Chapter 60: Final Battle
Sssszzzz.
"Tsk." Euclid clicked his tongue, seeing Sal'rique's wound vividly healing. The speed wasn't as fast as a Dragon hatchling's, regardless, it was still effective enough to see with eyes.
"We can't drag this out." Kyriaki mumbled.
They were exhausted.
In the past few weeks, they hadn't faced any strong enemy to be tired. All they did was hide when seeing one. However, the situation is different now. First they fought a formidable foe of M high rank, then they had to collide with a high ranking demon incubus.
A rather disappointing situation.
"Give up, you can't win!" Sal'rique screamed.
"Hah!" Euclid chuckled mockingly. "Why should we?"
Euclid was short, just like any ordinary six year old human child. But the way he looked up to meet Sal'rique's eyes felt like he was looking down at him.
"Tsk. Foolish lizards! You won't live past one thousand anyway! Why bother struggling now?!"
"And why wouldn't we live past one thousand?" Euclid rolled his eyes, dismissing him entirely. It was an arrogant gesture as if he was sick of his rambling.
Reddened by his blatant mockery, Sal'rique gritted his teeth.
"You'll see! You weak lizards!"
Kyriaki couldn't help but chuckle.
Weak?
Them?
Dragons were the strongest among mortals, that fact has never been changed from the day the universe came to be.
However, at the same time, Kyriaki understood. Sal'rique spoke like that because they were still hatchlings. If they had even lived past their second growth pace, they would have crushed him with a slap.
That didn't mean it didn't hurt her pride to be called weak. Kyriaki felt that calling her out of all people to be seen as weak was laughable.
Her, the one whose life is worthy of a cliché web novel where the protagonist is an unprofessionally crafted overpowered anomaly, is treated as a weak lizard?
Although deserved to be at the bottom of the popularity list among web novels, her life was enough to be at least categorized as a cheap cliché novel.
And clichés has its own powers.
"I myself find it funny that I am filled with a bunch of clichés," She smirked, mumbling to herself with a clear voice. "But don't you dare underestimate the power of cliché with your lack of common sense."
That's right.
She had privileges no one had.
'I mean, if there were hashtags to my life, wouldn't it be like; #Reincarnation #non-human #overpowered #fantasy #apostel #system #sliceoflife #Royalfamily and so on?'
While she dwelled on her thoughts more, she lifted Cadmus' Dragon Slayer nonchalantly.
Clang!
Thanks to skills like
Euclid immediately stabbed Sal'rique from the back.
Clang!
Sal'rique barely reacted in time. But the attack wasn't over. Gleaming blades poured down on him from behind, twin swords flying everywhere. Sal'rique gritted his teeth as he commanded his tentacles.
Euclid's eyebrow rose ever so slightly. His attacks were deflected in a matter of seconds, leaving him with no choice but to retreat temporarily. Frowning slightly, Euclid jumped back.
Acknowledging his retreat, Kyriaki stepped forward.
She unraveled her sword into a whip-sword, taking his place. She spun like a graceful dancer. The whip-sword curled and twisted as if it was alive, striking several of the tentacles. Just as it reached Sal'rique's neck, a practically thick tentacle intervened.
At the same time, she detected another tentacle sneaking behind her. She dodged and swung Cadmus' Dragon Slayer more swiftly.
Clang-Clang-Clang!!!
It was a series of unbelievably fast attacks as fluid as water.
Bang!
"Damn pests!!!"
Euclid's twin swords sunk into Sal'rique's thighs from behind. He had sneaked upon him while Sal'rique was busy with Kyriaki's unusual sword arts. Whip-sword was a rare weapon after all.
A tentacle swiftly flew towards Euclid. He lifted his arms in order to block the attack. The tentacle changes its direction mid-air.
Euclid's eyes widened. Before he could react, it wrapped his right arm and lifted him several meters above the air.
And then—
Bam! Slam! Boom!
He was slammed on the ground like a rag several times over.
