Please remember to follow the story and leave a favorite and a comment to let me know whether you enjoyed it or not. I see that many people read the story but don't follow the page — your support really helps me understand that you liked it.
Thank you for reading.
The Golden Dragon Kerchack!**
Toward the Hell Called Salem**
The city of Chagas, once alive, was now a distorted painting of ruin. Tears of snow fell slowly upon the smoldering rubble, swallowed by the mist that whispered tales of pain. The silence was heavy. Every gust of wind carried memories of the battle just ended—a clash that had altered the course of the world.
In the center of that chaos, Kaien stood motionless. His young form, shaped by an ancient force, enveloped Akari with the care of a divine monster—not as a warrior, but as a dragon guarding its own nest. His black wings curved in a protective arc, covering the young woman as if to hide her from the world. His thick, sinister tail coiled gently around her, as if to say: *"No one can touch you."*
The mist danced around them, intertwined with the spiritual energy that still simmered in the air—a living, almost conscious presence, born from the emotional explosion the battle had unleashed.
Yuzuki approached slowly. His steps were cautious, not out of fear, but out of respect. When the mist parted like theater curtains, he saw.
Kaien was watching him. His eyes, once calm, now shone with the silent fury of a legendary being. They said everything: *"She is under my protection. And I am the wall you will never again ignore."*
— She is sleeping — Kaien murmured in a voice as deep as a distant thunder. — She was too exhausted... could barely stand. I promised to protect her with my life... and she smiled. Smiled as if, for an instant, the world was good.
Yuzuki stopped. Something inside him broke. The creature he had once underestimated now radiated a purpose equal to the distant light of the Golden Tree. Not in power... but in resolve. Kaien was no longer just an ally. He was a pillar.
The black wings opened slowly, like an invitation. Without a word, Yuzuki approached Akari with reverence. He picked her up in his arms—she was as light as a broken promise—and laid her gently on the dragon's back. Kaien bowed his head, as one accepting a sacred mission.
— Gotier and Zeke... are fighting to the death, far from here. I felt their auras — the dragon said, his voice cutting through the mist.
— I know — Yuzuki replied without hesitation, looking toward where their energies still flickered.
He climbed onto Kaien's back, the wind whipping his hair as if calling them to duty. With a low, majestic roar, Kaien rose. His paws struck the ground with a divine weight. The snow scattered. The mist yielded. And the dragon took flight.
***
Elsewhere... Gotier and Zeke lay on the shattered earth, panting. The battlefield was an abyss. Ruined houses, collapsed roofs, fallen bodies—and in the center, putrid mud mixed with freshly spilled blood. The fight against Ezra was over, but it had left its scars.
Zeke coughed, the metallic taste of blood still in his mouth. Gotier stared at the sky, sweating, his eyes clouded.
— That was a close one... — he murmured.
Then... a sound. A shadow. The wind shifted. They both turned with effort. Above, the mist tore through the firmament like a tattered veil. Through it came a colossal form—black wings cutting the air, golden eyes burning like forgotten suns.
— What... is that? — Zeke asked, his voice hoarse.
Gotier rose with difficulty, his knees trembling.
— It is... Kaien. And it seems... he has changed.
Hope, for the first time in hours, returned to their eyes. The war was not over. But reinforcements had arrived.
***
Gotier and Zeke were the first to notice. Kaien... was different.
— Holy shit... — Zeke muttered, sizing him up from head to toe. — You are... monstrously beautiful.
— Is this... a miracle? — Gotier smiled, genuinely surprised. — Kaien, you look like a legendary hero!
Kaien, embarrassed, scratched the back of his neck and made a theatrical pout. Then, he puffed out his chest like a fighting cock and winked as if he were a pop star. Zeke raised an eyebrow. Gotier burst out laughing. Yuzuki laughed for the first time in days—a dry, muffled sound that tasted of life.
A wave of relief cut through the air like a warm breeze. For a second... it felt like everything would be okay.
But then Zeke's eyes fell on Akari. She lay motionless in Yuzuki's arms—her body exhausted, her eyes half-closed, dried blood under her nails.
— What... what happened to her? — Zeke whispered.
— Did she fight? — Gotier approached. — Yuzuki?
