Chapter 232: Going All-Out, And Even Beyond That

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When Vladimir was being battered mercilessly for his insolence and desecration of the Ancient Dragoness, he caught a blur of movement through the haze of pain. Riven appeared between them in a flash of shadow and raw power.

He punched Ignias’ massive fist with everything he had and forced it away, sending fresh cracks spidering across her ancient bones. As she groaned in rage, Vladimir roared and swung both of his axes with desperate strength against her arm. The blades cut cleanly through the wrist. Her entire skeletal claw collapsed into a clattering pile of bones on the floor.

Sparks and molten blood sprayed outward, as if her very bones still carried living blood inside them. Ignias shrieked with pure fury and kicked out with terrifying force. Vladimir was launched across the chamber like a ragdoll.

He crashed into a towering crystal formation and shattered it into a rain of glowing shards that scattered across the heated stone.

CRASH!

"Guh—damn it!" he spat a thick mouthful of blood while forcing himself back onto his feet. The grafted arm on his body pulsed violently. Dragon scales spread further up his shoulder as if the dragon blood within was answering the call of its ancient progenitor. "What the...?! Uuggh?!"

Meanwhile Riven seized the opening created by Ignias turning her full attention toward Vladimir. He poured more of his Titan Mana Heart’s output into the Shadow Self. The dark construct expanded until it stood nearly as tall as the dragon’s chest, a towering mass of living darkness and weapons.

"Go."

The shadow surged forward as its dozens of arms swung against the dragoness in relentless waves. Each arm carried a different weapon—poisoned blades, ghostly spears, psychic lances, and abyssal claws. They struck in perfectly coordinated assaults, Riven attacking from the front while his Shadow Self hammered her from behind.

Quadruple Abyssal Assault Arts – Guillotine Tempest.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

Shadow and soul energy tore into the flaming skeleton from every possible angle. Ignias screamed in pain and fury, unable to retaliate in time. She desperately conjured Fire Spells in a frantic barrage—Fireballs, Meteors, and even a Giant Phoenix that dove down at Riven and his Shadow, bombarding them with dozens of explosive blasts.

"DIE! DIE! DIEEEEE!"

She roared while exuding complete and total madness. Her power continued rising with every second of her anger as she fought with every last scrap of her might. Riven and his Shadow Self avoided the explosive spells or detonated them early by throwing weapon constructs made of mana, spirit energy, and psychic power. They also conjured giant icicle spears and fired them in every direction to interrupt her casting.

"More... I need to do more...!"

Riven’s heart began beating faster and faster. His weapons suddenly unified into a single gigantic scythe made of pure darkness and death energy.

Azrael!

He swung Azrael with all his might, unleashing a barrage of cutting attacks even as Blazing Phoenixes struck his body from all directions. The flames calcinated his armor and skin only for the flesh to rapidly regrow over and over again. Still, he was beginning to feel the terrible strain building across his entire body... and soul.

"UUUGGHH!"

Yet his struggle was not pointless.

The dragon staggered backward, groaning in agony as several deep wounds across her bones continuously bled lava-like blazing blood that resembled liquid gold pouring onto the floor.

"Y-YOU DARE...! I AM...! I AM IGNIAS! WHO ARE YOU TO BELIEVE YOU CAN STAND IN MY WAY?!"

Ignias grew even more furious. She retaliated with a full-powered Flame Breath that filled half the throne room. Her jaws opened to a massive, almost unnatural degree now that she was nothing more than a reanimated skeleton.

TRUUUM!

B O O O M!

B O O O M!

B O O O M!

B O O O M!

Dozens of secondary explosions followed everywhere. Pillars toppled. The ceiling trembled. Crystals that had grown across the walls and floor collapsed into thousands of glittering pieces.

Faced with a destructive attack that could easily wipe out half of Central City, Riven and the Shadow Self combined their defenses. Psychic barriers layered with absolute darkness held the worst of the heat at bay, yet the sheer force still drove them backward step by step.

The ground beneath them shattered into spiderweb-like cracks. Riven gripped Azrael tightly. From all the Abyssal Energy, Phantasmal Power, and Netherworld Flames he had accumulated, pure Death Power surged through the scythe.

He swung the weapon with raw fury. A wave of pure death-darkness split the Flame Breath apart and struck her face, slashing across her skull and tearing a large piece of bone free.

SLAAASH!

B O O O O O M M M!!!

A massive explosion erupted behind her as the ceiling partially collapsed over her body.

"G R A A A A A A A A H H H H!"

She roared with complete madness, punching through the falling stones and boulders while chasing after him. Her bony tail speared forward again and again in an attempt to impale him. Riven leaped higher, ran across the walls, and avoided the tail that smashed the area where he had stood only a second earlier.

"Shadow! To me!" Riven called out.

His Shadow Self fused into his body. Black tattoos spread across his skin as his form grew darker and more menacing. Then he channeled a power he had never dared try before because his body could not quite hold it.

A synergy ability of immense, almost forbidden power...

Ancient Vessel of The Black Dragon King: Xuanlong’s Embodiment.

BA-DUM.

BA-DUM.

BA-DUM!

Suddenly a deep, ancient darkness manifested from within Riven’s heart. It took the shape of a gigantic Chinese dragon that roared with the weight of ages before fusing directly into his body. He screamed in agony as the transformation began.

As Riven’s form started to grow massively, Ignias gasped in pure disbelief.

"A-Another dragon...?! WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE!"

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