I'm the Only Totem in Another World - Chapter 166

Chapter 166: The Ancient Serpent （7）

The Slime Demon turned to ash and vanished, and Gukbap’s body, riddled with holes, slowly collapsed.

“Gukbap!”

Jackson, who was close friends with him, supported Gukbap just before he fell to the ground.

Hanna examined Gukbap’s body. The amount of bleeding was enormous. He wouldn’t survive no matter what kind of healing he received.

“It’s…better…for…one…person…to…”

Gukbap mumbled something. She couldn’t understand it all, but she could roughly infer it.

It’s better for one person to die than for everyone to die.

Wasn’t that what he was trying to say?

“Buddy. It’s okay. It’s me, Jackson.”

Jackson hugged Gukbap, whose focus was fading, with a gloomy face. The Paladins’ unique strong body and Malak’s blessing were mitigating the damage that would have killed an ordinary person instantly.

Hanna thought that it might be a curse rather than a blessing in a situation like this, as he would eventually die in pain.

“Everyone’s alive. You saved them.”

It seemed that Jackson’s words didn’t reach Gukbap. His eyes were looking somewhere else, not here.

Is he reminiscing about the past?

“Warrior…You have made a noble choice.”

Former Priest Goga approaches sadly. His eyes were clearer than usual, as if his mind had returned for a moment.

“The Loa will guide your soul.”

Solra, Goga’s daughter and Hella’s mother, also approached, performing hand gestures that Hanna had never seen before. It looked like a Barbarian ritual.

‘Loa’ and ‘soul.’ Gukbap’s eyes flashed at those words.

“Ye, Ye.”

Even as he coughed up a mouthful of blood, Gukbap continued speaking.

“Spirit World…”

The Spirit World.

It is the name of the world or dimension where the Loa live. It is a place where those who serve the Loa believe they will go if they achieve great deeds and die.

Is Gukbap asking if he wants to go to such a place, or rather if he can go?

It seems that the funeral held right after Malak’s return left a strong impression on him.

Hanna thought there was no way such a thing existed, but she didn’t say it out loud. Just because powerful monsters pretending to be gods exist doesn’t mean there’s an afterlife, right?

That was just Hanna’s thought.

“Of course. You will belong in the Hall of Ancestors.”

“If it is the soul of a great warrior who saved the lives of many, you will surely be able to go to the Spirit World.”

Goga and Hella agreed. They were smiling. It was the smile of someone who believed that death was not the end.

Gukbap swallowed hard, nodded, and then breathed his last.

“Gukbap…is dead. He sacrificed himself for us.”

Jackson shed tears. As a devout Christian living in Florida, USA, he was a very emotional and sensitive person.

“Yes. It was a heroic act.”

Hanna comforted Jackson. For a brief moment, she wished that the Spirit World was real.

“Let’s go! The demons are coming!”

“Charge!”

But the war wasn’t over yet. The demons were rushing towards the hole in the wall like fireflies that had spotted light.

‘Those damn bastards.’

Krrrroooo━!

As if possessed by something at the earth-shaking roar, she briefly looked up at the sky. Giant monsters were engaged in a fierce battle in the sky.

Thud! Thud!

A tremendous sound erupts every time they collide. They are beings whose strength is beyond imagination.

Should she be thankful that she wasn’t involved in that fight?

Hanna clicked her tongue and raised her sword. The fight, tonight, wasn’t over yet. She had to fight to stay standing until tomorrow morning.

▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄

Crack!

I grabbed the last dragon’s neck and snapped it. It was the one that was about to breathe fire with its mouth wide open, but because the broken bone pierced through its skin and popped out, an accidental discharge occurred.

Whoosh━!

Flames erupt from the dragon’s neck. The pain must have been immense, as it rolled its eyes back.

Yeah, does it hurt a lot? Now die.

I bit and ripped off its neck. The headless body falls towards the ground.

It would have been a disaster if that had fallen on the fortress. It’s a good thing I fought a little distance away from the Tribal Federation.

Anyway, I killed all twelve of the dragons that were bothering me so much. Their breath attacks and their aerial melee combat with their huge bodies weren’t very threatening.

Even though I relentlessly bit the same spot and made them bleed, it wasn’t a fatal blow. Still, they seem to have faithfully served as meat shields and obstacles.

There was a moment when the Seven-Headed Dragon and the dragons hesitated for a while, but for some reason, that gap made it much easier to deal with them.

Did they receive a coordinate transmission from the mid-ranking demons or a call from the Evil God? I don’t know.

Ah, I’m getting tired.

━ …!

No. It’s too early to let my guard down. I haven’t caught the final boss yet.

Swoosh━!

