The chill enveloped the group, immediately freezing everything it touched upon contact with the air, including buildings and the bodies of people.
Shoes, calves, thighs.
Starting from the part furthest from the heart, the body began to freeze sequentially. It was an unstoppable force. It pursued them even in flight, and clung on despite swinging arms.
With a cracking sound, someone screamed in agony when the chill reached from the waist up to the chest.
It was Igor.
"Damn snake!"
Igor, hurling the greatest insult possible at the dragon while sending Misha and everyone else behind him, screamed fiercely. Facing the dragon, he stretched out his hand. From his thick fingertips, flames that would not die even in the coldest winter rose.
In an instant, hot flames dominated the area where Kang Sihyun and his party were standing.
It was both hot and cold. In this bizarre scene, where sweat dripped while feet froze, flames collided with the dragon's breath. Initially, the dragon, empowered by Gula, held the upper hand, but the situation shifted slightly when Changsik joined the fray.
Standing next to Igor, Changsik lent his strength. Their combined flame skills surged forward as if to engulf the chill emitted by Nonus.
With a loud roar, the top floor was dyed red and blue, and chains lying on the floor were thrown about by the shockwave. Igor, having faced Nonus's power head-on, shouted at his dumbstruck companions.
"Are you all out of your minds?"
His angry voice boomed through the space. It was only after hearing his bellowing that people realized the seriousness of the battle and started moving, weapons in hand.
While Nonus focused on Igor and Changsik, Kang Sihyun, protected by his barrier and Lucia's blessing, charged at Nonus alongside Misha. Other Awakened supported them, but to little avail.
As the flame bearers began to falter, knowing that if they were completely pushed back, Nonus's attention would shift elsewhere, making the battle end all too trivially, the Awakened glanced at the screaming duo.
Despite everyone's efforts, the situation was chaotic.
Watching as everyone swung their swords in different directions, Kang Sihyun bit his lip.
They needed an order.
There was a need for more systematic movement, but how to go about it was unclear.
The problem was that everyone's arm was chained. Bound by chains, they couldn't use their full strength or move freely. Igor and Changsik were no exception.
If only those two could use their full strength, Kang Sihyun thought, changing his target. First, they had to break the chains. Although no one had succeeded in breaking the chains in a previous attempt, they had to make the impossible possible now.
How could they break the chains?
They had to use the strongest means available.
Suddenly, Kang Sihyun's gaze landed on the rod in his hand.
The rod, acquired in Egypt, was the finest weapon Kang Sihyun had ever handled and was special.
It was the weapon related to the voice that defeated Decuminus.
With no other choice but to pin his hopes on this weapon, Kang Sihyun quickly took out the bow strapped to his back.
Even if he was adept, shooting an arrow with one hand was impossible. Regrettably, there was no other option but to use the copy skill on his Psychokinesis to fix the bow in the air.
Instead of an arrow, he placed the shining rod on the bowstring. Thankfully, the rod was adjustable in size. As he reduced the rod to the appropriate size, Igor and Changsik being pushed back by Nonus's power became visible.
"Hold on a bit longer!"
To break the chains, Igor's chain was the priority. Kang Sihyun, following his arm upwards, identified the chain connected to the ceiling and pulled the bowstring tightly. Squinting, he aimed.
Arrow enhancement and infallible accuracy.
Both skills were imbued into the rod, which was already emitting light, and now it also absorbed a blue aura. Kang Sihyun released the bowstring he had pulled to its limit.
With a ping, the arrow shot forth menacingly through the air. The weapon, enhanced with the infallible accuracy skill, unimpededly collided with the chain restraining Igor.
That was the moment.
Crack.
The sharply transformed rod pierced through the chain. Kang Sihyun's eyes widened at the unexpected scene. The arrow, gaining acceleration, pierced through Nonus's ice.
With a loud crash, as the chain broke, the building shook. The chain that had been tightly gripping his arm fell, and Igor reflexively extended his hand to use a skill. Hot energy burst from his entire body.
Flames erupted from his feet and body, and as his palms came together, they explosively released even greater power. The intensified flame grew in stature, swallowing Nonus's breath.
For the first time, the imposing Nonus staggered back.
There was a chance of victory.
