The situation on the battlefield was changing by the moment.
Under the watchful eyes of countless spectators, a somewhat comical scene unfolded in the sky.
Two enormous dragons, each over a hundred meters long, swung their razor-sharp claws while beside them fought a burly Minotaur wielding a massive axe.
The three worked together in perfect coordination, engaging in close-quarters combat against a tiny figure less than two meters tall.
If one had to describe the battle, it was rather like three burly men desperately trying to swat a mosquito that refused to stop buzzing around their ears.
Though that comparison was not entirely accurate.
After all, this seemingly insignificant mosquito possessed enough power to kill all three of those burly men.
No matter how hard they tried, they simply could not finish off the irritating little pest.
Even when it was occasionally struck hard enough to go flying, within seconds it would recover and come buzzing back with renewed vigor.
"That guy... the Minotaur Sage?"
Naraku stood on the ground, looking up at the fierce battle overhead as he pondered silently.
Of all the information he had gathered about the New World, that individual undoubtedly matched the description best.
According to legend, the Minotaur Sage had first appeared two hundred years ago in the great Minotaur nation on the Central Continent.
He was renowned throughout the New World as a Warrior of the highest caliber.
Stories claimed that a single swing of his axe could create a tornado, while driving it into the ground could split the earth apart.
The world revered him as a Sage.
He had proposed numerous concepts for magical artifacts and technological innovations, but because he could never explain either how to build them or the principles behind them, he had also earned the title [Sage Who Talks the Talk but Doesn't Walk the Walk].
Some magical artifacts currently used in the New World had actually been designed and created based on the ideas he had described.
He had even introduced the concept of surgery as a treatment method, which involved opening the body and cutting out the diseased tissue.
However, people regarded the idea as horrifyingly barbaric.
After all, treatment in a world of magic was far simpler. If a body part was diseased, one could simply cut it off and use healing magic to grow it back.
As a result, the concept of surgery had practically no audience here.
"I never thought I'd run into a fellow countryman here. Did he fake his death like the Six Great Gods to throw everyone off his trail?"
The Minotaur Sage was said to have died a hundred years ago.
After his death, he left behind a great number of artifacts for the Minotaur nation. Historical records stated that those artifacts had played a crucial role in its war against the Beastman Commonwealth.
They destroyed four eight-meter-tall Centaur Golems deployed by the Beastman Commonwealth and saved the great Minotaur nation.
Nazarick had also investigated this Player before, but with no leads to follow, the matter had eventually been dropped.
"And he was even one of the first instructors at the Magic Academy in the Sorcerer Kingdom! Hmph. This guy really had the nerve to hide right under our noses!"
Naraku found the whole thing rather amusing.
He had never imagined that a Player could spend so long moving around right beneath their eyes without being discovered.
If Neia had not told him who the man was, Naraku might never have noticed and would have remained completely in the dark.
He remembered that when the instructor candidates were originally being selected, his True Self had personally reviewed their profiles.
This guy had certainly been cautious.
After all this time, he had remained perfectly well behaved and had never revealed the slightest flaw.
[And that Dragon Lord... I think he called himself the Clear Light Dragon Lord just now. Wasn't that the one worshiped over in the desert?]
[His registered name in the Sorcerer Kingdom is Ilsayas Naiakut, and he was also among the Magic Academy's first instructors...]
Naraku thought all this while maintaining the [Descent of the Catastrophe God] enchantment.
The Clear Light Dragon Lord had already sealed all three Cracks.
The process had seemed effortless, as natural as eating or drinking, without the slightest sign of strain.
That alone showed just how accomplished the Clear Light Dragon Lord was when it came to spatial abilities. His overall strength was also clearly far above that of the White Dragon Lord.
His physical body, however, seemed rather unimpressive compared with True Dragon Lords of a similar level.
Judging from the battle, he had something of a glass cannon feel to him.
Large beads of cold sweat formed uncontrollably across Naraku's forehead and slowly ran down his cheeks.
His face was pale as paper, and deep exhaustion showed in his eyes.
This was too much.
Supporting the Level 86 White Dragon Lord while only Level 45 himself was proving difficult even for Naraku. He was reaching his limit.
The mana consumption alone was far beyond what he had expected.
