Episode 600
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Harvey Draker charged at the leader, his body cloaked in dragon scales and razor-sharp claws extended. Each of his ten claws shimmered with an aura akin to an energy blade.
He slashed at the leader with ferocity.
Swoosh!
In response, the leader raised his staff, conjuring a protective barrier. In an instant, a quadruple shield materialized, deflecting Harvey Draker’s assault.
But the attack was far from over.
Harvey Draker’s form blurred, leaving afterimages as he bypassed the leader’s defenses, reappearing with a draconic incantation.
“Fall!”
A massive force bore down on the leader, but he raised his staff high, dispersing the energy with a surprising ease.
Harvey Draker clenched his teeth, realizing the leader had neutralized his spell.
‘He’s not going down easily.’
In a flash, his body split into multiple forms, each one lunging at the leader with deadly intent. All four Harvey Drakers seemed real, their claws gleaming with lethal energy.
Yet again, the leader remained unfazed. With a calm demeanor, he tapped his staff on the ground.
Crystals of radiant hues erupted from the floor, enveloping the leader. The reflections revealed Harvey Draker’s duplicates, which dissolved into shadows and vanished.
Only the true Harvey Draker remained, and the leader focused his magic through his staff, aiming at him.
Crackle!
A burst of plasma lightning shot from the staff, wrapping around Harvey Draker.
Crackle!
Despite the electric onslaught, Harvey Draker pressed on, shattering the crystals shielding the leader with his claws.
Crash!
Amidst the shards, the leader attempted to retreat, but Harvey Draker was faster. Dragon scales erupted from his body, launching like projectiles at the leader.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Hundreds of scales, imbued with energy, rained down from close range. The leader hastily raised a barrier, but it was futile. The scales pierced through, tearing into his robes.
Ratatatat!
The leader’s robe was shredded in an instant, but Harvey Draker didn’t relent. He invoked another draconic spell.
“Explode!”
The embedded scales detonated, triggering a chain reaction with the crystal fragments, sending vibrant plasma flames soaring in all directions.
Harvey Draker watched the flames rise to the chamber’s ceiling with flickering eyes.
Then, from within the inferno, the leader emerged, walking slowly.
Sizzle—
The plasma flames clinging to his body evaporated into steam, revealing his face as his robe burned away.
Harvey Draker’s brow furrowed at the sight.
‘That’s…’
To his astonishment, the leader was not human.
Creak—
An automaton, composed of ancient gears and magical circuits. Its face was modeled after the legendary sage, but it was clear this was no true sage.
Harvey Draker’s expression shifted to one of understanding.
‘A homunculus, left behind by the great sage.’
The great sage had foreseen his own sacrifice to seal the demon king’s soul within the Book of the Dead, leaving behind a trace of himself in the world. Just as he had created the homunculus of the Hero King, he crafted an automaton in his likeness, embedding it with fragments of his memory and soul, tasked with safeguarding the world.
The sage’s sacrifice had sealed the demon king, bringing peace to the continent. Yet, fearing the demon king’s potential return, the sage had left the homunculus to continue his mission.
Harvey Draker addressed the sage’s homunculus.
“Your arrogance, thinking only you could protect the world, has birthed a self-righteous specter like you.”
The homunculus raised its staff, pointing it at Harvey Draker.
“Nothing surpasses the noble mission.”
Harvey Draker scoffed.
“A noble mission, indeed. I wonder if your deeds truly hold such noble value.”
Shhh—
A new robe materialized over the homunculus. He struck the ground with his staff, speaking to Harvey Draker.
“By the will of the noble, I shall shatter the wheel of fate and save this world.”
Vroom!
A magic circle illuminated the chamber floor, centered where the staff struck. From it, the ancient knights of Chronos were summoned.
Clad in enchanted armor, the knights of Chronos exuded a fierce aura, brandishing their swords at Harvey Draker.
Harvey Draker’s eyes gleamed with determination.
“Do you think I fear the long-lost phantoms of Chronos?”
Rumble!
A tremendous energy erupted from Harvey Draker, and his form began to change.
Rumble—
His body expanded, covered in impenetrable dragon scales. Wings sprouted from his back, and his face transformed into that of a dragon.
Now a legendary dragonkin, Harvey Draker ascended into the air.
He opened his maw wide, aiming at the leader and the knights of Chronos.
Roar!
A colossal energy, far surpassing the earlier magic blast, gathered in his mouth.
As the energy condensed into a sphere, Harvey Draker unleashed a deafening roar at the leader and the knights.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The chamber shook with a force capable of obliterating everything, as the magic blast was unleashed.
The leader raised his staff, summoning a hexagonal barrier to intercept the dragon’s roar.
Zzzzz—
The clash of the barrier and the magic blast resonated with an eerie sound.
