For ordinary people, the larger the monster, the harder it was to deal with. But for players, it was exactly the opposite.
In Star Ocean Online, there were quite a few enormous monsters. Yet, for players, those monsters basically posed no difficulty at all.
The reason was simple. If the enemy was too big, then they just copied Sun Wukong and drilled into its stomach.
After all, in Journey to the West, whenever Sun Wukong ran into a tough opponent, he would dive straight into their belly—whether it was the Black Bear Spirit, the Princess Iron Fan, or the Yellow Brow Monster, it worked every time. Players had learned that essence from him. They might not have Seventy-Two Transformations, but they did have the guts to cause trouble inside a monster's belly.
Of course, for most people, crawling into a monster's stomach was nothing but a death sentence. But players wore Power Armor, standard issue for space combat—designed to survive in the vacuum of space. Diving into a stomach was nothing. In fact, what players truly hated were small, fast, and absurdly strong enemies… those were the toughest opponents to deal with.
And as a solo player, Duanmu Huai had soloed at least eight hundred if not a thousand giant monsters. The biggest of them could eat planets like candy, with entire ecosystems thriving inside their own bodies.
By comparison, Fafnir was laughably easy. That was exactly why, when Duanmu Huai saw Fafnir's size, he relaxed instead.
Just like the monsters in Journey to the West—no matter how powerful you were, if I crawled into your stomach, what could you do to me?
What, were you going to stab yourself?
Could you really breathe your own dragonfire into your own gut?
So Duanmu Huai deliberately enraged Fafnir, then, the moment it inhaled, he used his Gravity Gauntlet to shift his personal gravity and "fell" straight into the dragon's massive jaws.
For Fafnir, this was beyond disgusting.
Imagine opening your mouth to yawn, and a fly suddenly flew straight inside. That was how revolting it felt.
Except Duanmu Huai was far more troublesome than any fly.
"Hey, showtime!"
The moment he charged into the dragon's mouth, Duanmu Huai ignited his Chainsword and swung hard against the roof of its mouth!
BZZZZZZZZZZ!!
The roaring blade carved open a bloody gash along Fafnir's upper palate. Without stopping, Duanmu Huai rammed the Chainsword straight down into its throat!
"OOOOOOOHHHHHH!!"
Fafnir shrieked in agony. But it wasn't completely helpless. Duanmu Huai quickly felt a blazing heat welling up from deep inside its throat. His reflexes kicked in instantly—he rolled to the side, ducking beneath its tongue just in time. A torrent of dragonfire roared past, blasting into the sky—burning nothing but empty air.
"Man, that's some hot temper. Let me cool you down."
He yanked two grenades from his belt and casually tossed them down Fafnir's esophagus.
"Here, enjoy a little stomach perforation!"
BOOM! BOOM!
The blasts thundered inside the dragon's belly, and Fafnir howled louder than ever. It clawed desperately at its own jaws, trying to drag Duanmu Huai out. But he wasn't about to sit still and get grabbed. As soon as he threw the grenades, he revved the Chainsword and carved open a wound in Fafnir's throat, diving deeper inside.
Ordinary logic said that once inside a monster, you went down toward the chest—going for the heart or the guts. But players usually didn't do that.
The reason was simple: giant monsters rarely had just "one heart" like ordinary beasts. Their internal structures were bizarre, and many had regeneration so strong they could literally tear open their own belly to drag you out.
The brain, however, was different. For almost all creatures, the head was critical. And once something burrowed inside your skull, you were practically helpless.
Destroying the nervous system from within was just as fatal as piercing the heart.
BZZZZZZZZZZ!!
The Chainsword ripped through flesh and bone as Duanmu Huai carved his way up toward the brain. He could feel the violent shaking from outside—clear proof that his attack was driving Fafnir mad with pain.
And that was only natural. Imagine a bug flying into your mouth, tearing through your flesh, then burrowing into your skull on its way to your brain. The agony would be beyond words. Unfortunately for Fafnir, nothing it could do would expel Duanmu Huai now—short of blasting its own head apart.
And that would be suicide.
Still, fighting alone was kind of boring.
Duanmu Huai let the Chainsword drop for a moment, snapped his fingers, and several Servitors materialized around him.
