[Your eyes resemble those of the Blue Demon King.]
Kaivar bared his teeth, larger than those of a grown man, and growled.
[I no longer wish to see those eyes.]
As soon as he finished speaking, the mana of nature surged, and countless spells bloomed like spring flowers.
A murderous intent was embedded in the beautiful flow of mana. Each spell was lethal. If you let your guard down, you wouldn't even leave a piece of flesh behind.
[Die like an insect!]
Kaivar sneered and nodded his chin, causing the completed spells to rain down. It was a magical meteor shower. The entire sky was filled with his magic.
"Yeah. Why do you babble on like a mad lizard? Let's just fight!"
Alice bared her teeth and swung her sword at the incoming magic. A strange twist occurred on the red blade, slicing through the endless stream of magic.
BOOM!
As the sword strike and magic clashed, countless explosions erupted in the air. A black mana storm surged, and the entire sea seemed to overturn.
-Ah!
As Raon swallowed dryly while watching Alice and Kaivar clash head-on, Wrath let out a gasp.
-So it was that guy! No wonder his face seemed familiar!
Wrath clapped his hands cheerfully as if he had just remembered.
'It was you. What on earth did you do!'
Raon frowned at Wrath.
'You damned Demon King!'
He knew Wrath was a troublemaker, but he never imagined he would create a mad dragon.
He had no idea where the butterfly effect had come from.
-I didn't do anything special!
Wrath shook his head, claiming he had done nothing first.
'That crazy lizard said he was wronged by you!'
-It was the lizards who provoked me first! Didn't you see it? As soon as the glittering lizard appeared, it attacked!
'Hmm, that's true….'
When the gold dragon suddenly appeared while Wrath was fighting the Leader of the Holy Sword Alliance and the Leader of the White Blood Religion, it breathed down without any conversation.
Given that, it was likely they had done similar things in the past.
'What happened then?'
-A long time ago, I felt an interesting rage, so I descended to the human world. It was before I helped the bespectacled guy.
The bespectacled guy Wrath referred to was Roengreen. Roengreen had fought Merlin about 500 years ago, so it was much older than that.
-I helped a human with rage and was about to return to the Devildom after briefly observing the human world when a black lizard appeared.
'A black dragon then.'
-It fired a breath at me without warning, so I showed mercy by slightly beating it and telling it to scram, but it went crazier and charged at me. It was annoying, so I just killed it.
'You just killed it….'
Raon looked at Wrath, exhaling.
'Do you really think dragons are just lizards?'
Wrath talked about the strongest creatures, dragons, as if swatting a fly.
-As I was about to leave in annoyance, I realized my body was being roasted by the hellfire the lizard had fired. The smell was good, so I tasted it, and it had an interesting chew. Just as I was preparing to roast it properly, that guy appeared.
Wrath pointed at Kaivar, who was still casting magic.
-It was much smaller back then. It fired a breath, which I blocked with a silver aura and slapped it once, breaking its horn.
'You broke its horn with a slap…?'
It sounded absurd, but after seeing Wrath's real power recently, Raon had no choice but to believe it.
-It was so weak that I released it like fishermen releasing small fish, telling it to come back after it had gained some weight.
'Ah….'
-It has grown well! Very well indeed! It was worth letting it go.
Wrath licked his lips as if he were salivating.
'Hmm.'
Raon tilted his head.
'But it seems it wasn't entirely your fault.'
-That's right!
Wrath hadn't killed the black dragon that had fired a breath without reason and had given it a chance.
Kaivar, who had come charging to kill Wrath, was also released after breaking its horn.
Honestly, Wrath could be considered a saint rather than a Demon King.
'The problem wasn't Wrath but that guy.'
Raon twisted his lips while glaring at Kaivar.
'A petty lizard pretending to be a mad dragon.'
Surviving after being hit by Wrath, it should have either hidden forever or prepared for revenge. Instead, it was venting its anger on innocent humans.
It was an act worse than a back-alley thug, not even worthy of sympathy. It was just a petty lizard, not a mad dragon.
'But….'
This could be useful.
If Wrath's story were true, it would be a humiliating event for Kaivar. It was an opportunity to shake his psychology.
Rumble!
Raon raised the Heavenly Drive and resonated with the Ring of Fire. He drew upon the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier simultaneously, slipping behind Alice.
"Raon!"
"I'll help too!"
He responded with a confident smile to her dissuasion and stepped with the Supreme Harmony Steps. Riding the surging waves, he charged at Kaivar.
Wooooong!
Raon twisted his ankle and exploded the heat coursing through his body. He connected the strength from his ankle to his thigh and waist, swinging the Heavenly Drive.
[It's pointless.]
Kaivar, as if predicting this, surrounded his blue scales with a mana shield.
'This mana structure….'
He's underestimating me.
Raon gritted his teeth and extended the Heavenly Drive fully. Without generating astral energy, he filled the blade with heat.
