68 — Chapter 68

I closed the distance with Dorgu while firing my revolver in rapid succession.

This was the one I’d been saving because it was too powerful—the other handgun Alice gave me a while back. If there was ever a time to use it, this was it.

The bullets accurately gouged into Dorgu’s body, but they failed to penetrate through. Dorgu guarded his face with the arm holding the axe, clearly wary of taking a shot to the eye.

“You’re tough. Is concrete your staple diet or something?”

I couldn’t help but snicker. His sheer hardiness made me want to crack jokes. With a massive build like that, a little bit of bleeding didn’t count as damage.

“Ngh… you annoying brat!”

Irritated, Dorgu swung his axe down recklessly. Given its scale, calling it a “slash” felt like an understatement. It was as if a massive pillar were simply collapsing on top of me.

Having read the trajectory, I dodged with a sideways leap.

“Whoa there!”

The axe cratered the floor, triggering an explosion. A gust of wind from the front lifted my body off the ground. I controlled my posture as I was sent rolling across the floor. Halfway through, I braced my limbs to brake.

I was left staring at the wreckage in surprise. The shockwave of the slash had traveled all the way to the entrance, splitting the floor, walls, and doors clean in half. Despite the axe never making contact, the destructive power was absurd. The gust that sent me rolling was apparently just a side effect.

‘Man, what a total monster.’

I stopped the complaint from escaping my lips at the last second. It wouldn’t do to show weakness here. Even when you sense a hard fight ahead, you’re supposed to keep your back straight and maintain an air of fearlessness. Whether it’s a bluff or bravado, if you stick to it, it becomes real.

Standing up, I gave an exaggerated shrug.

“Your movements are as slow as a turtle’s. I’m about to die of boredom over here.”

“Talk while you still can. You are absolutely going to die.”

“Stay away from him!”

Alice soared in with a burst of speed, circling wide before charging at Dorgu. As she flew around him, she deployed countless magical circles. Light bullets rained down from the arrays floating in the air. Occasionally, she used her four mechanical arms to hurl some of my bombs as well.

The exploding light bullets and bombs scorched Dorgu’s skin, sending up plumes of white smoke. However, even this failed to inflict a fatal wound. On the contrary, the flesh on his surface began to wriggle and close the gashes. New scales grew where the old ones had cracked and peeled, and the bleeding stopped in a matter of seconds.

Apparently, he possessed regenerative abilities too.

‘This is more troublesome than I thought. Chipping away at him slowly isn’t going to work.’

I furrowed my brows as I watched Alice struggle. I’d caught a glimpse of Dorgu’s Status before. If I recalled correctly, he was Level 81 back then. Not much time had passed since, so his stats shouldn’t have changed significantly.

Level 81 is high for an ordinary person—roughly on par with the other summoned individuals from my world, excluding myself. However, these physical specs were clearly in a league of their own. Whether it was due to skills or racial modifiers, it felt like I was fighting a kaiju.

In any case, I wouldn’t be able to take him down with conventional tactics.

“Bathersome gnat.”

Dorgu swept his arm, swatting Alice aside. Her hastily erected defensive magic was shattered as she was blown away. She smashed through the wall and disappeared from the room.

‘…Piece of shit.’

To think he could shatter a shield that had remained unyielding against countless attacks so easily. Even with the protection of my high-level modifiers, taking a direct hit might be disastrous. It was probably for the best to stop making any careless moves.

However, I finally understood the essence of Dorgu’s strength. A level of toughness that could only be described as a living fortress, coupled with absurd physical power. He had honed both of these to their absolute limit. It was incredibly simple, and therefore, peerless in its might.

I wouldn’t be able to defeat Dorgu unless I surpassed him in both offense and defense. He possessed both at an exceptionally high standard. It made sense why no one could stand against him.

I holstered my handgun and broke into a straight sprint. I didn’t go to check on Alice. I was sure she was fine. Right now, it was better to focus on the Dorgu in front of me.

“…!”

Dorgu turned toward me, inhaled deeply, and let out a roar. Something flew toward me, vibrating the very air. Sensing the danger, I crossed my arms to guard. Immediately after, I was blown backward, unable to even brace myself.

