Villain Hides His True Colors - Chapter 98

Villain Hides His True Colors

Chapter 98

Silence had fallen upon the summit of Mount Olympus.

Shirahui had a bewildered expression, and the giant made of light and clouds was blinking his eyes with a blank look.

After a brief moment, Zeus who had belatedly understood the situation exploded in a thunderous roar.

“S-such impudence!!”

The clouds that formed Zeus turned bright red and hot steam rose.

“How dare you threaten me, Zeus! Don’t think I would fall for such a trifle!”

Terrifying mana began to rage around his body. Lightning arcs fluctuated violently as if it was going to descend at any moment.

Seeing that, I spoke.

“Ahjussi, you must think I’m bluffing.”

“What a coincidence! I didn’t know you were bluffing…”

“Right. So you’re saying I can kill her?”

I gripped the sword in my hand.

The sharp Red Velvet Curse dug into Shirahui’s flesh and blood trickled down from her neck.

Immediately after,

“W-wait!!”

Zeus hurriedly shouted as the lightning that seemed to descend at any moment scattered.

“What? I can’t kill her?”

“D-don’t you want to save that child?”

“Ah, of course I want to save her. But I told you earlier. If I can’t have her, neither can you.”

“Mortal, your soul will fall to the abyss of Tartarus! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for doing such a dirty thing?!”

“Hehe, thank you for the compliment.”

Being called dirty was the best kind of compliment to a gamer. As if Zeus couldn’t contain his anger any longer, his body of clouds shook and emitted lightning.

“Kueaaak!!”

Boom, boom, boom–!

Lightning erupted from his body and struck the surrounding mountain peaks. Snow burst and evaporated in an instant, destroying the giant mountains.

…Oh my, that was scary.

That power was truly worthy for him to call himself a God. It was at a level incomparable to the people I had dealt with so far.

Perhaps even if I had fought him at my prime in the first round it would have been hard to say who would win.

After seeing that, I quickly organized my thoughts.

What was I supposed to do now?

I had stalled for time on a spur of the moment, but it didn’t make sense to fight him like this.

A simple whim of his lightning was enough to destroy a mountain, so facing him head-on was nothing short of suicide.

In the first place, I didn’t come here to fight…Whatever happens, I just needed to rescue Shirahui.

Looking at the rampaging Zeus in front of me, I whispered into Shirahui’s ears.

“Noona. Hold on tightly to my fur.”

“F-fur?! Wh-what do you mean…”

I ignored her bewilderment and immediately used my skill.

< Transformation >

*Dire Wolf

Bright light wrapped around my body and soon a beast with fierce teeth took its place.

“A w-wolf?!”

“Hurry up and get on! You don’t have to be scared…”

“Good!!”

“Hmm?”

I was worried that Shirahui might have hesitated due to my ferocious appearance. However, on the contrary, she had climbed onto my back as if she had been waiting.

Was it just his imagination that she even seemed happy?

“A-ah…I can’t believe my dream came true like this…”

She seemed to be muttering something to herself, but now I couldn’t afford to listen to her.

I only had one chance.

My mana exploded momentarily as I put focus on my feet.

Baang–!

Snow that was piled high collapsed and formed a snowstorm. I ran straight down the mountain using the blind spot caused by the avalanche.

A giant wave of snow followed behind me as a cold piercing wind grazed my ears.

“Brat! Where are you trying to escape?!”

Damn it! Already…

Although I didn’t think I would be able to get rid of such a monster, he had found me so quickly that my efforts were simply in vain.

“Foolish! There’s nothing under the sky that can escape my eyes! If you ask me for forgiveness now, I’ll give you a painless death!”

However, I hadn’t risked my life to give up here. Whether it was kill or be killed, I would struggle to the end.

“Your face!”

(TN: Childish slang children say.)

“I-I’m going to strike you down!”

Zeus’ angered voice caused Mount Olympus to shake.

