Epic of Ice Dragon: Reborn As An Ice Dragon With A System

Chapter 2425: The Beginning Of The End [6]

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RUMBLE!

Drake interconnected all the roots of his bloodlines, gathering them into a single point.

"HAAAH!"

With a mighty roar, Drake's body grew larger and stronger.

His scales took on red and blue hues, resembling flames dancing over ice.

His form became more humanoid while retaining most of its draconic majesty.

"Hoh? See? You can do it too!"

"...!"

FLASH!

Drake surged toward Oberon, swinging all six fists in a relentless barrage.

Oberon countered instantly, blocking every punch and retaliating with devastating blows that punched massive holes through Drake's body.

Yet Drake regenerated at an astonishing rate, overcoming the gap in raw power through sheer will.

He gathered vast quantities of primordial elemental energies into his six arms and drove them into Oberon's body.

Explosions of pure, destructive Gluttony erupted, shaped to consume everything in their path.

BOOOMMM!!!

"That actually hurt."

Oberon emerged from the smoke covered in burns, but the wounds healed almost as quickly as Drake's own.

"Surprised? You are no longer the sole owner of the Immortal Body Unique Skill, Drake."

"…?!"

Oberon spread his arms with a smile. Countless crimson eyes opened across his body and fired beams that riddled Drake with holes, hurling him backward.

"Uugh?! Come back!"

Drake roared in fury, pursuing Oberon as the fairy king soared through the Underworld, gazing calmly at the scenery below.

"Beautiful view, isn't it?"

"Muramasa! Celestia!"

Drake summoned both swords, slicing through space itself to appear directly in front of Oberon.

"{Ultimate Pinnacle}!!!"

He fused and compressed all his Domains into the blades, swinging upward in a rising pillar of multicolored light that warped space and time.

SLAAASH!

BOOOM!

"Ungh?!"

Oberon groaned in pain, blood spilling from his mouth as he was launched skyward. Drake spotted a small wound on the fairy king's stomach and pressed the attack relentlessly, chaining Ultimate Pinnacles one after another.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

Dozens of radiant pillars erupted. Drake appeared above, below, from the left and right, striking without pause, giving Oberon no chance to think.

Every second he bought allowed Yggdrasil and the rest of the world to prepare. Drake knew they were coming.

All of them.

The true final battle was about to begin, and everything was on the line.

"Enough."

Oberon's single word reshaped reality. Drake suddenly found his own swords buried in his chest, blood pouring from the wounds.

Oberon stood behind him, wearing a disappointed expression.

"You are far too impatient. Perhaps because you are still so young? You remain a child carrying power far beyond what you should wield. I tried to ease your burden earlier, but you refused, Herald of Fantasy."

"W-What?!"

Drake was baffled. He hadn't even registered what happened.

Time manipulation? No, the flow of time felt undisturbed.

Space? No change there either.

Dimensions remained exactly where they had been.

And yet…

Oberon had simply willed Drake's defeat into existence.

"Drake! W-What happened?! I'm sorry!" Muramasa cried.

"We'll get out! Hold on!" Celestia urged.

"Hmph."

Drake merely smiled and closed his eyes for a moment.

Oberon tilted his head, puzzled.

"I have destroyed your concept of regeneration, by the way. You will bleed out."

"I cannot die."

Drake's swords melted into his wounds, transforming into rainbow crystals that became flesh once more.

"Your Unique Skill is impressive, but it has limits. I know them well because I possess it now."

"No. You only have a cheap imitation."

"…Is that so?"

"Unique Skills aren't mere tools or weapons for you to steal and wield, Oberon. They are the will, dreams, and wishes of people made manifest."

"The process by which Fantasy grants the wishes of Normalcy is indeed beautiful, but once you understand the mechanism, they lose their mystique."

"There you go again. You reduce everything to technicalities and view the world only through a scientific lens. I respect that perspective, but I also pity you."

"You pity me, Drake? Haha…"

"Yes. I pity you. You lack a true heart. You are soulless despite possessing a soul. You are empty and alone. You cannot comprehend emotions."

"I comprehend everything there is to comprehend. Your mind, however, is simply… too limited to grasp it. I suppose I'll have to demonstrate."

"I'll kill you."

"Hahah! That can wait."

FLASH!

Oberon became pure light, streaking through space toward his destination.

Yet.

FLASH!

"Hm?!"

Drake pursued directly behind him. His family and allies were not far off either, determined to stop the madman.

"{Primordial Titan's Grasp}"

TRUUUM!

Oberon's eyes widened as Drake's Aura transformed into a colossal hand that seized and crushed him with overwhelming force.

Gravity, space, and time compressed around the fairy king. More hands appeared—one blazing with fire, another freezing with ice—as the power of both Fire and Ice Titans coursed through them.

"{Primordial Titan's Crush}!"