The Seven-Headed Dragon is approaching. I thought I had bought some time when it staggered back after being struck by lightning, but it seems to have recovered from the status ailment already.

Let’s go over my condition and its condition first.

I’ve lost a few teeth, the scales on my waist have been ripped off, and I’ve bled a bit from the dragons’ attacks. The scales all over my body being slightly scorched is a bonus.

It lost one head, its left leg is severely injured to the point where the bone is visible, and its tail is slightly torn off.

Looking at the condition alone, it seems like I’m better off, but the reality is the opposite. It was stopping the bleeding with its excellent regenerative ability and regenerating new flesh and bones, and above all, it was still full of energy.

The head that was frozen solid by the freezing breath and shattered like glass is also slowly regenerating.

But me? I just passed the 20 minutes, which is （probably） the duration of Manifestation. I’m holding on with willpower, but thanks to that, I’m dying.

Ishtania…You threw 100 level 1 Paladins into another world to kill this monstrous bastard? You crazy bitch.

Whoosh!

It spewed green flames from its six heads. The flames spread like a mushroom cloud and approach me.

It’s practically a nuclear explosion breath.

It’s not just the visual image that’s threatening. I couldn’t dodge it earlier while dealing with the dragons and got hit directly, I thought my whole body was going to burn up.

My scales are slightly scorched because of that skill.

I dodged it by bending my long body into a U-shape, and I also breathed freezing breath. The target is one of its heads.

I took down one of its heads with freezing breath too. It froze rapidly and then fell off on its own.

As if realizing it was a threatening attack, the Seven-Headed Dragon hurriedly twisted its body to dodge. It was quite a comical sight, but I couldn’t laugh.

It won’t get hit easily since it got hit hard once. The lightning wasn’t very effective either.

In the end, this means only hand-to-hand combat is left.

After a brief moment of contemplation, I charged. I came up with a way to kill it.

Thud━!

The moment we collided, I used the ‘Totem of Chaos’ that I had been saving for a crucial moment.

Swoosh!

The creature spews blood from its six pairs of eyes. I moved behind it and bit its wing membrane.

Based on my observations so far, this guy uses its wings to fly, unlike me who flies by wrapping my body in divine power.

It’s probably because it doesn’t have enough divine power to cover its entire body. It wouldn’t have wanted to use divine power when it already has perfectly good wings.

Or maybe, unlike me, it doesn’t have the skill to fly by wrapping itself in divine power.

Rip━!

I used my hands and mouth to tear apart all of its wing membranes. The Seven-Headed Dragon hurriedly flapped its wings, but there was no way it could fly with torn wing membranes.

It’s falling. Seeing as it doesn’t wrap itself in divine power until the very end, is the latter the correct answer?

I grabbed the Seven-Headed Dragon. Even at this moment, its eyeballs were regenerating along with smoke. It’s almost a Wolverine-level regenerator.

Still, it’s much more advantageous for me to fight on the ground. It won’t be able to dodge the freezing breath I’ll use next by just walking around.

Thud! Thud!

Its front legs, heavy and solid like an elephant’s front feet, strike my body mercilessly. It hurts so much. The physical shock is one thing, but the mental fatigue makes me feel like I’m going to lose consciousness.

Endure. I must endure. Everyone will live if I kill it. My head hurts so much that I feel like I’m going crazy, but I endured, brainwashing myself that it was still okay.

Slam!

I slammed the Seven-Headed Dragon onto the ground. It staggers and rolls, trying to regain its balance after falling from a height greater than a mountain.

Its entire body is covered in blood due to the impact of the fall, but its six pairs of eyes have already regenerated. What a tough bastard.

If it and Jin Malak had fought each other without penalties, a few worlds wouldn’t have been enough.

Now, let’s finish this. I’ll subdue it and blast freezing breath into its six heads. It hasn’t regained its balance yet.

I moved like I was falling from the sky to the ground. My target is the Seven-Headed Dragon.

I’ll show you a headbutt with all my might. One. Two. Now!

The Seven-Headed Dragon screams in pain as my antlers pierce its abdomen. It’s a hit.

I endured the dizziness and prepared to shoot freezing breath.

Huh, there’s blood coming out of my nose.

Come to think of it, I can’t hear anything anymore. Normally, I should have heard a ‘Swoosh━!’ sound when my antlers pierced its abdomen just now.

My body suddenly feels heavy too. Is Jin Malak’s body becoming unstable because I’ve exceeded the time limit for Manifestation?

…It’s okay. I can still see clearly. I can still shoot at least one more freezing breath. I just need to hit it with this one and release Manifestation.

Enduring the excruciating mental pain, I pulled my antlers out of its abdomen.