"So you're saying… the voice came from within your bones?"
Kurose Akira's gaze locked onto the skeletal dragon looming ahead.
If it wasn't the soul of the Red Dragon Mother calling out to them, then there was only one remaining possibility—the voice originated from the red dragon's remains themselves. Yet a skeleton stripped of its soul should have no capacity for speech. At most, it ought to be able to emit instinctive roars.
Unless—
There was another soul dwelling within those bones.
"I am not your enemy. Lower your weapons. We can sit down and talk this through."
The voice rang out again, now threaded with faint traces of magic. At the same time, the skeletal dragon's assault abruptly halted, as if deliberately signaling its willingness to negotiate.
But Akira knew better.
This was nothing more than deception and bewitchment.
"There's definitely something hidden inside its body," Akira commanded grimly to the guild members. "Find its power core—whatever is sustaining it!"
"Understood."
Loserine nodded, unfurling her radiant soul-wings as she shot back toward the skeletal dragon.
At the same moment, Lucia began chanting. Hundreds of golden chains burst forth from all directions, wrapping tightly around the colossal body of the bone dragon.
"ROAR!"
The skeletal dragon bellowed in fury, straining violently against the restraints.
In mere moments, over a dozen golden chains snapped apart. But by then, Loserine had already flown directly into the dragon's body.
Akira immediately activated Loserine's shared-vision interface, scrutinizing everything within for anomalies.
Inside the skeletal dragon, the first thing that caught his eye was a crimson dragon egg nestled deep within the abdominal cavity. It lay quietly among the interlocking bones, standing roughly two to three meters tall. The dense skeletal structure encasing it made extraction nearly impossible.
What troubled Akira even more—
He couldn't sense any trace of life from the egg.
"Found it!"
Suddenly, a dragon scale suspended near the skeletal dragon's heart drew his full attention.
It was unmistakably different from the others.
Pitch-black like ink, it emitted a strange, distorted gleam. And it was from this scale that an unknown force continuously flowed, empowering the skeletal dragon.
"A Black Dragon's scale…?"
Akira frowned deeply and issued an immediate command to Loserine.
"Destroy it!"
"Got it!"
Loserine swung her sword without hesitation, unleashing a powerful slash toward the massive black scale.
Yet the devastating sword arc only left behind a shallow white scratch.
The instant the blade's light struck the black scale, the "Red Dragon Mother's" voice suddenly changed—shrill, sharp, and piercing.
"So you saw through it already? Then she really is hiding on you! Hand her over!"
The moment the words fell, the black scale erupted with profound dark magic. A lance of black light shot forth like an arrow, streaking straight toward Akira's forehead.
"Danger!"
Lucia instantly released a surge of golden holy light in an attempt to intercept the attack.
But the opponent's power far exceeded her current limits.
The black light effortlessly bypassed the golden radiance and plunged directly into Akira's brow.
"Now! Hand her over!"
A massive black dragon abruptly manifested inside Akira's soul space.
At the same time, searing pain tore through his mind, as if his skull were being ripped apart from within.
"Damn it—!"
Akira clenched his teeth as a warning prompt flashed before his eyes.
[Soul Corrosion: You are being eroded by a soul-based force originating from a Black Dragon (Level 80)!]
"A Level 80 Black Dragon…?!"
Akira's jaw tightened.
This was merely a fragment of soul power lingering within a dragon scale—yet even so, a Level 80 Black Dragon was far beyond anything he could confront head-on.
If not for the soul space constructed by Soul Star Whisper, his will would have already been completely consumed.
At the same time—
The skeletal dragon shattered the remaining golden chains. Hundreds of restraints snapped in an instant.
"ROOOAR!"
With a thunderous roar, flames erupted from its back, sweeping across the battlefield.
Loserine, still inside the dragon's body, took the full brunt of the inferno.
Fortunately, her innate fire immunity spared her from real harm.
"Break—already!"
She didn't retreat.
Gripping her Oathbound Sword, Loserine continued to slash relentlessly at the pitch-black dragon scale.
She understood perfectly—destroying it was the only way to sever its influence over Akira.
But each strike barely made a difference.
"ROAR!"
The skeletal dragon howled furiously. Instead of dealing with Loserine inside its body, it lunged straight toward Akira's position.
"We have to stop it! Lucia, Guildmaster—Akira is counting on you!"
Fufuli and Flora immediately began chanting, attempting to obstruct the dragon's advance.
"Mm."
Lucia nodded softly. With a delicate motion of her fingers, she released radiant golden light, trying to weaken the black corruption gnawing at Akira's soul.
But the effect was negligible.
"So this is… a Black Dragon's soul."
Lucia instantly grasped the severity of Akira's suffering. Her brows knit together—suppressing a high-level Black Dragon would normally require invoking true—
Before she could finish the thought, Akira suddenly turned toward her.
"Go help Loserine and the others. I can handle this Black Dragon's soul."
