Chapter 80: Voice Of The Stars

“Sigh. This is absurd. Now this guy shows up.”

In the abruptly dragged hemispherical space, I stared at the being before me and heightened my guard.

A massive body and elongated wings large enough to fill my vision.

Mana darker than the abyss.

And the chillingly gleaming reptilian eyes.

The one who introduced himself as Krasthos undoubtedly bore a form worthy of that name.

And—

Perhaps because even as a mere remnant, his presence was uniquely overwhelming.

Despite knowing he wasn’t physically here, I could sense a level of majesty from him that surpassed any enemy I’d faced so far.

‘Annoying…’

I needed to purge the miasma quickly to restore the Emperor.

And now, of all times, an obstacle appears.

He didn’t seem like he’d be cooperative, but I figured I’d try talking first.

I looked up at the colossal dragon’s head and spoke.

“My name is Beherit Di Vellion. O Radiant Dragon Krasthos, what business does a being of myth have with me that you’ve brought me here?”

“I did not bring you here. You came of your own will.”

“What?”

“I know you approached the Dragon’s Heart to resolve the miasma. You, the man of the detestable Estreya.”

Krasthos pushed his head closer to me.

His voice, now at an uncomfortably close distance, reverberated through my entire body.

‘Ugh. Look at this pressure.’

So this really was the guy who single-handedly dragged countless heroes to their graves.

More importantly, this bastard—

He clearly had every intention of fighting.

‘Is talking even an option here?’

If things went south, I’d have to fight.

Bracing myself for a possible clash, I continued speaking.

“Right. The Emperor is dying because of the miasma. I’d like to resolve this quickly. You’re clearly the source of the miasma’s spread, aren’t you?”

“And if I am?”

“Is there no room for negotiation?”

“Negotiation? Kkhahahahaha!”

Krasthos threw his head back and laughed.

His laughter was so deafening it made my eardrums throb painfully.

“What foolish and arrogant words. Do you truly believe a mere mortal can resolve a thousand years of wrath through talk?”

“Hmm. So you’re saying we have no choice but to fight?”

“No. This is no fight. This is my one-sided violence upon you.”

“Got it. You really are a mad dragon, living up to your name. Fine. I’ll just deal with you here and wipe out the miasma.”

I roughly swept back my hair and began channeling mana.

This bastard’s been pissing me off with his bullshit since the start.

I haven’t even done anything wrong, so why’s he acting like this?

And earlier, he was glaring at me while ranting about Estreya.

For the record, I’ve never even spoken to her.

‘Well, either way, looks like talking’s over.’

Given his attitude, it seemed the only way to resolve the miasma was to subdue him.

The moment I made my decision, a radiant aura erupted from my entire body.

“Suuuu-“

“Hey, lizard.”

“Liz… what did you say?”

“I said lizard, you useless oversized reptile. Even a thousand years ago, you were killing people, and you still haven’t learned your lesson, spewing out magic? You need to get beaten at the speed of light.”

Crash!

I immediately enveloped my entire body in radiant aura and manifested a sword of light in my right hand, gripping it tightly as I charged forward.

Krasthos was still frozen in shock from my provocation.

‘Found an opening.’

Though my body was under tremendous strain from the radiant aura, I clenched my teeth and endured it.

To sever Krasthos’s elongated neck, I swung the sword of light horizontally with all my might.

Swoooosh!

‘!’

But just before the blade could touch his scales—

Hundreds of layers of mana shields blocked it.

Crash!

The translucent mana shields halted my full-powered strike.

I’d shattered plenty of mana shields while fighting the Tower Lord, but the ones Krasthos conjured were several times stronger and regenerated far faster.

‘Damn it.’

If I kept attacking like this, I’d just waste mana for nothing.

It seemed I’d need an even stronger strike to break through his defenses.

Just as I withdrew the white light enveloping my body and prepared to summon a black sword aura—

Krasthos’ voice, filled with rage, reverberated through the space.

“You insolent mortal! How dare you insult me?!”

Screeeech!

With a deafening roar, Krasthos’ massive tail lashed out like a whip toward me.

The strike looked more powerful than most offensive spells.

I reflexively tried to dodge, but his voice pierced my ears.

