Chapter 649: Second Phase, Brutal Start

Roarrrrr...

The anomalous Abyssal Dragon let out one more cry. However, this time, it wasn’t a cry of anger, but one of sorrow, and also its last.

Crunch!

’Off you go.’

As Leo’s greatsword cut its way through flesh and bones, separating head from torso, he immediately turned around to look at Aurora’s progress.

’Isn’t this...’

With the amount of light covering that specific spot of the battlefield, Leo could hardly see anything, but after his eyes somewhat adapted to it, he could see the outline of things, and... It painted quite the bizarre picture.

’...A little overboard?’

One of the previously Golden Dragons lay on the ground, its eyes completely dead, and its entire body completely charred black, showing none of the splendor that it charged with at the start of the Trial.

’Talk about a makeover.’

With a single glance at the artwork he himself had created, Leo knew that he wasn’t one to talk, but still, completely changing the ’type’ of the Dragon using nothing but attack had to be a violation of some sort, right?

’Enough with the distracting thoughts.’

Catching his repressed reading-induced personas trying to affect his mentality after so long, Leo quickly tidied up his head as he reminded himself to remain vigilant at all times.

Perhaps his recent reading adventures had calmed down his affliction, but it had yet to completely disappear.

This just wasn’t something that could be taken lightly. This time, it was just a small comedian-clown intermission, but he had to be ready for the worst.

No matter what, Leo didn’t want to end up starting a massacre just because he let his guard down when an accumulation of read bloodlust and the like came knocking.

It didn’t matter if this happened in reality or inside one of the future readings; what Leo most desired was to remain in control of himself at most times!

’Let’s give her a helping hand.’

After settling himself down emotionally, Leo went through his shadow circle, immediately reappearing behind the last Golden Dragon.

Crunch!

Since this Dragon had its wings intact, Leo did it the favor of taking them away just as he did with his first prey.

Aurora was keeping the Dragon in range through the torment she caused using her light whip, but grounding it was bound to make things much easier.

Roar-

The Golden Dragon wanted to turn back and take its revenge, but before it could move an inch...

Thwakk! Thwakk! Thwakk!

"Eyes on me, goldy."

The whip in Aurora’s hand had already struck the Dragon twice in this very short moment.

Unlike the Abyssal Dragon that Leo had just taken care of, this Golden Dragon didn’t have much of a personality, just like the enemy units before it, moving only to strike at the castle or return attacks. However...

’Am I seeing things?’

Looking at the burn marks covering its entire body, Leo could almost see tears forming at the end of the Dragon’s eyes.

’Must be an illusion or something.’

Was creating a hallucination that affected the attackers’ emotions part of a Golden Dragon’s Ability?

Leo couldn’t really tell in such a short time, but real or not, he didn’t have much of a reason to care for a replicated Dragon’s emotions. For his and this world’s sake, this Golden Dragon had to die anyway.

With it being the last Golden Dragon they had to face, there was also no need to study its pattern for information. All they needed to do was kill!

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

Thwakk! Thwakk! Thwakk!

With Aurora continuously swapping the aggro for Leo in a timely manner, Leo no longer required switching his weapons just to launch a surprise attack.

Now, every single slash was a surprise one!

Crunch! Thwakk!

Additionally, Aurora’s attacks weren’t always random. Instead, they followed Leo’s attack pattern, allowing him to finish ’cooking’ a targeted spot in less time!

’Let’s get this over with.’

In just a few minutes, the Golden Dragon was quickly subdued, albeit in a more barbaric manner.

Thwakk!

Now, as Aurora grasped its graceful neck with her whip, Leo was given his chance to do the butchering once more, and the result was...

Crunch!

’Done!’

At the exact moment the third Dragon’s head hit the ground, a chain reaction was set off at the frontline!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As if infected by the first Abyssal Dragon’s madness, the Black Dragon crazily pounded at the barrier with all the force that it could muster.

The non-stop claw swipes were harsh enough that the other end of the claws started digging into its fingers, causing blood to burst out of them; the punches that followed also left its knuckles in tatters.

’Is this the second phase?’

Seeing the second Abyssal Dragon mutilating itself all so it could make its way to the castle, Leo quickly understood that killing half the Dragons was the prerequisite for an increase in difficulty, and there was no way this was the end of it.

Something much worse was bound to happen!

However, as Leo melted into the shadows in preparation to make a response, the two brown Dragons instantly shot into the ground as if they were jumping into a pool of water.

"...Extend the barrier-"

Intuitively understanding what was taking place mid-way, Leo changed his destination to beyond the barrier. At the same time, he attempted to instruct Aurora on a makeshift solution. Unfortunately...

Crack!

Under the constant tension driven into it by the Abyssal Dragon, the starry night curtain shattered like broken glass, allowing the Black Dragon to lunge straight at the shaken Kara.

"No!"

Faced with two bad outcomes, from which he could only prevent one, Leo could stand in place no longer.

"Drop down!"

Rising from the shadows of the second Black Dragon’s wings, Leo cut them useless before planting the cleaver into the Dragon’s back, forcing it to the ground.

In the end, between keeping the castle unharmed and losing a fake companion, Leo ultimately chose to save Kara!

’This is the right choice, right?’

At this point, even Leo himself wasn’t sure why he made this pick.

Was someone he had whimsically decided to exploit, someone who would soon outlive her use... Was she really worth letting the castle take a hit?

Was she really worth risking the only lifeline he could muster to survive the end?

This decision- it was picked based on what exactly?!

Fwooosh.

As Leo’s head threatened to split apart, the innate barrier initially standing in front of the castle also started fading away.

’They broke through.’

Unlike Kara’s barrier, which started with the ground as the baseline, the innate barrier extended over the entirety of the Trial’s field.

The fact that it broke meant that the Earthen Dragons were without obstacles.

Had they just been any normal enemies, Leo could have easily extended his shadow to deal with them, but as Dragons, anything he would send their way was bound to be torn apart as easily as that innate barrier.

’Should I really not-’

His logical line of thought was trying to convince him otherwise, but Leo found himself completely focused on finishing the last Abyssal Dragon instead.

The final outcome might be less than acceptable, but his heart had already made its decision, so Leo chose to go along with that choice for the moment.

However, at that dark moment, a brilliant dot of light flashed past both Leo and the grunting Abyssal Dragon.

In the end, all hope was not lost!