They wouldn't be able to stop a Level 70 skeletal dragon with just their current numbers.
"But you—"
Lucia hesitated, but Akira cut her off.
"Relax. I know what I'm doing."
The moment he spoke, Akira fully engaged the invading Black Dragon within his soul space.
"Soul Tremor!"
A forced modifier was instantly applied to the enemy soul.
As long as the Black Dragon's power originated from its own soul core, distance no longer mattered—it would be bound by the modifier's effects.
"GRAAAAGH—!"
Under the influence of [Soul Tremor], the Black Dragon let out a tortured howl.
The soul corrosion afflicting Akira weakened dramatically, finally allowing him to breathe.
Lucia stared in shock.
He was actually suppressing the Black Dragon's soul erosion?
How could he accomplish something like that—with sheer personal ability alone?
"Alright."
Choosing to trust him, Lucia moved immediately, rushing toward the front lines.
By now, the skeletal dragon had soared overhead, its colossal body poised to dive and crush the tiny figures below into dust.
"Look out!"
Ivsha unfurled her demonic wings, pulling the elf sisters tightly into her arms as she fled the area at full speed.
Alice instantly reverted to her doll form, clinging to Ivsha's wings as she escaped alongside them.
BOOM!
The skeletal dragon slammed into the ground, triggering a violent shockwave.
Simultaneously, a torrent of flames erupted from its jaws, surging toward Ivsha midair.
"Damn it!"
Ivsha accelerated, but burdened by the elf sisters, she couldn't fully evade. She immediately deployed a magic barrier, bracing herself to tank the blow.
At the critical moment—
Lucia stepped lightly across ripples of golden light. Immense holy power burst forth from her Solar Scepter.
In an instant, radiant gold clashed violently with the skeletal dragon's flames.
Two balanced tides of magic exploded outward, warping the surrounding space in eerie distortions.
"Yes! It's Sister Lucia!"
Cradled in Ivsha's arms, the elf sisters finally exhaled in relief.
As Ivsha escorted them to safety and prepared to return to assist Lucia, they froze in shock.
A towering angelic apparition—dozens of meters tall—materialized, wielding a golden holy sword as it slashed ferociously toward the skeletal dragon.
"That can't be… a pseudo-forbidden spell of the Holy Church?"
A flicker of astonishment crossed Ivsha's eyes.
She remembered clearly—every Saintess wielded a unique pseudo-forbidden spell, each possessing cataclysmic power.
The angel swung its blade.
With a single strike, vast sections of the skeletal dragon's bones shattered. Its hundred-meter-long body reeled backward, nearly losing its balance and collapsing.
But the dragon quickly recovered. A faint crimson glow spread across its bones as it stabilized itself, roaring as it lunged toward the angelic projection once more…
…
Meanwhile—
On an entirely different battlefield—
Within Akira's soul space, the clash against the Black Dragon raged on.
"What did you… do… to me…?"
Under the effects of [Soul Tremor], the Black Dragon's massive soul-form—over a hundred meters long—shuddered uncontrollably, its voice barely coherent.
Yet despite its power, [Soul Tremor] only caused its soul to vibrate violently, increasing soul damage taken by 100% and reducing mental focus by 50%.
For a Level 80 Black Dragon, this alone was nowhere near enough to expel it.
Akira knew—
If he wanted to truly defeat the Black Dragon's soul, he needed something more decisive.
[Corruption]…?
His eyes narrowed.
Since [Corruption] had previously been used in a dream, its real-world forced modifier was still available.
To win this battle, he would have to stack two forced modifiers on his opponent—
Wait.
Akira suddenly remembered the limited skill tied to [Soul Hook].
Even if controlling a demigod-level soul was uncertain—
It was worth trying.
[Soul Hook]—Limited Skill Activated!
[There are currently 37,855 souls dormant in this location. Please select a target…]
"…?"
Akira froze.
Over thirty-seven thousand souls… gathered at the Dragon's Fall Site?
Not all souls could persist after death—this number was absurdly high.
But finding the demigod-level soul among them was effortless.
Compared to the others, this one was enormous.
If the souls of ordinary monsters were moons orbiting in darkness—
Then the Crimson Dragon's soul was a blazing sun.
"Let's see what happens."
Akira immediately invoked the limited skill of [Soul Hook], attempting to awaken the Crimson Dragon that had slumbered here for ages—
To pit its demigod-level soul against the invading Black Dragon within his soul space.
The moment the skill activated, overwhelming pressure crashed down from all directions.
The force was so immense that Akira's very soul trembled—and even the Black Dragon froze under its weight.
As the pressure descended, a pair of colossal crimson dragon eyes opened within Akira's soul space.
Each eye alone was nearly as large as the hundred-meter-long Black Dragon.
Then just how vast was its true form?
Within those scarlet pupils burned unrestrained fury—rage that seemed ready to incinerate everything in existence.
"…It was you."
"You were the one who awakened me?"
..
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