Chapter 296: Raizakia (2)
The whole process seemed very slow to Eugene.
The tail, adorned with a formidable array of sharp and rugged scales, made the initial descent. Subsequently, the dragon's head emerged, gradually rising upward. With a marked sluggishness, the dragon reclined, fixing its gaze skyward in a deliberate and measured manner.
His eyes remained closed, veiled in darkness. Slowly, very slowly, his eyelids began to part. Like a delicate curtain unfurling, the white veil lifted, revealing the eyes beneath that had been inverted but now found their proper alignment.
The pupils were vertically slitted, reminiscent of the serpentine gaze of a colossal snake. Those intense, menacing eyes fixated upon Eugene, radiating an aura of primal danger. Yet, it was not a mere meeting of gazes; instead, it felt as if the dragon's vast, all-encompassing eyes were ensnaring Eugene, capturing his very essence within their powerful gaze.
It was Dragon Fear.
Mer lost consciousness inside the cloak, and similarly overwhelmed by a profound sense of fear, Raimira's voice erupted in a piercing scream.
Eugene yearned to succumb to the same urges — to lose consciousness or release a primal scream — yet he quelled those impulses. He couldn't afford to yield. How could he allow himself to become a blathering fool after merely glimpsing the Black Dragon? Gritting his teeth, Eugene summoned every ounce of his willpower and activated the White Flame Formula. Its purpose was to withstand the relentless, intangible pressure that threatened to pulverize his very bones and organs.
Eugene had once experienced Dragon Fear from Ariartel, the Red Dragon. However, it could not compare to what he was feeling now. It was a matter of course. Although Ariartel had been quite mature compared to the child, Raimira, the Red Dragon had been three centuries old at most.
But what about Raizakia, the Black Dragon?
Raizakia was an Ancient Dragon who had lived for more than a millennium. Even prior to his fall, he had been revered as one of the mightiest beings among the dragonkind. Consuming the heart of the Dragon Lord after betraying his own kind had solidified his fearsome reputation. Moreover, as the last surviving Ancient Dragon following the demise of his brethren, Raizakia stood as the oldest, most powerful, and most malevolent dragon to ever exist.
Throughout his past life, Eugene had encountered Raizakia on multiple occasions, and each encounter brought him perilously close to the brink of death. He had become intimately acquainted with Raizakia's devastating Dragon Fear, having faced it time and again.
However, strangely enough, Eugene did not feel a sense of familiarity with the current situation. Raizakia's Dragon Fear seemed more intense compared to his previous encounters, surpassing anything he had experienced before.
Dragon Fear was a malevolent aura of death and destruction emitted by dragons. In the case of Raizakia, his Dragon Fear had matched the intensity of his twisted personality three centuries ago. However, it became apparent that his madness had expanded exponentially during his entrapment within the interdimensional void.
Raizakia's Dragon Fear froze Eugene in place, his body stiffening like ice. Despite invoking the power of the White Flame Formula to resist, his trembling could not be suppressed.
…Fwoosh!
The rosary adorning his neck emanated a radiant, comforting glow, enveloping Eugene in its warm embrace. The divine power infused within it, a testament to Kristina and Anise's contribution, manifested as a miraculous presence. Though he understood it to be an illusion, it felt as if both Kristina and Anise stood steadfastly behind him at that moment. Their ethereal forms seemed to wrap around him, their arms and wings serving as a protective shield, ensuring Eugene's resolve remained unyielding and preventing his collapse.
His tremors stopped, and the cold, frozen spirit melted in the warm light. After taking a few deep breaths, Eugene took a step forward. Then he stared directly into Raizakia’s eyes.
“Vermouth?” A voice resounded in the darkness, although Raizakia didn’t speak directly. “No. You look like Vermouth, but you are not him. Are you his descendant?”
“It’s Hamel,” responded Eugene without hiding himself.
As if taken back by the answer, Raizakia remained silent for a moment as he stared at Eugene.
