Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 564: Nergigante Fails to Overcome the Originium
After the devastating shockwave faded, the only ones left standing were Steven, looking as relaxed as if he had just finished a warm-up exercise,
And the Nergigante before him, sprawled on the ground like a sedated kitten—tongue lolling out, completely motionless.
Steven had already held back as much as possible with that last attack. Otherwise, if he had struck with full force, he might have shattered those magnificent horns—and that would've been a real waste.
Rubbing his chin in satisfaction, Steven looked at the unconscious dragon. He wasn't worried in the slightest that it might suddenly get back up and launch a sneak attack.
And even if it did? He'd just knock it down again.
The real goal wasn't to crush it, but to capture and subdue it.
Elder Dragons were notoriously stubborn. Making them submit was no easy task—especially for someone like Steven, who was far more used to solving problems with brute force.
However, just as he was examining the mountain-like body of the giant beast, something unexpected happened.
A strange energy flickered across the dragon's body.
Then an orange-yellow glow began to seep from the tips of its spikes.
And in the next moment, the Nergigante—who should have been completely unconscious—forced itself back onto its feet.
A roar tore through the sky.
But this time, its golden eyes were filled not with pride, but with raw savagery and madness.
Its body visibly swelled, becoming even more terrifying than before. The once pure-white crystalline spikes were now tinged with a faint orange glow, veins of red spreading across them like blood vessels.
It looked less like a majestic predator and more like a bloodthirsty beast driven insane.
Yet, facing this sudden transformation, Steven didn't tense up.
Instead, his brows relaxed.
When he saw that orange glow, a look of understanding flickered across his face.
Because, if one set aside his role as the opponent for a moment, that roar alone already revealed the truth.
What Steven heard wasn't the anger of defeat.
It was a cry of pain.
A scream from something being tortured beyond its limits.
This wasn't some sudden awakening of hidden potential.
It had simply been forced awake by the agony raging within its body.
Looking at the dragon, which could do nothing but glare at him with bloodshot eyes, unable to vent its suffering, Steven couldn't help but sigh softly.
The root cause of its current state was simple—
It couldn't adapt.
Or more bluntly—
It was sick.
And seriously so.
In the world of Monster Hunter, it was almost common knowledge that when monsters contracted strange afflictions, they didn't weaken, rather, they became stronger.
Even if that strength came at the cost of burning through their own life force—Players still loved it.
In fact, in some of the newer titles, it was practically the players themselves who were the most "diseased" of all—stacked with buffs and conditions to absurd levels.
But as for this Nergigante—what exactly had caused its condition?
Steven already had a rough idea.
The moment he reached his conclusion, he acted.
Without the slightest intention of giving this second-phase Nergigante any dignity, Steven vanished and reappeared in front of it in the blink of an eye. Then, grabbing the dragon's forelimbs with both hands, he effortlessly lifted the massive creature that had just been roaring moments ago.
Yes—an act no different from a mantis trying to stop a train.
And yet, it actually happened.
Before the Nergigante could even process what was going on, it was already hoisted up in an almost comical pose, only to be slammed down like a sack by Steven.
A tremendous force traveled through its forelimbs. The violent energy raging within its body momentarily halted its movements, and the brutal impact with the ground nearly shook loose its wings and the countless spikes covering its body.
At this point, calling Steven a "humanoid Elder Dragon" no longer did him justice.
Calling him a humanoid Gundam would be far more accurate.
Even in its enraged state, the Nergigante simply didn't possess the strength to resist him. It was easily forced back down.
With one hand, Steven pressed the dragon's head firmly into the ground. Then, he stepped directly onto its forehead—right between its twin horns bristling with spikes—pinning down a monster that, compared to him, was the size of a mountain.
No matter how violently the Nergigante struggled or twisted its body, it couldn't move its head even an inch. It could only helplessly watch as that tiny, insect-like figure stood atop the very head it took pride in.
But soon, the agony from the rampaging energy within its body took over again, and it began thrashing in pain.
Steven's suppression was, at most, an inconvenience.
The true source of its suffering was the uncontrollable power inside it—an energy that felt like it was tearing its body apart from within.
Its regenerative ability was indeed extraordinary.
But that, too, was part of its torment.
The violent energy would continuously destroy its body, only for its natural regeneration to restore it again—over and over, trapping it in an endless cycle of pain.
That was the real reason behind its uncontrollable rage.
After all, if someone had a stomachache nonstop, twenty-four hours a day, who could possibly endure that?
Specter had gone through something similar—and had gone mad because of it.
Ignoring the dragon's furious roars and desperate struggles, Steven kept its head pinned down with one hand while reaching out with the other toward the crystalline spikes still growing before him.
Like snapping bamboo shoots, he casually tore one spike out by the root.
The Nergigante let out another agonized scream.
Only then did Steven glance with interest at the orange-yellow energy seeping from the base of the spike.
Once exposed to the air, the energy quickly dissipated.
But that brief moment was enough.
Steven had already recognized what it was.
And with that, he finally understood the true reason behind the Nergigante's madness.
It wasn't just rage.
It was a disease.
And not just any disease, but the most common one across this land:
Oripathy.
Although Steven had no idea how a creature from another world like this Nergigante had managed to contract such a thing, one fact was undeniable—the Originium had already severely eroded its body. The corruption had reached the point where even its spikes now contained traces of Originium energy.
He didn't even need to think about it to picture the situation inside its body.
Its muscles, organs, even its blood vessels—likely all of them were riddled with growing Originium crystals. Every single movement it made would be like countless jagged shards grinding mercilessly against its insides.
"Honestly… I don't even know whether to call you lucky or unlucky. Out of all things, you just had to run into something like this."
Half-narrowing his eyes, Steven glanced at the Nergigante's enormous eyeball beside him—larger even than his own body. Within that bloodshot gaze, he could clearly see endless pain and fury intertwined. At this rate, if the torment continued, who knew—perhaps some kind of calamity-level "resentment-fueled Nergigante" might even be born from it.
Then again, this was an Elder Dragon with terrifying regenerative abilities.
If it were something less resilient—say, a Kushala Daora or a Teostra—it probably wouldn't have even lasted this long under Originium infection, let alone struggle against it. Even this Nergigante, as it stood now, could hardly be described as being in good condition.
Fortunately for it, it had run into someone like him—a true expert among experts when it came to treating Oripathy.
Otherwise, if it had been anyone else standing here, the only thing they could have done… would be to grant it a swift death and put an end to its suffering.
"Don't worry, don't worry. I'll fix you right up."
Muttering words of reassurance to a colossal monster that clearly had no need—or perhaps no capacity—to be comforted, Steven moved without hesitation.
With a motion as casual as unscrewing the lid of a bucket, he tilted his hand and began pouring a stream of milky-white liquid straight into the Nergigante's wide-open, roaring maw.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
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