"Go wild. Tear everything apart."
The machines scattered, ripping and burrowing into muscle and bone as though excavating tunnels.
Meanwhile, on the city walls, Anne and Guleya were dumbfounded.
Just moments ago, when Fafnir had opened its jaws to unleash dragonfire, Duanmu Huai had leapt right inside. Everyone had been horrified. But what followed was even more unbelievable—the once-proud dragon was now thrashing wildly, rolling across the battlefield. Its massive tail lashed out like a whip, flattening everything in its path.
Fortunately, Manaria's mages had already raised barriers, shielding the capital from the flailing tail. But the surrounding Evil Dragons weren't so lucky. Their mighty leader's rampage sent them scattering in panic, many crushed under its writhing body. Dragonbeasts on the ground were smashed to pulp beneath its weight.
"AAAAOOOHHHH!!"
Now Fafnir collapsed to its knees, clawing frantically at its skull, slamming its head into the earth. Gone was its majestic terror—instead, the once-fearsome dragon looked almost… pitiful?
"Wh-what in the world is Sir Knight doing to it?"
Anne was speechless. Watching Fafnir scratch chunks of flesh off its own skull in madness was terrifying—like witnessing a horror movie live.
"Truly… Sir Knight never ceases to amaze…"
Even Lorena's face had gone pale, unsure what to say. The soldiers atop the walls looked equally lost. By all rights, they should have been launching their assault right now to finish off the dragon. And yet… doing so almost felt unfair to the poor beast.
"GRAHHHHHHH!!"
But suddenly, Fafnir staggered up again, its eyes blood-red, glaring at Manaria's capital.
"DIE!! DIE!! YOU'LL ALL DIE WITH ME!!"
It roared and charged straight at the city.
"Not good! All mages, pour everything into the barrier!!"
The King of Manaria paled. He didn't know what Duanmu Huai had done inside, but it was clear the dragon meant to drag the city into its death!
Given its size, larger than the capital itself, if it broke through, the city would be annihilated.
At the king's order, every mage raised their hands. A vast azure barrier shimmered into existence, encasing the city.
But as Fafnir barreled toward it, the dragon suddenly staggered, collapsing mid-charge. Even so, its colossal weight sent it sliding forward, smashing headlong into the walls.
CRAAAAAASH!!
Its massive skull slammed into the barrier. The shield, powered by every mage in Manaria, quivered violently under the impact.
"Divert all power to the impact zone! Don't let it break through!!"
Anne shouted, struggling to maintain the barrier. But Fafnir's strength was overwhelming. Even with her reinforcing it, she felt the magic draining rapidly, the shield nearing its limit.
So this is Fafnir's true terror?
Clenching her teeth, raising her hands, Anne felt fear gnaw at her. Just one strike had nearly overloaded the shield. Could they really withstand such power?
CRACK!!
As if in answer, the barrier shattered. Fafnir's head slammed into the wall, obliterating the once-indestructible ramparts in an instant. Its skull burst through, crashing into the city.
But that was its final act. After smashing through the wall, Fafnir's momentum finally died. It moved no more, lying still.
Its army had already scattered. The moment their leader lost control, the surviving Evil Dragons fled in panic, vanishing into the skies.
Once again, proof of the classic villain motto: "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter."
For a long moment, no one dared approach. Only when they were certain it no longer stirred did they creep toward the breach in the wall.
"Is… is it dead?"
"Doesn't look like it…"
Guleya frowned at Anne's question. Fafnir's nostrils still twitched with shallow breaths. Its eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the sky, empty of awareness.
What on earth was happening?
Just then, Fafnir's body gave a final shudder. Slowly, its eyes slid shut. Its breathing stopped.
And then—
BRRRZZZZZZZZZT!!
A piercing sound echoed. From Fafnir's chest, a line of blood appeared, splitting wide as a geyser of gore erupted.
Through that crimson spray, a tall, blood-drenched figure emerged, Chainsword in hand.
Like a demon god walking out of hell.
Noticing their stunned stares, the figure raised a hand and waved casually.
"Yo. Finally done."
Then Duanmu Huai removed his helmet and spoke.
(End of Chapter)