高温作业分级

Chapter 440

[You’re referring to the Wandering Martial God, is that correct?]

The Dragon Lord questioned Seong Jihan as if he couldn’t understand.

“That’s right.”

[You’re saying he looked exactly like me? Impossible.]

Swish.

The Lord moved his serpentine head.

[This form is unique to me among the Dragon Clan. The appearance of Martial God you saw must be some inferior imitation.]

“Hmm…”

The Dragon Lord asserted that there’s no way Martial God’s head could resemble his own.

‘Since I haven’t actually seen Martial God’s head myself, it’s ambiguous to refute that claim.’

The information Gilgamesh provided in the community about the connection between Martial God and the Dragon Lord was all Seong Jihan had.

If the Dragon Lord denied it, there wasn’t much more Seong Jihan, who hadn’t actually seen it, could say.

However.

“Still, it’s strange. It looked exactly the same as what I saw?”

For now, Seong Jihan tried insisting as if he had truly seen it himself.

It seemed unlikely Gilgamesh would say they were identical if the resemblance was only slight.

Furthermore.

‘If I don’t say I saw it directly, Gilgamesh who provided the information might get interrogated.’

It wasn’t that Seong Jihan particularly trusted Gilgamesh.

But it also felt wrong to just abandon him like this when he was providing information in his own way.

Here, it would be better to pretend he saw it himself and keep Gilgamesh out of suspicion for now.

So Seong Jihan took it a step further.

“Yeah. Could it be that you were cloned or something back in your pet days?”

[…What did you just say?]

“Cloned? It’s possible, isn’t it.”

[No, before that. What… days did you say?]

“Oh, pet? I heard you were the pet of the Red Administrator. The Sun King was Red’s disciple.”

[…]

Hiss…

At Seong Jihan’s blunt use of the term ‘pet’, the Dragon Lord was at a loss for words.

And then.

-Wow, he’s saying that to the Dragon Lord;;

-But was the Dragon Lord really the Red Administrator’s pet?

-There were rumors the Administrator rode him around but everyone thought no way, who would ride a Great Constellation;;

-I’m also hearing for the first time that the Sun King was his disciple.

The alien viewers watching the final match seemed unaware of the details Seong Jihan revealed and were rapidly sharing this information.

The viewers had already gathered in droves to see the final match and how the sealed Red hand would turn out.

At this rate, it seemed the theory ‘Dragon Lord = Administrator’s Pet’ would become established fact in the BattleNet community.

As Seong Jihan glanced at the heated chat window reactions with one eye,

[I was going to just cut off your arms and let you live. But you’re bringing death upon yourself.]

Fwoosh…!

The body of the Blue Dragon the Lord had descended into began to burn.

The flames that instantly engulfed the body of the level 9 constellation left only the serpent’s neck.

And spread in all directions.

[No… Your sin is too great to be paid for with just your death. Your race will have to take responsibility as well.]

“You’re going to hold humanity responsible just because I mentioned you were a pet in the past? How narrow-minded are you for a Lord?”

Saying that, Seong Jihan smirked.

“Ah, I guess. Since you lived a long life as a pet, you might be narrow-minded. I’ll acknowledge that.”

Hearing those words, the flames grew more intense.

Being called the Administrator’s pet seemed to definitely strike a nerve with the Dragon Lord.

However.

‘He’s getting angry, but not hastily unleashing his power.’

Even though he got upset at Seong Jihan’s provocation, the Dragon Lord didn’t emotionally lash out at him.

Rather, while burning up the Blue Dragon’s body,

He was steadily taking over the inside of the arena with his flames.

Now the opponent was just a long serpent’s neck amidst the flames.

But the mana emanating from there was much more powerful than when it had a body.

‘I don’t think I can shake him up more with pet remarks… I should take the initiative.’

As Seong Jihan thought that and took out the Phoenix Spear from his inventory,

[The Great Constellation ‘Sun King’ asks if the Wandering Martial God’s head is really identical to the Dragon Lord’s.]

The Sun King, who had become his sponsoring constellation, suddenly sent a message.

“Yeah, completely identical. That blackish-red serpent head, Martial God had it too.”

Despite the fact that all he actually saw was a single line of text from Gilgamesh, Seong Jihan affirmed it with a calm face.

The Sun King immediately responded to this.

[The Great Constellation ‘Sun King’ promises to grant you immense rewards if you find out the location of the Wandering Martial God.]

