Chapter 134 - Fallen Demon (4)
Azell immediately opened his eyes.
The explosion had occurred from a very far distance. If he went up to the surface, the explosion would have occurred about 2 kilometers away. However, the explosion was powerful enough to deliver a shockwave to their location.
Azell spoke.
“It’s a Dragon.”
“How do you know that?”
Leticia asked him a question. Azell answered her.
“We were told an Earth Dragon lives nearby. I can feel the power of an Earth Dragon.”
Azell had a wealth of experience at fighting against Dragons. Azell was underground, but he was able to use his Absolute Sense to identify the power being used on the surface. Soon, the intermittent rumble turned into a powerful tremor.
Koo-roo-roong......!
Everyone had to admit Azell was right. The powerful magical wave assaulted the senses of the party members, who were still underneath the surface. It was undeniable that the source was a Dragon’s Roar.
Azell spoke.
“The Dragon is fighting something. The opponent is strong enough where a Dragon had to use a Dragon’s Roar......”
He couldn’t feel the energy of another Dragon, so it wasn’t a fight between Dragons. Azell focused a bit more to expand his senses. Soon, he was able to zero in on a very fierce fluctuation of power that was weaker than the Dragon.
“It seems either a Dragon Majin or a Dragon Demon is fighting against the Dragon. It is a one on one fight. By the look of it, I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“There is a high probability that it’s an officer from the Plain of Darkness attempting the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual.”
Leticia spoke with a cold voice. She couldn’t think of any other possibilities.
Azell spoke.
“It seems Balseru was right. In the end, they caught scent of our tracks, and they’ve pursued us.”
“We did show ourselves at the border, so it was inevitable.”
At Kairen’s words, Azell tilted his head in puzzlement.
“Still, this is way too fast. No, wait a moment. They might not have pinpointed our location. They might have decided to conduct a Dragon Slayer’s Ritual, since they were nearby....”
Koo-roo-roo-roong!
At that moment, a powerful tremor was felt by the party. It was like an earthquake. It shook so fiercely that it wouldn’t have been strange to see the ruin crumble. This fact made everyone’s hair stand on end. Since they were underground, the destruction of the ruin would bury them. They would be helpless.
Azell grinded his teeth.
“Koohk! It seems we’ve been found. They are being quite bold. Let us all head out immediately! If we stay here, we’ll be buried!”
“But....”
Yuren was taken aback, so he turned to look at Balserk. They still hadn’t heard the knowledge that was tasked to be delivered to them by Balserk.
Koo-goo-goo-goong!
However, they had run out of time. Another explosion went off on the surface as the aftershock rocked the ground. It was clear that their enemies were aiming for them, who were underneath the surface of the ground.
Azell spoke.
“Everyone get out first. I’ll stay behind to listen to the message.”
“Are you crazy? Even if it is you, you will die here if this place craters.”
Instead of answering Yuren’s words, he raised his Dragon Demon magic.
-Rise Dragon Weapon! Vitan’s Chalice!
The light dispersed as the Vitan’s Chalice appeared next to Azell. Azell spoke as he pointed at it.
“Since I have this, I don’t have to worry about that occurring. Since our location was found, there is a high probability that they’ve also found the entrance. I’ll create a path where you’ll be able to come out through a roundabout manner. Get ready for battle.”
Azell immediately used the power of the Vitan’s Chalice to create the Path of Tears. The tear-like distortion gathered in a single location before it started to extend forward. It created a hole in the ceiling. It was as if the physical wall was non-existent in front of dimensional distortion.
“Then let us go make a scene first.”
As Leticia spoke those words, she kicked off the ground to jump upwards. Kairen immediately followed behind her. Yuren and Laura looked back at Balserk with regret before they flew into the air.
When Azell was alone with Balserk, he asked it a question..
“Since we don’t have much time, I’ll just listen only to the pertinent information. What do you have to tell me?”
<I wanted my end to come... Now that I’m staring it in the face, I do feel a bit of regret. It’s a funny thing.>
Balserk laughed in its skeletal form. Then it spoke.
<However, I can’t pass up this opportunity, so let’s end this.>
“Stop beating around the bush. I dont’ have the time to wait this out. Hurry up and speak.”
