Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner-Chapter 302: Belly of the beast

Noah observed the three massive tapeworms as they positioned themselves strategically around his group, their circular maws opening and closing with rhythmic, hungry anticipation. Even with Nyx and Storm beside him, these Category 5 beasts presented a challenge unlike anything they'd faced before.

'Direct attacks aren't working,' Noah thought, analyzing the creatures' movements. 'Their outer flesh is impervious to both extreme heat and cold. If conventional methods won't work...'

The nearest tapeworm suddenly lunged forward, its massive body accelerating with shocking speed. Noah Blinked to Storm's back just as the wyvern banked sharply, avoiding the creature's gaping maw by mere inches.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Noah commanded. "Keep them at a distance while I think!"

Storm and Nyx split in opposite directions, forcing the tapeworms to divide their attention. As Storm gained altitude, Noah studied the beasts with analytical precision. His mind raced through everything he knew about Category 5 entities.

'All beasts have cores—it's their power source, their central weakness. But where would a tapeworm's core be located?' Noah thought, recalling his Beast Biology lessons. 'Standard quadrupeds have their cores near vital organs. But worm-type entities...'

The revelation hit him like a bolt of lightning.

'Of course! They're Dunaliella-class organisms—burrowing entities that need their cores protected at all costs.' His eyes traced the length of the nearest tapeworm. 'The core isn't in the portion we can see. It's underground, at the base of their bodies where they feel safest.'

A plan began to form—reckless, dangerous, but potentially effective.

"Storm! Nyx!" Noah called out. "I need a distraction. Something big!"

Without hesitation, Storm soared higher into the alien sky, his blue eyes glowing intensely as electricity began crackling around his body. Using his Thunderbolt Strike ability, the wyvern summoned a massive bolt of lightning that struck the nearest tapeworm. The creature didn't appear damaged, but the attack captured its attention.

Simultaneously, Nyx activated his Red Mist Cloak, surrounding himself in a blood-colored fog that obscured his movements. The dragon darted around another tapeworm, periodically launching Magma Bombs that exploded against the creature's hide without penetrating but succeeded in aggravating it.

'Perfect,' Noah thought, watching his companions coordinate their attacks. 'Now for the hard part.'

With the tapeworms distracted, Noah Blinked to a nearby rock formation, concealing himself from view. He took a deep breath, assessing his remaining energy.

[Void Energy: 280/1450]

'Not ideal, but it'll have to do,' he concluded. 'I need enough for extraction and escape. Can't waste energy on attacks that won't penetrate their hide.'

The largest tapeworm suddenly dove into the sand, disappearing from view. Only the shifting of the red terrain indicated its movement—heading directly toward Storm.

'They can sense air disturbances,' Noah realized. 'They're tracking them through vibrations in the ground and air.'

He quickly formulated the next phase of his plan.

"Storm!" Noah called through their bond. "Use Blizzard Legion! Create decoys!"

The wyvern instantly understood. His body temperature plummeted as he focused his power, ice crystals forming in the air around him. The crystals rapidly multiplied and took shape—twenty-seven ice constructs, each a miniature replica of Storm, formed in a defensive perimeter. Moving with tactical coordination, the ice constructs scattered in different directions, creating multiple targets.

The tapeworms hesitated, suddenly faced with numerous potential prey. Their heads swiveled as they attempted to track the real threat among the decoys.

'Now for phase two,' Noah decided.

"Nyx! Thermal pulse!"

The Red Death Dragon immediately complied, superheating his scales to create a massive heat signature at the location Noah indicated. As expected, the nearest tapeworm turned toward the heat source, its sensory organs detecting the sudden temperature change.

'These Category 5s hunt primarily through thermal and vibrational detection,' Noah confirmed. 'Perfect.'

With the tapeworms adequately distracted, Noah made his move. He Blinked to the ground near where one of the creatures had partially submerged itself. The sand was disturbed, forming a loose depression where the beast's body disappeared beneath the surface.

'This is either the smartest or the stupidest thing I've ever done,' Noah thought grimly.

He removed the Eclipse blade from his void storage, gripping it tightly. Then, with deliberate precision, he made a small cut across his palm. Blood welled up immediately, dripping onto the red sand.

'If I'm right about their hunting patterns...'

The effect was instantaneous. The sand beneath his feet began to shift as the tapeworm sensed the blood. Noah stood perfectly still, watching as the circular maw erupted from the ground less than ten feet away, rows upon rows of hooked teeth rotating eagerly.

'Just as I thought—they have heat-sensing pits similar to pythons, but they're blood-trackers too. Perfect for what comes next.'

The tapeworm surged forward, its mouth widening to impossible dimensions. At the last possible moment, Noah Blinked—not away, but directly into the creature's gullet.

