As Nua pushed herself upright, the situation quickly spiraled out of control. She lifted her broken antlers upward and howled in rage. The sound tore through the clearing like the sky itself was splitting open, a deep wail that rattled bones and sent waves of energy rippling outward, bending trees and scarring the earth.

The instant Do-Jin heard the Divine Deer’s roar, he forced mana into his circuits to keep his body from blowing apart under the sheer pressure. Even though he reacted quickly, the impact slammed into him, making his blood boil and his circuits scream like they were tearing apart.

No way I can handle this thing head-on... he thought. At this rate, I’ll be dead before I even figure out what the hell it is.

Do-Jin had never expected to overpower the Divine Deer in the first place. From the way the story was unfolding, it was obvious this was a monster no one of his current level could hope to defeat. Whether it was the Spirit Dragon’s egg or something else, there had to be some kind of trick to solve this mess. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The crushing waves of power bound his whole body so tightly he couldn’t even wiggle a finger. Thanks to Mana Delay, Do-Jin was still hanging on, but a few more seconds of exposure and he wasn’t sure he would survive.

As he continued struggling just to stay upright, Unit 782 yanked her sword free with a strained grunt of effort and threw herself in front of Do-Jin, putting everything she had into holding back Nua’s power. But even she couldn’t fully withstand the force of the rampaging deer. Her pale, faded hair whipped around her face as the battered armor she wore cracked under the strain. Her sword split with fractures, and her body soon hit its limits.

I can’t hold this much longer, she thought, desperately clinging to consciousness.

She didn’t care what happened to her, but there was no way in hell she’d let Do-Jin die. In that desperation, Spirit Power suddenly surged through her body and erupted outward in the shape of a wolf.

“Nua!” the wolf roared, the sound ripping through the air like a cry torn from its very soul.

Seeing the sudden appearance of the wolf, Unit 782 exclaimed, “Dagne!”

The wolf turned its head at her call. “So in the end, you’ve guided me all the way here. You’ve done well, little one.”

“What... what are you talking about?” Unit 782 was clearly confused, but Dagne didn’t offer any more explanation given the dire situation.

While countering Nua’s overwhelming force with his own power, Dagne turned his gaze to Do-Jin. “You, the one brought here by the will of D’Askandar. I am grateful that you were the first to show this child warmth and affection.”

He had been watching everything all along from within Unit 782. He had been protecting her from Nua’s curse while waiting for a chance to free the other children. Among them, Unit 782 was the one that tore at his heart the most. The girl was wandering the forest alone because of Dagne’s own selfishness.

That was why Do-Jin’s presence mattered so much. Not only had he shown up carrying the egg infused with the power and will of D’Askandar, the very essence that proved effective against Nua, he’d also shared with Unit 782 a shred of human warmth she had never before experienced.

“Judging by how this all played out, it looks like you were hiding inside her, waiting for your chance,” Do-Jin said, narrowing his eyes.

“That’s right. The children they used to bind me... were innocent. I couldn’t just sit back and watch as they were dragged into this, tormented by Nua’s grudge. So I waited. I was ready to disappear along with Nua, if that’s what it took.”

“Yeah, well, the situation’s gone to shit, so I’ll get to the point. Can you actually fix this?”

“Looking at Nua as she is now... it would have been impossible. Though she still has her own physical body, I’ve lost mine and I’m already fading away piece by piece. Thanks to you, however, there is hope yet.”

“No need to thank me. If anything, thank this damn thing,” Do-Jin muttered as he brought out the Spirit Dragon’s egg, which seemed to be pulsating stronger than before.

“That egg carries the power of D’Askandar, my brother in spirit. It will let me unleash my strength fully, even if only for a short while,” Dagne said with a slow nod.

Do-Jin couldn’t help but wonder if D’Askandar, the Spirit Dragon that supposedly met its end in the Lavre Lake Underwater Cave, had been pulling his strings all along. After all, he had carried this egg all the way here and ended up stuck in this mess. It seemed like everything had gone exactly the way that bastard wanted.

Do-Jin dismissed the thought. Well, whatever. There’s no point whining about it now.

“It’s whispering to me too, you know. It’s telling me to team up with you and put that damn deer down,” Do-Jin said, sounding almost annoyed.

“You can hear D’Askandar’s voice, too?” Dagne asked, a little surprised.

“I don’t know if hearing is the right word. Maybe it’s more like seeing. But yes.”

“Good. Then I’ll unleash D’Askandar’s will and power right here and now!” Dagne roared.

The phantom wolf lunged and clamped its jaws around the egg in Do-Jin’s hand. In an instant, the Spirit Dragon’s power burst free, flooding the clearing. The sheer force crammed inside that small egg was so massive, it was hard to imagine how it had even been contained in the first place.

Unlike Nua’s violent, twisted power, this energy was warm. It was overflowing with a kind of kindness that felt almost human. It poured into Dagne, Do-Jin, and even Unit 782, wrapping around them like a second skin.

[The Spirit Dragon’s Legacy]

Grade: Hidden

D’Askandar’s power has taken root within you. For a limited time, you can wield pure Spirit Power. Use it to purify Nua, who has been corrupted and consumed by resentment. From this point on, your attacks can cleanse the corruption of the Divine Deer, Nua.

The system message floating in front of him was clear enough. It told him not to slack off and simply rely on the wolf. Do-Jin glanced at it once and then swiped it away as he steadied himself for the fight. He reached out and grabbed Unit 782’s shoulder, shaking it lightly to snap her out of that daze.

