Epic of Ice Dragon: Reborn As An Ice Dragon With A System

Chapter 2299: Oda Nobunaga’s Endless Castle [17]

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"Hmmm... I must confess, these souls, no, these spirits are a remarkable addition to my collection. I must thank you, Child of Yggdrasil."

"Y-You fiend...! Everyone! Don’t listen to him!"

Surtr extended his hands toward them, unleashing a powerful Soul Aura, as he attempted to recall them.

But it was futile, as the dragon souls surged forward, with immense and intimidating sizes, glaring at him with fury.

"Take him down, my spirits."

Ame-no-Koyane laughed, as he pointed his brush at Surtr, and the dozens of spirits roared, opening their jaws and bombarding Surtr with relentless breath attacks!

"No! Everyone, stop!"

"Surtr, flee!"

He heard his mother’s words, as Surtr swiftly flew away, relentless explosions chasing him, as the spirits rushed toward him, attacking from all angles.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"Everyone...! I know you’re still there...! You must fight back!"

Surtr glared at the specters, who roared like wild beasts, their intelligence and personalities suppressed, their eyes entirely red.

"They cannot hear you. They can only hear my commands. And my commands are to kill you. Thus, your very family will slay you. This... it is quite poetic, isn’t it?"

Surtr had never been so furious since he thought Ignisefer had killed his wives.

"YOU BASTARD!!!"

Surtr screamed, his Aura erupting, as dozens of specters, his corrupted family, rushed toward him.

.

.

.

When the shadows engulfed Drake’s allies, not everyone was separated. Some remained in groups, though barely holding together, they managed to stay united.

One of those groups was Alma’s group, because Hermes used a spatial bubble to shield her and their friends, allowing them to land safely inside Oda Nobunaga’s castle, crashing onto its floors before finally stabilizing.

"Where on earth are we?" Alma wondered. "Wait, where is everyone else?!"

Alma stepped out of the Spatial Bubble despite Hermes trying to stop her, but ultimately, she walked out rather recklessly. He followed, and then everyone else did too.

Callon inspected his surroundings, while the psychic twins, Elma and Elena, tried to spread their psychic power to discern where they were, but encountered a painful headache the instant they attempted it.

"Agh!"

"Ouch..."

"What’s wrong?" Alma asked, visibly concerned.

"There’s something odd about this place..."

"Our Psychic Power is weakened... we cannot wield it easily."

"What?! That’s not good..." Alma rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Ugh... Drake and everyone else are gone... Root? Root! Are you there?"

FLUOSH!

From Alma’s shoulder, a small sapling appeared, which quickly grew into an enormous dragon made of wood and plants, with colorful leaves and flowers adorning him.

"I am here, Alma, don’t worry. I have also managed to move my entire True Body into my Divine Realm, so no matter what emerges, we’ll be safe. The problem is... where to go?" Root asked, surveying his surroundings with confusion.

"Indeed, we’re utterly lost here... And I can’t teleport. By the gods... ugh, this feels weird. I was accustomed to teleporting wherever I wanted," Hermes sighed, wandering about and feeling uneasy.

"It’s truly quite strange... Kate helped me enhance my Technomancy and even injected me with powerful Nanomachines, but even I can’t contact her now. This strange dimension... it is permeated with cursed miasma, like the air of this world."

Callon used his bionic eyes to analyze the molecular structure of the tiny droplets of black, tar-like material floating in the air. They were composed of thousands of minuscule runes that persistently disrupted other energies, a cursed essence that appeared to negate all life.

"It resembles the same power the other fighters and soldiers from Zipangu wield as their strength, but this dimension... it is entirely composed of it?" Callon wondered. "This is truly dire. We need to find a way to escape quickly, lest it erodes our bodies and souls over time."

"Erode our bodies and souls?!" Alma asked. "With Root and my Mana, it shouldn’t be too bad, right?"

"I am currently attempting to purify this Curse or adapt my body to it, but it’ll take some time..." Root said. "However, that golden power Drake shared with me, and the blood he allowed me to drink, has significantly enhanced my capabilities, so I believe I can address it."

"Oh, so it wasn’t a temporary boost?" Alma asked. "That’s encouraging."

"Yes, it seemed like a temporary power, but it wasn’t... entirely. Most of it is gone, but a spark remains, and it has now permanently merged with me," Root said. "I sense this strange connection to him now, one that is much stronger, but simultaneously, it is blurred and suppressed within this dimension."

"Hmm, we should start moving..."

"I’m scared of this place. It’s so silent... and every room appears the same."

The psychic twins looked around, visibly confused and terrified of this strange, bizarre place, as they returned to Alma’s side.

"Hermes! Let’s go!"

Alma called for Hermes, as the young elf nodded, approaching her side.

His Teleportation had always been his greatest ability and his trump card, and now that he couldn’t use it, he felt useless, like a burden.

"I’m sorry... I wish I could use my powers, but I simply can’t... I can scarcely exert the spatial power I once wielded."

"It’s alright, we’ll get through this..."

Alma held Hermes’ hand, making the young elf blush slightly.

"What if I just give you a surge of Mana? Perhaps you can brute force the magic anyway?" Alma asked.

"I... didn’t consider that," Hermes said. "Maybe, but that’s—"

"My, aren’t you all strikingly beautiful? Like dolls!"

"Eh?"

"What?"

"Who said... that?"

Alma, Root, and Hermes responded to the words, as they suddenly looked ahead as they opened one of the paper doors of this seemingly endless castle.

There, they saw someone, a woman, a giant human-like woman. She appeared Asian, likely Japanese in ethnicity, but she was certainly not a normal human due to her sheer size.

She looked down at them with a calm, pleased smile. She was fascinated by their beauty, as elves were nonexistent where she came from.

"Such fair skin, beautiful and long golden hair, and eyes like glistening green jade... You’re so wonderful, my child."

She giggled, gazing at Alma. Her presence was strange, sending shivers down everyone’s spines.

Despite her apparent friendliness, she had appeared out of nowhere, and that alone was truly terrifying.

Even more unsettling was how she spoke to them as if they were already friends, making her presence even stranger.

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