‘A shockwave, huh…!’

I slammed into the wall before I could even take a defensive tumble. My breath was knocked out of me for a second, but there was nothing wrong with my body. It didn’t seem like any bones were broken. Shaking off the debris, I looked up.

“That hurt, you bastard.”

A horizontal axe swing flew my way as a reply. I dodged it with a limbo-like maneuver and dashed into Dorgu’s guard.

Keeping my distance was a disadvantage. Firearms were ineffective, and I was losing in terms of reach for melee attacks. I just needed to get close and punch him. My fists had shattered a dragon’s claws before. I wanted to believe they’d work on Dorgu, too.

Besides, I had the skills I’d gained from the dragon fight: Dragon Slayer B+ and Blue Dragon’s Bloodline A. The former provided modifiers for combat against dragons and enhanced the performance of equipment made from dragon materials. The latter granted me regenerative abilities and a boost to my physical stats. Both were useful abilities that would definitely help in this situation. As a Great Dragon-Man, Dorgu should fall under the effects of these skills.

“Jack!”

As I closed in on Dorgu, I heard Alice’s voice. I shifted my gaze for just a split second. The Powered Suit’s face was peeking out from a hole in the wall. Just as I thought, she was safe.

“Catch this!”

Alice threw something toward me from the hole. I caught the high-speed spinning object with one hand. What I gripped was a milky-white machete. The blade and handle were forged as a single piece, and the surface was meticulously engraved with magic formulas.

“It’s a magic weapon synthesized from dragon fangs and bone!”

Alice’s explanation made sense. She wanted me to kill him with this. She must have been making preparations for a deathmatch with Dorgu without me even realizing it. I toyed with the machete as I waved a hand to Alice.

“Thanks. Love you!”

“Where are you looking!?”

The moment I turned back forward, Dorgu unleashed a stomp. He lunged in, putting his entire body weight into the strike. I couldn’t afford to take this hit. If I was stepped on by that massive body, there would be no escaping.

I moved to evade with all my might, but then a thought occurred to me. If I was going to do this, I should aim for a counter. It was a bit of a gamble, but the return on success would be huge. With Alice’s machete, I was sure I could pull it off. Having made up my mind, I gave a fearless grin.

“Shall we start the butchering show?”

Matching the timing of the approaching foot, I swung the machete at a diagonal. Dorgu’s scale-covered toes were sliced clean off with almost no resistance. A spray of blood rained down on me.

“Ngh.”

Dorgu let out a low groan. His leg had stopped moving from the pain and shock. He probably hadn’t expected to have his toes sliced off.

“This thing’s got a hell of an edge, doesn’t it!?”

I spun around and delivered a flash with the machete. This time, I violently tore through the ligaments of his ankle. I felt a slight bit of resistance, but I succeeded in swinging all the way through.

“Uguooooo…!”

Losing his balance, Dorgu looked at me and inhaled. It was the preparatory motion for a roar. Having learned the sharpness of the machete, he was trying to force some distance between us.

“I can read you.”

I stepped forward, dodging the shockwave by a hair’s breadth. It was easy as long as I knew the behavior and the general direction. Dodging bullets was more of a pain.

Dorgu pressed one hand against the floor, somehow managing to prevent himself from falling. Even so, he was full of openings. I closed in even further and eventually clung to his massive body. Grabbing the scales on his surface, I scrambled up.

“What… are you doing…?!”

“Rock climbing.”

I climbed up while using the machete to slash at Dorgu’s hands as he tried to swat me off. Each time, Dorgu pulled his hand back and groaned. Because of his incredibly tough body, he probably wasn’t used to sharp pain. It was a valuable weakness.

Ideally, I’d want to stab him in the heart from here, but this guy’s body was just too big. The blade of the machete I was holding wouldn’t reach. Even if I were to gouge him, it would have to be after I’d completely stopped his movements.

I kicked Dorgu’s chest and leaped even higher. While curling my body to build up power, I spoke to his reptilian eyes.

“This is the signal for the start of the counterattack. Make sure you savor it.”

Ignoring the massive hand closing in, I snapped both of my legs out at once. A full-powered dropkick caught Dorgu square in the jaw.