“…Kuhaha! Reincarnation, is it? Someone committed a taboo that even dragons avoid. Who was it? Was it that girl, Sienna Merdein? Or was it Vermouth himself?” asked Raizakia.
“Shut your mouth,” said Eugene.
“If you really are Hamel, then it explains why you’ve come here and… why you are angry at my words. It must be because I turned Sienna Merdein, that cheeky girl, into a walking corpse,” jeered Raizakia.
Rumbleee!
The darkness roared. Raizakia slowly unfurled his body from a ball, then spread his wings. “I remember everything. I never forget anything. Sienna Merdein, the wench who drove me into this miserable place. Among the pathetic, arrogant humans, I want to chew and swallow that girl foremost.”
The Dragon Fear emanating from Raizakia intensified, accompanied by a surge of killing intent. His eyes brimmed with malevolent darkness, seething with a potent mix of malice and madness. Eugene counted himself lucky when he saw those eyes.
Noir Giabella, the Queen of the Night Demons, and Gavid Lindman, the Blade of Incarceration — neither of them was inferior to Raizakia when it came to their power. Eugene had survived several encounters with the two. Noir had never shown any hostility towards Eugene, and Gavid could not kill Eugene because of his loyalty to the Demon King of Incarceration.
However, Raizakia wasn’t bound by such things. There was no reason for the insane dragon to refrain from killing Eugene, no reason for him to suppress his killing intent.
‘There’s no comparison,’ thought Eugene.
Jagon, the Beast of Ravesta, was one of the strongest among the younger demons. The atmosphere he exuded had been sufficient to make Eugene nervous, but it was nothing compared to Raizakia’s Dragon Fear.
“Where did you hide my daughter?” Raizakia growled, causing Eugene’s hair to flutter in the wind. Eugene looked upwards without stepping back.
Raizakia was looking down at Eugene with his ragged wings unfurled. “I know you’ve taken my daughter as the key to getting here. That cloak… is a space-magic artifact. You must have hidden my daughter in there.”
Raimira stifled a gasp, her hand instinctively covering her mouth within the confines of the cloak. The words of the Black Dragon echoed in her ears, referring to her as his daughter. It was a title she had envisioned countless times, imagining the immense emotions and overwhelming joy that would accompany such a moment.
However, the harsh reality shattered her expectations. The mere utterance of the word daughter from Raizakia intensified her trembling. Though not focused directly on her, the icy, malevolent gaze of the Black Dragon constricted her breath, leaving her gasping for air.
“Hamel, I will take back my daughter after killing you,” Raizakia declared before opening his jaw. A black tornado of Dark Power swirled and gathered in front of him.
Eugene braced himself for what he knew was imminent. The Black Dragon was preparing to unleash its devastating Breath. However, the sheer density of the Dark Power coalescing before Raizakia was beyond Eugene's comprehension, leaving him astounded by its immense potency.
‘Did he really get weaker?’ Eugene doubted his presupposition.
Being trapped in the dimensional rift for centuries, Eugene had expected the Black Dragon's power to have diminished. However, Raizakia displayed no signs of weakening. In fact, his presence exuded a formidable strength that defied Eugene's assumptions.
Eugene raised Akasha high into the air.
Fwoosh!
All the mana stored in Akasha poured out, and at the same time, Eugene activated Prominence. Purple flames erupted around him before forming a wing behind him. Prominence greedily devoured all the mana that poured out of Akasha and formed numerous feathers.
”Haha! Akasha. It’s nice to see that cursed staff after such a long time. Did Sienna give you Akasha? I’ve been eyeing it for centuries.” Raizakia laughed insidiously. The Breath was still growing in size and power.
Eugene glared at Raizakia while attempting to measure the power of the Black Dragon’s Dark Power.
“You bastard. What did you do?” Eugene shouted. He was appalled after discovering that Raizakia possessed Dark Power that did not belong to him. Instead, what he felt coming from Raizakia was Edmund’s Dark Power from the Footprint of the God of the Land. No, to be exact, it was the Dark Power he gathered for the ritual by sacrificing thousands of lives.
