CHAPTER 136 – ERUDITES END
GAZELLE LOCKWOOD
My heart raced with a mix of awe and apprehension. The empire's finest not only stood before me but soared around the high arches of the sanctuary with an effortless grace, borne aloft on wings of shimmering light. Memories flickered in my mind's eye—these were the same luminescent wings I'd seen once before, conjured by the enigmatic Regressor who'd shared his secrets with the Daybreaker Squad. It was only logical that the Erudites, with their insatiable thirst for knowledge, had mastered this spell as well.
Below, three Erudites took flight, their hands weaving through the air as they crafted intricate, glowing magical circles. Meanwhile, another trio closed in on me, their approach marked not by footsteps but by the surge of raw, elemental power.
The first, an Erudite to my left, shouted "Rocket Fist!" His arm, transformed and engulfed in roaring flames, shot towards me like a comet. To my right, another roared "Boulder Kick!" and his leg, sheathed in a craggy rock armor, swung with the weight and fury of an avalanche. Between them, a third figure called out "Lightning Thrust!" Materializing a slender rapier, he charged it with crackling electricity before thrusting it forward with lethal precision.
Their combined assault struck with such force that I was sent hurtling backward, smashing into the castle walls with a crash that sent stones scattering. I tumbled down to the castle entrance, a cloud of dust rising around me. A sharp sting registered, yet my body remained unharmed. Dusting off my armor, I rose, my tone laced with contempt and an unshaken confidence. "Futile. I am a Dragon Lord. I am invincible," I declared, my Eye of Deus casting a menacing glow over the battleground.
Marieflorine watched with a smirk, her voice cool and steady. "You may be immortal, but..." Her gaze flickered to the skies where the flying Erudites had now completed their spell. "The Erudites have ways to seal you."
Without warning, from the glowing sigils above, beams of searing light shot down, weaving around me like threads spun by a cosmic loom. As they wrapped around me, a crushing weakness overtook my limbs. My mana drained rapidly, sapping my strength, leaving me as feeble as if I had swallowed a potent sleeping draught.
Gasping, the word barely escaped my lips, "This is..."
"Erudite Seal," announced one of the Erudites, his portly frame towering at two meters, a slight grin playing on his lips as he added, "Courtesy of Erudite Miney."
The nun-clad Erudite waved off the accolades with a humble shake of her head. "Don’t put all credit on me. It’s a collaborative effort between Erudite Gabri and Erudite Keith."
As she spoke, the beams of light ensnaring me began to crystallize, creeping coldly across my skin. Each crystal felt like a shard of ice, numbing my body and leeching away my strength until I stood frozen, a prisoner within my own form.
Meanwhile, the drama unfolded a few paces away, where Marieflorine faced off against Eva. Surrounded by a half-circle of Erudites, their wings of light aglow with threatening brilliance, Eva was unmistakably cornered.
“Don’t move, Eva. One wrong breath, and you will die," Marieflorine warned sharply. "I know that you are not a combat-type dragonoid. You excel only in magical buffs and debuffs."
“You’re right. And you can stop the beating of my heart using the Vesryn Pulse," Eva conceded, her hand pressed against her chest, yet her voice held a defiant edge.
“It will be best if you surrender and come with us peacefully. Only Gazelle Lockwood needs to be sealed,” Marieflorine offered, her tone softening—a deceptive calm before the storm.
Eva’s response came with a sly grin, “I am touched by your mercy, Madam Corasell.” She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Because of your generosity, I shall return the same to you. I will grant you a swift painless death.”
As their exchange reached its climax, I felt the urgency of my situation. I wasn't just going to stand by, a mere spectator in my own demise. Gritting my teeth, I reached towards my heart, where a pulsating glow of golden light began to build—an inner sun ready to burst forth.
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Just before the final seals could bind me, I vowed to unleash a devastating fury, to shatter the sanctity of this sanctuary with the raw force of my unleashed power. As the golden light intensified, I prepared to turn this battlefield into a storm of destruction.
"Activating Vesryn Pulse!" My voice boomed across the battlefield, filled with desperate power.
The transformation was instantaneous. Golden light swirled around Eva, her form shifting and expanding until she towered above us all. She now bore the majestic and mystic appearance of a seven-meter-tall dragon. Her scales shimmered in hues of blue and gold, dazzling like a celestial tapestry against the dim sky. Sprouting from her back, a set of enormous pixie wings flapped gently, stirring the air with magical currents. Unlike any typical dragon, she possessed long, slender humanoid arms and a serpentine tail instead of legs, giving her the grace and poise of a lamia.
