Trapped in a Game That Flopped

Chapter 68

Episode 68

"Up!"

At the surprise attack, I hurriedly yanked the bridle.

"Kkuweeeek!"

Fortunately, Cheondung followed my command and immediately soared upwards.

It avoided Ballakk, who had leaped up to bite and hang onto Cheondung, by a hair's breadth.

Since he had nothing to grab, the bastard naturally flailed his arms and fell helplessly.

"Dammiiiiit...!"

But there was one thing I hadn't expected.

The bastard, who I thought would fall straight down, suddenly snatched the strip of cloth still caught on Cheondung's talon.

Jolt!

"Oof!"

"Kkuek!"

Cheondung, which was trying to fly up, staggered from the heavy weight and let out another pig-like squeal.

I, who had also lost my balance and was shaking, hurriedly looked down.

'Dammit.'

That bastard Ballakk was dangling, tenaciously pulling the cloth downwards.

It seemed he was trying to drag Cheondung to the floor.

"Kkuweeeek!"

As if unable to bear the weight, Cheondung flapped wildly, crying out in pain.

I didn't need to see any more and immediately shouted a skill.

"Annihilate!"

Lv.999 Annihilate skill has been activated.

MP 33

Fwoosh!

Several flames flared up, and the strip of cloth the bastard was holding instantly burned away and snapped.

Since I was attacking anyway, it would have been nice if I could have eliminated his other arm.

Perhaps because I didn't have much mana left, the skill's effect wasn't very strong, which was a shame.

"Kuworrrrr!"

That struggling bastard Ballakk plummeted splendidly into the audience seats, which were strewn with tables and chairs.

Kuuuuung!

He landed spread-eagled, kicking up a massive dust storm.

"Kkuwek!"

As if quite pleased that the bastard had fallen, Cheondung flapped its wings much more lightly.

It was the moment I checked my MP window and hurried to take out a mana potion to drink.

"You... seeing as you aren't trying to kill me decisively... you're waiting for something..."

Amidst the billowing dust, a giant shadow could be seen staggering to its feet.

Even for a puppet, I was amazed at how little damage he seemed to take.

"Is it Green Mask...? While you're stopping me... he must be trying to do something..."

"..."

"And that... I suppose... is to let the slaves... escape, right...?"

The dust settled, revealing the bastard muttering to himself.

'Hah... what a persistent bastard.'

In that time, his one arm had already half-regenerated.

That meant he was continuously siphoning mana from somewhere.

The bastard, who had glanced up at me floating in the air, suddenly let out a bizarre laugh and turned his back to me.

"Kekekek! Before that... I'll tear them all to shreds first...!"

Kung, kung, kung!

The bastard began to run, moving his massive body quickly.

After mulling it over, he seemed to be heading for the slave prison.

Tsk. Clicking my tongue, I pulled on the bridle.

"Giddy-up!"

"Kkuweeeek!"

Cheondung snorted as if displeased by the horse-driving command, but I lightly ignored it.

Cheondung shot off, following the puppet as it leaped onto the stage.

Noticing the lower altitude, I held the bridle with one hand, leaned my body over, and snatched something from the stage.

Snatch!

"Ugh!"

I barely righted my body, which had tipped precariously from the unexpected weight.

It was the hammer the organization bastards had brought earlier to torture Elaine.

Meanwhile, Ballakk had jumped off the other side of the stage and was sprinting to the right.

Cheondung followed close behind.

"Cheondung, bite him!"

With the command, I let go of the bridle and leaped off Cheondung's body.

At the same time as Cheondung faithfully bit down hard on the nape of Ballakk's neck with its beak.

Tadak!

Barely landing in front of him, I swung the hammer, which was as big as my torso.

"Onslaught!"

Lv.999 Onslaught skill has been activated.

MP 13

Ppeok! The head of the swung hammer embedded itself straight into his shin.

That part was horrifically crushed, like clay.

"Uuuugh!"

Kuuung! His one leg buckled, and he half-collapsed.

"Cheondung, talon attack!"

Seizing the opening, I shouted and began to swing the hammer wildly.

Peok, peok, peok!

The bastard, being beaten by the hammer, was thoroughly pulped, arms, legs, and torso alike.

It was the best attack I could do without dismembering him.

"Kkuek, kkuek!"

Not to be outdone, Cheondung also clawed and pecked at his upper body with its sharp talons.

But Cheondung's attacks, other than its electric beam, were pretty useless.

Pushuuuuuk.

It had punched a hole in Ballakk's hide, causing black poison gas to leak out.

'HP -10'

'HP -10'

'HP -10'

HP 970

My HP window, exposed to the poison, turned green, signaling a penalty, and a minor health drain occurred.

"Aww, you useless bastard. Just go stay out of the way."

I waved my hand dismissively, telling Cheondung to back off.