“Hahaha!” Raizakia burst out laughing. “That arrogant human black wizard. He did not know his place and dared to covet my Dark Power! A mere human dared to greed after my power. Me , the Black Dragon Raizakia!” he roared.
The Dark Power continued to swell. Eugene activated Ignition through Prominence, then allowed Akasha to levitate behind him before grabbing the Holy Sword with his left hand.
“It was quite an interesting trick, only if it had worked! Did you think it would be difficult for me to reap the failing, dispersing Dark Power? Both you and that black wizard took me, Raizakia, way too lightly. Did you really think I had grown weak and frail after being stuck in this place for centuries?” roared Raizakia.
The ball of Dark Power was no longer expanding. Instead, it was causing their surroundings to vibrate as if they were on the verge of exploding.
“You will die here, Hamel. I will kill you and eat you. I will take back my daughter from you. Afterward, it won’t take me long to escape from this place!” Raizakia’s voice grew more and more heated.
Dragons were known for their longevity and resilience against the ravages of time. It was a trait that kept their minds sharp and their sanity intact, regardless of the years they accumulated. However, Raizakia stood apart from his noble brethren. The Black Dragon had descended into madness three centuries ago.
There was truly nothing in the gap between dimensions, nothing except the patches of different darkness. But the darkness contained no mana, Dark Power, or spirits. One could not even feel the passage of time in this place.
The mad dragon had been isolated in this space for two hundred years, and since he had nothing, he had turned his mind to his madness.
Why had he failed?
He had isolated the master of Akasha. The human wizard had been on the verge of death. She wouldn’t have been a threat even if she had been in perfect condition. There had been no reason for him to fail. The elves were no hindrance. He was going to kill Sienna, kill the elves, take Akasha, and burn down the World Tree just because. But he had failed. A miracle. Right, it really had been a miracle. The World Tree had protected the elves and Sienna. The human wizard had moved it to her will while on the verge of death. As a result, he had been in this miserable state for hundreds of years.
The thought of wanting to die never crossed his mind. The Demonic Dragon always survived, even when things looked grim. Even on the battlefield where the Demon King of Destruction and the Demon King of Incarceration had massacred half of all dragons, where all the Ancient Dragons perished, Raizakia survived by betraying the Lord, devouring his heart, and corrupting himself.
It would be no different this time. He didn’t know how many years had passed, but Raizakia had survived. After persisting, he was finally given another chance.
“Die,” Raizkia spat with joy, eagerness, and madness.
Flash!
The orb of Dark Power exploded, and the Black Dragon’s Breath fired toward Eugene.
The Dragon Spear Kharbos could unleash the power of a dragon’s breath with a single thrust. But Eugene realized just how arrogant he had been in thinking so. He knew he couldn’t counter Raizakia’s breath even if he possessed a dozen Dragon Spears.
Craack!
The light emitting from the Holy Sword was sheathed with the Empty Sword. Four overlapping layers were completed in an instant, and Eugene wielded the sword while feeling the massive weight in his grasp. The power contained in four layers of the Empty Sword was overwhelming enough to decelerate all other forces. However, it failed to show the same influence in the face of Raizakia’s breath.
The Dark Power and flames dispersed upon making contact. Eugene saw the Holy Sword rattling. He clenched his teeth and hurriedly placed his right hand into the cloak.
Drawing forth the Moonlight Sword, Eugene infused his strike with ethereal moonlight, intertwining its radiance with his attack. The combined might of the Moonlight Sword and the four layers of the Empty Sword proved sufficient to neutralize the oncoming breath. Yet, despite this feat, a trace of unease crept over Eugene's features, draining the color from his face. For before him, he beheld the sight of ten additional spheres of Dark Power, exact replicas of the breath, poised ominously in front of Raizakia.
“The Moonlight Sword?” The Demonic Dragon recognized the weapon. He flapped his wings while chuckling. “How ironic, Hamel. You were the most human out of anyone, unlike Vermouth, who didn’t even seem like a human. And you hated demonfolks and the Demon Kings more than any of your companions.”
