"…Wh-what?", Blade One's brain suddenly went blank.
The next second, the tentacles pulled the three brothers into that pile of black corpses.
The sacrifices had arrived. The black wraiths stepped across the boundary of life and death and returned once more.
"ROAR!"
Hundreds of Danger Beasts, Fusion Beasts, and the Ultimate Monster formed by the Three Blades, the Primordial Nightmare, was thus born.
That monster slowly rose to its feet, countless tentacles writhing across its massive body.
Heads of various Danger Beasts and Fusion Beasts covered different parts of its body.
And at the very top of this monster were the Three Blades, completely swallowed by darkness.
Their eyes were lifeless, staring blankly forward, allowing the black monster to absorb the primordial power from within their bodies.
A powerful wind pressure swept through; Leon and the others on the ground had no choice but to take defensive stances.
This colossal monster made every citizen in the Empire turn pale with fright.
"W-what is that thing?"
"The Empire actually kept such a disgusting monster from us…"
"Run… Run! That's no longer a creature we can comprehend… I'm afraid even Leon won't be able to—"
In an instant, the already chaotic imperial district plunged into deeper disorder.
The noise seemed to displease the Primordial Nightmare, and it began to attack the crowd indiscriminately.
The black-red primordial power gathered in the mouths of countless monsters on its body, then fired in all directions.
Worried about civilian casualties, Leon quickly shouted toward Rebecca and the others on a nearby low building, "Have the Lionheart Society help evacuate the citizens! Everyone must leave the upper district!"
"Yes! Captain!"
After arranging the civilian evacuation, Leon and the two Dragon Kings had no choice but to once again face the terrifying Primordial Nightmare.
"Such heavy resentment… I thought the second-stage fusion was the Empire's bottom line, but I didn't expect there were even stronger ones."
"Judging from this guy's physical strength, even your Dragon Extinction might not be enough."
"Yeah… If it's not enough, then my magic reserves really will be—"
"Wait, is this a setup?"
Leon gave a bitter smile and shook his head, "No. Two Dragon Extinctions really are my limit. Otherwise… shall we give it a try?"
Leon rarely lacked confidence in securing victory in battle, and he almost never said something like "shall we give it a try."
Yet even without a clash, Leon and the others could deeply sense the horror of the Primordial Nightmare.
It was the combined resentment of the Blade One brothers and countless Danger Beasts.
In its eyes, anything alive must be killed. So… they had no choice but to give it their all.
"Wait a moment."
Rossweise spoke, "You all felt the powerful resentment emanating from this monster too, right?"
Leon and Claudia nodded.
"That means… it possesses extremely strong negative emotions."
As she spoke, the Silver Dragon Queen stepped forward and stood beneath the Primordial Nightmare.
Her slender figure was minuscule and insignificant compared to the dozens-of-stories-tall monster.
But in the next moment, a rainbow of light burst forth, and a powerful aura of righteousness spread outward.
"Primordial Magic—"
The queen grasped the seven-colored energy, her silver hair wildly fluttering in the magic wind. To steady herself, she unfolded her dragon wings behind her. At that moment, a silver-white blossom bloomed on the battlefield, her graceful silhouette like an angel descending to the human world.
"Soul Judgment."
The Primordial Nightmare also seemed to sense Rossweise's primordial power that was completely opposite its own, becoming even more violent.
It no longer attacked randomly but focused all the energy in its body into its chest.
A black-red magical orb gathered there, the violent aura within so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
Even during its charging phase, Leon felt the unprecedented power behind this strike.
He stepped forward, gathering lightning magic to try and assist Rossweise.
But Claudia pressed down on his shoulder.
"What's wrong?", Leon asked, turning back.
"A confrontation between primordial powers, your conventional lightning magic won't help much."
Claudia said, "And that black dragon scale is very strange. Aside from Rossweise's primordial power, ordinary magic probably won't work on it."
Leon gritted his teeth silently. Though unwilling, Claudia had explained the situation clearly. If he recklessly took action, not only would he fail to help Rossweise, he might cause unnecessary trouble.
Thinking of this, Leon stepped back, then slowly raised his arm, shielding Claudia behind him. Magic energy surged up, forming a blue skeletal frame.
Ultra-S Grade Lightning Magic: Shadow of Sumeru.
Leon had used this move during the "Ten Seconds, Six Dragons" battle to fend off the full-force siege of four Dragon Kings.
