"UWAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
As the Jer'ard, Dragon Commander of the Empire, screamed at the very top of his lungs, the atmosphere changed instantly.
His humanoid form was covered in bluish purple energy as he swiftly transformed—no, reverted—to his original state.
~VWUUUUUSSHHH!~
The form of a Dragon!
His scaly body was colossal, and it displayed nothing short of monstrous majesty.
However, the expression on the Dragon's face showed nothing like that.
It was a look of absolute terror!
"UWOOOAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Dark purple energy gathered in his mouth as it sent the incredible blast of energy straight towards the one who called himself Ralyks.
~BOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!~
The entire area trembled as the blast neared him, completely obliterating everything around.
Magic Crystals turned to dust, and the environment shook violently as it welcomed the destructive darkness that was Jer'ard's Dragon Breath.
It was invincible… or so it was supposed to be.
~VWUUSH!~
In an instant, the blast of dark energy hit a wall that stopped it dead in its tracks.
It was an absolute barrier that had not even a single dent despite taking on the whole wrath of the Dragon.
'H-he has that pesky defense too?! In that case…!'
Jer'ard decided to simply use the same trick he utilized on the one who fought him before.
He would simply transport the blast straight in front of his enemy, bypassing his defense altogether.
~BOOOOOOOM!~
The second volley of destruction arrived.
However…
'W-what is this?!'
His Spatial Magic wasn't working!
The portal he was trying to connect to the very face of his opponent was not working!
Jer'ard had been using Spatial Magic all his life, and he had never encountered this problem before.
Sure, he made sure never to seriously use his Magic against a more powerful Spatial Magic user, but other than that…
… His attacks always hit!
So what was the problem?!
'N-no way…!' It only took Jer'ard a few seconds to figure it all out.
'It's the space… the space around him is too warped! It's too saturated with power that my own power gets broken down and overwhelmed before it can fully manifest!'
It was just like with Adonis' Divine Sword, but…
'… Isn't this stronger?!'
Jer'ard was panicking now.
He had no way to attack this guy as long as his barrier was active, and he couldn't bypass the barrier thanks to the overwhelming power he wielded.
What could he do?!
'Aha!' His eyes went to the weakened ones that Ralyks came to protect.
Surely, if he attacked them, or even took a few as hostages, then it was possible to turn the tides of battle in his favor.
'Humans are such sentimental beings, after all!'
He remembered how Adonis became distracted and received a fatal hit simply because he was too concerned with the humans.
This was precisely that scenario on repeat.
No… this was on a much larger scale!
Jer'ard was much stronger in this form, and his opponent was incredibly more powerful.
But, with this plan in motion, victory was assured!
~VWUUSH!~
He opened a portal and aimed to yank one of the vulnerable humans from the group.
He went for the shivering, scared blonde.
She seemed to be the weakest target, and Jer'ard remembered telling her that she would be the first one he would kill.
He swiftly took action, dipping his hand in the portal, expecting to grab her and bring her to him.
However…
~SWISH!~
… That was not at all what happened.
"GUARRRGHHHH!"
The moment his hand proceeded out of the portal, it was cleanly sliced off by an invisible blade.
Everything that entered the portal was gone, leaving Jer'ard with only a part of his hand—as well as incredible pain.
He held his hand with his other one, flying back in recoil.
His massive body seemed so small under the weight of the incredible pain and fear that assailed him.
"H-how…?"
Was it perhaps a Skill that Ralyks had? Did he also possess some kind of spatial attack?
What ability could have done something like that so quickly?
"W-what power… did you use?"
Of course, he wasn't expecting Ralyks to answer him. He just pondered so deeply that his thoughts ended up being leaked out.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
As Ralyks' deep, fear-inducing voice surged forth, he slightly swung his blade, causing splatters of dragon blood to stain the ground.
Jer'ard's eyes widened as he recognized the purple fluid to be his own.
'H-how did my blood stain his blade…?'
The answer was shortly revealed by the Dark Adventurer himself.
"I simply went and sliced your arm off."
That was all there was all there was to the act.
The moment Jer'ard opened the portal and went after the girl, Ralyks simply proceeded to the location, cut the Dragon's hand, and returned to his position.
It wasn't too difficult.
… Not for Ralyks!
"Y-YOU—!!!"
Jer'ard know his arm would soon grow back, and it was already undergoing regeneration, but the fear he still felt was indescribable.
It was so instinctive—as if he was looking at a being who stood at a higher precipice than him.
But how was that possible?
Dragons were the strongest beings in H'Trae!
It felt strange—no, downright unnatural—that a human-looking fellow should make him feel this way.
Jer'ard could not accept it.
"I REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT!"
With a mighty roar, he mustered all of his power and raised its mouth in the air.
~VWUUUUUUMMMM!!~
Something began to form above it.
Something dangerous.
The air cackled with power and the Mana Crystals that hung around began to react to the power being displayed in the air.
Everything was rattling, and the entire 99th Floor shook just from the pressure.
But one man remained calm despite it all.
"This isn't good." He said.
Jer'ard heard that small whisper and presumed it to mean the man had been pushed to a corner.
'Hahahaha! With this, I'll destroy everything! Let's see if you can protect yourself and your friends with that power!'
The entire 99th Floor was going to be leveled by him.
It was going to be a waste, since he still had mining left to do, but Jer'ard didn't mind.
If he could exterminate this being—this threat to the hierarchy of the world—then it was worth it.
The Dragons were the strongest.
That COULD NOT change!
"I can't allow you to keep this up. The Alliance needs those resources, after all."
The moment Ralyks said this, he stretched out one hand—the one that didn't possess a blade.
"Let's try this, shall we?" He sounded amused… like he was smiling.
Jer'ard did not—could not—comprehend him.
He only knew one thing.
The current concentration of dark spatial energy that had formed a massive sphere of unparalleled destruction could not be stopped.
It would complete its task and eviscerate everything in its path.
'DIEEEEEEEEE!!!'
The Dragon Commander aimed it at his adversary, knowing that even if he blocked it, the impact would destroy everything.
It was already too late!
This… this was really the end.
"[Absolute Spatial MagicBlack Hole]"
Suddenly, in an unprecedented gust of energy, the impossible was birthed.
A spatial phenomenon that defied expectations.
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Thanks for reading!
I really hope you enjoyed the chapter!
It's really satisfying to see the Dragon get so worked up, especially after how composed he was at the start.
