Chapter 157: Idea

The voice echoed to every single place within the secondary ring… even to the other side, the side which was saved from all this devastation because of the inner ring in between.

The dragon looked around and found a group of four players running away from the cathedral… they had survived the initial blast even after being so close… so they were bound to be somewhat strong.

’Are they awakened? Most probably because i don’t think that normal humans would survive till now.’

Then it looked up at the sky and frowned… ’Everything is so weird… why is the whole sky dark when its morning right now? And where did this crimson moon come from.’

Well… they were not the only the things that were different. From this place he could see beyond the Innermost wall and there he saw a statue besides the castle.

’Why is there a statue? Did that otherworldly bastard think a statue would be better than a cathedral? ’

He chuckled inwardly at the thought and looked down again… this time his eyes glowed with a faint amber and his smile widened manyfold.

’They are all awakened… very good. I think if consume synth energy from around 100 souls, it should be enough to break the three seals on my powers.’

Around seven streets away from the blasted cathedral ruins… four figures ran frantically more deeper into the city structure.

Suddenly a strong and cold wind blew around them, and a humanoid figure slowly descended down. The man was very graceful and beautiful in his structure.

All of them froze at their respective places and looked at it in silence.

It was the dragon in his human form.

“What… what do you want?” A girl of around 20 with long black hair and big brown eyes asked in a daze.

The dragon studied them for a moment and then tilted its head. “I want revenge on the Emperor.” he said simply.

One man stepped forward… he was tall and broad-shouldered, wearing what looked like reinforced leather armor. His weapon was a massive war hammer, that rested on his shoulder.

“Hey!” he called out. “If you are against the Emperor then… why are you attacking us? We have nothing to do with the Emperor! Actually we are also here to kill him.” He declared.

“If you have grievances with him, then go inside the Inner Ring where he dwells! Leave us alone!”

The dragon paused its descent, hovering perhaps thirty meters above the plaza. Its golden eyes fixed on the speaker with an intensity that made the other players take involuntary steps backward.

For a long moment, there was silence.

Then the dragon smiled.

“Good idea,” it said, voice dripping with mockery. “Truly, human, your wisdom astounds me. Why waste time hunting when I could simply walk into the Inner Ring and confront the Emperor directly, right?”

Hope flickered across the speaker’s face.

The dragon’s smile widened.

“Let me test that theory.”

Without warning, the dragon shot upward with velocity that made the air itself scream. Its four wings folded against its body as it accelerated, becoming little more than a golden blur against the crimson sky.

The players watched in stunned silence as the dragon flew toward the massive wall that separated the Secondary Ring from the Inner Ring—the final barrier that protected the Emperor’s domain.

The wall rose hundreds of meters high, its surface smooth and it was completely made up of gold, unmarked by age or weather. The wall even used to reflect the golden rays of the artificial sun, not too long ago.

The dragon didn’t slow down as it approached the wall.

He struck the wall at full speed.

Or rather, it struck something just before the wall.

The impact was soundless at first. Then came the deafening sound of thunder.

Purple lightning erupted around the dragon’s body, wrapping it in crackling chains of energy. The creature was suspended in mid-air, caught against an invisible barrier that shimmered and revealed itself only where the lightning touched.

’A… A barrier?,’ the guy thought, watching the spectacle with wide eyes. ’The Inner Ring is protected by a ward. A barrier powerful enough to stop even that monster.’

Now he understood why all of them were still struck on the secondary ring and no one has made it to the innermost ring. It was not because they didn’t try… it was because they utterly couldn’t.

The purple lightning intensified, growing brighter and more violent. It should have been fatal… for a mortal at least.

But the dragon just… hung there and shook its head.

The gesture was so casual, that it created jarring cognitive dissonance with the apocalyptic power display happening around it.

The dragon’s form began to distort. Like reality itself was bending around it and the creature was becoming unmoored from the physical laws that governed lesser beings.

And then it simply disappeared.

One moment it was trapped against the barrier, wrapped in chains of purple lightning. The next, it was gone.

The purple lightning dissipated, fading back into nothingness. The barrier became invisible once more and silence returned to the Secondary Ring.

The man who had spoken… the one with the war hammer. let out a shaky breath. Maybe it had worked and the dragon had been repelled, or injured—

“So,” a deep voice said from directly behind him. “Your idea has failed.”

The man spun around, war hammer already swinging in a desperate arc.

The dragon stood there, not five meters away. It made no move to dodge. The war hammer passed through empty air—the dragon had already moved, relocating with speed that made mockery of human perception.

Now it stood even closer, within an arm’s reach. Its golden eyes burned as they fixed on the trembling warrior.

“The barrier keeps me out,” the dragon said conversationally. “How disappointing. It seems the Emperor’s protections endure even after three thousand years.” It tilted its head, studying the man like an interesting specimen. “Which means I cannot simply walk into the Inner Ring and take my revenge. Not until the three seals are broken and my full power is restored.”

The dragon’s gaze swept across the three players, behind him.

“So tell me, human,” the dragon continued, refocusing on the man before it. “Now that your idea has failed… what punishment do you think you deserve for wasting my time?”

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