An Angel Lives in the Academy
Chapter 176: The Angel Who Raids a Dungeon (14)

How is a dungeon conquered?

It is said that a dungeon is conquered when the dungeon's owner, the dungeon boss, is killed.

The essence of a conquered dungeon materializes into treasure, items, or privileges, appearing above the corpse of the dungeon boss. And the dungeon that had its essence plundered in such a way begins to gradually crumble.

Generally, dungeons completely disappear within a day, that's the rule of dungeons. In order to avoid being caught up in it, one must quickly escape the dungeon.

And now, the hall where Ormantor's throne was located began to crumble.

The place guarded by Ormantor and his twelve strongest guardians.

And the place protected by the Dragonkin legion.

“Has the dungeon been conquered?”

Hongwol swished her tail while looking up at the ceiling. Then, seeing the dust piling up on her head, she shook her head vigorously while going ‘Meow.’

The speed was so fast that it was like looking at a drill.

“…What's with that head-shaking speed. Hmm, anyway, I think that cat is right. The dungeon appears to have been conquered.”

“Cat? I told you not to call me a cat.”

Hongwol immediately flicked Soya's forehead. Then Soya cried out with tears in her eyes.

“Ouch! You black magic-hating cat!”

“You’re the one making beast folk-hating remarks…!”

“Guys!”

Leffrey put his throbbing hands behind his back and looked around.

“Are you sure it's been conquered?”

“I think so. Considering Ormantor’s cunning personality, what we saw earlier must have been just a clone… but Yumari's strange technique can attack beyond clones to reach the main body.”

“That’s true, but…”

*Boom-boom-boom-* sounds echoed from far away.

“The rocks, the rocks are falling!”

“Hey, get out of the way!”

“Is anyone there?!”

Countless voices. Everyone seemed to be in a state of panic due to the sudden dungeon collapse.

“We don't have time if we need to evacuate the trapped people and get ourselves out too. Boy, let's move now.”

As Hongwol mentioned evacuating people, Leffrey felt proud of how Hongwol had changed but didn’t show it, he continued.

“This confirms it.”

“…Confirms what?”

“This dungeon hasn't been conquered. Ormantor is still trying to trick us.”

Leffrey tried to recall his memories.

Memories from the devastating War of Annihilation, where everything was burning and collapsing.

‘They say Ormantor has three Ultimate Skills.’

Valuable information acquired by countless people who had been tricked by the dragon. Ormantor’s three Ultimate Skills.

The first one was Dragon Charge.

A colossal serpent, weighing over several thousand tons, charging in a straight line. At a speed exceeding Mach 2. Moreover, using it in the air adds additional gravitational acceleration.

Ormantor's scales were said to be harder than any metamaterial except Midinium. And the aura surrounding him, strengthened by all sorts of sacrificial rituals and evil magic.

That monstrous attack that struck from the stratosphere boasted a power that could literally erase a country.

‘Did I, block the Dragon Charge?’

Even Leffrey was a bit dazed. Because even though he had become an Archangel, he didn't know if he could block the Dragon Charge, an attack that erases countries.

‘After blocking it, my hands hurt a lot though…’

But considering that, he had acted pretty cool, saying ‘You’re slow.’ Leffrey blushed slightly from embarrassment and mentally justified it as ‘It was a strategic bluff. A transcendent bluff to intimidate Ormantor.’

‘Could it be because of my new Angelic Ability, the Judgment of the Archangel Who Judges This World?’

Leffrey, seeing the charging dragon, had thought about the children below. And he instinctively realized that if he couldn’t block the Dragon Charge here, then those children would be in danger.

‘I couldn’t avoid it.’

So, he took the defensive stance of the Thousand-Year-Old Tree from Fairy Martial Arts, then covered his skin with Klein-style Magic’s ultimate defensive barrier, the Dimensional Isolation Barrier.

But he knew that wouldn’t be enough.

During the War of Annihilation.

Lusa and Klein, who were fighting to protect a country in Southeast Asia. Ormantor mocked the professors' struggle and unleashed his Dragon Charge.