This is Eva Nascence’s true form: A Fairy Dragon.
With a deafening roar, the Fairy Dragon expelled a surge of mana, visible only as a shimmer in the air. The force of her cry sent the encircling Erudites stumbling backwards, Marieflorine included.
“What the!” Marieflorine exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. “Just who is the Dragon Lord between you two!?”
“We are both the First Dragon Lord. We are Overmind,” came the Fairy Dragon's telepathic reply, her voice echoing inside the minds of all present.
With a graceful sweep of her elongated arms, the Fairy Dragon conjured an invisible barrier that rapidly expanded, encasing the entirety of the Empire’s Sanctuary floating island within it. She then vocalized a powerful incantation, "Magic-Negation Field!"
A potent blue pulse radiated from her, the epicenter of this newfound power. As the pulse spread, it systematically neutralized all magic within its reach. The Erudites, robbed of their Wings of Light, plummeted to the ground, their magical circles dissipating into nothingness. Even the beams that were crystalizing around me shattered, their magic undone.
“Shit! What is this!?” one of the fallen Erudites cried out in panic.
“I can’t use any magic!” another one yelled, disbelief coloring his tone.
“It is all futile, Erudites. You may be masters of spells, but inside a magic negation field, you are mere humans. Mere insignificant pests that destroy our world,” the Fairy Dragon declared, her voice resolute and chilling. With a swift motion, she whipped her tail, striking two Erudites with the force of a wrecking ball, sending them sprawling.
In this moment, the tide of battle had turned dramatically, showcasing the profound power and ancient wisdom of the Dragon Lords.
As the scene of carnage unfolded, the air was thick with the smell of blood and the sharp tang of iron. The fallen Erudites, now just remnants of flesh and bone, painted a grim picture of the battle's ferocity.
Marieflorine, fueled by rage and desperation, revealed her next tactic. With a swift motion, she brandished bladed fans, their edges glinting menacingly in the dim light. She charged with a battle cry, her movements as swift as they were deadly, weaving through the Fairy Dragon's powerful tail swipes.
Her fans spun through the air like deadly boomerangs, aiming straight for the Fairy Dragon's head.
"Useless!" the Fairy Dragon bellowed, batting away the first set of fans with a dismissive slap. But Marieflorine was not deterred, launching another set in rapid succession. One fan sliced across the Fairy Dragon’s neck, drawing a spray of blood, while the other struck true, embedding itself in the Fairy Dragon’s left eye.
The Fairy Dragon’s roar of pain echoed, resonating with fury and shock. In a swift retribution, it slapped Marieflorine to the ground. The impact echoed around the sanctuary, and as Marieflorine's body hit the stone, the Fairy Dragon's tail coiled around her, squeezing with relentless force.
"You will pay, you bitch of a duchess!" the Fairy Dragon thundered telepathically, the pain and rage mingling in its mental voice.
From the chaos, a tall Erudite surged forward, his features set in grim determination. Sword in hand, he led the charge, followed by others—some armed with swords, others with guns. They moved with the desperation of those with nothing left to lose, their lack of magic made up for with sheer numbers and resolve.
Watching this, I knew I could not stand idly by. Despite their weakened state, the humans' resolve made them dangerous, and Eva, even in her powerful form, could be overwhelmed. I pushed myself off the ground, feeling the last vestiges of the sealing magic fall away. Fire kindled within me, a blazing fury ready to protect my kindred spirit.
As the battlefield churned with chaos and raw emotions, I tapped into the depths of my own ancient power. My Eye of Deus, a gem of unparalleled might, pulsed with energy, ready to mirror Eva's earlier transformation. Activating the Vesryn Pulse, my form twisted and reshaped into the fearsome Alientech Dragon, my wings unfurling into a spectacle resembling UFOs. With a cosmic thrum, I unleashed a barrage of green homing lasers, each beam tracking the terrified Erudites with unerring precision. The lasers found their marks, piercing directly through the hearts of the remaining fighters, extinguishing their lives in bursts of light.
Marieflorine’s scream cut through the air, a mixture of horror and disbelief, as she watched her last line of defense fall one by one. "N-Noooo!" she cried, her voice breaking with despair.
Beside her, the Fairy Dragon, driven by pain and vengeance, was a whirlwind of fury. The memory of the bladed fan embedded in its eye fueled a merciless rage. With a swift, decisive movement, the Fairy Dragon snapped forward, its jaws clamping around Marieflorine. There was a sickening crunch as it chewed, reducing what once was a formidable duchess into nothing more than tiny, wet chunks.