"Ow…that must've hurt." Kyriaki mumbled, a fragment of genuine sympathy crossed her face.
Just as another tentacle was about to pierced his guts, Kyriaki extended her whip-sword, cutting down the tentacle cleanly. Then she swung her arm holding the sword to the side, cutting down the tentacle wrapped around Euclid in one fall swing.
Euclid fell, yet managed to land on the ground with barely intact dignity. The served tentacle pieces fell on the ground along with him, wriggling as if alive before vanishing.
More of those tentacles were cut. But there was no end to them.
Sal'rique's shoulder injury was almost healed.
Realizing that, Euclid charged past her without hesitation. But before his strike gained power, Sal'rique struck first.
His bloodred nails scratched Euclid's skin. There was barely blood since his skin was tougher than a human's. It was made of dragon scales after all.
Euclid ignored the assault and cut down a few more tentacles.
Kyriaki joined Euclid.
A series of perfectly timed strikes followed. Two demonic hands, together with over ten tentacles lunged at them like a war machine.
Euclid's Twin Swords; swift and sharp, cut down each strike with persistent calculations. He never wasted his energy. His cold eyes paired with a sword art without unnecessary movements looked strangely chilling.
Kyriaki, on the other hand, swung her whip-sword with maddening beauty and elegance. Each second, her hand movements changed to control the direction of the long whip. To bystanders, it looked like a piece of art.
Kyriaki deflected a rather strong blow from Sal'rique. Euclid slashed from front, replacing her. Their joint force was slowly pushing Sal'rique back.
His face in return distorted as time went by. Cold sweat ran down his face.
Bam!
Kyriaki's blow made him stumble on his feet. Seeing this, Kyriaki stepped forward, pushing Sal'rique to his limits.
Just as Kyriaki and Euclid were about to strike with some of their sword arts, something shifted.
It almost looked like a physical shift in the air. Hot and burning with endless rage and humiliation.
"No way I'd be pushed back!!!" Sal'rique screamed loudly.
Suddenly, his refined fighting style changed.
More fierce.
More fast.
More dreadful.
All three of them became blurry to the naked eye of ordinary people. Multicolors, sky-blue, spoiled green and tar black shades of sparks flew around.
The two hatchlings felt they were equally matched with the other party in the fight. That fact didn't make them happy. Any less relieved. Frankly, It wasn't a great sign.
'I wish my
Kyriaki was truly regretful. Her most powerful skill was still under cooldown. If it was there, this fight would have ended with just two words.
"Ria!" Euclid called out to her.
Both of them failed to notice the golden thread that appeared glowing around their wrists as their eyes met amidst all the chaos. Kyriaki immediately understood his intentions without a word.
She swung her sword upward.
Cling!
All the long whip blades came together, forming a long sword.
[Colors of the Spring: First Color: Planted Seeds]
Swish! Woosh! Swoosh!
A green dominated with beautiful multicolors made a thin afterimage of something very fast, piercing through the tentacles. The sword aura was more intense than before, enough to slice up the weakened chaotic demonic energy as if it was nothing.
Sensing the crisis, Sal'rique hurriedly formed a shield combining the rest of his tentacles. If he had a better body, maybe he wouldn't have taken any damage at all.
But things are different.
The body he possessed was trash, half of his abilities were locked. And he was fighting against dragons, which were almost immune to most demonic attacks.
In short, he was basically trapped.
Sal'rique bit his lips in anger.
His judgement, clouded by frustration, created an opening for a moment.
And that was enough for Euclid—who was hailed as a species called "Genius".
[Thunder Blade: First Strike: Lightning arch]
Pzzzt-Crackle-Woosh!
Bright sky-blue sword aura shot out two arched shaped slashes from his Twin Swords. Those slashes, accompanied by lightning, crackled ominously and delivered two deadly strikes one after another.
Sal'rique noticed it late. All he could do was twist his body with all his might.
Slash!
First slash missed.
Slash!
But the second slash…
"AHHHHHH!!!!" a scream mixed with a weeping voice echoed through the forest.