Darkness engulfed him as the tapeworm's mouth closed. The stench was overwhelming—a mixture of decay and digestive acids that burned his nostrils. The confined space was slick with viscous fluids, the walls of muscle contracting around him.

[Health Points: 950/1000]

The acidic environment was already eating away at his health, but Noah remained focused.

'According to beast anatomy, the core should be located at the base of the digestive tract, before the main stomach chamber,' he reasoned. 'I need to move quickly before the acids do real damage.'

Noah activated Void Absorption, drawing the harmful energies away from his body and converting a small portion into usable void energy.

[Void Energy: 295/1450]

He began moving deeper into the beast, using his blade to brace against the contracting muscles. The walls pulsed with a sickly bioluminescence, providing just enough light to navigate by. Each movement was a struggle against the creature's natural peristalsis, trying to pull him deeper into its digestive system.

'The core must be protected by additional tissue layers,' Noah thought, forcing his way through a particularly tight muscular valve. 'Evolutionary adaptation to prevent exactly what I'm attempting.'

After what felt like an eternity but was likely only minutes, Noah reached a chamber where the bioluminescence grew more intense. The walls here were lined with a network of glowing veins that all converged on a central point—a pulsating mass of crystalline tissue embedded in the floor of the chamber.

'There it is. The core.'

The crystalline structure was massive—easily the size of a small car—and pulsed with a rhythmic energy that matched the contractions of the tapeworm's body.

'Now comes the tricky part,' Noah thought, positioning himself above the core. 'Standard extraction won't work on something this size. I need to disrupt its energy flow first.'

He placed his hand on the core's surface, feeling the immense power contained within.

"Entropy Touch."

The void energy flowed from his fingertips, spreading across the crystalline surface like cracks in ice. The core's pulsations became erratic as the entropy effect disrupted its natural energy patterns.

[Void Energy: 235/1450]

The entire beast shuddered violently, nearly throwing Noah off his feet. The chamber walls contracted spasmodically as the creature sensed the attack on its core.

'It's working,' Noah realized. 'But not fast enough.'

He shifted tactics, drawing the Eclipse blade. With precise movements, he began carving around the edges of the core, separating it from the surrounding tissue.

"Null Strike."

Noah drove his palm into the base of the core, channeling void energy in a concentrated burst. The effect was immediate—the connection between core and beast severed instantly, the surrounding tissue disintegrating into nothingness.

[Void Energy: 175/1450]

The tapeworm's death throes began immediately. The chamber walls convulsed wildly, secreting a caustic fluid that began filling the space.

[Health Points: 900/1000]

'Time to leave,' Noah decided, storing the massive core in his void storage.

He Blinked back toward the creature's mouth, but the intense spasms of its dying body made navigation nearly impossible. Twice he was nearly crushed against chamber walls, and once barely avoided being doused in digestive acid.

[Void Energy: 135/1450]

Finally, he reached what he believed was near the creature's mouth. But the exit was sealed tight, the muscular rings contracted in death.

'No choice,' Noah thought grimly.

"Void Bullet."

He focused the remaining energy into a concentrated projectile, aiming at what appeared to be the thinnest section of the wall. The void bullet tore through the tissue, creating a small opening. Noah immediately followed with a Null Strike, widening the hole further.

[Void Energy: 90/1450]

Daylight streamed through the gap. Without hesitation, Noah Blinked through the opening, emerging onto the red sand covered in viscous fluids and digestive enzymes.

[Health Points: 850/1000]

He barely had time to catch his breath before a shadow fell over him. Looking up, he saw the second tapeworm looming above, its mouth opening wide to engulf him.

'No time to Blink,' Noah realized, his energy reserves critically low.

A blur of blue and white struck the tapeworm from the side. Storm, his scales coated in frost, had slammed into the creature with enough force to knock it off course. The wyvern landed beside Noah, wings extended protectively.

"One down," Noah gasped, wiping slime from his face. "Two to go."

He looked across the battlefield and saw Nyx engaging the third tapeworm, keeping it distracted with hit-and-run attacks. The second was regrouping, its attention now focused on Storm.

Noah quickly explained his discovery to his companion. "The cores are at the base, underground. We need to get to them."

Storm's eyes flashed with understanding. The wyvern tilted his head toward the nearest tapeworm, then back at Noah.

'He wants to try something,' Noah realized. 'And I think I know what.'

"Do it," Noah commanded.

Storm immediately took flight, circling the tapeworm with increasing speed. The air temperature dropped precipitously as the wyvern activated his Arctic Shroud at maximum intensity. A vortex of supercooled air formed around the tapeworm, frost forming on its pale skin.

