Chapter 692

Nigel looked up at the sky.

Boom!

Lightning constantly struck the sky covered in black clouds, and thunder resounded without pause.

It was a sight as though the end of the world had come.

At the center of this fearsome landscape was Raikas.

Raikas was still in human form.

Even without returning to his true form, he was dominating all the elements and environment in the area with overwhelming control.

Nigel bit his lip tightly.

It had not been like this when he clashed with Raikas not long ago.

Although Nigel had ultimately lost to Raikas, the gap between them had not been so great that it was impossible to overcome.

But things were different now.

Kwarrr!

The atmosphere had been seized by Raikas's power and was violently fluctuating at will.

It was as though all energies had become mixed together like in the primordial world, creating extreme chaos.

Even though this was not a lair, the entire area was changing into something resembling Raikas's domain.

“You've become a monster.”

“Calling a dragon a monster. That's a bit harsh.”

“Perhaps! In my eyes, I don't see a dragon with a lofty will. I only see a monster consumed by power.”

“You should look at yourself before saying something like that. Look at yourself. What the hell are you? That awkward appearance, neither dragon nor human...”

Raikas mocked Nigel's appearance.

By his standards, Nigel's appearance was no different from that of an orc or ogre.

Appearance was not everything, but it was an important vessel that held power.

Naturally, the size and direction of one's power were determined by the form of one's body.

In that regard, Nigel's appearance was the worst.

Of course, that was according to Raikas's standards.

Nigel's gaze as he looked at Raikas had sunk deeper than ever.

Even though they had not yet directly clashed, Nigel's explosive power could already be felt.

Raikas, who had absorbed the crystal that had originally belonged to Dantal, already possessed power far superior to Nigel's.

On the other hand, Nigel had not even recovered from the wounds he had suffered before, so he could not bring out his full strength.

Even though he had shamefully hidden himself in Teserina's lair and devoted himself to recovery, he had still not completely healed.

That was how serious the wounds inflicted by Raikas had been.

So serious that even a dragon's authority could not heal them.

Even so, Nigel would rather die than show weakness.

Nigel possessed an ego just as unyielding as Raikas's.

Complaining about death simply because the situation was unfavorable was not in his nature.

'He is definitely stronger than me. But that doesn't mean I have absolutely no chance of winning.’

Even while focusing on recovery in Teserina's lair, Nigel had gone over his previous battle again and again.

He reflected on his fight with Raikas and studied how he could kill him.

If an ordinary human were told to devise a way to kill a dragon, they would not obtain an answer even after a hundred years. But Nigel still possessed the intellect of a dragon.

He could perform highly complex calculations that would be impossible for an ordinary human brain even over an entire lifetime in an instant.

After countless calculations and studies, Nigel had found a faint possibility.

Of course, even he could not guarantee that it would succeed.

Raikas had evolved once more and was now far stronger than when he had fought Nigel before.

“Hoo!”

Nigel took a deep breath, causing his chest to swell greatly.

Charrk!

His black scales collided, producing a chilly sound.

It was the ritual the half-dragon Nigel performed before battle.

“You still seem to think you can defeat me. Foolishly...”

Raikas clicked his tongue as he watched Nigel.

Kwarrr!

Even at that moment, the area covered in dark clouds continued to expand.

It was being transformed into Raikas's domain.

If he had unleashed his authority in Neo Seoul, it probably would have become like this as well.

The reason Raikas had deliberately come all the way to this distant place was because he had grown greedy for Neo Seoul.

He wanted to turn all of Neo Seoul into his lair.

He could not afford to miss the perfect opportunity to enslave twenty million humans and demi-humans.

If he fought Nigel in Neo Seoul, everything could be destroyed.

He wanted an intact Neo Seoul, not a ruined one.

That was why he had deliberately come this far together with Nigel.

Here, he could easily kill Nigel without interference from Zeon.

'I'll finish off Nigel before Zeon arrives.'

If he killed Nigel and absorbed the last fragment of Krassias's consciousness residing within him, Zeon would no longer be an obstacle.

Just then, Raikas's eyes became even redder.

Pat!

Nigel kicked off the ground and charged toward Raikas.

Closing hundreds of meters of space in a single step, Nigel reached Raikas and swung his greatsword.

Shwaaang!

A chilling sound of air being torn apart rang out.

The greatsword cleaved straight through Raikas's body. But Nigel's expression was not bright.

He had felt nothing in his hand.

“An afterimage?”

Raikas had clearly moved at high speed while deceiving Nigel's senses.

Nigel's eyes darted around in search of Raikas.

As Nigel used all his senses to locate Raikas, his eyes turned toward the sky.

High above in the sky, Raikas was looking down at him.

When he opened his palm, flames burst out like fireworks.

The flames transformed into the shapes of snakes and flew toward Nigel.

Dozens of snakes opened their enormous mouths and tried to bite Nigel.

“Get out of my way!”

Nigel swung his enormous greatsword horizontally as he flew toward Raikas.

Black energy rose from his greatsword and sliced apart all the snakes made of flame.

The remains of the fire snakes were cut in two and scattered in all directions.

At that moment, Raikas clenched his fist tightly. Then the remains of the fire snakes came back to life and swallowed Nigel.

Kwa-kwa-kwa!

A gigantic sphere made of fire swallowed Nigel and spun violently.

The name of the enormous sphere containing the power of chaos was Chaos Sphere.

