A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression

Chapter 109

"Ugh!"

The mage staggered backward, startled by the Flash Bomb skill thrown by Sieg.

In the blink of an eye, Sieg dashed forward using Swift Wind Technique and swung his sword at the mage.

Swoosh!

The mage's body wavered, turning into black smoke before disappearing and reappearing elsewhere.

The mage glared at Sieg, eyes glowing red.

"You're using an unknown power."

The mage called out to the Imperial hounds, still reeling from the Flash Bomb, unable to fully open their eyes.

"You fools! Get up quickly and catch that guy!"

With the mage's assistance, the Imperial hounds regained their sight and surrounded Sieg.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Sieg swung his sword, infused with the power of his sect.

Slash!

Unable to block Sieg's sword, the Imperial hounds were decapitated and fell to the ground dead.

As the Imperial hounds perished, the mage began chanting in an eerie voice.

Woo woo woo woo!

A sinister aura gathered around the mage.

Having dealt with the relentless Imperial hounds, Sieg charged toward the mage with his sword drawn.

At that moment, the mage completed his chant, and a dark aura slithered out from his body.

The dark energy seeped into the dead Imperial hounds' bodies.

Crack!

As the dark aura penetrated them, the bodies of the dead Imperial hounds twisted and rose from the ground.

Groooowl!

Their severed limbs reattached, and they charged at Sieg once more, wielding swords.

"What are those...?"

Sieg inwardly panicked but swung his sword at the resurrected Imperial hounds.

Slash!

However, even when their limbs were severed, the Imperial hounds quickly reattached and charged at Sieg again.

Grrraaar!

No matter how many times he swung his sword, it seemed endless. Sieg realized he needed a different method as he noticed the eerie energy emanating from the dead Imperial hounds.

"It seems I'll have to use purification."

If he stalled any longer and allowed more Imperial hounds to arrive, his retreat would be completely blocked.

Sieg automatically equipped Agamemnon's Mask on his face.

Then, he unleashed the purification skill against the dead Imperial hounds.

Woooong!

A golden wave emanated from Sieg, enveloping the bodies of the Imperial hounds.

"Keek, keek!"

"Cough!"

The Imperial hounds hit by the golden wave writhed as black blood poured from their eyes, ears, and mouths.

Soon after, black smoke billowed from their entire bodies.

Sieg used the electric current skill on the crippled Imperial hounds.

Bzzt!

The Imperial hounds, electrified from head to toe, turned black and collapsed to the ground.

Witnessing the Imperial hounds fall once more, the mage stared at Sieg in disbelief.

"Did you nullify the power of the dead? Inconceivable..."

The mage realized that the knight before him was not just any intruder.

He banged his staff on the ground in determination.

"I cannot let you leave."

In an instant, the ground where the mage had struck with his staff started to crack.

Crrrrrack!

Starting from the point the staff had struck, the entire laboratory floor began to fracture and crumble.

Sieg too fell down with it.

"Damn!"

He tried to use the Energy of Wind to ascend, but the mage did not allow it.

Whoooooosh!

A black aura from the mage's staff blocked the hole like a dark cloud.

Sieg swung his sword at the dark clouds.

They dispersed momentarily but quickly regrouped, trying to envelop Sieg.

"Get away!"

Sieg descended along the wall, evading the dark clouds.

He used the purification skill against the dark clouds.

Woooong!

The dark clouds, touched by the golden wave, scattered into black ash.

However, Sieg ultimately could not ascend and continued to fall down along the wall.

Thud!

As soon as he landed, Sieg used his Dragon Eyes to survey his surroundings.

'Where is this place?'

The area below the laboratory seemed to be connected to a historical site.

It appeared to be a temple carved entirely from a sandstone wall, so immense the top couldn't even be seen.

Sieg stood in awe of the enormous scale of the ruins.

Though he had ventured into many dungeons in his previous life, this was his first time encountering such a vast ruin.

Momentarily captivated by the sheer size, Sieg quickly regained his composure, wary that the mage in the black robe might emerge from anywhere, and searched for an exit.

