[Vol. 8] Chapter 325: The Battle Resumes
Facing the members of the Twilight Council, the dragon race, who had also just broken free from their seal and returned to the world, watched silently, trying to judge the situation in front of them.
Led by the true White Dragon Queen, Cielru White, the seven Dragon Kings stood in formation. Each one had the terrifying power of a demigod, their presence heavy and overwhelming, not weaker than that of the divine incarnations. One after another, more powerful mythical beings who had formed alliances with them also stepped out from the ruins, that inverted world, and entered reality, further strengthening their side.
A scene like this might only be seen once in several centuries.
Standing in her true form at the front, Cielru sensed the deep and oppressive aura of those divine incarnations far away, then turned her gaze downward toward the misty, glowing light where the mortal emperor was growing stronger by the second. While surprised, she also felt conflicted, unsure what action to take.
The Twilight Council was without doubt their greatest enemy in this battle. The dragons had known from the moment the sealing stones began to waver that this day would come. The return of the ruins and the remains of the Serpent was destined to stir up a storm that would sweep across the world, just like the war three hundred years ago. None of those council members were easy opponents.
What Cielru did not expect, however, was that forces in the mortal world had also foreseen this day and prepared in advance. That preparation had led to the current standoff, where three sides now faced each other.
She could see clearly that the council members were not continuing their attack on the mortals below because they were wary of the mythical races led by the dragons. No one wanted to let others reap the benefits while they fought. Because of this mutual restraint, the one gaining the most advantage was actually the mortal emperor.
It really felt like they had been outmaneuvered…
Suddenly, her dragon eyes swept over the stargazing platform. Besides the emperor himself, there was one other figure standing tall and calm, a dragon-shaped young woman. Cielru noticed that this girl was also looking her way. The two pairs of golden vertical pupils met silently in the air, and the White Dragon Queen’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
“This… impossible?!”
“…Cielru?”
“What is it? Are we about to start fighting?”
The other Dragon Kings, sensing the change in her aura, turned toward her with questioning and puzzled looks. But the White Dragon Queen, acting as the Dragon Emperor, only blinked, then stared intently at the golden-haired girl, who had already shifted her gaze away, for a long time. The confusion in her heart only grew stronger.
“This feeling… it’s that one? But that can’t be. Back then, the appearance was clearly that of a child. Even if such beings can’t be judged only by looks, their aura was also completely different. What’s going on…? And why is that one standing together with that mortal?”
Just as the White Dragon Queen was lost in her confusion, the elder cloud dragon floating beside her suddenly shouted in a deep voice, his tone more serious than ever before.
“Focus! That mortal really is summoning the Serpent’s Remains, they’re about to appear in this world!”
All the Dragon Kings instantly grew tense and raised their heads. From the depths of the inverted world, several objects slowly floated into view.
They were wrapped in misty colored light, but their forms could still be seen faintly. A pair of snow-white serpent fangs, a shining serpent scale, a several-meter-long shed skin, and half a cluster of fresh, crimson blood.
There was no doubt, these were the essences of the [World-Devouring Serpent]’s remains. Each one held enough power to let a mortal ascend beyond limits, breaking through the laws themselves. At the same time… they were also the very source of disaster.
The four relics floated high in the sky, at the boundary between the inverted world and the real one. They revolved like a star ring, circling in a pattern, as though ownerless, yet also being pulled toward the colored glow at the stargazing platform.
The stalemate continued. The mythical races led by the dragons and the Twilight Council still faced each other from afar, neither side daring to make the first move. All they could do was watch as the four relics floated lower and lower, moving faster and faster. In less than a moment, they were only a few thousand meters away from the towering stargazing platform…
But at that moment, a sudden change broke out!
“WOOOM!!!”
With a world-shaking sound, a gigantic hand made of gray mist stretched out from the void without warning, aiming to seize all four relics at once!
“The God of Subversion and Paradox, Exmont!!!”
The Dragon Kings instantly recognized whose doing this was. With furious shouts, the Fire Dragon King, the Frost Dragon King, and the Dark Dragon King unleashed their full power, breathing out torrents of dragonfire without hesitation!
“BOOM!!!!!”
The three-colored dragon breaths burst forth, fusing into a blazing beam more than a hundred meters wide, tearing across the sky. In almost an instant, it reached the gray mist hand!
These three Dragon Kings had already reached the peak of the demigod level. Now, with the support of the dragon clan’s secret techniques and their combined strength, the attack carried even greater power. Thunderous, unstoppable, shaking space itself. Without a doubt, it was close to the might of a true god.
Yet at that moment, another voice rang out. A flat, hollow, strangely detached female voice, as if coming from beyond this world.
[Law: Endless Corridor]
“Woom~!”
With just those words, invisible waves rippled across space.
The next moment, an unbelievable, impossible sight appeared.
A profound divine power descended. The blazing three-colored breath that had shaken even the fabric of space, unleashed by the three Dragon Kings together, suddenly froze in place, stuck just before the gray mist hand, unable to move even an inch closer!
Looking carefully, one could see it wasn’t blocked by some wall of force, nor was it sealed or frozen. The breath was still flying forward at full speed, but the distance in front of it had suddenly stretched out infinitely, as though space itself had been stretched and magnified countless times.
It was now farther than the ends of a world apart. No matter how fast it flew, it could never reach the end. All it could do was keep flying endlessly until its power ran out and it faded away into nothing.
With no more obstruction, the gray mist hand instantly seized the four relics floating in the sky. But then, as if sensing a power that didn’t belong, the four serpent-related relics erupted with a brilliant colored glow, clashing fiercely with the power of the God of Paradox!
The Serpent came from the ancient age and once had strength to stand against the gods, but these were only relics left behind after its death. Against a god’s suppression, they could not be taken so easily, but neither could they move downward any longer. They became locked in a deadlock.
The Dragon Kings’ expressions changed. Of course, they did not want to see the Serpent’s power fall into the hands of some unknown mortal. But even more than that, they feared the Twilight Council.
Their gazes shifted almost in unison toward the figure in the council’s ranks, standing next to the hooded God of Paradox. A woman in a splendid divine gown who had just lowered her raised hand.
Without question, she was also a goddess.
Her body, arms and legs, was that of a human, but her head bore three faces, arranged as if they could turn like a wheel. One was at the front, the other two on the sides. Each face had different features and a different aura. The one facing forward now was a beautiful face with closed eyes, cold and distant, as if rejecting the entire world.