At the time, he had only used the basic form of Shadow of Sumeru to block them. But now, facing the desperate attack of the Primordial Nightmare, he directly upgraded and enhanced the skeletal frame twice over.
In the blink of an eye, the skeleton was covered in a layer of lightning armor. Just by appearance alone, its defense level had risen by several notches.
Claudia looked at the Shadow of Sumeru protecting her and quietly praised, "Of everyone I've seen, you're the only one who's developed Shadow of Sumeru to this level."
But facing his "auntie's" praise, Leon wasn't in the mood to feel pleased. He gazed at Rossweise's back, silently cheering her on.
———
The upper district's battlefield, through the nearby surviving image stones, was projected via resonance arrays across all regions of the Empire.
Which meant the people of the Empire could witness this revolutionary battle with their own eyes.
At this moment, in the image projected by the stones, the woman known as the "Silver Dragon King" was standing alone against the Empire's ultimate monster.
A slender figure stood before the Primordial Nightmare, like a mantis trying to block a chariot.
Yet she showed no fear. The rainbow light grew brighter, her long silver hair fluttering in the magical wind.
"Didn't expect a Dragon King would really stand on our side…"
"But can she defeat that monster?"
"Believe in her. And believe in Leon Casmodeous. They will resolve this crisis."
"…"
———
On the battlefield, both sides finished charging.
The Primordial Nightmare struck first.
With a deafening roar, a beam of destructive energy shot toward Rossweise.
At that moment, even those at the edge of the battlefield, like Rebecca and the Lionheart Society, could feel the extreme emotions contained in that blast: Violence, ferocity, rage, greed.
Rather than a monster's desperate strike, it was more like the embodiment of "hatred and greed."
"This feeling is just… bone-chilling."
As a gunner, Rebecca's sensitivity to magical energy wasn't on the same level as professional magic users like Leon.
Even so, Rebecca was still shaken by the beam. From head to toe, a tingling sensation surged through her. Cold sweat unknowingly slid from her temple.
Nacho and Martin looked even more grave.
"I've never seen an attack like that before… This is completely different from the pressure of the Dragon Kings. It's totally…", Martin was momentarily at a loss for words.
Nacho gave him the answer, "The dark side of human nature and desire. The Three Blades were betrayed by Kant, and those intelligent Danger Beasts turned into fusion monsters… they've completely lost their sense of self, leaving only anger toward this world."
"Then the captain and the others—"
"If they chose to face it head-on, that means they're confident they can solve this crisis."
Nacho sighed, "This level of battle, we're no help at all."
———
Everyone could directly feel the strength and terror of the Primordial Nightmare. But—
Would the Silver Dragon Queen be frightened by such a chaotic and lawless monster?
Seven-colored light flowed from between her fingers. Seizing the moment, she released Soul Judgment, directly facing the Primordial Nightmare's energy beam.
Two powerful energies collided.
In an instant, violent winds surged, and the heavens and earth changed color.
The fiercely intertwined energies exploded in all directions. Shattered debris rained down on Leon's Shadow of Sumeru.
Fortunately, Leon had earlier ordered the Lionheart Society to help evacuate civilians. Otherwise, such a powerful energy clash would surely have caused immense casualties.
The Primordial Nightmare continuously poured energy into its beam. Its power came from the primordial force of the Three Blades, and the darkness and greed hidden within their humanity.
So in a sense, the Primordial Nightmare's sustained output and burst were both stronger than any enemy Leon had faced before.
And this was exactly why Queen Elizabeth believed victory was in her grasp.
"Leon looking for reinforcements shows he guessed we hadn't played all our cards yet."
Elizabeth said lightly, "And he guessed correctly. But what he'll never guess is that our trump cards far exceed his understanding."
After witnessing the power of the Primordial Nightmare, Kant also breathed a sigh of relief. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he laughed, "That black dragon scale from 'Lord Shadow' is indeed powerful. At least before Leon dies, it'll teach him a lesson, that there's always someone stronger out there."
Hearing this, Elizabeth glanced at the king beside her, her words laced with deeper meaning, "Actually, the black dragon scale isn't the only trump card the lord gave us."
"Oh? What else is there?"
Elizabeth withdrew her gaze from Kant, gently shook her head, "Let's keep that a mystery for now. Not like we'll need it anyway."
Kant didn't ask further, turning his attention back to the battlefield below.
———
"ROAR! DIE! ALL OF YOU, DIE!"
That monster let out a low, furious roar, shaking people to the bone.
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