Chapter 45: The Void Drake

The swaying iron links beneath Raphael’s boots groaned under the unrelenting strain, the wind howling through the dark, violet-tinted abyss like a ravenous beast. He was less than thirty meters from the solid stone ledge of the second floating island.

His legs burned, his lungs pulled in icy, ozone-laden air, and his blood-stained fingers clung white-knuckled to the grips of his weapons.

Just then, the sky above the island split wide open.

A colossal shadow eclipsed the crackling pink lightning overhead. Before Raphael could even process the shifting pressure in the atmosphere, a massive, obsidian-plated claw- each talon the size of a telephone pole- swiped down through the purple mist with catastrophic speed.

THUN-CLANG!

Raphael’s godlike neural processing speed slammed his body into overdrive, causing him to throw his weight backward in an explosive, desperate dive, rolling across the slick iron. It was a dangerous maneuver, but it was necessary if he didn’t want his life to end in the dungeon he was supposed to conquer.

The gigantic claw missed his chest by a fraction of an inch, but it struck the massive chain with the force of a falling meteor. The ancient, rusted iron links shattered like dry glass under the immense pressure. The bridge snapped in two.

CRACK-KABOOM!

The section of the chain behind Raphael plummeted straight into the infinite abyss below. As for the forward section... the section he was desperately tumbling along, began to drop vertically, swinging wildly like a dying pendulum toward the sheer, jagged cliffside of the floating island.

Gravity seized him, and Raphael felt his boots slip off the metal.

For a terrifying, endless second, he was suspended over empty air, the boundless, swirling void gaping beneath his feet. Cold, primal fear gnawed violently at his stomach as he stared down into the bottomless purple twilight. He could feel his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped wild animal.

’Not like this!’ He screamed in his mind.

With a desperate, precise burst of strength, Raphael thrust his left arm forward. He swung his battle axe with every ounce of kinetic force his shoulders could generate, driving its heavy, curved bit into the nearest link of the swinging chain above him.

CLANG-SPARK!

The axe bit deep into the iron seam, holding fast. Raphael was slammed violently against the vertical face of the dangling chain, his broad frame hanging precariously over the endless drop. Gasping for breath, he gritted his teeth, forced his trembling muscles to lock, and turned his head toward the top of the island to face the force that had severed the bridge.

Hovering just above the island’s stone ledge was a nightmare incarnate- the boss of the dungeon, a D-Tier Void Drake.

[Boss Entity Identified!]

[Void Drake:]

- A variant of the Dragon race belonging to the void elemental class. This monster has the power to corrupt and manipulate darkness to its will. It is usually more powerful than its rank suggests.

- Rank: D-tier

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It was a monstrous, draconic abomination spanning over forty meters. Its body was constructed from jagged, interlocking plates of dark void-stone that hummed with volatile crimson lightning. Wings made of shifting, pitch-black smoke fanned the violent winds, and its long, serpentine neck ended in a terrifying dragon’s skull that lacked eyes, possessing only a gaping maw lined with rows of razor-sharp obsidian teeth.

The Void Drake tilted its massive head down, its hollow sockets locking onto the solitary warrior hanging over the abyss.

ROOOOOAAAR!

A deafening, acoustic shockwave erupted from its throat, shattering the stone ledges nearby and sending a spray of gravel tumbling down into the void. The sheer force of the roar vibrated through Raphael’s teeth, testing the grip of his battle axe against the swinging link.

He looked at the monster, then glanced down at the infinite drop beneath his dangling boots. The cold knot of fear in his gut was real, but behind his messy dark bangs, his luminous silver eyes flashed with a cold, savage resolve. He hauled his broad shoulders up, digging his boots into the metal rivets of the chain to begin his agonizing climb upward.

"Vanessa!" Raphael called out, his deep baritone cutting through the howling wind.

In an instant, the ambient shadows behind him swirled. Vanessa materialized in mid-air, her dark robes defying gravity as a circle of shimmering violet mana expanded beneath her boots, allowing her to float effortlessly over the void.

She took one look at her master hanging off the severed chain, raised her dark relic-staff, and chanted a single, ancient syllable.

FLASH!

A blinding flash of spatial, violet light swallowed both of them.

In a fraction of a millisecond, the terrifying weightlessness vanished. Raphael felt solid, unyielding stone beneath his boots once more. The spatial displacement deposited both of them cleanly onto the flat, wide stone plateau of the second floating island- just fifty feet away from the towering Void Drake.

Raphael stumbled half a step, stabilizing his broad frame on the firm ground. He resheathed his axe, adjusted his grip on his broad greatsword, and slowly turned his head to glare at the dark Saintess floating serenely beside him.

His messy dark hair shaded his face, but the absolute, exasperated question was plastered across every line of his carved features.

"Why didn’t you do that before?" Raphael demanded, his deep, baritone voice dripping with flat, dry disbelief.

Vanessa lowered herself gracefully onto the stone floor, her cold violet eyes offering a subtle, almost imperceptible glint of amusement as she bowed her head.

"A Sovereign does not learn to walk the tightrope of death if his servant carries him over every puddle, my Lord," Vanessa replied softly, her silk-like voice carrying absolute, calm devotion. "Besides... you handled the chain quite well."

Raphael stared at her for a silent second, let out a low, rough exhale, and turned his gaze back toward the roaring Void Drake charging across the plateau.

"We’ll talk about your ’lessons’ later," Raphael growled, his silver eyes flaring bright as the Sovereign’s Veil swept across his greatsword. "First, I’m taking this dragon’s head."