Chapter 381: The Final Battle (12)

Ascalon’s massive sword rose high above Karyl, like a towering pillar emerging from the earth. The blade ignited with arcane energy as it reached for the skies, roaring and swirling fiercely.

“...This is madness,” Narh Di Maug muttered to himself, unable to hide his shock.

WHAM—!!

Karyl swung the colossal sword in a wide arc, and with a sound like shattering stone, the Platinum Dragon’s head snapped to the side. He staggered, but Karyl gave him no chance to retreat.

He tightened his grip on the sword’s hilt, muscles straining and veins throbbing in his hands. Then, with a resounding

whoosh

, he brought the massive blade down like a guillotine, slamming it into the Platinum Dragon’s shoulder.

The dragon’s bone shattered with a sickening crack, the sound evocative of a slaughterhouse.

“Raaaaarghhh...!!”

With his barrier shattered by the previous strike, Narh Di Maug was left defenseless against Ascalon’s Arcane Blade. The raw force of the mana tore into his body, sending jolts of pain through him as though lightning had struck his heart.

Karyl planted the sword’s hilt into the ground. He then sprinted up the blade, using it as a staircase toward Narh Di Maug’s shoulder.

“Don’t you weep. I’ve yet to cut you up properly.”

Leaping from the blade’s edge, Karyl seized the sword of Polsetia and swung it downward toward the embedded weapon, aiming to deliver a lethal blow.

Annihilation Strike: Second Cut

CRASH...!!

The thunderous crash was followed by the distinct sound of something snapping and breaking. Dust filled the air, but those nearby instinctively knew what had happened.

Karyl’s strike had pulverized the Platinum Dragon’s shoulder, shattering bone and cleaving through flesh.

“GRAAAAH...!!”

Narh Di Maug’s agonized cry shook the ground. Flesh and blood fell from the sky like a deluge.

THUD...!

“How dare you...! How is it possible for a filthy human to wound me with a sword...?!”

The ground quaked as the massive dragon staggered.

This feeling...

“You may have drawn my blood, but it’s futile! Soon, Polsetia will consume the last bit of your mana, leaving you a dried-up well!”

Narh Di Maug’s booming voice reverberated across the capital, forcing everyone to cover their ears.

“I shall take great pleasure in watching you wither away. When you become an empty husk, I shall stand over you and laugh at your futile efforts!”

Karyl paid no heed to the dragon’s taunts. Instead, he closed his eyes, focusing on the sensation he had felt moments earlier, trying to recall it.

So that’s it.

Polsetia’s energy enveloped him completely.

There was a strange irony in this moment. In the heat of this life-or-death struggle, Karyl felt he had taken the final step to establishing himself as the true Great Warrior—something he hadn’t managed to do in his trials.

“What are you so afraid of?” Karyl pressed down on Ascalon’s massive sword, driving it further into Narh Di Maug’s shoulder.

“Ghraaaa...!!”

“A dragon once told me something when he taught me the way of the sword. I never once defeated him.”

“...What?”

Karyl slowly turned his gaze to Narh Di Maug. “He said you’ll never win a fight by avoiding it.”

He then raised his hand, revealing a quivering mass of blood in his palm. “Do you really believe that this fight hinges on my endurance versus your ability to withstand my attacks?”

Karyl slowly walked up the length of Ascalon’s massive sword, which was half-embedded in the dragon’s shoulder.

Placing one foot on Narh Di Maug’s forehead, he pointed Polsetia’s blade at the creature’s massive eye and said, “If so, you’ve already lost.”

“...”

At that moment, Narh Di Maug roared and forcefully yanked Ascalon’s blade out of his shoulder, bearing his massive jaws at Karyl.

In response, Karyl swung Polsetia’s sword, clashing head on with the enraged dragon.

“RHAAAAAR...!!”

Dozens of magic circles materialized around Narh Di Maug, all glowing at once. Karyl zigzagged through the air, dodging the barrage of magic raining down on him. Explosions erupted beneath him as he dashed upward, while Narh Di Maug spread his enormous wings and took to the sky in pursuit.

“YOU...!!”

Narh Di Maug gave chase, tearing through the clouds as he desperately tried to catch up. However, Karyl turned around abruptly, diving downward with his sword poised.

“Your so-called Annihilation Strike... You can’t use it again!”

As they closed in on each other, Karyl pressed with his foot against the air, altering his trajectory at a sharp angle to dart into Narh Di Maug’s blind side.

“So? I don’t need that anymore.”

Fifty meters...

Thirty, ten...

One!

The distance closed in the blink of an eye. If Karyl swung his sword now, the blade would strike true. His hair was whipped back by the sheer speed.

The Second Stance: Unicorn Posture.

CRASH!!! BOOM—!!! BOOOM—!!!

The First Stance: Crown Posture

A torrent of strikes rained down on the dragon.

“That’s...”

Amid the thunderous roar, Allen called out to Karyl, but whatever he tried to tell him was drowned out by the fierce clash.

“RAAAAAAAH...!!”

As Narh Di Maug charged with a feral roar, Karyl braced himself, preparing to strike once more.

