After hearing Ying Li's answer, Richard did not argue further. He simply rose into the air under the watchful eyes of the entire village and flew straight across the lake toward the Dark Gate.
Within seconds, he hovered before the towering structure formed from countless dragon scales. The gate stood dozens of meters high, ancient and oppressive, sealing away a nightmare that had haunted Ta Lo for thousands of years.
He inhaled slowly.
Then he raised his right hand.
Omega-level material manipulation activated.
Material decomposition.
The Dark Gate did not crack or fracture. It dissolved. Dragon scales disintegrated into fine particles that scattered like smoke in the wind. In less than a heartbeat, the seal that had endured for millennia vanished completely.
Across the lake, Ying Li, Guangbo, Ming Yue, and every villager felt their hearts tighten.
The seal was gone.
From the cavern beyond, the Soul Eaters burst forth.
They swarmed outward like a disturbed hive—grotesque creatures with bat-like wings, tangled tails, and distorted bodies born of darkness. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, surged toward the one who had freed them.
Richard remained still.
Golden hellfire ignited around him.
He did not transform. He did not alter his appearance. The flames simply coiled around his body, radiating divine punishment.
At first, the fire extended only a meter or two.
Then it exploded outward.
The expanding inferno swept across the sky like a storm. It moved with terrifying speed, consuming everything in its path. Every Soul Eater caught within the flames evaporated instantly—no screams, no resistance, no remnants.
The villagers watched in stunned silence.
Soul Eaters were immune to ordinary physical attacks. Without dragon-scale weapons, even the guardians were helpless against them. Yet in the face of hellfire, they were nothing.
Within seconds, the sky was empty.
Richard withdrew the flames as casually as he had released them.
Then the cavern collapsed.
With a thunderous roar, rock shattered and fell. From the ruins emerged something vastly larger.
The Dweller-in-Darkness.
It dwarfed the Soul Eaters, grotesque and massive, its presence alone warping the air. It roared like a beast unleashed after centuries of confinement.
Fear rippled through the villagers.
Richard flew forward calmly.
The Dweller opened its enormous mouth, attempting to rip his soul free.
Richard ignored it.
He drew the authentic Yama Blade.
Hellfire flowed over the blade's edge, joined by crackling silver-white lightning. The weapon shimmered with layered destruction.
He swung once.
A crescent arc of energy hundreds of meters long tore through the air.
Divine Avoidance.
The blade of force cleaved the Dweller-in-Darkness in half as easily as slicing through cream. The massive entity trembled, suspended in disbelief for two or three seconds.
Then its body began to disintegrate from the cut outward.
Within five seconds, it was gone.
Silence fell over Ta Lo.
Richard hovered in the sky, silver hair shifting in the wind, sword in hand.
He activated plunder.
A notification appeared in his vision.
New ability acquired: Soul Absorption.
He dismissed the interface.
Without returning the blade to storage, he descended toward the lake and plunged into its depths like a falling star.
Ying Li's heart skipped.
Guangbo's expression darkened.
They understood immediately what he was doing.
The lake was not ordinary.
It housed Ta Lo's guardian.
Below the surface, Richard located the dragon.
It resembled the mythic dragons of ancient legend, though to his eye, it lacked a certain majesty. Still, it would suffice.
He extended telepathy.
Words were unnecessary. Thoughts flowed directly.
Minutes passed.
Above, the water began to churn. A massive vortex formed, spiraling outward with unstoppable force.
Then the dragon erupted from the lake, soaring into the sky.
Richard stood calmly upon its head.
Gasps spread through the village.
The dragon did not resist him. It did not roar in defiance. It circled once above Ta Lo before descending toward the village.
Richard stepped lightly from its head and landed before Guangbo and the others.
"The Dweller is gone," he said evenly. "The Soul Eaters are gone. The dragon and I have reached an agreement."
No one spoke.
"You keep your homes. I take Ta Lo as my domain. The dragon remains, but it answers to me. In return, I assume full responsibility for protecting this dimension."
He looked directly at Guangbo.
"This was never a request."
Then his gaze shifted briefly to Ying Li.
"You lost your bet."
.....
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