Chapter 425: The Savior of Death (1)

A colossal dragon, hundreds of meters long, bared its fangs. Crimson flames gathered and blazed between that forest of terrifying teeth. The flickering fire condensed into a single point, becoming an endlessly burning light. Like the brilliance of the sun, a dazzling beam streaked across the sky above the capital.

It was the pure destructive might of a dragon—dragon breath. Thunder roared as a pillar of light split the blood-red sky in two. The surrounding air vaporized all at once, setting the entire world ablaze in red. A horrific explosion tore through the atmosphere.

Tesranach's breath only ceased after extending beyond the horizon. Beneath the boiling sky, the melting city came into view. Trees and rocks, towers and palaces and walls built by human hands—all crumbled into ash and scattered. Its destructive power was so immense it felt unreal.

Tesranach narrowed his eyes with a chuckle. He spotted Karnak’s group scrambling to escape beyond the path carved by the breath. They had hurled themselves away in desperation, barely slipping out of the destruction’s reach.

Seeing them unharmed did not disappoint him. I would expect them to dodge at least this.

The dragon emperor’s breath was excessively powerful. If used recklessly on the ground, it could wipe out the entire region. So he had deliberately angled it away from the surface, giving Karnak’s group a chance to evade. So why had he deliberately wasted an attack?

That felt good.

It was little more than venting the hatred and resentment that had built up over time, like shouting at the top of one’s lungs from the peak of a mountain.

—I can kill you now!

The dragon’s massive body descended through the clouds, revealing itself fully. Its enormous four legs crushed the streets as it landed. Tesranach, now standing within the capital, fixed his gaze on Karnak’s group.

Around the dragon’s massive horns, the blessing of darkness gathered, then transformed into a meteor shower and rained down.

“Gah!”

“It’s coming again!”

Destruction poured down like rain from kilometers away.

“Move!”

This was on an entirely different level from when he had been in human form. It wasn’t something that could be blocked head-on with defensive magic. Everyone fled in panic. Varos shouted as he darted through the shadows using Shadow Concealment. “He’s a dragon now!”

It was a desperate cry. They had done as instructed and forced him to reveal his true form. This was the moment to seize control of his body.

Grateria, fleeing in haste, frowned.

—That’s no longer possible.

That plan had only worked as long as Tesranach had been deeply concerned about Karnak’s safety. He couldn’t kill him, so he couldn’t unleash his full power, and in that restraint, Grateria could seize an opening.

But now, killing Karnak had become his highest priority. More precisely, Tesranach was attempting to completely wipe Karnak’s existence.

Now that Karnak had been severed from Astra Shunaph, eliminating his existence from the world would make Tesranach the sole Monarch of Death and master of death. With no need to restrain his power, he had no openings left.

The dragon slowly advanced across the capital, with a smirk. “Everything has unfolded exactly as I intended.”

Why had he remained in the capital all this time? It wasn’t because he was some tyrant lounging on a throne from a story. It was because he needed Karnak to be in a specific place at a specific time.

Even after summoning Astra Shunaph, he could only become the true master of death after killing Karnak. But what if he failed? What if Karnak escaped his notice and hid, only to pull off some insane, unpredictable scheme?

It wasn’t mere paranoia. After all, in his countless failures, Karnak had always done the unimaginable.

But now, I no longer need to worry.

Death had descended, and its master stood before him. In fact, its master stood so close that he could not escape. Karnak was practically within his grasp. All that remained was to kill him. He would get to kill the one he had always wanted to kill, and the world would be saved!

The sheer exhilaration made it hard to hold back his joy, and the booming laughter of the dragon echoed throughout the capital.

***

A tree of darkness hundreds of meters tall appeared, and then a dragon of equal size manifested, unleashing a breath that spanned hundreds of meters.

It was a sight that no one in the capital could possibly miss. Anyone with eyes would see it. Even the blind would sense something this overwhelming.

Leven broke into a cold sweat while barely evading the relentless assault of his future self. What should I do? Do I go help?

The appearance of that tree of darkness meant Grateria’s plan had failed. Even if he continued fighting his future self here, it was all over if anything happened to Karnak.

But how could he even help? He was struggling just to keep himself alive. Drel and Malican Thun were thinking the same thing.

We can’t just stay here like this...

We need to come up with something...

Lapicel and Dios, meanwhile, were focused solely on their immediate opponents, Elezar and Diogres Kolon.

Holding him here is my role.

If I fall here, I’ll only be strengthening the enemy!

The most at ease was Batalok. From the beginning, he had no interest whatsoever in Karnak’s safety. It was shocking to the enemy, to the point that Giyen Ren asked him out of disbelief. “Do you not see that your master is in danger?”

“I don’t!”

The Twilight Army and the forces of the Black God had already ceased fighting.

