The battle ended, and the Fire Dragon gazed down upon the sea of magma it had created.
There, it could see its subordinate Monsters — but the spider was nowhere to be found.
Its subordinate Monsters had Fire Resistance, but the spider did not.
There was no way it could have survived a direct hit from the Fire Dragon's full-power breath.
...Is that what you thought, you fool!
A massive droplet of poison materialized in the air above the Fire Dragon.
This poison was nothing like the weak toxin that had enveloped my body moments ago.
It was Spider Lethal Poison — a powerful paralytic toxin of the highest potency.
The deadly poison struck the Fire Dragon head-on, right when it thought the fight was over and had let its guard down.
The colossal mass of venom broke through the defense of its Flame Mantle and began corroding its body.
Here — comes — my — scythe attack — with everything I've got!
A perfect strike through the opening in the flames, momentarily created by the massive poison droplet.
Every ounce of my power was channeled into that attack.
That is to say — a double combo of Poison Attack and Corrosion Attack!
Corrosion sliced through its hard scales, while venom gnawed at its insides.
Even I have to admit it's brutal — my most powerful physical attack.
The Fire Dragon let out a cry of agony and plunged into the magma.
I quickly followed the thread I had attached and made my way back to the ceiling.
The Fire Dragon had clearly seen the image of me being destroyed.
Right about now, it must be in a state of confusion.
My survival was simple, really.
For starters, I never actually took the breath attack.
Beyond that, I hadn't even descended from the ceiling to the ground.
What made it all possible was the effect of Heterodox Magic Level 6: Illusory Dream.
My trump card — the one I had been waiting to unleash all along.
Illusory Dream was, in essence, a spell that created hallucinations.
I cast it in that brief moment of panic when it was about to drink the poison I had generated with Poison Synthesis.
The trouble with Heterodox Magic was that you had to seize these openings to cast it — otherwise, it would be easily resisted through its reverse scales and natural defenses.
The Fire Dragon thought I had descended to the ground, but in reality, I had remained stuck to the ceiling the whole time.
And then — the surprise attack, launched the instant it relaxed, thinking the fight was over.
Even the mighty Fire Dragon took massive damage from my strongest physical attack.
For a moment, I considered using the hallucinations to escape.
But running away here wouldn't do.
A life of nothing but running away.
If I kept doing that, I would never change from the day I was driven out of My Home by that human.
I want to live with pride.
That goal would remain forever out of reach.
My Pride — I would never reclaim it.
That was unacceptable.
I am the Lord of Pride.
As one who embodies Pride, I must live with dignity.
So I won't run.
Even if the odds are slim — as long as there's even the slightest chance of winning, I won't flee.
Here, I will defeat the dragon.
I'll defeat the dragon and say goodbye to the weak spider I used to be.
Yes — I'll defeat that loathsome dragon.
...?
Loathsome?
Wait, what?
I had been afraid of the Earth Dragon, sure, but I don't think I ever found it... loathsome?
Huh?
Where is this feeling coming from?
...Well, that doesn't matter right now.
Even though I landed a huge blow, the situation was still just as unfavorable as before.
After all, my HP was at one.
The Endurance skill was active.
On top of being gradually worn down, the recoil from that last attack had pushed me to this state.
Corrosion Attack was powerful, but the recoil was equally devastating.
But the damage this time wasn't just from that.
Even after dousing the flames with poison, the residual heat from the Flame Mantle had still left its mark on me.
My MP, however, remained.
Which meant I wasn't dead yet.
But every single one of the Fire Dragon's attacks was lethal.
And while the Fire Dragon had taken considerable damage from my full-power strike, it still had strength to spare.
On top of that, more Monsters had arrived as reinforcements.
Still a deeply unfavorable situation.
I dodged the magma and finally, truly set foot on the ground.
The Fire Dragon was still submerged in the magma.
The other Monsters, caught between the aftermath of the Fire Dragon's breath and the dragon's own body crashing down on top of them moments later, were in no position to bother me.
Now was my chance.
I activated Trump Card Number Two — the one I had been preparing ever since the battle began.
My MP plummeted at an incredible rate.
In my current state, MP consumption was equivalent to consuming Life itself.
But this magic was still worth the cost.
Right?
Magic team — Number One — Number Two — "Right on!"
"Leave it to ya!"
Using the combined power of two, thanks to the parallel wills gained from leveling up.
It was Number Two who had been preparing it all this time, with Number One providing support — and only now could it finally be activated.
Now, open — Gate of Hell!
Instantly, the surroundings grew dark.
A darkness so absolute it swallowed even the light from the magma crawled up from the ground.
It was as though the darkness of Hell lurking underground was seeping into this world.
It swallowed the magma, the ground, the Monsters.
The overflowing darkness consumed everything.
Abyss Magic Level 1: Gate of Hell.
The highest-tier dark magic — the herald of Hell's beginning.
It manifested in this world.
The darkness swallowed everything, converged, and then was suddenly sucked into the ground and vanished.
As though it had been sealed away.
As though the gates of Hell had been shut once more.
All that remained were me and the battered Fire Dragon.
Seriously?
It survived even that?
But the Fire Dragon's remaining HP was low.
Its MP and SP were nearly gone.
It must have converted the power of its Skills into HP.
Otherwise, there was no explaining how it survived the Gate of Hell.
I, too, had lost considerable MP from using the Gate of Hell.
Which meant I was equally wrecked.
Both of us, completely spent.
The battle would be decided by the next blow.
The Fire Dragon chose its method of attack — the most primitive one of all.
A body check.
Ah, that's the right call.
With no MP or SP to speak of, the most effective attack available to the Fire Dragon was indeed that.
With its massive body and Status, it was probably the most effective approach.
If only my opponent weren't me.
I'm a spider.
What is a spider's greatest weapon?
Poison? Claws? Fangs?
None of the above.
The Fire Dragon's body came to a halt.
Bound by the universal thread that grants fire resistance.
Even with fire resistance granted, in the Middle Layer it would only last a moment.
But that was enough.
With its Flame Mantle stripped away, even for just an instant, the Fire Dragon's movements could be stopped.
And into that moment, I brought down my scythe.
One had been crushed in the previous attack, but my scythes came in pairs.
And my full-power strike tore through the Fire Dragon's body.