The Fourth Stance: Riffle Posture

The Third Stance: Long Weeping Posture

Using the momentum from Riffle Posture, Karyl countered Narh Di Maug’s assault, transitioning into the final stance for his finishing blow.

The Fifth Stance: Spirale Serpent Posture

“...”

It felt as though their entire clash had lasted only seconds. Their movements were a blur, marked solely by the relentless clang of Karyl’s blade striking against the dragon’s claws.

The ground around them hadn’t merely been reduced to ruins—it had been utterly pulverized, leveled into a desolate plain.

“...”

The onlookers stared in stunned silence at the two figures standing in the midst of the devastation.

Karyl looked down at his hand, watching how Polsetia’s sword disintegrated in a gentle cascade of ashes.

“So in the end, you completed your own swordsmanship instead of the Blader techniques. A matter of pride, perhaps?”

Allen had recognized Karyl’s Five Stances—they resembled Alteman’s swordsmanship, which had influenced the style of the MacGovern family and ultimately traced back to Judex, the first Blader.

Nevertheless, Kary’s techniques bore a distinct signature—undeniably his. Without a second blade needed for an Annihilation Strike, Karyl had instead used his own style against Narh Di Maug, as if to prove he was better than the Bladers.

“But that final strike was...”

Only Allen, bound to Karyl by a soul contract, had noticed the difference.

“You pierced his heart with a Sixth Stance, one you’ve never used before.”

Karyl nodded in silent acknowledgment.

“Guh...!”

Narh Di Maug had reverted to his human form. He stared at Karyl with disbelief, blood trickling from his lips.

“How...?”

His gaze was fixed on Karyl’s palm—though Polsetia’s sword had crumbled to dust, there was something else in his hand.

“I told you. Killing you would be far too kind.”

Thump, thump, thump...

Narh Di Maug was horrified when he realized what Karyl was holding—a beating heart, which he cupped gently, pressing down on it.

Gulp—

He snapped his head downward, looking at his own chest. Blood poured from it, but more importantly, it was hollow.

Narh Di Maug stood there frozen, speechless, unable to process his impending death.

“No... NOOO...!!”

Narh Di Maug lunged forward, stretching his hand toward Karyl. But his legs were now numb and lifeless, like the roots of a dead tree.

“W-Why... Why can’t I... heal?”

His words faltered, devolving into incoherent mumbling as he clutched his trembling legs. He desperately tried casting spells, but the glow of magic wasn’t there; instead he felt only his strength fading away.

“Life is the same for all creatures. Even a dragon dies without its heart.”

“NOOOO...!!”

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Narh Di Maug’s scream came too late, for Karyl crushed his heart, blood spurting in all directions.

His fate was sealed.

Sssrpp...!!

In that instant, Mael surged forward and coiled around Karyl’s arm. Then, he sank his fangs into Narh Di Maug’s heart, devouring it completely.

Mael’s blue scales turned a brilliant white, quivering slightly as if in satisfaction. His long tongue flicked out, licking the last bits of heart from his scales, savoring every drop of blood.

“Nasty...” the snake remarked, though he kept licking around his mouth, absorbing every trace of mana left.

“Agh... Ah...” Narh Di Maug tried to speak, reaching out with his trembling hand, but no words came from his lips.

Thud—

“Now, let me throw your words right back at you.

Narh Di Maug collapsed to his knees, his head slumping forward in defeat.

“Your plan has failed.”

Karyl’s words pierced his empty chest.

Crackle...!!!

But just then, the edges of the void in Narh Di Maug’s chest began to blacken.

“Don’t make me laugh... You dare judge my will, the purpose I’ve carried from the Mythical Era?!”

“Will and purpose? Is that your idea of justice?” Karyl shot back, his tone cold and unyielding.

“Then what...?! You’re justice...? You?!”

“No.” Karyl stared at him blankly. “I couldn’t care less about that.”

“...”

“You simply lost to me. That’s the reality here. It doesn’t matter which one of us was right. I am the victor, and you’re the defeated. That’s all there is to it.”

“As I expected...” Allen let out a dry chuckle, amused by Karyl’s answer.

“The loser should know when to stay down.”

Karyl picked up Lakna from the ground. Spinning it lightly, he held the handle to his neck, pretending to slash a line across it.

“Ugh...!! AAAAARRGGH...!!”

In that moment, a dark energy surged from Narh Di Maug’s chest, swelling like a bloom of spores, ready to erupt. As it spread through his body, his veins blackened, as if tar coursed through them.

“Karyl,” Allen warned.

“Yes, I know,” he replied with a nod. “That’s Tarak. Every experiment Narh Di Maug carried out in his lair was in pursuit of mastering that power.”

Ironically, Tarak was the true essence of Divine Power.

“The moment I consumed his heart, I understood why he sought this power,” Karyl went on, knowing the battle was far from over. “He killed Rael for the same reason. She was incomplete. To control Tarak, one needs the power of light, which only he and the gods possessed.”

At that moment, a pure light gathered like a knot on the back of his hand.

“That’s why Narh Di Maug sealed the spirit within his own heart—because without that light, even he was incomplete. Isn’t that right? Show yourself now,” Karyl called out, gazing into the radiant glow.

“Rasis, Spirit King of Light.”