Chapter 199
Chapter 199
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: The Revelation Fails
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The underground space of the black market.
A sudden explosion sent people scrambling for safety amid total chaos.
There, Nermakadia rolled across the floor.
Nermakadia groaned in pain from the agony wracking his entire body.
He had barely managed to defend himself, but the blast's power had been immense.
Yet Nermakadia didn't care one bit.
If anything, the pain only fueled his rage even further.
"Abyss!"
Nermakadia ground his teeth with a vicious grind.
Through the smoke, his eyes clearly locked onto the figure beyond.
Abyss shifted his steps amid the haze, staring right back this way.
Seeing this, Nermakadia scoffed.
Abyss had made a fatal mistake.
No matter what, he should never have revealed himself here.
The corpse of a transcendent being rooted in this land.
The faint lingering will of that existence.
The power borrowed from it—Mukshi.
With this power, no one in the empire could defy him.
'Fool.'
Nermakadia decided to show him just how terrible a choice he'd made.
Nermakadia's mouth opened.
The mukshi granted to him was "Revelation."
Revelation was an absolute command that no imperial subject could resist.
Even the Judgment Sovereign had been unable to defy it and offered up his neck.
'Abyss, you'll end up the same.'
Nermakadia tilted his head back toward the sky.
From his wolfish maw erupted a piercing howl.
The howl filled the space and spread everywhere.
Boom—
At that moment, Abyss sensed the danger and charged forward.
But it was too late.
Nermakadia curled his lips into a sneer as he intoned,
Abyss burst through the smoke and halted abruptly.
Nermakadia grinned wickedly at the sight.
It was over.
Crimson flames bloomed around Nermakadia's fist.
He'd burn him from the head down.
His blazing fist shot toward Abyss.
Whoosh!
In that instant, Abyss's body jerked backward.
He tilted his head back effortlessly, dodging the punch.
The crimson flames surged toward the ceiling.
At the same time, Nermakadia's eyes widened in shock.
"Huh?"
For a moment, Nermakadia couldn't comprehend the situation.
The revelation had clearly taken effect, and Abyss had stopped.
So how was he moving now?
But this wasn't the time for pondering.
First, he needed to assess the situation.
Boom!
Abyss slammed his left foot down hard on the ground.
Twisting his waist with all his might.
The right fist he'd been priming while charging from the start.
That fist filled Nermakadia's entire field of vision.
Crack-crunch-crunch!
The sound of his wolf maw and jaw twisting rang out.
Nermakadia's body lifted off the ground and went flying.
Boom! Crash-crash-crash, bang!
Nermakadia soared through the air, smashing through several walls before tumbling across the floor.
Blood gushed from Nermakadia's mouth.
His eyes still brimmed with bewilderment.
He spat out shards of broken teeth.
'Abyss is a necromancer.'
Nermakadia's current stats were at 19 Ascensions.
This level was only possible thanks to that one's aid.
The day he confirmed the old dragon Jerome Makira's death.
In response to Nermakadia's anguished howl, that one had extended a helping hand.
The Creeping Ossuary.
The empire's sole necromancer affiliated with the imperial family.
The one even the empire's renowned nobles dared not touch.
"If you seek vengeance for your family, of course I'll help."
That one had extended a gentle hand to Nermakadia.
Though it meant enduring the agony of his jaw being torn off in the process, Nermakadia persevered.
All for one burning resolve: to fulfill Jerome Makira's dream and avenge him.
With that single-minded determination, he clung desperately and claimed this power.
Nermakadia believed that with this power, he could do anything.
So what was this situation now?
He, a 19-Ascension golden hero, floored by a single punch.
That power from moments ago was absolutely not something a necromancer could produce.
It was the strength of a seasoned warrior.
He'd heard tales of Abyss's prowess before.
But that was as a necromancer, not raw physical might.
In that instant, Abyss burst through the smoke once more.
A greatsword was now gripped in his hand.
Nermakadia's eyes wavered.
Somehow, Abyss seemed larger than before.
But there was no time to panic.
Abyss swung the greatsword at Nermakadia without hesitation.
Nermakadia yelped and rolled across the floor.
He shouted again, and Abyss froze for just a split second.
But Abyss's stiffened movement soon loosened, and he pressed on.
Swoosh!
The gale whipped up by the swinging greatsword shook the entire black market.
What kind of monstrous power was this? It could level a mountain.
He was certain now.
Abyss outclassed him in pure physical tier.
Nermakadia ground his teeth.
More teeth shattered in the process.
Nermakadia cried out with blood spewing from his mouth.
Abyss's greatsword bent mid-swing toward his own throat.
But the blade halted once more.
Nermakadia's eyes bulged at the sight.
His revelation was clearly working.
Abyss was obeying it, in fact.
Yet it was as if another command overlaid it midway, altering his actions.
How could this be?
"Un... undead?"
