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Chapter 326: The Grandmaster (4)

***

All dragons in the Otherworld move according to the will of the Elder Council.

This is not simply because the elder dragons are old.

It is because they are all living legends who have experienced the surface world.

In the past, the elder dragons ruled the surface and were regarded as walking disasters.

Intelligent races gave them titles like Evil Dragon, Mad Dragon, and Celestial Dragon, fearing and avoiding them.

In a continent once filled with monsters, the only race capable of opposing dragons were demons.

— Ugh!

— Gah!

But now, these once mighty elder dragons could do nothing but scream in agony.

Their entire bodies had been pierced by lines extending from Erebos.

It was an unbelievable sight.

A dragon’s scales were the strongest armor and capable of deflecting any attack. Their muscles were tough as woven rare metal. Their bones were so solid that even an aurablade had difficulty cutting through them.

Yet, the lines effortlessly penetrated their scales, piercing through the muscles and bones beneath.

— Gah!

— Grrr!

What was even stranger was the elder dragons\' reaction that followed.

Compared to their size, the lines seemed so thin. It looked like they could shake them off with a simple movement.

Yet, like fish speared on a harpoon, the elder dragons trembled violently in agony.

Erebos\'s power had the power of annihilation.

The pain they felt as they were being annihilated wasn’t just physical but something their very souls experienced.

And the pain of the soul is incomparably greater than any physical suffering.

— Ugh…

— Grrr…

That’s why the dragons couldn’t even flinch. They were paralyzed.

Moreover, these lines were Erebos’s power itself. Since their bodies had been pierced by them, they couldn\'t move carelessly.

“E-Everyone…”

Iris murmured in shock.

Among the dragons present, Iris was the only one unharmed.

It wasn’t because Damien had spared her. It was simply that, in targeting massive dragon bodies, the human-shaped Iris had been overlooked.

“This… this technique… I don’t remember anything like it…”

And of course, she wouldn’t.

This was a technique Damien had learned in his previous life, during a battle against the Imperial Supreme Sword.

In his previous life, the Empire’s Imperial Supreme Sword had fought Damien, wielding the divine sword, El De.

The divine sword had fallen from the heavens during the War of Destruction.

The sword’s origin and source were unknown, but it possessed a power just as formidable as Erebos.

In order to defeat the Imperial Supreme Sword, who wielded the divine sword, Damien had no choice but to push Erebos’s power to its absolute limits.

The technique of compressing his power into thin lines and launching them like threads was something he mastered at that time.

“Iris.”

Damien called her name. Iris flinched and turned to face him.

“You know a lot about Erebos, don’t you? Then you must also know that I’m sparing you all right now.”

Erebos’s power could annihilate anything.

If Damien released the threads, the compressed power would expand, and the dragons would vanish entirely.

However, Damien had only pierced and immobilized the dragons with the threads.

Killing them would be easy. But there was still something he needed the dragons to do.

“You want something from us, don’t you?”

“Before we get to that, there’s something you need to do first.”

“Tell me.”

“You must swear, in Dragon’s Tongue, that all the dragons of the Otherworld will obey me.”

Iris’s face stiffened for a moment, then relaxed.

“Not possible! Swearing the oath of obedience in Dragon’s Tongue? That’s impossible…”

Damien moved the threads, causing those embedded in the elders’ bodies to vibrate.

— Gah!

— Argh!

The dragons screamed in unison, and Iris clamped her mouth shut.

“Don’t play dumb. I know it’s possible.”

Among the knowledge Dorugo had imparted to Damien was information about dragons and Dragon’s Tongue.

Dragon’s Tongue was so powerful that even the dragons themselves couldn’t escape it.

If they swore obedience in Dragon’s Tongue, they would be bound as slaves for the rest of their lives.

“Decide right now. Will you submit to me, or will you lose your entire race here and now?”

Damien’s tone was firm. A deep look of conflict crossed Iris’s face.

“…Fine. We will do as you say.”

— L-Lady Iris! No, you can’t!

One of the elder dragons shouted at Iris. It was a blue dragon with azure scales.

Damien immediately released the thread piercing the blue dragon’s shoulder.

As soon as the thread was released, Erebos’s power spread, and the blue dragon’s entire shoulder was blown away.

— Gaaah!

The blue dragon’s agonized wail echoed through the sky. Damien looked at the dragon coldly and said.

“Shut up, or I’ll take your head next.”

At Damien’s threat, the blue dragon clenched its mouth shut.

