Raon didn't simply release the energy of the Heavenly Drive and Blade of Requiem he had plunged into Kaivar's neck.
He maximized the destructive power by using Flame Dragon Strike with the Heavenly Drive and Heavy Sky Cannon with the Blade of Requiem.
The most powerful dual sword technique he could unleash now. A sword strike that even the Transcendent Warrior Alice would admire exploded inside Kaivar's body.
Kuaaaaaang!
A terrifying wave of Aura that could erase even a storm spread in all directions, and blood like red rain fell, staining the sea.
"Kugh...."
Raon twisted his lips as he saw Kaivar's wound through the pouring blood.
'You're still enduring even this?'
The Mad Dragon Kaivar didn't die. More than half of the flesh and bone of his neck had fallen off, but he wasn't completely broken.
As expected of one who approached becoming an Ancient Dragon, even his physical strength was tough, seemingly enduring two sword strikes from inside his scales. To be honest, it was unbelievable.
'No, it's my fault.'
I should have aimed a bit higher.
The problem was that I targeted the thick neck right above the body because I had to strike before Kaivar regained his senses.
'Damn it....'
I wanted to completely tear off the remaining half of the neck to cut off Kaivar's breath, but my body wouldn't move properly, perhaps because I used too much power at once.
[Kraaaaaah!]
As Raon forcibly raised his arm, Kaivar let out his loudest scream yet and thrashed about. It looked like a trapped beast struggling to survive.
[Kuuuugh....]
As if determined not to die like this, Kaivar urgently turned his head towards the sea and leapt in.
He seemed to realize that the only way to survive now was to escape to the depths of the sea.
"You're not getting away!"
Raon gritted his teeth and plunged the Heavenly Drive and Blade of Requiem into the raw flesh beside Kaivar's wound.
Peoooong!
At that moment, Kaivar's neck entered the sea. The writhing of the giant body and the pressure almost made Raon lose his grip on the Heavenly Drive and Blade of Requiem.
'When it comes to endurance, I'm more confident than anyone.'
Raon used Snow Flower Absorption to cling to Kaivar's body, determined not to let go.
As he was about to attack again with his slightly recovered energy, new flesh began to grow on Kaivar's neck, which had been torn off more than half by the Flame Dragon Strike and Heavy Sky Cannon.
'Regeneration magic? No, healing magic?'
I'm not sure exactly what it is, but the bleeding stops, flesh grows, and bones regenerate. It seemed the beast was trying to escape like this until his wounds healed.
Raon twisted his lips as he observed the flow of mana working on Kaivar's wound.
'If it's this level of technique....'
He activated the magic acupoint while pushing Glacier's cold energy into the Blade of Requiem.
Zizizizizik!
The mana flow healing Kaivar's wound split as if cut by scissors, and blood began to flow again.
Seeing this, Raon put strength into his left hand holding the Blade of Requiem.
'It works as expected.'
All the magic Kaivar had used so far was either 8th or 9th circle, and there were so many that it was difficult to read the flow.
But the healing magic he just used, while dense in mana, wasn't of a high enough level in technique, so Raon could disrupt its flow with the magic acupoint.
[Magic field? You, to the very end!]
'It's not over yet.'
Raon twisted the Blade of Requiem and unleashed the heat of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation over the blade of the Heavenly Drive.
Kwaaaaaaang!
Deep red flames bloomed and sank underwater, widening Kaivar's wound even more.
[Kuoooogh!]
Kaivar let out a monstrous cry and swam faster, but Raon clung to him like a leech, using Snow Flower Absorption at full power.
Jjeouk!
Whenever the beast tried to cast healing magic again, Raon immediately used the magic acupoint to disrupt the mana flow.
[You, you bastard! How long are you going to interfere!]
[Until you die.]
Raon bit his lip and unleashed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation Revolving Sky with the Heavenly Drive. The sphere of heat concentrated in the sword strike bared its sharp teeth towards Kaivar's remaining flesh and bone.
Peoooong!
As the Revolving Sky exploded, Kaivar's wound was torn even deeper.