‘A massive black spear engulfed in flames. At that time, the entire Southeast Asian continent was shrouded in clouds due to a strong tropical depression…’

When Ormantor pierced through those clouds, the entire continent became as bright as day for a moment.

And after 1 second passed.

Lusa, who had flown into the sky to block the charge, took the form of a thousand-year-old tree to protect the citizens below.

And Klein surrounded her with his strongest defensive barrier to protect her. Dimensional Isolation Barrier.

‘But even then.’

Even then, a country was wiped out.

Despite the two professors’ efforts,

They couldn’t block Ormantor’s Dragon Charge.

Leffrey knew all this. He knew that Ormantor’s Dragon Charge wasn’t just a simple charge, but an ultimate skill, and that there was no way for Leffrey, with his current level, to block it.

‘Even so.’

Even so, Leffrey took his stance.

And.

[Guardian Angel of the Hero Witch, activate!]

[Guardian Angel of the Cat Hero, activate!]

[Guardian Angel of the Young Half-Dragon, activate!]

He used all his available titles.

[Martial Arts of the Archangel who Tramples Dragons, activate!]

[Healing of the Seraphim that Heals All Creation, activate!]

[Blessing of the Power Angel who Graced the King, activate!]

[Steps of the Fallen Angel Walking Through the Night, activate!]

[Light of the Ruling Archangel that Illuminates the World, activate!]

[The Breath of the Angel Blowing Seven Trumpets, activate!]

[Judgment of the Archangel Who Judges This World, activate!]

He used every single Angelic Ability he could.

‘And I blocked it.’

Without even taking much damage.

So Leffrey couldn't help but be lost in thought. How the heck did he block it? By what means did he block it? How the heck did he do this?

‘First, it wasn’t because of the Thousand-Year-Old Tree or the Dimensional Isolation Barrier.’

Leffrey was weaker than Lusa and Klein in both martial arts and magic. There’s no way Leffrey could block Ormantor’s Dragon Charge, something those two couldn’t even block using their martial arts and magic.

‘And it wasn’t because of the titles either.’

Titles were mere buffs.

Of course, there was his ultimate technique, Time of Bonds, which utilized titles, but he couldn’t use it due to its long preparation time. And the same went for his Ultimate Skill, Ain Soph.

‘The most likely possibility is something like Martial Arts of the Archangel who Tramples Dragons.’

The Martial Arts of the Archangel who Tramples Dragons, which had reached Lv.10 after overcoming the angel’s limitations. This martial art, specialized in dealing with dragons, was extremely effective against Ormantor.

‘But, even so, I shouldn’t have been able to block it so cleanly.’

Martial Arts of the Archangel who Tramples Dragons was more of an offensive technique than a defensive one. Even if it was a martial art specialized in dealing with dragons, it's not to the extent of being able to take on Ormantor’s Dragon Charge.

‘Then was it the Healing of the Seraphim? Maybe I endured it by healing my injuries incredibly quickly.’

But if that was the case,

Would Leffrey not have known about it?

It was his own body, after all?

‘The Blessing must have helped to some extent, but it wasn’t the other abilities. Just how…’

At that moment, the name of one of his Angelic Abilities caught Leffrey's eye.

[Judgment of the Archangel Who Judges This World Lv.1]

‘Could it be this ability…?’

Even though he was an Archangel, there were only three angels left in this world.

‘So I thought being an Archangel was less significant than being a high school club president.’

But to think that he had this kind of power.

Hiding his smile, Leffrey thought about the Ormantor's other ultimate skills.

‘Dragon Charge is the first, and the second is the Molting Clone.’

Using his shed skin to create a highly sophisticated and powerful clone. Actually, Leffrey had only heard rumors and didn't know exactly what kind of skill it was…

‘This is what Molting Clone is.’

Seeing is believing. After seeing Mari's demonstration and Ormantor actually using it, he completely understood what ‘Molting Clone’ was capable of.

Then the third one.

What was Ormantor’s third Ultimate Skill.

