Debuff Master

Chapter 689

“Once you win tomorrow’s match, your obligation to our contract will be over,” Orleius said while sipping on coffee. Then, his eyes glimmered as he asked, “Do you think you can win?”

“Are you seriously asking that? Do I even have to answer that question?” Siegfried asked in response with a confident smirk.

“But your opponent is—”

“A dragonkin?”

“You know he won’t be easy to beat, right?”

“That’s true,” Siegfried acknowledged with a shrug without a hint of hesitation.

His final opponent, Pyryno, was a dragonkin. A dragonkin was a half-human and half-dragon creature, and they were renowned for having the strongest physical prowess out of all beastkin.

Pyryno was without a doubt a formidable opponent even for Siegfried, as there was no way he could surpass the raw physical prowess of a dragonkin, no matter how much he had enhanced his stats and strengthened his body through recomposition.

In fact, Pyryno had shown his overwhelming power in the tournament by bulldozing through his matches; not a single match had lasted more than three minutes. He was also described as brutal by most of the spectators, as he had killed every single one of his opponents in the tournament.

However, what truly made him fearsome was...

Munch! Munch!

He even bit off his semi-final opponent’s head in front of the entire crowd and devoured it as if it were a snack.

“Do you really think I’m going to lose to him?”

“Hmm...”

“Well, you can just choose not to bet if you’re scared. I mean, you haven’t placed your bets yet, so you can still pull out with your winnings in your pocket,” Siegfried said with a chuckle.

There was still an hour left until the betting window closed, and Orleius had a decision to make.

Should he trust the cunning human and go all-in with every bit of his wealth—no, take out more loans to grasp this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Or should he just stop here and be satisfied with his winnings and focus on helping the cunning human and his friend escape?

The choice was entirely on Orleius.

The only thing Siegfried needed from him was help in escaping with Quandt, so it did not matter whether Orleius placed the final bet or not.

‘I’d actually prefer it if he stopped now. That way, I wouldn’t have to bother with the finals,’ Siegfried thought. He was hoping that Orleius would get cold feet and quit, as Siegfried could simply forfeit the final match and avoid wasting time that way.

“I’ll do it.”

Contrary to Siegfried’s hope, Orleius did not back down.

“I guess sometimes you just gotta see things to the end.”

“Oh?”

“This is my last chance. The odds are rising fast, and everyone’s betting on Pyryno to win.”

“Really?”

“The odds are ninety-nine to one.”

“What? Are they freaking serious?”

Siegfried was slightly offended and appalled by how much he was being underestimated. Sure, he had been acting weak all this time, but he did not expect to be dismissed like this.

“It’s not that you’re weak. Pyryno is just really strong.”

“Oh?”

“Maybe you should have put on a show like Pyryno did if you’re so upset about the odds? Who knows? Maybe that would have convinced a few to bet on you?”

“That’s not really my thing,” Siegfried replied dismissively, scrunching his face in disgust. Then, he asked, “So what now? Are you betting because the odds are good?”

“Some of the guards are planning to bet on you, but no one, not even a single demon, is putting their entire fortune on the line like I am.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“If you win this match...” Orleius muttered. Then, his voice rose in excitement, “I could become a high-ranking demon, possibly even a count...”

“Hmm?”

“This might be the last chance I will ever get in my pathetic life. I can’t give up now... I have to go...”

“Go where?”

“TO THE MOOOOON!” Orleius suddenly screamed, unleashing his desire to turn his life around.

Siegfried shook his head while watching Orleius with a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

‘Tsk... These gamblers never learn their lesson,’ Siegfried thought.

Anyway, Siegfried now had no choice but to compete in the final match, as Orleius had decided to go all-in on him.

***

Siegfried participated in the final round of the Warden Martial Competition the next evening.

Just before stepping into the arena...

“I wonder if the timing will somehow work out...” Siegfried muttered to himself.

“Hmm? What was that?” Orleius asked after overhearing what he said.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s got nothing to do with you.”

“I see... Well, anyway, I wish you victory. Please remember that you have to win no matter what. My entire future depends on you.”

“Relax,” Siegfried replied with a grin.

The commentator’s voice boomed throughout the arena.

“The crowd’s favorite! Pyryno! The ruthless devourer, a true man-eater!” the commentator announced. Then, he paused for dramatic effect before continuing, “And his opponent—! The lucky guy! He’s made it to the final round with just his luck! Seung-Guuu!”

Boooo!

Hiiiss!

The crowd poured out boos and jeers the moment Siegfried stepped into the arena.

“Your luck is going to run out today!”

“Let’s see if you win with luck this time, you rat!”

“Today’s your funeral! Little bitch!”

The crowd hurled insults and taunts at Siegfried from all sides, but there were a few voices that rang out in support.

“Show us your real skills!”

“Stop pretending! I know you’re strong!”

“I’m counting on you!”

“I bet everything I have on you, man! Don’t you dare hold back!”

Most of the crowd was convinced that Siegfried was a weakling, but there were some who believed in his abilities. These were the ones who had placed their bets on him, just like Orleius did.

Pyryno stood across the arena and intently observed his opponent. He was a proud member of the dragonkin, specifically the green dragon lineage, which granted him a hardened metallic green hide that rendered him immune to most physical attacks.

Interestingly, his elongated crocodile-like face made him seem more reptilian than draconic, but nobody doubted whether he was a dragonkin or not due to his sheer absurd physical prowess.

“So you’re finally here,” Pyryno growled.

“Let’s have a good match, eh?” Siegfried replied with a friendly smile.

