Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Dragon Blood (2)
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30 minutes ago.
Noil was visiting the Spinola mansion alongside the guard squad.
It was due to Giuseppe's assessment that the guards alone wouldn't be enough to wipe out the entire Spinola family.
—They'll probably shove their family out as shields while slipping away through a secret passage. Umberto's the type who treasures his own life above all else.
Noil had no intention of dragging this out any longer, so he stormed straight into the mansion and lopped off Umberto's head the moment he tried to flee.
And when Giuseppe came rushing in with cheers, he dispatched him just as dramatically.
—Why the hell...!
—You're no longer useful.
—You goddamn bastard!
—Don't act so hard done by. You were the one gearing up to stab us in the back first once the job was done. You could've just kept living as a mindless maggot—why bother using that worthless brain of yours? Tsk!
Truth be told, Troyvan had already quietly claimed most of it, whether Giuseppe knew or not.
With all that gold and cash funneled over to Troyvan, leaving a few blowhards behind was more than enough.
And rewinding time back to the present.
Noil appeared at the central temple, holding the heads of Umberto and Giuseppe.
The purge squad's return had been later than anticipated.
「At least you could call this a blessing in disguise.」
Theo forced his body—which felt ready to crumple at any moment—to hold steady.
Strength surged into the hands gripping the Dragon-Slaying Sword and the Moonwhite Sword.
「To think the one who took Krimhilt's mystery was the bastard who stole the Dragon-Slaying Sword. And that it would be a <Selector> from this era... I never imagined.」
Step by step—
Noil began walking slowly toward Theo.
*Theo!*
Selferd wanted to shout it.
Arin and Ray desperately wanted to move and shield Theo, but this damned pressure refused to let them budge.
Step by step!
Noil was already closing in on Theo.
「He probably has all the relics that fool Ed let slip away too, so I'll just recover them nice and clean. And as a bonus... I can take the Selector’s flesh while I'm at it.」
Noil inwardly marveled at Theo, whose eyes showed no hint of breaking even in this situation.
*This* was the spirit a Selector ought to have. He couldn't help but admire it.
But precisely because of that.
For Troyvan's future, he needed to crush this sprout right here.
「Come with me.」
Swoosh—
Noil reached out, his hand descending to cover Theo's face.
Through the gaps in his fingers, Theo's eyes—now turned crimson—still bored straight into Noil.
But then,
*He's... smiling?*
Just as Noil's eyes narrowed behind his mask at the nagging sense that something was off.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The central temple suddenly began shaking violently.
An earthquake so fierce it was hard to keep balance.
At the same time, the crushing pressure that had pinned them all shattered like an illusion.
“Theo!”
Freed from invisible chains, the group hurled themselves toward him in unison.
「What have you done?」
“You thought the game was won, so you got complacent, didn't you? This is my domain from the start.”
「No way!」
Noil suddenly realized something and hurriedly tried to detonate the aura gathered at his fingertips.
Boom!
As far as he knew, Theo had already obtained Krimhilt's mystery and completed the Sea King's seal.
The floating archipelago's buoyancy stemmed from the updrafts of mana winds exhaled by the Sea King.
*But what if the Sea King wasn't resealed—what if it passed its power and authority to Theo instead?*
By common knowledge, hero Krimhilt and Sea King Leviathan were irreconcilable mortal enemies.
But Theo was a direct Ragnar bloodline claiming "dragon's heir," and a Selector called the Dragon King's mate.
So couldn't he twist that enmity to his advantage?
His deduction was slightly off the mark but still a keen insight rooted in truth.
That was why Noil had tried to stop Theo from any funny business, but it was too late—Theo was already channeling the new Sea King down in the ocean depths.
“Pontus!!”
Rooooar—!
As if answering Theo's call, an enormous roar echoed from outside the temple.
The temple tilted to one side, and the floor split open in an instant.
Vast mana swirled around Theo, flinging Noil's hand away.
Crack crack crack!
Rumble—
The island began to collapse.
*The island...!*
*The temple's crumbling!*
*The island's falling!*
*Lord Krimhilt is furious!*
The crowd, already battered by the purge squad, screamed in terror.
Curiously, while it was the same island, their footing remained intact—only the central temple zone was crumbling and plummeting.
All thanks to Pontus manipulating the mana wind updrafts.
Over the vast, wave-tossed sea.
Theo plummeted toward the surface, while the group slashed through the air to grab him.
In that instant, shadows writhed, and Umbra burst forth.
Its body seemed twice its usual size.
Already 1.5 times bulkier than a standard wyvern, now it exuded a prehistoric dragon's intimidation.
Shreeek!
Umbra beat its wings fiercely, letting Theo mount first before hovering and taking Selferd, Arin, Ray, and Marty aboard one by one.
Thanks to its enlarged frame, there was still plenty of room left even with them all.
“Umbra, good job.”
Shreeek!
As Theo stroked Umbra's neck scruff amid its triumphant cries, the others finally regained their wits and whistled in awe.
Whooosh!
Whooosh!
Selferd and Arin's partners materialized in the air, rescuing the flailing temple knights and Black Skull members.
“Ahh!”
Marty covered his face, overcome with emotion.
“Don't get sentimental over this yet. The real fight starts now.”
At Selferd's words, Marty snapped to and frantically scanned the direction Noil had been.
「Well played, Theo Ragnar. You think this little stunt lets you slip my grasp?」
Down below.
Noil was kicking off falling rocks and temple debris, rapidly ascending against gravity.