Eugene couldn’t figure out where Raizakia was getting at. He had more important tasks at hand — calculating how he could kill the Black Dragon. Even if chances were slim, Eugene could not hesitate. After releasing the Holy Sword, Eugene clutched his chest with his left hand.
“Yet, you use the sword of a Demon King, and of Destruction no less. Can you really call yourself human while using a power that is not permitted to humans, a power that humans cannot handle?”
What was he talking about? Overwhelmed by the shocking revelation, Eugene's mind raced with questions, a torrent of confusion and disbelief flooding his thoughts. However, before he could voice his questions, a jolt of indescribable agony tore through his being. His hand instinctively pressed against his chest, desperately seeking solace amidst the chaos within. The ensuing explosion that erupted from deep within him was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
Eugene's body convulsed with the immense strain of his unprecedented feat. Through the convergence of Prominence and the Ignition of his mana and Cores, he had unleashed a power beyond comprehension. Every fiber of his being trembled under the overwhelming force coursing through his veins. His teeth clenched together, threatening to shatter, as he fought to contain the explosive energy surging within him. The sheer intensity of the internal turmoil left him incapable of uttering a single word, fearing that the slightest release of his tightly sealed lips would result in his very being fracturing apart.
“This is truly amazing! The Sword of Destruction alone surprised me, but your current power has already exceeded the boundaries of man!” Raizakia laughed maniacally.
…The Sword of Destruction? Was he referring to the Moonlight Sword? Was it the power of the Demon King of Destruction?
The revelation struck Eugene with a mixture of shock and plausibility. It seemed to offer an explanation for the unfathomable power emanating from the Moonlight Sword. In his past life, even the mere act of wielding the Moonlight Sword had threatened to unhinge his sanity. Yet, it wasn't just the Moonlight Sword that possessed such an effect. The Annihilation Hammer of Carnage and the Demonic Spear of Cruelty had also driven humans to madness; only Vermouth had been able to handle them. Eugene recalled the haunting image of Molon, his hands clutching his head in agony, while Vermouth had somehow withstood the onslaught without flinching.
Upon discovering an enigmatic ruin near the Castle of the Demon King of Carnage following their victory, Vermouth had come across the Moonlight Sword. Astonishingly, he had taken the finding as a matter of course.
Eugene struggled to recall Vermouth's exact expression when he first stumbled upon the Moonlight Sword in the enigmatic ruin. Though the memory eluded him, he reasoned it must have been a serene and composed countenance. Had his expression been anything but calm, it would surely have left a lasting imprint in Eugene's recollections.
"Gray hair, golden eyes, burning flames...! Hamel, you've been reincarnated as a descendant of Vermouth. It is his blood that now courses through your veins, granting you the ability to wield the Moonlight Sword. Just as that human, who transcended the bounds of humanity, possessed such power, so do you, with his blood flowing within you,” said Raizakia.
The blood of Vermouth did not seem to fade even after hundreds of years. Everyone who took on the Lionheart name, with even a single drop of the Lionheart blood flowing in their veins, was born with the characteristic gray hair and golden eyes of Vermouth. And even though hundreds of years had passed, Vermouth’s descendants were somewhat capable of handling the equipment of the Demon Kings.
Even though Hamel and Molon had failed, Dominic and Doynes had succeeded just because the blood of the Lionhearts flowed in their veins.
“Amazing. It’s truly amazing.” The ten spheres began to tremble as Raizakia exclaimed.
Eugene’s body stopped trembling. The power that threatened to destroy his body was now calm, and it filled Eugene completely. The flame in Eugene was burning hotter and fiercer than Hellfire, and the flame erupted all over Eugene, taking the shape of a lion’s mane fluttering furiously.
“I am greedy for that blood,” whispered Raizakia with a smile. All ten breaths fired in unison, and Eugene shouted with a passion that filled his body.
Boooom!
The simultaneous activation of Ignition accelerated Eugene's body, propelling him forward with incredible speed. As he unleashed Lightning Flash, a trail of blackened ashes marked his path.