She turned toward him with trembling eyes. “I’m so confused... Why does this kind of thing keep happening? I don’t even understand what’s going on anymore.” Her voice faltered as she tried to hold back the tears.

Do-Jin murmured quietly in response, “I’ll finish this quickly. Once this is over, everything will feel a whole lot lighter for you.”

He tightened his grip on her shoulder before stepping forward. Do-Jin fixed his eyes on the point where Dagne’s power clashed head-on with Nua’s. The wolf had been getting pushed back bit by bit, but he was at least holding his ground now. However, it wasn’t the same as winning.

Nua kept spiraling further into her frenzy. Her aura spread like black ink, turning darker by the second. While her strength climbed with every breath she took, Dagne’s had a time limit. Sooner or later, it would burn out, leading to an inevitable conclusion.

“Didn’t you say your power would only last a bit? Let’s finish this fast,” Do-Jin said sharply.

“I’m sorry you got dragged into this,” Dagne replied, his voice heavy with guilt.

“I don’t believe in guilt by association, so no need to apologize for your so-called brother.”

“Brother in spirit. He was never my blood.”

Do-Jin let out a short laugh. The old wolf actually had a sense of humor buried under all that seriousness.

“Here I go.” Dagne growled, forcing all his power into one leap forward.

He plowed straight through the waves of destructive force. As his body slammed into her chest, Nua was staggered, her channeling interrupted. The destructive surge she had been unleashing over the entire battlefield cut off in an instant.

So purifying with damage really just means beating the shit out of her until it sticks, Do-Jin thought. There aren’t many things I’m better at than that.

This was the opening Do-Jin needed to finally let loose. He drew every drop of his strength to the surface. The golden Grimoire of Truth flew open, and his Magic Circuits flared into full activation. After spells had been slotted into place in a precise order, the Rune Gauntlet lit up in response to his mana and fired off the finished magic in a dazzling barrage.

A tidal wave of fire slammed into Nua’s massive body, followed by a towering pillar of flame that roared up from the ground. A spiraling wind wrapped around the blaze, gripping it and driving it even harder across her body. On the flank, an orb of ice hammered her relentlessly, stacking cold damage that gnawed at her without pause.

Do-Jin didn’t let up, and while his circuits screamed under the strain, the speed of his casting became unparalleled. It was something no mage his level could ever hope to match. Every spell that touched the Rune Gauntlet transformed into a deadly finishing strike, polished into a weapon of execution.

Nua let out an agonizing scream. The sound was laced with sticky resentment, a curse clinging to every note of her howl.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” she roared.

However, every one of her attacks ran into Dagne instead. The spirit had already resigned himself to disappearing, and his relentless protection allowed Do-Jin to become an auto-turret.

I don’t know how much more health this thing has, but I’ll keep chipping away until there’s nothing left, Do-Jin thought.

Whether it was her life or her corruption, it didn’t matter. If it was something he could smash through with raw firepower, he would grind it into dust. If he could burn through it, he would. As long as he could plant his feet and unleash everything, not even a party full of Tier 5 mages could match his firepower.

Besides, my mana is infinite right now. What the hell can’t I blow through?

Every spell he cast burned no energy of his own, the cost replaced entirely by the Spirit Power D’Askandar had left behind. The fight had become nothing more than a time attack. Purification had to be finished before Dagne’s borrowed strength collapsed. In a battle where victory was decided by how much damage could be piled on within a limited window, nothing could have rivaled a mage with no mana cap.

“Now’s the time! Just push a little harder!” Dagne roared.

Under the nonstop assault from Do-Jin and the wolf, Nua stumbled and crashed to the ground. Without missing the opportunity, Dagne lunged and sank his teeth into Nua’s neck, locking it down with sheer force.

Then, he looked straight at Do-Jin with burning eyes and said, “Thank you.”

The Spirit Power that made up his body went wild, bursting outward like a storm. It pressed down on every shred of energy bleeding out of Nua, as if he could strangle her curse itself into silence. This wasn’t a spirit waiting calmly for the end, but one dead set on blowing himself to hell while he still had power left to burn.

“I should be the one thanking you...” Do-Jin muttered, his voice low and grim.

He felt Dagne’s resolve and answered with his own. Every ounce of destructive force he possessed exploded outward all at once. His mana collided with the raging storm of both spirits, tearing the clearing apart as the powers clashed and howled.

Is this the end? Do-Jin wondered.

Spirit Power was still mana. The night sky shimmered as its color shifted, changing with every heartbeat. The blood-red corruption that clung to Nua’s aura mixed with Dagne’s power and slowly began to neutralize.

It was working. He could see it.

“Get back!” Dagne’s warning slammed through just before it happened.

Nua’s grudge, a festering hatred that had piled up for over five hundred years, burst free in one colossal detonation. Dagne tore himself away from her neck and hurled his body forward, blocking Do-Jin and Unit 782. Even so, Do-Jin’s circuits ruptured in an instant. The veins around them blackened as a flood of filthy mana seared through him.

Fuck—

The attack hit before he could brace himself. His vision warped, and his consciousness slipped away like someone had yanked the floor out from under him.

Having been frozen in despair, Unit 782 suddenly snapped back to consciousness and screamed, “Do-Jin!”

She bolted upright and ran, crashing into him with her arms outstretched. They wrapped around his body with desperate force. A moment later, the clearing was swallowed by chaos as a storm of mana tore through, carrying all those centuries of festering rage.