Clang!
Kaivar's mana shield didn't break. But the strength exceeding 500 overpowered Kaivar's body along with the mana shield.
Thud!
A thunderous noise like hundreds of drums being ripped apart echoed as Kaivar's neck bent like a scythe.
[Groooar!]
Kaivar trembled, screaming as his neck twisted. The endless stream of his magic abruptly stopped.
Raon nodded deeply.
'As expected.'
Kaivar used a Weber shield that nullified shock by breaking the shield when clashing with astral energy.
Since he was dealing with the Transcendent Warrior Alice, it was natural for him to underestimate a Master like Raon.
So Raon used that to his advantage. By using the trait of the Weber shield that repelled anything below sword aura, he filled the Heavenly Drive with the heat from the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and used pure physical strength to strike the Weber shield.
Thanks to that, the shield wasn't broken, and the Heavenly Drive, carrying the full force, struck Kaivar's body. The effect of the Destroyer King added more power than he had.
'Now I have to press on.'
Raon didn't miss the chance while Kaivar was disoriented and climbed up his neck, swinging the Heavenly Drive again.
Wooooong!
Kaivar, still reeling from the shock, raised another Weber shield.
But thinking the previous event was a coincidence, he only made the shield thicker.
'That's the obvious choice.'
No human could tear apart an ogre barehanded.
Screech!
Raon generated Spiral Power on the blade of the Heavenly Drive and executed Thirty-Six Claws of the Red Lotus.
The Weber shield didn't break again, and the shock transferred directly to Kaivar.
Thud!
Though Thirty-Six Claws of the Red Lotus was a rapid swordsmanship technique striking thirty-six times in one stroke, he slowed it down slightly and enhanced its power with Spiral Power.
The immense shock twisted Kaivar's neck as if it were about to break.
[Groooar!]
Kaivar roared, retreating.
Screech!
At that moment, Alice moved, erasing all the magic. The spatial slash she drew from her position slashed Kaivar's neck.
Screech!
But Kaivar, a high dragon, realized Alice's attack was dangerous and activated dragon words.
[Disappear!]
At Kaivar's shout, Alice's slash, which was about to cut his neck, melted away like wet paper.
"Then this is the blind spot."
Raon stepped on Kaivar's neck and drew Frost Snap. The silver blade and the icy awl that followed it aimed at Kaivar's neck.
[Did you think I'd fall for it a third time!]
Kaivar raised a new mana shield while keeping Alice in check. It was a completely different structure from the Weber shield, condensing thick mana to prevent anyone from approaching.
'To change the spell in this situation, impressive. But….'
I expected this.
Raon smiled as he generated the extreme cold of Glacier.
Clang!
Thanks to the willpower imbued, the cold blade didn't yield to astral energy and pierced Kaivar's shield, striking his neck.
Thud!
Blue scales contrasted with red blood pouring from Kaivar's neck.
[Groooar!]
Kaivar lowered his head and screamed. It seemed he couldn't recover from the pain he hadn't felt in ages.
"Alice! We must strike now!"
"I know."
Alice leaped into the air and slashed, as if unnecessary to say. The transcendent spatial blade descended like a lightning bolt.
[Be crushed!]
Even in this situation, Kaivar knew Alice was more threatening. Concentrating his dragon words, he shattered all of Alice's spatial slashes.
"Stupid for a dragon."
Raon kicked off Kaivar's scales and went even higher. With the momentum to sever his neck, he executed the Red Lotus.
The red line extending from the blade of the Heavenly Drive surged toward Kaivar's neck.
Kaivar, keeping Alice in check, couldn't use dragon words here. Shield, barrier, or attack magic was his best option.
Wooooong!
As expected, a translucent barrier formed where the Red Lotus was aimed. Although thin, its mana density was on a different level. It seemed Kaivar was exhausting his mana and concentration to minimize damage.
Screech!
The Red Lotus, the sharpest swordsmanship technique Raon could use, couldn't penetrate Kaivar's shield and dissipated. Truly, it was dragon-like mana control.
'But….'
I'm not the only one prepared.
Raon drew the Requiem Sword with his left hand enveloped in a blue whirlwind. Using the mystery of Azure Rain, he struck the cracked mana shield.
Screech!
With the resonance of Azure Rain, the mana forming the shield twisted, revealing a small gap.
Through that gap, Raon thrust the Requiem Sword infused with heat and drew it downward.
Thud!
A diagonal sword scar appeared on Kaivar's neck, spilling a gruesome amount of blood.
[Groooar!]
Kaivar's eyes rolled back as he screamed. When he tried to cast attack magic, Alice's spatial slash pierced his dragon words and struck his face.
Screech!
Kaivar's scales tore off, leaving a long scar on his snout.
[Groooar!]
Kaivar staggered back, seemingly driven mad by the pain.
"...."
