"That's… my mother,"
Verdra told me in a low voice as we floats high above the barren city ruins.
She tightened her grip on her sword. Her glare locked onto the massive white dragon before us—her expression flat, clouded, and utterly… cold.
"Y-your mother?" I managed to ask, despite how intimidated by her I am.
"Hahahah…!" Seth burst into manic laughter once more. "Yeah! I like that reaction, Missy! How 'bout we introduce the others actresses as well!"
He raised his hand and flicked his finger again.
"Lydia! Crona!"
The moment he uttered those names, two more massive magic circles—identical to Nyxia's—formed before him. From them emerged two more dragons: one crimson red, and a bright yellow one.
Standing before us now were four overwhelmingly powerful foes.
—————————————————
Seth, 7th Epitome of Evil
Lv: 7777
—————————
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Nyxia's Spirital Remnant
Lv: 7599
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Lydia's Spirital Remnant
Lv: 7204
—————————
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Crona's Spirital Remnant
Lv: 7228
—————————
"I would've liked to have the others as well," Seth continued casually, "but unfortunately, these were the only True Dragon's souls I could procure before their traces vanished."
"Mother Lydia… Mother Crona…"
Verdra's expression darkened further. She bit down hard on her lip—blood began to trickle from the corner of her mouth, sliding down her chin.
"You monster…" she muttered—
—then suddenly bellowed,
"…I WILL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU FOR TOYING WITH MY LOVED ONES! I'LL KILL YOU!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
The air around us reverberated violently, responding to Verdra's furious declaration.
"Yeah! Yeah!!" Seth raved in pure ecstasy. "Hate me! Despise me! I love that exact reaction of yours!"
Verdra's hair and clothes fluttered violently as an intense aura erupted from her body. The hatred etched across her face was absolute—an expression she had only ever shown at monsters who dared hurt me before…
…but this time, it's far more intense, and it was for her own behalf.
For some reason, that made me happy—she was showing me more of her true emotions.
Still, this one emotion wasn't good for our current situation.
"Calm down, Verdra." I tugged on her shoulder. "If you let yourself be consumed by hatred, you'll be doing exactly what he wants."
"Yuu…" Her voice was low and icy. "But… those are my family. They're very precious to me—" she clenched her fist. "and he's using them like a mere toys."
"Then let me ask you something," I said calmly. "Are your family, monsters?"
She scowled deeply at me. "What makes you say that?"
Her tone was deadly serious—this was the first time she'd ever looked at me with open contempt.
Man, she's scary…
If that glare were aimed at someone else, I bet they'll run away instantly with their tail between their legs.
"I can see their Lv," I replied, doing my best not to show how intimidated I was. "Their names are Nyxia, Lydia, and Crona, right?"
She nodded without words.
"Those dragons aren't really them. They're just their Spirital Remnants."
"…Spirital Remnants?" Her expression softened slightly. "So… they're not truly my mothers?"
"I'm really curious why you have 3 mothers, but I'll leave that for later." I pulled my hand back from her shoulder. "It's them—but not really them either—at least… that's what I think."
"What do you mean?" She frowned. "Could you say that in a language I could comprehend?"
"Please stop glaring—you're scaring me!" I exhaled and turned toward the dragons. "Based on what Seth said when he lost control earlier, he probably could manipulate souls as he wish. Perhaps, he somehow got his hands on the fragments of your mothers' souls."
"So far," I continued. "my HUD skill can only display monster's Lv. If they were really True Dragons, there's no way I'd be able to see theirs—just like how I can't with yours."
"Then what do you mean by 'it's them, but not really them'?"
"I… don't fully understand it myself," I choose to come clean. "I just wanted an excuse to calm you down. If Seth truly has full control over them, then we have to keep our heads cool—or we're dead. We're way too under-Leveled compared to them, and we can't run away either."
"Haaah…" She took a long breath and exhaled, visibly calming herself. "…Yeah. I guess you're right. Thanks."
"You're welcome." I hardened my resolve before continuing bluntly. "I know this might sound cruel, but… kill your emotions for them. Holding back will only get you killed."
"Besides," I looked straight into her eyes, "if that stubborn resolve and caring heart of yours are the result of how they raised you— then I believe they wouldn't want you to hesitate now."
I smiled at her.
"Because if the real them were standing here right now, they'll probably tell you this with everything they have—that your life matters far more than a past that can never be undone. That no memory, no regret, nor pain is worth more than you had now—so I want you to go all out with confidence. Fight like your life depends on it—w-well it literally does…"
"...also—" I gave her my biggest smile.
"—I'm here for you. I won't let you face this alone. Not after everything you did for me when I was the one struggling."
Her cheeks flushed, lashes trembling as a faint sheen gathered in her eyes—an emotion too bright, and too sudden to hide.
"…Yeah. Thanks," she replied softly, turning her face aside as if to look away—though it was obvious she was holding herself together, refusing to let the tears born of relief and joy spill free.
"...And don't forget," she added in a quieter voice, almost as if reminding herself as much as me, "your life matters just as much. I told you before, didn't I? If you die… then so do I. So remember that."