Worse still, forcing this fragile body to manipulate the Power of Catastrophe was steadily draining his health as well.
Under those conditions, the decline of his spirit was inevitably accelerating.
Suddenly, his body swayed and pitched forward.
Just before he could fall to the ground, the girl beside him reacted quickly and reached out to support him.
She was not particularly strong, but her movements were quick enough to catch him before he fell.
"Sit down. You should feel a little better that way."
Neia pursed her lips, concern written across her face.
The girl's definition of friendship was simple.
When a friend cried, then cry with them.
When a friend was troubled, then hold your head and worry alongside them.
And when a friend embarrassed themselves, embarrass yourself with them!
No matter how their positions changed, no matter what happened, as long as they were friends, they could always understand and forgive one another.
And if a friend went down the wrong path, then even if it meant damaging the friendship, you had to stop them.
Neia cared deeply about this mysterious senpai of hers.
When disaster struck, she worried for him.
When they met again, she felt relieved to see him safe.
When the two of them talked in the cave, his invitation had made her happy.
And when he was ambushed and killed, tears had come to her eyes without warning...
It was like a gentle breeze passing over a lake, sending rings of ripples spreading across the surface of her heart.
It was a strange and wonderful feeling.
This was only the second time she had experienced something like it since her last meeting with Sephis-sama.
Admiration was the feeling furthest removed from understanding.
But at least in this moment, she would follow what she truly felt and do whatever little she could.
"Thanks."
Supported by the girl, Naraku sat down.
All he could do now was look up and watch the battle in the sky.
...
[Self-Time Acceleration]
[Spacial Slash]
High above, the Minotaur Sage's speed suddenly surged.
He slipped past Enhela's attempt to block him and brought his axe crashing down with tremendous force.
"Crack!"
The collision rang out.
The axe blade tore through space itself, and the shield surrounding Enhela shattered on impact.
"Die, you bastard!"
The White Dragon Lord seized the opening and immediately unleashed a blast of frosty Breath Attack laced with black mist.
His timing was so precise that Enhela had no chance to dodge.
Left with no other option, he was forced to take the attack head-on.
The Breath Attack struck, bringing with it a burst of excruciating pain.
The White Dragon Lord's attack dealt far more damage than the Level 100 Minotaur Sage's.
Did that mean the White Dragon Lord was stronger?
Of course not.
Even if he were, the difference would never be this extreme.
The real reason the Breath Attack dealt so much damage was the Power of Catastrophe infused within it.
Catastrophe Magic, born from the destruction of the world itself, was inherently the natural enemy of "Kuyō."
It was much like Undead facing Holy and Fire attributes. Even with resistance stacked to its maximum, those weaknesses could still result in tremendous damage under otherwise identical conditions.
Before the White Dragon Lord's Breath Attack had even faded, the Clear Light Dragon Lord's attack followed immediately.
[Transdimensional Star Array]
An ancient star chart descended from the sky, splitting space itself in two and suppressing Enhela before he could react.
"You stupid ox! Both of you, hurry up and attack!"
The Clear Light Dragon Lord shouted urgently.
After fighting for this long, he had already begun to feel tired.
The man before them was practically impossible to kill.
Even with the Cracks sealed, Enhela had still managed to fight all three of them for this long.
The Clear Light Dragon Lord and the Minotaur Sage had spent the entire battle trying every possible method to weaken Enhela and create openings for the White Dragon Lord.
It was frustrating.
Neither of their attacks could inflict any meaningful damage.
And they both knew exactly why.
The difference was the Power of Catastrophe.
If the Power of Catastrophe could have been bestowed upon either of them instead, the results would likely have been far better than enchanting the White Dragon Lord.
Unfortunately, that was nothing more than wishful thinking.
The human below had already reached his limit.
Simply maintaining the enchantment on the White Dragon Lord had pushed Naraku to the edge. There was no way he had enough strength left to enchant anyone else.
Besides, the most important reason the White Dragon Lord could receive the enchantment in the first place was that he was weaker than the other two.
So switching the enchantment to another target was simply unrealistic.
"Got it! One final attack. Let's wipe him out!"
The Minotaur Sage gasped for breath.
Over the past six hundred years, he could count the number of real battles he had fought on one hand.