Seeing hope, Kang Sihyun used his psychokinesis to retrieve the rod and then aimed at Changsik's chains.
With another loud roar, the skill lived up to its name.
Once again, the arrow pierced a chain, and another Awakened gained freedom. As if he had been waiting, Changsik extended his remaining arm to support Igor.
Before long, the flames of the two Awakened engulfed half of the top floor.
Thanks to the full effort of the two, they were no longer inferior to the dragon's breath. Nonus seemed perplexed for the first time. Kang Sihyun, noticing the evenly matched situation, pulled the bowstring for the third time.
With a swift motion, the rod pierced Misha's chains.
Then Lucia's, then Uiheon's.
As they freed one person after another, Nonus changed its target.
Turning its head from Igor and Changsik, it opened its mouth towards Kang Sihyun. The two Awakened tried to exploit the opportunity to attack, but Nonus, covering its body with its massive wings, did not change its decision.
A cold energy gathered in its mouth.
With a thunderous roar, it fired a qi blast.
It wasn't something that could be blocked with a normal barrier.
Nor could it be dodged in time.
Kang Sihyun, having drawn more than half of his mana, erected a barrier.
The massive mana, amplified by the fourth Awakening Mark, formed a shield that collided with Nonus's qi blast. The impact sent the Jun-S Rank Russian Awakened flying in all directions.
"Kang Sihyun!"
As the barrier began to crack, Uiheon shouted. Clutching his sword fiercely, he cooperated with Misha to attack Nonus, but their swords couldn't pierce Nonus's tough wings.
Without being able to hit the body, no matter how many times they swung, they couldn't land an effective blow.
Identifying Nonus's weakness in its chest, located between its forelegs, through weakness detection, Kang Sihyun shouted as he replenished the mana in the cracking barrier.
"Nonus's weakness is its chest! Aim there, not the wings!"
The successful detection of the weakness, which he hadn't expected to work so easily, meant the gap in strength between Nonus and himself wasn't too wide, giving Kang Sihyun the courage to believe he could do it.
Even if he struggled to control that damned power that defeated Decuminus, the mana that was the foundation of that power was still overflowing from his body.
Thus, he boldly used more mana to repair the cracks in the barrier. As the fissures finally closed, Nonus squinted its eye. In that state, Kang Sihyun raised the bow to shoot the last arrow.
With a swish, the glowing rod left a white trail as it flew, cutting through the chains holding Kang Sihyun's arm as well. Having regained complete freedom, Kang Sihyun stared directly into the beast's eyes and retrieved the rod.
"Let's see who wins."
Since the other side had recklessly shot a qi blast, he intended to respond in kind.
Kang Sihyun declared they would continue this standoff until either his mana or Nonus's energy ran out, scrutinizing the Awakened struggling to pierce the wings.
Nonus wrapped itself more tightly, flicking away any Awakened that managed to crawl under its wings with its forelegs while keeping its head and gaze on Kang Sihyun, continuously spewing energy. Its stubborn and formidable nature was evident.
Its determination to deal with him first was clear.
If it could kill him, it would then trample the rest like insects, just as it had thought dealing with the fire attribute Awakened, Igor, and Changsik, would suffice.
Receiving the attacks alone was honestly overwhelming. However, now that he stood alone, another force was added on the other side, a fire attribute that posed a threat to Nonus.
With a blaze, the fire pillar created by the combined strength of Igor and Changsik finally pierced Nonus's wings.
A shriek finally escaped the great dragon's mouth. With a large hole in its wings, the distressed dragon quickly turned its head. Its golden eyes glanced at the ceiling, and soon, dozens of chains stretched out from there.
"You thought you could get me twice!"
Igor, fending off the chains, shouted aggressively. Unlike before, when they were caught off guard, all the Awakened were fully alert and didn't fall for it this time. Although a Jun-S Rank Russian Awakened was caught, there were no significant injuries. Nonus, seemingly enraged, growled menacingly.
-You're too presumptuous.
The sinister voice, filled with intense murderous intent, made it clear. Nonus's eyes
narrowed into slits, revealing its anger.
With a loud roar, it thrashed its leg.
"Ugh!"
The Awakened at the spot suddenly fell as if trampled by something immense.
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