Ch.134Final Battle (3)

The sky was filled with a blinding white light as Evan faced his enemy. He had fought many foes before, risked his life countless times, and had even experienced death itself. How many knights in this world could claim the same experience? Evan was certain there wasn’t a single one.

He breathed slowly and quietly, trying to dispel the tension and fear swirling in his chest. If those unnecessary emotions delayed his sword swing even slightly, he would surely face his second death. He assessed the situation calmly.

His chances of victory were reasonable. The Crown Prince had inflicted more damage than Evan had expected—melting dozens of scales and driving the dragon into a frenzy. The dragon had also expended massive amounts of mana firing breath attacks.

Yet his opponent remained an ancient dragon—one that even Alarr had only managed to seal away, not kill. If asked whether he could deliver a perfect death rather than merely sealing it, Evan would firmly deny it. The Master level wasn’t enough. He needed to reach that higher realm Biltain had once mentioned—the level just above Master.

Flames erupted from Evan’s heart. The mana flames that bloomed from his heart now painted the sky. In a night sky that had lost its starlight, these flames rising to dispel the darkness were like a new dawn.

Seeing those pure white flames for the first time in a thousand years, Mabeth quietly muttered, “…So he inherited Frid’s blood.”

Having fought Frid before, Mabeth recognized it clearly. The strange power emanating from those flames, the tingling sensation throughout his body—this was undoubtedly the purifying flame that dragon had possessed. A flame that burned away all magical power at the slightest touch. The wound where his finger had been cut off should have regenerated, but it hadn’t.

The fact that it wasn’t regenerating meant this small human knight had already completely made Frid’s dragon blood his own. Mabeth quietly swallowed. While he didn’t think he would lose the fight, engaging now would require time to recover his strength afterward. Even in victory, he needed to win overwhelmingly, using all his power.

But…

“…It’s impossible.”

His consciousness hadn’t “completely” merged yet. Scarlet Terazein’s soul was still writhing inside Mabeth, desperately clinging to his own soul and trying to reclaim his body. This prevented Mabeth from drawing out his true power perfectly. Gritting his teeth, he stared at Evan.

There were no openings. This was completely different from fighting the Crown Prince named Kaisel earlier. Though both were Masters, there seemed to be no darkness that could penetrate this knight’s refined aura. How could he break through? How could he attack? If he had just regained his original power, perhaps it would be different, but the battle with Kaisel had already consumed much of Mabeth’s strength.

The shadows gathered in the sky, swirling into a storm. Mountains crumbled, and fragments from the ground shattered and rose toward the sky. Calamity—perhaps Mabeth’s self-proclamation as calamity and extinction wasn’t mere arrogance after all.

With each beat of his wings, mountains collapsed. The sky tore open, and the starlight that leaked through the gaps was obscured by darkness.

Evan gripped Ascalon tightly, feeling the magical power that made his body tingle as he withstood the storm with his body.

He understood why Mabeth wasn’t targeting him directly. Mabeth’s wounds were far from superficial. He needed time to recover, to gather strength to escape from Terazein and execute whatever came “next.” Mabeth would likely try to finish him quickly to buy that time, but Evan had no intention of letting the dragon go easily.

More precisely, he intended to kill Mabeth right here.

The white flames stretching across the sky began transforming into the shape of a sharp sword. A sword of white flames that burned anything it touched. The magical power taking the form of various weapons collided with the darkness and began tearing through Mabeth’s scales like a storm.

Crack! As scales tore like paper, Mabeth’s eyes widened. This power was completely different from Kaisel’s sword. Evan took a step forward, feeling the subtle sensation in his heart once more.

The light spirit—he would probably die if he used it for too long, but right now he needed to grasp at any straw he could. The only person who could kill Mabeth right now was himself. His brain began spinning rapidly, calculating all available options.

Fighting with just a sword was impossible—Mabeth was too powerful an enemy. The light spirit was already drawing power from his heart. Dragon blood, golden eyes glowing in the darkness. Ascalon, the sword that had sealed dragons.