The bewildered words slipped from his mouth.
The possibility hit him: that wasn't Abyss himself, but an undead.
Revelations worked on undead too.
But even if it did, it didn't matter.
Right after imprinting the revelation, he could just input a new command.
It was certain now.
That was some other entity wearing Abyss's skin!
The realization struck Nermakadia like a blow to the head.
He shouldn't have relied on mukshi; he should have fought with his own skills from the start.
He was a young dragon.
His inexperience had tripped him up.
At that moment, Abyss grinned wickedly.
A smile that said it was already too late.
Abyss's greatsword curved.
Pure white light seeped into the blade.
A flash streaked in a straight line.
Kaboom!
Nermakadia barely ducked low and rolled across the floor.
The ensuing shockwave obliterated an entire nearby building.
Revelations didn't work on him.
That left only overpowering him with raw physical superiority.
But he couldn't see a path to victory that way.
"Damn it!"
Nermakadia spat curses as crimson flames erupted across his body.
The blooming inferno swallowed everything around him.
At the same time, crimson flames condensed in Nermakadia's maw.
The compressed flames fired out as beams of light indiscriminately.
The black market around them was reduced to scorched ruins.
Boom!
Abyss's greatsword deflected them all as he charged relentlessly.
Nermakadia didn't stop there.
He kept firing crimson beams while snapping his fingers.
The beams split apart before reaching the greatsword.
Abyss twisted his body to dodge the ten resulting rays.
But some grazed his forehead.
Sizzle!
Burning sounds echoed from his brow.
With it, part of the fusion magic covering his face unraveled.
"What?"
The revealed face was one Nermakadia recognized.
His eyes flew wide.
The missing White Lion Knight Captain.
Leon Kries.
He was attacking with vacant eyes.
So the vanished Leon had been turned into Abyss's puppet.
"Ah, busted."
The puppet Leon wore Abyss's grin instead.
Nermakadia finally understood why the revelation hadn't fully worked.
Revelation was the top-priority command.
No one born on this land could defy it.
Even if another command was input, revelation took precedence.
But Leon's brain had long been ruined.
He had no concept of top-priority commands.
He simply moved according to whatever order was imprinted next.
No wonder even revelation couldn't fully take hold.
But revelation's power wasn't so limited.
Anywhere his voice could reach, it worked.
Abyss must have heard the tales through Leon.
So why wasn't it reaching Abyss?
Confusion reigned.
His thoughts kept grinding to a halt.
Nermakadia felt like a plaything on a giant's palm.
He was the one who ambushed the black market.
So why did it feel like he was the one being toyed with?
Nermakadia's complexion darkened.
He wielded a power that could sweep away the entire world.
Yet this helplessness was unbearable.
"You bastard, fight fair and square!"
Nermakadia bellowed like a demon.
Leon's lips curled into a sneer.
"I'm fighting the most fair and square way I know—my way."
Necromancers had their own way of fighting.
"If you wanted to face me, you should've known how a necromancer fights."
Leon was exposed now.
No need to hold back anymore.
Rumble-rumble!
The fusion magic enveloping Leon's body vanished.
In its place, his muscles swelled, exploding with raw power.
Against such a Leon, Nermakadia at 19 Ascension golden hero grade stood no chance.
Leon's form shifted in an instant into that of a savage beast.
The overwhelming aura exploding from his entire body devoured the space.
Terror flooded Nermakadia's mind.
He was instinctively overwhelmed on a primal level.
Fear disrupts the body's senses.
Boom!
And it dulls reflexes.
Leon, now in White Lion Form, closed in right before Nermakadia's nose.
He was a young dragon.
He may have dominated battles before, but he'd rarely been on the losing end.
And that inexperience hampered his judgment.
Dodge.
The thought flashed through Nermakadia's mind as he pulled his foot back, but it was too late.
Leon's greatsword was already at his nose.
The curved blade reached Nermakadia's left armpit.
Slice!
Nermakadia's left arm severed clean from the shoulder.
A fountain of blood sprayed from the stump.
"Aaaargh!"
Nermakadia's scream echoed.
But it didn't last.
Leon's jaws gaped wide before him.
In White Lion Form, Leon was no different from a beast.
White mane fluttering, his fangs gleamed.
Crunch!
His teeth crushed and tore into Nermakadia's maw.
Upper jaw to lower—ripped away in a flash.
Snap!
At the same time, Leon's hand gripped Nermakadia's slender neck.
Leon mercilessly drove his fist into Nermakadia's gut.
"Guhk!"
Nermakadia vomited blood from the gut-wrenching pain.
In his mangled state, he dazedly looked up at Leon.
His consciousness was fading.
"Had your fun rampaging, didn't you?"
Leon spat out the torn maw and laughed.
His blood-filled mouth twisted horrifically.
"Now it's time to pay."
With that, Nermakadia's consciousness winked out.