Death walked casually toward the tomb's entrance. "You'd all better not go in, because you're destined to die in this cave. The rest is up to you!"
Someone pointed at them. "Who do you think you are? How dare you give us orders!" Death ignored him and kept walking.
They had arrived at the tomb's entrance, and Death examined the gate. The gate was made of thick stone, its interior lined with spiritual energy.
"So that's how it is!" Death muttered.
Pale Green Jade Flames erupted and concentrated in her hand. Her flaming hands touched the gate.
BANG!
A sudden burst of energy sent Enatur flying several steps back. Death intensified the pressure of her flame. Slowly, cracks began to appear and widen.
The gate's wall shattered into pieces. "Stubborn tomb!" Death muttered. She walked through toward the cave entrance, and Enatur followed behind her.
A crowd of people from the flying boat poured inside. Without a word of thanks, they simply brushed past Death.
"Let's start hunting for the treasure!" said a man.
"Leave the unimportant treasure for those two... hahaha!"
Enatur put his hands on his hips. "Damn, they don't know the danger they face."
"Just let them be; we just need to take it easy and head to the deepest part." Death and Enatur stepped into the deepest part of the cave.
They walked through a fairly wide passageway. Enatur saw piles of black dust scattered along the passageway.
At the end of the cave passageway, Enatur saw a large stone door. "The door is still closed, so where did those people go?" he muttered.
"No need to think about it, destroy that door." Said Death.
Enatur nodded. Nano Tungsten emerged from his palm, and his left hand quickly transformed into a massive drill.
Whirrrr!
The drill spun rapidly; he swung the drill arm at the stone door. The door shattered instantly, turning into small stone debris. They stepped inside.
Inside, there were many tiered, lofty bridges, as if piercing the sky. The bridges led to stone doors.
---
Enatur scratched his head. "What a strange path. We've passed through all the doors, but none of them lead to the inner chambers."
Death looked down at the deep abyss covered in fog. "These doors are just a diversion; the real path is down below."
Death jumped down, followed by Enatur. For 70 seconds they plummeted downward, then landed in a rather eerie valley of dark ash.
Human bones, no longer intact, littered the floor. They moved forward, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.
Enatur's hand swept through the air near his nose. "It smells awful, and the air is damp."
"Something's coming!" Said Death.
Step! Step! Step!
Footsteps echoed from the distance. Several dark-gray wolf monsters with red horns were running toward them. They were as big as adult horses.
The pack of wolves ran swiftly and leaped toward them. Death drew her green katana from his storage space.
Bzzzttt!
His body radiated a lightning aura; he moved as fast as lightning, like a lightning comet dancing through the air.
Swing! Swing! Swing! Swing! Swing!
She swung her katana, slicing through the wolves one by one. The wolves' heads fell one after another.
A second wave of the wolf pack arrived—five times their original number. A lightning aura gathered in her right hand, and she raised it.
A wave of lightning spread toward the wolf pack and struck them. One by one, the wolves were incinerated in an instant.
"Miss Death is truly amazing; those wolf monsters were dead in the blink of an eye!"
"Let's continue our journey! We'll fly to save time." Said Death.
---
Death and Enatur flew low at high speed through a valley bounded by stone walls. From a distance, Enatur spotted the end of the valley.
They stopped flying and landed gently. The end of the valley opened into a cave entrance. Without a second thought, they went inside.
They passed through the other side of the cave entrance. Before them stood a vast chamber with a high, dark ceiling.
Deep within the chamber was an ancient tomb altar with a sturdy iron coffin.
They descended the stairs and walked toward the tomb. "Is this the ancient tomb? But where is the Mythical Horn?" Enatur looked at Death.
The black aura masks covering their faces slowly faded. Enatur and Death removed their hoods.
Death looked up at the dark ceiling. Even the ceiling's walls were invisible.
"What's up, Miss Death?" Enatur asked.
Death gathered lightning energy in her right hand. The lightning shot swiftly toward the ceiling.
KRAAAKKKOOOMMM!
ROOAARRR!
A massive creature was camouflaged within the darkness of the ceiling.
Crack!
The creature landed in front of the tomb. Its black aura slowly faded, revealing its true form. The tips of its scales were sharp, made of dark gray metal.
Its wings were formed from clusters of sword-like blades, and its tail resembled a sharp whip with sword-edged sides. The creature stood on four legs, standing 20 meters tall.
Enatur was stunned by the creature's appearance; fear washed over him. His eyes trembled at the sight of its sharp teeth. Yet its body was slightly transparent.
"Is this the dragon's form?" he asked nervously.
"An ancient dragon from the Dragon Realm, the Steel-Blade Dragon, a relative of the Golden-Blade Dragon. Unfortunately, this is merely the spiritual body of the dragon."
His eyes widened instantly. "A relative of the Golden-Blade Dragon?"