Evan felt something strange from Ascalon, as if it wasn’t using its full power. As he swung the sword, he felt an oddly dulling sensation. The sword cutting through the air seemed to synchronize motion and sound. Its speed was slowing.

Why? His enemy was Mabeth, called extinction itself. Boom! Even though Evan seemed overwhelming for a moment, he was the one growing increasingly desperate.

With each breath attack, mountains disappeared—not crumbling, but completely vanishing from existence. What would happen if he took a direct hit?

Though Evan had faced dragons before, he knew cutting off Mabeth’s wings was impossible. He needed to strike from the air somehow. White wings sprouted from Evan’s back, scattering feathers.

His domain consumed extreme amounts of mana. If he used it, it had to be when all conditions were perfect—at the final moment, the one chance to finish Mabeth decisively.

Mabeth’s teeth tore through Evan’s armor. Claws shredded his cloak, and the heat from a breath attack that hadn’t even hit him directly burned the tips of his hair. The white flames containing dragon blood began to shine. Cutting through the breath attack with his sword, Evan clearly saw the path created by the light spirit.

A path to approach the dragon—Evan followed the path drawn in the air, with wings of light trailing behind him.

Mabeth’s purple eyes were like twilight—where all life dies and all hope rots and decays. That twilight stared at Evan, who gritted his teeth to shake off his fear. Without even wiping the blood flowing from his mouth, he thrust his sword toward Mabeth’s eyes.

Crash! The white flames and Mabeth’s black flames collided with a thunderous roar. The purifying nature drove back the darkness, but the darkness continued to regenerate against the white flames. The light spirit writhing inside Evan overlaid a pure white blade onto his sword.

Mabeth’s claws seized the opportunity and struck Evan’s body.

Boom! An indescribable force hit his body, but Evan, having reached Master level, endured the pain. If it had been magic, he might have blocked it somehow, but pure physical force bypassed the white flames’ protection and damaged Evan’s body directly.

Blood darker than normal spilled from his mouth. He wasn’t sure how long they had been fighting, but one thing was certain—this dragon couldn’t be underestimated.

That left him with only one option.

“Dragon Language.”

Letters began slowly rising from the ground where Evan stood. Like rune characters inscribed in a magic circle, the rotating letters emitted a golden light.

Dragon Language—that which realizes miracles in the world by carrying the user’s will. His swollen muscles regained vigor. His expanded blood vessels transported him to a slightly better world. Accelerating speed, accelerating sword. The sword path visible to Evan’s eyes could no longer keep up with the speed at which he swung his sword.

“That is not for you to wield,” Mabeth said, his brow deeply furrowed.

A language only dragons could use—how could a mere human wield it? Evan smiled slightly at those words.

Who was Mabeth to judge what he could or couldn’t handle? He had already used it before, and now, the Dragon Language was perfectly infused within his body. Boom! Evan’s body shot forward from the ground toward Mabeth’s neck.

For an instant, Mabeth faced the end of his life. Crash! With a flash of lightning, Evan’s body slammed into the mountain. Coughing up blood, he looked at Mabeth with an awkward smile.

He thought he could reach him, but unfortunately, he had only managed to graze the dragon. If he had been just a little faster, could he have killed Mabeth?

“Wh-what is this?!” Blood flowed from Mabeth’s neck.

The wound that wouldn’t regenerate clearly meant the white flames had touched that area, and Mabeth’s momentarily panicked voice trembled slightly.

Had he, Mabeth, been cut by a mere human? He hadn’t been injured once since fighting Alarr. Yet this human had made him recall that wound Alarr had inflicted.

“How dare you, a mere nothing, wound me! I curse you! I’ll tear your limbs apart and scatter them in all directions, and I’ll rip apart everyone you love right before your eyes—”

“…Fuck off.”

Crack!

