"…ROAR!"
As the seal finally collapsed, a deep roar echoed through the cavern.
An aura of brutality and death began to spread through the air.
The ground caved inward, and the being that had been sealed beneath finally revealed its true form.
It was an unknown figure clad in light armor. Thick black mist clung to its entire body like a living shroud. The negative energy in the air condensed into a tangible presence, and within the dark haze, a pair of crimson eyes flickered faintly.
Hatred, rage, resentment, despair.
Violent waves of emotion radiated from the creature, enough to fill any living being with fear.
"Kill… kill… kill…"
Its murderous intent raged wildly as its aura continued to grow stronger.
Surging magic gathered and shot upward as a massive pillar of light. The scene resembled the fury of a god igniting heaven and earth.
The sky turned pitch black.
An ocean of dark lightning surged across the heavens. Blinding bolts crashed down in endless waves, each strike carrying enough destructive force to wipe out everything in its path.
Everything within a ten-kilometer radius was affected.
The ground began to collapse as the entire forest and the surrounding mountain range trembled violently.
Wrapped in black mist, the figure shot upward from underground.
A frenzied roar tore through the sky while an overwhelming aura of hostility spread without restraint.
Countless magic circles appeared in midair.
The wind howled as sand and stones were hurled into the air.
Thunderous explosions echoed across the sky as terrifying magic erupted outward.
The figure rampaged like a madman who knew nothing but destruction, indiscriminately annihilating everything around it.
Looking down at the devastated world below, tears of blood slowly slid from the corners of its eyes.
The figure suddenly burst into laughter.
There was no reason for it, and no clear purpose.
It was pure madness, the kind that made the world itself recoil in fear.
"What terrifying power…"
Khajiit spoke in awe as he cast spatial magic and concealed himself within a separate dimensional space.
His eyes were filled with shock and longing.
This was the kind of power that could overturn heaven and earth.
Even the True Dragon Lords standing at the peak of the world might not surpass it.
If he possessed such power, would it be possible to resurrect his mother?
Khajiit could not help imagining it.
At the same time, his determination to grow stronger only became firmer.
Beside him, Momonga remained silent.
His gaze was grave as he stared fixedly at the figure floating in the sky.
That posture.
That power.
The moment he saw the figure, he had already identified what it was.
It was not a being similar to the Catastrophe Dragon Lord.
It was something else.
A Player.
Just like him, someone who had been transported from [Yggdrasil] when the game's servers shut down.
"A sealed Player… could it be…"
Momonga quickly searched through the information he knew.
The Brightness Dragon Lord had once mentioned something.
Three hundred years ago, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord had successfully ambushed and killed a Player, seizing that Player's World-Class Item.
Could the one before him be that very Player?
Had the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord sealed this Player in order to extract information about Players?
Was that strange sense of familiarity the resonance that existed between Players?
"If that's the case, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord should have sensed the collapse of the seal and already be on the way here."
Momonga considered the situation.
Although it was somewhat unexpected, it did not pose a major problem.
Before breaking the seal, he had already taken multiple possibilities into account and prepared numerous safeguards.
The possibility of a True Dragon Lord appearing had also been part of his calculations.
The only thing that surprised him was that the sealed being turned out to be another Player.
Now all he needed to do was wait and confirm.
If the dragon arrived, it would be the perfect opportunity to eliminate everything at once.
If it did not come, then he would personally act and bring this fellow Player back to Nazarick first.
If he remembered correctly, the magical beast Cocytus had brought back earlier was called something like "Walking Jackpot." That creature was actually this Player's pet.
It also happened to be Hamsuke's father.
Thinking about it that way, the two of them actually shared a bit of fate.
With that thought, Momonga continued observing the situation.
After some time passed, the figure that had been rampaging in midair suddenly stopped.
Its crimson eyes slowly turned toward the distant sky.
"It's you…"
"You bastard… I'll… I'll kill you!"
The moment he sensed that familiar presence, the figure clutched his head as a flash of pain crossed his eyes.
At the same time, a massive roar echoed from the distance.
Looking up, a colossal shape was rapidly approaching.
The air trembled violently as an overwhelming pressure spread across the land.
It was a ferocious dragon.
Its enormous body radiated terrifying power. With its jaws spread wide and its dragon eyes locked onto the figure below, it descended from the sky with terrifying momentum.
On the other side, the figure immediately reacted as if facing a mortal enemy. A pitch-black aura surged around him, shielding him from the crushing pressure of the dragon's presence.
"You should never have awakened."
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord spoke coldly.
He looked down at the Player he had killed three hundred years ago, but he did not attack immediately.
Instead, he attempted to use Wild Magic to assert control over him.
Although the conversion had not been completed, it should still have some effect.
He needed to resolve this problem as quickly as possible.
If the Players from the Sorcerer Kingdom discovered this situation, it would become extremely troublesome.
The thought only made the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord more irritated.
As he spoke, a transparent barrier spread outward.
[World-Isolating Barrier]
An invisible wall enveloped the surrounding area, completely cutting off all communication with the outside.
At that same moment, far away in Nazarick, Nigredo immediately began making preparations after sensing that Momonga's communication had suddenly been cut off.
Back in the present.
"…Don't think… you can control me…"
"…Even if I die… I will still… kill you!"
As the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord activated Wild Magic, the figure who had been glaring at him suddenly trembled violently.