<All right. What I have to tell you is....>
Balserk spoke with a bitter voice.
<The truth about the Demon race.>
Countless magicians over the ages had puzzled over this topic. One of the secrets of this world was about to be unraveled in front of Azell.
6
Kairen had followed the Path of Tears to arrive at the surface, and he took stock of his current location. He furrowed his brows when he realized there was a battle going on around 500 meters away.
‘It’s the Guardian Shadows.’
There were several dozen Guardian Shadows fighting fiercely against the Dragon Demon king worshippers.
Balseru had continued to follow Azell’s party, and they had clashed against the Dragon Demon king worshippers, who had been assaulting the entrance of the ruin. Kairen couldn’t tell how many of Dragon Demon king worshippers were here, but it seemed the Guardian Shadows weren’t willing to turn a blind eye.
Kairen spoke.
“Let’s go!”
The party immediately rushed towards the battlefield. However, it happened at that moment.
A clear pillar of light rose up into the air in the middle of the battlefield. The clear light didn’t hurt the eyes, but it weirdly drew one’s eyes towards it. Moreover....
Ggwah-gwa-gwa-gwang!
A terrifying power exploded forth.
Kairen was taken aback.
“Is it the Dragon’s Roar?!”
No. The presence of the Dragon was far away, and there was no sign of a Roar. However, the shockwave that was riding across the land was oppressive. It reminded one of a Dragon’s Roar. Kairen was 300 meters away, but the ground he was standing on was upended. An incredible amount of force rammed into his shield.
Hoo-ooh-ooh-ooh!
A big cloud of dust rose into the air as a violent gusts of wind blew. A being letting out an incredible amount of magical energy exited from within.
<You guys are quite good. I’m not sure what method you are using, but you’ve suppressed my power to this degree. I’m flabbergasted. I was only able to use half of my power.>
It was a voice of an Undead. When he heard its words, Kairen was dumbfounded.
‘What nonsense is it spouting? This is only half of its power?’
A conical shaped shock wave formed starting from where the power had originated. It upended an entire forest. It wasn’t just an high intensity earthquake.
When the violent gust of wind revealed the figure within the cloud of dust, Kairen thought maybe it had been telling the truth.
“Is that perhap Reygus?”
The Dragon Demon Undead was enormous. It almost reached 3 meter in height, and it held a massive white battle hammer that was 2 meters long. The amount of ominous magical energy emitted from it clearly put it above Kairen’s level. From its appearance, the Undead was clearly the legendary Dragon Demon general Reygus.
Reygus’ gaze headed towards Kairen.
<New customers have arrived. Were you all sent out to stall us? I don’t see the red-haired human amongst you.>
Reygus tilted his head in puzzlement. The Guardian Shadows nearby started to whisper noisily. They were blown away by the strike applied by the head of the hammer, but almost none of them were extinguished.
<As expected, the Guardian Shadows are quite sturdy. Moreover, they have the ability to suppress my power.... I really am curious about what you guys are. If the little brat Carlos made you guys, he really created something marvelous.>
Reygus looked unsatisfied as it grumbled. It turned to look to the side, and one could see Balseru covered in dust.
Kairen was surprised when he spotted Balseru. Until now, Balseru had kept his eyes shut. They were open now. His eyes were dark blue, and they were emitting a strange energy. The energy wasn’t directly affecting Kairen, but a shiver went up his spine.
‘What is that?’
Flame erupted from the air, and it swept over Reygus.
Reygus received the attack with the head of his hammer as he spoke.
<That was lukewarm.>
<Then I’ll prepare something hot for you.>
Another Undead answered Reygus. Kairen saw a Fire type Undead magician wearing floating above Balseru. It wore a flowing black robe. For a moment, Kairen thought it was Theta, who had accompanied Leone. Soon, it was obvious that it was some other being. Moreover....
Ggwah-gwahng!
Someone had rushed forward like a gale, and an enormous double edged axe fell towards Reygus. The black double edged axe was infused with powerful magic, and it was so heavy that a normal person wouldn’t be able to raise it. The enormous warrior wearing armor swung it at high speed.
