Chapter 139 - Second Coming of a Legend (2)

“Well, Reygus! You are a mere ghost from the past! You should become the sacrificial offering to the technique I developed!”

Light exploded forth as Azell let out a shout. Reygus was sent flying. Azell had been in a strength contest when his clone appeared from the side of Reygus. Azell’s clone had gotten a blow in. The armor, which had been as sturdy as a castle, started to break apart. The darkness started to flow out from within.

<Koo-oohk! Maybe I should have read the information gathered by our guys? I guess I’m in this situation since I don’t like to make preparations!>

“You always acted arrogant as if you knew everything there is to know in the world. This is why terrible things always happen to you. You are the same now as in old times! Didn’t I tell you before that an old man with an aggressive attitude is unsightly?”

Azell’s voice rang out from all sides. The branches of thunder extended to all sides. In between them, several dozen Azells appeared, and they all felt like the real one. They were intended to confuse the senses.

<Shit! Cry! My soul hammer……!>

“Do you think I’ll let you use such a big skill!”

Before it could activate the power of it soul hammer, Azell’s clone followed along the erratic path taken by a branch of the thunder. He appeared in front of Reygus. It could happen only for an instant, but his clone could produce power comparable to his real body.

However, Reygus stopped its movement at a dime to block Azell’s attack. It had been bringing down its hammer to attack, but it stopped as if the attack had been a lie. It was an illogical move, and Azell was taken aback by it.

This was a trick that can’t be performed with a living body. If one tried to quickly hold back an attack with power behind it, one’s bones, muscles, nerves and blood vessels would suffer enormous damage. It didn’t matter how much magical energy one put into one’s body to strengthen it. It would all be damaged.

However, as an Undead, it was possible to move in such illogical ways. It was like the time when it ignored the restriction imposed by the joint's range of motion. If it could endure the strengthening magic, it was possible to move in a way where it could ignore inertia!

Azell had jumped in thinking it was a great opportunity, but he had jumped into a trap. In a flash, Reygus was able to accelerate its movement, and there was no rhythm to its movement. The attack accelerated in an explosive manner as it struck Azell.

<Lament!>

Kwahhhhhng!

Azell blocked it with his Dragon Maken, but it had already calculated such a response was coming. It activated the power seated within the soul hammer as the shockwave upended the ground. All the clones running along the ground was swept away, and even Azell’s real form was sent flying.

Of course, he didn’t think this attack would finish Azell. However, the powerful shockwave would seal the movement of Azell, and it would allow Reygus to inflict a decisive blow! Reygus followed behind the shockwave, and it let out an attack that would be able to destroy a mountain.

However…….

‘Uh?’

It expected Azell to be sent flying by the shockwave, but Azell remained in place. The shock wave and the enormous amount of earth was sweeping over him at high speed, yet he looked unperturbed.

At the same time, the name of the phenomena it was witnessing came unbidden into its mind.

‘Endless Plain!

It was a defensive skill that Aunsaurus liked to use with the Vitan’s Chalice. It was a variation on Vitan’s Maze where the nearby space was isolated. It was an unusual technique that prevented attacks for reaching the user.

When the hammer swung by Reygus was about to be brought down, something unbelievable happened. Suddenly, the distance between the two became vast, and it lost sight of Azell. Reygus had ran into a Dimensional Distortion.

Then a white bolt bolt of thunder came towards it.

<Kahhhhhhhhnk!>

The Dragon Maken was morphed into light, and the speed of the attack exceeded even the speed of thought.

This was a trap prepared by Azell. The Dimensional Distortion allowed him to divert his opponent. The distance created allowed him time to use the Heaven Splitter to gain control over light. This was the power of the Dragon Maken. In the past, Laura had used the same move to divert her trackers. He had lured Reygus into the location where he set the trap!

Reygus’ armor crumbled as the darkness contained within started to burn white. At some point, the thunderbolt had changed into a Flame of Purification, which was the bane of the Undead.

The Heaven Splitter had domain over all light, so it was able use any energy that emitted light. This was why it was possible to make this change. Reygus’ body, which had been like an unassailable fortress, received a critical hit.

“I’ve already ended this ill-fated relationship once! I’ll do so again! Let’s not drag this out, Reygus!”

The unlimited plain that had been between them disappeared as if it had been a lie. The two combatants were back to normal distance. Reygus, who was in bad shape, glared at Azell. However, Azell couldn’t unleash his killing blow.

Ba-dump!

Something hazy appeared in front of him.

A transparent false image in the shape of a young girl appeared in Azell’s vision before it disappeared. Then a ball of fire exploded around him.

Hwahhhhhhhnk!

Azell immediately defended himself by surrounding his body with the magical energy of the flame. Reygus took time to right itself as it landed on the ground.

<Ughh. If you were going to help, you should have done so from the outstart. Women, am I right?.>

Reygus grumbled.

Azell became more vigilant as he looked as his surrounding. He couldn’t sense anything amiss. It had been a powerful enough magician to interfere with the battle between Reygus and him, yet there was no scent of magic left behind…...

‘What was it?’

Reygus spoke in front of the wary Azell.

<Well, she said she won’t interfere again, so you don’t have to worry about it. Anyways, I almost didn't get my money’s worth. I might disappeared before I fought for real.>

“Are you going to give me some lame reason like you still haven’t show your real strength yet?”

<Correct!>

Reygus spoke with a cheerful voice as its appearance went through a rapid change.