“Anyone who doesn’t intend to obey me can stay silent. But they’ll have to give up their lives.”

Damien glanced at the remaining dragons and spoke.

“The choice is yours. So, what will you do?”

A deep hesitation spread across the dragons\' faces.

***

In the end, all the elder dragons swore obedience to Damien.

Damien could feel a connection to their souls forming with each oath they made in Dragon’s Tongue.

"...So, are you satisfied now?"

Iris was the last to swear and spoke with a face full of hostility.

"No, this is just the beginning. Open a dimensional portal to the Empire immediately."

The reason Damien had spared the dragons was to use the dimensional portal.

Opening a dimensional portal required immense knowledge and experience, something even Damien couldn’t do himself.

While he possessed the knowledge obtained from Dorugo and could probably open one with time, he didn\'t have that luxury at the moment.

"Are you really planning to go to the Empire?"

"Don’t make me repeat myself."

Damien said, glaring at Iris.

His killing intent made Iris’s expression harden.

Without further hesitation, Iris used Dragon’s Tongue to open a dimensional portal to the Empire.

A large portal appeared in the sky of the Otherworld. Damien immediately stepped in front of it.

"Balhard!"

However, he didn’t enter right away.

Upon hearing Damien’s call, Balhard cautiously stepped out from among the elders.

—W-Why are you calling for me… Ah, I assume you’re expecting me to wish you a safe journey?

“What nonsense are you spouting? You’re coming with me.”

—W-What? Me, too?

"Of course. You’re the one who can open the gate whenever I need it, aren’t you?"

The entire reason for keeping a dragon alive was to use the dimensional portal, so there was no way he could leave Balhard behind.

Moreover, Balhard was a reliable asset, especially when fighting demons. He would be a valuable ally.

Balhard looked around, his eyes nervously shifting. Damien furrowed his brow and added.

"If you don’t want to die, hurry up and follow me."

—Understood!

With Balhard in tow, Damien passed through the dimensional portal.

In an instant, the scenery of the Otherworld transformed into the capital of the Empire.

However, the Empire looked drastically different from what Damien remembered.

The buildings were all destroyed, leaving a desolate wasteland. Even the once-mighty city walls were partially collapsed.

In the middle of it all stood demons.

Alongside Vahel, there were demons Damien hadn’t seen before, as well as Asthar and Alter, whom he had defeated before.

"Hey, isn’t that Damien?"

Vahel waved at him.

Instead of acknowledging the greeting, Damien’s gaze moved to Vahel’s feet.

There, the Imperial Supreme Sword and Cheongyeum lay collapsed, covered in blood.

***

A few minutes before Damien\'s arrival.

The Imperial Supreme Sword and Cheongyeum relentlessly pressed their assault on Vahel.

This was the first time the two of them had teamed up, but they moved as if they were one.

Cheongyeum unleashed bursts of blue flames, pounding Vahel’s entire body with unrelenting blows. True to his title as the fastest martial artist, his movements were so swift that they left afterimages.

The Imperial Supreme Sword precisely targeted the openings Cheongyeum couldn’t cover. His Heart Sword rained down on Vahel from every direction.

The combined attack of the two Grandmasters was overwhelmingly violent and relentless.

“Haha! This is quite the spectacle!”

Yet Vahel effortlessly withstood every single attack.

With his arms reinforced by the power of Isolation, he blocked Cheongyeum’s punches and took the Heart Sword strikes from the Imperial Supreme Sword on his bare body.

Despite the barrage, Vahel’s body didn’t suffer so much as a scratch.

“For a piece of hellish trash, you’re pretty strong!”

Cheongyeum was totally frustrated and yelled. Veins bulged on his forehead.

“Thanks for the compliment. You’re pretty strong yourself.”

Vahel replied, casting a brief glance away.

In the distance, he noticed Laria and Bas were also fighting.

They, too, were being overwhelmed in a two-on-one battle.

“Those two—weren’t they supposed to be among the Five Great Elders?”

Vahel said and pointed to the people attacking Laria and Bas.

“They\'re not Grandmasters, yet they’re fighting impressively.”

Even considering that the demons had been weakened by the miracles invoked by the priests and the Empire’s covenant, the Five Great Elders were demonstrating remarkable combat prowess.

So much so that Laria and Bas were barely holding their ground.

“But something’s strange. There are four of you, right? So why are you called the Five Great Elders?”

“You sure talk a lot for someone in a fight!”

Cheongyeum shouted, showing he was clearly irritated.