If the Imperial hounds managed to set up a complete net, his identity might be compromised.

Surveying cautiously, he ventured deeper into the temple, navigating through a space lined with massive pillars inscribed with the unique symbols of the Avian faction.

At the end of this space was an entrance that appeared to lead into the temple.

"The temple entrance is here. Then perhaps the excavation site outside was just a residential area where ancient Avian race lived."

If the residential area and temple were indeed together, the quantity for excavation would be enormous. With the discovery of a dungeon of this magnitude, it seemed the Empire was determined to seize this territory.

Moreover, the Hawkmans had been famous for their mysterious powers throughout history.

Likely, the Emperor sought the secret to immortality within Avian ruins.

Sieg approached the temple entrance.

However, a gigantic statue stood in front of the entrance.

Sieg recalled the designs he had seen on the laboratory wall earlier.

The image of a Avian warrior clad in heavy armor.

The statue before him bore that exact resemblance.

"It's quite imposing."

Just as Sieg attempted to enter the temple to find an exit.

Rumble!

Suddenly, the statue began to move.

Crash!

The statue, in the likeness of a Avian warrior, rose, wielding the axe-spear it carried.

Whooosh!

Sieg quickly stepped back in shock.

"What the hell is that? Could it be a golem?"

Though he had seen golems during his dungeon expeditions in his past life, he had never seen one as massive as this.

At that moment, an unknown language resonated from the Avian golem.

Fortunately, the system interpreted the language for him.

『Intruder detected in the temple. Eliminate the enemy.』

In an instant, flames blazed in the golem's eyes, spewing a massive fire toward Sieg.

"Hah!"

Sieg exerted all his willpower to unleash the Will of 'Guard'.

The flames could not touch Sieg, splitting and scattering to the sides.

Caught off guard by the abrupt appearance and subsequent assault of the golem, Sieg could hardly catch a breath.

It was then.

Screeeech!

A rift opened and the mage, who had hidden his presence, appeared before Sieg.

In a foreboding voice, he addressed Sieg.

"That golem will eliminate any intruder in the temple. If you wish to live, you need to surrender to me."

Ahead lay the colossal golem, behind the suspicious mage.

There was no retreat.

"Damn, one problem after another."

At that moment, the system prompt appeared.

『The system has detected a guardian in safe mode.』

『Once the guardian's access code is identified, it can be controlled by the administrator system.』

Sieg was taken aback by the system's message.

"System, how can you recognize the golem's access code?"

『Typically, the access code for humanoid guardians is inscribed within the core located inside the left chest.』

Equivalent to where a human heart would be.

"So I have to extract the core from inside the chest."

Facing the massive ancient golem, Sieg brandished his sword.

The fortunate part was that the mage was not controlling the golem.

Clutching his sword, Sieg sprinted toward the golem.

Caught off guard, the mage in the black robe shouted as he didn't expect Sieg to face the golem.

"That foolish man! It's beyond human capability to face that!"

The mage, who intended to capture Sieg alive for interrogation, became anxious at the thought of him being killed by the golem.

While the mage was flustered, Sieg had already closed in on the golem. As Sieg approached, the golem swung its axe-spear at him.

Whooosh!

The mage interceded, using magic to distort space and halt the axe-spear.

Screeeech!

"As expected."

Taking advantage of the mage blocking the golem's attack, Sieg drew his sword.

Woooong!

The power of the ultimate will gathered into the sword.

Sieg summoned the will of the most potent word in the lexicon of monosyllabic spells.

'Break (破)'

Rumble!

The Soul Resonance of Break infused into Sieg's sword.

At that moment, Sieg extended his sword long toward the golem's core.

Bam bam bam!

The mighty force of the word collided with the golem's core area.

Observing this, the mage was immensely startled.

"What, what is that?"

It was a kind of power he had never encountered.

Unlike the aura used by knights, it was a completely different kind of wave.

As the mage was consumed by a desire for Sieg, he released the protective barrier, allowing the golem's axe-spear to descend upon Sieg.