Thud!
His right arm fell to the ground, cut cleanly by the second slash. Not only did it cut down his hand, it also deeply wounded his side. Lightning crackled over his wound, seeping into his body and further burning it from inside.
"ARRRGHHHHH!!!! AHHHH!!! HAAAAAAAH!!!" Blackish red blood poured out from his eyes.
Since the human body is frail, the pain and damage was ten times greater. Sal'rique couldn't handle it. In his dazed state, his Chaotic demonic energy went wild, stabbing and slashing everything. It trashed around and withered like wounded snakes.
"Tsk. How ugly." That was all Euclid said after seeing Sal'rique's agony. His fine facial muscles twitched slightly as if he wanted to rinse his eyes with holy water.
"Let's finish this." Kyriaki insisted.
"Understood."
Euclid swung his Twin Swords.
No, he was about to swing them.
"AHHHHHHH!!!!" A powerful shockwave pushed both him and Kyriaki back several meters, leaving lines on the ground.
Suddenly, the passive skill activated on its own, sending signals like floods. Kyriaki frowned her fine brows. She could instinctively feel something was about to happen.
Something very dangerous.
"I'LL KILL YOU!!! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!!! I SWEAR BEFORE MY QUEEN!!! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!!"
Sal'rique yelled, his vocal cords were so hoarse that his words sounded more like a broken machine.
The tentacle went limp, twitching as if awaiting command. Sal'rique's iris disappeared, leaving only the white behind like he was possessed by a ghost. His hands clenched, mouth slightly apart as saliva began to drool down.
Kyriaki's eyes widened as she realized what was in Sal'rique's mind. She unconsciously looked at Euclid. He tilted his head as he looked at her in return. It seemed although he could feel the warnings his survival instincts were sending him, he couldn't fully grasp the situation they were in.
Kyriaki inhaled sharply.
Her mind displayed countless memories gifted to her by three individuals in half a second.
When possessed, the demon doesn't die. Once the body they possessed gets killed or destroyed, they go back to their original body. The body could be anywhere in five planes though mostly it was supposed to be in a safe place for security reasons. And usually, it was in the Abyssal Plain, the home of all Demons.
Luckily, Kyriaki already knew from the beginning that this cunning incubus was nearby instead of controlling everything from the Abyssal Plane.
However, that wasn't the best course of action for Sal'rique in her opinion.
Getting killed or destroyed while they possessed the body comes with a huge backlash. It cuts their strength in half and strains their mind for a set period, leaving them vulnerable.
And when a situation like that comes, most demons choose to accept defeat. They usually abandon the possessed body and run away for their own survival. But sometimes, demons full of baseless pride or hate-defeat chose something else.
Yes, Demons like Sal'rique…
"Hah…I think Ogofa's misfortune is still there." Kyriaki wanted to facepalm herself.
No, she wanted to slap Sal'rique with a slipper until he died from it, like an angry Asian mom.
"What's up with that ugly bastard?"
"Eucee, run." Ignoring Euclid's slander, Kyriaki insisted strongly with a serious expression.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Shield yourself with the best artifact you have and run when I signal you."
"...But why?"
"That guy…he's trying to self-destruct himself. If we get swapped up with the explosion, we'll get fatally injured. Perhaps we might lose a limb or two."
"Uh…" Euclid froze.
Both of them looked at the motionless demon. Blackish red blood was still pouring out, but his bloodshot, irisless eyes were fixed on them as if he was consumed by a madness cursed by Gods.
The previously limply tentacles were melting into smoke. Sal'rique's body—no, High Priest Warkan's body— was absorbing all the smoke-turned chaotic demonic energy. Not only that, Kyriaki could feel a pure energy inside the body getting drained and mixed with the chaotic demonic energy.
That was Warkan's life force.
"Do as I say."
"I can't…I won't leave you alone."
"What are you? A stalker?"
"If that's what it takes for me to stay with you."
"Huh! Look at this kid! don't talk nonsense and go away. I have a plan." Kyriaki scoffed in disbelief and glared at unfazed Euclid.
