Chapter 424: The Deceived and the Deceiver (4)

Karnak's group continued to press Tesranach. Serati, who wielded the Grace of Twilight, and Karnak, whom their opponent had to deliberately avoid hitting, were practically the perfect spear and shield.

But no matter how exceptional a spear and shield were, they were only as effective as their wielder. Varos's role was to coordinate the two.

Serati leapt from behind Karnak and attacked.

Twilight Swordsmanship, Severing Strata.

Varos immediately slipped to the side and followed up with an additional blow.

Reversal Blade, Severance of Life and Death!

The timing was so precise that Tesranach was left with no choice but to defend. They controlled his movements like that, and whenever he attacked back, they swiftly used Karnak as a shield.

—Young master, this way!

Moreover, their shield could also transform into a powerful cannon. Seizing the advantage, Karnak activated his necromancy. "Let the curtain of night descend, and all be swallowed in silence!"

While Tesranach had been focused on the opposite side, a long shadow stretched beneath his feet. From the darkness at his heels, dozens of black tendrils erupted and bound him.

Of course, he could easily break the spell by wielding the Black God's Grace, but the moment he did, Serati and Varos's attacks would come crashing in. If he exerted strength in one place, another would inevitably be left open.

A faint groan escaped Tesranach's lips. His expression gradually hardened. This was the reason Karnak had insisted on bringing Varos along to the very end.

In terms of pure ability, Lapicel was likely stronger than him, since she had regained her power as a martial king. But Varos was not far behind. He had regained much of his former power after mastering the new application of Reversal Blade.

However, that technique still had its flaws. Since he was no longer a death knight but a living body, someone had to supply him with dark power from the side. In other words, he could only wield the strength of his former self when he remained close to Karnak.

Lapicel could fight well on her own, while Varos fought best when supported. There was no need to even consider which of the two should be matched against an archmage. Moreover, Karnak and Varos had centuries' worth of experience fighting together.

—Go, Varos!

—Yes, young master!

Their coordination was seamless.

—Again, young master!

—Of course!

Blinding destruction filled the dark hall. Deafening explosions and shockwaves erupted one after another. Tesranach was steadily being pushed back under the relentless, seamless assault.

Serati assessed the battlefield while winging her blade. He's still not going all out?

He was holding on using only the power of his Grace. There was no sign of him using magic or necromancy. It seemed he was still concerned about Karnak's safety.

Then we have no choice but to push harder!

When she had first heard Grateria's plan, it had sounded absurd. They were supposed to force an already monstrously powerful Tesranach back into his 500-meter dragon form, and then fight him?

It might as well have been like trying to defeat a beast with a toothpick. But now that she was actually facing him, it made a strange kind of sense. If Tesranach reverted to his dragon form, he would undoubtedly become vastly stronger.

But he would also grow larger. For someone like Serati, who relied on overwhelming force, it would actually be easier to land hits against a larger opponent. Moreover, Tesranach's true body, the Dragon Emperor Grateria's body, was excessively large.

A small mouse could move nimbly, but a massive elephant struggled even to change direction. Of course, an elephant could be terrifyingly fast if it charged, but it could never match a mouse's agility.

And since controlling that immense power was difficult, the risk of accidentally harming Karnak would also increase. That would make Tesranach even more hesitant in his attacks. In fact, it would be relatively safer for them if Tesranach returned to his dragon form.

And once he did, Grateria would finally have a chance to act. With a body that enormous, five hundred meters in length, he wouldn't be able to properly resist a sudden reverse possession. Then the dragon emperor could reclaim his body.

Serati drew even more deeply upon her Grace. Karnak handled the defense, and Varos handled the targeting. Her role was simple. She simply had to focus all her strength into a single decisive strike.

Twilight Swordsmanship, Hymn of the Setting Sun!

Crimson flames and dark azure radiance burned through the darkness, dancing wildly. Tesranach's blessing began to shatter, scattering in all directions. He was reaching the limits of his human form.

Now! Gritting her teeth, Serati thrust her blade forward with all her might. The powers of twilight and dawn swirled together as the strike drove deep into Tesranach's chest. Got him!

Of course, she knew this wouldn't kill him. She knew the blade shouldn't even be able to pierce him. It didn't matter. This strike was never meant to kill. But to block it, he would have no choice but to exert his full power!

Show your true form, Tesranach!

The blade of twilight sank deep into the heart of the fallen guardian. Serati's expression stiffened. "Huh?"

***

A blazing sword of fire had pierced deep into Tesranach's chest. Something was wrong. He had yielded a vital point far too easily.

"Damn!" Startled, Serati immediately released her grip and leapt back. She had no time to retrieve her sword when she didn't know what might happen next.

Maybe losing a human heart doesn't mean much to the dragon emperor?

As she heightened her guard, thinking he might transform into a dragon at any moment, Tesranach suddenly groaned and collapsed.

The impact of his fall dislodged the embedded blade. Red blood poured out, soaking the floor. Serati and Varos stared blankly, murmuring.

