In this four-against-one fight, they’re able to conquer Nguyen even though he’s stronger and has an attribute that’s their biggest weakness.
Now Gohka flies toward the puppet taratects, maybe in an attempt to rescue Nguyen.
But he can’t catch them.
They run along the threads or swing on them, zipping around in all directions.
This strange movement is harder to follow than any normal flight, making it hard for Gohka to keep up, even though his stats are higher.
Almost no one can catch the puppet taratects in a space like this, where they can use threads to their full advantage, except maybe someone like Hyuvan, the fastest of the ancient dragons.
And once Gohka stops moving, the threads wrap around him.
He only froze for a second, unsure which of the puppet taratects to chase when they split up into two groups.
That was long enough for his body to get wound up in thread.
And then the thread starts to cut into him.
Gohka surrounds himself with lightning, burning the threads away so he can escape.
But he still sustains some major scratches, unable to completely get away in time.
Nguyen uses his fiery Breath to stop them from attacking any further, but the puppet taratects are at a clear advantage.
They’re not just winning because they work together so well—it’s also because Nguyen and Gohka aren’t working together well at all.
Nguyen can’t keep up with Gohka’s speedy movements, and it would never occur to Gohka to try to match pace with Nguyen.
That Gohka really is a meathead, after all…
So instead of four-against-two, it’s more like four-against-one-and-one.
On top of that, supporting fire from the queen and her brood makes it even harder for Nguyen and Gohka to get anywhere.
The queen is the biggest threat of all, and the two dragons can’t just ignore her.
But do they really think they can keep an eye on the queen’s movements while also fighting the puppet taratects?
They’re overestimating the queen and the puppets both.
The puppet taratects all fire Dark Magic spells at once.
Nguyen and Gohka weave left and right to avoid the attacks, only to suddenly stop in midair.
Looks of alarm arise on both their faces.
They’ve been captured in threads too fine to be seen by the naked eye.
While the two of them were busy fighting the puppet taratects, the queen carefully surrounded them with threads without their noticing.
How could they have picked up on it, when they were battling four elite fighters while also trying to keep an eye out for the queen?
And even those thin threads are strong enough to stop Nguyen and Gohka from moving for a moment.
The puppet taratects’ Dark Magic spells hit their marks.
Magic isn’t very effective against dragons, thanks to their Dragon Scales line of skills.
But it’s not nothing, either.
The spells stab at the dragons’ scales, damaging them.
Then the puppet taratects are close behind.
Tangled up in threads and still recovering from a barrage of spells, Nguyen and Gohka can’t fight back against the puppet taratects’ attacks.
They’re unable to dodge or defend themselves as the four fighters with six arms attack, for a total of twenty-four slashes.
Nguyen and Gohka are soon covered in wounds, dripping blood everywhere.
It’s hopeless for them now.
Still, these are two supreme rulers of the powerful ancient dragons.
Fierce flames rise from Nguyen’s body, while Gohka is wreathed in purple lightning.
The puppet taratects are too close to dodge in time.
Direct hits from fire and lightning turn the puppet taratects into ash…or at least, their marionette bodies.
But their real bodies leap out of the puppets, unbeknownst to Nguyen and Gohka.
Four palm-size spiders whirl through the air.
The threads they control take on a cutting edge and slice through the two dragons’ bodies.
Remember, the puppet taratects’ exteriors are just that: puppets.
Though they serve as both armor and weapons for the tiny spiders inside, you could also say they’re nothing more than that.
The puppet taratects’ tiny true forms might look weak, but they retain all of their stats and skills, not the puppet bodies.
In other words, even at that size, they still have stats in the ten thousands.
They’re plenty strong even without their puppet bodies.
Now their Cutting Thread attacks prove to be the finishing blow.
Nguyen and Gohka are no longer moving.
Since their bodies are still caught up in threads, they go limp in midair as if crucified.
Nguyen’s mouth moves slightly, and his body dissolves into dust.
Seeing this, Gohka says something as well, and his body does the same.
…They offered themselves up to the system.
I wasn’t very close with either of them.
But we certainly knew each other for a very long time.
Now those old, familiar acquaintances are gone.
Though I feel some sadness at this loss, it also tells me in no uncertain terms that the end is finally near.
After a moment of respectful silence for Nguyen and Gohka, who fought bravely until the very end, I give a few words of thanks for the puppet taratects.
“You did great.”
Not that they can hear me from so far away, but it’s the feelings that count here.
The puppet taratects are looking sadly at the charred remains of their puppet bodies.
White made those bodies especially for them.
They were far from ordinary puppets: visually indistinguishable from real humans, thanks to White’s impressive thread work.
I wouldn’t be able to remake them to nearly the same quality.
So I’d like to have White remake them, although I’m not sure if there will be time after this battle is over.
“She’d better come back safe for all of our sakes, including the puppet taratects’.”
I utter a prayer for White, who’s still locked in battle.
Just then…
“Testing, testing, one-two-three. Hello? Can you hear me?”
A voice suddenly echoes in my head.
Is this…Telepathy?
I don’t sense anyone nearby.
They must be sending this message from outside the labyrinth.
That would take a seriously high skill level.
The Word of God church has quite a few high-level Telepathy users, and stations them in most towns and cities to create a sort of telephone network. That’s how the Word of God headquarters gathers information from all over the world.
If this person is skilled enough to reach me all the way at the bottom of the Great Elroe Labyrinth, they’ve got to be one of the church’s trained Telepathy specialists.
“Who is this? Someone from the Word of God, I assume.”
“Hello? Hi. You’re half right, I guess. Oh, this is our first time talking, so I guess I should say nice to meet you. Although we’ve technically seen each other before. I’m Kenichi Ogiwara, one of the reincarnations. I’ve got a unique skill called ‘Unlimited Telephone,’ you see.”
This telepathic message was about to turn the entire situation upside down.