Yuzuki did not meet their gazes. He just replied softly:
— It is resolved.
— And now? — Gotier pressed.
— I will explain when it is safe.
Silence. The moon, once a mere detail in the sky, now watched like a vigilant eye. Bluer than usual. An almost cruel hue. The distant glow of the Golden Tree mingled with the silvery light of the night. Everything was reflected in their eyes like a divine warning.
Gotier looked around. His face... froze.
— What is it? — Zeke asked. — Gotier?
The former priest swallowed hard. His shoulders trembled. His voice came out weak.
— Salem... is being destroyed.
Zeke fell silent. Yuzuki turned slowly, his eyes fixed. His fingers dug into Akari's body. Gotier brought a hand to his head, as if something still echoed in his mind.
— When you were away, I heard... Ezra.
He lowered his gaze.
— He spoke to me in the rubble. As if he were... inside my skin.
— What do you mean...? — Zeke took a step forward.
— His tone... was sweet. Warm. Pleasurable. A hot whisper in the ear. Like someone undressing for a lover.
The memory seemed to corrode Gotier.
— *'You killed Kubo'*, he said. *'The King's favorite. So Salem... is no longer worthy.'*
His voice failed, his eyes faltered.
— *'We will destroy every piece. Every child. Every woman. No one will be born in Salem. Ever again. It will be a city without a future. Without children. Without purpose. Just madness, death... and suicide.'*
— My God... — Zeke stepped back.
— *'Ooooooh, great King... Ooooooh, Lepra King...'*, Gotier repeated, like a sick echo. — He raised his arms to the moon. And the moon... the moon smiled. Like a scythe in the sky.
Yuzuki shuddered. The scythe. Ezra had prayed. And the moon... had answered.
Kaien, behind them, murmured almost inaudibly:
— Isabela...
They all turned. Yuzuki froze.
— Isabela... — he repeated. — Her father, the blacksmith... the one I swore to protect...
The silence was more suffocating than a scream.
— I am sorry, Kaien — said Gotier.
Yuzuki closed his eyes. His arms tightened around Akari.
— He is there. Alone. Defending a doomed city.
The pain burned inside him. He knew. He knew this would happen. The group knew. But not so soon. Not like this.
— We have to go. NOW — Zeke shouted.
Kaien spread his wings. Enormous. Black. Scarred. Gotier and Zeke climbed onto his back. Yuzuki stood for another moment, the weight of Akari in his arms, his heart breaking in silence.
He looked at the sky. The moon was still smiling.
Then he rose. Flying. Toward the hell called Salem.
***
The Golden Dragon Kerchack!**
The group flew toward Salem, cutting through the sky like a black arrow at dusk. When they had set out for the village of Chagas, it had taken days... now, upon the living scales of Kaien—the dragon gifted by Isabela—time seemed to bend to urgency.
But each beat of the dragon's wings tore at Yuzuki like an invisible blade. He could not ignore what he had left behind. Isabela's words echoed in his mind like a cursed whisper:
*"Do good... to receive."*
— I accepted... — Yuzuki murmured, and then his voice turned sharp, raw. — She gave me Kaien for saving her. And now... she might be dead because of me. Everything I touch... everything I receive... dies.
The silence that followed was absolute, broken only by the hum of the wind cutting through the clouds and the heavy beat of Kaien's heart, felt beneath the group's feet. Akari slept deeply, her body exhausted after the brutal fight with Luna. Zeke and Gotier heard Yuzuki's words—heavy as stones cast into an abyss.
The sun broke the horizon, but its light was not golden. It was blood-red, thick and almost alive, staining the leaves of the trees, the rivers, and the silent faces. A premonition painted in shades of death.
Gotier felt the young man's pain. He wanted to say something, wanted to tear that guilt from Yuzuki's shoulders, but... he understood that words would be empty. Instead, he walked to him, touched his shoulder with the gentleness of a father seeing his son about to break, and said only:
— I am here, Yuzuki.
Zeke watched in silence. The simple gesture, the quiet presence... Then he spoke—his voice deep, laden with invisible scars:
— My life... my clan... everything was destroyed, and I never opposed it. I accepted it as if it were the natural course of things. I... envy you, Yuzuki. Your courage is something I have never known. And even if the world calls you cruel... to me, you are the beginning of a new life.
