MTL NOVEL Chapter 254
Chapter 254. Seven Ancient Deities (8)
We track the enemy. It’s a familiar task by now. First, we need to destroy this haphazardly modified warship. How do we break it?
I looked at the Hero.
“Can you destroy this?”
“It’ll take some time.”
“Let’s go in and break it piece by piece.”
Ahn Yuri nodded and immediately chose a ship to enter. I looked around. If the Humanoid Beings were repairing abandoned human ships at this location…
There must be a reason. There must be Humanoid Beings guarding this site. I used my Clockwork Wings to fly up and survey the area.
When I shone my flashlight, small creatures scattered like cockroaches. What’s that…?
A lizard climbing up the wall.
Upon closer inspection, it was a gecko lizard. Geckos in the Garden, geckos here too. Wasn’t Veritas’ secretary also a gecko?
Do geckos have a high affinity for Supernatural Phenomena? I wonder why they’re so common.
“Hey.”
I chased away the geckos as best as I could and looked around. Fighting Humanoid Beings wasn’t much different from fighting humans. Though there were some strange machines.
Jörmungandr is my ally. Though it’s a massive sea serpent the size of a bus, it’s still a comrade who fought alongside me, or for me, in many battlefields.
Thinking about it, I came up with a way to save Jörmungandr. I returned to the ruins.
Jörmungandr was lying there like a dead fish, groaning repeatedly. I folded my Clockwork Wings and stopped in front of Jörmungandr again.
“Jörmungandr.”
“Why are you calling me?”
“I found a way to revive you.”
“I’m not dead yet…”
This feels like taking care of a dog.
I took out the Dragon Orb from my pocket. Jörmungandr’s eyes stared at me intensely. I tapped the serpent’s head with my foot.
Helping those who fought for me is only natural. Something far more dangerous than any enemy is a subordinate with twisted judgment.
“Open your mouth.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a Dragon Orb I retrieved from a dead dragon’s mouth. This might help you recover.”
“It smells like blood…”
The Dragon Orb began to emit a faint glow, as if drawn to Jörmungandr’s power. Could this orb really revive the serpent deity?
Jörmungandr opened its mouth. I threw the Dragon Orb I brought from the Osaka Branch into its mouth. It felt a bit wasteful to use such a hard-earned orb like this.
Well, let’s see if it works.
“Remember who saved you.”
The Dragon Orb that turns serpents into dragons. Jörmungandr is, after all, a massive serpent-like monster, so it could be considered a dragon, right?
At least, that’s what I thought.
The serpent deity’s eyes widened.
Jörmungandr rolled its body and straightened its head. As if revived. The blood that had been flowing like a waterfall from the serpent deity soon stopped.
“Thank you…”
“You’re welcome.”
Jörmungandr held the Dragon Orb in its mouth and raised its head. The monster slowly opened its mouth, filled with teeth, as if yawning.
“Remember. Tell your siblings. Who saved you. Who the guide of the seven deities in the modern world’s Pantheon is.”
“Understood.”
The tentacles decorating Jörmungandr’s neck moved like a mane in the wind. I looked down at Jörmungandr again, and Jörmungandr bowed its head to me.
“I express my infinite gratitude to you. This time, I might have truly died without you. The fruits of my efforts in aiding your war in the past have returned as prophesied.”
As the massive serpent prepared to rise, the water pooled on the cave floor began to surge.
Jörmungandr raised its head vertically.
“Kieeeeeeeek!”
Finally.
I don’t know how the Humanoid Beings subdued Jörmungandr. How did they manage to subdue Jörmungandr, who returned injured from an airstrike?
It doesn’t matter. Jörmungandr has recovered.
Thanks to the Dragon Orb, Jörmungandr seemed stronger than before its injury. At least, the power surrounding this monster had grown stronger.
Boom!
An explosion. The invisible barrier pressing down on Jörmungandr began to shatter, and the blood that had stained the cave floor red began to glow.
I quickly moved away.
I didn’t expect the effect to be so immediate.
I thought it would just heal moderately. But it wasn’t that kind of force. The area shook with Jörmungandr’s movements, and water droplets rose from the ground.