For some reason, the back of my neck felt itchy. As a result, I instinctively changed direction.

At that moment,

Booom–!

Lightning fell where I originally was and completely extinguished the surrounding area.

Damn it! He was suddenly trying to kill me.

If I was hit directly by such an attack, besides me, even Shirahui who I had wanted to save wouldn’t be safe. Zeus didn’t care about her anymore?

Booom–!

Bang–!

Bang–!

As if Zeus really didn’t care what would happen, he kept scattering lightning. Each time I would twist my whole body and avoid the attacks.

However, that didn’t last long.

As the number of falling lightning increased, it became increasingly difficult to avoid it.

“A mere mortal thought he could avoid the sky! Obediently accept your fate!”

Damn it. At this rate…

Although I was running to the point of being out of breath, there was still a long distance before I could escape this mountain.

Perhaps because Shirahui had sensed the dire situation, she spoke in a trembling voice.

“I’m fine, so…Just leave me here. The fact that you came all the way here…”

“Don’t say that! I’ll never give up!”

“B-but then you’ll…heuk.”

I could feel Shirahui’s hands clutching my fur. And a little later, she buried her face into my back and started sniffling. I didn’t know if it was tears or a runny nose, but the dampness was very unpleasant.

This headache was really going to be the death of me!

As I was distracted by Shirahui’s trolling, light suddenly flashed in front of my eyes and a huge lightning bolt struck.

Baang–!

[ Absolute Defense activated. ]

The ground I ran on exploded and the impact threw my body away like a kite that had its string cut.

“Kyaaak!”

“Keuk!”

< Absolute Defense > had activated at the last second and the fatal attack was nullified.

However…

“Damn it!”

Looking ahead, a giant crevasse was blocking my path.

* * * * * * * * * *

The situation was a mess. I would have to cross in the direction of Zeus to escape.

However, would he allow such a gap?

To make matters worse, it was impossible to see where Shirahui had fallen. It was like losing a key item for a quest.

Soon, Zeus’ voice came from the sky.

“Keuhaha! How dare you think you can escape from this almighty.”

Damn it! A way…

A truly desperate crisis.

I thought of all the skills and abilities I had and calculated dozens and hundreds of methods, but I couldn’t find a way out of this.

Was it really going to end here…?

Perhaps this outcome was predetermined from the beginning. I hadn’t regained my strength from the first round, yet I had tried to confront such an opponent.

The reward for the Challenge was so tempting that I had inadvertently become greedy.

However, it wasn’t an unwarranted belief.

The Challenge appeared, which meant clearing it wasn’t impossible. As a result, I had naturally thought there would be a way this time.

Perhaps I needed other items or conditions to clear it…

While regretting it, dark clouds forming an angry giant’s face hung over my head.

“A long time ago, there was a mortal who challenged the sky with wings he had made. With the delusion that he could go against the sky, he dared to challenge me. But do you know what happened to that foolish human?”

Rumble, rumble–!

Lightning flashed in the dark clouds. The terrifying energy gathering was incomparable to before.

“His wings melted before the vast sky and his soul was burned to ashes, leaving no traces behind. That’s heaven’s punishment. No one can go against fate! So I’ll turn you into ashes too and scatter you in the deepest part of Tartarus! I’ll let you repent for your stupidity there!”

From the clouds, the arm of a giant made of light appeared. A terrifying energy converged between its grasp, forming a streak of lightning.

The force was so powerful that the surrounding sky was torn apart and the space beyond the dimension was reflected.

So this was his true power…

I didn’t even think to avoid it. No, in the first place, could I avoid it with my skills?

Even with all the skills I had, it never crossed my mind that I could stand up to that attack.

Looking at it, I felt as if my fate to die here had been set since the beginning.

However…

***

***

What the hell was this?!

Even if it was a boss designed to be unwinnable from the start and even if it was a buggy game, gamers were those who would always find a way to clear it!

