Chapter 203
The Tyrant executed a sharp turn in mid-air at the sight of the ominous Dragon Slayer Art.
For a Balrog, a race that never retreated, it was an action that went against their very instincts.
Kwakwakwakwa!
The force of Zeke's Dragon slayer Art struck the Tyrant's right wing.
Crack!
The Tyrant's massive wing was torn away as if annihilated by the Dragon slayer Art.
[Kroaaaaaaak!]
The Tyrant shrieked and plunged straight down towards the arena floor where Zeke was.
Kwakwakwang!
Zeke dodged with the Phantom step, and the Tyrant's massive body slammed into the arena floor.
[Krrrruuuuk!]
Having lost a wing, the Tyrant's power did not diminish.
Its sinister red eyes gleaming, it rose.
[Kaaaaaaak!]
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The Tyrant, its sharp claws extended, charged at Zeke.
At the same time, its hard tail, as if covered in iron armor, swept across the arena floor.
Kwakwakwang!
The Tyrant's tail, enveloped in demonic energy, was a weapon no different from a nightmare itself.
If an army of ordinary soldiers had been in front of it, the entire force would have been annihilated by a single swing of the Tyrant's tail.
Whoooosh!
Zeke weaved through the Tyrant's tail using the Phantom step.
While evading the Tyrant's tail, he took out the Balrog's magic stone he had obtained in the arena and absorbed it.
Tssstssstss—
Thanks to this, Zeke's depleted health and mana were almost fully restored.
He immediately drew chains from his left arm.
Until now, he had tried to avoid using the Soul Sealing Technique as much as possible because the mana consumption to maintain it was too high, but delaying any further seemed dangerous.
Charrrrrrrrrk!
Chains extended from Zeke's hand and wrapped around the Tyrant's tail.
Crack!
The Tyrant's tail, entangled in the chains, tried to move incessantly.
In response, Zeke gripped the chains and poured the energy of the Vibrating Force Resonance into them.
Whoooooooom!
The shockwave traveled along the chains and seeped into the Tyrant's tail.
[Kroaaaaaaak!]
Using the chains was more effective than pouring the shockwave through an explosive force.
'This is another effect I didn't know about.'
The shockwave from the chains scattered the demonic energy surging from the Tyrant's body.
As Zeke pushed the Tyrant back like this, the Balrogs became excited and began stomping their feet while letting out bizarre roars.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
As the Balrogs stomped their feet in unison, the entire arena shook.
The Tyrant glared at Zeke with its red eyes and opened its mouth wide.
[Die, human!]
Demonic energy compressed again inside its mouth, and black flames ignited.
The Tyrant spewed black demonic flames towards Zeke.
Kwakwakwakwakwaka!
The black flames of the Demon Realm, capable of burning anything, engulfed Zeke.
The power of the flames was so great that the blades embedded in the arena walls melted and drooped.
The Tyrant thought that the human would not be able to withstand its flames.
It was then.
Dragon Slayer Art
Chapter 7, Section 1
Dragon Head Severing Strike
The Dragon Slayer Art sword strike that Zeke unleashed flew towards the Tyrant.
Papat!
[Kuh!]
The Tyrant barely twisted its body to evade the strike Zeke had launched.
Zeke, clad in Hercyon, revealed himself within the black flames.
The chains extending from his left hand suddenly split into two and wrapped not only around the tail but also around the Tyrant's entire body.
Crack!
[Kroaaaaaa!]
The chains of the Soul Sealing Technique, binding its soul, wrapped around the Tyrant to prevent it from escaping.
Zeke held Bahamut and pointed the sword towards the Tyrant.
Whoooooooom!
The power of the Vibrating Force Resonance was imbued in the Infinite Chain Binding.
At the same time, Zeke drew upon the power of his Full Body spirit Energy.
A fierce light shone from Zeke's eyes, hidden by Hercyon.
Full Body spirit Energy
Double Spell
Will of Penetration
Whoooooooooom!
The form of Bahamut, imbued with the Will of Penetration, gradually changed until it became a spear.
Zeke threw the transformed Bahamut straight towards the Tyrant.
Whoooosh!
The Will of Penetration, carrying the power of the Vibrating Force Resonance, flew towards the Tyrant's heart.
[Kroaaaaaaak!]
The Tyrant thrashed and tried to evade, but the Soul Sealing Technique wouldn't release it.
Crack!
Bahamut, having transformed into a spear, pierced through the Tyrant's steel-like body and went straight through.
