Chapter 99 - The Sword that Split the Heavens (2)
‘When one initiates the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual, the transcendent magic joins the soul of the human and the Dragon into one. In the process, the will of the human that controls the Dragon Demon magic gets pulled towards the Dragon"s will. This occurs since the Dragon is closer to the source of the magic.’
Of course, this was an unproven theory. Still, it did a semi-decent job in explaining the phenomena of the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual.
After Azell finished his third Dragon Slayer"s Ritual, he put all his effort into digesting the power he had gained. As he was doing this, he kept thinking of a way to completely materialize the Dragon Maken. However, it was Kairen, who had come up with the answer.
‘You are running into the limitation of materializing power into an ethereal form. What if you prepare a separate vessel you can pour the power into?’
When he heard those words, a lightning went off inside Azell"s head.
Kairen was someone, who had made a Dragon Sword, from reading an incomplete account of the Dragon Demon weapons. He had a unique perspective, and he had come up with the idea. Azell used Kairen"s idea as a guideline, and he researched for a way to materialize the Dragon Maken through the Dragon Sword. In the end, he was successful.
The sword he was holding at that moment was the result. In the past, it had been the source of terror for the Dragon Demon king"s army. Azell once again wielded the proud power of his Dragon Maken.
Niberis asked a question.
“…the one with the name soaked in sin. What is your real ident.i.ty?”
“I"ll ask again. Is Saibein still alive?”
Instead of answering Azell"s question, she asked a question of her own. She furrowed her brows.
“What is your purpose in asking this question?”
“I"m just curious. No, this really isn"t a question specifically about Saibein. I wonder how many of your members are survivors from the Dragon Demon war?”
The Dragon Demons had long lifespans, so there was a possibility that some were still alive. This was the reasoning behind Azell"s question.
Of course, Niberis didn"t answer his question. He looked at her for a brief moment before he spoke.
“I guess it isn"t information that can be easily given away. Then I"ll phrase it this way. I want you to deliver this message to those, who are still alive. If they are curious about my ident.i.ty, they can move their fat a.s.ses, and come meet me. Then you"ll be able to clear up this confusion. You can get the answer from them.”
The gust infused with blue sparks swirled around him. Azell spoke in a cold voice.
“Ah, sorry. I just realized I said something unnecessary. You are the daughter of the Simpleton Prince. You will die here today.”
“You are the one, who will die. You"ll be killed as you clutch at your own riddles! Oh, human with the name soaked in sin!”
The Dragon Demon weapon clashed with the other Dragon Demon weapon. Kairen was a Dragon Demon, but even he was having a hard time breathing. The waves of powerful Dragon Demon magic swirled around the surrounding. The Darkness swallowed everything nearby, and the thunderbolts let out a ferocious roar as if it was going to rip the world into pieces.
4
Ggwah-gwah-gwah-gwahng! Ggwah-gwah-gwahg!
The darkness and lightning collided violently with each other. The two power intermingled as the explosions rocked the ground. A single clash laid waste a radius 100 meters. Kairen, who was running away with Yuren on his shoulders, was shocked.
“Kook! What preposterous amount of power!”
Kairen had always thought he could beat anyone in terms of burst damage. However, the aftermath created by the Dragon Demon weapons clashing against each other was beyond his imagination.
Niberis" shout rang out within the large dust storm.
“I invoke the bountiful spirit, which possesses the endless darkness of the nether world! I call upon the soul that runs across the firmament of darkness that covers the sun!”
When she shouted the spell, her surrounding started to change. If one didn"t actively protect oneself against the magical energy, the Broken Soul Curse would overpower the opponent"s mind. The curse had the power to shatter the mind.
Hoo-ooh-ooh-ooh……!
The darkness started to spread out like a fog, and everything it touched died. Moreover, numerous tormented phantoms rose out of the fog as they wailed.
Kairen stopped breathing.
“My G.o.d.”
He had fought a lot of Black magicians up until now. He was also very experienced in fighting very strong Dragon Demon king worshippers. Moreover, his best friend was Beorein Michael, who was the kingdom"s best magician. He was familiar with how much power was generated by the high rank magical spells.
However... The phenomena unfolding in front of him far outstripped any magic he had experienced for the past 100 years of his life.
‘What about Azell?’
His opponent was using an incredible magic spell, so why was Azell not doing anything? Kairen looked into the darkness with this question on his mind. However, he soon understood why Azell hadn"t stopped Niberis from activating her magic..
Pah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
An intense lightning pierced through the pervading darkness. It look like thunder, but it also looked like a pure white flame. It split open the darkness in a domineering fashion, and Azell appeared from within it.
He spoke with a certain perverse humor in his voice.
“That move is fantastic. It was a good enough distraction to buy some time for you. You are much proficient in summoning the Corrupted Body now. You"ve grown more adept.”
Purple flames rose in the darkness, and the shapes of all kinds of monsters were disintegrating through this flame. The Corrupted Energy was formed using the pain and hatred of the dead. It melted the bodies of the monsters, and the Black magic created a familiar called the Corrupted Body.