Crash!

As the temple floor caved in, dust clouds billowed up.

Through clairvoyance, the mage attempted to track Sieg's presence.

Clairvoyance, capable of gazing into the soul of living beings, could not be avoided by any magic or skill.

"There you are!"

Sensing a living presence, the mage cast a spell.

Yet, what emerged from the dust cloud wasn't Sieg.

"Screech!"

Chimera Gurav lunged at the mage.

"Argh!"

The mage quickly stepped back, avoiding Chimera's attack.

Simultaneously, Gurav spat venom at the mage.

Screech!

The mage used spatial distortion to block the venom and ground his teeth.

"Damn it! Wait, isn't that Gurav's Chimera?"

The mage recognized the Chimera as belonging to Gurav, an elder of the Scorpion Clan.

Suddenly, something clicked in his mind.

"It's him! The one who attacked the southern continent laboratory!"

Rumble!

Black energy surged from the mage's body.

At the same time, his eyes turned red.

The atmosphere swiftly shifted, becoming starkly different from moments before.

"I must capture the one who killed Cain."

Seeing the mage's red eyes, Gurav stepped back in fear.

Not letting Gurav escape, the mage extended his hand toward it.

Just then.

Whoosh!

A blade of wind flew towards the mage.

Screeech!

The mage distorted space to block the blade.

He turned his head to see Sieg standing on the shoulder of the golem.

The mage looked at Sieg incredulously.

"How did you control the Sky Golem?"

Countless baffling anomalies surrounded him.

How could a knight, not even a sorcerer, operate a golem, unattainable even with the knowledge of the abyss?

Sieg commanded the guardian.

"Capture that guy."

Rumble!

The guardian's eyes flashed, and its beak gaped open.

A radiant light emanated from the beak inside the guardian.

Ziiing!

A massive column of light was unleashed from the mouth.

Boom!

The pillar of light engulfed the mage.

"Argh!"

He hastily ripped through space and slipped into it, avoiding the light beam.

"I must escape from this place!"

Truly, he was one who had swallowed the vessel. Without caution, he might perish before capturing him.

As the mage hurried to hide within a tear in space, his magic wouldn't respond strangely.

"Could it be?"

It was Sieg's Magic Reflection skill thwarting the mage's spell.

The mage brandished his staff, aiming at Sieg.

"You wretch!"

Sieg leaped from the golem's shoulder, sword in hand, and charged at the mage.

Slash!

Sieg's sword severed the mage's arm and immediately pierced his abdomen.

"Ugh!"

The mage, struck by Sieg's sword, collapsed to the ground.

Sieg approached the mage, removed his black robe, and checked his face.

The mage's face bore countless peculiar patterns, with an unfamiliar rune inscribed like a brand on his forehead.

Pointing his sword at the mage, Sieg spoke.

"Answer my questions and I might spare your life."

The mage panted heavily.

Sieg questioned him.

"What is this 'Abyss'?"

The mage sneered weakly.

"You've... meddled with something you should never have, cough... an existence beyond..."

"For someone on the verge of death, you're full of bravado."

Sieg pushed the mage's body, fully knocking him down, and pressed his foot onto his neck.

"Ugh."

"Seems like you're not part of the Scorpion Clan. Are you another illegal clan researching taboo magic?"

The mage remained silent.

Deciding not to waste any more time, Sieg chose the ultimate method.

He equipped Agamemnon's Mask.

"Purification."

Wooong!

A golden wave emanated from Sieg's body and seeped into the mage.

"Aargh!"

As Sieg had anticipated, the mage felt excruciating pain upon contact with the purifying light.

"Aaaaah!"

Sieg addressed the mage again.

"Speak about the Abyss."

"N-no, I can't!"

Sieg intensified the power of purification.

The mage's eyes rolled back as foam frothed from his mouth.

"Ugh! The Book of the Dead!"

"The Book of the Dead?"

Suddenly, black things began to wriggle from the mage's eyes, mouth, and nose.

"Eek!"

Dozens of horrific worms burst forth.