He showed no concern for his purge squad captain or members plunging into the sea or getting crushed under rubble.
Marty couldn't help but shiver at the sight.
Swoooosh—
“Crazy bastard.”
Selferd's assessment was spot on.
But Theo showed no panic, pouring all his will into his fingertips.
In this moment, he was in deep sync with Pontus.
「You are this Pontus's master. Approved by the Sea King, successor to the hero. Mana winds born of dragons? You more than qualify to wield them.」
Whoosh!
His mind blazed hot once more.
White-hot.
Thump thump thump thump thump!
The Dragon's Heart throbbed wildly as dragon blood rampaged through his veins.
The ancient dragon factor dormant in Theo's genes was awakening.
Pop. Pop.
Bursting sounds echoed from all over.
His body was fatigued, but his mind could hold.
Mana had some leeway too.
Above all, this place brimmed with mana winds he could wield right now.
So Theo decided to step into a new realm.
*Magic.*
He only properly knew [Thunder Calling] and [Flame Dancing]—just two spells.
His magical knowledge was limited to vague glimpses via recollection, lacking any solid foundation.
But Theo trusted Pontus.
Ancient dragons birthed magic.
Controlling it had to be instinctually imprinted.
*[Thunder Calling] rains indiscriminate lightning. [Flame Dancing] spreads out.*
So Theo resolved to merge the two he knew.
*Heat is energy. Compress it for destructive power, release to expand. Connect them...*
Crackle, crackle!
Sparks began popping one by one around Noil.
Mana winds were energy too—igniting embers via friction within them was child's play.
*Connect them indiscriminately and release control.*
The sparks shifted from red to yellow, flaring up like will-o'-wisps.
*Massive explosion!*
Theo clenched his fist.
The will-o'-wisps ballooned instantly, morphing into lightning and spreading through the entire updraft.
Crackle crackle crackle!
It resembled a vast net woven of bolts.
*-Chain Lightning.*
Boom boom boom—
Rumble! Rumble!
The explosions engulfed Noil.
Dust and debris from the rocks fueled a dust explosion, amplifying the devastation.
A thick fog of smoke blocked vision.
But Theo didn't think this would take Noil down.
His foe was a monster rivaling the Nine Dragons.
This wouldn't do it.
His goal from the start: knock Noil off.
Theo twisted his clenched fist.
The lingering will on his fingertips twisted too—the lightning blanketing the mana winds coalesced, slowly taking draconic form.
It mimicked the thunder dragon from his Deathbite.
Like a multi-headed thunder dragon descending.
Lost in magical rapture, he followed dragon blood instinct to birth his original spell.
“Hydra—”
The four-headed thunder dragon roared in unison.
“—Bolt.”
A blinding surge blanketed the updrafts.
White daybreak fell over the entire floating archipelago.
KABOOM!
Rumble......
Chain after chain of colossal blasts and thunderclaps.
Heat waves scorched the air—could anyone survive that?
Even multiple floating isles high above shook.
But Theo didn't stop—via Pontus, he hurled a small uninhabited isle in Noil's path, smashing it into the sea.
KABOOM!
Sploooosh—
A spray towering dozens of meters birthed massive tsunamis and waves radiating outward.
White foam churned with blue currents.
Meanwhile, Umbra and the wyverns soared to lofty heights.
Whoooosh—
Selferd, Arin, and the rest stared down blankly, hair whipping in fierce winds, too stunned to even smooth it.
The sheer destructive power was something even a Dragon Gate Swordsman rarely unleashed without deploying their domain.
“......You monster, when the hell did you learn magic like that? Did Krimhilt teach you that too?”
Selferd finally turned to Theo, face a mix of exasperation and disbelief.
“Something like that. Just keep it secret from everyone else.”
Theo brushed it off vaguely, slumping onto Umbra's back with a weak smile.
Mana fully depleted now—not even energy left to smile.
Of course, Selferd didn't buy it wholesale and shook his head, but didn't pry further.
A Ragnar heir would have a secret weapon or two stashed away.
*No one'd believe it even if I told them.*
Swordsmanship mastery at that age was miracle enough—magic on par?
Yeah right.
Selferd realized his junior—peeling like an onion the more he learned—was monstrous for the first time.
* * *
Deep in the ocean depths.
Crunch! Crackle crackle!
The sunken isle fragment shuddered violently before exploding in massive fissures.
「How... dare you!」
Noil emerged from within, a blood-soaked, wretched mess.
His wooden mask half-charred, exposing part of the face beneath.
Like he'd flipped a monster's face-skin over his own—grotesque.
Tentacles writhed wildly large and small, clusters of eyeballs swiveling in fury.
But his ferocious aura hadn't dimmed one bit.
Even after Theo's mana wind mega-spell and the dropped isle.
Far from life-threatening, he wasn't even seriously hurt.
A monster through and through.
Having shed human skin to walk the half-human, half-beast path—it was only natural.
But separate from injuries, his pride was another story.
Noil burned with rage to tear Theo apart.
So as he kicked off the currents to breach the surface—
「You who cast off your hood and chase the path of disgrace. Where do you think you're going with your vain delusions?」
Rough currents swirled before Noil, swiftly forming a human shape.
Noil's hideous face stiffened.
He'd met someone he absolutely shouldn't here.
「Why are you here?」
「Don't ask the questions I want answered yourself. I just don't feel like replying.」
The figure—man or woman, elder or youth?—seemed to smirk faintly.
「Leave that arm behind and be on your way.」
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