“It does sting my pride a little that I was inspired by that human's skill, but its power is certainly undeniable.”

The model for Chaos Sphere was none other than Zeon's Sand Mixer.

Zeon's skill, which rotated sand to pulverize its target, was a terrifying nightmare for anyone on the receiving end.

Of course, it could not cause Raikas such great damage and anxiety, but it was more than enough to inspire him.

Inside the Chaos Sphere, flames of extreme heat were spinning violently, shaving away Nigel's scales and barrier.

Of course, it would be difficult for a mere spell like this to inflict major damage on a half-dragon like Nigel, but it was more than enough to deal a psychological blow.

Indeed, Nigel could not hide his perplexed expression.

Not because of the power of Chaos Sphere, but because of Raikas's creativity in creating such magic.

As far as Nigel knew, Raikas had never possessed such fresh creativity.

Kwa-kwa-kwa!

Even at that moment, the terrible heat was scorching Nigel's scales.

Ordinarily, Nigel would have been able to endure this level of heat without any trouble.

His scales were hard enough to completely block all external attacks.

The problem was that Nigel's scales were not in normal condition now.

Scales all over his body were cracked or had fallen away, leaving his bare flesh exposed.

The heat that had seeped through the broken areas was cooking his raw flesh bright red.

The heat created by Raikas's authority was penetrating him, neutralizing even the anti-magic resistance of a dragon.

Nigel gripped his greatsword tightly.

It was a greatsword made from his own bones.

He had made it even stronger and sharper with magical fire in Teserina's lair.

Naturally, this greatsword contained his authority.

Ssak!

When he swung the greatsword, the Chaos Sphere split apart and the flames filling it scattered in all directions.

Nigel spread his enormous wings wide and flew high into the sky.

Raikas was where he was heading.

As though he had been waiting for it, Raikas fired magic spells at Nigel in rapid succession.

Kwa-kwa-kwa!

Water, fire, wind, and even lightning all mixed together and poured down upon Nigel.

Nigel did not evade Raikas's attacks.

He knew that if he dodged here, he would never be able to catch up with Raikas to the end.

Instead, he wrapped his entire body with his wings and protected himself.

Boom! Flash!

Raikas's attacks exploded against the wings covered in black scales.

Even though he blocked the attacks with his wings, the enormous impact shook Nigel's insides.

Drip!

Black blood seeped from between Nigel's lips.

Even so, Nigel did not utter a single groan and tightened his grip on the greatsword.

Because he had broken straight through the magical attacks, Raikas was right before his eyes.

He had entered striking range.

Without hesitation, Nigel swung his greatsword.

“Chaaa!”

Kwa-kwa-kwa!

Black energy rose like a storm along the greatsword and engulfed Raikas.

The black energy took the form of a dragon.

Nigel had materialized his mana into the shape of a gigantic dragon.

It was a skill possessing attack power and durability as powerful as a dragon's true body.

Boom!

The dragon materialized from mana slammed directly into Raikas.

Storm-like energy battered and shook Raikas.

Although he was shaken like a fallen leaf, Raikas's expression did not change.

“Nothing has changed from before.”

Raikas muttered coldly as he created a small sphere.

It was Black Hole, the magic that had driven Nigel to defeat before.

Shuuu!

Black Hole absorbed the dragon materialized from mana with terrifying force.

No matter how much it took the form of a dragon, it was not a real dragon. It was merely a convincing fake made from mana.

Then there was no reason Black Hole could not absorb it.

All Raikas had to do was absorb it with Black Hole and return it to Nigel.

Raikas thought Nigel had no ability to learn.

He flicked his finger, and Black Hole flew toward Nigel at terrifying speed.

Bang!

When Black Hole reached Nigel, it released the mana it had trapped inside and exploded.

The elements and mana collided, creating tremendous explosive energy.

So much so that Nigel's body seemed to be erased in an instant.

“Erased?”

Raikas's complexion changed instantly.

No matter how much of Nigel's mana he had absorbed and returned at several times its original power, a dragon could not possibly be erased so quickly.

“Don't tell me... an illusion?”

Raikas quickly retreated and surveyed his surroundings.

At that moment, he sensed a chilling presence behind him.

“Nigel?”

“I was waiting.”

Nigel's chilling voice came from behind.

Nigel had already positioned himself along Raikas's path of movement.

Just as Raikas had guessed, the attack from moments ago had been a deception using an illusion.

The dragon materialized from mana had been real, but the one who had launched the attack was not the illusion.

Just as Raikas had toyed with Nigel using an illusion, Nigel had likewise deceived Raikas using an illusion.

For this very moment.

“Yaaaah!”

Puhuk!

With Nigel's battle cry, the greatsword pierced through Raikas's body.

The greatsword pierced the body of Raikas, who had polymorphed into human form, far too easily.

“Keuugh!”

Raikas's mouth fell open as he looked at the greatsword that had pierced his chest.

It was an agony he had never experienced before.

He had been born with tremendous power, and this was the first time he had ever suffered such an injury.

Nigel, who had impaled Raikas with the greatsword, whispered.

“How is it? This is why I evolved into this form. A human body and combat techniques are perfectly suited for deceiving an enemy.”

“Nigel!”

“Die!”

Nigel poured all his mana into the greatsword and made it explode.

Baaaang!

A gigantic explosion shook the atmosphere and the ground itself.