Chapter 654
A massive sandstorm swept across the desert.
Before the might of a sandstorm capable of blowing away even S-rank monsters, all living creatures held their breath and burrowed deep beneath the sand.
When a sandstorm of this magnitude blew, the terrain of the desert changed.
Sand mountains that had never existed before would appear, while deep canyons would form where dunes once stood.
Yet there was one place that even such a terrifying sandstorm could not affect.
It was a tower that had appeared at some point.
The enormous tower standing in the middle of the desert remained firm even amid the sandstorm.
Strangely, the sandstorm that could send even S-rank monsters flying lost its power near the tower.
It was because of the black current radiating from the tower.
Kwakwakwa!
The violent sandstorm dissipated futilely before the black energy emitted by the great tower.
A man stood at the top of the tower.
Wearing a gray coat over gray armor fashioned from the skull of a gigantic beast, the man was none other than Reikas.
Standing atop the tower with his arms crossed, Reikas looked at the black current.
As time passed, the black current grew stronger and stronger.
Accordingly, the smile on Reikas's lips deepened.
The stronger this black current became, the stronger Reikas became as well.
The black energy swirling around the tower right now was Chaos.
The more turbulent the world became, the stronger the power of Chaos grew.
The role of the tower was to absorb the power of Chaos arising throughout the world and deliver it to Reikas.
That was why this tower was called the Tower of Chaos.
To him, the Tower of Chaos was no different from a lair.
Originally, Reikas had never intended to build the Tower of Chaos.
He believed he could become the ruler of this world even without it.
But after being defeated by Zeon, his thinking changed.
Zeon, a mere human who possessed enough power to threaten Reikas, a dragon, gave him a tremendous sense of crisis.
As a result, Reikas erected the Tower of Chaos in the middle of the desert, creating a place that could be called his lair.
Like other dragons, Reikas grew stronger in the place where his lair existed.
Suddenly, Reikas looked up at the sky.
A violet streak crossing the heavens like a meteor entered his sight.
Reikas immediately recognized what the violet meteor was.
“A crystal containing Krasias's thought.”
Desire gleamed in his eyes.
Because he knew the infinite possibilities and power contained within the violet crystal.
Krasias was a being Reikas could never reach no matter how much effort he made, and this was a remnant of the power he had left behind in this land.
If he could absorb that crystal alone, he could become twice as strong as he was now.
He could grow stronger without the troublesome process of erecting the Tower of Chaos and absorbing power this way.
“Whose is it? Nigel's, perhaps?”
“It is not mine.”
At that moment, a cold voice came from outside the tower.
Reikas narrowed his eyes and looked toward the source of the voice.
There he saw a man far larger than himself.
The moment he saw the huge man clad in black armor covered in scales, Reikas's gaze sank deeply.
“Nigel?”
“It has been a long time, Reikas!”
The man was none other than the half-dragon Nigel.
At Nigel's appearance, Reikas furrowed his brow.
Because Nigel was the one being he least wanted to see at the moment.
Every existence has its natural opposite.
Beings who, from the very moment they meet after being born, hate each other without reason.
For Reikas, Nigel was such a being.
Naturally, Nigel disliked Reikas for the same reason.
Looking down at Nigel, Reikas spoke.
“What brings you here?”
“I felt the time had finally come, so I came.”
“The time?”
“Yes! The time to kill you.”
“Are you still dreaming impossible dreams?”
“I do not dream impossible dreams, Reikas!”
“A dream that cannot be achieved is called an impossible dream, Nigel!”
Reikas mocked Nigel.
Nigel's eyebrow twitched.
The greatest reason he had abandoned his dragon body was Reikas.
He chose the path of a half-dragon because he knew he could never surpass Reikas no matter how hard he tried as a dragon.
He transferred the power of a dragon directly into a human body.
Within that small body was contained the power of a dragon, like a living volcano.
The crystal containing Krasius's thought had played a major role in that evolution.
The source of overwhelming power that had allowed him to transcend even a dragon's limits was Krasias.
That was why he knew better than anyone how dangerous a crystal containing Krasias's thought was.
“That thoughtstone belongs to Dantal.”
“Has that mad elf died?”
“Yes! By Zeon's hand...”
“A crazy human. How could a mere human...”
“Did you not also lose to a mere human?”
“Ghk!”
Reikas's face twisted.
Nigel's words stabbed into his sore spot like a knife.
He glared at Nigel with frightening eyes.
“So you came here to mock me?”
“I came to stop you.”
“Stop me?”
“Now that you know of Dantal's death, you will surely try to absorb the thoughtstone he possessed.”
“Isn't that only natural? I can become stronger.”
“You know it too. That it is dangerous to absorb any more thoughtstones.”
“What exactly is dangerous?”
“Can you not feel your sense of self being threatened?”
Reikas answered with an expression that said it was nothing.
“Ah, that? So what if it is?”
“Are you truly asking because you do not know? If you absorb any more thoughtstones, you will be swallowed by Krasias's ego.”
“That may apply to someone weak-willed like you. But my ego, born from Chaos, is not so weak that it would collapse before the ego residing in a thoughtstone. Rather, I will absorb his thoughts and use them as fuel for my power. If I absorb even the thoughtstone Dantal possessed, I will gain power far greater than I have now.”
“How foolish...”
Nigel clicked his tongue as he looked at Reikas.