Now all the bones were exposed, and only a third of the flesh remained, but the beast's neck still wouldn't break.
'How can it endure in this state?'
-It's controlling dense mana inside and outside its body to prevent its neck from breaking.
"Ah...."
I was so focused on enduring Kaivar's struggles and attacking that I didn't even notice that.
-I wish the meat was as tenacious as that persistence.
Even at this moment, Wrath was mumbling nonsense.
'You really....'
-Just a little more effort! The end is in sight!
For the first time, he was cheering, thinking about eating roasted dragon. Strangely enough, it felt like strength was welling up.
Uuuuung!
Raon cut off Kaivar's mana as he tried to activate regeneration magic again, and sliced the beast's flesh with the Heavenly Drive.
The sword didn't cut easily due to the lack of Aura, but he forced it through with superhuman strength.
Piiiiiing!
Magic made of cold energy poured down from Kaivar's head.
Although it wasn't high-grade magic and could be blocked with the Blade of Requiem's magic acupoint, he couldn't pull out the Blade of Requiem to disrupt the healing magic.
'I have to endure it with my body.'
In an instant, Raon switched the River Footwork to body techniques.
Moving his body like a reed swaying in the wind, he dodged the oncoming magic attacks.
Zizizizizik!
His clothes were torn and his flesh was gouged, causing blood to spread, but fortunately, he didn't suffer any fatal wounds.
'My stamina is dropping too.'
I need to end this quickly.
Raon gritted his molars and raised Glacier's cold energy over the blade of the Heavenly Drive.
Zizizizizik!
Kaivar's flesh and scales were almost gone. The end was truly in sight.
[Kuuuuuu!]
Kaivar stopped, letting out a dull groan. He opened his maw, marked with Alice's sword scars, looking this way.
[Get lost!]
The first dragon's words to spread since entering the sea. Despite enduring with Snow Flower Absorption and physical strength, Raon's limbs shook as if they would fall off.
As expected of dragon's words. A power that exerts terrifying coercion, but because the beast was also very tired, its potency was significantly reduced compared to when it was fired at Alice.
'I'm enduring. I must endure!'
If he's pushed back now, Kaivar will recover all his physical wounds and return.
He absolutely couldn't back down, as it would be the same as turning the sacrifices of his comrades who fought with their lives into meaningless deaths.
Kugugugugugu!
Raon raised his realm of the soul while using the Ring of Fire. The achievements he had built up so far and the emotions of the demon king became one willpower, starting to push back against the coercion applied to his body.
'Never let go!'
Wrath had told him that the way to endure against dragon's words and commands was to surround oneself with opposite willpower. Chanting the willpower like a vow, he didn't let go of the Heavenly Drive and Blade of Requiem in his hands.
[Bounce off!]
Kaivar's dragon words continued. Because the beast was also prepared for death, the power of the magic became stronger.
'Who do you think you're ordering around!'
Raon endured, biting the inside of his cheek until it bled.
[Just go away....]
[You're afraid of the Blue Demon King, aren't you?]
As Kaivar was about to continue his dragon words, Raon brought up Wrath's story.
[Wh-What nonsense are you spouting!]
[The Blue Demon King has appeared in the center of the continent, yet you're here killing humans. Doesn't that mean you're afraid of him?]
Raon provoked Kaivar to stop his dragon words and prepared to unleash the energy he had accumulated.
[Do you think you'll succeed again! Stop!]
But Kaivar wasn't a fool. He used dragon words to immobilize Raon's body and then unleashed magic. To manipulate mana at that level even in this situation, he was impressive despite being an enemy.
'Even so....'
I must endure.
Screaming inwardly, he wrapped his willpower around his immobile body. Bringing vitality to his stiffened limbs, he put all his strength into his right hand holding the Heavenly Drive.
[H-How can you move your body!]
Kaivar's elongated, torn eyes trembled in disbelief.
[You're just a trash lizard acting tough against the weak. This is the end!]
Raon stabbed deeper with the Heavenly Drive, looking into the Mad Dragon's shaking eyes. Flames swirled around the submerged blade, creating a blaze of fiery radiance.
Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation White Flower.
Flame Dragon Strike.
The sword technique of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation that had given Kaivar the greatest shock once again spewed fire in the depths of the sea.
Kuwaaaaaaa!
The Fire Dragon's breath tore into the Water Dragon's neck, finally crushing the bones and flesh of the beast that had endured to the very end.
[Kuoooogh!]
But Kaivar didn't die even though his neck and body were separated. Massive mana moved in the thin neck below his jaw, forcibly keeping the beast alive.
'Is it the Dragon Heart?'
Raon plunged the Heavenly Drive into Kaivar's broken neck. He ran along the beast's neck, tracing the sword scars Alice had left with the Heavenly Drive.
Jjeojeojeojeojeok!
After racing along Kaivar's neck, he thrust Frost Snap towards the scales under the jaw where the densest mana energy was emanating.
Paaaang!
As the beast's flesh tore, a round bone wrapped in rainbow-colored mana was revealed. The Dragon Heart. The condensed mass of mana said to be a dragon's life force.
[S-Stop!]
Kaivar, who had been focusing on regenerating his body, screamed.
[I-I was wrong! Stop it! Please!]
[...Really?]
Raon raised his head while gripping the Dragon Heart in his hand.
[Yes! I'll never kill humans again. No, I'll never show myself before humans again!]
Kaivar begged for his life, saying he would never leave his nest again.
[That's a good idea. However....]
Raon bared his teeth like a beast and gripped the Dragon Heart tightly as if he would crush it.
[You should have said that before this fight began!]
Using all of his remaining Aura and strength, he ripped out the Dragon Heart buried in Kaivar's flesh.
Pukaaaaaaak!
Kaivar's flesh and blood vessels burst as if exploding, and the sea became soaked with blood as if it had turned red.
"Huh...."
Raon raised his gaze as he sank into the sea, still clutching the Dragon Heart in his hand.
[Kuooooooo....]
Kaivar writhed like a worm under foot, letting out a low groan as if his breath was about to be cut off.
[I, I....]
The beast couldn't even utter his last words before the light faded from his eyes. No more breath could be felt. Finally, that tenacious life had been extinguished.
'Haa....'
Raon closed his eyes. There was no strength left in his limbs. He wouldn't faint, but it seemed he couldn't escape from this sea right away.
'If I can't get out, I'll die like this....'
He felt his back touch Kaivar's lifeless body. As he struggled to lift his eyelids, he saw Alice with her sunset-colored hair flowing and a shiny-headed octopus approaching.
'I guess I won't die.'
Raon relaxed for the first time since the battle began. He waved his hand at Alice and the octopus - no, Lawaine - swimming towards him.
'It's over.'
* * *
"Kugh...."
Kuberad's hand trembled as he gripped the deck's railing.
'What on earth is happening!'
After taking a fatal blow from Alice and Raon, Kaivar had abandoned even a dragon's pride and fled into the sea.
He thought it was right to retreat for now because the situation wasn't good, but Raon had plunged his sword into Kaivar's flesh and followed the beast.
Two warships were overturned by the surging tidal wave as if hit by a typhoon. It seemed Raon and Kaivar were continuing their terrifying battle even underwater.
As soon as Alice and Lawaine recovered some strength, they dove into the sea to save Raon, but it was impossible not to worry.
'If you die, I won't be able to face that Vulcan guy. Please....'
Kuberad bit his lip as he looked at the sea that had started to churn again.
'Just come back alive!'
Originally, this fight wasn't Raon's. Alice had said it would be helpful for Raon too, but when you think about it, he could have returned to Zieghart.
Guilt began to wash over him for asking such a young person with a bright future to help in this desperate battle.
"Ugh...."
"Lord Raon."
Nuran and Morin had their eyes closed and hands clasped, as if praying for Raon's safe return. It wasn't just the two children. All the sailors on the warships were also looking at the sea, praying for Raon and Alice's safe return.
Paaaaa!
When only the sound of large waves breaking the silence, Kaivar's head emerged as if the center of the sea had exploded. There were deep sword scars near his lips and eyelids, but he still looked intact.
