"How strange. Wasn't I killed by that red dragon that suddenly appeared?"
"Such dense death energy... it's Bahamut's Netherworld Magic!"
"As expected of our king. Power is surging through me endlessly."
"With this power, I'll definitely tear that damned human ant to shreds!"
After a brief adjustment, the dragons—whether killed by Slifer's first Thunder Force Rain or by Chase's later earth-shattering punch—quickly pieced together what had happened. They erupted with power, their murderous gazes fixed on Chase.
Even a Ten Wizard Saint would have been terrified out of their mind being stared down by hundreds of dragons.
But facing these defeated foes, Chase showed no fear. In fact, he observed their current state with interest.
As Motherglare's intel had suggested, though these dragons retained all their memories and consciousness, the aura emanating from their mist-shrouded bodies was fundamentally different from that of living dragons.
Rather than true "resurrection," they had been re-manifested.
This was somewhat similar to Neinhart's Magic: History of Corpses.
The difference was that Neinhart manifested enemies from the target's memories, while Bahamut achieved it through Netherworld power—and granted them stronger physical forms!
In short, Bahamut's Netherworld Magic was a combination of History of Corpses and Hades's Underworld Magic: Stone Demon. The former manifested mind and spirit; the latter provided the physical vessel.
This wasn't true resurrection—otherwise, Ankhseram's curse would have already struck!
Understanding the mechanics, Chase smiled calmly, ignoring the dragons' hostile glares as he walked toward Bahamut.
"To be honest, when I learned about you from Motherglare, I thought you were quite unlucky. You just happened to run into me."
"Human, what do you mean by that?"
Bahamut looked confused. "Since that traitor Motherglare told you about my magic, you should know that within this Netherworld Domain, the awakened dragons can never be killed."
"Here, as a human, you have no chance of winning!"
It wasn't lying. That was the most troublesome aspect of this magic.
Unless one had overwhelming power to cut through the hundred-dragon siege and take its head directly, they would be dragged into an endless battle and slowly worn down!
"That's why I said, you're unlucky." Chase shook his head with a smile, offering no further explanation.
HUM.
As his foot fell, a magic circle spun. Strands of crimson light bloomed from it, coalescing into the nearly solid phantom of Slifer.
In an instant, divine energy erupted like a volcanic explosion, shaking the entire "Netherworld Domain" violently!
In practice, Bahamut's magic was indeed formidable. It cleverly negated the Thunder Force Rain's weakening effect, boosted the dragons' power, and granted them immortality.
But whether it was using card summons for a swarm battle or simply having Slifer and Obelisk break through with raw force, Chase could give Bahamut a taste of what a "future Card Mage" could do.
However, considering the battles ahead, he chose the simplest approach: releasing Slifer's divine pressure.
As the Underworld Judge, Slifer was the god of the underworld itself. Using Netherworld Magic before Him was like bringing coals to Newcastle!
"Th-This is—"
"Impossible! I... I feel fear from human magic?"
"No! It's that red dragon! That is beyond our understanding!"
As Chase had predicted, the moment Slifer's phantom opened its majestic golden eyes, the dragons that had been so ferocious moments before were struck with terror. Their massive bodies trembled uncontrollably as they knelt to the ground!
This absolute suppression had nothing to do with strength. Any "creature of the underworld" could not help but fear the "God of the Underworld." Even the courage to meet His gaze vanished in an instant.
And so, under Bahamut's incredulous watch, the dragons slipped from its control one by one, turning to black ash and dissipating!
With a single glance, the Netherworld Dragon Legion had been annihilated!
The domain fell silent. The stillness was enough to make a dragon shudder.
"Who—who are you?!" Bahamut exclaimed, its dragon king's pride and composure gone.
Though the question was directed at Chase, its gaze remained fixed on Slifer's phantom.
During their earlier brawl, Chase had used Slifer's God Slayer Magic, and Bahamut had sensed something amiss—but nothing like this panic.
Vaguely, it seemed to guess the crimson dragon's origin: some legendary creature from myth!
"As you can see, I'm just an ordinary human who doesn't want the future world to be destroyed by dragons like you."
"You summoned dragons just now. Now, it's my turn."
Giving Bahamut no time to process, Chase, bathed in divine light, drew a card from the magic circle and revealed its face. He began the summoning chant:
"Black-gold wild dragon, break the chains that bind you to the cracks of this world. Bring destruction to my enemies!"
"Come forth! Gandora the Dragon of Destruction!!"
Crimson flames roared. The descending black chains shattered. Gandora tore through the turbulent winds with heavy steps and let out a defiant roar at Bahamut.
"A dragon?!"
Sensing Gandora's aura, no weaker than its own, Bahamut snapped out of its daze. "A damned coexistence faction member?! Who are you?!"
A fellow dragon this powerful, and it had no memory of it?!
"I'm your father!" Gandora opened with a very friendly greeting.
Bahamut's expression darkened to its limit.
It was clearly no gentle soul either. It opened its mouth to retort— "I—"
But Gandora, having gotten its jab in, had already anticipated this. It unleashed the full energy stored in its magic crystals, flipping the table entirely.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Pillars of destruction shot skyward, illuminating the entire domain and forcibly cutting off Bahamut's retort.
The next second, destructive energy exploded. The sky tore. The earth shattered. The entire Netherworld Domain crumbled to pieces!
***
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