Yuzuki did not answer. He just stared at the horizon. The dragon flew as if it understood—sharing the guilt and the pain. Tears streamed down his face. For the first time in many years... he cried. Not from weakness, but because he was human.
Amok—his inner Kugutsu—watched from the deepest abyss of his soul.
— **I am with you, kid...** — the voice echoed within him, silent as the memory of an old embrace.
Then, like poison whispered in his ear, Mao appeared—laughing. Loud. Cruel. A demon cackling in the cracks of his soul.
— **HAAHAHAHAHAH! Yuzuki... wherever you go, everything rots. Everything you touch turns to shit. Your only talent... is destruction. And you do it so well it excites me. The opponent waiting for you in Salem will make you scream. And when you beg me for help... I... WILL... REFUSE. With all my pleasure.**
The words dug in like claws, but Yuzuki ignored them. He was no longer alone.
Kaien roared in the sky. The clouds tore like tattered veils. The land below was a mosaic of silence and destruction awaiting them. And before the next sunset... they would be before the doomed city.
***
On the horizon, columns of smoke rose like pillars of hell, tearing the sky in black spirals. The fine rain that fell carried the acidic smell of sulfur and burnt blood. The blue sky, once clear and calm, slowly dissolved like ink in dirty water—a dark metamorphosis that shaped black clouds, with the forms of beasts in flight. It was as if nature itself wished to abandon Salem.
The golden light that had guided them from the Tree was now swallowed by a thick veil of ash. No ray of sun touched the cursed ground. The gnarled trees seemed to burn from within, and the entire city had become a silent war zone, choked by distant screams, whispers of agony, and the tinkling song of despair.
Though it was midday, the sky over Salem was an oppressive night.
Kaien, the dragon, flew slower. His bones trembled in silence. A viscous, invisible aura weighed on his wings—something ancient, repulsive, profane. Yuzuki, Gotier, and Zeke felt the same pressure in their hearts, as if an unseen hand were trying to crush them. They already knew what it was: the mark of the Lepra King.
Akari remained asleep, her features marked by fatigue after the brutal battle. The ash-laden wind touched her skin with the cruel gentleness of a farewell.
Kaien flew over the darkened skies of Salem, observing the devastation below—charred bodies, torn houses, rivers overflowing with blood and smoke.
— Kaien!! — Yuzuki shouted, his voice cutting through the air. — Take Akari away from here! That is an order! Do not question it! The situation is dire. When she wakes up, bring her back. The battle will be fierce!
Kaien did not answer. His fierce eyes met Yuzuki's in a silent understanding.
— Gotier! — Yuzuki said, firmly. — Go with Kaien. Use your herbs, your prayers... heal what is left of her. She needs to awaken. We need Akari... and Zyon.
Gotier had never seen Yuzuki like this—he who always hid his emotions behind a firm face now spoke with urgency, with fear. Something that day had broken Yuzuki inside. Something he knew... but could not yet speak.
— Yes! Leave it to me! — Gotier replied, fervently, pressing the cross to his chest. He lifted Akari carefully, mounted Kaien, and vanished into the burning mist.
Zeke then looked at Yuzuki. No words were needed. They both knew what to do.
— Zeke... come — Yuzuki whispered with the calm of one prepared to die for a cause.
They leaped from the dragon's back, piercing the mantle of smoke that hid the city from the light. They landed on an ancient tower, blackened by soot, with a broken silver bell at its top. And there, the horror revealed itself.
Before them stood a colossal dragon—a Tailax—its serpentine body coiling through the clouds of ash, wreathed in living flames that never died. Its head pierced an ancient church, devouring the faithful as if chewing on bread. The crackle of bones echoed through the stained-glass windows. Blood ran down the sacred panels, painting the remnants of faith in crimson.
— Pay attention, Zeke — Yuzuki's voice was a thread of steel. — You are going to get as many people as you can out of this city. I will distract the dragon. When I am done, come help me. Understood?!
Zeke just nodded. There was no time for arguments. Below, on the street, mutilated bodies floated in pools of blood, arms and legs discarded like broken toys. He drew his sword, marked with the symbol of the Salt clan, and met Yuzuki's gaze.
