Chapter 170: Annihilation

As soon as the domain appeared, the dragonoid man sneered.

"Do you think a measly barrier can protect you from me?"

He glanced at the dragon perched on his shoulder and spoke with a respectful tone. "Master, please allow me to draw upon your power."

The moment his words fell, a potent energy surged out of the dragon. The dragonoid man’s aura erupted like an apocalyptic calamity, spreading across the entire battlefield with overwhelming might.

Hundreds of envoys from the god races were left utterly shocked. Their faces turned pale as they felt the terrifying pressure emanating from him. His aura was even more powerful than that of their ancestors.

"What a terrifying power. The human and elf races are finished because of the unbounded arrogance of their leader."

They thought with barely concealed delight, believing that Victor’s arrogance had finally brought about his downfall.

However, they had misunderstood the true nature of the dragonoid man’s power. He had formed a master-servant bond with the creature on his shoulder, but the astral creature was the master, not the servant. Through their bond, the dragonoid man could draw upon his master’s immense strength, allowing him to unleash power far beyond his own limits.

Boom!

The dragonoid man threw a punch.

The resulting shockwave erupted with cataclysmic force, tearing through the surrounding space and sending a tremendous wave of pressure across the area. The hundreds of envoys were instantly forced to their knees, their bodies trembling beneath the overwhelming might.

Even the powerful warriors among them struggled to remain conscious.

Astrion immediately reacted. With a thought, he invoked another of his powers and manifested a low-grade barrier around the guests, shielding them from the devastating shockwave.

The barrier trembled violently as the destructive force slammed into it, but it held firm, protecting the guests from the full impact of the dragonoid man’s attack.

Meanwhile the domain held absolute silence. Within its shimmering walls, the chaotic skies, the shattering pressure, and the furious roars of the ancient dragon race envoy were reduced to muted, motionless shadows.

Diana looked into Victor’s eyes, the faint quiver of anxiety that had touched her expression completely smoothing away. The sheer warmth returning to his face made the world-ending threat outside feel utterly trivial.

Cristofer let out a low, steady breath, clearing his throat as he adjusted his formal robes. The brief moment of tension had passed, replaced by an ironclad focus.

"Where were we?" Cristofer said, his voice echoing with calm authority within the isolated space. He raised his hands once more, causing the sacred halo of light to bloom between Victor and Diana.

"Under the quiet testament of space and the unwavering resolve of your hearts, I ask again," Cristofer continued, a faint, proud smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Victor, do you take Diana to be your partner, to stand beside her across the endless cosmos, through victory, peril, and eternity?"

"I do," Victor said without a second of hesitation, his hand gently wrapping around Diana’s.

"And Diana," Cristofer turned his gaze to her, "do you take Victor to be your partner, to share in his path, his burdens, and his soul for all of time?"

"I do," Diana whispered softly, her fingers tightening around his as a brilliant smile broke across her face.

"Then by the primordial order and the unbreakable bond of your souls, I pronounce you united," Cristofer declared, sweeping his arms outward.

A pulse of pristine, golden light flared from their joined hands, sinking into their chests and forming a subtle, permanent soul thread that bound their presence together. Victor stepped closer, pulling Diana into a brief, tender kiss as the light settled into their skin.

"Congratulations," Cristofer said softly, his priest-like demeanor shifting back into that of a proud master. Then, his eyes flicked upward toward the translucent boundary of the domain, where the blood-red dragonoid man was frantically slamming a fist against the barrier to absolutely no effect.

"Now," Cristofer added, his voice dropping into a dry, cold tone, "go handle the trash."

"I won’t be long," Victor said to Diana, giving her hand one last gentle squeeze.

"Don’t hold back," Diana replied evenly, her blue eyes gleaming with absolute trust and a hint of cold disdain for the intruders above. "They ruined the music."

Victor smiled.

With a simple step forward, Victor walked straight through the edge of the domain.

The moment he crossed the boundary, the full weight of the external world smashed back into reality. The deafening roars of hundreds of massive celestial beasts, the ambient shrieks of terrified foreign diplomats, and the oppressive, semi-immortal pressure of the sapphire dragon slammed into the space below.

The young dragonoid man was breathing heavily, his face twisted in a mixture of rage and slight humiliation after his attack had failed to scratch Astrion’s domain. Seeing Victor step out alone, his sneer returned with double the venom.

