The more she used the Leviathan’s bloodline ability, the less effective it became.
“What’s the matter, brother? Are you scared?” Derek laughed at Orpal as the geyser healed his wounds. “Stop running away like a coward and fight me like a man!”
A blazing pillar of blue flames rose for dozens of meters in the air, showing that the Void Demon Dragon could still fight, just like the Horseman.
‘I’m back at my full strength. We can win this.’ Night said.
‘Define win.’ Orpal stopped her in her tracks.
‘Our odds of victory are 70%. With your bloodline abilities, Dusk’s, and our tower, he is no match for my martial prowess.’ She replied.
‘It also means there’s a 30% chance we die here.’ Orpal shook his head.
‘No, the 30% is the chance we die with him. Our crystal is unstable and those blue flames are one of the most dangerous things I’ve ever faced.’ Night shrugged. ‘In our current state, he needs one hit to win and as you’ve seen, Leech isn’t afraid of death.
‘He can only kill us by sacrificing his life for a lucky shot.’
‘No.’ Orpal said in a flat voice.
‘What do you mean, no? You don’t believe my estimates?’ She asked.
‘I believe you. What I’m saying is that’s not Leech.’ Meln stared in disgust at the Void Demon Dragon. ‘That thing is a merciless monster who didn’t hesitate to involve civilians just to use them as food.
‘He has never stopped smiling since the beginning of this fight, no matter how badly we injured him. That thing is enjoying this senseless violence, getting some sort of sick pleasure from it.’
‘Like I do for my plans.’ He inwardly added in a corner of his mind, where Night wouldn’t hear him.
Looking at himself in the mirror hadn’t been a pleasant experience for Orpal. Derek had acted exactly like Orpal had always accused him. With cruelty and no regard for anything but himself, ready to blame someone else for his actions.
Yet even Orpal had to admit that such behavior matched more himself than his little brother as he knew him. It was a humbling experience worse than any blow he had ever suffered.
The Dead King had realized not to be the hero even in his own story and no matter how many lies he told the rest of Mogar, he couldn’t deceive himself.
‘On top of that, Leech has made no attempt to survive.’ Meln continued after one second of hesitation. ‘He wants to kill us at all costs. It’s like he wants to die and I don’t! The whole point of my revenge is to make Leech suffer.
‘To hear him beg for his life and make him realize I’ve always been better than him. That thing will never do any of that. He will laugh in my face even if we win.
‘Also, a 30% chance of mutual destruction is too much. I want to live long enough to savor my victory. To bask in the desperation of my family at the death of their precious golden child while they grovel at my feet.
‘I want the whole Kingdom to cry blood when they witness me defeating their beloved Supreme Magus and regret casting me away like trash! If we die here, I won’t get any of that.
‘Leech would be praised as a hero for stopping me at the cost of his life and be venerated throughout history as a martyr. Fuck all that. This is not the fight I wanted all my life. Even in victory, I’d be the loser. Let’s get out of here.’
Night was a bit perplexed but Warped away nonetheless.
‘Fine by me.’ She telepathically shrugged as Moonlight opened one Steps after the other to cross the ocean separating them from their hideout in Jiera. ‘We’ve learned a lot about your brother’s new powers anyway and I too want to kill a Lith who knows who I am.
‘That thing was no fun. It was just a psycho.’
Meanwhile, in Zeska, the Voidfeather Dragon tried to close the door.
‘I can’t awaken my human life force in this condition. George and I form a perfect shield but the moment we let our human side join us, it would be like serving an all-you-can-eat buffet to these parasites.’
His consciousness was slowly fading, diluted in the telepathic maelstrom surrounding him. As for the Void, he laughed in triumph. He didn’t know why the enemy had chosen to abandon the fight nor did he care.
His joy, however, was short-lived. Without anything or anyone against which channel the blue flames, they consumed the most abundant source of energy available.
Derek himself.
“How do I turn this thing off? Help me, little buddy!” Derek lifted Ragnarök in front of his face, trying to conjure the holographic interface but nothing happened.
The Voidfeather was too busy surviving to play god with the Abomination.
The angry blade activated the seven mystical gemstones on its surface to conjure a barrier that would cut off the flames from its master, hoping that once their intensity dwindled, Derek would be able to control them.
Instead, the Void burned. The Voidwalker armor burned. Ragnarök burned. Everything burned.
The blue flames had already infected the mana geyser below, turning the area around the Void Demon Dragon into a blazing pyre that was quickly expanding to the rest of Zeska.
Derek kneeled in pain, unable to concentrate due to the noise in his head. With each passing second, the number of parasite souls increased and without a common enemy, the struggle for his body began.
‘Let us out. Just give us a body to inhabit and we will let you be.’ The choir of voices screamed in Derek’s mind, drowning out his thoughts. ‘Find a source of life force. Anyone will do.’
‘What about you guys fuck off, instead?’ Derek pushed the souls back, sensing their lies.
He instinctively found the door and joined the Voidfeather Dragon in his attempt to close it but with just the two of them, they lacked the necessary strength. To make matters worse, the constant stream of souls also fed the blue flames.
They formed a raging path from one side of the cracks to the other, keeping the door wide open despite their best efforts.
With both the Void and the Voidfeather busy with the door, the souls had now full control of Lith’s unattended body.
“Much better.” Their joy, however, was short lived.
Without the human life force, there was nothing the souls could feed upon. Crossing the black sphere of the Abomination meant to go back to the other side while entering the flaming star of the Divine Beast would turn them into fuel for the Void Demon Dragon’s powers.
On top of that, the ever-expanding blue flames were killing every living being on their path, damning the souls to starve forever.
“No, no, no!” Countless voices screamed in unison. “Make it stop! Make it stop!”
A colossal black fist hit the Void Demon Dragon from above, plunging him meters deep into the ground.
“With pleasure.” Xenagrosh snarled.
The blue flames hurt her but between her Bookwyrm armor and her regenerative powers fueled by the mana geyser, she could take a lot of punishment without breaking a sweat.
