★186
After a few minutes of walking in the crystalline lit cave, the terrain began to change. The first thing that confirmed this was the foul smell that bathed me. The air was heavy with sulfurous compounds like H₂S, laced with cadaverine, phenols, and organic acid traces.
A foul symphony of chemicals that could only mean one thing, the stench of death. And to prove that, bone and rotten flesh became the new stepping ground.
I would not defile myself by treading on this wretched mortal soil. Instead, I hovered above it, my gaze fixed on the signatures ahead.
I can see them up ahead, Vera and the others. But they're not in the position I expected them to be. No, I've expected this ever since the incident in the city.
I remained midair, looking at the gruesome scene below me. Vera lay unconscious, while Zar tore through the remaining dragons.
Five were already gone, all except her. He lifted a hand, emphasising he's almost done so I should wait, it seemed. Vera's chest rose and fell; she was still alive. He must have been saving Vera to do it in front of me. How predictable.
"Eating in human form really takes time."
He murmured, finally turning toward me. His body glistened with draconic blood. The sixth dragon girl flinched, tears forming in her wide, terrified eyes.
"Zar."
I called our shortly.
"It's Zaroth. A Cannibal Family Void Dragon."
He introduced himself properly, bowing politely.
I narrowed my eyes, and only then did I notice an invincible veil shielded him for me. I couldn't tell if this was coming from him or Velros, but that doesn't matter.
In a shift motion, he grabbed the little dragon by the neck, lifting her petite form. She desperately clawed at him, but nothing was fruitless.
"I'll use her to demonstrate how it works, before having a proper feast with Vera. I wanted to devour you so badly, but he has plans for you."
"You mean Velros?"
I asked, and laughter echoed through the cave as the anticipated signature descended. I glanced to my left where he hovered, his cloak moving unnaturally.
"You figured it out. How odd."
Velros said.
' It wasn't odd in any way. Zar's departure when Vera came to look for me was suspicious on its own. Enta saw it, and Essen reported that the same rampaging energy from the city was faintly radiating from his body when he came back. Not to mention, he knows way too much for someone in hiding. That's my proof for identifying him as the Cannibal.
As for Velros, it simply is not right that two rulers couldn't find a single person within their domains. One of them must know a thing or two. Velros has more influence on both lands, which makes him a natural suspect. Then came the flyers, picturing me as the Cannibal when the real thing was my companion.
The Gate to Parvak is to the west. It won't raise any alarm if Zaroth leads us there. But after knowing Velros was waiting for me in that same direction while his armies are spread in all other regions, it means he's here to end it all. To be able to plot all of this in less than two days, Velros is good.'
Velros made his way down to Nyrral, his presence of corrupted majesty.
The veil is conceptual, but my Essen is beyond that. I used the Space-TimeArt, Threadealking, twisting Zaroth's arm, taking the young girl to safety.
"How weird. Teleportation isn't a thing in Kalidor, yet you managed to do it."
He said, grinning, ignoring his injuries.
"That's no teleportation, Zaroth"
Velros intervened.
"It's not teleportation or even speed, it's just..."
He slightly opened his eyes, his grin widening.
"...him."
"Oh. I thought you would take them both."
Zaroth noticed I hadn't picked up Vera. A dark portal spiralled open behind me, and Lady Silverhair stepped out.
"Oh, the queen."
Velros said, his tone unreadable as he acknowledged the presence of Lady Silverhair.
"So you're the one?"
"Unfortunately, yeah."
He answered, shrugging.
"I've always wanted to eat the queen."
Zaroth's tongue moved unnaturally, his black choking aura flaring.
"Go to the Void Dragon behind me."
I said, the dragon girl ran to her without even knowing who she was.
"What about your companion?"
The queen asked.
"Let her be. If she survives the destruction, we move on. If she dies, then so be it."
'I need this little dragon more than I need Vera. Defeat these two, and ascend higher. A real dragon will know how to get me up there.'
"I can use a power up."
Zaroth turned to devour Vera but instead bit down on my boot and cracked the veil, landing on the other side of Nyrral.
At that moment, flaming barriers of darkness sealed every entrance and exit of the cave, pinning us.
"No one is leaving."
Velros stated, a wicked grin on his face.
A huge mass of rampaging signatures gathered behind me as Zaroth began to transform.
I turned and saw the Cannibal in his true form, a massive dragon wrapped in rotten flesh and exposed bone that resembled a zombie-like creature while emitting an enormous surge of energy that made the air feel heavy and hostile.
At that moment, the queen summoned a familiar figure to the scene. It was the Marquis of Vaermithorh, Thyros. Upon arrival, he froze, witnessing the Cannibal up front.
"What.."
He froze, sweating rolling down his face.
"Screw your plans, Velros! I'll eat every damn thing in this cave!"
Zaroth said, his voice thunderous.
"The Cannibal, Nyxon and the Ash Duke? Plans? The Regent Prince is working with the Cannibal? What the hell is going on?"