"...Is that true?"
"Have I ever done anything without a plan?"
"...Very well." Euclid pressed his lips together and studied Kyriaki for a second before agreeing. "However, If you get hurt, you'll have to grant me a wish."
"Are you bargaining in this situation?" Kyriaki was outright bewildered. Euclid of all people talking this kind of nonsense felt like she was just hearing things due to fatigue.
"Yes, I'll make sure to summon your Celestial Spirit if you die here. And I'll go as far as learning spirit magic to make a contract with you." But Euclid was as resoluted as ever.
"Now you're outright writing novels here. Go away, you fool!" Kyriaki grabbed him by the collar and yelled from the top of her lungs.
Her grasp intense, her gaze almost murderous. The way her jaws clenched was only possible for those with severe stress. But Euclid on the other hand was calm. Too calm. Almost downcast if one observed carefully.
"Promise me." He insisted, his voice almost soothing to the ears. As if he knew exactly what he was doing, he looked straight at Kyriaki with his bright crystal ocean eyes.
"What a hateful psycho. Can't you see we are running out of time?!"
"...Promise me."
"Fine!!!" Kyriaki glared at the now smiling boy, huffing and puffing.
She couldn't believe his foolish behavior. He was stubborn to the core. However, once Euclid heard her words, he instantly disappeared from his spot, following her command without further delay or disobedience.
'I'm gonna punch that gorgeous psycho on the face once this is over.' Hissing in her head, she gripped her sword tightly. 'Now, to the part where I mess with two demons at once—Let's see how it ends.'
—DON'T DO IT!—
She could hear Ebrah screaming at the top of his lungs. The sword, which reacted to his emotions, soon calmed down as multicolors sword aura wrapped around it.
Meanwhile, Sal'rique's body was slowly swelling like a balloon. It turned from red to blue and blue to purple each passing minute.
Kyriaki glanced back. Euclid had already gone out of her sword art attack rage. Relieved, she smiled faintly.
Then, as if nothing happened, her face turned expressionless and she took her stance with a cool head, lifting the sword in slow motion.
[Whip-Sword Art: First Form: Last Melody Of The Weeping Piano]
Responding to her soft mummer, Multicolored Sword Aura burst out of her body like a thin veil. The usual illusion of a grand piano formed behind her. The Cadmus' Dragon Slayer began to vibrate as softly as her voice. Soon, the keys on the piano began to press as if an invincible hand was skillfully moving.
The tragic melody, so beautifully crafted as if it was an offering to the god of music, flowed out softly. It was hard to tell if the song was coming from the vibrating sword, the thin veil of sword aura or the crystal colored grand piano.
Her sword art was undeniably powerful, yes.
But what made it truly unique was the fact that it had the ability to control the emotions of the enemy. It bewitched them. By imbuing her will to the melody, she could temporarily beguile them, making them dazed or confused.
This time too, her sword art did its job right.
Sal'rique paused along with his swelling. His bloodshot eyes became dazed. The chaotic demonic energy calmed down like a tamed beast. If time had frozen, it would look like this.
Kyriaki's golden hair fluttered in the wind like a dancer's beloved veil as she kicked the ground. Her small body leaped high as she lunged forward without a hint of hesitation.
"Be gone!"
It was as reckless as the time she used
Kyriaki brought her sword down. The dazed Sal'rique's demonic tentacles tried to block it as a last effort of protection, but Kyriaki was faster. It was as if she squeezed out every ounce of strength left in her body.
Slash!
[Activating one of the effects of Cadmus' Dragon Slayer]
[3% chance of one strike kill activated]
The melody came to an end. Her sword plunged into Sal'rique's skull.
Immediately after, she covered herself with both sword aura and Mana, empowered by Holy Power. There wasn't a half a second gap between her actions.
Sal'rique exploded.
Literally.