I returned to human form and took out an item I had kept in my inventory until now.

An item called ‘Transcend Skill.’

(TN: Author had called it Strengthen Skill in chapter 17, but it has been so long that he probably forgot.)

It was an item that could open up new possibilities beyond a skill’s limit by enhancing it.

The probability of it appearing from a box was heinous, and the effect usually obtained through transcendence showed a power beyond its grade, so I was saving it to use someday if I found a good skill.

However, now I wasn’t in a position to care about this or that. If I die while trying to save a consumable in a boss fight, what kind of foolishness would that be?

Damn it…I never thought I would use this here.

There were currently two skills that had been enhanced to the intermediate level.

< Phase Change > brought by Inherit at the start of the second round and < Vampiric Touch > obtained from the first skill selection.

In fact, they were both low-grade skills that were too wasteful to ‘transcend.’

However…

I had no choice but to bet on this now.

As such, I chose < Phase Change >.

[ Used < Transcend Skill > on < Phase Change >. ]

[ < Phase Change – Intermediate > transcended to < Phase Change – Advanced >. ]

And the result,

< Phase Change – Advanced >

Classification: Ability

Grade: D (Transcended)

Description: Changes the body’s state of matter.

*Elementary: Liquid

*Intermediate: Gas

*Advanced: Plasma *New*

Yes!!

Fortunately, my prediction was right and the gamble was a success.

Plasma. The fourth state of matter that followed solid, liquid, and gas.

According to a children’s science book I had read a few months ago at the nursery, the commonly found neon signs and fluorescent lights were representative of such plasma phenomena.

And…

Lightning was also plasma.

I didn’t actually know how much turning my body into plasma would help, but there was no other way at the moment.

Meanwhile, the lightning that had left Zeus’ hand finally began to fall.

“Disappear, mortal!”

Baaang–!

Was it because I was feeling more threatened than ever? The accelerated lightning slowly illuminated the world as if it had stopped for a moment.

I could clearly see the lightning falling towards me.

A destructive force that divided the world as if tearing it in two.

To fight against it was as reckless as a child jumping in front of a truck.

However…

When has it ever been easy?

In the first round, my enemy was the world itself.

Endless battles with heroes every day.

To win against such a world, I had used everything I could and had always squeezed out more power than I had.

But as a result, I had reached the pinnacle by knocking down enemies greater than myself.

So this wasn’t the first time I’ve ever had a crisis like this!

[ You’ve encountered a Giant. ]

[ < Giant Hunter > activated. ]

With an unyielding fighting spirit, I was going to confront an impossible enemy.

< Phase Change – Advanced >

*Plasma

All the cells in my body ionized as it turned into a purple current.

< Inner Heart >

In between the air current, red mana intertwined like a snake.

< Divine Shield >

Overlapping it was a shield radiating light.

This was the best decision I could make now. All that was left was to believe in my resilience and my durability enhanced by the dragon gene.

I was gambling everything on this to resist Zeus.

Finally, the attack that was descending collided with my shield.

Baaang–!!!

Ding–!

My trusted shield was shattered like glass in less than a second.

As a result, the lightning that had penetrated struck me directly.

Duung–!

“Kkeuaaak!!”

My pain tolerance was nothing short of a skill itself, but this time, even I couldn’t resist screaming.

A splitting pain as if my soul was being torn apart.

The attack that had penetrated my body felt like it was trying to erase my existence from this world.

If I hadn’t changed my body into a kind of lightning-like plasma, I would have disappeared without even time to think.

The lightning thrown by Zeus and the resilience of my < Transcendent Regeneration > began a close tug of war.

When will this hellish attack end? A moment felt like an eternity.

But nevertheless, I was still alive.

And this fight…it was my victory.

“Haak…haak…”

I fell to the ground and looked up at the giant in the sky, breathing heavily.

Zeus had such a look of shock that it even showed in the clouds.