“Freeze!”

‘Damn it!’

This cowardly lizard bastard used Dragon Words at this moment!

I immediately tried to break free by summoning my aura, but—

Just as the Dragon Words were about to release me, Krasthos’ tail struck my torso.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Whoosh—

Crash!

Sent flying at incredible speed, I slammed into the wall before struggling to my feet, clutching my injured side.

I wasn’t sure how this place worked, but even though it was a mental world, mana and my body felt just like reality.

Which meant, of course, the pain was just as real.

‘This hurts like hell.’

My skin felt torn, and my bones ached as if cracked.

Did the Emperor know I was suffering like this?

I swore to myself that once I escaped this mental world, I’d take everything I could from him.

“To stand up after taking that hit… Unbelievable. Are you really human?”

“Hah… Of course I’m human. What, do I look like a lizard bastard to you?”

“You must have a death wish. I’ll turn you into a corpse with a shattered consciousness.”

“Oh. If I die here, will my consciousness be destroyed?”

“That’s right. And that is your fate.”

Krasthos’ reptilian eyes gleamed sharply.

Dozens of magic circles unfolded before him.

‘Multiple incantations?’

You crazy bastard. How can you cast so many at once?

In the original story, he was eventually stopped from resurrecting by the protagonist and Endless.

But fighting him now, he’s far more formidable than I imagined.

‘Fine. Let’s give it a shot.’

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

I immediately manifested my aura and created dozens of sword energies in front of me.

Whoooosh—!

Brilliant blue flames erupted, burning so fiercely they seemed capable of consuming even the darkness itself.

Then, Krasthos unleashed three attack spells simultaneously.

“Penetratio, Killnear, Explosio.”

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!

Dozens of magical attacks poured down like a waterfall, aiming to obliterate me.

‘Penetration, killing, and explosion magic?’

Getting hit by those won’t just hurt—it’ll be way worse.

I fired my flaming sword energies at the incoming spells, intercepting every single one.

Boooooom—!

“Khh…”

Explosions erupted relentlessly between us, shaking the space with deafening roars.

In the pitch-black hemispherical space, it felt surreal, like setting off fireworks.

Behirit was a man who always carried a flame-like rage in his heart.

And this was the aura of wrath he awakened to burn the empire to ashes.

Did Krasthos really think he was the only one harboring such fury?

This so-called final boss’s body held no less rage than his.

I continued generating aura-infused sword energies to engulf Krasthos in blue flames.

Boooooom—!

“How dare a mere human try to match a sibling of the gods!”

Amid the stalemate, Krasthos suddenly erupted in fury.

Then, he opened his maw wide, and sparks crackled inside like thunder.

Crackle crackle crackle—!

‘Breath attack!’

This mad bastard must be really pissed.

The breath attacks of ancient dragons possessed unique properties.

And Krasthos, the Radiant Dragon, had one particular trait— ‘annihilation.’

Meaning, if it hits, not even dust will remain.

This left me no choice but to pull out my own trump card.

‘I’ve never used this in real combat because it’s too dangerous, but…’

Well, we’re in a mental space, and there’s no one else around.

Might as well go all out.

‘Alright. Let’s give it a—’

[Wait a moment, Behirit.]

‘Huh? You’re—?’

[Please leave the rest to me.]

Amid the endless explosions on the battlefield.

At the moment I was trying to focus and manipulate mana, a voice echoed in my head.

A tone like starlight, calm and composed.

A familiarity as if I’d heard it many times before.

‘This is…’

How could I ever forget?

Without a doubt.

It was the same voice that had once wished me luck—now speaking to me directly.

“Estreya! So you were there after all!”

While I was momentarily stunned by the voice in my head, Krasthooth’s eyes widened as if they might tear apart.

Then, with a beat of his wings, he rose into the air.

And unleashed a black breath toward me.

“I’ll turn the man you cherish into a mindless puppet!”

Kwaaaaaaa—!

A wave of death surged toward me like a colossal tidal wave.

But before his breath could reach me—

Countless stars emerged in the pitch-black sky, and the silhouette of a woman appeared.

At the same time, a pillar of blinding light, intense enough to melt space itself, struck down from above.