Chapter 82 - The Scar Left on the World (2)

The lightning drew silhouettes in the air, and these silhouettes were dancing in the air . It was so bright and beautiful that one might become bewitched by the sight at first glance. However, these were very dangerous beings that could burn any living being that approached them.

‘Constructs!’

These were Constructs created by the Dragon. The Earth Dragon's Constructs were made from the soil. The Thunder Dragon's Constructs were monsters made out of lightning itself.

“So the real fight starts now.”

These particular Constructs were very troublesome to face. The Constructs were akin to the Thunder Dragon's attack, which was the fastest amongst the Dragons. The Thunder Dragon's Constructs attacked so fast that its speed couldn't even be compared to the other Constructs!

Ggwah-gwahng! Ggwah-gwah-gwahng!

They were the essence of lightning. When they flew into the air, they traveled along the thread of lightning that formed when the Lightning Barrier were set up by the Thunder Dragon. They flickered in and out, but when they decided to hit a target, they coalesced to travel along the same thread of lightning.

No matter how fast Azell was, it was impossible for him to dodge a lightning through visual cues especially when the lightning was already on its way. If he had an instant, Azell could move faster than the speed of sound, but the speed of lightning was much faster than that.

Azell desperately sensed the flow of magical energy and the energy of the lightning. In a flash, he was able to pick up on it. The Constructs of the Thunder Dragon could move unrestricted around the surrounding as it attacked. If Azell wanted to block them, he would have to read the attacks beforehand.

Pah-jee-jeek! Ggwah-gwahng!

The lightning flowers bloomed. The lighting let out by the Dragon came at Azell in vertical and diagonal lines. Constructs were born in the backwash of these attacks, and they aimed for Azell from all directions.

“Koo-oohk!”

Azell was using dazzling movements to dodge the torrent of attacks, but he had his limits. If he couldn't dodge it, he used the Insulation technique, but even that technique wasn't infallible. After avoiding the attacks using Insulation, he had to block the lightning strikes that immediately followed afterwards using his Barrier. The lightning was hitting him more frequently by the minute. Every time the lightning hit his barrier, it felt as if the shock would eviscerate his internal organs.

There was too much of a difference between their haves and have nots. The Dragon could control the lightning as easy as breathing. The Dragon's raw power were indescribably larger than any other living organisms on this world.

On top of it all, the Dragon just needed to get a decent shot in from a distance, and the fight would be over. On the other hand, Azell had to get close to damage the Dragon, and even this task was difficult.

Humans were more advanced than Dragons in one aspect. It was techniques.

There were countless species living in this world, and humans weren't that powerful of an existence. If a human fought unarmed, the human might not even win against a trained dog. Even if a human was to fight against herbivores, the human would lose in a landslide.

However, the humans hadn’t become the losers of this world.

What was the reason behind it?

Humans possessed wisdom.

They made tools to supplement their shortcomings, and they devised ways to use these tools more effectively. Then they shared these know hows to slowly come up with exceptional techniques.

A new skill called Martial arts developed as this process was refined. This was all done so the weak could stack the deck and win against the strong.

This concept bordered on madness for the Dragons.

The Dragons had been born as the strongest beings in this world yet they were born without wisdom. They were dull-witted, so the only answer as to how a human could win against a Dragon could be only known by gaining this wisdom.

“Ha-aht!”

Azell let out a shout. He couldn't get out of the way of the lightning strike, so he absorbed it into his sword. Then he discharged the energy.

The fact that he was using such a method meant Azell had been driven into a corner. It looked as if he had reached his limit. He was barely avoiding and blocking the attacks. In the end, the Lightning Barrier spread out by the Thunder Dragon, and the Constructs had completely surrounded Azell.

Ggwah-gwah-gwahng.

Azell couldn't dodge the attacks, so he engaged his Barrier. The attacks hit his Barrier, and Azell was sent flying. It seemed he hadn't been able to neutralize all the shock, so he was seen flying through the air as blood was spilled.

In a flash, the Thunder Dragon glared as it opened its mouth. It was sure its prey had been weakened. It didn't hesitate to use its strongest weapon in its arsenal.

At the same time, a light shone in Azell's eyes.

‘Dragon's Roar! I anticipated as much!’

The Thunder Dragon was a violent and impatient being. In the first place, it had the power of lightning to instantly incinerate its enemies. So how would a word like patience be associated with such a being?