[He also promises that if you leave the ‘Solar Core’ where Martial God is, he will absolutely never touch the player or humanity.]

The Sun King, no longer having any intention of hiding the purpose of the Solar Core, told him to leave it where Martial God was.

Meanwhile, the Dragon Lord, whose head shape was identical, was certain his head was unique and that Martial God’s was an inferior imitation.

The third party, the Sun King, seemed to know something about Martial God’s true identity instead.

‘…Could this guy really have been cloned or something?’

When he asked the Dragon Lord earlier if he was cloned during his pet days, it was just to provoke him.

But the Sun King was reacting strangely.

As Seong Jihan quietly looked at the message the Sun King sent,

Flash!

[The Great Constellation ‘Sun King’ tells you to survive until then and bestows the ‘Blessing of the Sun’.]

Intense light poured out from the sun brightly illuminating the arena.

That sunlight began to gather directly towards Seong Jihan standing in the arena.

Then, the firepower gathered in the Phoenix Spear became even more powerful.

‘This has quite a buff effect. Considering various factors, it should show an efficiency of about 20%.’

The Sun King, who previously seemed like he would capture and kill Seong Jihan at any moment, suddenly became an ally.

Was it because the Dragon Lord stole the spotlight from him?

Or was it because of the fact that the Wandering Martial God’s true appearance resembled the Dragon Lord?

The Sun King’s true intentions couldn’t be clearly discerned yet, but Seong Jihan decided to make good use of the buff he gave for now.

Fwoosh…!

As the Phoenix Spear burned even more powerfully, the Dragon Lord’s gaze turned towards the sky.

More precisely, towards the sun.

[Sun King… Are you trying to intervene in the Space Arena? The price will be hefty.]

No matter how much of a Great Constellation he was, giving a buff in the arena’s final match wasn’t an easy thing to do.

The Dragon Lord pointed this out, but.

[Rather than watching the beast raised covet its master’s possession, it would be right for the disciple to carry on the master’s accomplishments.]

The Sun King’s voice was heard from the sky.

At those words clearly referring to the Dragon Lord as a beast,

Fwoosh…!

The Dragon Lord’s flames grew even fiercer.

[Hah… Disciple? The one who was no different from a slave is beautifying his memories.]

[Look who’s talking. The sight of the snake groveling on the ground, fawning over its master is still vivid in my eyes.]

[…When I become the Administrator, I will steal your light first.]

Flash!

With that, the Dragon Lord glared at Seong Jihan’s right arm.

[Give me your arm and die, Seong Jihan.]

As soon as those words ended,

The arena was instantly engulfed in enormous flames.

* * *

The golden tower located in Tuseong.

Pythia was frowning as she watched the final match of the tournament.

‘How does Seong Jihan know that?’

Just a moment ago, Pythia had argued with Gilgamesh about Martial God’s head.

So when Seong Jihan revealed it right away in the final match, she felt suspicious.

“Gilgamesh. Don’t tell me… you’re in contact with Seong Jihan?”

Pythia looked at Gilgamesh’s head with doubtful eyes.

Her hand was already raised above Gilgamesh’s head.

‘That damn descendant brat, why would he reveal it right away…!!’

No, it hasn’t even been that long since I sent the text and he’s already spilling the beans?

Gilgamesh gnashed his teeth inwardly, but for now decided to feign ignorance as much as possible.

Just then,

[It looked exactly the same as what I saw?]

On the BattleTube screen, Seong Jihan was also calmly claiming he saw it himself.

“How can I, with only a head left, be in contact with him! Look at that! Isn’t he saying he saw it directly!”

“When would that guy have a chance to see My lord’s face?”

“How would I know that! Stop making absurd accusations and just hit me if you want to hit me!”

“…”

Pythia looked down at Gilgamesh with cold eyes, but.

[Yeah, completely identical. That blackish-red serpent head, Martial God had it too.]

As Seong Jihan on the screen kept talking as if he really saw it, her suspicion subsided slightly.

“…I’ll let it slide for now. But until we go to Earth, I’ll have to keep watching you right next to me from now on.”

“Hmph. Staying with me all the time… Do you like me that much? You’re worthy of being my first companion.”

“Companion? This crazy bastard, seriously… I’ll make that mouth disappear.”

Bam! Bam!