“It’s over!”
Jörmungandr looked at something.
As if an invisible monster was approaching Jörmungandr. Boom! Jörmungandr charged into the air, and a strange liquid resembling blood splattered along with a horrific scream.
Boom!
Jörmungandr’s body slammed into the ground, and the massive serpent crushed the ship beneath it into dust.
Jörmungandr, now serious, looked incredibly difficult to deal with. It seemed much more powerful than what I saw in the Five Great Lakes.
Did I waste the Dragon Orb?
But. What is it even fighting?
“Hero, let’s move away.”
“What’s fighting what?”
Jörmungandr and something else.
It seems there were separate entities keeping Jörmungandr imprisoned. Receiving the Dragon Orb seems to have given it the will to fight against them.
“Die!”
I didn’t expect the effect to be this drastic. Jörmungandr was thrashing around like a legendary dragon, half-flying. Debris from the shattered ship and massive waves splashed everywhere.
“What’s making it so strong?”
“I don’t know.”
Is it fighting with all its might now? Or is the Dragon Orb really that powerful? If it’s the latter, I might have given it away for nothing.
Mimics or strange Humanoid Supernatural Phenomena hiding in the facility like cockroaches watched Jörmungandr, but it wasn’t a situation for humans to intervene with small-caliber firearms.
An ordinary human wouldn’t even be able to stand.
“It’s much faster than last time.”
“Yeah.”
Dealing with Jörmungandr now would be much harder. Before, the Hero could handle it while I hit it with an anti-tank rocket. That might not work now.
Boom!
Jörmungandr shook its head like a dog with a toy. A tremendous amount of blood splattered in the air. It finally caught something.
“My victory.”
To summarize the event.
This is Jörmungandr’s subspace and prison.
Jörmungandr was bound here by various magical means, and during this battle, the Humanoid Beings nearly killed the serpent deity…
But it revived with the Dragon Orb.
Boom!
A yellow flash momentarily lit up the cave.
Jörmungandr slammed its head into the cave wall. The ancient barrier on the cave wall flickered. The cave fell silent for a moment.
I looked at the Hero.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Okay.”
There’s nothing more to do here. I’ve thanked the serpent deity, revived it from near death, and fulfilled its wishes to some extent.
Let’s move on to the next step.
I returned to the office.
There’s not much left now.
I’ll meet Cernunnos, and finally, meet the entity in the sea. Then, expressing gratitude to the Pantheon will be done.
“Hello, Administrator.”
The Research Department Head was sitting at my desk. With a clumsy smile.
Thinking about it…
The Research Department Head is still alive. Everyone dislikes the Research Department Head, and with such a high position, I thought they’d die soon.
Sometimes, bad people get lucky. It’s just how it is.
The Research Department Head, Lee Se-ah, scratched her head.
“Hmm.”
“What’s wrong?”
Lee Se-ah leisurely cleaned her glasses. As if giving me time to think.
“You’re still alive?”
“Is there a reason I should be dead?”
“I just thought you’d die soon.”
“Well… The Foundation needs villains too. Someone to say what others can’t. Dr. Kim, you understand, right?”
“I guess so.”
“This time, you’re going to see the Owner of the Garden, right? It’s the same. Other Foundation doctors are hesitant about human sacrifice.”
“Hmm. It’s not good.”
Lee Se-ah nodded.
“Exactly. But such things are necessary for the Foundation. If I bring it up first, everyone might dislike it, but deep down, they’re relieved, right?”
I sighed.
“So, you’re volunteering to be the villain?”
“Not exactly volunteering. It’s a necessary role. That’s why, despite Dr. Kim’s expectations, I’m still alive.”
The Research Department Head shrugged.
“Anyway. I came to ask about Cernunnos. Since Dr. Lee manages the Garden, do you know anything special?”
“Ah. Of course.”
“I want to express gratitude to Cernunnos.”
“Ah. That’s a cute idea.”
“It’s dangerous to earn the team’s resentment.”
“I’ve never heard of that before.”
Well. The Research Department Head probably doesn’t think that way. Being disliked by subordinates is familiar. It’s always been like that.