"Kkuweeeek..."

The car-sized monster cried somewhat dejectedly and flapped its wings tentatively.

Flap, flap.

The moment Cheondung finally pulled out its talons, which had been gouged into the puppet's face, and slowly flew up.

The bastard, who had been helplessly taking my hammer blows, shot up and grabbed the bird's neck with one hand.

And. Kwadeudeuk!

He unhesitatingly opened his maw and tore off one of Cheondung's wings.

"Kkuweeeek!"

"Cheondung!"

Pushuuut!

Blue blood spurted into the air from the torn spot, and Cheondung thrashed in agony.

Since the skill's effect hadn't ended, I immediately leaped into the air and swung the hammer at him.

Peo-eok!

The bastard's wrist, which was holding Cheondung's neck, was crushed by my hammer blow.

Thanks to my earlier rampage, his arm was already a tattered, pulped mess and couldn't function properly.

"Dammit... how annoying...!"

He must have been barely holding on, as he let go of Cheondung as if throwing it, clearly irritated.

"Kkuweeeek!"

Cheondung flapped desperately with its one remaining wing.

But, Kuuung!

It didn't get far before it fell nearby.

"Kkuweeeek!"

Cheondung cried out in pain and struggled to get up again.

But in the end, it couldn't fly again.

My heart grew heavy at its pitiful movements.

"Son of a bitch...!"

I tried to bring the hammer of fury down on him again.

Teok!

But surprisingly, it was caught and stopped by the bastard's hand.

Without me noticing, his other arm had completely regenerated.

"As expected, an ancient monster's blood... is overflowing with mana...! Amazing! Compared to other small-fry monsters..."

The bastard cackled as he spoke.

I was more surprised by something else than the fact that he'd blocked my attack.

'He got faster.'

Regeneration aside, his speaking speed was much faster than before.

'That means the main body is nearby.'

Noticing that, a thought flashed through my mind, and I shouted loudly.

"Lucy! Go to the monster prison! That bastard Ballakk must be there!"

When I'd glimpsed through the flapping curtain earlier, all the monsters trapped in the cages were unconscious.

It was because of the area-of-effect stun I'd used to hasten Cheondung's rampage.

Thanks to Elaine's quick thinking, all the slaves who could be siphoned for mana were escaping, so that was the only place left.

"Hey, you..."

As if my guess was correct, the bastard scanned me with his yellowish eyes.

"You seem to possess quite a bit of mana..."

"..."

"I've never eaten an adult human before... but you look slender-boned and pretty... you'd probably taste..."

"Shut up. Annihilate!"

I cut off the bastard's disgusting words and resumed my attack.

Insufficient MP! Lv.999 Annihilate skill cannot be activated!

'Crap.'

But the system window that popped up made my breath catch.

I should have just drunk the potion earlier, even if it felt like a waste.

I only had one, so I'd made a mistake by trying to be too efficient.

"Hehe, what's wrong? Looks like your mana ran out...?"

As if guessing my state, the bastard tilted his head, split his mouth into a grotesque grin, and laughed.

Then, he immediately raised his other hand.

The main body must still be supplying mana, as even the arm I had pulped was restored enough to function.

"Well then... is it my turn? Those hits really hurt..."

"Wait!"

Before he could strike me, I hurriedly shouted.

"Give me some time to transform."

"What..."

"Didn't you ever watch magical girl cartoons as a kid? Don't you know it's an unspoken rule not to attack during a transformation?!"

"..."

"And they said you shouldn't even hit a woman or child with a flower!"

I spouted a bunch of nonsense to stall for time.

My plan was to quickly pull out a potion and drink it while he hesitated.

If I had time, it'd be great to put on my robe with maxed-out defense...

"I won't be fooled by your slick tongue again...!"

Unsurprisingly, it didn't work.

Hwook!

The bastard swung his arm straight at me.

Dodging was impossible. As the large fist neared, I thought positively.

'Right, I'll take one hit, get sent flying, pretend to be unconscious, and chug a potion.'

HP 930

Unlike my mana, my health was still at a decent level.

Since it wouldn't hurt even if I got hit, I just stood there blankly.

"Die...!"

It was just before I got hit.

Swaa!

Suddenly, someone leaped between me and the puppet and swung a sword.

Thud.

Before I could even register what was happening, Ballakk's neatly severed hand tumbled pathetically to the floor.

And.

"Heh. I was wondering how far you'd go."

Bright red eyes, filled with utter pity, stared at me.

"What the hell are you doing, just standing there blankly instead of dodging? You want to get hit and die?"

His incredibly vulgar way of speaking made me scowl.

Would anyone believe me if I said I'd reached the point where I could recognize him by his speech, even with a mask on?

Lord of Nightmares

The person who saved me from danger was, surprisingly, the Male Lead.