Chapter 302: Raizakia (8)
Sienna’s wind enveloped Eugene.
It was a familiar, nostalgic sensation. Three centuries ago, Sienna would often wrap her wind around Hamel during battles. The wind served to protect Hamel from the magic of the enemies while allowing him to fight more freely.
Hundreds of years had passed since then. He had experienced death once already, and he now lived in a new body after reincarnation. However, at this moment, Eugene thought that nothing had changed. He was now Eugene Lionheart, and also Hamel Dynas, and now — Sienna Merdein was by his side.
“Right.” He raised both the Holy Sword and the Moonlight Sword in front of him. “Let’s go.”
The power that allowed him to push Raizakia was already gone, and he could not use Ignition again. Moreover, he had to be cautious, ensuring that Prominence would not go out of control. Given that the flow and the output of mana in his body were unstable, using the Empty Sword or Eclipse didn’t seem like viable options either.
Raizakia looked to be in better condition. Although Eugene had cut and crushed the dragon’s scales, Raizakia had recovered from most of the damage during the brief respite he was given. While he might be weaker than before due to the expended Dark Power, it was evident that Raizakia was in a much better state compared to Eugene.
As such, Eugene wasn’t in a particularly advantageous situation. Even so, Eugene felt no foreboding sensation of defeat.
Raizakia could feel the shift in atmosphere as well. The change was quite palpable. Just a moment ago, Hamel’s eyes and expression had betrayed the despair he felt.
Throughout their extended battle, the despair had never once left Hamel’s side, even during moments when he held the advantage. It was because Hamel had sensed that the tides of the battle could turn at any moment and that death was an inevitable end for him.
But now, there was not even a remnant of the despair from earlier.
‘This changes nothing,’ Raizakia thought. ‘Absolutely nothing,’ he reminded himself once more.
Woooooo!
The Dark Power surrounding Raizakia began to boil and erupt, giving birth to a flash of light in the midst of the powerful energy.
“Don’t worry about the magic,” reassured Sienna, raising Akasha in front of her. Countless Circles appeared in the infinite, intertwining loops of Eternal Hole. The Circles divided, intertwined, scattered, and divided repeatedly.
The most optimal operation of mana for the Circles Formula.
A resulting amplification of magical powers.
An efficient simplification of formulas.
An omission of incantations.
Division of consciousness to allow for multiple castings.
Storing magic in the unconscious for later use.
Those were the advantages of the Eternal Hole that Mer had outlined in the past in Akron. And although Eugene had created the Ring Flame Formula by combining the White Flame Formula and the Eternal Hole, even now, he could not fully comprehend the Eternal Hole.
It was even more difficult to understand now that he saw it in person. The mana that Sienna emitted in her incomplete, spiritual state was faint and weak. However, the magic she conjured wasn’t weak at all.
Fwoosh!
A sphere of fire appeared in front of Akasha. It was simple magic, a spell of the First Circle that was widely used — Fireball. However, the Fireball that Sienna conjured exuded an absurd level of heat. It simply could not be considered an attack of the First Circle.
Dozens more Fireballs appeared in front of Akasha, and they formed into a huge wheel of flames as if they were one entity. The fire wheel began to rotate, and the raging heat started to accumulate within the wheel instead of spilling outward.
Booom!
Dark Power poured out of the darkness that surrounded Raizakia. Countless magic attacks swept through the space, attempting to devour Eugene and Sienna. At that precise moment, the heat contained in the wheel of flames was released, blocking the dragon’s magic.
The spinning, flaming wheel began advancing towards Raizakia. Eugene kicked off the ground without hesitation. As the wheel of fire ripped through the Dark Power, it created a gap for him to exploit. Eugene charged into the space, then swung both his swords.
However, he was slower than before. It was easily avoidable. Raizakia raised his hand while stepping away from the trajectory of the twin blades. The arm of the dragon grew in size and dropped towards Eugene’s head as a giant, blunt instrument of death.
However, his attack was caught midway. Sienna had secretly conjured a magical restraint that seized the scales covering Raizakia’s arm. Before he could shake off the restraint, the Holy Sword severed his arm, and the Moonlight Sword dug into his chest.
“Kuaagh!” Raizakia roared while forcing his body to warp with Dark Power. He hastily underwent a transformation using Polymorph.
Craaack!
The Moonlight Sword’s light was fainter than before with Eugene’s decrease in power. Eugene had failed to pierce all the way with the Moonlight Sword. However, he did not attempt to drive the sword further into the dragon’s chest but instead pulled it out without any hesitation. He could fight confidently and with surety because he wasn’t alone.
Dozens of lights sparkled behind Eugene. The sparkles of light passed Eugene like fireflies and reached Raizakia.
Were they fireflies? Insects?
Unfortunately, the figures of light that penetrated Raizakia’s chest weren’t as trivial as fireflies.
Rumble!
The sparkles of light exploded after settling down, sending Raizakia flying backward.
“Keugh…!”
A dragon’s scale was immune and protective against most magic. However, the bullets of magic had found their mark in the gap between the scales and struck their roots.