Truthfully, Leffrey knew nothing about Ormantor’s third Ultimate Skill.

‘It was never revealed during the War of Annihilation. People just said that Ormantor had three Ultimate Skills. One was Dragon Charge, the other was Molting Clone. And the last one was an unknown Ultimate Skill.’

It doesn’t make sense for a powerful being like Ormantor, who had reached his peak, to not have an Ultimate Skill. Even Leffrey had to acknowledge that Ormantor must have one.

Ormantor’s true Ultimate Skill that surpasses Dragon Charge and Molting Clone.

‘He used Dragon Charge even when he was injured. Then…’

Then there was no reason for him not to use his Ultimate Skill. Ormantor’s was in a situation where he had lost most of his chances of winning, so he should use everything he can.

‘Then it looks like my prediction is correct after all.’

So Leffrey made a prediction.

That Ormantor had already used his third Ultimate Skill.

Back to the Dragon Lord’s Nest.

Soya asked Leffrey again in disbelief.

“What? You’re saying it’s not conquered?”

“That’s what I’m saying. The dragon is still alive. The collapse of this dungeon is just a trick.”

Swoosh- Soya protected the party members with a dark barrier and said.

“Haah, Leffrey. I get that you’re so paranoid from all the tricks Ormantor has pulled that you’re having hysterics… But right now, that Dragon doesn't have the strength left to collapse this dungeon on this scale. Just look at the wooden structure of this dungeon, clearly made from mana-infused ancient trees, and at this level, concrete can't even compare, it's tougher than the armor of a main battle tank.”

Tok tok- Soya tapped on the wooden floor of the nest.

“And look how thick it is. Like the Hoover Dam, concrete of this thickness could block nuclear bombs, but this is all made from magic-infused ancient woods?”

Then Soya looked at Leffrey again.

“You’re saying that a dragon in critical condition can accomplish something that would take time even for a healthy dragon? I can’t understand that…”

It was indeed a judgment worthy of a genius black mage well-versed in magical studies. But Leffrey shook his head.

“Guys, have you ever seen Ormantor’s Ultimate Skill?”

Everyone shook their heads.

Leffrey continued speaking.

“This is just my guess, but Ormantor's Ultimate Skill is probably one that allows him to become one with the dungeon.”

Thinking about it, it made sense. Many of Ormantor's techniques relied on the dungeon. He used the dungeon as an altar to receive sacrifices and used the curses placed upon this dungeon to scatter the heroes.

“And look, if the dungeon was truly conquered, the dungeon's core should appear and transform into dungeon rewards… but that didn’t happen.”

“That's certainly true.”

“And on top of that, the fact that he didn't die even after being struck in his marman, that most of his abilities rely on the dungeon, and that he used the curses engraved on this dungeon to attack us, all of it.”

Leffrey declared confidently.

“All of that adds credibility to the theory that Ormantor is the dungeon itself.”

“…No way, what kind of Ultimate Skill is that.”

While Soya was flabbergasted, Yumari, as always expressionless, spoke in a slightly serious tone.

“Unless the boss dies, the dungeon cannot collapse. That’s the law of dungeons.”

Mari continued.

“But if you can't destroy the dungeon, you can't kill the boss? It's a paradox. Like a snake biting its own tail, a situation where you can never reach the absolute answer.”

“…I’m hungry.”

Hongwol muttered, twitching her ears.

It seemed like she was hungry because she used her brain too much.

Leffrey took a can of tuna from his pocket and gave it to Hongwol, then rummaged through his pocket for something else.

“Wow, boy. I'll enjoy this! How did you know I love tuna cans!”

“…Doesn't everyone know that.”

Fortunately, Hongwol didn't hear Soya's murmuring. Leaving behind Hongwol who was happily munching on the canned tuna, Leffrey made a sound as if to say ‘I finally found it.’

“Guys, now it's time to really conquer this dungeon.”

And Leffrey placed that item on the floor.

An item from the Central Superhuman Academy’s treasure vault.

The item was called Corestone.