Under the cover of dark clouds, the entirety of Castle Schrade fell into darkness. Amidst this endless void, a massive body stood tall among the ruins of the castle.
Its colossal frame was covered in ominous purple-black scales and shells. Upon closer inspection, one could even see the shapes of weapon remnants on the plating. Without a doubt, this was the result of this calamitous evil dragon melting the weapons of the enemies it had killed and fusing them onto its own shell.
Beyond its body, even its head bore four forbidden black horns. Its mouth could spit flames that burned all things, destroying any living being they touched. Its powerful giant tail could crush an enemy to pieces in an instant. The common thread among all these traits was the creature's terrifying destructive power.
No one knew why it appeared in this city, but standing there among the rubble, it looked like a Demon King destined to destroy the world.
However, when it saw the "unlucky brat" it had supposedly "killed," it began to walk slowly toward him.
It clearly intended to melt that corpse and attach the armor and weapons to its own shell. But as it walked slowly over, the crimson spear stuck in the ground suddenly burst into flames.
Having melted countless weapons, the dragon was naturally no stranger to fire. However, the roaring flames before its eyes were vastly different from its own breath.
If its flames represented destruction, then the jumping red sparks contained within this fire represented rebirth!
Strange as the fire was, it was only on the spear. After the initial surprise, the dragon walked over with even more excitement. But at that moment, the "corpse" lying next to the spear caught fire as well, and those flames were identical to the ones on the weapon.
Lancer, who had been completely incinerated in Phoenix flames before, was no stranger to fire. He was even more familiar with the negative aura contained within that giant dragon's flames. Unfortunately, having lost the initiative, he had been knocked down in one shot, left with no power to resist.
With muscles scorched and bones snapped, he had almost entirely lost his ability to fight. Yet, he let out a dry, raspy laugh—the result of his throat being burned by the flames.
The reason he laughed like that wasn't because he'd gone completely insane, but because that dragon had thrown away its best chance to kill him!
"Blessing of Fujiwara no Mokou"
The phantom of a white-haired girl appeared before Lancer at some unknown moment. She silently cupped Lancer's fire-scorched cheek and kissed it gently. Then, the phantom turned entirely into burning flames and merged into Lancer's body.
Within the black flames representing destruction, Lancer's body was completely incinerated, only to be reborn again within the bright red flames.
Just as the calamitous evil dragon prepared to spit fire once more to melt its "trophy," the "corpse" that had been lying there suddenly leaped up. He grabbed the blood-red spear stuck nearby and lunged violently at the evil dragon's forehead.
CRACK~!
The ominous horn atop its head snapped off. But the "resurrected" Lancer wasn't going to let it off that easily.
Although his injuries had healed, the pain of being completely ignited by fire was very real. The agony of his body's fat being lit on fire and then scorching his muscles made even him let out a roar of fury.
"AAAAHHHHH!!"
If the creature hadn't even reacted when the first horn was broken, it now shook its head frantically as Lancer snapped the second one. However, when it shook Lancer off, the giant head was left with only one lonely horn, looking somewhat ridiculous.
"ROAR!!!"
Even when faced with attacks from countless city defense weapons, it had never suffered such humiliation. After all, even if it could regenerate, the shame it endured could never be reversed.
Falling into a frenzy, not only did sparks fly from the corners of its mouth, but its scales and shell also seemed to continuously emit black smoke. This black smoke spread outward from its body; without a doubt, the true form of the black clouds over Castle Schrade was this very smoke.
Lancer, having been thrown off, flipped in mid-air and gripped his spear with both hands, stabbing it into the ground to finally come to a halt.
He looked at the evil dragon in the distance with a grim expression.
Earlier, because he had taken a mental shock, he had been ambushed and nearly died. He wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.
"Side Quest: War of Destiny"
"Quest Description: Its name represents the unavoidable death that comes with the war of destiny. It has been passed down through many folk tales and legends since ancient times. It is the beginning of all calamities, the ancient evil dragon that carries destiny."
"The forbidden monster representing 'Destruction,' the 'Evil Dragon Fatalis,' has descended once more. Subdue it! Destroy it! Only then can this world continue!"
"Quest Rewards: Title: Dragon Slayer, Cursed Armor"
When he was first ambushed, Lancer hadn't had the time to pay attention to the system notifications. Now, taking a moment to catch his breath, he could finally check the system's hints.
Unfortunately, the system didn't give him much information. The only thing he knew was the opponent's name; other than that, he gained nothing.
On the contrary, the encounter where he almost died from the ambush actually provided him with significant clues.
First, he knew the opponent had a powerful regenerative ability—the horn he'd broken with brute force had already begun to gradually recover. Second, besides himself, Tiger had also smashed one of its horns. Without a doubt, Tiger's strength was much lower than Lancer's, so how did he do it?
The red cracks near that broken horn were the best answer.
This evil dragon was more susceptible to "Elder Dragon Energy"!
Earlier, when the Elder Dragon Lancer called the "Sapphire Star" died, his physical constitution had been strengthened under the baptism of that immense energy. Although the vast majority of that energy had dispersed across the land, Lancer, being at the center, had absorbed a large amount of Elder Dragon Energy. It was impossible for all of that energy to be consumed in a short time; it would slowly convert to strengthen Lancer's body. But what Lancer needed now wasn't slow conversion, but to release that energy completely!
Lancer himself didn't like burst-type abilities; he preferred a steady and solid approach. While a sudden burst looks great, what happens if the burst doesn't finish the opponent?
Lancer preferred the steady way, but among all his abilities, there was one exception————Demonization.
Lancer had even enhanced the skill's original capabilities. You could say this ability had a very high compatibility with his blood energy. Now, what needed to be done was self-evident.