Raon and Alice exchanged glances. No words were needed. They would finish this battle here and now. Kaivar opened his mouth wide.
[Be gone!]
Kaivar's dragon words, infused with the thickest willpower yet, repelled Raon as if he were hooked on a giant claw, and Alice was pushed back over ten steps.
Wooooong!
Kaivar seized the opportunity to cast teleportation magic, retreating far back.
[Groooar!]
Rising from the sea, Kaivar's massive body split the ocean. Blue wings that seemed to encompass the continent spread across the horizon.
BOOM!
With terrifying destructive power, Kaivar soared into the sky.
The neck that had emerged above the sea was just the tip of the iceberg. The majestic presence of the revealed high dragon could still turn the tide of battle.
[I'll kill you! Kill you all!]
Kaivar's dragon words, thick with murderous intent, echoed as he opened his maw.
An abyssal darkness filled with cold blue energy began to rise from his throat. Just the preparation caused the atmosphere to vibrate, and the sky to warp.
'That is….'
Raon narrowed his eyes, seeing the flash of light in Kaivar's mouth.
'A breath attack?'
It seemed like a breath attack, but the scale of mana was entirely different from when he fired it from beneath the sea.
The overwhelming wave of energy felt like it would freeze the entire ocean with his breath.
Screech!
Alice thrust her spatial blade, but the mana pressure emanating from Kaivar repelled it.
"This is going to be tough."
Alice sheathed her red blade.
"Pardon?"
"A dragon can use a breath attack three times a day. That guy is condensing his mana to the point that he's willing to be unable to use it again for a while, even if it means overexerting himself."
She clicked her tongue, saying it was impossible to cut through that with a normal spatial blade.
"If we can't stop it, you, I, and everyone behind us will be annihilated."
"Then…."
"I'll open the Sword Domain."
Alice took a stance with her left foot forward, centering her right shoulder, and gripping the hilt. It was the posture for sword drawing. It was the preparation for Sword Domain she had shown before.
"I'll definitely erase Kaivar's breath. After that, it's up to you."
Since Alice's Sword Domain was a single strike technique, she would be unable to move her body for a while after using all her power in one blow.
"Trust me, Raon Zieghart."
"Yes."
Raon swallowed dryly and retreated behind Alice. There was no other choice or time. The method Alice mentioned was the only path to victory.
Rumble!
The cold energy blazing from Kaivar's mouth extended into a blue radiance.
The rippling sea froze completely, and the sky twisted white. The immense mana wave felt like it would burst his heart. It was a breath that could freeze even the soul.
[Die, insects!]
Kaivar added dragon words to his breath, increasing its power. The freezing breath approached in an instant, almost impossible to react to.
It was an inescapable hellish grip that no living being could withstand.
"Raon. If we survive this battle, call me aunt from now on."
Alice laughed brightly and drew her sword.
"Sword Domain."
As if becoming a goddess of the blade bathed in moonlight, her sword drew a clear trajectory.
"Annihilation."
Contrary to her graceful form, the aura emanating from Alice's sword was terrifying.
The fierce will to cut down everything in her path blazed toward the heavens.
Screech!
The overwhelming breath that seemed to erase the world was torn apart as if ripped by both hands.
The frozen sky and sea split like a twisted horizon, and red blood gushed from Kaivar's chest like a broken dam.
It was a majestic scene, as if a martial god had descended from the heavens to deliver divine punishment.
Rumble!
Kaivar's breath, enhanced with dragon words, was erased, revealing his defenseless body.
An unbelievable strike, even seeing it with his own eyes. The transcendent power of the strike, risking life, was beyond imagination.
"Raon…."
Alice kneeled with her sword. She had poured all her strength into that strike.
"It's up to you now."
Raon bolted like lightning, pressing down on the torn space.
Even using the Supreme Harmony Step to its full extent, his body felt slow.
He needed to reach Kaivar before he regained his senses, the urgency overwhelming.
'Faster. Even faster!'
With sheer willpower, or perhaps desperation, he moved his body and aura. It might have been his imagination, but his body seemed to move faster.
Bang!
Barely reaching Kaivar, he saw the light return to the dragon's eyes. With a formidable mental strength, as expected of an ancient dragon.
[Get lost….]
Kaivar tried to use dragon words and cast a 9th circle spell.
'If I get hit by that, it's over.'
Even if he managed to cut through the spell, there was no way to withstand the dragon words. It was time to use his hidden weapon.
Wooooong!
Raon generated a silver aura on the Heavenly Drive. The cold of Wrath that could freeze space itself froze the spell falling toward his head.
[Th-that power!]
"I am the Blue Demon King!"
Raon snarled as he drove the Heavenly Drive and Requiem Sword into Kaivar's neck.
[Grooar! N-no way!]
"Yes, it's a lie."
Raon mocked the trembling Kaivar, then exploded the heat and cold accumulated in the two swords.
Boom!