The four of them were now trapped amid the minion's ambush. The emergency barriers that Aurdis had created could withstand the sudden ambush, but they knew the barrier couldn't hold for too long.
So, Conrad sprang into action to attack the minions. His mastery of magic among them made it challenging for the minions to deal with him.
Meanwhile, Adrien and Billy decided to stay close to Aurdis. Her wounds continued to bleed, staining her white attire, and a grimace of pain etched across her face ever since a few moments ago when she had to create the barrier and withstand the ambush.
Now, Aurdis could be a bit more at ease because Adrien, Billy, and Conrad had started to battle against the minions. However, now there was one more thing that made her anxious, even fearful.
Aurdis looked up, towards her brother and Saeldir. From behind the tendrils of black-red energy dancing in front of her, she could see that Aerchon and Saeldir were in trouble.
Aurdis gritted her teeth. 'I have to save them!'
As she glanced around, Aurdis noticed that Adrien, Billy, and Conrad were still very occupied with their enemies. She couldn't rely on them.
And so, Aurdis darted forward on her own, ignoring the pain and growing weakness she was experiencing. She had to save her brother and Saeldir.
'Just a bit more...' Aurdis was almost near them. She only needed to deliver a surprise attack on Julius-Ozynk to make him release Aerchon and Saeldir. She could -
Before Aurdis could unleash her attack, shadows beneath her had already entangled her legs and crept up her body, immobilizing her completely in no time.
Aurdis cursed internally. Amid this life-threatening situation for Aerchon and Saeldir, she had recklessly fallen into Julius-Ozynk's trap. Or perhaps... he had intentionally baited her here.
When Aurdis looked up, she could see Julius-Ozynk's terrifyingly evil grin. What she had thought was indeed true; the creature had intended to lure her because he knew she would come when she saw them both in trouble.
Julius-Ozynk moved his shadows to capture Aurdis by encircling her body, rendering her unable to move or use magic. Coupled with the wounds and fatigue she was enduring, Aurdis felt increasingly powerless. Julius-Ozynk drew her closer, and Aurdis joined Aerchon and Saeldir in Julius-Ozynk's clutches.
"Now, I can overcome my greatest obstacle to control this place," Julius-Ozynk said again through his gnashing teeth.
"You... forgot... about the Dragonborn," Aurdis said, trying to squeeze her voice out amidst Julius-Ozynk's choking.
"HAHAHA!" Julius-Ozynk laughed loudly. "The Dragonborn? I know he's already in the Chaos Realm, but that was a poor choice for him. My ally there has likely killed him."
But Julius-Ozynk fell silent when he felt a powerful pulse from within himself. The pulse grew stronger and made him uneasy. It felt like... something was trying to break through the gate within him.
'Don't tell me... there's no way...'
He was dumbfounded and frightened. The pulsation that was becoming painful came from his domain. Someone was trying to break into his domain.
~~~
And that's what happened in the Chaos Realm. After they found the path to Julius-Ozynk's hidden domain behind the veil in Isadora's domain, Erend and Eccar immediately attempted to break in.
The secret path lay beneath the ruins of Isadora's castle and was shielded by powerful magic. Fortunately, with his [Dragon Eyes], Erend managed to locate the secret path within minutes.
Now, he and Eccar were trying to break something that looked like red and black-tinged glass. The magical energy creating this glass was formidable, so they felt they had to exert even more effort.
"HYYAAAAAARRGHHH!" Eccar yelled in frustration as he swung his fists, enveloped in brownish earth layers and his magical aura.
*CRACK!*
As it turned out, the punch fueled by anger successfully created a crack in the magic barrier.
"You did it!" Erend said.
"HAHA Yeah! I did it," Eccar looked delighted. After what felt like a very long time punching that barrier, he had finally caused some damage.
***
Seeing what Eccar was doing, Erend became enthusiastic and punched harder with his fists, cloaked in fire. Just as he suspected, he managed to create a crack in the barrier. After receiving several more blows with the insane strength of the Dragonborn, the barrier finally gave in and collapsed into shards of red-black energy.
Erend and Eccar entered the path and dashed forward. The path looked like a dark tunnel, but both of them could see clearly with their Dragon eyes. After a few seconds of running, they saw another barrier ahead.
