.’
It was a really simple, but a very powerful skill.
A black flame-like aura rose from the entire body of Jude who had closed his eyes and gathered his energy into his right hand.
It was the energy of Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors that merged with the Supreme Sun Divine Art.
‘Black Sun.’
It was Jude’s Supreme Sun Divine Art.
The Power of the Sun was newly defined by the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors.
“You look like a villain.”
Jude flinched at Cordelia’s criticism, but he stayed calm and maintained his concentration.
He naturally recalled the teachings of Landius.
“Disciple, Power of the Sun is a skill that is difficult to use in practice. It’s a kind of practice skill to learn how to control the immense energy of the Supreme Sun Divine Art.”
The reason was simple.
Because it took too long to gather energy.
It was absolutely impossible to gather it for a few minutes without moving while in the middle of an actual battle where just one moment could decide their life.
‘However.’
It was different now.
He knew when and where the chimera would come out.
’15 minutes.’
At Jude’s current level, it was the time he needed to use the Power of the Sun.
For this reason, Jude stood in front of the exit 14 minutes and 30 seconds before the set time as he took into account some slight errors.
‘Of course, there’s no electronic watch here so all of this is just my feeling.’
And around 15 minutes later.
The chimera went out at the set time like a magic tool, and Jude unhesitatingly stretched out his fists.
He used the Black Dragon Cross with the energy of the Power of the Sun strengthening it.
The strongest punch he could do!
Baaaang-!
The energy of the black dragon coming out of Jude’s fist struck the chimera’s abdomen.
The giant body of the chimera that was soaring into the sky was struck from a distance that was nearly zero, and its body bent into a right angle before it collapsed to the ground.
Boooom-!
The chimera’s gigantic figure hit the ground. After being thrown nearly 10 meters, it collided with the pile of rocks that formed the top of the seventh peak, and the entire peak was shaken by the tremendous impact.
“Wow.”
Cordelia let out a small voice of admiration before she giggled as she passed by Jude and quickly approached the chimera. She then wrapped her detonating cord on the neck and wings of the unconscious monster.
“Good.”
Next was the scrolls.
Cordelia took out three large leather bags from her waist and then connected them with the detonating cord.
These bags contained dozens of scrolls that Jude had made last night.
‘It would be perfect next time.’
She then pushed the bags one by one into the chimera’s mouth.
Even though it was much bigger than Cordelia’s fist, the bags were smaller than the chimera’s throat, so they fit in well.
“Okay! I’m ready!”
At Cordelia’s cry, Jude immediately raise his hands to cover his ears, and Cordelia who was far away from the chimera had then flicked her fingers and set the bags on fire.
And the scene that followed.
A loud explosion that shook not only the seventh peak, but also the entire Mount Plex!
Boobooboobooboom!
The dozens of scrolls inside the leather bags exploded at once.
In other words, it destroyed the chimera from the inside.
Moreover, the detonating cord wrapped around its wings and neck also played a significant role.
It dealt a huge blow not only in the chimera’s insides but also to its outside body.
And a few seconds passed.
Cordelia coughed amidst the huge amount of dust, and she looked straight after pushing the dust away by fanning her hand, and soon had a satisfied smile.
“Problem solved.”
And a ring of white light rose around them.
Cordelia had dealt the last hit, but perhaps because of the level difference, rings of light emerged one by one for both Jude and Cordelia.
“We completely did it without that much effort.”
Because they couldn’t help it.
They knew when and where it would appear, but they couldn’t take it head on.
“Jude! Are you okay?”
“Cough, cough.?Kak. It’s just,?cough, some dirt.”
Since Jude had run out of energy, he couldn’t do anything but sit quietly in the dust.
As he answered with a face that looked like he was about to die or in pain, Cordelia clicked her tongue before she pulled him up and used <Wind> magic to brush the dust away.
“Anyway, it’s over. All we have to do is wait now, right?”
“Yes, let’s wait for Princess Darianne and her group to get the Seven-Colored Herb.”
They defeated it easily, but they didn’t have to reveal to the others that they easily defeated it.
The one that was barely knocked down looked to be well even after a fierce battle.
“Ahem, ahem. You look like a villain too, right?”
Cordelia smiled instead of contradicting what he said. She sat down on Jude’s side before she turned to the hole and said.
“But Jude.”
“Yes, Princess.”
“Will it go as planned?”
“Maybe?”
Jude’s idea.
Around three hours later then, when Princess Darianne and her group returned.
Jude’s words became reality.