The Keepers of the Prophecy could be called the nucleus of the Guardian Shadows. It could also be said that they were beings that had severe wear and tear.

They were alive, yet they weren’t alive. They had lost the memories of their previous lives, and they didn’t age. Their motivation for living was their hatred and desire to wipe out the Dragon Demon King worshippers.

Even as several dozens of years passed, their hatred showed no signs of abating. However, they were tired. As they continued to fight, they realized that this was a fight with no end.

They had no idea how they’ll able to end this vendetta…..

The Guardian Shadows were strong, but they couldn’t overwhelm them while they were centralized within the Plain of Darkness. The only thing they could do was to make the Dragon Demon king worshippers more wary as they moved within the human society. They acted as powerful monitors and defenders, but they possessed no methods that would allow them to cut off the evil from the source.

In such a situation, the only hope they had was the prophecy. It was basically like gospel to them. They were similar to believers that endured hardship, while they waited to be saved by god. They fought in an endless fight for dozens of years with the belief that the person from the prophecy would appear some day.

It was funny, but the Dragon Demon king worshippers and the Guardian Shadows were quite similar in that aspect. They were two sides of the same coin.

One side held believed that a prophesied being would eventually appear on day to save them. On the other side, they believed that the dead Dragon Demon king would one day come back to life, and he would make the world into a paradise. They believed the changed world would be gifted to them.

Both sides held to those faith as if it was a religious belief.

It was the same for Balseru.

When he inherited the codename Alpha as a Keeper of Prophecy, he gave up any pursuit any normal human would want to pursue.

His sight was a symbol of what he gave up. The power contained with his eyes required him to close his eyes at all times. He had given up seeing on what the world looked like. He could function as if he had his eyes open using his unique power, but it wasn’t the same as seeing the world with his own eyes. For a long while, he was no longer moved by the world.

His eyes only opened when he fought the Dragon Demon king worshippers, and when he did, the world looked foreign to him. He was unfamiliar with the shapes and color of the world, and the beings that lived within the world was strange to him.

Moreover, he was currently seeing a being that was the strangest being in this world..

‘Azell Karzark.’

He was the legendary hero from 220 years ago. He ended the Dragon Demon war by defeating the Dragon Demon king Atein.

After two years into the post-Dragon Demon war, he went missing. No one knew if he was alive or not. Even his best friend, Archmage Carlos, didn’t know about his whereabouts. As time passed, many conjectures regarding Azell had cropped up, and now only his legend remained.

When a young man name named Azell Zestringer appeared, they Keepers of the Prophecy thought there was a possibility that he was the one from the prophecy. This was why they had kept a close eye on him. At times, they tested him, and they also offered help to him. They tried hard to confirm that he was the one they were waiting for.

They had thought Azel Zestringer looked very similar to Azell Karzark inside the portrait. This was why some had theorized that the descendant of Azell Karzark might be the one to end the Dragon Demon king worhsippers.

However…..

They never imagined that he was THE Azell.

“Ha ha ha…….”

Balseru became surprised. A very unfamiliar sound was coming out from his mouth. Even as he realized this, he kept making the sound.

“Ha ha ha ha ha!”

Balseru immediately realized that he was laughing.

When was the last time he laughed? He couldn't’ remember it.

This was why it sounded so unfamiliar and strange even as his vocal cords made the sound..

<Balseru?>

The Sleepless Guardians were puzzled as they looked towards Balseru. They were with Balseru for several dozens of years, yet they had never seen him laugh. At that moment, they wondered if Balserus had lost his mind.

However, Balseru was sane. He was thing clearer than any point in time…. When he lost his memories, there was a truth that he couldn’t approach in his mind. It was concealed within a thick fog, yet this hidden truth came to his consciousness.

It was as if it had been prepared to be revealed for this exact moment.

Balseru, who had been laughing like a mad man, cut off his laughter.

“…I see.”

A voice full of delight flowed out of his mouth.

“So that’s how it is……!”

Balseru finally realized the true meaning behind the existence of the Keepers of the Prophecy.

His memories had come forth like a flood, and when the tide ebbed, he spoke towards Azell.

Ooooooooooooh……!

Reygus’ hammer let out an explosive energy that was like a black fog. At the same time, Reygus’ magical energy rose, and it seemed to go on for ages.

‘He might have more magical energy now than when he was alive.’

Azell was surprised.

From what Azell remembered, Reygus was clearly weaker now than before. His physical ability and magical energy was about the same. However, he didn’t possess any Dragon Demon magic.

As a Dragon Arts practitioner, there were many things that they could do, because of the Dragon Demon magic. Even if all other deficiencies can be covered with a Dragon weapon, the loss of Dragon Demon magic was supposed to be a too big of a gulf to bridge.

Currently, Reygus’ magical energy was quickly swelling. He already possessed an incredible amount of magical energy, but now it had doubled in quantity.

An Undead’s ability was based solely on magical energy, so it meant that his battle capability had increased as well. Azell was tense as he attacked.

‘Nothing good will come from dragging this out!’

Currently, Azell possessed magical energy that was on par with his prime, but he couldn’t maintain it for long. His vessel for his magical energy was incomplete, so his magical energy was overflowing. He was working hard to control the magical energy, and it was taxing for him. He had to end this quickly.

He turned his Dragon Maken into light as he ran across the air. He hit Reygus with a strike that transcended one’s senses.