Chapter 413 Held hostage
When Dragon-Erend finally managed to capture Ozynk's body, his soul, which was currently inside Julius's body, felt it. His eyes widened, making the swirling red and black in them even more pronounced.
'What's happening?' Ozynk felt confused. Why did he suddenly have this feeling? It was a feeling of dread as if he were facing imminent death, while in fact, he was in a superior position against his enemies.
'Could it be... my real body...'
"ARGHH!!!" Julius suddenly screamed, as if his vocal cords were about to snap. Something had hurt his real body in the Chaos Realm.
As he looked up at his enemies, they were staring at him as if waiting for something to happen.
'Ozynk! Can you hear me, you motherfucker?!'
Ozynk's shouts and rage immediately ceased upon hearing that voice. It was the voice of the Dragonborn, who was speaking through his original body.
'I now have your real body. Stop whatever you're doing there, or I'll rip you in half!' Erend's voice echoed in his ears, carrying a deathly tone. It wasn't an empty threat. Ozynk knew that Erend had indeed found his real body.
"H-How are you there? I ordered Svaros and Isadora to kill you!" Ozynk said.
"By that, you mean the beast and the half-naked woman. They're dead."
All of this was almost impossible for Ozynk. He had trapped him in the void and suddenly, with the help of someone he didn't know, he was able to escape.
Ozynk thought he would have time to take control of this world entirely before Erend found his well-hidden real body. However, this was what was happening to him now. His plan had failed because it turned out that the Dragonborn's allies could hold him off long enough before he could do anything significant.
And now, the Dragonborn had found his real body. He could kill him instantly, yet he didn't.
"What do you want?" Ozynk asked.
"Do you know an Elf named Laston?"
Suddenly, a glimmer of hope to save his life appeared in Ozynk's mind.
"Yes, I know him!" Ozynk immediately replied. "He's an Elf who asked for my help to escape from his world."
"Good. You've just postponed your death. Stop everything you're doing there now. Erase all the influence you've placed on my world, and we will talk," Erend said firmly.
"Alright."
"Remember. Don't leave a single trace of your influence or Magic there, including the humans you've possessed. I'll know if you do, and I'll kill you instantly, just like I did to your friends."
"But... don't you need information from me?" Ozynk asked, now showing a hint of arrogance because Erend seemed to need him.
"Don't be annoying again, Ozynk. I'm a Dragonborn. I will eventually find him without your help. I'm only asking you because you might know."
"You're the one who needs me. If you lie or say you can't give an answer, I'll just kill you and continue with life as usual. While you're gone."
Once again, Ozynk not only felt threatened but also the clear prospect of death. He swallowed his saliva and said, "Alright."
The red-black Magic energy that descended from the clouds and almost reached his body returned to the dark clouds above. Shortly after, all of Ozynk's Magic that had been scattered around - his shadows - was also absorbed into his body. After a few minutes, the black cloud above them began to shrink and disappear like smoke blown away by a strong wind. Once the cloud had condensed into a one-meter-wide black mass, it descended toward Julius-Ozynk and entered his body.
"Is it over?" Billy asked, still staring at Julius as if he could attack at any moment.
"Yeah, it's over," Aurdis replied with a long sigh of relief. She fell to the ground, holding her wounds.
Aerchon immediately approached her and knelt, examining her face. "(Can you hold on? We still have to seal them after this.)"
Aurdis chuckled. "(Is that all you're thinking about?) Then she nodded, albeit weakly. "(Yeah, I can still hold on. Just give me a little time.)"
Aerchon wanted to say something else. However, he immediately covered his mouth again before he could utter what he wanted to say. He then stood up again.
Now, the sunlight had returned to the Ascan city's sky, specifically above the devastated presidential palace area. The black swirling clouds that had cast terrifying shadows had disappeared, absorbed back into Ozynk's body.
"He doesn't look defeated," Conrad said, suspicion still narrowing his eyes as he gazed at Julius. He hadn't even sheathed the glowing sword in his hand, ready for whatever might still happen.
