Everything happened in a split second.
The Vampiric Dragon Lord did not even have time to react.
The pitch-black vortex of energy, filled with terrifying power and murderous intent, instantly tore through his defenses.
His blood-red Dragon Scales shattered, and his flesh was violently ripped apart.
His draconic body arced through the air, as helpless as a broken doll.
"Cough... How could this..."
Shock and fear filled the Vampiric Dragon Lord's eyes.
He tried to struggle.
However, after taking the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord's full-power surprise attack, his body had already lost all control. He could only let his momentum send him hurtling into the distance.
A dull impact rang out.
The Vampiric Dragon Lord lay sprawled on the ground, writhing in agony.
The attack had pierced through half his body with deadly precision, tearing a wound from his head that extended across nearly half his torso. Blood gushed out like a fountain.
"Brain damage... disordered consciousness... contract interference..."
"I let my guard down..."
The Vampiric Dragon Lord's jaws parted slightly, releasing a faint groan. He sounded like a dying old man clinging desperately to life.
He tried to activate Wild Magic, but failed.
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord's attack had not only destroyed half his brain, but also secretly triggered the contract's backlash against his Dragon Soul.
He could no longer concentrate enough to mobilize his Soul energy.
In a battle between experts, victory and defeat were often decided in a single instant.
The Vampiric Dragon Lord knew he was finished.
"Still alive? As expected of a lowly Undead. Your vitality is truly tenacious."
Seeing that the Vampiric Dragon Lord was still trying to struggle, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord plunged a claw into the remaining half of his skull.
Brain matter splattered everywhere as he forcibly tore it out.
At first, he had only been guessing.
But the moment he attacked and the Soul contract successfully inflicted backlash upon the Vampiric Dragon Lord, his suspicions became absolute certainty.
"Deep Darkness, what are you doing?"
The Platinum Dragon Lord, who had witnessed the entire scene, finally spoke.
Aside from his initial moment of surprise, he could easily have stopped the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord.
Yet the Platinum Dragon Lord had chosen not to intervene. Instead, he had watched coldly from the sidelines.
The reason was obvious.
Vampiric, I never thought this day would come for you.
It would have been a lie to say he held no resentment. Given the opportunity, the Platinum Dragon Lord had no objections to kicking him while he was down.
Besides, that Filth... that Player had never told him what to do in an unexpected situation like this.
"What am I doing? Heh. I'm merely dealing with a traitor to the Dragon Race."
"Platinum, do you intend to stop me?"
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord sneered as he turned toward the Platinum Dragon Lord.
Wild Magic gathered within him, ready to be unleashed at any moment.
Earlier, he had tested the Platinum Dragon Lord by asking about their chances of seizing the Guild weapon.
Had the Platinum Dragon Lord sided with the Filth, he would surely have tried to deceive him into continuing deeper into Nazarick.
Instead, the Platinum Dragon Lord had said they had no chance of success. For the time being, that had convinced the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord to keep observing him.
This was the second test.
If the Platinum Dragon Lord showed even the slightest desire to save the Vampiric Dragon Lord, he would attack immediately.
Perhaps that was overly decisive, but the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord no longer wanted to gamble.
He had finally realized that he was surrounded by traitors.
The Brightness Dragon Lord, the Heavenly Dragon Lord, the Vampiric Dragon Lord, and even the White Dragon Lord. Four of the six dragons were undercover agents.
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord almost laughed from sheer fury.
For all this time, he had been made to look like a complete fool, manipulated at every turn.
For someone who had always prided himself on his intelligence and caution, it was infuriating.
"Traitors... Are you certain?"
The Platinum Dragon Lord frowned slightly, feigning a grave expression.
"I would never start fighting among ourselves without reason, especially at a critical moment like this."
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord spoke quickly, explaining his entire analysis to the Platinum Dragon Lord in one breath.
"I see... So what do you plan to do now? Are we truly leaving?"
The Platinum Dragon Lord sighed inwardly.
To have pieced everything together this thoroughly, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord truly was cautious.
His luck was simply terrible.
After compiling everything he had just heard and sending it away, the Platinum Dragon Lord continued questioning him.
He needed to adjust his mission according to the current situation.
"Yes. There's no reason to continue."
"We'll retreat, retrieve the Eight Greed Kings' Guild weapon, and then devote all our efforts to finding Primordial Mother. With both of them, we'll wage war against the Filth once again!"
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord answered without hesitation.
At the same time, he fired another blast of Wild Magic at the Vampiric Dragon Lord, reducing him completely to fragments.
Vampires were a race well suited to serving as warriors.
As Undead powered by negative energy, every part of their bodies possessed a fixed amount of maximum HP.
In other words, the Vampiric Dragon Lord could not be killed like an ordinary living creature by destroying a vital organ in a single decisive blow.
The only way to kill him was to completely deplete all of his HP.
"...Platinum... You really know how to hold a grudge... Tsk... It's not like I drained that much of your blood..."
How strange. So this was what it felt like to have no brain~
As his draconic body was destroyed, the Vampiric Dragon Lord's life force rapidly faded.
Everything around him grew blurry. In the final moment before death, he struggled to send a [Message] to the Platinum Dragon Lord.
Damn it. Brightness is definitely going to laugh at me...
There goes my reward too...
Deep Darkness, you bastard...
Under the gazes of the two dragons, the Vampiric Dragon Lord was finally blasted into countless fragments, his consciousness gradually dissolving into the air.
"We're even."
The Platinum Dragon Lord thought as he looked at the dead Vampiric Dragon Lord.
...
After the two dragons departed, the Sixth Floor fell silent once more.
Several dozen seconds later, a Gate suddenly appeared.
"Utterly useless. He only makes things worse."
Herohero looked coldly at the Vampiric Dragon Lord's remains scattered across the ground.
Failing the mission was bad enough. He had even gotten himself killed in the process.
"The Platinum Dragon Lord isn't exactly obedient either."
Trigger an unexpected development and await further instructions?
Heh. Now he was pretending to be cooperative.
"He was imprisoned for so long that some resentment was inevitable. Considering his previous contributions, showing him a little understanding is reasonable."
"At least he sent us a [Message], didn't he?"
Momonga replied with a soft chuckle.
He was currently in human form.
After all this time, his new body and the undead aura within him had finally achieved a preliminary balance.
"There's still time before dinner. No need to rush."
"Life needs a few unexpected twists and surprises. Otherwise, it would be far too dull, wouldn't it?"
"So please, keep struggling and do your best to entertain us~"
Naohara clapped his hands with a smile.
He then looked toward the remains and activated time magic.
To Nazarick, death was hardly any different from sleep.
Still, Herohero was right. The Vampiric Dragon Lord truly was rather useless.
What a shame. Naohara had originally planned to give him a few extra rewards.
It seemed he simply lacked the good fortune to receive them.