"Ka-Kaivar...."
"Uaaaagh!"
"He-He's back!"
"Then what about the others...."
"Aah...."
The warship's crew sat down, seemingly terrified at the sight of Kaivar's face, which had become even more ferocious after the battle.
"Ah...."
Kuberad also exhaled a dull breath, his complexion turning pale.
'Then Raon and Alice....'
Does this mean they're dead?
Kaivar's reemergence was as good as saying that Raon, Alice, and Lawaine, who had gone to save him, were all dead.
More than the despair of his own impending death, his heart ached with sorrow for the children who had vanished so futilely.
"I'm sorry...."
Kuberad lowered his head while embracing Morin and Nuran. He turned his back, hoping that even if they died, the two children wouldn't suffer.
But even as they waited, Kaivar didn't attack or say anything.
As he turned his trembling head, Kaivar's neck began to rise. There were fierce sword scars on the beast's neck as if drawn with a rough brush, and in the middle was a wound that looked like an explosion had torn it open. It was where the Dragon Heart should be.
"N-No way!"
As Kuberad sprang up, Kaivar's face and neck lost strength and tilted.
Peoooong!
Kaivar's severed neck floated to the sea's surface, and after a vibration strong enough to shake the ship, Kaivar's body rose up, almost blocking the horizon.
Raon, Alice, and Lawaine were sitting on Kaivar's headless body.
"Th-The neck being completely severed means...."
"It means he's dead."
"He-He's dead! The Mad Dragon is dead!"
The sailors sat down, hugging each other and shedding tears.
"Uaaaaaah!"
"It's all over now!"
People burst into cheers of victory for killing the Mad Dragon and cries of solace for the dead.
Listening to the human roars that made the sea tremble, Kuberad bowed his head towards Raon.
"Thank you. Thank you so much...."
* * *
"Huh...."
Raon spat out the salty water that had risen to his throat and exhaled roughly.
'I'm glad it ended well.'
Kaivar was as strong as his infamy suggested, and persistent too. He was the kind of beast who would flee even at the cost of his pride as the strongest race, so if Raon's strength or mind had faltered even a little, he wouldn't have won. Only now did he feel at ease.
"Well done."
Alice patted his shoulder with a refreshing smile.
"I was trying to finish it, but in the end, it ended by your hand."
She nodded with a look of approval rather than regret.
"Lord Raon!"
Lawaine bent his waist at a right angle.
"This Lawaine! I'm truly moved! If I didn't have a master, I would have followed you for life, Lord Raon!"
He knelt down and pounded his left chest where his heart was with his fist.
"It's all thanks to Lady Alice seasoning it up."
Raon waved his hand with a weak smile.
"No need to be modest. That was all you."
Alice snorted and pointed at the halved corpse of the Mad Dragon Kaivar.
Raon smiled silently as he looked at Kaivar's lifeless eyes.
-Hehehe!
As he was catching his breath to quickly recover his stamina, Wrath's laughter could be heard.
-Since it's soaked in seawater, there's no need to salt it separately!
Wrath grinned, saying they could just roast it as soon as they got back.
'I'm really sick of... Huh?'
It was when he was shaking his head and pushing Wrath away.
Gooooo!
Massive mana surged from Kaivar's Dragon Heart, which he was still holding in his hand.
That pure and vast mana spread through his entire body's mana circuits in an instant, infusing energy into his lower and middle dantians, and flowed into his upper dantian.
Whaaaaa!
Raon closed his eyelids and focused on his mental world.
The pure water energy of Wrath that had frozen his mental world coldly was erased, and blue water filled the endless black hole. The cracked ground filled up, and the swords stuck in the earth gleamed with new light.
As the cold energy that had constantly stimulated his mind completely subsided, it felt as if the iron chains constricting his body had all broken.
Uuuuung!
The Divine Sword and Demonic Sword that had disappeared after Wrath's descent revealed themselves.
'I see you again.'
As he smiled at the brilliant yet eerie blade, a blue sword that seemed to be made of water rose from the blocked hole.
'That sword is....'