Even though it was fighting against a foe it couldn't comprehend, the Thunder Dragon didn't hesitate in its attack. It had to hit hard! It was getting more agressive as it continued to attack.

Even if it developed numerous techniques through its experience in live battles, it couldn't change its base nature.

Azell reaffirmed this truth as he fought the Dragon.

Kyahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The Dragon's Roar exploded forth.

The Lightning Barrier being used by the Thunder Dragon coalesced into a single point. It gathered around the roaring Dragon's mouth as an incredible pillar of lightning was emitted. In a flash, several hundred meter of the surrounding land burned white. After a second, an enormous cloud of dust rose into the air.

This Dragon was on a different level in terms of technique compared to the Earth Dragon Azell had fought in the Balan Forest. This Thunder Dragon was very adept at knowing how to use its power.

This was also the reason why it was doing as Azell had intended.

‘I was waiting for this!’

Even the appearance of him being cornered was part of his battle tactic. His life would end in a flash if he made a momentary mistake, but he used this fact to his advantage! He had to do this if he wanted to win against the Dragon.

Hoo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!

Even as the explosion started to scatter the pillar of lightning, Azell circulated a powerful current within his body.

It was a lightning strike he couldn't block with just the Insulation technique. Even though Azell had become stronger through his training, Azell would have died without being able to do anything by the pillar of lightning.

It would have happened if Kairen hadn't lent him the Dragon Sword.

“Thunder Dragon's……!”

A powerful wave of Dragon Demon Magic was being emitted by the Dragon Sword. It was a power that bent reality through one's will. The Dragon Demon Magic imbued Azell with a power that allowed him to exceed his own limits.

A blinding electric light gathered and burned around the Dragon Sword that was held by Azell. By the look of it, it was clear that a part of the powerful lightning that had been generated by the Thunder Dragon was imbued into the sword.

“…Horn!”

Ggwah-gwah-gwah-gwahng!

The sound of an explosion rang out, but the lightning had already cut through the Thunder Dragon.

The pillar of lightning exploded as the world burned white. Azell's magical energy was lower than what he had possessed at the Balan Forest when he defeated the Earth Dragon. However, he had just took in the Thunder Dragon's lightning attack, and he had sent it back after amplifying it. This strike exceeded the strike he had used against the Earth Dragon.

However, Azell didn't stop there. He immediately jumped into the lightning that had just exploded forth.

Pah-hak!

The sound of flesh being ripped apart was heard as blood fountained into the air. The Dragon let out a cry of pain.

Kyahhhhhh!

Surprisingly, the Thunder Dragon was still alive. This was the strike that had ended the life of the Earth Dragon, yet it looked almost unharmed from the previous attack.

It was to be expected. The Thunder Dragon treated lightning that fell in a storm as nourishment. Even if a strike could part a mountain, it wouldn’t receive any damage if the attack was lightning based.

Azell was well aware of this fact. However, he had used the Thunder Dragon’s own technique to put into a state of panic.

“This gamble… I am the winner!”

After letting out the Dragon's Roar, the Thunder Dragon received a strike that it could have never predicted. The power that protected its power diminished as its mind was in a defenseless state. It suffered an attack to a vulnerable spot.

“Ha-ah-ah-ah-ah!”

The Dragon was swept up by exquisite pain, and Azell pulled up all his strength to attack before the Dragon’s mind returned to its normal state.

Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah!

After consecutive sounds of explosion rang out, blood sprayed out from the Dragon's body. Something was wrong. It couldn't do something that it should be able to do.

It couldn't stop itself from bleeding.

It wasn't as if Azell had attacked the same location. Its initial wound should have stopped bleeding through regeneration. However, the wound continued to widen as blood continued to pour out.

“Blame the Duke. If it wasn't for this sword, it would have been my loss!”

Azell had used a Hemorrhagic Curse that worked even on a Dragon. Azell was being backed up by plenty of Dragon Demon Magic, so he was able to use this technique. Moreover, Kairen’s Dragon Sword made this attack possible.

However, its bleeding wasn’t the only strange occurrence that created confusion within the Thunder Dragon.

Pah-hahk! Pah-hah-hak!

There wasn't only one sword hitting its body.

Numerous sword strikes were parting its body at the same time.