After planting Ascalon in the ground, Evan rose to his feet, his eyes narrowing. Threatening to harm the people he loved? How could Mabeth think he would allow such a thing? Even if he died here, he wouldn’t let that happen. He would stop it even as a ghost. But he simply couldn’t tolerate the threat against those he loved.

A mere dragon, a mere being called an ancient dragon—by what right did he threaten Airin?

Though awkward with profanity, having never used it in his life, Evan cursed at the ancient dragon for the first time. It felt somewhat relieving, though his anger also grew. But one thing was certain.

“You will die here today.”

Crack! The blade of Ascalon shattered, scattering through the air. Evan wasn’t surprised—he had broken it deliberately.

Ascalon hadn’t yet fully regained its power. The method to restore that power—golden flames began swirling from Evan’s body, enhanced by Dragon Language. These flames, emitting a much purer aura than before, were even more pure than the flames Frid had emitted a thousand years ago.

Primordial fire—the pinnacle of purity that existed before humans first learned to handle fire.

A new blade began sprouting from Ascalon, which had absorbed the flames. Crack! The pristine white blade disappeared, replaced by a sharper, more pointed golden blade that flickered like flames.

“I will make it so.”

A chill ran down Mabeth’s spine. Though he had time while Ascalon’s blade fully manifested, he felt something he dared not attack. All he could do was watch. When Mabeth finally regained his senses, Evan was already looking at him, holding the fully restored Ascalon.

Torn cloak, shattered white armor, burning golden mana, and Ascalon restored to its appearance from a thousand years ago.

That image, like a combination of Alarr and Frid who had fought him before, was enough to present Mabeth with a new nightmare.

Darkness surged in his contracted pupils. A storm of darkness so vast it covered even the red moon. All the ghouls that had existed underground were torn apart and shattered, becoming sacrifices for Mabeth’s magic as they scattered through the air.

“You’re just a human! Why do you worms, less than insects, creatures that should be swept away by my breath, resist so much? I am extinction! I am the end, annihilation! Do you think a mere human can kill me? Even Alarr couldn’t kill me! Do you, do you think you can kill me, Evan Frid?!”

Could he kill him? Evan erased the thought. What he needed now wasn’t thinking. He wouldn’t answer that question about whether he could kill Mabeth. The moment he considered it, this sensation would shatter instantly.

He breathed deeply, letting the breath seep through his lungs. Mana flowed through his breath to every corner of his body, and his expanded muscles stored explosive power. Crack! The ground beneath Evan began to crumble.

The mountain was no longer solid enough for Evan to stand on. As the mountain collapsed and Evan fell, he quietly closed his eyes.

Domain.

Upon reaching Master level, Evan had realized his domain. Unlike others, he couldn’t maintain it constantly. Even a single swing consumed extreme amounts of mana. He had thought what he displayed during the Hatan subjugation was his domain, but with time, he finally understood that wasn’t his true domain.

The sword—Evan had long since become one with his sword. He wielded himself, not just the sword. Kaisel had inflicted a great wound upon the sky. Having reached a higher realm than that, what could Evan do?

Perhaps he already knew.

The golden flames burning from Evan’s body slowly began to disappear. Now, instead of flames, it was a single light flowing around him. The sun rose again in the night sky. A sun made purely of mana—as darkness disappeared and bright dawn illuminated the sky, Evan quietly raised his sword.

Domain. The supreme technique only Masters could perform. A technique that only one Master could wield, with power that varied tremendously from person to person.

A single line drawn in the air reached the sky. It cut through the sun, and further, cut through light itself. When the pure white clouds that had bloomed were cleanly split and scattered, Mabeth finally understood this was Evan’s domain.

A knight wielding a sword—a User could first sense mana, an Expert could handle mana themselves and overlay it on their sword, and a Master could dye the world in their own color.

The world dyed pure white pointed to only one fact.

White Night.

This was Evan’s domain, possessed by only one person in this world.