Even if Sienna’s magic was superior to Raizakia’s, the inherent advantages he possessed as a dragon made it impossible for him to die from a magical strike. As such, Sienna could not kill Raizakia. However, this wasn’t a problem right now since she wasn’t alone.
Three centuries ago, the five of them had been powerful because their powers were in perfect harmony. If it was impossible to kill something with magic, they would cut it down with a sword. If they could not cut it down, they would beat it to death. If it was impossible to beat it to death, they could purify it with light. If they could not purify it, they would find another way.
In this regard, Eugene and Sienna were capable of producing almost a similar level of harmony as they did with all five of their group present three centuries ago. Although neither of them was an expert in divine magic, they had the Holy Sword. What they lacked in power with the Holy Sword could be made up with the Moonlight Sword. Moreover, they even had an Archwizard who could look down at even a dragon.
Raizakia was experiencing first-hand what this represented. It was difficult for him to fight, and the battle wasn’t going the way he wanted. He could not dictate the fight. If Eugene had pushed him with overwhelming force earlier, now, the two humans were literally dismantling Raizakia.
It was hard to pierce a dragon’s scales with magic. As such, Eugene would first cut down the scales with the Holy Sword and the Moonlight Sword. Sienna would follow up with her magic, penetrating into the lacerations and causing the scales to explode from their roots, tearing the dragon’s flesh and causing blood to spill. Then the Holy Sword and the Moonlight Sword would take over once more.
Raizakia did not stop resisting. However, his defensive magic was weakened by the continued barrage of attacks. On top of that, his attacks were cut short by magic. He felt appalled by the devastation surrounding him on all sides. The two swords blocked the close-ranged Breaths he unleashed before they could even cause any damage, and he was reduced to a flailing fool when both his arms were blocked and deflected repeatedly.
Each and every one of his actions was being met with restraint. He could neither advance nor retreat as he wished.
What could he do?
Before he could think of an answer, Raizakia was flung backward. The left side of his body felt empty. In the blink of an eye, more than ten different spells had impacted him, robbing him of his left arm.
This was impossible. Raizakia’s eyes quivered. It took too long for his arm to regenerate. The Sword of Destruction was upon him even faster than his arm could regenerate. With a desperate scream, Raizakia swung his right arm.
Kakakaka!
The scales of his right arm were wiped clean by the moonlight.
Sienna knew that the light of the Moonlight Sword inherently rejected magic. As such, she didn’t place her magic right behind the Moonlight Sword but instead ensured that it hovered around Eugene, keeping pace and protecting him.
“I missed this,” Sienna whispered wistfully.
The various spells circling around Eugene simultaneously fired toward Raizakia. His left arm, which was in the process of forming with new flesh, scales, and bones, was destroyed again. However, Sienna’s magic did not stop there but proceeded to infiltrate into the stump of Raizakia’s left arm.
Impurities formed in the Black Dragon’s blood. Clumps of Sienna’s mana had transformed and reduced to minuscule sizes like invisible parasites, poking their heads into Raizakia’s vessels.
She dares. She dares. She dares! Raizakia gnashed his teeth while unleashing his Dark Power. Did the wench think she could taint a dragon’s blood with such meager magic? In response to the Dark Power, the impurities in his blood were burnt away.
Boooom!
However, the action resulted in an explosion beginning from Raizakia’s left shoulder. More explosions followed, causing the Black Dragon’s scales to scatter from the inside out. The moment Raizakia had unleashed his Dark Power, the conditions for Sienna’s magic had become completed, sticking to the Dark Power and causing an explosion.
The power of the explosions wasn’t great. Even though the explosions had taken place inside Raizakia’s body, every aspect of a dragon was resistant to magic, including their blood, bones, flesh, and scales.
But it didn’t matter if Raizakia was still alive. Sienna had achieved her purpose of creating a gap. Raizakia knew this as well since the internal shock caused him to stiffen. For a brief moment, he was unable to move his body as he wished.
Although it was a very short moment, it was more than enough time for a seasoned warrior to wield his sword dozens of times.
It wasn’t as if Eugene had been told to swing his swords at this moment. The two of them had not even shared a glance.
But this was something they had accomplished thousands of times. As such, Eugene stabbed the Holy Sword and the Moonlight Sword toward Raizakia without hesitation with an instinctual tacit understanding.
Noooo. He couldn’t dodge it. This could kill him. Nooo. Would he really die? What about his body? It still wasn’t responding to his will. Defensive magic, no, it would be too late.
There was only one thing he could do. The ancient Demon Dragon found the only choice he could make in this critical moment.
Craaack!
The moment the two swords pierced his chest, Raizakia’s body started swelling up. As a result, despite the two swords having completely penetrated his chest, the strikes ended up being too shallow.
Raizakia had chosen to abandon his human form. He had released Polymorph and returned to his draconic form at the last moment. Even so, he had failed to completely avoid the attack. Although shallow, the two swords had still penetrated his chest, and the strike resulted in damage to his Dragon Heart.