With a 500-meter dragon trampling through the city, what battle could possibly continue? A casual flick of its tail could wipe them out. Shouts of retreat rang out across the Twilight Army.

With such a monster appearing in the world, their petty skirmishes meant nothing. The only option was to escape. The necromancers commanding the Black God’s forces also shouted their orders.

“Pursue them!”

“Chase them down!” ℓ.

Though those were the orders, the true intent behind them was quite different. Let’s escape together!

Necromancers did not treat all life lightly. Strictly speaking, they only treated others’ lives lightly. Their own lives were just as precious as others, if not more, even to the apostles of the Black God.

Not only the Twilight Army, but the Black God’s forces also began to withdraw, inching toward the outskirts. But there were those who could not escape. The mind-controlled citizens of the capital continued to wander like zombies.

The dragon took a step forward, and countless bodies were crushed beneath Tesranach's feet, reduced to bloody pulp. Lapicel, locked in battle with Eleazar, gritted her teeth. How can he be so cruel!

Weren’t they innocent civilians? But she could not go to save them. The archmage before her bound her in place. Grateria, too, was filled with fury.

Good heavens... has he fallen this far?

He had once been the guardian of the world. How could he have become so corrupted?

Tesranach paid it no mind. They were destined to die anyway.

To fulfill his new fate as the Monarch of Death, the entire world had to be covered in death. Whether they died now or later made no difference.

What I must save is the world, not humanity.

***

Even though Tesranach seemed to walk at a slow pace, his immense size meant that he was rapidly closing the distance to his targets. He let out a deafening roar while approaching Karnak’s group.

Dozens of composite magic circles spread across hundreds of meters, and a magical catastrophe far surpassing the combined bombardment of a mage corps filled the sky.

The white cat opened its mouth and unleashed the power of True Speech. “I call forth the harmonizing light that protects all things!”

He was no longer mewing like a cat, since there was no longer any need to conceal his identity. The dragon emperor’s power of True Speech transformed into magic, filling the sky with countless magic circles. Light, flames, lightning, and mana clashed and annihilated one another in midair.

Tesranach had casually cast his magic, while in contrast, Grateria was exerting his full power. Thankfully, they managed to block the assault. But it came at a price.

“Grateria?” At last, Tesranach realized the true identity of that small cat. “Good heavens... you were alive?”

The colossal dragon let out a hollow laugh. Now that he had recognized his opponent, it became easy to piece together the situation. “I see... so that’s why...”

At the same time, the parts he had failed to understand before now fell into place. Karnak had not risked his life for his companions. He had acted with confidence because he had a solid basis for doing so.

As expected, I was right. He had nearly jeopardized his grand purpose by entertaining a fleeting, ominous hope. That man truly cannot change.

The last trace of doubt in his heart melted away like snow, and he muttered, “Die, you immutable evil.”

Tesranach fired a flash of light toward Karnak. The dragon emperor’s immense draconic power became a beam of destruction that split the air.

Serati lunged forward and swept her blade in a long arc.

Dawn Swordsmanship, Sunrise!

A dark-blue radiance surged forth, forming a massive sphere of light as it rose and collided with the draconic power. It looked as though the sun itself were rising. The two forces clashed, producing a tremendous explosion.

After blocking the attack, Serati landed again, a triumphant smile spreading across her face. “I—I did it!”

In truth, there was no such thing as a Dawn Swordsmanship. She had only just realized moments ago that she could wield the power of dawn, so how could such a technique already exist? In truth, she had simply reversed the technique of Twilight Swordsmanship, Sunset. Even so, its power was remarkable.

No matter how much people called Serati dull and ordinary, that was only in comparison to martial kings. She still possessed keener combat instincts to most.

On the other hand, Tesranach found it completely absurd seeing her protect Karnak. “Are you siding with him even though you know the truth?”

Grateria was standing with them, which meant all of them too knew Karnak’s true nature. “How can you do this? He will destroy the world!”

With a pained expression, Serati shouted back. “There is a way to save the world without covering it in death like you intend!”

Tesranach looked at the small woman before him with renewed interest. He could tell by her steady gaze and the conviction in her voice. She was not lying. It was the face of someone who truly believed there was another way to save the world.

Tesranach instantly reached a conclusion. “You’ve been deceived.”

“That’s not it—just listen for a moment—”

“I will not.” There was a truth he had learned through countless failures. “The moment you listen, you are deceived. And the moment you are deceived, you fail. That is the kind of man he is.”

Serati fell silent. It’s just as Grateria said...

There was nothing that could reach the one who had endured countless attempts, countless failures, and endless despair. Only they were right, and the entire world was wrong.

“If you wish to protect his life...” The killing intent that had been directed at Karnak now pressed down on all of them. “Then you will die first.”