She exhaled to calm her mixed emotions before continuing.
"Even aside from that…" She turned her face as she smiled back at me. "I can't even imagine living without you anymore."
My face heated up instantly.
"...Dammit girl! At times you're scary, and now you're so freaking cute." now I'm the one who averting eyes in embarrassment. "You better prepare yourself—once this mess was over, I'm gonna shower you with love until you begged me to stop."
"I'm actually excited for that," she replied sweetly, turning her gaze back toward our enemies. "But before that…"
"…we have to survive this," I finished.
"Are you done flirting?" Seth cut in impatiently.
"Yeah, we're done," I replied flatly. "Thanks for waiting."
"Alright!" he declared. "Let the show begin!"
At once, the three dragons opened their massive jaws. Nyxia conjured an enormous Ice sphere, Lydia formed a Massive Hellfire ball, and Crona gathered a violent surge of Black lightning—each attack swelling within their gaping maws.
"I have a question, Verdra."
"Make it quick."
"How strong are you compared to the other True Dragons?"
"I don't really know," she replied. "but Mother Nyxia said that I willl—at some point—surpass all of them."
A smirk crept onto my face.
"That's good to know. What color do you want this time?"
"Give me the red one."
"Got it."
I handed her a Greater Strengthening Potion (High) from my Book, while gulping down a Greater agility Boosting Potion (High) myself.
—————————————————
Name: Yanagi Yuu
Lv: 6436/6500
Agility: 19,306 + 14,480 (Expired in 300 seconds)
—————————
—————————————————
Name: Verdra
Lv: 6469/6469
Strength: 64,780 + 48,585 (Expired in 300 seconds)
—————————
The moment we finished our potions, 3 massive scale elemental-magic attacks launched straight at us.
"You take the fire one!" I shouted.
"Got it!"
Just as the lightning and ice breaths were about to strike me, I activated my Picno-Cryokinesis, manipulating the ice to form a massive shield, hardening it—blocking both the lightning and the ice itself in a single motion.
Before the barrage of attacks could end, from quite a distance behind me, I saw something with a pair of skeletal wings on its back approaching at incredible speed—visible through my 3rd-person view.
He tugged his scythe back, readying to impale my body on its blade.
Keeping control of my ice shield in place, I flapped my wings and shot my body slightly upward, narrowly dodging the incoming attack.
*Swoosh…*
The attack missed.
He halted midair, spreading his skeletal wings wide.
"How did you even dodge that?!" Seth asked, baffled by how easily I avoided his ninja-style ambush. "I had erased all my presence!"
"Like hell I'll tell you," I quipped.
"Well, it doesn't matter." He said after a sigh. "I'll know once I take it from you anyway. Let's see how long you can endure the combined force of my puppets—"
Suddenly, both the ice and lightning barrages stopped.
"It seems like you're paying attention to the wrong opponent," I said calmly. "I'm not the one who you should be extra careful of."
"Groooaarrrlll!!"
A pained growl echoed across the barren city ruins as notifications flooded my vision.
< Your party member have slain Lydia's Spirital Remnant. exp + xxxx >
< Lv up x64 >
< Hp and stamina fully recovered >
< You received 72,040 Currencies >
"What?!" Seth exclaimed, dumbfounded by the sudden defeat of one of his dragon puppets.
"You underestimated Verdra way too much," I said smugly. "Even though she keeps telling me that I've grown stronger than her, there's absolutely no way in hell that's actually the case."
"Yuu!" A voice echoed inside my head. "I need a hand here!"
Got it, I replied telepathically.
"I'll finish my business with you later," I told Seth as I preparing for my next move.
Since my wings are technically part of my body now, I decided to test something out.
I channeled Electrokinesis through my shoulder blades, all the way to the tips of my jet-black dragon wings.
"Reinforced!"
In a flash of lightning, I shot myself toward Verdra's direction.
There—floating high in the air—was a figure fully clad in vermilion from head to toe, trading blows with 2 massive dragons. It was Verdra, in her full Draconic-armor mode.
This was her ultimate technique of absolute offense and defense. She wrapped her entire body in scale armor—just like how she usually coated her arms and feets with it—while also enlarging her sword into a greatsword even bigger than herself.
To be honest, in this mode she really reminded me of one of those Hollywood superheroes in a metalic-red power suit. What was it called again…?
Oh—right! The Iron-guy—just with a sword instead of laser beam. If I remember correctly, his name was 'Tiny Spark' or something…
"I'm here!" I announced my arrival.
"Good!" she replied, still exchanging blows with the dragons' claws and whipping tails. "You handle Mother Nyxia! She's just too cold for me to deal with!"
"I'm on it!"
Nyxia's entire body emitted a bluish, freezing haze. Considering how badly Verdra handled cold, letting me deal with her was the best course of action.
Just how cold was this Nyxia if even Verdra was struggling against her coldness?
As Verdra flew ahead to engage Crona, Nyxia attempted to stop her—conjuring numerous massive Icicle lances, each the size of my body, surrounding Verdra, ready to strike at any time.