While the leader held back the magic blast, the knights of Chronos charged at Harvey Draker.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The knights, swords drawn, unleashed a barrage of spells at Harvey Draker from all directions.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The attack spells, inscribed on their armor and swords, flew towards Harvey Draker.
Despite the onslaught, Harvey Draker seemed exposed, but then the space around him rippled, revealing a black void.
Roar!
From the void, otherworldly beasts emerged, intercepting the knights’ spells with their bodies as they descended.
Boom!
The beasts landed among the knights, who instinctively attacked.
In response, the beasts lashed out with tendrils, ensnaring the knights.
Swoosh!
Caught in the tendrils, the knights couldn’t escape, their forms dissolving into light.
The beasts absorbed the scattered light with their tendrils.
Gurgle!
Empowered by the knights’ essence, the beasts grew larger or multiplied, increasing their numbers.
As the knights dwindled, the beasts grew stronger, extending tendrils in all directions to attack and absorb the knights’ power.
Rumble!
The leader, maintaining the barrier against the dragon’s roar, realized the knights were rapidly diminishing.
Simultaneously, he was being pushed back, the barrier showing signs of cracking.
Harvey Draker shouted at the struggling leader.
“Fool! It’s useless! You can’t handle me with your power!”
The dragon’s roar intensified, pressing harder against the leader.
The hexagonal barrier began to fracture further.
Crack—
As the cracks widened, the leader’s hand, gripping the staff, started to tremble.
Crash—
With a deafening sound, the magic blast broke through the barrier.
“It’s over!”
With Harvey Draker’s triumphant roar, the barrier shattered completely.
Smash!
The dragon’s roar tore through the barrier, engulfing the leader entirely.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A massive explosion erupted where the leader stood, leaving the surroundings in ruins.
Rumble!
The chamber shook violently, on the verge of collapse.
As the dust settled, the leader’s fallen form was revealed in a deep crater.
Thud, thud!
The leader lay there, his robe torn, body twisted, and limbs scattered.
He struggled to rise, but with his limbs in disarray, he couldn’t stand.
Hovering above, Harvey Draker descended towards the crater, gazing down at the broken leader.
“Quite the sight, isn’t it?”
The shattered leader’s body jerked awkwardly, making his appearance even more pitiful.
He spoke to the leader.
“I already knew the Lion’s Tome wasn’t here.”
At Harvey Draker’s words, the leader’s eyes flickered with a change.
Crack!
The twisted body shifted, allowing the leader to regain his composure.
Harvey Draker watched with cold eyes.
“You claim noble intentions, yet your actions are no better than those of a common thug.”
The leader looked up at him and replied, “So, you’ve tied me up to go after the Lion’s Tome and the Black Star?”
“Exactly. The Lion’s Tome and the Black Star are already secured. My job is to keep you here.”
The leader had thought he was stalling Harvey Draker, but in truth, it was the other way around.
A fierce light shone in the leader’s eyes as his broken hand reached for his staff, trying to rise.
At that moment, Harvey Draker raised a finger and fired a thin beam of magic.
Snap!
The magic beam shattered the leader’s jerking arm, causing it to fall to the ground, still clutching the staff.
The leader stared at his broken arm, expressionless, unsure of what to do, his body still trembling.
Harvey Draker frowned and spoke.
“The world no longer needs relics of the past. A new era for humanity is about to begin.”
He raised his hand toward the leader.
“Now, die.”
Rumble!
A massive surge of magic gathered in his hand.
The leader, unable to move at will, was in no position to dodge Harvey Draker’s attack.
A powerful, compressed sphere of magic formed in front of Harvey Draker’s hand.
He murmured as he looked at the leader.
“Leave nothing behind. Be obliterated.”
With those words, the magic sphere shot from Harvey Draker’s hand toward the leader with tremendous force.
Boom!
The sphere descended rapidly, threatening to crush the leader’s body completely.
But then, shadows erupted from the ground, wrapping around the leader’s form.
Simultaneously, a powerful slash cleaved the magic sphere in two, sending it hurtling toward Harvey Draker.
Whoosh!
Harvey Draker tried to block the attack, but he was a moment too late.
Slash!
A long gash ran from his shoulder to his side, blue blood seeping from the split dragon scales.
“Ugh!”
He retreated into the air, looking down at where the leader stood.
Harvey Draker narrowed his eyes, searching for the one who had launched the attack.
“Zeke Draker.”
Zeke stood before the shadow-clad leader, raising his sword, Levatein, and addressed Harvey Draker.
“Good to see you again, High Priest.”
Rumble!
A powerful aura surged from Zeke, shadows swirling chaotically at his feet.
He took a step toward Harvey Draker, murmuring.
“This time, I’ll make sure you die.”