"Is that really the end?"

"There's no way he'd go down like this."

They sharpened their senses, wondering if it might be an illusion. But the Tesranach before them was unmistakably dying. No, rather, he was already a corpse.

"This makes no sense..." Remaining on high alert, Karnak cautiously approached the body.

He flipped it over from a distance using magic. There was no way he would risk getting close. The fallen corpse rolled onto its back and faced the sky. The moment they saw the face, everyone turned pale.

The face on the corpse did not belong to Tesranach, the face of Varos from his days as a death knight lord. However, it was still a familiar face.

"Emil Strauss?"

The corpse belonged to Leven's older brother, who had been controlled as Tesranach's vessel even before the descent of the Black God.

"My god... that wasn't his true body from the start?"

"No wonder he only used the power of Grace."

Serati and Varos frantically scanned their surroundings.

Then where's the real one? Where is the real Tesranach?

A voice began to echo throughout the entire hall of darkness. "It is done..."

The voice was like a thunderous roar rising from the depths of an endless abyss. "At last, enough darkness has gathered to plant death..."

The darkness that filled the hall began to churn violently. A cold sneer echoed from afar. "Karnak, Monarch of Death. Did you think deception was yours alone to wield?"

The entire space warped like a storm had struck it, the air trembling as if it might explode at any moment. From within the surging darkness, immense malice and death energy burst forth.

Grateria's urgent voice rang in their ears.

—Everyone! Get out of here, now!

***

Fierce battles raged across the imperial capital, Thea Krahan. The ground began to tremble faintly, and then a massive earthquake struck the entire city. Roads split apart, buildings shook violently. Ash and lava scattered in every direction.

Startled, people frantically looked around, looking for the source of the commotion. From the very center of the capital, an enormous darkness surged upward. In an instant, it took form.

Everyone doubted their eyes. A colossal entity was growing in size before them. Gigantic roots tore through the earth and emerged. Jet-black branches stretched outward in all directions, reaching toward the blood-red sky. Dense black leaves sprouted, scattering darkness like falling ash.

Even the lowest branches covered the city, while the highest pierced the clouds. It was an immense tree formed entirely of darkness, towering hundreds of meters high.

Figures flew desperately through the raging storm, beneath the world tree of darkness that blanketed both sky and land.

Karnak's group had barely escaped from the grand cathedral. They crashed onto the rooftop of a nearby building, and all of them gasped for breath.

"Damn... we almost got buried alive."

It had been truly dangerous. If Grateria hadn't lifted them all with flight magic at that exact moment, they might have ended up trapped somewhere underground, struggling for their lives.

—Honestly, that was tough. There were too many of you.

Grumbling, Grateria set the unconscious Chaplin and Desteran down on one side of the rooftop.

Karnak clicked his tongue. "And you still managed to bring them along?"

—Of course. What, was I supposed to leave them behind?

"I'm just realizing the difference between you and me."

With a bitter smile, Karnak turned his gaze toward the grand temple. There was nothing left of the grand cathedral. What now dominated that vast land was the World Tree of Darkness, Astra Shunaph. The false god of death stood there, towering over the land in the form of a tree.

Karnak muttered defeatedly. "Did we fail...?"

Serati shook her head. "We haven't failed yet!"

Perhaps it was because she was wielding the power of Grace, she could tell instinctively. That immense authority of death was not yet connected to anything. It was separate from both Karnak and Tesranach. It was isolated from everything, merely waiting for its true master.

"Tesranach hasn't claimed it yet either!"

She paused, startled. Karnak and Grateria still wore dark expressions.

"We know that, Serati."

"What?"

It was true that Astra Shunaph had not yet fallen into Tesranach's hands. But it was also true that it had completely slipped from Karnak's grasp.

"You said it yourself just now."

That overwhelming power currently had no owner and was waiting for someone worthy. What did that mean? It meant that whoever survived—Karnak or Tesranach—would become its master.

Grateria muttered weakly.

—Now Tesranach no longer has any reason to worry about Karnak's safety.

***

The sky split open. Through a tear in space, a dragon hundreds of meters long revealed itself. It was another colossal calamity, rivaling in size even the world tree that blanketed the capital.

Tesranach had returned to his true form. Gazing upon the tree of darkness, the dragon smiled. "Success."

At last, he had separated death from its master. Of course, it was not yet his. But it was no longer Karnak's either. Only one thing remained. To imprint himself as the new master upon that abandoned power awaiting its rightful owner.

Tesranach shifted his gaze across the capital. With the terrifying vision of a dragon, he spotted a black-haired young man standing rigidly on a distant rooftop. "There you are, destroyer of spacetime."

The colossal dragon glided through the air. The atmosphere tore apart, and a tempest erupted in its wake. The roar of the massive dragon filled the blood-red sky of the capital. It was a single phrase he had longed to shout through hundreds, thousands of trials and errors. "I will kill you!"