Caught up in the shockwave, Kyriaki flew away as if someone had thrown her with the strength of a Titan. Her whole body, including her blood cells, shook violently. Blood, flesh, bones and brain matter of Sal'rique scattered into tiny parts, acting like a bomb.
The impact of the explosion was considerably reduced thanks to her actions, but it happened nonetheless.
Bang! Boom! Crash!
Kyriaki's body hit the ground several times like a pebble thrown on a lake.
"Ugh…" She groaned in pain.
She could feel her mana going rampage in response to the explosion. After all, demonic energy was formally Mana. Demons absorb Mana and turn it into demonic energy, making demon-exclusive energy of their own. Since Kyriaki was made of mana from scratch, the aftereffects were more severe for her. Just like for any other dragon.
Her skin had burned as if she was having a third degree burn. She could feel her blood cells bursting and regenerating repeatedly. Her skin burst open as if she was subject to continuous attacks from wind blades. Hot blood poured out non-stop.
Kyriaki felt her mind go white as she withered on the ground. Covered in dirt, all she could do was grip her now ragged clothes with trembling hands.
"I.. Can't…pass out." She muttered to herself with damaged vocal cords.
[Ding!] [Ding!] [Ding!]
She waved her hand, closing all the status windows that appeared before her. Despite that, her sword only left her hand after seeing the semi-transparent windows.
"Ria!!!"
"Ugh…huff-huff."
"Ria! Riaaa!!!" She felt her upper body being lifted. At the same time, she felt a strange sensation in her heart. It was as if some mysterious force was pulling her soul towards the voice.
For a moment, she felt a gentle warmth washing her soul. Like someone caressing her with kind and tender hands, singing lullabies in her ear in whispers so soft even fairies would envy it. It was peaceful and serene. Then came the profound sensation of that force softly and gently inviting her soul to be united with them.
Kyriaki felt strange. She wanted to be draped in that warmth, that serenity. She felt safe and peaceful there. However, her rational dragon mind—as clearer as ever—told her another story. She didn't dislike that sensation, yes. But she felt no obligation to accept that invitation either.
"Kyriaki!!!"
"Gasp!"
The mysterious sensation vanished as if it was never there. Kyriaki came to her senses in time to see an ocean blue gaze examining her with complicated emotions.
Euclid's face came to view through her half closed eyes. Tears that fell unconsciously blurred her vision, yet she could tell how worried he was with a glance.
"Are you okay?!"
"Huff…shut…up." Kyriaki tried to push him away.
Emptying her core had made her body heavy. In her current state, it was impossible to move him by even an inch.
"Don't faint!"
"I…won't."
'I'm not one of those protagonists that always pass out after a battle, okay? This is reality, not a novel.'
Thinking useless thoughts, Kyriaki managed to get up. Euclid supported her with a deeply worried look.
When a dragon loses all their mana inside their core, the dragon heart temporarily draws blood and turns it into mana. However, in a case where the dragon even loses so much blood, the process of filling the core aligns with the natural law. Drawing mana in nature or drinking a mana potion was connected to that law.
Neither Kyriaki nor Euclid had Mana potions left anymore. That means Kyriaki had to wait until the core got filled on its own like any other race would do. Though, the speed of a dragon absorbing mana from air was ten times faster than any of those higher races. There was a reason for the infinity symbol to be there in their status window.
However, the speed of her wounds healing was still closer to zero. She couldn't even feel it, let alone see it. Instead, the still dripping blood and tears turned to golden mana particles and vanished into thin air, making her a bit resentful.
"Are you alright, Your Royal Highness?" The wolf couple walked towards them wearing the same expression as Euclid.
"Yeah." Kyriaki waved her hand to dismiss their worries, only to lock eyes with Eric and Levana.
They too looked as messy as her. It seemed their battle was no different from a death match.
"Good work." Kyriaki smiled gently at them.
"You too." Eric nodded.
Behind them, survivors led by Marina and Oscar came to her view. All of them were unharmed. She felt relieved once more.
Marina bowed her head as they were in a distance where talking was impossible. Following her, Oscar and one by one other survivors bowed their heads.