However, Reygus easily blocked the attack. After the weapons impacted on each other, the shockwave actually caused the attacker to be flung away.
<Koohk!>
<Quit it. It seems you’ve made yourself a name as someone that’s pretty strong. It doesn’t matter if it is the past or the present. No one can boast their strength in front of me.>
Regyus derided his opponent.
The one wielding the double edged axe was also an Undead. By the look of the magic infused weapon and armor it possessed, it was an Undead that accompanied the Keepers of Prophecy. It was almost 2 meters tall, and it possessed an enormous body frame. However, it looked like a dwarf in front of Reygus.
The Undead wielding the double edged axe spoke.
<Alpha! What happened? Why is this bastard unaffected?>
“I’m sure it is being influenced by my eyes. However, I cannot completely suppress it.”
<...your eyes are suppressing its power, yet it is this strong? Impossible.>
“Unfortunately, it is so. Phi and Rho. Please join force with the Dragon Sword Duk’s party.”
The Fire Magician Phi and the Double Edged Axe Undead Rho were sleepless guardians, who had taken on codenames.
As if their words were amusing, flame burned brighter from within the eye sockets of its Skull.
<Ho-oh. You are the Dragon Sword Duke? It is nice to meet you. I wanted to meet you once.>
“Since the legendary Dragon Demon general is saying such sentiments....”
At the same time, Kairen rushed forward. In the middle of his speech, he had used Instantaneous Movement in an attempt to take his opponent unawares. His Dragon sword struck out.
“It is an honor!”
At the same time his words ended, his left sword was blocked by the head of the battle hammer, and an explosive sound rang out. It was a powerful strike that could have blown away a house, yet it was blocked so easily.
However, Kairen wasn’t flustered. In the first place, this strike had been a bait. He used exquisite timing to stab his right sword towards an opening.
<Hoo!>
In a flash, Reygus accelerated. It used its ability to react instantly to use a movement technique, and before Kairen’s right sword could accelerate fully, Reygus deflected the blade to the side using the shoulder region of its armor. Then it immediately stomped with a tree-trunk like leg.
Ggwah-gwahng!
An explosion rang out, and the nearby surface was upended. From the top to the bottom, it had brought down its foot at an oblique angle. When it impacted the surface, a circular shockwave exploded forth with Reygus at the center. Leticia had been aiming for a delayed attack. She was sent flying alongside Kairen.
When Kairen righted himself, he felt terrified. Reygus had broken through the dust cloud, and it was charging towards him. It used Instantaneous Movement to close the distance in a flash, and it brought down its hammer. It was a heroic looking attack, but the movement was large. That is why there were a lot of openings to the attack. Kairen coldly let out an attack in response.....
Ggwah-gwa-gwa-gwahng!
An explosive sound rang out, and he was flung backwards.
“Koo-uhk!”
The Dragon sword shook as if it was about to break, and he felt a shock hit his internal organs. When their attacks converged, he hadn’t been able to fully offset the shock.
‘This bastard is strangely subtle with his moves!’
When he attacked an opening, Reygus’ speed increased again by a beat, and it was able to turn away his attack. Then the path of the dynamic strike by the hammer started to change in subtle ways. It became an attack that couldn’t be avoided. Kairen had no choice, but to meet the attack with an attack.
<Bone of Soul Seal! Run amok once again!>
A clear light once again extended into the sky. When the light returned, the battle hammer was burning white in a blinding fashion.
At that moment, Kairen knew this was the worst case scenario. By looking at the result of its previous attack, he would die if he put up a sloppy defense.
‘If so!’
Kairen gave up on defense, and he focused only on his attack. His dual swords let out a white glow, and he chanted out a command infused with Dragon Demon magic.
“Oh Dragon swords. Burn away the evil fire!”
His sword strike held his deadly will. It split through the air as it let forth a terrifying light. It happened at the same time as Reygus brought down its hammer.
Ggwah-gwa-gwa-gwahng!
Everything that could be seen was burning white. The Dragon weapon had the power to split even a mountain, and it was comparable in power to a Dragon’s Roar. The enormous explosion flooded into the surrounding.