— Yuzuki... why did you spare me? — The question came from the depths of Zeke. He needed an answer.
Yuzuki stared at him in silence.
— Everyone deserves a second chance... even the king's loyal dogs.
Zeke frowned.
— But what about you, Yuzuki? Do you deserve one?
The wind answered, carrying ash on the air. Yuzuki said nothing—he leaped toward the dragon.
***
Steady steps. With each touch of Yuzuki's foot on the ground, the blood running through the streets rose in small eddies, staining his boots. The city breathed death. The dragon, immense, exuded an aura of rot, despair, and agony. Its body was golden—scales shining like diamonds tainted by sin. It was beautiful—an absurd beauty amid the filth, as if hell itself had given birth to a fallen angel.
A macabre symphony echoed: screams, cracking bones, the sound of flesh being torn... Yet, even there, there was beauty. A hope that shone... false, cruel, treacherous.
The dragon raised its head from within the church. Yuzuki narrowed his eyes.
— *Did you feel it...?* — he murmured, worried. — *This bitch felt my aura. I lowered it... to a human level.*
The creature's gaze locked onto him. And then...
— **HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!**
A roar tore the world apart. The houses trembled. Bodies on the ground were thrown like rag dolls. Hot, thick blood splattered on Yuzuki's clothes.
— **HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**
The dragon smiled—a human smile, a grotesque arc from ear to ear.
— **My pleasure... my name is Kerchack.**
Its voice sounded like thunder intertwined with war drums. The sound filled the air, vibrated in the bones, infected the environment like a sonic plague.
Yuzuki took a deep breath.
— My pleasure... Yuzuki.
Kerchack bit a piece of wood, sharpening its teeth with a bestial calm.
— **This was tasty... nutritious. A pure body. Children... such a nutritious dish...**
Those words... *"Children."* Yuzuki's mind froze. Like a scratched record, the memory of his brother replayed: his parents' smiles during the ritual, the laughter of the King of Kugutsu, the complicit clan leaders, Isabela handing Kaien into his hands...
*"Do good... to receive."* That sentence. That damned sentence.
— **Your brother... was a beautiful sacrifice** — Mao murmured inside his mind. — **He fed me. Children's flesh is so... succulent...**
Yuzuki's scream was a bolt of lightning that split the sky:
— **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!**
The sound was so fierce that even Kerchack took a step back. For a moment, Yuzuki seemed like the dragon himself.
— Too many children have died. I am bound for hell... but I will take everyone with me.
These words fell like verdicts. The city fell silent. For a moment, the golden light pierced the ash covering Salem and landed on Yuzuki. His body trembled. Blood ran from his bitten lips. His hands gripped his now ash-stained hair.
He smiled. A mad smile. Insane. Laughing, almost in a frenzy.
— Come to me... **AMOK!!!**
***
Flourish..., the Golden Age.**
At a safe distance, Zeke hovered among the rubble. The ground, stained with ash and dust, groaned beneath his boots. He raised his hand, concentrating on the Presence-Sensing Skill—an inner beacon that tore through the ash-filled mist. Auras appeared, but what they revealed was impossible to ignore.
Men and women ran in every direction, with missing or charred limbs, dragging themselves on the brink of despair. In that sea of desecrated bodies, something caught Zeke's eye: a father, a mother, and their daughter—clinging to each other even in death. Their blackened corpses glowed like living coal. The father's face was frozen in a silent scream, his eyes bulging with terror; the mother's and daughter's arms were intertwined in a fury of eternal love.
A lump formed in Zeke's throat. The ice in his chest melted—replaced by anger.
— I will save as many as I can. I promise, Yuzuki! — His voice cut through the air like a blade, echoing through the ruined alleys.
And he began to work. First a dozen, then dozens more, until a trail of the helpless followed him like shadows. In every collapsed room, in every smoke-choked alley, Zeke banished fear, extended his hand, and dragged a life back into the light.
Suddenly, the ground groaned as if alive. Stones leaped into the air, cracks opened among the debris, and toppled pillars trembled as if made of clay. A dense, suffocating energy descended like a thick fog over the city. The ash covering the sky began to tear like an ancient veil, and the rain, once trapped in the black clouds, finally fell.
