Chapter 233: The Power Of The Ancient Vessel of The Black Dragon King: Xuanlong’s Embodiment!.

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When Riven swung his scythe in a wide, powerful arc, a massive explosion of dark energy followed right behind Ignias. The force of the blast tore through the ancient stone ceiling above her, sending tons of rock and debris crashing down over her skeletal form in a thunderous collapse.

Ignias roared with pure madness as she punched through the falling stones and boulders with her blazing fists. She refused to be buried and immediately began chasing after him again. Her long bony tail speared forward repeatedly, trying to impale him mid-air, but Riven leaped higher each time. He ran across the vertical walls with perfect balance and avoided every strike, the tail constantly smashing the exact spot where he had stood only a second earlier and leaving deep craters in the stone.

As the chase continued through the crumbling hall, Riven called his Shadow Self to fuse fully into his body. Black tattoos spread rapidly across his skin, and his form grew darker and more menacing. Then he channeled a power he had not dared to try until now because his body had never been strong enough to fully contain it.

In that critical moment he unleashed one of his strongest synergy abilities.

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 earth-shaking force before fusing directly with his body. Riven screamed in intense pain as the transformation took hold. His frame began to grow massively, scales of pure black and void energy spreading across him.

Ignias gasped in shock when she saw the change. "A-Another dragon...?! WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE!"

She could not believe what her eyes were showing her. Riven completed the transformation into a gigantic serpentine dragon of pure darkness. He roared with overwhelming power and bit down hard into her neck, using his massive size to push her downward. At the same time Azrael flew behind her of its own will and began to spin rapidly, slicing through her ancient bones one after another with merciless precision.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

"HOW DARE YOU ASSUME THE FORM OF MY BRETHREN, USURPER?!"

Ignias still refused to give up. She slashed at Riven’s dragon face with her blazing claws and bit tightly into his neck, drawing thick streams of blood. Yet Riven only roared louder. He unleashed a devastating breath of mixed flames and ghostly energy that tore through part of her soul and blew her thorax into scattered pieces.

BOOOOMMMM!!!

"UUGGH...! AAAAAaaaaaaggghhh...!"

Her voice screamed in pure agony and quickly grew weaker. She crashed hard into the ground as broken bone fragments and her molten, metal-like blood splattered across the ruined floor in every direction.

"Y-You...!"

"Give up already," Riven said, his dragon voice deep and resonant. "I don’t want to destroy you. I want to negotiate with you and become allies. Please... don’t make this harder for the two of us."

"Harder...?! I...! No...! NOOOO!"

With one last roar of absolute defiance, Ignias gathered her remaining power and pushed Riven back with a concentrated beam of pure flames. The attack sent him crashing downward and pierced a giant hole straight through his chest. His dragon form deactivated under the damage, forcing him back into a more human shape.

"Nnnggh!"

He fell heavily to the ground and vomited a mouthful of blood. The agonizing wound burned fiercely and was taking longer than usual to regenerate because the flesh itself had been seared by her ancient fire.

"I won’t... give up so easily, human...!" she roared. Her loud footsteps echoed across the entire castle as she drew closer to his fallen form. "I won’t yield to—"

"RAAAAAHHHH!"

Out of nowhere Vladimir’s figure burst onto the scene. He was half transformed into a powerful draconian being and half into a werewolf, his hybrid body radiating raw blood energy. He smashed her face downward with tremendous force and shattered half of her skull in a single brutal strike.

CRAAASH!

"Uuuggghhh!"

As she cried out in fresh agony, Ignias retaliated with her Blazing Aura. The aura transformed into hundreds of spectral dragon jaws that bit into Vladimir from every side and burned his body with intense heat.

Vladimir only roared louder in response and swung his heavy axe in wide arcs, cutting deep into her remaining body. "What’s wrong, Riven Claymore! Already lost the will to live?! HAHAHA!"

"Tsk, not at all!" Riven forced himself to take a step forward despite the pain. He rushed toward Ignias while channeling the full power of the Titans. His right arm became utterly massive as every ounce of his remaining energy concentrated into that single limb. He and Vladimir met shoulder to shoulder against her. Their combined Auras fought fiercely against her dragon aura, taking the shapes of swords and fists that clashed endlessly with her blazing energy.

"RAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"GRAAAAAAHHHH!"

Both men roared together as their auras collided without pause. The continuous clashes generated massive explosions that shook the entire chamber. The ceiling cracked further, the ground split open, and the whole dungeon felt like it was about to collapse around them.

RUMBLE!

Yet Vladimir and Riven refused to stop. Their fists struck her thorax again, then her shoulders, and finally her ribcage. They shattered her ribs into countless pieces and drove their massive fists deep into what remained of her skull.

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" Riven roared with final determination.

"GIVE UP ALREADY, OLD HAG!" Vladimir laughed maniacally, pouring every last bit of his strength into the assault.

"G-GAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Ignias screamed in absolute agony. She could no longer hold back the overwhelming force. She gave up entirely as the culmination of their combined power erupted in an ultimate explosion that blew straight through her head and destroyed most of her skeleton in a single catastrophic blast.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!

After that final explosion there was only silence.

Riven slowly opened his eyes. He found himself protected by his own Psionic Avatar, which had created a strong psychic barrier around both him and Vladimir. His companion lay unconscious at his side, still breathing but completely spent.

He looked into the distance and noticed what little remained of Ignias. Her Core was still mostly intact, and her soul pulsed weakly with lingering pain. She had not yet been fully vanquished.

Riven sighed and slowly walked toward her, sensing the deep suffering within her soul. He had already returned to his human form.

"We didn’t have to do this," he said quietly. "We didn’t have to fight."

"..." Ignias sensed his approaching presence and flinched at first. Then, realizing she could no longer do anything, she somehow relaxed. "How long... has it been since then? Since my world perished? Do you... know?"

"Perhaps tens of thousands of years," Riven answered honestly. "Maybe even millions... I... I’m sorry."

Suddenly the faint spiritual form of Ignias manifested before his eyes, surprising him with its clarity. Her gentle appearance was completely different from the madness-consumed monster she had been only moments before.

"After enduring for so long, a part of me must have been consumed by pure madness..." she sighed with deep weariness. "I don’t know when that madness will return... I... am a threat to my people... I am no longer fit to rule..."

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