But just before she launched them, I seized control using my Cryokinesis—Lv10 Cryokinesis had a range of around 50 meters—and reshaped the icicles into a massive ice wall in front of her.
With her momentum from flying at high speed, Nyxia crashed headfirst into my ice wall with an ear-splitting crack.
But I had to pour an immense amount of Cryokinesis' force into holding the wall in place just to stop her from reaching Verdra.
Urgh…! As expected of a True Dragon.
The white dragon glared at me, then opened her jaws wide as large concentration of ice begin to form from it, preparing to unleash a freezing breath.
If a fire dragon like Verdra was weak to cold, then…
"I'm sorry—one of Verdra's moms—"
I flicked my lighter, turned it into a blue flame in a quick motion, and hurled it straight into Nyxia's gaping mouth.
"Overloaded!" I shouted.
The blue flame turned purple hue as the air around it reverberate intensely. I then manipulated the ice particles she conjured to clogged her mouth before—
*BOOOM!!*
Nyxia's Snout bulged grotesquely before exploding with a sickening crunch from my Plasmakinesis' Overloaded. Half of her body splattered all over the place, as the remaining half crashing down to the ground below.
I've used over 60% of my brain load for that Overloaded, so the impact was far greater than the one I used against Chimerberus earlier this morning.
—————————————————
Brain load: 76%
—————————
< You have slain Nyxia's Spirital Remnant. exp + xxxx >
< Maximum Lv increased to 7599 >
< Lv up x411 >
< Hp and stamina fully recovered >
< You received 75,990 Currencies >
Not long after I had slain Nyxia, a sharp flash of blue light flared in Verdra's direction as she severed Crona's wings in a single, flawless motion.
*Slash!*
"Grrrraalll!!"
Crona howled painfully as she came crashing down—but before her body could even touch the ground, Verdra plunged from high above. A vermilion silhouette cutting down through the air like a falling star.
In a blink, her Hellfire-coated greatsword swept across Crona's long neck, decapitating her cleanly, without even a slightest of resistance.
< Your party member have slain Crona's Spirital Remnant. exp + xxxx >
< Lv up x93 >
< Hp and stamina fully recovered >
< You received 72,280 Currencies >
"Good work, Verdra," I greeted as she flew back toward me, she had dismissed her Draconic armor.
"Even if they're just remnants," she replied, her expression sour, "it still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth."
"I can't say that I fully understand how you feel," I admitted, "but I believe they'd be proud of you if they could see you right now."
"Yeah… I hope with this, their souls can finally rest in pea—"
*Clap.* *Clap.* *Clap.*
The slow, deliberate sound of applause echoed through the ruined city.
"Magnificent," Seth said, clapping as he spoke. "What a breathtaking performance you've put on for me. Love, trust, sacrifice—your little bond is so touching it almost makes me want to applaud harder—"
His clapping stopped. His head dipped low.
"...Bullshit!" he suddenly roared.
"If I can't have my love," he screamed, his voice twisted with venom, "then there's no one deserves it! I'll crush every bond in this world! I'll tear love apart, trample it into the dirt, until nothing remains but despair and regret!"
"Man," I sneered, "you really need to move on. You're almost making me feels bad for you—I didn't know you were this pathetic of a creature."
"Nag all you want, lowly mortal," his tone back to normal as he flicked his finger. "I'll simply take your skills and claim my revenge towards the heaven."
3 massive magic circles flared into existence around him.
From them emerged 3 familiar figures—Nyxia, Lydia, and Crona—restored completely, their bodies were flawless without any scratch as if they're untouched by battle.
"Oh, come on…" I groaned. "Give me a break."
"Do not mistake a single victory for triumph," Seth said coldly. He snapped his fingers again.
Dozens—no, hundreds, or even thousands—of magic circles erupted across the ruined city. From them poured variety of monster we had encountered in this dungeon so far, each had their Lv above 6000.
"Never forget," Seth smirked, his eyes gleaming with malice, "that I am the master of this dungeon. Your lives—and your deaths—exist solely at my whim."
As his words faded, the 3 dragons were swallowed by thick black fog, their massive forms shrinking rapidly until they stood at Seth's height.
When the mist cleared, 3 exceptionally beautiful women stood beside him, each clad in draconic armor similar to Verdra's—though without a helm—contrasting with their long hair, which reached down to behind their ankles.
The snowy-white-haired, dark-blue-horned woman gripped an enormous lance.
The crimson-red-haired, black-horned one—that had her bangs concealing her left eye—held a long, sniper-rifle-like weapon.
The bright-yellow-haired, blue-horned woman rested a massive broadsword on her shoulder.
Their wings unfurled with haunting elegance, and their hair swayed gently in the dreadful ambience—yet beneath that grace lay the truth: hollow gazes and expressions completely devoid of emotion.
"So," Seth said as he flapped his skeletal wings, flew up to our level, followed by a cruel grin spreading across his face,
"shall we begin the main event?"