It felt as if several dozen humans were attacking it. However, it knew that wasn't possible. It was performing the Dragon Slayer's Ritual with the single human, who was in front of it!

‘Dance of the Shadows!’

In that moment, Azell created several dozen clones that had the substance of his real body, and they all charged towards the Thunder Dargon.

The Hemorrhagic Curse could only be used by Azell’s real body. However, the sword strikes all over its body could still cause damage. The Thunder Dragon didn’t know what to do as pain washed over it.

Kah-ah-ah-ah-ah!

The Thunder Dragon let out lightning in a frantic attempt. However, it was useless. Azell possessed a devilish timing. He attacked right when the lightning was emitted. The pain caused the conentration of the Thunder Dragon to falter, and the weakened lightning strike was badly aimed.

It had made a mistake in using the Dragon’s Roar through its impatience. It didn’t have time to recharge its power, and death was approaching it.

Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum!

Azell’s heart was beating crazily, and a frightening amount of magical energy was generated.

At that moment, Azell charged towards the Thunder Dragon as if his soul was behind his attack. This was the decisive moment that would determine the outcome of this battle. He had to kill the Thunder Dragon before the power used up by the Dragon’s Roar returned. If he was able to do it, it was Azell’s victory. If he couldn't do it, Azell would be dead!

“Flame Dragon's……!”

The Dragon's mind was clouded from the massive blood loss, and Azell suddenly burst into view in front of the Thunder Dragon's eyes. The terrifying blue eyes looked down at the Dragon, and flame erupted from his body like an active volcation.

“…Horn!”

Then he brought down his burning sword down on the crown of the Dragon's head.

“…my god. How can he dispatch a Dragon so easily?”

The Keepers of the Prophecy was taken aback as they watched Azell and the Thunder Dragon conduct the Dragon Slayer's Ritual.

They were well aware of how frightening of an existence a Dragon was. This was quite apparent since the surrounding landscape was being rearranged by the fight between the Thunder Dragon and Azell.

However, Azell had defeated the Dragon very handily. If one knew the inside story, one would have found out that Azell had stolen the victory through a gamble. It had been a gamble with his life as a collateral. However, these beings didn't know the inside circumstances, so his victory looked unbelievably simple.

Was he really the same person that impotently lost to Zeta only 4 months ago?

“Maybe he really is the figure mentioned in the Prophecy.”

One of the Keeper of Prophecy spoke.

Leone was also surprised. This fight hadn't been planned. Of course, the Frost Dragon hadn't been mobilized to be used at this point in time. Still, it was a card they had prepared, so the Frost Dragon could be mobilized any point in time. However, they had to use prematurely use the Frost Dragon, because of machination of the Dragon Demon King worshippers.

Leone asked a question.

“What would happen if you fight him now, Zeta?”

“Are you able to win against a Dragon, Zeta?”

Zeta wasn't confident he could do it like Azell. When he was alive, he had been known as a genius and an expert as a Spirit Order Practitioner. However, when he face Azell before, he had been outclassed by Azell in terms of techniques. Yet this man now had matured in power up to a point where he could defeat a Dragon in a one on one battle. Will he really be able to defeat him?

Leone spoke.

“Jares. Sometimes your harebrained schemes are useful.”

Jares was struggling like a bug beside Leone's feet.

“Koo-oohk. Shit. If you are going to give me a compliment, you should.... Why don't you speak in a more agreeable tone?”

Jares was letting out cold sweat as he laughed. The pain given to him by Azell was quite terrible. His body was still struggling from the pain.

Leone furrowed his eyebrows.

“You should pick one reaction. Either you can be in pain or you can put on a smile of victory. You look creepy right now.”

“Kook-kook-kook, The man called Azell.... His actions have more bite than expected, but in the end... He is a virtuous man. If he is such a man, he can’t help, but choose this course of action.”

“You just dropped a line that would be spoken by a real villain. Well, I guess you are a trash that is worse than a villain.”

“We are all the same.”

“It is annoying, but I have no basis to refute your words. Anyways, I'm really starting to think he is the one being pointed out by the Prophecy.”

“Kook-kook-kook…….”

Jares was still crumpled on the floor as he he let out a dark laughter.

Leone spoke. He looked at Jares as if he was an idiot.

“It seems Theta and Delta is doing well.”