A rift of power tore through Salem's sky. The ash that held the rain finally gave way—cold drops pierced the veil, stealthily, soaking the parched earth. And as if lifting a shroud, a dark-green energy erupted between the streets and houses.
At that exact moment, the golden light of the Tree joined the setting sun, bathing the city in an indomitable glow. The weariness on every face turned to awe. A new eclipse beckoned on the horizon: the Golden Tree flourished more vibrantly than ever—each petal a ray of promise.
An old man, standing on a pile of rubble, raised his arms to the sky:
— AAAH! She smiles... she dances for us!
Zeke's heart trembled. A slow smile spread across his lips:
— Yuzuki, show them why Kugutsu Island is feared.
And then the city awoke. And in the fury of that rebirth, Yuzuki found his own redemption—a fire impossible to extinguish, even in the face of madness.
***
The energy roared like a hungry beast—a call to destruction. The dragon's spine trembled and pulsed, alive, like a vein about to burst. Kerchack's eyes widened like a poisoned flower before the light. An emerald-green glow burned in the distance, reflected on Yuzuki's body.
— O great Lepra King... O great Leper... I serve you... and only you...
The chant came from the dragon's throat like a profane melody. It echoed among the city's ruins, as if each shattered wall responded with a note of agony.
Yuzuki laughed. His smile was an abyss. At his side, Amok appeared—a corrupted mirror. His lips trembled, spitting saliva, his teeth vibrating like the strings of a war instrument. The resemblance between him and Yuzuki was unsettling.
— **It is about time...** — Amok said, firmly. — **Use the new blade. The energy transfer will be stronger.**
Yuzuki drew his sword. The hilt bore the symbol of a dragon biting its own tail. Kerchack, in the distance, cleared his dry throat. For the first time, he said nothing.
— Amok!! **Ventriloquist's Cut!!!** — Yuzuki shouted.
The blade spun in a frantic arc, so fast that its image multiplied. Spectral cuts tore through the air, like the voices of hungry ghosts. Kerchack's eyes widened in disbelief. His wings beat in a desperate instinct, forming a golden wall before him. But it was not enough.
Amok descended. He moved as if dancing with the wind. The air bent in reverence to his presence.
— **Symphony of Death...** — he whispered.
And the blade sang—a macabre, dissonant melody. Kerchack's vision flickered—the world around him contorted, as if reality itself trembled at the sound. It was in that millisecond, in that sensory gap, that Yuzuki advanced.
His cuts were not mere blows—they were executions. Fragments of the dragon's golden skin flew like dead scales. Beauty became grotesque. The eyes were pierced, the mouth torn, the chest opened to raw flesh.
— **You bastard!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHH!**
The roar was sharp, full of despair. The dragon collapsed to its side. Its blood splattered, staining the city's charred ground. Yuzuki, theatrical, stared at the fallen creature.
— Your skin is golden... but your blood is red like mine.
Amok plunged into a freefall, a whirlwind of madness. A green aura—alive as new leaves sprouting in dead soil—merged with the wind. His blade cut the air and tore one of the dragon's wings with brutal precision. Kerchack raised his neck in a primal roar. From his throat, a dense energy began to accumulate, bubbling like lava. Then he spat.
An explosion of golden fire—a tempest—surged forward like divine wrath. The blast engulfed an entire kilometer—streets, houses, corpses—all lost in a flash that thundered toward Yuzuki and Amok.
The golden fire exploded from Kerchack's chest, sweeping everything before it like liquid thunder. Amok and Yuzuki leaped in opposite directions, but there was no complete escape. The houses behind them simply evaporated. The ground trembled. The sky darkened, even though it was day. It was as if the world recognized: a god was screaming.
Yuzuki fell to his knees, rolling through living embers. Amok still danced, spinning with his blade in a zigzag to avoid the flame—but the explosion threw him against a stone tower, cracking its structure.
Kerchack roared again. His scales shone, realigning like golden tectonic plates. Then his throat began to pulse once more.
— **Technique: Draconic Resonance.**
The sound was more than a roar—it was a shockwave. Glass shattered for miles. Yuzuki's ears bled. The ground opened in fissures. People trying to flee the city collapsed, screaming. It was Salem itself breaking apart under the strain of the sound.
