Chapter 518: A Death Beyond Logic
’Not the only target?’
Though I questioned the possibility for a second, the answer to that question was already lying before my eyes.
{As you can already tell, poor Volcanic had a similar encounter to mine but he wasn’t as lucky.}
’So this is the Volcanic Dragon.’
The victim’s identity finally came to light. This was the true overseer of the Fire Domain and one of the Dragons that were once mentioned by the Dragon Ancestor.
"He wasn’t able to escape like you did?"
{No. While he might not be as good when it comes to spatial jumps, Volcanic was definitely the most capable when it came to moving through the ground. If someone could outrun their hunter, then it would be him.}
The Green Dragon’s words certainly made sense. Even if I had to guess, the Volcanic Dragon obviously had mastery over both Earth and Fire Elements, traveling underground definitely fell into his area of expertise. However...
"Through the ground?"
What the Green Dragon just said implied an even greater problem. Unlike his situation, the Volcanic Dragon’s battle seemed to have happened inside the Fire Domain.
{I can’t understand it either, but the signs I saw when I arrived here all point to an on-scene battle.}
If the other Dragon Slayer was only able to semi-kill the weakened Green Dragon using experience and trickery, then how was the Volcanic Dragon murdered inside his own turf?
{The other side had someone who could fight Brother at his best. He might not have reached the prime state of his last regrowth cycle, but he shouldn’t have died. At least not in this manner.}
Being a less mature version did explain things. Still, as long as it wasn’t in a state comparable to the one sleeping in my arm, it wouldn’t have been an easy opponent.
As such, while a re-evaluation of the enemy’s strength brought some relief, it was very short-lived. The Green Dragon’s words always implied more than their simple meaning.
’If the Green Dragon was able to survive then...’
The manner of death was an ambiguous statement, but when linked with everything that had been revealed until now, it revealed a very shocking possibility.
"You are using his essence to maintain yourself?"
{Yes. The one who killed Volcanic did so in the most direct way possible. They didn’t cut-off Brother’s essence out of his body, he just died.}
If the Green Dragon’s experience could be considered a very logical and calculated trap, then what happened to the Volcanic Dragon was the exact opposite... A completely unexplainable situation!
Killed without any preparations or tricks. At the very least, it wasn’t anything obvious. There was a possibility that an artifact was involved in this, but there was a limit to how useful they could be.
Although their powers could bend logic and destroy common sense, something that increased direct damage went in a different direction.
’It makes no sense.’
Even if such an artifact did exist, killing the Volcanic Dragon required a lot more. At the very least, an artifact that could grant ’True Death’ was needed, something that would be a realm higher than what the Demons had shown until now.
{Unfortunately, there was nothing that I could do. Not to mention the state I was in, being dead in a body that had its essence meant that there was no way to bring Brother back.}
Just imagining the predicament that the Green Dragon was once in made my heart chilly. The poor ’majestic’ being was running for his life only to find his Brother completely dead.
Basically, two beings who were the closest thing to an ’absolute’ were almost extinguished like a weak candle under the heavy wind.
The only positive outcome in such a tragedy was...
{Ironic, right? If my Brother didn’t die like this, I couldn’t have preserved what was left of my life, but that was never my objective. In the first place, I only came to the Fire Domain to warn Volcanic. Alas... I was too late.}
The emotional linkage that I shared with the Green Dragon proved his sincerity. He wasn’t trying to be pretentious to win my sympathy. Rather, if he could give up his life for the sake of the Volcanic Dragon, he would do so in a heartbeat.
{Even then, this is nothing more than a temporary solution. I managed to last this long, but without my True Essence, my days are numbered.}
The reason why Dragons could achieve virtual immortality was precisely because of their grasp over a certain elemental aspect, their compatibility with it was beyond the max. However, this was exactly why the Green Dragon was stuck in this half-dead state.
Although it was a faraway comparison, this was just like the engine of a high-end sports car. No matter how similar a spare part might be, the engine wouldn’t start unless it was the real deal.
Even if the two Dragons’ elemental aspects had intersecting points, the ’life’ that the Green Dragon was currently wearing had a completely different size.
{Not too long ago, I thought that the best I could do was assist the Dragon Clan that originally started thanks to Volcanic’s presence. I knew I couldn’t stop the Demons’ invasion using my ’Elder’ puppet, but I wanted to at least deal some damage, you know? At least that was the case until that strange guy came knocking.}
’Xin Yu.’
Although I doubted that Xin Yu personally made the trip, he was the only major ’strange guy’ that I could think of.
{As a Dragon myself, his words came off as full of deception. However, once you landed in the Fire Domain, I could truly feel your presence through the connection we shared. In the end, you really did save the Fire Domain.}
The linked state we were conversing in wasn’t something that occurred just because the other side was a Dragon. It only worked because it was the Green Dragon. We truly did share a strong connection.
{You also hold the key to saving me.}
As the Green Dragon explained the situation, reddish brown light started spewing out of the large body under him.
’You are awake?’
My right arm instantly started resonating with it!