[Cough!]
Zeke didn't stop there.
He channeled power into his hand blade with the Infinite Chain Binding and unleashed it straight towards the Tyrant's horns.
Infinite Chain Binding
Rotating Strike
Hand Blade Strike
Zeke's body, clad in Hercyon, rotated and instantly severed the Tyrant's massive horns.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The Tyrant's two horns fell to the ground.
[Kroaaaaaa!]
The Tyrant staggered backward.
Then, its massive body slowly turned into black ash and soon began to dissipate completely.
Zeke, a human, had succeeded in subduing the Tyrant, the champion.
Groooooooar!
As Zeke defeated the Tyrant, the Balrogs who had been roaring in the arena also slowly began to turn into black ash and disappear.
Soon, not a single Balrog remained in the massive arena that had been filled to the brim with them.
Zeke deactivated Hercyon and looked at the empty arena.
Feeling a sudden wave of fatigue, he collapsed onto the floor.
Although his spirit energy had increased, it was still not enough to completely overcome the aftereffects of using Double Spell.
'It will get better if the level of my soul grows further.'
Since his infinite stamina was limited, the fatigue hit him even harder.
Zeke barely caught his breath and stood up.
"Hoo. Well, I barely won in the end."
If he hadn't absorbed the Butcher's magic stone at the last moment and hadn't been able to activate Hercyon, he might have been completely melted by the Tyrant's black flames.
After regaining some strength, Zeke went to where the Tyrant had disappeared and saw a magic stone shining like a black jewel, along with two horns and a single tooth.
"Is it because it was the champion? There are some byproducts."
Zeke checked the information on the Tyrant's horns and tooth.
[Horns of a Balrog evolved into a Dragonkin]
[Tooth of a Balrog evolved into a Dragonkin]
"A Balrog evolved into a Dragonkin, huh."
Zeke stared at them for a moment before taking out the Sword and calling Arataso.
"Arataso. Do you know what an evolved Balrog is?"
At Zeke's words, Arataso replied in surprise.
[An evolved Balrog? Those are rare individuals that were occasionally seen even during the Demon Lord's army era. They were Balrogs but possessed power equivalent to a low-ranking demon.]
"If they evolve like that, do they turn into dragons?"
[Not exactly. Balrogs absorb the power of those they fight. If it turned into a dragon, that Balrog must have fought a dragon and absorbed its power to evolve.]
"A Balrog that absorbed the power of a dragon. How fascinating."
Zeke stored the evolved Balrog's horns and tooth in his inventory.
At that moment, another message appeared.
[The second hidden stage has been perfectly cleared.]
[The Domain of the War God admires the subject's remarkable capabilities.]
[Rewards will be granted for successfully clearing the stage.]
[Rewards are being evaluated.]
[Rewards have been delivered to the subject.]
Just like the reward for the first hidden stage, a random box appeared before Zeke.
However, this time there were only two random boxes, unlike before.
Both random boxes were shining with a golden light.
[5,000 experience points have been granted as a reward for surviving the second hidden stage.]
[Two special random boxes have been granted as a reward for clearing the hidden stage with remarkable capabilities.]
Zeke approached the random boxes shining with a brilliant golden light.
Arataso in the Sword looked at the random boxes in admiration.
[A Constellation's Box. It's been a while since I've seen one.]
"A Constellation's Box? You mean a random box?"
Then, Arataso retorted as if he were asking what Zeke was talking about.
[I'm not sure what a random box is. This is like a sponsorship that constellations bestowed upon their incarnations in the mortal realm back in the ancient days when they could intervene.]
"A sponsorship bestowed by constellations? What's an incarnation?"
[Tsk tsk, you really don't know much.]
"Stop with the useless talk and just tell me quickly."
[An incarnation refers to an existence like an avatar that a constellation directly chooses. Constellations are forbidden from directly intervening in the mortal realm due to karma, so they express their will through them.]
"Expressing a constellation's will through an incarnation, huh. An incarnation must be an existence that transcends the usual scope of abilities."
[You could say so. Not just anyone can become a constellation's incarnation in the first place. Strictly speaking, even I can be seen as an incarnation of the 'Clear Green Wish'.]
"It seems being an incarnation has nothing to do with race."
[That's right. Constellations choose the existence that can best express their will. The criteria are known only to that particular constellation.]
Zeke stared blankly at the random boxes before asking Arataso.
"Then am I also an incarnation of some constellation? I've received quite a few of these random boxes."
Arataso then clicked his tongue.