While Pythia, whose eyes rolled back at the word companion, was determinedly beating Gilgamesh’s head,

Hiss…

[Wait a moment.]

Behind Pythia’s back, Martial God’s figure appeared.

The red eyes in the darkness were always shining ominously,

But today, the power it exuded was even more baleful.

“Ah. Understood, My lord.”

Pythia stopped her punches and quickly knelt down.

Martial God looked down at the two with haunting eyes.

[Who divulged information about my head.]

“Th-that’s…”

[No, there’s no need to ask. I can just look and find out.]

Hiss…

From the darkness, a serpent’s head popped out.

It swallowed Pythia first.

Watching Martial God examine Pythia’s memories inside the serpent’s head,

Gilgamesh thought.

‘…They really look exactly the same.’

The Dragon Lord in the BattleTube screen Pythia had pulled up, and the serpent head Martial God summoned.

Clearly their sizes were different, but their appearances were completely identical.

To this extent, it wasn’t something the Dragon Lord should dismiss as an imitation.

Meanwhile,

[…You two, definitely had a conversation related to this.]

Bam!

After reading Pythia’s memories, Martial God spat her back out.

Then his two gazes turned towards Gilgamesh.

[Gilgamesh. Was it you who informed him?]

“…Hah! With only a head left, how could I have informed him?”

Lying to someone who reads memories,

Would be quickly exposed anyway,

But Gilgamesh tried to resist as much as possible.

He wasn’t someone who would go easy on him even if he told the truth.

So he decided to be stubborn to the end.

Furthermore,

[That… I will know once I look…]

“Yeah. Swallow me up then. Let me get out of here for a bit!”

Gilgamesh, who had become one with the tower,

Wanted to be swallowed by that guy and escape from here even for a moment.

Martial God’s serpent wouldn’t be able to devour the entire tower, so even if it ate him, it would only take out Gilgamesh’s body to examine.

Of course, it might just eat his head,

‘Anyway, I want to separate from this damn tower.’

From Gilgamesh’s perspective, having become one with the Babel Tower, he just wanted to get out of here for now.

At that moment,

Pythia, who had fallen to the ground, struggled to get up.

“M-My lord. But if his fusion with the tower breaks… It will take time to combine them again.”

[How much longer will it take?]

“It will likely take at least two more months…”

[…]

If he examined Gilgamesh’s memories, it would delay the achievement of his grand scheme by two more months.

Two months.

A short period, if it could be called short.

‘The Dragon Lord and Sun King… Now that the two Great Constellations have begun to intervene in earnest, time is of the essence.’

For Martial God, he couldn’t afford to wait even that long.

[We can’t delay it that much.]

“Th-then…”

[…Let’s leave Gilgamesh alone for now. But he is definitely the culprit. Pythia. Keep watching him.]

“Yes… I will make sure such an unfortunate incident never happens again.”

[Still, letting it slide is too much for the sin he committed.]

Swish.

With a wave of Martial God’s hand,

“Huh?”

Wrinkles instantly appeared on Gilgamesh’s face.

And his hair began to fall to the floor.

[I strip you of a portion of your immortality. Gilgamesh. Experience the aging you so desperately tried to avoid.]

“Wha…”

[Pythia. Then keep watching him.]

“Understood.”

Hiss…

With that, Martial God disappeared.

Pythia stared at the spot where he vanished for a moment, then turned her gaze towards Gilgamesh.

In this brief moment,

Gilgamesh, who had the appearance of a middle-aged man, had already become an old man.

“You’ve shriveled up.”

“Th-this can’t be. I have the authority of life…”

“Wait, you were bald? No wonder your hair was thinning.”

“Wh-what… Me? That’s absurd!”

To Gilgamesh who denied reality,

Swish.

Pythia conjured up a mirror.

“You’ll know if you look. Your hair all fell out.”

“Th-this is… because of the curse of aging!”

“What are you saying? Do all old people go bald? Dongbang Sak had lots of hair.”

“Th-that guy is different! If I wasn’t tied up, I would have hair!”

“From now on, only sponsor bald people. They seem to be your descendants.”

“Guhhh…!”

At those words, the face of the old man Gilgamesh crumpled.

“Ah, gross. I feel a bit bad hitting an old man?”

Pythia scoffed at him and pulled up the BattleTube screen again.

In the battlefield of the arena filled with only flames,

“Hmm… He’s still alive.”

Seong Jihan was holding his own against the Dragon Lord.