It was no exaggeration to say that this was the first time since arriving in the New World that he had thrown himself into a fight with absolutely everything he had.
This Enhela was extraordinarily powerful.
According to his initial estimate, Enhela's combat strength was roughly comparable to a high-tier Level 100 regional boss.
And that estimate did not even take his Divine Right into account.
Even with the Cracks sealed by the Clear Light Dragon Lord, the power contained within that Divine Right was enough to make one's heart tremble.
As expected of the power belonging to a game's final boss!
[Absolute Zero]
The White Dragon Lord attacked first, unleashing his strongest technique.
It was the most powerful ice-elemental spell, capable not only of inflicting massive damage but also carrying a certain chance of instant death.
His mana was already almost completely exhausted.
He had always been the weakest of the three, and after all his previous exertion, the only reason he had lasted this long was the tremendous endurance of the Dragon Race.
Frost symbolizing death spread outward with Enhela at its center.
A wind cold enough to freeze the soul filled the area before solidifying into an enormous crystal of ice.
The Power of Catastrophe pierced into Enhela's flesh along with it, dealing damage and bringing overwhelming pain.
[Spacial Slash]
The Minotaur Sage used the same technique once again.
Sometimes, one good move was enough to carry you through anything.
As an inferior version of the World Champion exclusive skill [Dimensional Slash], [Spacial Slash] could not compare in raw power, but it was still on par with [Reality Slash].
In other words, it was among the strongest single-target skills.
Within the frozen world, a flash of silver suddenly erupted.
The Clear Light Dragon Lord hurriedly followed with [Dimensional Slash].
The silver light instantly became even more brilliant.
Through the Minotaur Sage's detection abilities, Enhela's health could be seen plummeting.
[Absolute Zero] + Power of Catastrophe + [Spacial Slash] + [Dimensional Slash].
With all four attacks landing, even a regional boss at full health would be left severely wounded.
Enhela, whose health had already fallen into the kill threshold, stood no chance.
His health collapsed rapidly until it vanished completely.
Enhela's battered body lost the ability to Fly and dropped straight toward the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust on impact.
Perhaps because this was the real world, his corpse did not disappear as it would have in a game.
"My Lord, are you all right?"
The White Dragon Lord dispelled the Wild Magic [World-Isolating Barrier] as he descended quickly, landing in front of Naraku and immediately checking on him.
Meanwhile, the Minotaur Sage and the Clear Light Dragon Lord approached Enhela's corpse.
[A creation of Kuyō. This body is definitely worth studying.]
[Those Floor Guardians might be interested in it.]
With the same thought in mind, the two reached out with a hand and claw.
But just as they were about to touch the corpse, the motionless body suddenly emitted a dim gray light.
Enhela's lifeless eyes abruptly regained their brilliance.
Caught completely off guard, the Minotaur Sage and the Clear Light Dragon Lord were blasted away at once, blood spraying across the ground.
"Cough, cough... What happened?!"
The White Dragon Lord hurried forward, catching them both and absorbing their momentum so they would not crash into Naraku and the others behind him.
The Minotaur Sage stared in disbelief at the resurrected Enhela.
The Clear Light Dragon Lord immediately tried to cast a spell without saying a word, but a strange presence within his body interfered with the flow of his magic, preventing the spell from activating.
"Did you truly believe you could defeat me?"
Enhela walked toward them at an unhurried pace.
"I'll ask you again. What gave you the illusion that you could win?"
"The Divine Right of My God, Kuyō. Its power is far beyond anything you can imagine."
Not only had Enhela's health fully recovered, his mana had returned to its peak as well.
"Then let us begin."
"Round two."
The battlefield fell completely silent.
This is bad.
The Minotaur Sage looked around.
The Frost Dragon had exhausted his mana.
His fellow countryman looked incredibly weak.
The Clear Light Dragon Lord was temporarily unable to cast magic.
And then there was himself.
How were they supposed to fight this?
Did he have to use...
The Minotaur Sage glanced at the two items in his inventory and hesitated.
Before he could reach a decision, however, a thunderous roar came from the sky.
"I shall be your opponent."
A massive platinum-colored dragon descended from above.
The currents stirred up by its wings rolled across the battlefield, while its overwhelming presence distorted the surrounding space.
***
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