Chapter 431: The Power of the Sun (5)

“Wh-What the hell...?!” Yurin Huygar cried out, startled by the sudden glow of the dragon skull.

Rumble... Rumble...

Karyl, too, was taken aback as Toska’s bones stirred with life.

“So this isn’t an ordinary tomb, after all.”

No sooner had Karyl spoken than the shattered bones began to reassemble into the frame of a massive Bone Dragon. Smoke rose from the runes etched into the bones, cloaking them like skin as they shone with brilliant light.

“Karyl, remember those traces of life we felt before entering here? I reckon it was this.”

“Life... from a pile of bones...? How could that be?”

“Well, since we came across corpses holding Divine Power not long ago, this undead dragon shouldn’t be that much of a surprise,” Allen argued.

At that, Karyl turned toward the Bone Dragon and scoffed.

“That’s no dragon. Just the empty shell of the Blader from the Mythical Era.”

Sching—

With a motion as though unsheathing an unseen weapon, Karyl summoned Polsetia’s blade from thin air. Yurin Huygar swallowed hard, as the sword’s intense mana was a stark reminder of how Karyl had once used it to decapitate the Platinum Dragon.

“Using Polsetia might not be a good idea. The tome originally belonged to Toska, so using its power might enrage the Bone Dragon,” Ramine warned. “Don’t forget that the Golden Dragon was on par with Judex himself. If he believed his tome has been taken from him...”

Having fought in the Oracle War, the Spirit Kings knew Toska’s majesty better than anyone. They acknowledged him as the ultimate master of magic and revered him even above the Platinum Dragon, the so-called ruler of spirits.

“That’s all the more reason I must fight with the sword of Polsetia.”

Karyl tightened his grip on the sword, dismissing Ramine’s warning.

“Toska’s spirit was sealed in the Thousand-Year Ice Cave, right? But if his body over here somehow senses Polsetia...”

Vrrring...

The blade vibrated and hummed as Karyl infused it with mana.

“This is the perfect opportunity to show who the true master of Polsetia is. We need to show him that the era has changed, don’t you think?”

“Do you really intend to fight the Golden Dragon?” Ethereal asked, bewildered by Karyl’s boldness.

“Why not?” Karyl responded indifferently. “I mean, I’ve got two dragons already. How difficult can it be to add one more?”

Two... dragons?

Yurin Huygar looked at Karyl in astonishment. Though the memory of Karyl slaying the Platinum Dragon remained vivid in his mind, he had never known that Karyl had also devoured Riseria’s heart.

That would explain his absurd power...

“Kraaaaaah...!!”

Toska unleashed a ferocious roar that shook the entire sanctum.

“Is it... alive?”

Yurin Huygar could only stare, entranced by the sight.

“No, not really. It looks alive because the light’s refracting, but it’s just a skeleton covered in smoke, not flesh. It ain’t your typical Bone Dragon...”

Karyl fixed his gaze on a single point amid Toska’s translucent scales.

“But it’s understandable you were mistaken, Yurin. Look over there.”

“...What is that?”

There, between Toska’s ribs, was a single spot that radiated fiercely. Yurin looked to Karyl, seeking an answer.

“That’s Toska’s heart.”

“Hah, so we didn’t come here for nothing, eh?” Allen beamed. “I thought we’d only find the Platinum Dragon’s leftover trash, but we’ve actually stumbled upon a treasure. You could say that heart is the ultimate essence of the sun, no?”

Karyl made no response. He just stared ahead at the third dragon heart, as if enthralled by it.

“But this is strange. Why is Toska’s heart here? If the Platinum Dragon really used this sanctum as a laboratory, there’s no way he would’ve just left the heart here.”

“Who knows... Maybe he couldn’t take the heart with him.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Dragons create barriers to protect their most vital part, the heart. That’s what those markings on the bones were for.”

“Hmm...” Karyl nodded. He knew better than anyone how powerful the protective magic of dragons was.

After all, Olivurn had once worn the Rex Hander—red armor forged from a single shard of Riseria’s bones, melted down and combined with mithril and orichalcum by Calypson himself. Nothing in the royal treasury could ever compare.

If a single shard of bone could achieve that, then Toska’s entire preserved skeleton was nothing less than a golden treasure.

“Ripping a dragon’s heart out is no easy task. Toska is more ancient than Narh Di Maug. Perhaps Narh Di Maug himself failed to extract his heart.”

“But Riseria’s heart was hidden separately in Einheri, wasn’t it?”

“The circumstances surrounding the Flame Dragon’s death are still unclear... If she left her heart behind intentionally, then it likely has nothing to do with the sealing itself.”

Karyl gave Allen a sidelong glance.

“True. Even though I obtained the Platinum Dragon’s heart, it didn’t fully bond with me until the pact with the empire. Likewise, Toska’s heart might just be useless if we can’t find the key to breaking the seal.”

“...”

Yurin watched the two of them with bewildered eyes. Even more incredible than the Bone Dragon’s appearance was how casually Karyl and Allen exchanged words, seemingly unbothered by the immediate threat before them.

But before he could say anything, something astonishing happened.

“Judex... Is that you?”

