Chapter 407 The dragon
The knight leapt in the air with his sword raised high and sliced down. Ignius used his transformed hand to block the sword and his strength to push the knight away. The mages sent balls of magic towards him before he could even get his balance.
The attack caused an explosion but when the smoke disappeared the dragon was perfectly safe. His body turned black as the scales covered his skin. Everyone knew that dragon scales were tough and cannot be easily penetrated by any weapons nor magic.
"Is that it?" Ignius taunted. He bent his neck to the right and to the left then his lips were filled with a grin.
He disappeared from where he was and appeared before the knight. He then swiped at him with his claws which he managed to block. The knight was thrown back and landed on the ground heavily. Before the others could even move to aid the knight, the dragon was already swiping at them.
The mages were beaten down while the healer had her neck on the dragon's hand. The leader of the heroes charged at him with his sword but Ignius just used his arms to block the attack. He also used his arm to push back the leader as he threw the healer towards the direction of his master.
Cygnus looked down at the woman from where he was standing. His eyes shone red beyond the darkness and this made the woman frightened. She couldn't resist looking at those eyes despite her initial fear.
She slowly stood up without breaking eye contact and in an instant her skin suddenly lit up. Cracks started to form on her skin and the longer she stared at him, the cracks brightened. Her divine power bestowed by the gods slowly leaked out from the cracks. She tried to move her gaze away but her body was locked in place.
After a few moments of her struggling, her body exploded into light particles. Her human body couldn't withstand the sudden increase in her divine powers. Cygnus grinned before he closed his eyes and retreated in the dark once again.
The others did not notice what happened as they were busy pinning the dragon. They were so focused that they failed to notice that one of them was already gone. The swirls of magic and lines of swords created sparks and explosions that further destroyed the once proud palace of Lunaira.
Linius and Renzo were still fighting and brandishing their swords at each other. At one point, Renzo has the upper hand as he was also blessed by the gods. He used his divine power to strengthen his body and made his sword sharper. He became more agile and more powerful.
Linius faced him calmly despite the difference in their power. He still had his years of experience under his belt. He was also more powerful than an ordinary human being because of his contract with the master.
"Why did you betray your people!?" Renzo asked as he brought down his sword with so much power that Linius was forced to kneel down while blocking it. The stone floor beneath him cracked at the force and his body was slightly injured. He could feel his internal organs taking a blow because of the power from that one attack.
"This is not betrayal. This is what I should do to survive. Your highness, you should know that in this world, survival is of utmost importance." Linius calmly answered despite the blood that was coming out from his mouth. "Don't even act like you knew nothing about how your royal family was planning on suppressing my family. I would rather be the villain than to let you step on us."
With the strength he has, Linius pushed back Renzo as he jumped and attacked the man. The crossing of their swords created streaks of light as the only proof that they were fighting each other. Linius narrowed his eyes as his sword was suddenly coated with black mana that he acquired from the contract.
Renzo noticed this so he did the same and let the divine power envelope him and his sword. Both of them gripped their weapons tightly before they attacked each other. As their blades crossed, the light dimmed from Renzo and the dark mana dissipated from Linius.
Blood splattered on the ground and Linius fell on his knees. He was coughing out blood and a long gash could be seen on his chest where blood was pouring out. Half of his right hand that was holding his sword was missing. It got cut off from that last encounter and the cut off arm was laying not far away from him.
"You lost," Renzo muttered before he too almost lost his balance. He looked at the hand that touched his stomach and saw that there was blood on it. It turned out that he too was wounded.
The fight was concluded and after a short rest, Renzo did not hesitate to join the fight against the dragon. Linius's body also turned into a dark mist after he was defeated. Now their focus was to defeat the dragon and after that they would face the mastermind.
"Don't be cocky. None of you will be able to lay a hand on even a strand of my master's hair. All of you will perish here!" Ignius declared followed by a thunderous roar.
A roaring fire then came from him. The dragon did not care if the place burned to the ground. All he cared about was to destroy their enemies before they could even take a step to harm his master. The fire persisted for a few minutes before it relented.
The leader was able to hold out throughout the assault and protected the others but because of that he was left vulnerable. Ignius leapt forward and did not hesitate to use his full power in his attack. The leader was thrown back and was beaten to the ground by the dragon. It happened so fast that the others were too late to react.
The noise outside also slowly silenced as the battle was coming to an end. Nina and the others were put into disadvantage at the appearance of one more archangel. The archduke was easily destroyed at the appearance of the other archangel. After that they tried their best to fend against the two entities but they were defeated.
Pitiful as it was, Nina and the others were utterly defeated. They were left in a bloody mess on the battlefield. Cygnus took note of this and waved his hand. Their bodies turned to black mist as they disappeared.
"What shall we do, master?" Mr. C looked to the side of his master. He noticed that the master was looking at his hands before he clenched them.
"They are really coming at me with full force." He grinned before he let out a sigh. He loosened his hand and looked forward at the dragon that was defending against the heroes. "They're coming."
The archangels who were victorious came to the palace and attacked the dragon at the same time. The other shot an arrow and the other summoned lightning that hit the dragon at the same time. Ignius was pushed back and his scales were damaged at the attack.
Although he was considered as the strongest creature, he was not a match against entities that were bestowed with divine power. The heroes took this chance to attack Ignius and it was not easy to defend against them because he took a critical hit. One of the knights managed to stab the part where the scales were burned.
Ignius clenched his jaws as he used his hand to break the sword and pull the remaining piece of it out of his flesh. He looked at them and in a moment of anger, he transformed into his massive form. He flew in the air and let out one more fire breath. This time it was hotter and he laced it with his master's black mana.
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