They immediately attacked the barrier with all their might. They expected it to be as strong as the previous one, but to their surprise, they managed to destroy it in just a few strikes.
After breaking through the barrier, they finally arrived in Ozynk's domain. The domain consisted of a dark, cracked landscape. From the cracks, a contrasting red color was visible against the black ground.
There were many tall, densely packed trees in this place, making it difficult for them to find their way.
"Let's fly," Erend said, activating his [Dragon Wings] and soaring into the air. Eccar followed suit.
After reaching the treetop height, they looked around to find Ozynk's original body.
"Shit! He's hidden himself well!" Erend cursed with frustration.
"I've never been here before," Eccar muttered.
Erend turned to him. "So you've never been here either? The creature is indeed clever at hiding."
"Usually, those Chaos gods and goddesses hide their castles in the center of their domains. Let's go there," Eccar suggested.
"Wait," Erend said. "He's cunning and sly. He won't place his castle where we expect it."
"But..."
"Let's split up. That way, we can confirm it faster."
"Alright," Eccar nodded.
They began to separate. Erend went to search in one corner of the domain, while Eccar headed straight for the center of the domain.
~~~
The worry and fear were visible on Julius-Ozynk's face. Now, he could feel that someone was breaking into his domain.
'Calm down. They won't find my real body that easily. I still have time to kill them -'
Julius-Ozynk was too focused on what was happening in his domain and on the three Elves to notice that most of his minions had already been defeated, and now Adrien and Billy were approaching him.
He realized their arrival, but it was too late. What Julius-Ozynk could see were the silver-lit fists of the two of them aimed at his face.
*WHAM!*
Their punches hit Julius-Ozynk's face hard. Yet, he still stood upright, as if their attack did not affect him.
But that was not their initial goal. Julius-Ozynk, filled with rage, would only focus on the two of them, so he didn't notice when Conrad came and swung his light sword into Julius-Ozynk's hand.
*CRACK!*
*CRACK!*
"ARRGHH!!" Julius-Ozynk let out a scream so loud when his hand was cut off. Aerchon and Saeldir fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
Conrad then rushed towards Aurdis and cut the shadow that was binding her. Seeing that Conrad had successfully saved the three Elves, Adrien and Billy intensified their attacks.
They both battered Julius-Ozynk with punches and kicks, forcing him to retreat and move away. Adrien and Billy wanted to chase him, but Aurdis forbade them.
"Don't! He can kill you!"
Hearing that, they both decided to withdraw.
Julius-Ozynk continued to scream for a few more seconds. But then he stopped screaming, his eyes looked focused. Rumbling from the sky above could be heard, and then waves of red-black Magic began to fall towards him.
"He's going to replenish his Magic reserves from those clouds again," Aerchon said, holding his neck.
"No," Aurdis said. "Erend has found his real body."
Upon hearing that, relief filled all of their hearts.
~~~
As he had suspected, Ozynk had indeed placed his castle where he hid his real body on the outskirts of his domain. Erend immediately contacted Aurdis to convey his discovery. The message took only a few seconds. Erend decided to end the call with Aurdis and immediately contacted Eccar.
While waiting for Eccar to arrive, Erend had transformed into his Fire Dragon form and proceeded to wreak havoc in the castle. Ozynk's castle consisted of black brick walls. There were no other accents that made this castle unique, like Svaros and Isadora's castles.
It didn't take long for Erend to break through the walls of this castle because there were no protective Magic or even guards. He proceeded to search for Ozynk's real body.
But Erend didn't want to kill him. According to their plan from the beginning, Erend only needed to cripple him until he couldn't resist anymore.
Aurdis, Aerchon, and Saeldir had to seal the Chaos energy of Ozynk so that he and other Chaos creatures couldn't cross over to their world anymore.
Moreover, Ozynk was also the key to finding Laston. Ozynk, who was the god of deceit and mischief, was also known as the god of the Web in Eternal Earth. A god who could create intricate paths like a web that connected different worlds.
'I found you!' Dragon-Erend lunged forward and caught a figure that looked like a seventy-year-old man, emaciated and black-skinned as if his entire body was smeared with tar.
~~~
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