"Moreover, what suddenly made him surrender like that? Earlier, he was ferociously attacking us," Conrad added.
"It's Erend," Billy said, smiling proudly. "In the Chaos Realm, Erend solved the problem."
Conrad looked at him, then turned his gaze back to Ozynk. 'What did Sergeant Drake do in the Chaos Realm? And how did he do it?'
Julius suddenly walked towards them. As he walked, they watched his regenerate the arm that Conrad had previously severed.
"I won't fight anymore," Julius said in a flat tone. However, they could still see anger and irritation clearly in his eyes because he had failed to take control of this world.
"Why aren't you dead yet?" Billy asked.
"Your friend... wants to talk about something," Julius replied.
Billy, Adrien, and Conrad furrowed their brows in confusion at what he said. But then, their questions were answered by Saeldir.
"We have to seal him so that they can no longer enter your world. And ours."
Julius suddenly snorted, as if what Saeldir had said was nonsense. But they all ignored him.
"Alright. You must have your reasons for this, right?" Adrien said. "Do what you want. After that, I request that you release the president and then kill this creature."
"We will try," Saeldir said.
Ozynk didn't say anything to respond to their words. It was better for him to think about how to escape using the time they had given him.
"For this, it's best for you to stay away. It's related to our world's issues," Aerchon said. "Sorry for the inconvenience."
Adrien said, "It's okay. We understand. It's your world's problem."
After that, Aerchon, Aurdis, and Saeldir led Julius to a somewhat distant location.
Nevertheless, Conrad continued to watch them with suspicious eyes. Why did the Elves hide what they wanted to say, especially when they had just faced difficulties together? And why did Adrien allow it so easily? What if the Elves planned something bad, like using the power of this creature for their purposes?
"Don't look at them like that," Billy said to Conrad with a smile. "They won't do anything harmful to us."
"How can you be so sure?" Conrad asked sharply.
"We've known them for so long, longer than you can imagine. We've been through a lot of difficulties together," Billy replied.
Conrad didn't say anything more, but he still wasn't entirely convinced. However, now that both Billy and Adrien agreed with it, he had no voice to express his disagreement.
Aerchon created a barrier to encircle himself, Aurdis, Saeldir, and Julius.
"Now, tell us what you did to help Laston," Aerchon said firmly, almost sounding like he was giving an order.
"He was a devoted follower of mine. So, I gave him a chance to escape to another world at that time," Julius replied.
"Where did you take him?" Aerchon asked through gritted teeth. His grudge against Laston was immense after being betrayed and seeing their palace utterly destroyed.
"I don't know which world it was. I just gave him something random, as long as he could get out of that world," Julius said.
Aerchon raised Arondite and pressed its sharp tip against Julius's throat. "You better answer truthfully, creature!"
"I swear to you. I don't know exactly where he went. We also didn't contact each other after that."
Aerchon stared at him for a few moments with a piercing gaze. On the other side, Ozynk knew that Erend was holding his real body hostage and could destroy it whenever he wanted.
Aerchon turned to Aurdis. "(Call Erend and tell him to destroy one of his hands.)"
Aurdis hesitated for a moment. But, this was all to force Ozynk to reveal everything.
"(Will he feel pain if we hurt his real body? His soul is here,)" Saeldir said.
"(We will find out,)" Aerchon turned to Aurdis. "(Now!)"
Aurdis nodded. During that time, Ozynk watched them with suspicion and anxiety because he didn't understand what they were saying. Until finally, the pain reached him.
"AARGGHH!!!"
Julius-Ozynk - screamed so loudly. However, his voice couldn't escape from this barrier.
"Tell me the truth!" Aerchon hissed.
"I swear! I... I don't know where he is."
Ozynk saw Aerchon wanting to speak to Aurdis again. He quickly said, "But I can find him!"
Aerchon looked at him again. "What do you mean?"
"I will find him, and... and I'm sure I can find him if you give me time," Ozynk said.
"You might be planning something to escape, aren't you?" Saeldir said.
Ozynk sighed. "I can't. Your Dragonborn has a friend in the Chaos Realm who's holding me hostage."
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