A piercing pain exploded inside his head.
His consciousness felt as if it were being torn apart, splitting into two completely different voices.
One voice urged submission from deep within his mind.
The other burned with uncontrollable murderous rage.
"So the conversion was indeed incomplete."
A hint of frustration flashed through the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord's eyes.
According to his original calculations, it would have taken only about another six months to completely transform the Player's consciousness.
At that point, the Player would retain all of his memories while fully submitting to him.
Not only would he obtain valuable information about the so-called [Yggdrasil], but he would also gain a powerful and loyal subordinate.
That strength would be extremely valuable for his future plan to unite the True Dragon Lords and launch an assault against the Sorcerer Kingdom.
The plan had been nearly perfect.
Only one final step remained.
Yet at the very last moment, everything had fallen apart.
Damn it!
At the thought, even the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord felt the urge to curse out loud.
"Kill… kill…"
A furious roar answered the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord.
The air rippled, and the figure vanished from where he stood. In the next instant, he appeared directly above the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord.
"Hmph. If I could kill you once, then I can kill you a second time."
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord raised a dragon claw.
Darkness gathered into a single point, forming a swirling mass of energy filled with a dangerous aura.
He had to end this quickly.
If it came down to it, he would abandon the idea of preserving the Player's consciousness and simply turn him into a mindless puppet instead.
[Wild Magic: Dark Void]
[Triplet Maximize Magic: Exploding Forcefield]
Facing the attack, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord threw out the vortex of dark energy in his claw.
At the same time, the figure on the other side unleashed a frenzied invisible shockwave.
The shockwave and vortex collided head-on.
A deafening explosion erupted.
Sky and earth seemed to overturn as terrifying shockwaves spread in every direction, but the barrier sealed them in completely, not letting even the slightest trace leak out.
Nearby, Momonga, who had been secretly observing, raised the staff in his hand.
The blood-red gem in the dragon's mouth flashed faintly and instantly neutralized the impact.
Amid the violent explosion, a figure crashed down from the sky.
With a thunderous boom, the ground split apart and a massive cloud of dust shot upward. Half of the figure's body was driven straight into the earth, while shattered stone and blood sprayed in all directions.
"Cough… I…"
He had only just tried to get up when the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord descended from above and slammed down a heavy blow.
At the same time, he opened his mouth, and a brilliant magic circle appeared.
A terrifying breath attack burst forth.
A pitch-black pillar of light engulfed the figure's entire body, destroying his flesh again and again as agonized screams tore from his throat.
Watching from the side, Momonga quietly tightened his grip on the staff.
Not yet.
If he acted now, he would only alert the enemy.
He was not afraid of fighting, but he was not completely confident he could keep the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord from escaping.
Nigredo's side should have already noticed that his Message had been cut off.
Just a little longer.
He only needed to wait a little longer.
"You're too weak.
Not only were you never my equal to begin with, but after three hundred years of conversion, your mind has already reached its limit.
Stop resisting and become my puppet."
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord looked down at him with cold amusement, then continued speaking.
"Oh, right. There's something else I should tell you. That stupid pet of yours…"
"It's already dead."
"To avenge you, that fool burned away its flesh and soul. If it hadn't been for your Cash Item, I might really have died back then."
"Ha ha. Isn't that ironic?"
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord laughed wildly.
He kept provoking the other side with his words, deliberately stirring up his emotions.
He enjoyed this.
Just look at that expression, right on the verge of collapse.
A Player, the same kind of existence as the Eight Greed Kings, had been reduced to barely clinging to life under his power.
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord loved that feeling.
It gave him genuine pleasure from the bottom of his heart.
"Dead…?"
Below him, the figure slowly reached out an arm in confusion.
Dead.
His pet was dead.
Because of his Cash Item, it had died a meaningless death…
A tear of blood slid from the corner of his eye.
The figure stared blankly at the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord, as if his soul had already left him.
His strained consciousness could no longer hold on.
Under the influence of Wild Magic, he fell unconscious once more.
"Samirth, you will become my most loyal puppet."
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord laughed and stretched out a dragon claw, preparing to take him away.
But in the very next moment, a fierce sense of danger surged through him.
[Triplet Maximize Magic: Reality Slash]
Space rippled like the surface of water, and a nearly invisible slash appeared.
Crack.
Where it passed, the surrounding space visibly warped.
Dragon blood sprayed through the air.
Although the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord instinctively tried to defend himself, the hurried reaction was far too late, and the slash tore open his dragon body without mercy.
"Who's there?!"
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord turned to look.
What entered his sight was a skeleton radiating a dark, ominous aura.
The Sorcerer King.
A Player.
Damn it. This was a trap.
The moment he saw the other party, countless thoughts flashed through the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord's mind.
There was no need to analyze the situation any further.
In a moment like this, he immediately chose to flee without hesitation.
He was not afraid of facing one Player. What he feared were the other Players and the large group of NPCs standing behind him.
[World Teleportation]
Without the slightest hesitation, he ignited his dragon soul, and a phantom spatial tunnel appeared.
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord rushed into it at top speed.
Momonga watched the fleeing Deep Darkness Dragon Lord without saying a word. He simply walked over to the Player lying on the ground.
"Samirth…"
"That familiar feeling… I should have realized it sooner…"
"I'm sorry… my friend…"