EMT 200

Chapter 200

Myang-myangi suddenly becoming a sentient being instead of an item…

I never expected something like this.

Then again, thinking about it, it didn’t make sense for her to be treated as an item in the first place.

By that logic, Lyle—who became a cyborg—and Maverick should also be considered items.

On top of that, if her egg had also existed here, things would’ve gotten complicated.

It wasn’t like a doppelgänger—there would’ve been two identical Myang-myangi.

That would’ve been a disaster.

Still, the unfortunate part was that we unintentionally filled up the limit of five beings we could bring out of the Tower.

And because of that, the Black Ancient Dragon was extremely furious.

[How dare you…! How dare you!]

Her voice shook the ground violently.

It was enough to disrupt balance and split the earth apart.

Just a roar causing an earthquake of this level…

As expected of an Ancient Dragon at a godlike level.

[I will kill you all and take my daughter back!]

“Last time she gave her away herself, and now she wants to take her back. No shame at all.”

At Lee Woo-jae’s muttering, I replied,

“Now what? If we put Myang-myangi forward and try to persuade her, do you think it’ll work?”

“Can’t you see she’s already lost it? It’s pointless.”

“Then you’re saying we fight that entire army of mad dragons?”

“That’s…”

Woo-jae trailed off.

It made sense—the number of mad dragons was far more than expected.

We thought there’d be dozens at most.

There were easily over a hundred.

“This… the number of mad dragons is boss-level. She must be really pissed.”

“Does that mean the difficulty is boss-level too?”

“Not quite. Slightly below that.”

And these weren’t ordinary adult dragons like the 81st-floor boss.

Each one looked powerful.

‘Everyone’s already exhausted… we can’t handle this as we are.’

We had cleared up to the 88th floor at incredible speed, but that didn’t mean it was easy.

We pushed ourselves to the limit to maintain that pace.

I poured out mana while firing the machine gun, Woo-jae, Lyle, and Demian flew around cutting down dragons, and Myang-myangi supported us with all her mana.

On top of that, I had to purify her periodically.

Normally we cleared 10 floors at once, but this time it was too much.

“I think we should retreat here for now. We need to regroup—”

“But if we go back to Earth, you said Myang-myangi might go berserk again. And it’s getting worse.”

“That’s true, but…”

For safety, going back to Earth was the best option.

The problem was that Myang-myangi was already linked to the Dragon Lord.

Even if we returned, I’d have to keep using my authority to purify her—and the episodes were getting more frequent and severe.

If this kept up, I’d end up using too much power on her, and eventually we wouldn’t be able to continue the climb at all.

“We need to kill the Dragon Lord as soon as possible.”

“I get what you’re saying, boss, but how do we do that in this state? Wouldn’t it be better to seal Myang-myangi in the Golden Gourd?”

“Dad… if I’m making things too hard, you can lock me up for a while. …I can endure it.”

Myang-myangi said with an apologetic face.

How could I lock her up after she said that?

And the Golden Gourd wasn’t just a prison.

It was empty inside—and over time, it drove the occupant insane and eventually killed them.

There was no way I could put her in something like that.

Then…

“What if we take Myang-myangi hostage?”

“Huh?”

Woo-jae looked at me blankly.

But there was no time to hesitate.

Her mother was already close.

Without further explanation, I wrapped my arm around Myang-myangi’s neck.

And pressed a pistol to her head.

“Stop!”

[!!!]

The dragon, now about 100 meters away, stopped abruptly.

A massive gust of wind hit me—I almost got blown away.

Even in her madness, she still had maternal instinct.

Well, that’s why she entrusted her egg to Woo-jae while dying.

[W-what are you doing!?]

“What does it look like? Take another step, and I shoot your daughter.”

“D-Dad?”

Myang-myangi looked up at me in shock.

I spoke to her through telepathy.

–You know this is all acting, right? We can’t kill your mother.

–Y-yeah. I understand.

–Good. Play the hostage role.

–Okay.

After getting her agreement, I pressed the gun harder against her temple.

Her body trembled slightly.

Nice acting.

“Take one more step and I’ll pull the trigger. You saw how the other dragons died, right?”

[…Hmph. You think that’s enough to scare me? Even if you shoot the head, as long as the heart lives, a dragon can survive. We’re not weak humans.]

“You think I don’t know that?”