For an outsider, it's not clear.
"Exactly what you're meant to see. Lower your voice and watch."
She ordered.
Zaroth charged with maximum speed and jaws position to swallow me whole. I raised one arm, grabbing his snout.
"None of you will stand a chance in individual combat."
"Nah, my pride won't allow that."
Velros replied, taking a seat on a rock.
"It'll be your downfall then."
I could feel the temperature rising from his mouth. Zaroth was preparing to breathe. Before I could react, dark flames surged forward, washing over me in a torrent of searing energy.
They clung and roared, fixed upon me as he held the attack steady for what felt like an entire minute. The heat bit at my skin, a relentless assault that tested my endurance. This was heat unlike anything I've felt but still....
For a momen,t he must have believed I was broken, that I had been scorched beyond resistance.
"Now the queen."
He said, his voice low
He turned away, redirecting the chaos of his flames towards the two. The fire painted the surroundings in flickering shadows, filling the space with the sharp scent of burning energy.
"You seriously thought this kind of flame would burn me?"
I asked, standing completely unscathed. Not a single burn on my cloak, let alone my flawless supreme skin as I held my ground.
"I don't have a grudge with Zaroth. So I'll end him quick."
"What… impossible."
Je muttered, pausing as the flames around him began to die off.
"As a parody, I can use a draconic form too."
I said. I summoned a clone, and it began to shift, taking on a draconic shape.
Its form was of no flesh and bone but a shifting mass of writhing darkness, a silhouette that mocked the outline of a dragon without ever solidifying.
Compared to this abomination given form ten times its size-the most feared Family in the Void Dragons, the Cannibal shrank into insignificance, its terror spilling from every trembling scale. My draconic form gave way to the insignificant thing below it, like a dinosaur looking at a cat playing lion.
I can sense the fear on both physical and metaphysical planes lingering around this cave. Nothing dared to move an inch. Even Velros couldn't move. He sat in shook, frozen and speechless.
"Begon."
At my command, it exhaled. It wasn't flames or darkness, neither was it my favourite void. It was just a simple breath. Harmless to the eye, yet the victim froze at once, body rigid, eyes wide with dread, locked upon my draconic form, unable even to blink.
None understood what had happened, and so I intervened. With a gentle breath, I ended it. Zaroth's form crumbled into ashes, fading into nothingness.
I wasn't the cause of his death. I merely unveiled what already was, that he had long since perished, nothing more than a pile of dust waiting for the wind to scatter. Everyone was surprised but couldn't make a sound. The mere presence of my draconic form demanded silence without trying.
"You're foolish if you think I need flames to kill any of you."
I said, discarding my draconic form and the clone behind it.
"What was..."
I moved, driving my fingers deep into Velros's maw, intercepting him. With a savage wrench, I tore his jaw and tongue free in a single, wet rip.
He reeled backwards, choking on a torrent of crimson that poured down his chest, only for the darkness of his robes to hungrily drink it in.
(Not naturally 'drink', but it just couldn't reflect his blood.)
"Ho.. da...e..."
"You?"
I finished his sentence with a brutal kick to the ruin of his mouth, sending him hurtling into the distance. A crater forming where he landed. Suddenly, his monstrous energy ignited.
"Ash Duke!"
"If you really want to die, then go join him."
Silverhair prevented Thyros form marching into inevitable oblivion. After witnessing what happened to the Cannibal, no one here can dare to approach me.
'Is this it?'
I asked, already going into a deep philosophical thought.
"I'll may you pay for humiliating the Ash Duke of Vaermithorh!"
It soared higher, burning with intensity, illuminating the cave with an orange heu. He spoke without moving his mouth. That meant… something else.
"I'll make you beg for death, because it will be your only salvation during this test!"
He said and I simply replied with a small smile.
His aura erupted one final time, and I could tell the transformation was complete.
"Behold a Vaermithor in their mightiest!"
The thunder-like tone that dwarfs the likes of Obsidian Wyrm echoed around the cave, triggering its impending collapse.
'Anger, a byproduct of humiliation. He's feeling something.'
I analysed based on logic. Yet, that logic never applied to me.
"I didn't feel anything back then.'
I kept that aside and turned towards the Royal Void Dragon, a being with the famous colour that absorbs all like without a by-product.
Even in his draconic form, Velros still maintains his crimson eyes. What was off about him was his size. The Vaermithorh are the biggest Family within the mortal tiers. His size was comparable to my draconic form, perhaps bigger. Too big for this cave, too big for Nyrral, for thr underground structure began collapsing.
It was far ahead, yet I couldn't see his eyes.
'Normally, the longer the distance, the smaller it gets. But it's just big.'
"Lucky for us, size doesn't matter."
Orange-like flames began forming in his mouth, the crystals and rocks melting as an effect. He let loose, and I charged straight into the inferno. Halfway through, I countered.
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To be continued...