The creature seemed unharmed but increasingly agitated. It twisted and turned, trying to track Storm's movements. As the wyvern continued his aerial assault, ice began forming on the ground beneath the tapeworm, spreading outward in a widening circle.

'He's freezing the sand,' Noah realized. 'Smart move.'

The frozen sand became brittle and unstable, cracking under the tapeworm's weight. As more area froze solid, the creature's mobility became compromised. It thrashed wildly, trying to break free of the expanding ice.

"Storm! Lightning Dash! Target the frozen section!"

The wyvern instantly changed tactics, electricity crackling around his body as he shot toward the ground like a bolt of lightning. He struck the frozen sand with devastating force, the combined impact and electrical discharge shattering the ice-encased terrain.

The ground beneath the tapeworm collapsed, exposing several feet of its buried body—including the junction where it connected to its core chamber. The creature shrieked, a sound like metal tearing, as its most vulnerable section was suddenly exposed.

"Nyx! Fire in the hole!"

The Red Death Dragon immediately understood. Disengaging from the third tapeworm, he soared toward the exposed section, his scales glowing white-hot as he prepared his attack.

Magma Bomb!

Nyx released a concentrated sphere of superheated material directly into the exposed area. The resulting explosion sent fragments of tapeworm raining across the battlefield. When the smoke cleared, the creature lay motionless, its connection to its core completely severed.

'Two down,' Noah thought triumphantly.

The final tapeworm seemed to recognize the threat. It began retreating, attempting to burrow deeper into the sand. Noah couldn't allow that to happen.

With his void energy nearly depleted, he knew he needed to be strategic.

"Storm! Frost Carapace on me! Nyx, give me a lift!"

Both companions moved with perfect coordination. Storm encased Noah in a protective layer of ice, this couldn't affect Noah because of his resistance to cold granted by Storm in place already while Nyx swooped down to grab him in his massive claws. The dragon carried Noah high above the retreating tapeworm.

"Now!" Noah commanded.

Nyx released him directly above the tapeworm's head. As Noah plummeted toward the creature, Storm activated Thunderbolt Strike, channeling lightning through their lightning attunement bond directly into Noah's frost-covered body.

The effect was spectacular. Noah became a human lightning rod, the electrical energy amplified by the ice coating. He struck the tapeworm's head with devastating force, the combined impact and electrical discharge sending shockwaves through the creature's body.

The tapeworm convulsed violently, momentarily stunned. Noah seized the opportunity, using his remaining void energy to Blink inside its mouth. The journey to the core was faster this time—he knew exactly where to go and what to look for.

With barely enough energy for one final attack, Noah reached the core chamber and placed his hand directly on the crystalline surface.

[Void Energy: 50/1450]

"Null Strike."

The void energy discharged in a concentrated burst, disrupting the core's energy patterns. Without enough power to completely sever the connection, Noah drew the Eclipse blade and began physically cutting around the core's edges.

The tapeworm's violent thrashing made the task nearly impossible. Noah was thrown against chamber walls repeatedly, his health dropping with each impact.

[Health Points: 700/1000]

Just as his situation seemed most dire, the chamber was suddenly breached from above. Nyx's massive claws tore through the creature's flesh with the combination of storm's breath attack and his apparently at a concentrated spot which created an opening large enough for Noah to see daylight.

"Perfect timing!" Noah called out, renewing his efforts on the core.

With one final slash, he severed the last connection. The core came free in his hands, immediately stored in his void storage. The tapeworm's death throes began instantly.

Noah Blinked through the opening Nyx had created, emerging into the open air covered in even more viscous fluids than before. The dragon caught him mid-fall, depositing him safely on a nearby rock formation.

As the third tapeworm collapsed in a heap of lifeless flesh, Noah fell back against the rock, his face turned toward the setting sun of this alien world. Despite his exhaustion, a chuckle escaped his lips.

Storm and Nyx landed beside him, both covered in blood and various fluids. Neither looked particularly pleased with Noah's methods, but they couldn't argue with the results.

"You two look about as bad as I feel," Noah laughed weakly, gazing up at his companions. "Don't give me those looks. It worked, didn't it?"

Storm huffed, frost forming around his nostrils in what Noah recognized as the wyvern's equivalent of a disapproving snort. Nyx simply growled, the sound somewhere between annoyance and relief.

"We still have five minutes left," Noah remarked, checking the quest timer.

[Quest Status: Survive (5:37 remaining)]

"Funny," he added. "Gigarose did say she believed I could do it." His laughter turned ironic. "I wonder if this is what she had in mind all along."

As Noah lay recovering, system notifications began flooding his vision.

[Experience Gained: +5000 x3]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[You have reached Level 41!]