“Y-you brat! Who the hell are you?! H-how can you go against ordained fate when you’re just a mortal?!!!”

Looking at him, I smiled victoriously.

I could tell from this fight. It wasn’t possible to identify it exactly, but there was something different in Zeus’ attack beyond it being simple energy.

In that sense, he was a formidable enemy where victory couldn’t be guaranteed even if it was the first round.

And, I had just blocked an attack from such an enemy head-on. Not only that, it was with an ordinary body that hadn’t yet undergone metamorphosis.

However…

It seemed my victory was just this much.

Haa…This was a bit problematic.

Did I underestimate Zeus too much? The aftermath of the attack was much greater than expected.

Body, mana, soul. It was all tattered.

I couldn’t move at all.

My original plan was to take advantage of the gap after the major attack to run straight past him.

However, now it was impossible to escape.

“It can’t be that there’s something wrong with my divinity…Ah, or maybe there was a dimensional error of some kind…No, that can’t be.”

With me like this, Zeus muttered something to himself. After his brief moment of confusion, he spoke to me.

“I don’t know how the hell you managed to divert your fate, but…Now that it’s like this, you must be removed at all cost.”

Zeus raised his lightning again. It wasn’t an attack with a huge force behind it like earlier.

However, I didn’t have the strength to stop even that much now.

“N-no!!! N-Noah-ssi!!!!”

I caught sight of Shirahui who had fallen somewhere running towards me.

And…

The lightning falling down my defenseless self.

As expected, I shouldn’t have played in a hunting ground beyond my level. Huu…I shouldn’t have been greedy for no reason.

I instinctively felt my end. However at that very moment,

Baaang–!

Suddenly, an unidentified blue light gushed out from my forehead and the falling lightning scattered as it was.

“?!”

“You brat! What trick did you pull this time?!”

“Well…”

Even if he asked me, I didn’t have an answer. Rather, I wanted to ask him. What was going on here?

Just then, from somewhere came the voice of an icy woman.

“Who dares persecute the child I love!”

Space split between the cracks of the blue light and a woman in a turquoise robe walked out.

She glanced at Zeus floating in the sky and clicked her tongue.

“Tsk, still as ugly as ever.”

She seemed to be an old acquaintance of his. Though, the relationship didn’t seem very friendly.

“Bitch, I don’t know where you appeared from all of a sudden, but do you know who you’re saying such nonsense to right now?”

“Hmph! You’re so arrogant after gaining only that much divinity.”

“Wh-what?! You brat!! Insignificant mortal!! Do you really want to die?!”

The woman slowly took off her hood. Between the indigo hair that flowed down, her face was revealed.

Ice-cold eyes and skin as spotless as porcelain. Even features with the ideal balance.

She had the most perfect ‘aesthetic’ face I had ever seen in my life.

The only peculiar point was the two ears that looked like a wolf swaying above her head.

“Tsk. Did you just call me a mortal? How absurd.”

“Y-y-you…?!”

Zeus stammered in a very flustered voice when he saw her appearance.

Who was this woman that had startled Zeus so much? I couldn’t even begin to guess.

Did she feel my gaze? She turned and looked at me. And as if the frozen snow was melting away, she immediately spoke with a cheerful smile.

“Aiya. I’m so glad to meet you in person like this.”

“Noona, do I know you?”

“Huhu…I’m disappointed. Have you forgotten me already?”

It seemed the woman knew me, but for me, even if I looked back in the first and second round, I had no recollection of her at all.

“Hmm…I really don’t know who you are.”

“Maybe it would be best if I formally introduce myself.”

She approached me with light and graceful steps. And like a beast looking at its prey, she spoke.

“This one is the mother of all beasts, the master of the Frigid Steel Forest, Turbak!”

Her white and slender finger gently touched my forehead.

Tuk–

“Huhu, do you still not know who I am? My male.”

“??!!??”

The perverted and suspiciously clingy savage God had appeared.

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