The bone dragon’s mouth opened, and a low, chilling voice emerged.

It still has consciousness?

Karyl stared in fascination at Toska, who seemed to be in a state of utter confusion but somehow still managed to speak.

“No, but I caught a glimpse of his essence back in the Thousand-Year Ice Cave. That seal hasn’t been broken yet.”

Looking at Toska, he gathered his thoughts.

“That was most likely just a lingering memory.”

But the fact that his will had endured even after being sealed away by Yula was a testament to just how powerful Toska had been. Perhaps there was something the Golden Dragon had to protect—something that kept his will from fading.

“Of course...”

Karyl’s lips curved into a faint smile.

Shing!

Without another word, he steadied his sword as an Aura Blade flared to life along its edge.

“Human...”

Crack... Crack...!!

In that instant, Toska’s massive jaws opened wide, facing Karyl. With intense heat, a beam of light began to gather and condense within the dragon’s mouth.

“Watch out!” Karyl shouted at Yurin, who quickly raised his hammer as a shield and chanted a barrier spell.

FWAASH!

As though the sun itself had just been unleashed, Toska’s breath instantly melted the surrounding rocks, engulfing Karyl.

“Hah... Hah...”

Yurin Huygar had almost thanked Yula out loud, his face flushed bright red as he struggled to catch his breath. He had conjured the most powerful barrier he could muster, and yet Toska’s heat had pierced right through it, leaving burn marks on his skin.

Yurin tore off the scorched and tattered sleeves of his robe and steadied himself.

Thud, thud, thud!

Toska suddenly began to stomp, as if in agony. The ground quaked with each thunderous step, as though the entire cavern might collapse at any moment.

Clang—!

A piercing sound, like the clash of blades, echoed through the rumble.

“Rasis,” Karyl called out in a low voice.

“Understood.”

Rasis’s power instantly resonated with Karyl’s intent, merging seamlessly into the blade of Polsetia.

“We’re joining too.”

As if he had been waiting for this moment, Allen gathered Duaat’s dark energy into a staff.

Fwoosh!

As Karyl surged toward Toska’s inner flank, he lunged into the air, as if propelled by a shockwave from below.

The Second Stance: Unicorn Posture

Polsetia’s blade flashed with a burst of light, and Karyl plunged it into Toska’s smoky form. If the dragon possessed flesh, the blade would have cut straight through it.

“Hmph...!”

Karyl drove his hand between Toska’s bones.

Arcane Book of Polsetia—Second Spell: Gray Fill

A gray orb emerged from Karyl’s outstretched hand.

“Graaaah...!”

The orb spun at a frightening speed within Toska’s skeleton, as if it was about to consume everything.

“Raaaagh...!!”

The dragon roared in agony as the bones around his heart turned gray. A swirling storm coiled into a net around the heart, as if to ensnare it.

Crack...!

But at that moment, the ribs closed in on the heart, seemingly to shield it.

“Careful. Toska himself devised Polsetia’s spells. Naturally, he’ll know how to counter them.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly why I’m using it,” Karyl murmured, eyeing the bones that were beginning to entangle him.

“Yurin!”

At his shout, Yurin grasped the Infernal Hammer, ready to pounce.

“Shatter his ribcage! We only have one chance. Pour all your Divine Power into this swing!”

“...”

Yurin swallowed hard as he watched Toska’s ribcage wrap around Karyl. Everything now hinged on his next move.

“Come on, you can do this...!” he muttered to himself. “It’s just a dragon. No big deal, right...?”

He spat into his palm and gripped the hammer tightly.

“I’m turning you to dust!”

Vwoooom...!

His forearms swelled with power, looking as though they might burst from the strain.

Woosh! CRACK!

Yurin swung his hammer with fierce force, striking Toska’s leg dead-on. Empowered by Divine Power, the blow had clearly inflicted damage on the undead dragon.

“Ghraaar...!!”

With his leg shattered, Toska lost his balance and staggered.

Karyl seized the moment, driving Polsetia’s blade into the bones encasing the heart.

Crack...!

“You...! You torment me again, Judex..!!”

“...I’m not Judex.”

“I will never trust you again... In the end, you will fall...!”

“I don’t think so.”

The Bone Dragon, an echo of the real Toska, spoke incoherently and didn’t seem to understand Karyl’s words. And yet, Karyl felt a strange resonance between them.

“You didn’t seem to be such a feeble being in the memories left behind in Polsetia. The Golden Dragon who bestowed blessings upon the clan that followed him to the end...”

Karyl slowly raised his sword.

“If you’ve given up on fighting, I won’t force you. But as long as I keep fighting, I will only grow stronger.”

Fwooom...! Shhhhkk—

Polsetia’s blade resonated with Toska’s mana, and the gray orb summoned by Karyl shredded the dragon’s bones in an instant.

“Graaaaahhhhh...!!”

Toska roared in agony.

“See? Even the Grand Grimoire has lost faith in its owner. Seems like it’s chosen to lend its power to me instead of you.”

A golden light seeped from the shattered bones.

Watching it intently, Karyl whispered, “If you’ve given up, then you have no need for a heart. So forfeit it to me.”