Amok gritted his teeth, a nervous laugh escaping.
— **He is playing our symphony... but with the wrong notes.**
Kerchack advanced. The dragon looked like a falling golden star. Its tail rose with absurd force.
— **Technique: Celestial Hammer.**
Amok shouted:
— **YUZUKI, NOW!**
Too late. Yuzuki tried to block with his blade. The impact struck his left forearm directly. A dry crack. Flesh flew. Blood gushed. His arm flew, spinning through the sky like a crimson leaf.
Yuzuki fell to his knees, his eyes wide in disbelief. Blood pulsed from the stump. His body trembled. The pain... was more than physical. It was humiliation.
Kerchack laughed.
— **LEPRA KING, LOOK AT THIS... HE BLEEDS LIKE A PUPPY!**
Amok appeared beside Yuzuki, his hands trembling with rage.
— **Get up. NOW.**
Yuzuki spat blood. He raised his face. His eyes shone with hatred and... madness.
— Time for the show... — he murmured. — Time to use... our technique.
Amok smiled.
— **Chaotic Puppet.**
The two opened their arms. Black and golden threads exploded from the ground and the sky, spiraling like serpents. They emerged from Amok's fingers and Yuzuki's bloodied shoulder. The threads coiled around Kerchack—neck, legs, wings, jaw. The dragon shuddered.
— **What is... this?**
The threads glowed in a runic pattern, as if the sky itself were being stitched into its flesh. Amok and Yuzuki shouted together:
— **You were always just a piece, Kerchack... now you are just a puppet.**
Kerchack roared, but his movements froze. For the first time... he felt fear.
***
The streets of Salem fell silent. The sky, once torn by ash and fire, now spun in grotesque vortexes. The energy threads of the Chaotic Puppet stretched to the heavens like veins pulsating with hatred. Each thread bit into Kerchack's flesh with audible snaps, cutting through muscle, scale, and pride.
Kerchack roared—a dissonant sound, a collision of a storm and the wail of a thousand souls. The ground trembled. Buildings collapsed. Stained-glass windows shattered as if the city itself felt the monster's pain.
— **YOU... HURT... ME?!**
Green and golden veins shone brightly around his body, pulling him as if gravity itself had been distorted. His limbs moved against his will—each clumsy step, each beat of his wings was not his... but Yuzuki's and Amok's.
— You are... OUR PUPPET! — Yuzuki shouted, spitting blood, his missing arm dripping red onto the stones.
Amok laughed in ecstasy.
— **Let us dance, golden worm.**
And they danced. The Chaotic Puppet made Kerchack move like a drunken giant, forcing him to punch his own body, to beat his wings against the ground—and for a moment... for a moment, the world believed that a dragon could truly bleed.
Impact. The earth split beneath the monster's paws. Three city blocks vanished into a flaming abyss. Nearby houses melted like wax. The concentrated energy of Yuzuki and Amok exploded from the technique's core, creating a ring of light and smoke. People miles away fell to their knees.
Kerchack collapsed. His body crushed the last standing cathedral, his wings spread like torn sheets. Silence.
Yuzuki fell to his knees, panting, the stump of his arm throbbing, his eyes fixed on the dragon's form. Amok landed beside him, his bare feet burning on the scorching ground.
But then...
— ...Beautiful.
The voice was hoarse, deep... alive. The threads of the Chaotic Puppet began to snap... one by one... as if strings were being cut from within.
KERCHACK ROSE. But... he was no longer the same. His scales were blackened in places, cracked like burnt porcelain. His eyes, once golden and wise, were now two points of glowing darkness. Blood ran from his mouth. A lot of blood.
— You broke something inside me... and now, I will break something inside you.
His claws dug in hard. The entire city felt the weight. A new thunder rolled in the air.
— **DRAGON OF A THOUSAND CORPSES—THE NECROPOLIS OF LEPRA!**
From the ground, bones sprouted. Limbs. Heads. Twisted and desiccated bodies emerging from the earth, the sewers, and the graves. It was as if hell itself had been summoned to fight by his side.
Kerchack roared—the sound of death. Yuzuki and Amok exchanged glances. For the first time, without smiles.
— **Now the real battle begins...** — Amok whispered.