“Kuaaaaaghhhh!” Raizakia released a bellowing scream. He attempted to rise into the air by flapping his tattered, large wings.
Eugene pulled the swords out of the dragon’s chest. “Are you sure that’s the right choice?” he scoffed before kicking Raizakia in the chest.
Fwoosh!
A storm of Dark Power was unleashed from Raizakia’s wings, but there was no need for Eugene to defend. Sienna’s magic protected him in the violent storm.
“I know, right?” Sienna laughed in the same way from behind. The wound on Raizakia’s chest was recovering slowly, and the storm of Dark Power was clearly much weaker than before.
It was because of the injury to his Dragon Heart. Raizakia had narrowly avoided death by releasing Polymorph, but the wound he sustained was fatal. To make matters worse, Raizakia knew all too well that his enormous, draconic form held almost no advantage over the two small humans.
But he had been left with no choice. Raizakia looked down before spreading his jaws wide.
Kwaaaahh!
A Breath of black poison poured down toward Eugene and Sienna.
“Go, Hamel,” whispered Sienna.
Crack!
The Wing of Prominence soared from Eugene’s back. The scattering feathers were empowered with Sienna’s magic, and Eugene felt Raizakia’s magic, which had been dominating the space around them, being destroyed by Sienna.
Swoosh!
His feathers were allowed to scatter, and simultaneously, Eugene disappeared. Dozens of fluttering feathers laid a path for him, and he transformed into a bolt of black lightning, dodging Raizakia’s poisonous Breath and shooting into the sky.
Sienna was left alone, faced with the Black Dragon’s Poison Breath. It was the same attack that had driven her to the brink of death two centuries ago. However, Sienna did not fear this breath attack. Her green eyes did not reflect the pouring darkness; instead, they captured the light cutting through the darkness.
‘That’s right. Light.’
Sienna Merdein had departed from hell after the war, but her life continued to be hell. Without any light to illuminate her life, it was always dark for her, regardless of where she was. She had trudged on, using memories from a distant past as a candlelight to motivate her.
For decades after returning from hell, she had longed for the very light she saw now. That light was the midday sun, the moon in the lightless night, and her guiding stars. It was a light that she had never hoped to see again during her life, a light that was wholly hers.
“You can’t swallow it,” whispered Sienna. The poison, darkness, and the Dark Power of Raizakia were too weak to devour the light. She raised Akasha.
Fwoosh!
A giant magic circle appeared in front of her. The same was true for her. The dragon could not swallow her. Raizakia’s desperate barrage of Breaths could not bypass Sienna’s defensive magic.
The Black Dragon hurriedly twisted his head to change the trajectory of the Breaths because he could feel death approaching him. However, no matter how many breath attacks he fired, the looming death did not retreat. Raizakia desperately squeezed out every last bit of his Dark Power in an attempt to stop the impending doom in its path.
However, it was a futile attempt. The black flames broke through his defenses effortlessly. Raizakia couldn’t even try to Polymorph. He couldn’t afford the time.
Surprisingly, what he first felt was a warm sensation. The light of destruction that pierced his neck was… warm, unlike before, and contrary to the ominous color it emitted. He felt the passing of warmth, followed by a sudden coldness. Even the heat of the spewing blood could do nothing against the frigid chill.
His vision began to tilt, and he had no say. The enormous pool of Dark Power residing within him began to ebb out uncontrollably. He failed to hold onto even a handful of the dissipating power.
“Keuh….”
Everything was disappearing. What had he longed for? What had he craved so badly, so much that he chose to become a Demon Dragon?
…Was there even such a thing from the beginning?
All Raizakia had desired, even at the cost of corrupting himself, was life. He had already lost honor and glory the moment he fell. He had obsessed over the very things because he had lost them. He had attempted to renew what he had lost and all to protect his arrogant self. Despite his corruption, he had convinced himself to be great, absolute, and noble. Anyone who failed to understand him was insignificant.
But now, everything lost meaning. He felt everything to have been in vain.
“Was it like this from the very beginning?”
He felt no seething anger, and he didn’t feel any doubt towards himself either. He had defied his fate by means of corruption once before, but he no longer had the means to resist it anymore. It was already over. The Demon Dragon had finally reached a dragon-like conclusion the moment his head was cut, and his Dragon Heart destroyed.
“You’re not insignificant,” Raizakia acknowledged. “Rather, I was the insignificant existence.”
If he had survived, he could have continued his arrogant life. But now that he was dying, he could no longer be arrogant.
The Dragon Lord, whom he had killed with his own hands, and the others who died at the hands of the Demon Kings, had died a dragon. They had died for the world.
However, Raizakia’s death wasn’t one of such honor or glory. The fallen Demon Dragon was only paying what he owed. His death was a late atonement for his sins. Raizakia laughed without feeling pity at his own pathetic, miserable death.
“Could my death be any uglier…?” Raizakia gave a long sigh while moving his eyes. He saw Eugene as his vision darkened. He saw the Sword of Destruction held in Eugene’s hand.
If only he had died by that light three centuries ago….
Raizakia closed his eyes with regret.