Death looked in that direction. "Its true body must be inside that tomb!"
The dragon stared at them. "Who are you? How dare you set foot in my tomb. If you're looking for treasure... unfortunately, my treasure isn't here!"
Enatur replied. "Wait, we came—"
Death spread her left arm. She stopped Enatur. "Shut up! You can't just speak carelessly to a race with such high pride as the Dragons!"
"Huh? Why's that?" Enatur asked in confusion.
"Before he introduces himself, never mention your name—not even before he acknowledges you. That is the rule of the Dragon race."
The dragon widened its eyes. "Get out of my tomb now!" The dragon released a massive surge of energy.
Death smiled slyly. "What if I refuse?"
His claws left marks on the ground. A dark, ashen aura enveloped the Dragon's body. His gaze was filled with rage.
His tone was furious. "Even though my body is a spiritual body and nearly vanishing… that doesn't mean you can easily defeat me!"
"Tch! Such a race that prioritizes pride!" Death muttered. "Enatur, fight this creature!" She said.
Enatur immediately gasped. "Eh… I'm fighting a dragon?"
Death glared at Enatur. "You managed to survive against me and that red-haired man. Why are you afraid to face this dying dragon?"
Death folded her arms, her tone firmer. "If you want me to take you as my disciple, defeating this dying dragon is your final test from me!"
Enatur sighed and closed his eyes. Though he had some doubts, he had no other choice. He opened his eyes and stared at the dragon.
He clenched his fists and steeled his resolve. "Alright! I'll defeat this dragon. Even without relying on Nature Flow and Uranium Spiritual, I still have Vermillion Spiritual and Nano Spiritual as my energy!"
Death leaned against the stone wall beside the cave entrance, folding her arms. "Show me whether you qualify as my lil brother disciple or not!"
Enatur stepped forward; Nano Tungsten slowly formed full-body armor, the neon eyes on his mask glowing red.
The dragon's neck emitted a silver light; its mouth opened wide.
"Dragon's Roar!"
A massive burst of energy erupted from the dragon's mouth. The cave walls crumbled instantly, following the pattern of the energy blast. The cave ceiling shook, and small rocks fell to the ground.
However, the energy blast did not penetrate his armor; it merely smoked upon contact with the dragon's blast.
"Thank goodness, this tungsten steel can block the blast!" he muttered with relief.
The dragon was puzzled. "My steel particle blast couldn't penetrate it?"
Nano Tungsten erupted from his palm, forming a massive vortex above them. The dragon stood on its hind legs, towering 45 meters high.
"Kid, you're pretty strong!"
The dragon swung its massive, sharp steel claws. Enatur leaped high; the claws only shattered the floor. Enatur circled the dragon's body.
The dragon swatted at Enatur; he darted back and forth like a mosquito searching for an opening. The dragon grew annoyed with him; it gritted its teeth.
ROAR!
Its body emitted a massive wave of fluctuating energy. Enatur was flung far away, crashing into the cave wall. The dragon's spiritual body became slightly more transparent.
"Thanks to my fishing practice, my mind is clearer during battle. It feels like I can make the right decisions at the right time!"
Enatur stood on the stone wall; he opened six dimensional spaces surrounding the dragon. Dozens of dagger chains shot out and streaked rapidly toward the dragon.
Seeing an opening, Enatur condensed energy between his palms.
Vermillion's spiritual energy formed a swirling vortex, accompanied by a golden light.
The dragon sensed the massive energy Enatur had generated. However, its movements were hindered by dagger chains, which continued to pursue the dragon.
Death was slightly startled by the sight of the dagger chains. They were different from the ones Enatur usually used. The chains were dark gray with a lilac-colored aura.
"He must be learning the Spiritual Binding Dagger Chains from Shuu!"
The blades of the daggers were slightly curved. The dragon realized the danger posed by the dagger chains. The dragon transformed into a grown man with dragon horns.
His hair was silver and his eyes were black, and he wore Western medieval-style fantasy clothing.
The man flew through the air, evading the pursuit of dozens of Enatur's dagger chains.
He drew a large, dark-gray broadsword and parried several dagger chains while dodging the pursuit of the others.
The man glared sharply at Enatur. "You damn brat! You'll die by my hand!" he shouted, dashing quickly toward Enatur.
He realized Enatur was almost finished forming his massive energy. "Tch! I have no other choice!" the man raised both his hands.
Massive energy formed a huge swirling wave above his hands. From a distance, two massive energies—red energy and silver-gray energy—spun quite rapidly.
Both of them successfully condensed their respective energies. The man formed his energy faster.
"Secret Technique: Steel Sword Dragon King!" the man shouted. The massive energy had formed a silver-colored sword, 10 meters long.
"Emperor's Sword Technique!" Enatur shouted. The massive energy formed a standard red sword with a golden glow, 5 meters long.
Both energy swords were ready to strike...