“Well, I’m just curious.”

Vahel replied with a sheepish grin.

“Then rejoice.”

Cheongyeum said with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

“What for?”

“You’re about to find out, firsthand, why we’re called the Five Great Elders!”

Before Vahel could even respond, someone appeared behind him.

Even with his sharp senses, Vahel hadn’t felt the presence. He was shocked and turned to see an elderly man standing there.

The man looked as old as Cheongyeum, with a frail, thin body and skin lined with deep wrinkles.

But Vahel couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that radiated from this man.

“Oh, dear brother, I’m not the type to step directly onto a battlefield.” The old man groaned.

“Silent Night! This is no time for jokes!”

Cheongyeum barked.

“Don’t rush. I’m ready.”

Silent Night replied calmly.

As he reached out, he grabbed the air and suddenly pulled. In an instant, thin threads wrapped around Vahel’s entire body.

“What… is this?”

No, these weren’t threads. It was darkness, drawn out and woven into strands.

Silent Night, one of the Five Great Elders, and the head of the sect known as the ‘Raucous Shadow’ had joined the fray.

Silent Night’s power was nullification.

The priest and paladins of the ‘Raucous Shadow’ sect could erase mana, powers, and everything else using their divine energy.

The darkness wrapped around Vahel\'s body began to consume his power. The Isolation that had been protecting him was erased.

"Haah!"

With perfect timing, Cheongyeum and the Imperial Supreme Sword launched their attacks. Their strongest techniques struck Vahel\'s body with full force.

Vahel spat blood as he was sent flying, skidding across the ground and slamming into the dirt.

"Huff… huff…"

Cheongyeum and the Imperial Supreme Sword both gasped for breath.

"Is it over?"

Silent Night muttered, staring at the spot where Vahel had crashed.

But then, Vahel began to rise.

His appearance had changed. His body was much larger, and three horns had sprouted from his forehead.

“Hahaha!”

Vahel let out a loud laugh. His face was full of delight.

“I can\'t believe those guys made me pull out my real body! This is so much fun! I’ve never had this much fun!”

His glowing red eyes turned toward the trio.

“As a reward, I’ll get a little serious now.”

Vahel extended his hand. At that moment, a rectangular pillar shot up from the ground beneath Cheongyeum’s feet.

Cheongyeum quickly crossed his arms to block, but it wasn’t enough.

Both of his arms snapped, and the pillar struck him squarely in the solar plexus.

"Urgh!"

Cheongyeum’s body was sent soaring into the sky before crashing down. Silent Night was flabbergasted and shouted in alarm.

“Brother!”

Just then, something strange appeared in front of Silent Night’s eyes.

It was a bumpy pebble like a salt crystal materialized in front of him.

“What is this…?”

The pebble grew larger, radiating ominous energy. Before Silent Night could react, the spikes crushed him.

“You two should’ve at least been able to dodge that.”

Vahel said with a smirk.

Finally, Vahel turned his gaze to the Imperial Supreme Sword.

“You… I hope you\'re a bit different.”

Without a word, the Imperial Supreme Sword lifted sword.

But the result was no different from the others. He, too, fell at Vahel\'s hands, overwhelmed by his monstrous power.

***

“Are you worried about them?”

Vahel nudged the Imperial Supreme Sword with the tip of his boot, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Don’t worry, they’re still alive."

"That’s a relief."

Damien activated the ‘Authority of Envy’ without hesitation. The mana in his body rapidly transformed into dark mana. As he used Nameless mana art, his eyes glowed a fierce with crimson light.

"Of course, you\'re the most fun."

Vahel muttered with a short sigh of admiration as he watched Damien prepare.

"I’ve got someone I need to find soon… but leaving when someone as entertaining as you is right in front of me? That’s impossible."

In the blink of an eye, Damien moved. Vahel also launched himself forward as well.

Both of their figures vanished from sight, only to reappear with an explosive collision in midair.

A shockwave of power rippled outward, the intensity of their clash reverberating through the ground and sky.

The sheer speed and force of their attacks caused the air around them to warp, and the ground beneath them cracked under the pressure.

Vahel grinned widely. He was clearly thrilled by the fight.

He blocked Damien\'s attack with his forearm, feeling the surge of dark mana course through his body.

"That’s it! Show me more!"

Damien’s expression remained cold. He was solely focusing on the battle. His hands moved swiftly, forming dark streaks of energy that sought to envelop Vahel.

The clash of powers had only just begun, and neither of them showed signs of holding back.

***