[An incarnation is an avatar chosen by a constellation. If you were an incarnation of some constellation, there's no way you wouldn't know who that constellation is.]
"Hmm. That's true too."
Since Zeke was receiving karma points and random boxes as rewards by the system, it was a different situation from the sponsorship of constellations that Arataso spoke of.
Once the conversation roughly ended, Zeke didn't hesitate and opened the special random boxes he had been given.
When he opened both at the same time, an enormous light poured out from inside the boxes.
Zeke checked the artifacts inside the boxes.
"This is...?"
Inside the boxes were a strangely shaped horn and a brilliantly shining gem.
Zeke immediately checked their information.
---Gem Information---
Description: A heart containing the magic of a dragon
Unique Ability: Mana Conversion
Special Note: The heart of a just-matured dragon that has grown for about 500 years.
---Horn Information---
Description: A horn containing the power of the 'Judge of Endless Strife', the master of the Balrogs.
Unique Ability: Meteor Summon
Special Note: Can only be used in a battlefield filled with the energy of fierce strife.
"A Dragon Heart and an artifact containing the power of a fallen constellation?"
Arataso looked at the horn and was startled.
[The authority of the Judge of Endless Strife... you've obtained something very precious.]
"Do you know that constellation?"
[It's a powerful constellation with a similar domain to my master. The race, who command the Balrogs, were under this constellation's dominion.]
"What in the world does it mean by only being usable when filled with the energy of fierce strife?"
[You'd know if you've seen the Balrogs. The Judge of Endless Strife values the clash of power against power and the will of fierce struggle above all else. It means that if it deems a battlefield to be worthy of strife that satisfies it, it will grant its authority.]
"That's quite a difficult artifact to use."
[Constellations are inherently finicky beings.]
Zeke nodded.
He put the horn into his inventory and picked up the Dragon Heart.
"Hmm, it's the first Dragon Heart I've seen since Bahamut's Heart."
Zeke looked at the Dragon Heart, which shone brilliantly with a green light.
It was then.
Whoooooooom!
The Dragon Heart in Zeke's hand suddenly vibrated.
"Hmm?"
In that instant, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[The system detects the Dragon Heart.]
[Bahamut's Heart is reacting.]
[Bahamut's Heart and the Dragon Heart are synchronizing.]
Whoooooooom!
The vibration of the Dragon Heart intensified.
At the same time, a mark appeared on Zeke's chest.
Whoom whoom whoom whoom!
Light spread out from the mark.
Then, the Dragon Heart that Zeke was holding floated into the air.
Crackling!
Currents of mana generated from the Dragon Heart and soon connected with the mark floating above Zeke's chest.
"Kuh-uk!"
The energy emanating from the Dragon Heart was absorbed into Zeke's body.
"Ugh-ugh-ugh!"
Just like when he first received Bahamut's Heart in his lower abdomen, immense pain pierced through his entire body.
Zeke clenched his teeth tightly and endured the pain.
Soon, the brilliant light emanating from the Dragon Heart gradually faded.
Whoom whoom whoom whoom whoom!
At the same time, as Zeke absorbed the Dragon Heart's energy, he felt his lower abdomen rapidly expand.
"Ugh-ugh!"
Soon, the Dragon Heart, having lost its brilliant light, fell to the floor with a thud.
Zeke felt as if his entire body would explode from the energy in his lower abdomen, which was swirling like a vortex.
At that moment, the message window reappeared.
[Absorbing the Dragon Heart's energy through Bahamut's Heart, which is linked.]
Tssstssstss—
The green glowing mark began to fade little by little.
Zeke composed his breathing and stored the energy in his lower abdomen into Bahamut's Heart.
Whoom whoom whoom whoom whoom!
Zeke's entire body vibrated.
At the same time, the message window appeared.
[Bahamut's Heart has absorbed all of the Dragon Heart's energy.]
[Part of Bahamut's Heart's seal is released with the absorbed energy.]
[Current compression seal level is 55.5%.]
[The system arbitrarily allocates experience points to spirit energy.]
[Spirit energy has increased, and the level of the soul has grown.]
[As the level of the soul increases, the passive skill 'Limit Break' is unlocked.]
[The effect of the passive skill 'Limit Break' is limited due to the influence of the Inverted Tower.]
[Part of Bahamut's Heart's seal is released due to the increase in spirit energy. Current compression seal level is 49.5%.]
[The compression seal level drops below 50%.]
[The first stage restriction placed on the user is released.]