"No!"
From a distance, Mia, unable to contain herself, screamed upon seeing Ethan on the verge of being crushed.
She immediately charged towards him. Pale Wolf, Sherry, Eluna, and the others also rushed forward, standing in front of Ethan.
Their faces may not have shown the despair evident in Mia's, but their actions spoke volumes.
Even Komait, who was notorious for fleeing, transformed into a black dragon and took to the skies to harass the monster.
"Hey, ugly! Come chase me if you dare!" Komait taunted.
He clearly underestimated the monster's strength.
It leapt into the air, its tentacles twisting into a whip-like form, and struck Komait down, plummeting him into a large crater on the ground.
In the midst of the chaos, the often-overlooked Luke surreptitiously made his way to Komait, grabbed a large vial of Dragon Blood, and retreated to a safe distance to observe the ongoing mayhem.
Meanwhile, Alaric, although grievously wounded, had regained some of his strength.
"Lana Mokos, you filthy wench! You dare betray me? If I live through this, you will suffer every agony imaginable!" he swore under his breath.
He had tried reaching out to Lana but received no response.
It was clear she had abandoned him, and the sudden disappearance of his greatest ally was a pill too bitter to swallow.
Back at the epicenter of the conflict, Ethan struggled to his feet, moved by the unexpected arrival of Mia and the others.
"Mia, Sherry, you're not strong enough to take on this monster."
Eluna retorted, "Lord Ethan, we may not be a match for that creature, but we are your allies."
"Exactly, Ethan," added Pale Wolf. "Do you really think hiding will keep this monster from coming after us?"
Ethan smiled, grateful for the companions that stood beside him.
He looked up to the sky, where the monstrous figure was plummeting down at an alarming speed.
In his judgment, Pale Wolf and the others would not survive this blow.
With the last reserves of his strength, he conjured the Holy Light Shield.
Under the glow of the Holy Light, his injuries began to mend, albeit slowly.
The recovery was barely a drop in the ocean, given the severity of his condition, but the Holy Light Shield was what mattered most.
As the monster crashed down, a deafening sound reverberated through the air.
The shield Ethan had erected shattered upon impact, catapulting everyone away. Ethan's injuries worsened, and his consciousness blurred.
"Lord Ethan!" Mia rushed to his side, her eyes brimming with tears as she cradled his bloodied face.
The monster showed no mercy.
It flew toward them, its tentacled eyes revealing a glint of disgust as it looked at Sherry, Eluna, and the others blocking its path to Ethan.
"Pathetic allies," it sneered.
"You all deserve to die. Especially you, insect, daring to challenge my authority time and again. I'll slaughter your friends one by one, making you taste the most profound agony this world has to offer."
With that, it lashed out its whip-like tentacle. Eluna and the others had no time to react and were sent flying, leaving only Mia kneeling beside Ethan.
Gently laying Ethan on the ground, Mia spoke with a painful reluctance, "Lord Ethan, you must survive."
Then Mia stood up, alone, facing the monstrous creature before her.
A radiant Holy Light emanated from her, crystallizing into a Holy Light armor around her body.
Holding a longsword in her hand, she resembled a regal Lady Knight as she declared war on the monster.
But in the face of overwhelming power, courage counted for little.
A single tentacle pierced through Mia, flinging her far away.
"Mia!" Ethan's heart seethed with rage, yet he was unable to move.
The monster seemed to revel in this, emitting a high-pitched laugh.
"Ha ha ha! Yes, just like that! The look of agony on your face—it's utterly delightful! And this is the price, the price for disturbing my Master's slumber! All of you will become nourishment for my Lord Oksd!"
The monster underwent another transformation.
Not only did its voice revert to that of Bloody Queen Edith, but its once chaotic, tentacled body transformed into textured muscle.
Its aura intensified once again, stronger even than before it was scorched by Hilna's flames.
"This...this is the aura of a deity. The monster is on the verge of becoming a deity!" Alaric said, his voice tinged with horror.
In that moment, he plunged into utter despair.
Luke, who was hiding in the distance, also descended into madness.
If before he held a sliver of hope—having sensed that the strength of the barrier was unevenly distributed, allowing him to potentially escape through a weaker point using a magic scroll and a space blade—his plans were now dashed.