Greed beyond one's measure inevitably numbs reason.
Even dragons were no exception.
No matter how transcendent a lifeform with the strongest body and intellect on earth, they could not be free from desire.
Nigel's goal was Reikas.
But Reikas's goal was Krasias.
His ultimate objective was to absorb all of Krasias's authority and become stronger than him.
Nigel too had evolved by absorbing a crystal containing Krasias's thought.
That was why he knew.
Absorbing more of Krasias's thought would make him stronger.
But Nigel stopped.
Because there were times when he felt as though he was no longer entirely himself.
That was when he realized.
If one absorbed a crystal containing Krasias's thought, one would also be influenced by those thoughts.
After that, instead of absorbing crystals containing Krasias's thought, Nigel chose to seal them away.
He judged that crystals containing Krasias's thought were objects that should not exist in this world.
Though both had absorbed crystals containing Krasias's thought, Reikas thought differently.
He trusted his own powerful ego.
That was why he was confident that he would never waver or be influenced by Krasias's thoughts.
Spreading both arms wide, Reikas spoke.
“Krasias was certainly a transcendent being. But he was not perfect. I am different. Born from Chaos and raised by absorbing the power of Chaos, I can make any energy my own.”
“Stop here, Reikas! While there is still a chance for you to remain yourself...”
“Heh-heh! Ridiculous. Just because you are afraid, you would block my path as well. And you still dare call yourself a proud dragon? No, you are not even a dragon anymore. What are you now? That pathetic body...”
Reikas mocked Nigel.
A dragon's strength lies in its massive true body.
No matter how many spells one cast after polymorphing into human form, they could never compare to a single breath attack from the true body.
The same was true for magic power.
Magic cast in the true form was many times stronger than magic cast in human form.
The true body was a blessing bestowed upon dragons by the gods.
He could not understand Nigel, who had abandoned such an immense gift and chosen such a pitiful human-shaped body.
Shing!
Drawing the massive sword strapped to his back, Nigel said,
“I will wipe that smile from your face.”
“Good. It has been irritating me anyway.”
The smile on Reikas's lips deepened.
His face was filled with greed.
If he could make the power of Krasias that Nigel had absorbed his own, he would undoubtedly become many times stronger than he was now.
And if he absorbed the crystal that had belonged to Dantal as well, he might become stronger than Krasias himself.
Once greed took root in his mind, it swelled beyond control.
Thus Reikas became consumed by desire.
“Reikas!”
Pat!
Nigel kicked off the ground and soared into the sky.
A pair of wings that had been clinging to his body like armor spread wide.
The enormous wings carried Nigel high into the heavens.
Upon reaching a great height, Nigel swung his greatsword at Reikas.
Shiiing!
His authority infused the blade and flew toward Reikas.
At that moment, the corner of Reikas's mouth curled upward.
“Good.”
As Reikas opened his previously clenched palm, black energy surged forth like a tidal wave and crashed toward Nigel.
Kwaang!
The two forces collided, causing a massive explosion.
Reikas smiled brightly as he unleashed spell after spell.
“Go on and struggle as much as you like, Nigel!”
Kwakwakwa!
Spells condensed from the power of Chaos burst through the air like fireworks and battered Nigel's enormous body.
Yet Nigel did not let out so much as a groan.
Because he was surrounded by a barrier.
It was a spell that applied the Aura Shield commonly used by martial-type Awakened.
What Reikas failed to realize was that although Nigel had taken on a human form, he had not lost the ability to use magic.
If anything, he could use magic more freely.
Just like now.
With a casual wave of his hand, a giant fireball appeared in the sky.
Hell Fire.
The summoning of true infernal flames.
Without hesitation, Nigel launched Hell Fire toward Reikas.
Kwaaaa!
Hell Fire descended toward Reikas like a meteor.
Though the superheated flames had not even arrived yet, the surrounding area had already become a fiery hell.
The intensely heated atmosphere churned violently, and the desert sand melted and boiled like lava.
It truly looked as though the end of the world had arrived.
Yet Reikas, the target of Hell Fire, remained completely calm.
“You dare challenge me to a contest of magic? How laughable!”
Snap!
As he flicked his finger, a small sphere appeared before him.
The sphere, incomparably smaller than Nigel's Hell Fire, drifted forward slowly.
To any observer, it looked incapable of opposing Hell Fire.
Yet Nigel's face had become rigid.
Because he sensed the immense power compressed within that tiny sphere.
Reikas spoke.
“I have named this spell Black Hole.”
“Black Hole?”
“My own spell, created with the power of Chaos.”
Hell Fire and Black Hole collided in midair.
At that moment, something unbelievable happened.
Kwakwakwakwa!
Hell Fire crumpled like a sheet of paper and was absorbed into Black Hole.
Faced with the unbelievable sight, Nigel's eyes widened.
Smiling, Reikas said,
“I'll return your Hell Fire.”
“What?”
Shushushush!
The enormous energy absorbed by Black Hole burst forth like fireworks and shot toward Nigel.
“Ghk!”
For the first time, a look of alarm appeared on Nigel's face.
He had never imagined his own spell would be returned in such a manner.
Kwakwakwakwang!
A barrage of Hell Fire slammed into his entire body.
Yet Nigel swung his greatsword, cutting through all of the energy as he charged at Reikas.
The land, already overflowing with the power of Chaos, turned into a hellscape in an instant.
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