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

Chapter 2388: Clash Of Venerables II [24]

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"Calm down! Stay still! You can do this!"

"J-Jake?"

"Yeah, Chris, it's me! Are you alright?"

"Uuugh... not at all... Lucia! W-Where is she?! You have to... find her, Jake!"

"I can feel her nearby, but you're—"

"I'll be... I'll be fine..."

Chris grabbed one of the elixir bottles, drinking it while coughing blood. He looked around, realizing he had somehow survived a literal black hole thrown at his face.

"Even though I was roasted alive... I still somehow survived. God damn... those blessings really made me tough..."

"Yeah... I'm relieved you survived. You shielded Lucia even though you shouldn't have—she's an Esper after all!"

"I... just did it out of reflex... I couldn't bear seeing her get hurt... I was right there... so I did it..."

"Hmm..."

Jake nodded, realizing how much Chris loved her. He smiled faintly, though sadness lingered. If they were back on Earth fighting normal zombies, things would have been much simpler, all things considered.

"Lucia! Where is she?! Tell me where she is!"

"R-Right, come with me!"

"Hurry, Jake!"

Chris quickly recovered, standing and walking beside Jake. His clothes were mildly burned, but they had been enhanced by Drake, making them super tough.

"Lucia!"

"LUCIAAAA!"

As they searched, Jake felt the same piercing headache, pointing left. Chris ran there, digging out giant boulders with his bare hands.

"Lucia!"

His eyes widened, tears streaming as he saw her. She looked exhausted, curled in a fetal position, her weak psychic power barely protecting her inside a small cube.

"C-Chris?"

Lucia opened her eyes, gasping as she realized it wasn't a dream—it was really him. Her barrier opened, and Chris rushed forward, hugging her tightly.

"I thought you...! You...! Why did you do that?! Why did you shield me?! You idiot!" Lucia cried, clinging to him.

"I'm sorry... I just... I just did it..." Chris sighed. "I didn't want you to get hurt."

"Chris..." Lucia sobbed, their faces close. "I thought we would all die back then... That monster is so strong. What can we even do against it?!"

"It's... not impossible..." Jake muttered, walking toward her. "My powers... I think they could somehow counter him, but I lack practice and energy. I just awakened them. Ironically, he helped me awaken them..."

"So you're saying you need to eat people to make it stronger, or what?" Chris asked.

"No, of course not... but Uroboros grew strong by eating people, yes... Especially Espers. I've been neglecting my own nature this entire time, fighting against it... eating other things, or nothing at all, so my Uroboros wouldn't become a bloodthirsty monster like that one..." Jake sighed. "But... what do I do now?"

"Maybe we can find those soldier monsters and let you eat them?" Lucia suggested. "It's... something, right?"

"I... hadn't thought about that," Jake muttered. "The parasites inside shouldn't affect me, I think... but it would still be a gamble—ah, forget it. We have to find Drake and the others, or at least your brother, Lucia."

"I know..." Lucia nodded. "I can... feel something. I think whatever was isolating us in this castle is gone. Everything is connected again."

"That's good... finally some good news," Chris sighed in relief. "Anyway, we're getting out of here. Let's go."

The trio nodded, slowly beginning to crawl away, unaware of Héluna's gaze above, glaring down at them in silence.

"Who are those? They seem to be enemies of that monster, based on their talk. That dragon's allies? Should I kill them right now?"

She raised her hand, manifesting a small rotating moon, pointing it at them from kilometers away.

Her sharp, calculating eyes glared down as her aura surged, resembling a crossbow. The small moon quickly transformed into a moonstone arrow.

"Quick and painless."

TRUUUM!

"Ungh?!"

But her shot failed. The arrow fired elsewhere, clashing into the ceiling and detonating into a massive explosion of moonlight and starlight, startling the trio.

Héluna gasped in exhaustion, agony, and disbelief as she felt an immense power emerging from far away, rapidly approaching.

"W-What is that?!"

She felt the very presence of Yggdrasil—not just the tree, but the world itself—concentrated into a single being.

"T-That's impossible! What is this power?! That's... a dragon?! THAT DRAGON?! But how?! When?! He ascended even further... The presences of Fortune and Deus are gone too! I hoped they would kill each other or at least take down that dragon, but... he triumphed over them?! T-That's...! Master is not going to like this! He used their power to ascend even higher! Is he... almost at the same level as me now?! NO, that's impossible! It cannot be! That beast ascending to my realm so easily and quickly?! When it took me thousands of years?!"

Héluna's mind spiraled into panic. She looked everywhere, then back at her master's domain, rapidly surrounding it with hundreds of layered barriers, desperate to prepare.

"Master! Hurry up! T-This is not what we expected! That dragon has somehow—"

CRAAASH!

RUMBLE!

"Wha...?!"

Héluna's eyes widened as a giant sea of cursed miasma surged before her, filling the massive hole created by her own explosions.

And with it came—

"GRAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The scream of a decaying goddess echoed, emerging from the cursed miasmic sea as millions of spectral yokai swirled around her.

"Why are YOU here again?! GO AWAY!"

The Venerable screamed in frustration. One thing after another, her patience was unraveling.

And yet—

FLASH!

Two bright lights descended from the skies, crimson and black, falling like comets and crashing into the decaying goddess' face and chest, forcing her down.

Two humans appeared, clad in samurai armor and wielding powerful weapons. The crimson swordsman carried a long katana, while the burly black samurai bore a spear attached to a cannon.

"GRUUUAAAAHHH!"

The Decaying Goddess screamed, clashing against them with her giant spectral army. Both Samurai charged forward, unleashing potent techniques that obliterated her creations with ease.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Countless explosions erupted as the battle raged. Héluna panicked, summoning dozens of rotating silver moons and firing them at all three of her enemies.

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