Feeling awkward, Kyriaki nodded her head, acknowledging their gratitude. Although she was now a royal, it couldn't be helped that those awe filled eyes were getting burdensome enough even for a royal like her to feel awkward.
"Thank you for fighting for us." The wolf couple also bowed their heads.
"It's give and take. You fought for me, so I did the same. Isn't that right?"
"Is that so?" Mr.Romanov smiled slightly seeing Kyriaki's response. It was his first time smiling at her.
Kyriaki blinked a few times before limping away from them. She used Cadmus' Dragon Slayer—which was still screaming—as a cane.
"Where are we going?" Euclid asked as he continued to support her.
"There." Her golden eyes narrowed as looked towards the tall tower.
Euclid's eyes flashed, seemingly activating his
The place where their foot took them, there laid an incubus. Trembling like having withdrawal symptoms of a drug addict, he gazed at the gloomy Void sky with unfocused red eyes.
Black blood continuously flowed out of all his holes, even replacing his tears. His fine skin was cracking slowly like a dried padifield. Black veins bulged out among those seemingly painful cracks.
His disheveled maroon hair, as well as his limped incubus tail said a thousand words about how weak he was at the moment.
Kyriaki gently pushed Euclid away, placing her weight onto her sword.
—NOOOOO! DON'T DO IT!!!—
"Sal'rique." Kyriaki's golden eyes turned to slit-pupils, glowing in neon hue.
Startled, Sal'rique looked up. His hazy mind seemed to have somewhat cleared after hearing his true name.
—NO!! NOOOOOOOO!!!—
Ignoring Ebrah, Kyriaki lifted her sword, grabbing it with both of her hands.
"I, Kyriaki Elpis Eleftherios, the successor to the throne of Dragons, heir to the Ruler of Mitherr-ge and the rightful judge of Demons and Angels declare today; You are hereby sentenced to death for leaving Abyssal Plain and attempting to assassinate noble dragons."
Stab!
Sal'rique had no energy to resist. The sword, wielded by the trembling hands of a drained and tattered little girl, plunged into his core with ease. With that Ebrah went silent as if he was run over by a truck.
Sal'rique's body turned to ashes. Just as Dragons turned to Mana upon their death, Demons turned to ashes. These ashes filled with demonic energy, if left unchecked, could easily corrupt weak minds as well as nature.
[Ding!] [Ding!] [Ding!]
Notifications fooled in like a tsunami. Kyriaki had to read them from the beginning.
[You've slayed a Possessed Demon A+ (Temporary)]
[Due to the possessed body having a lower rank core, you will not be granted any core energy]
[Warning!] [Warning!!] [Warning!!!]
[Your body had been severely damaged]
[Internal wounds are challenging Host's body balance]
[Activating emergency protocols]
[Controlling rampaging Mana inside the Host's body]
[Controlling the empty core inside the Host's body]
[Activating emergency recovery mood]
[Recovery mood will be activated in; 00.04.12]
[You've slayed an Incubus Demon A+]
[Core energy +4]
[Sub-authority:
[Collecting the Incubus Sal'rique's Unique skill;
[Battle Prediction
Rank: L (high)
Category: Bloodline Ability
Type: Unique
Description: You can see all the moves and paths your opponent might use before it happens in battle. The more blood your opponent spills, the more your killing intent solidifies; engraving it to the enemy's subconsciousness and disturbing your enemy's mentality. +30% prescription in battle. +10% instincts boost in battle. +05% strength boost in battle.]
[Unlocking 1% of knowledge obtained from the whispers of time]
[Unlocking Time attribute]
[Unlocking Darkness attribute]
[Unlocking Sub-authority:
[...]
[...]
∆ ∆ ∆
"After the God's War, The Dragons pushed forward a law initiating that none of other Plane inhabitants are allowed to visit the Primal Plane without any reasonable argument or permission from the Dragons. This includes Angels, demons as well as Celestial Spirits. Those who break this law are sentenced to immediate death upon discovery."
—From the book