“They say your luck is unstoppable. We’ll see if it holds up tonight,” Pyryno sneered before trudging slowly toward his opponent. He was doing this deliberately in an attempt to intimidate his opponent.

“Why so scary?” Siegfried asked, laughing nervously.

“I don’t really want to eat you, but it looks like I’ll have to do so eventually,” Pyryno said nonchalantly.

“Ugh... that’s gross...” Siegfried muttered before getting into a fighting stance. This was the first time he was using this fighting stance. The facade of the lucky amateur was completely gone, as he had no plans to hide his true strength this time.

His opponent was a dragonkin, a deadly foe. He knew he could end up not just losing but also being devoured alive if he fought like he had in previous rounds, pretending to be a lucky amateur.

“Here I come!” Siegfried exclaimed, launching himself first toward his opponent.

His sudden aggression shocked the crowd.

“What?!”

“He’s attacking first?”

“What the hell? I thought all he knew was to run away?”

“He’s actually fighting back?”

This was the first time Siegfried had taken the initiative to attack first, and it seemed that he had no intentions of holding back in this match. He struck Pyryno with pinpoint precision, targeting the dragonkin’s weaknesses and battering him like a training dummy.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Siegfried’s attacks rained down on Pyryno, causing the massive dragonkin to stagger back. Then, Siegfried jumped up and landed a high kick straight to the dragonkin’s skull.

“Argh!” Pyryno spat blood and tumbled to the ground.

Siegfried’s kick carried enough power to send even a monstrous creature like Pyryno flying.

However, the dragonkin was not easily beaten.

“Haaaa!” Pyryno exclaimed and got back to his feet.

Surprisingly, he looked barely fazed, as it seems that his dragonkin body protected him from the blows he suffered.

“So you were hiding your strength this whole time? Not bad at all,” Pyryno said with a smirk before wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

“Did you seriously think I’d gotten this far just with pure luck? Sure, I’m a lucky guy, but all the way to the final round with just luck? Come on, man,” Siegfried said, shrugging casually.

It looked like he had dropped his guard, but his muscles were tense, ready to strike at any given moment.

“I didn’t want to eat you before, but now... I’m going to chew you up, bones and all!”

“Hey, man... That’s gross...”

“You’re dead!”

Pyryno unleashed a barrage of attacks carrying the rage welling up inside of him.

‘Damn it! This guy is really strong!’ Siegfried thought while narrowly dodging the attacks. He attempted to counterattack by relying on his superior reflexes, but Pyryno’s brute force was simply far too overwhelming.

“Argh!” Siegfried groaned in agony. He was sent sprawling to the ground after getting struck by Pyryno’s tail from an unexpected angle. He struggled back to his feet, but Pyryno was already looking over him with his jaws wide open.

Sseuuuuu!

A stream of green gas billowed out from Pyryno’s mouth, and the gas enveloped Siegfried in a cloud of toxic fumes.

Poison Breath.

This was the signature move of the dragonkin, which was based off of a dragon’s breath attack. In Pyryno’s case, his lineage tracing back to the green dragon made his breath capable of melting flesh and bones alike.

***

The Poison Breath ability used by Pyryno was not magic, nor was it a technique that drew upon mana. It was an innate ability that dragonkins had inherited from the dragons.

This was the reason Pyryno could unleash this devastating ability, even though there were restrictions preventing the use of mana in the Fortress of Hell.

Sseuuuu!

The Poison Breath of the green dragons was infamously known as a vicious combination of highly corrosive acidic toxins mixed with radioactive energy. This was similar yet different from the breath attack of black dragons, as green dragons specialized in acidic toxins while black dragons specialized more on radioactive energy.

Regardless, Siegfried had just taken the full brunt of Pyryno\'s deadly Poison Breath.

“Haha! He should be nicely marinated now,” Pyryno sneered with saliva pooling on the edges of his long reptilian mouth. Then, he chuckled and said, “Tasteless human flesh needs a little sauce for that extra kick. Hehehe...”

Pyryno stopped his breath attack and walked toward Siegfried, who lay motionless on the ground after taking the full brunt of the breath attack.

But then...

“Huh?”

Pyryno’s eyes shot wide open in shock when Siegfried stood up slowly.

‘T-This human managed to stand back up after taking my Poison Breath?’ Pyryno was bewildered by what he was witnessing. The corrosive acid was supposed to melt Siegfried’s skin and muscles within seconds, long before the radiation poisoning could set in.

However, Siegfried had casually wiped away the greenish liquid smeared across his face. Then, he glared at Pyryno and growled, “Hey, you. Did your parents not teach you any manners? How can you go around spitting your nasty phlegm on others like that?”

“P-Phlegm...?” Pyryno stammered, visibly confused and outraged.

“Ughh... That was so gross...” Siegfried grumbled under his breath. He looked disgusted by the breath attack, but it looked like he didn\'t take even the slightest damage from it, much less crippled by it.

“T-This doesn’t make sense!” Pyryno exclaimed, finding it hard to believe what he was witnessing. A human exposed to his Poison Breath ought to have melted by now, but this human managed to emerge unscathed from it.

Then, Siegfried smirked as his eyes gleamed like an apex predator. He reached into his inventory and pulled out his weapon, the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp, and tightly gripped it.

“Hey, you’re not using your radioactive energy properly, buddy,” he sneered.

“W-What did you say?” Pyryno asked, doubting his ears this time.

“This is how you really do it,” Siegfried said smugly.

The next second, Siegfried’s body began to emit a green fog of his own, and an ominous glow surrounded him as he prepared to unleash something far more sinister than the dragonkin’s breath attack.

Sseuuuu...!

A bizarre hissing noise filled the air as Siegfried finally unleashed his true power.