With the monster's sudden enhancement, the barrier's strength escalated.
Luke's hopes were shattered; he, too, became one marked for death.
"What a marvelous sensation," the monster gloated.
Excitedly, Monster Edith sauntered toward Ethan, her voice dripping with mockery.
"To be honest, I should really thank you. Without you, it might have taken me ages to fully integrate Lord Oksd's heart. But now, I wield a portion of his power."
"So, to express my gratitude, you may die now."
Edith's arm transformed into a blood-red blade, plunging straight for Ethan's heart.
Ethan, drained of strength, couldn't dodge; the blade pierced through his heart.
But the powerful vitality bestowed upon him by his dragon lineage kept him from dying instantly.
With the last of his spiritual power, he drew all the Blood Source stored in his Space Ring and poured it into his mouth, uttering madly, "Before I die, I won't let you harm them!"
"And the one who will survive isn't you!"
Consuming the Blood Source, especially in such quantities, was an act of sheer madness.
A boundless surge of energy erupted from the Blood Source, coursing manically through Ethan's body, tearing muscles and bursting veins.
In an instant, he became a being of pure blood, a gruesome sight.
But it also imbued him with strength.
Ethan kicked Edith away and transformed into his dragon form.
His once majestic and divine Golden Divine Dragon form was now veiled in a mist of blood; its golden scales shattered, oozing fresh blood.
"This is still not enough!"
Feeling the immense power, Ethan inwardly denied its adequacy.
He activated the Languages of Nature he mastered—Thunder, Holy Light, and Dragon—infusing them into the absorption of the Blood Source.
The explosive power of the Blood Source combined with the terrifying potency of Thunder continually ravaged Ethan's form, refining his flesh and blood over and over.
Holy Light ceaselessly healed him.
In a cycle of destruction and rebirth, Ethan's aura soared.
The Dragon Language of Nature, which Ethan rarely used, played a critical role now.
The secrets from the dragon lineage for refining the body were unearthed, continuously incorporated into his instinctual framework while augmenting his dragon-born talents.
These various powers reached a precarious balance within Ethan.
But the cost of this equilibrium was excruciating pain.
Moreover, Edith was still there, and she would never allow Ethan to proceed undisturbed.
"Damn it, you actually have such a trick up your sleeve,"
In her heart, Edith was profoundly shaken.
She instantly lashed out with dozens of tendrils, stabbing at Ethan's dragon form.
But this time, the tendrils failed to penetrate.
The recent forging had made Ethan's body incredibly resilient, and under the amplification of the Dragon Language of Nature, he could now resist most physical attacks.
So, Edith had no choice but to change her strategy.
Though Ethan was weaker than her, she couldn't increase her power in such a short time. Meanwhile, Ethan's strength was continually rising.
Roaring, Edith unleashed what she believed to be a mental attack.
However, this too fell short. If anything, Ethan's spirit was his strongest aspect, especially now that he had transformed into a Golden Divine Dragon.
His golden eyes swept over Edith, instilling in her a sense of dread.
"This can't be!" Edith was terrified. Ethan's gaze bore the likeness of a deity, something she found incomprehensible.
Without hesitation, she launched another attack.
Even removing the barrier she'd been sustaining, all to kill Ethan.
"Die!" she roared, her blood boiling, her tendrils dancing wildly.
A potent orb of Holy Light was also forming in the mouth of Ethan's Golden Divine Dragon form.
Then, under the watchful eyes of those on the ground, the two collided, generating a deafening explosion and a blinding light.
When the glare finally subsided, the crowd saw the aftermath.
The scales on Ethan's chest were shattered, revealing the dragon's innards.
Edith fared worse, her chest pierced clean through.
However, Edith was still alive, though significantly weakened.
"You actually managed to injure me, human—"
Her words cut off abruptly as her eyes fell to the ground, her expression filling with bewilderment.
A space blade had been fired, not aimed at her but at the hovering Golden Divine Dragon.
It struck true, eliciting a hearty laugh from Edith.
"Humans do love to tear each other apart. Now, do you still have the strength to face me?"
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