The hands tightened relentlessly, attempting to reduce Oberon to subatomic dust. The pressure grew so immense that a black hole began forming inside him.

"Amusing. This resembles Ymir's technique. Good times."

FLASH!

Everything halted.

Drake's technique vanished as if it had never existed. Oberon reappeared unharmed and delivered a flurry of punches that tore through Drake's body.

At the same instant, Oberon's Aura erupted—malefic and monstrous—fusing every power he had gathered with the Psychic abilities he had absorbed from Uroboros after the parasite foolishly attempted to consume him.

BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

"NGAAAAHHH!"

Drake roared in agony and fury. Each blow exploded into chunks of flesh, bone, and organs. Yet the destroyed parts transformed into spiritual dragons that attacked Oberon, detonating against his body.

The explosions, however, barely registered. Oberon remained unscathed.

Drake fought back. New arms sprouted from his back, summoning every weapon at once. They tore through space, creating miniature black holes to pin Oberon in place.

"{Primordial Dragon King's Arts}: {Myriad Divine Weapon Storm}"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The relentless assault shattered space itself, hurling Oberon downward. Dozens of strikes hammered his body while Drake's countless Aura-conjured arms and weapons continued the onslaught endlessly.

The technique's name was no exaggeration. Drake could manifest myriads of arms, hands, and weapons from his Aura and Ascendancy Laws, unleashing an unending storm of destruction.

"You're only delaying the inevitable. No matter how many of you try to stop me, the truth cannot be suppressed. Fantasy will perish, and this universe will return to its original state!"

Oberon roared, growing visibly irritated. He kicked Drake away, regenerating instantly, then sent the Dragon King crashing into Helheim's ceiling with enough force to explode his midsection. As Drake fell, Oberon surged upward to meet him with claws ready.

"Perhaps I should teach you patience, Drake. Care to learn?"

Drake's eyes widened. Oberon's body became pure light, zigzagging around him at impossible speed. Drake's halves reunited, and he tried to catch the fairy king with countless arms and weapons, but Oberon evaded most strikes, reaching Drake's body and slashing with claws that tore through both flesh and soul at blinding speed.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

"Nnnggghh!"

Drake felt his soul shred into fragments, yet he instantly recombined them using his Immortal Soul technique. His blades fused into a single, massive katana.

"I'm not finished, Oberon! I will never fall, no matter what you throw at disorganized me! I am your worst nightmare, and I won't stop until you're dead!"

As he roared, Drake felt the souls of dragons from the Draconic Records surge into him. Their power gathered in his sword, making it glow with majestic, multicolored light.

"{Immortal Soul Blade Arts}: {Ultimate Pinnacle}!!!"

SLAAASH!

BOOOM!

The strike connected. Oberon vomited blood as a massive gash opened across his chest. Drake pressed the advantage, slashing through Oberon's arm and severing it completely.

"Echo!"

Drake pushed further. Titan power flowed through him as Skadi and Surtr, the Primordial Mother of Ice Titans and Father of Fire Titans, lent him their strength.

"Take the power of the Titans, Drake!"

"We're not slacking off! Do it!"

The souls of countless Titans rose within the Titan Records, fueling Drake's body. His muscles bulged with impossible might, even his soul growing muscular and overlapping his physical form for double the power.

"{Immortal Titan Soul Blade}: {Ascending Pinnacle}!!!"

"Huh?!"

Oberon's eyes twitched. The Primordial Titans manifested within Drake's Aura, glaring down and swinging their fists as Drake's blade cleaved through Oberon's body with everything he had.

"UUUOOOHHHH!"

Oberon screamed in agony as his body and soul split apart, blood spraying everywhere.

Was this it?

Could Drake end him now and stop the coming war?!

"Fascinating."

"…?!"

Yet Oberon's expression remained calm even as his body parted. An explosion engulfed him.

BOOOMMM!!!

His form instantly regenerated, whole once more. Drake lunged again, realizing the horror of fighting someone with his own gift.

"You really love your swords, don't you? Concept Negation: Swordsmanship."

TRUUUM!

Though he couldn't easily negate Drake's "life," other concepts were fair game.

"GAAAH?!"

Drake suddenly felt dizzy. His hands trembled. Every sword in his Aura and grasp vanished.

Muramasa and Celestia's presences faded almost to nothing.

"W-What did you…! What did you do?!"

"Your swordsmanship reached an incredible level, but what are you without it? You can never wield a sword again. How does powerlessness feel? Haha…!"

Oberon wasn't wrong. Drake instantly felt lost, as if an entire portion of his mind had been erased.

The pain was excruciating, horrifying.

"Is this how Jake felt when you took his life…?"

"Hm? Was that his name? Yes, I was testing my abilities on him. Feeling guilty? Don't worry. There are only a few Concepts I can negate from you. You truly are an interesting specimen. Shame your swordsmanship was among your strongest assets!"

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