CHAPTER 154 – DEO

HIRAYA MISTELTEIN

This is so horrible. Three of the Dragon Lords have already perished, and my friends are all gravely injured. Earvin was hacked to death, his body now lying in a pool of his own blood. Darlix was blasted to pieces, his remains scattered across the battlefield. And Mariko was shot in the head, her lifeless eyes staring blankly at the sky.

I knelt to the ground in hopelessness, my heart heavy with grief. I have never suffered such loss in my entire life. And it is all because of me, for failing to anticipate the next move.

“Fuck you, Arthur! How dare you kill my Mariko!” Kate roared, her voice hoarse with rage and despair as she crawled towards the foot of the human emperor. With what little strength she had left, she punched his knee. “Fuck you! Fuck you, Arthur! I hope you die!”

“Oh, is that you, Kate? You’ve cut your hair. I have cut your limbs for good measure,” Arthur said with a chilling smile. He raised his foot, ready to squash Kate’s head like a bug.

“N-No!” I cried, my voice breaking as I tried to reach out to Kate. “Please don’t!”

Just before Arthur’s shoe touched Kate’s head, a powerful swish in the wind manifested. Lysander, in his Partial Dragon Form, charged forward and rescued Kate from being stomped hard by the human emperor. Blue flames trailed behind him as he swiftly moved to my side, gently placing the heavily-injured Kate beside me.

“Hiraya, take everyone to safety,” Lysander said, his voice firm yet filled with urgency. “I’ll deal with Arthur.”

“Tsk. Lysander.” Arthur clicked his tongue in disgust. “Lysander, we are supposed to work together. We are both humans.”

Lysander's eyes narrowed, his expression hardening with resolve. He manifested a katana using his Forge magic, its blade glinting ominously as he pointed it at Arthur. “You are no longer human, Arthur. You are an animal for orchestrating this massacre.”

“In that case, all other races are worse than animals,” Arthur retorted, his voice dripping with malice. “This planet is for humans and humans alone. No dragonoids, elves, dwarves, or any other species from whatever shitholes have the right to step on this planet without my permission.”

“You’ve really lost it,” Lysander said, his voice low and filled with contempt.

Orange lightning sparked beside me, and I turned to see the Tachyon Dragon landing gracefully next to me. Her scales shimmered with energy, and atop her nape were the wounded Gaeun and Charlotte, both barely conscious, their bodies limp and their breaths shallow.

“Hiraya, I’ll take Kate and the others to safety,” the Tachyon Dragon said telepathically, her voice resonating in my mind with a calm yet urgent tone.

“Thanks,” I nodded, feeling a glimmer of hope amidst the despair. “And please evacuate the civilians as well. I will stay here and finish things once and for all.”

“Will do. Take care, Hiraya,” the Tachyon Dragon replied before launching into the sky at beyond lightspeed, leaving a streak of orange light in her wake.

I looked around, realizing I only had Lysander and Johnny left as my pieces on the board. Johnny was busy battling the other skysoldiers in midair, his movements a blur of skill and fury, leaving Lysander to face the treacherous emperor. Determined, I raised my pistol and pointed it at Arthur.

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“Be careful, Lysander,” I muttered to my steadfast partner. “All attacks reflect back to the attacker. I still have to analyze his special barrier.”

“I’ll charge in, and you analyze what’s happening,” Lysander responded, revealing his black draconic claws. With a powerful kick off the ground, he surged forward, blue flames trailing behind him like a comet.

Lysander attacked first with a melee strike, his claws aimed straight at Arthur. But just as his claws were about to make contact, they were deflected back with a force that sent Lysander skidding backward.

“Grr!” Lysander growled, frustration and determination etched into his face.

Arthur smirked, his eyes gleaming with a sinister light. “Futile, as always, Lysander. You cannot touch me.”

I clenched my fists, my mind racing as I watched Lysander recover. I needed to find a way to break through Arthur’s barrier. As Lysander prepared for another attack, I began analyzing the shimmering field surrounding the emperor, searching for any weakness or pattern.

Time was running out, and the lives of my friends and countless others depended on finding a way to defeat Arthur once and for all.

Lysander jumped back and conjured a magical circle with a swift motion of his hand. "Flame Arrow! Lightning Arrow! Wind Arrow!" he incanted, sending a barrage of elemental missiles hurtling toward Arthur. The projectiles blazed through the air, their fiery, electric, and windy trails creating a mesmerizing yet deadly display.

Arthur stood his ground, not bothering to evade. Just as before, the moment the projectiles were about to strike him, they deflected and boomeranged back toward Lysander. An explosion erupted upon impact, engulfing Lysander in a violent blast. His right shoulder bore the brunt of the damage, and his suit was scorched and shattered.

“Damn it!” Lysander muttered through gritted teeth, his face contorted in pain.

“It’s no use, Lysander,” Arthur said with a smug smile. “As long as humanity lives, I cannot be felled. I embody humanity itself. I am the King of Humanity’s Wickedness.”

Those words froze me in place. They felt like the final piece of a puzzle that had been gnawing at me, a truth I had refused to acknowledge until it was almost too late. I had been foolish and naïve.

The Purge of Humanity. Was it Gazelle’s plan all along? I recalled what Eva and Johnny had told me about their ultimate goal being the King of Humanity. I had always dismissed it as a ridiculous bluff. But what if they had been telling the truth the whole time?

I shook my head, forcing myself back to reality. No matter the threats, killing people was still wrong. Even if I had become the Oracle of the Dragon Lords as Gazelle had wanted, the carnage would never cease. There was no right or wrong choice; it was never about choosing sides. It was all about stopping more deaths and preventing mass extinctions.

Suddenly, a skysoldier crash-landed in front of the emperor. It was the mysterious man with the Eye of Deus. His long black hair flowed around his pale white skin, which appeared withered and cracked like a desiccated statue. His presence radiated an unsettling aura of power and decay.

Arthur smiled, his expression oozing malevolent glee. “Let me introduce you to my ultimate skysoldier—Deo. He is from a forgotten legend, the lover of Vesryn from several millennia ago. He was the first human to activate the Vesryn Pulse and the progenitor of the Eye of Deus. Using Regression Magic, I revived him and pulled him out of his timeline.”

Arthur then glanced at Lysander and grinned wickedly before turning his gaze back to Deo. “Show him the true power of the Vesryn Pulse.”

Deo nodded mechanically, his movements precise and devoid of emotion. He touched his chest, which began to glow with a crimson light. “Disabling Vesryn Pulse,” he intoned.

Suddenly, Lysander's heart stopped. He collapsed to the ground, frothing at the mouth and gasping for air. “Gah! Ahck!” Lysander cried out, his voice strained with agony.

“Lysander!” I shouted, rushing to his side. I placed my hands on his chest, desperately trying to heal him, but my magic was ineffective. I could no longer sense the synchronization of our heartbeats with the Heart of Exceria. The Eye of Deus had severed the connection, and if Lysander's heart remained still, he would die.

“How dare you hurt my brother!” A furious roar echoed from above.

Looking up, I saw Johnny in his crimson werewolf form, his Wings of Light glowing with intense energy. He dived toward Deo, claws extended, ready to shred him to ribbons.

However, just before Johnny could strike, Deo moved with inhuman speed, raising a gleaming silver sword. The blade pierced Johnny's chest, driving straight into his heart. Blood splattered, and Johnny’s eyes widened in shock and pain as the sword ran him through.

“No!” I screamed, horror gripping my heart as Johnny’s form went limp.