I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER

Chapter 165: The end of this dragon life

Reality snapped back around Si Hon violently.

One second he was inside that spiraling white distortion where everything felt distant and stretched apart—

And the next—

He was above the dragon.

Directly behind its neck.

Upside down.

Floating.

For a brief impossible moment, the world slowed so much it almost looked frozen.

(Of course... this always happens) He thought to himself.

Smoke drifted lazily through the air around him.

Tiny pieces of shattered rooftop concrete hovered nearby mid fall.

Even the dragon’s movements felt delayed, its gigantic body still turning beneath him while heat rolled upward from its scales in distorted waves that should’ve burned his skin alive already.

But didn’t.

Si Hon’s eyes narrowed slightly while hanging there weightless above the creature.

(This is why Multi Directional Movement is bullshit overpowered.)

His body rotated slowly through the air while his grip tightened around the jagged steel rod in his hand.

And then—

He saw it.

Near the base of the dragon’s neck.

A small opening between several scales.

Tiny compared to the rest of the creature.

Almost impossible to notice unless someone already knew it existed.

A weak point.

The weak point.

Si Hon’s exhausted eyes widened slightly.

(There you are.)

A grin almost appeared on his face.

(Thank God I read that comic even though the art and plot was ass halfway through.)

The dragon shifted beneath him again.

The slow motion effect was fading.

Fast.

Si Hon immediately tightened his grip on the steel rod with both hands.

Then—

He stabbed downward with everything he had.

CRUNCH.

The sharpened rod punched directly into the gap between the dragon’s scales and disappeared deep into the opening beneath.

And instantly—

Time returned.

All at once.

The heat slammed into him first, then the wind exploded across his body violently.

The dragon’s roar detonated through the air so loud it physically hurt.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWR!!!"

The creature convulsed instantly beneath him.

Its entire massive body jerked sideways so hard Si Hon nearly got thrown off immediately, both hands desperately locking around the steel rod while black scales blurred violently beneath him.

"WOAH WOAH WOAH FUCK—"

The dragon thrashed.

Its claws tore through the rooftop blindly while chunks of concrete exploded upward everywhere. One wing smashed into the school structure hard enough to cave part of the rooftop inward while its neck twisted violently beneath Si Hon like the creature had suddenly gone insane from pain.

And then—

Something changed.

The roar cut off strangely.

Abruptly.

The dragon’s movements slowed.

Its gigantic body shuddered once more beneath him— then suddenly went limp.

Completely limp.

Si Hon blinked.

"Huh?"

For one deeply concerning second—

Nothing moved.

The dragon’s enormous body simply hung there against the ruined rooftop edge while smoke rolled around both of them silently.

Then gravity remembered they existed.

The entire dragon tipped sideways.

Slowly at first.

Then faster.

"Ah."

Si Hon looked downward.

The school building was very far below them.

"This is bad."

The rooftop underneath the dragon shattered apart immediately from the weight shifting off balance. Concrete exploded downward floor by floor while the creature’s gigantic body collapsed through the side of the building like a mountain finally giving up on standing.

And Si Hon—

Was still attached to it.

Because both his hands were gripping the steel rod buried in the dragon’s neck like his life depended on it.

Which it unfortunately did...

"WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT—"

The world tilted violently.

The dragon fell.

And Si Hon went with it.

Floor.

After floor.

After floor.

The school practically exploded around them as the dragon’s body crashed through entire sections of the building during the fall, classrooms collapsing instantly beneath its weight while debris and shattered concrete erupted outward everywhere like bombs detonating one after another.

Students screamed somewhere below.

Windows burst apart.

Smoke swallowed half his vision immediately.

Meanwhile Si Hon was still hanging onto the rod for dear life while being dragged down attached to an airborne dragon corpse.

"FUCK MY LIFE!!!"

Above him, Mimi completely lost composure instantly.

Her tiny projection floated beside him mid fall while clutching Spoony in pure panic.

「DADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!! .⁠·⁠´⁠¯⁠`⁠(⁠>⁠▂⁠<⁠)⁠´⁠¯⁠`⁠·⁠.」

"IM AWARE, WE’RE FALLING"

「WE’RE GONNA DIEEEEEEEE!!!」

"PROBABLY... ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ... wait I’m the only one dying..."

「Oh... yea Anyways, WHY ARE YOU STILL HOLDING THE ROD?!?! LET GO!!! LET GO!!!」

"IF I LET GO I MIGHT HIT A WALL FUNNIER THAN THE GROUND!!"

Another section of floor exploded beneath the dragon.

BOOOOM!!

Dust swallowed everything again.

Si Hon’s body slammed against the dragon’s scales painfully during the fall while chunks of concrete kept flying past them from every direction. Somewhere nearby, metal beams snapped apart with horrible screeching sounds while the building continued collapsing around the dragon’s descending body.

And somehow.

Through all of it—

Si Hon’s brain still found time for one final exhausted thought.

(Fuck...)

Another crash.

(Where even the fuck is the main character...)

Another floor shattered beneath them.

(Jisoo Park.)

Mimi was still panicking beside him.

「DAD THIS IS NOT A VERY GOOD PLANNNN!!! (⁠ᗒ⁠ᗩ⁠ᗕ⁠)」

"I KNOW!!!"

The dragon’s corpse finally burst through the last remaining floor of the school structure—

And then—

Everything went white from impact.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

***

For a while—

There was nothing.

No sound.

No dragon.

No collapsing buildings.

Just blank.

Then—

Rain.

A cold droplet landed against Si Hon’s cheek first.

Then another.

Then another.

Tiny little impacts tapping softly against his face while distant thunder rolled somewhere above the sky in a long tired growls.

Si Hon’s eyes slowly opened.

"Ugh."

Everything looked blurry at first.

Grey sky.

Dark clouds.

Rain falling quietly through the air.

And beneath him—

Grass.

Soft wet grass pressed against the back of his head while cold water soaked slowly into his ruined school uniform. Nearby bushes swayed gently beneath the rain and wind, bright green against the destroyed chaos somewhere farther away.

For one deeply confusing second—

It almost looked peaceful.

Like some park after school during a rainy afternoon, yhen... his entire body screamed in pain at the same time.

"AGH—"

Si Hon immediately regretted existing.

Every muscle hurt.

His ribs hurt.

(My fucking ribs again!)

His back hurt.

(My back too...)

His legs felt like somebody replaced the bones with broken chopsticks and bad intentions.

He laid there silently afterward while rain continued falling across his face.

"Still alive."

Honestly?

That felt slightly offensive at this point.

Above him, the sky remained dark and heavy now, smoke mixing together with rainclouds while distant sirens echoed faintly throughout the city. Somewhere very far away, another explosion rumbled softly beneath the storm.

The apocalypse really refused to rest for even five minutes.

Beside his hand—

Something tiny spun weakly in circles.