[If you did, you wouldn’t be pointing it at her head like that.]

“Then why don’t you take a look at her chest too?”

[!!]

Of course I knew.

A dragon wouldn’t die from a headshot alone.

That’s why I had prepared something for her chest as well.

Not a gun—but magic.

Horte’s lightning was already set on her heart, ready to explode the moment I let go.

[You stole my daughter, and now you’re using her as a hostage… despicable.]

“That’s rich. If I didn’t have your daughter, you wouldn’t have spared us anyway. You’ve been killing humans left and right.”

[… …]

“Nothing to say, right? Of course not.”

[…What do you want?]

What did I want?

Originally, the goal was to defeat the 89th-floor boss.

But now that wasn’t so simple.

She was Myang-myangi’s real mother.

Killing her in front of her wouldn’t be easy.

“Help us kill the Lord.”

[That’s nonsense!]

Her anger shook the heavens and earth.

As expected of an Ancient Dragon.

Honestly, I thought a volcano might erupt at this rate.

Were dragons really this loyal to their Lord?

Well, asking someone to kill their king would anger anyone.

[Then kill me instead! I will never betray the Lord!]

“I don’t need to kill you. What about her?”

[T-that’s…!]

“If you don’t obey, both of you die. But if you cooperate, you both live. Of course, you’ll have to sign a soul-binding contract.”

Her expression kept changing.

Grief, hesitation, anger, despair…

Finally, she spoke.

[We dragons cannot betray the Lord by nature.]

“What?”

[We are all connected through the Lord. Through something called a ‘link.’]

A massive black dragon form loomed.

A being that strong… unable to betray because of a link?

Was it really that binding?

[Originally, the link wasn’t that restrictive. It allowed freedom, and the Lord only handled major matters—wars, reproduction, things like that. But…]

“But?”

[It suddenly became extremely strong. To the point where all dragons must obey the Lord. We cannot oppose him. We don’t even think to oppose him. It’s as if he’s an absolute god.]

“Even now?”

[Honestly… yes. I cannot betray him. Even if I did, it would only be for my daughter.]

That was unfortunate.

I had thought about recruiting her for the 90th floor.

But dragons couldn’t oppose the Lord at all.

This sudden change in the link…

It had to be the Abyss.

“There’s no way to help indirectly?”

[…What?]

“Like restoring our energy, and making sure your subordinates and family don’t attack us.”

In other words, clear the path.

Don’t interfere.

That way, she wouldn’t be directly opposing the Lord.

[…That is possible.]

“Oh? So you can heal us and not interfere?”

[Yes. I don’t like it… but if it means getting my daughter back.]

That was enough.

In fact, it was perfect.

We could resolve this without killing her.

And face the 90th floor in much better condition.

The only issue left was Myang-myangi.

“…One question. When do dragons usually become independent?”

[What? Why are you asking that?]

“I’m just thinking… isn’t it about time your daughter becomes independent?”

[What are you saying!? She was an egg just a month ago! Her aura is still the same!]

“Look at her. She’s already grown this much.”

It was true.

She hadn’t even been born for a year.

But her growth was absurd.

She had been nurtured by the master of the 90th floor and absorbed countless dragon hearts.

In terms of power, she rivaled adult dragons.

[That…]

“Isn’t it time she stands on her own? Honestly, she’d feel suffocated staying with you.”

“To be honest… that’s true. I’m sorry to the mother who gave birth to me, but I want to be independent now.”

[W-what…]

Myang-myangi jumped in at the perfect timing.

Not great for a hostage act—but for a dragon shocked by her daughter’s sudden growth, it didn’t matter.

“Anyway, we’ll spare you. On the condition that you fully restore us and don’t attack. As for your daughter… we’ll let her decide.”

[…Fine. But I can’t stop the other dragons. Especially when you attack the Lord—their instincts will take over. I can resist because of maternal instinct.]

“I wasn’t expecting that much.”

Skipping the 89th floor was already a huge gain.

And we even got full recovery.

Even if we weren’t at 100%, this was far better.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

For the soul contract—and because she was her mother—I asked.

[Obsidia.]

“That’s a beautiful name.”

I should give Myang-myangi a name like that too.

Looking back… her current name really was kind of lame.

[Then I will begin.]

After the contract was completed, she stretched out her limbs into the sky and cast a spell.