Niberis created numerous Corrupted Bodies, and they clutched at Azell"s ankles. It didn"t take Azell long to defeat the Corrupted Bodies, but it was enough time for Niberis to finish her magical spell.
“Queen of Darkness.”
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!
Accompanying her low chant, the darkness focused around her. It was as if several hundred evil spirits were celebrating the birth of a powerful ruler. She floated in the sky amongst the wails....
Pah-hahk!
Before the Queen could put on her crown, the blue blade pa.s.sed by her after slicing her open.
“How... How can this be...?”
Niberis was shocked.
She had no idea that the attack was coming. Azell and the Dragon Maken rose out of the darkness to cut her.
This shouldn"t have been possible. She was a magician, who used the darkness as her source. Moreover, she was the owner of the Book of Darkness, which dominated the darkness. The darkness had spread out to the surrounding, and she should have been able to sense everything within the darkness. Even if it was a small bug, it couldn"t escape her awareness.
However, she hadn"t realized the attack was coming until Azell had been right in front of her. Moreover, Azell had been fighting against the Corrupted Bodies, so how was he able to jump a distance of over 100 meters?
He had used the secret technique called "The Dance of Shadows." It allowed one to give substance to clones. The Dragon Arts users called it Incarnation, and this technique completely fooled Niberis" eyes.
“As expected, you are still very clumsy at using Saibein"s Book of Darkness. I"m guessing you received the Dragon Demon weapon not too long ago?”
As Azell spoke, the Dragon Maken struck out against her. The sword descended like lightning. The blue lightning ripped apart the darkness as it descended.
Too-hahk!
However, something obstructed the path of the sword. The sword had descended as if it could split apart anything in this world, yet the sword bounced off after colliding with something.
“You haven’t changed at all. You are a mere book, yet it is admirable that you continue to protect your master.”
It was the Book of Darkness. Niberis had been taken by surprise, and she had received a critical wound. The Book of Darkness had blocked Azell"s sword to protect Niberis.
“How many strikes will you be able to take this time?”
He had experienced this before, so Azell wasn"t surprised. He didn"t even hesitate. He attacked again.
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!
Every sword strike was tearing the Book of Darkness into shreds. Azell didn"t even bother trying to bypa.s.s the Book of Darkness to strike out at Niberis. The darkness spread out by the Book of Darkness could be used freely by it. It could dissolve and materialize at will in this darkness. It could basically achieve the effect of crossing over s.p.a.ce to teleport.
This was why he had to destroy it with strength.
Niberis executed a sudden attack on the occupied Azell.
Goo-goo-goo-goo-goo……!
She hadn"t been able finish the great magic "Queen of Darkness", but the magic allowed her to overcome the exquisite pain caused by her wound.
The powerful darkness stopped her bleeding, and it maintained her vitals for now.
When Niberis was able to focus her faint mind, she immediately went on the offensive. The surrounding darkness was condensed into a dense Curse as it was sent towards Azell.
At the same time, she witnessed something unbelievable.
‘A human turned into darkness?’
Azell seemed to change into the same element as the Curse of Darkness. The attack that should have easily destroyed his body and soul pa.s.sed through him.
The only thing that ceased to exist was the Dragon Maken.
Azell returned to his original form, and he gripped the Book of Darkness with his hands.
His action was pure madness. Even for a man like Azell, it was suicide to grab an enemy"s Dragon Demon weapon.
Pah-jee-jee-jee-jeek!
As expected, a strong reaction occurred as Azell"s body shook. His body broke apart into particles of light. Niberis eyes were opened so wide that it felt as if her eyes would rip open.
“Ah. Did you really think that was my real body? You are more naive than I thought.”
“What… did you just……?”
Niberis was so surprised that words refused to come out of her mouth.
Then another powerful light split apart the darkness. The fruits of her Curse, which was scattered all over the place, was shredded to pieces as if they were pieces of paper. Another Azell appeared using the Instantaneous Movement, and Niberis was finally able to piece everything together.
‘From the beginning to the end.... I moved to the beck and call of that man!’
Azell had been able to change himself into a particular element using a technique akin to Insulation. However, there was limit to such techniques. It was impossible to do what Azell had just done. He had let the Cursed Darkness flow through him by turning himself fully into the same element.
However, such a deed was possible if it was a clone made only out of magical energy.
After Azell changed his clone into the same element as the Cursed Darkness, he hid within the Darkness being gathered by Niberis to complete her magic. He had approached her in secret. His skills were so intricate that she hadn"t notice his actions.
After the Dragon Maken sliced through Niberis, it was sent to the hands of his clone. Like the Book of Darkness, the Dragon Maken could also dissolve and materialize at will. The Sword that Splits the Heaven could freely be sent to any one of his clones.
“Your life span would be considered to be short for a Dragon Demon, yet haven"t you lived long enough? It is time for you to go meet Atein, who you worship so much, in h.e.l.l.”
Azell"s clone used the destruction of itself to seal the power of the Book of Darkness. Niberis, who had vainly spent her power, saw Azell"s final strike come down towards her head.
She couldn"t do anything. The despairing Niberis watched as the death strike fell towards her.