"So you finally decided to stop hiding behind your little spatial trick, human?" the dragonoid man barked, his voice echoing across the shattered ceiling. "You think securing a temporary barrier saves you? You insulted the Ancient Dragon Race. My semi-immortal companion will rip your soul apart piece by piece, and then we will..."

"Astrion," Victor interrupted, his voice terrifyingly calm, completely cutting off the arrogant rant.

"I am here, Master," Astrion’s voice echoed directly from the void around them.

"Kill the semi-immortal beast first," Victor commanded, not even bothering to look at the young envoy. "Leave the dragonoid alive for five seconds. I want him to watch."

The young dragonoid man’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Arrogant worm! You dare..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the sky turned dead black.

It wasn’t a shadow; it was the absolute erasure of light. The small sapphire dragon resting on the young man’s shoulder, a creature that had lived for millions of years and commanded power capable of crushing star systems, instantly stiffened. Its slit pupils dilated in sudden, utter horror.

It felt the aura of it’s god. But before it could say anything, it was too late.

A massive, starlight-infused claw, larger than continents, materialized out of thin air directly above the god race vanguard. It didn’t bring atmospheric pressure; it brought the weight of an entire collapsing universe.

Screeech!

The sapphire dragon didn’t even have time to uncoil its body or unleash its semi-immortal defensive domain. The spatial claw snapped down.

CRACK!

A sound like the shattering of fundamental reality echoed across the planet. The semi-immortal dragon was crushed into a mist of golden blood and shattered divine scales in less than a hundredth of a second. Its soul was extinguished so fast that not a single drop of its power managed to leak out to damage the planet below.

The entire heaven and earth fell into a horrifying, suffocating silence.

The hundreds of ancient beasts floating in the upper atmosphere froze mid-roar, their instincts screaming at them to flee, yet their bodies were paralyzed by pure cosmic terror. The proud envoys of the angel, fire phoenix, titan, and golden dragon races all turned deathly pale, their legs trembling so violently that several dropped out of the sky, slamming onto the palace grounds in complete shock.

A semi-immortal existence... killed like a fly.

The young dragonoid man stood frozen in mid-air. The blood-red armor he wore felt ice-cold against his skin. He slowly turned his head to look at his right shoulder.

Empty.

Only a tiny drop of golden dragon blood was floating in the air where his ultimate reliance had sat a moment prior.

His breath hitched. The smug, untouchable air of an ancient race noble evaporated into thin air, replaced by a visceral, primal dread that tore through his mind.

"You... you..." The young man’s voice cracked, trembling so hard he could barely form words. "My beast...my master.. was a semi-immortal..."

Victor slowly levitated off the ground, ascending into the sky until he was standing directly in front of the dragonoid envoy. His dark eyes were utterly devoid of emotion, like an endless abyss looking down upon an ant.

"You said your ancient race would exterminate us within three hours?" Victor asked softly, reaching out a hand and casually gripping the young man’s throat as he already activated the arch demon transformation.

The dragonoid man tried to channel his quasar-realm energy to resist, but the moment Victor’s fingers touched him, his internal energy pathways were instantly shattered by an absolute, unyielding force. He hung in Victor’s grip like a broken ragdoll.

"W-wait..." the dragonoid gasped, eyes bulging with desperate terror. "The Ancient Dragon Race... has true Immortals... if you kill me... the entire cosmos will..."

"They can come," Victor said coldly.

Thwip.

With a casual twist of his wrist, Victor snapped the dragonoid noble’s neck, instantly crushing his soul-sea with a pulse of spatial force. He tossed the lifeless body aside like common trash.

Victor turned his gaze toward the sky, looking at the hundreds of shivering envoys from the god races who were now bowing frantically in the air, weeping and begging for mercy.

"Astrion," Victor said, his tone flat and unbothered as he turned back toward the shattered grand hall where Diana was waiting. "Clean up the sky. Don’t let their blood ruin the planet."

"As you command, Master."

Victor stepped back down onto the long blue carpet, smoothing his collar as the screams above were instantly cut short by a wave of cosmic annihilation. He walked back to Diana’s side, the glacial chill in his eyes completely melting away as he looked at her.

"Sorry about the delay," Victor smiled faintly, offering her his arm. "Now, where were we with the banquet?"