Azar watches from a distance as Abel tries to dodge the incoming dragon-flame attacks that burst out of the water dome. It's futile. The flames will eventually hit him, and there is no normal way to neutralize them. These flames are made directly from draconic energy. They cannot be extinguished through ordinary means. The heat radiating from them is equivalent to that of a dying star. To counter them, one needs either a hotter flame or draconic energy of their own. Unfortunately, only the Ten Dragons possess the ability to use draconic energy, and no human can create a flame equal to a dying star.
It's over for the boy.
Finally, one of the dragon flames manages to hit Abel's arm. The place where the flame strikes glows with dozens of purple lines, leaving a scorched mark.
"Tch." Abel holds onto his arm.
That's unusual. The flame should have engulfed his entire hand, yet it only leaves a scorched mark.
While Azar watches in shock, the scorch on Abel's arm glows purple, then disappears completely.
Abel places his sword back into its scabbard.
"Azar Dragonheart. Allow me to show you one of my many skills."
He sticks out his palm, and a fireball erupts from it. There is nothing special about the flame at first—even a novice mage could produce something similar.
Then the fire begins to act violently, twisting and jerking like a wild animal. Its color shifts, turning pitch black, as dark as the night itself.
Abel raises his hands. The fireball expands rapidly until it matches the original size of Azar's Dragon Crash. Just like Azar's technique, the black flame splits into hundreds of dragon-shaped blasts.
Azar's eyes widen.
That… that bastard stole my skill. But… how?
Abel's black dragon flames tear through Azar's own without any resistance.
Forget stolen—he made them stronger.
As quickly as they appear, Azar's dragon flames vanish without a trace. Abel's black dragons are not finished. They converge into one massive dragon that charges toward Azar, screeching and roaring as it approaches.
Azar's slit eyes glow red. He focuses mana into his palm and fires it at the oncoming dragon. That single blast is all it takes to erase the black dragon from existence completely.
It's unfortunate for you. I am simply more powerful. As such, it is my role to teach you your place. Only those with power have the right to conquer those without it.
He creates a miniature barrier around a certain someone in the forest to protect them from what comes next.
Let me show you why I am the stronger one.
Azar stretches out his hand. Three white-hot magic rings form around Abel. They are incredibly thin and elegant, surrounding him from different angles—above, below, and horizontally.
Azar looks at Abel's face, expecting to see anguish or despair, the same expression his enemies always make when they realize they are nothing more than low-tier animals before him. Instead, Abel stares at the rings with clear interest, almost happily, his eyes fixed on the skill rather than on Azar himself.
Veins bulge across Azar's body.
You want to see power? I'll show it to you.
Azar raises both hands. One after another, the stars illuminating the night sky begin to shine brighter. They grow more intense with every second. The very air hums from the immense heat rising above.
Then—
BOOM!
Beams of pure white light erupt from the night sky. They converge into one colossal beam of mass destruction locked directly onto Abel.
Abel cannot block it, and the rings prevent him from using spatial movement.
This is the ultimate potential of fire-based skills. Star Cluster. With this, not even your soul shall remain. Nothing lives unless I allow it. Die, Abel MorningStar.
The white beam slams down, swallowing Abel whole. The entire forest dissolves into a beautiful, devastating sheet of white light.
When the light finally clears, only darkness remains. The stars are the sole source of light.
Azar looks around and notices the barrier still protecting the black-haired woman.
Good. She's safe.
Cracks begin to spread across the space around them. The dimension is destabilizing. Azar glances around once more with the faint, false hope that Abel might somehow still be alive after taking Star Cluster head-on. His worries are for nothing. Abel has completely vanished.
If Abel did not survive, then the white-haired man and Claudia could not have survived either.
So that's it. It's finally done. This short battle I had to interfere in is finally over. Now I can regain the one who is so important to me. The only reason I still want to live.
He pulls the black-haired woman closer.
Not this empty vessel.
The dragon activates his Ignition skill. A barrier of flame erupts from his body, covering both himself and the woman.
"When you regain consciousness, I hope you can forgive your father."
Then they disappear completely.
In the middle, a woman with purple hair is drifting into the darkness as the space tears itself apart around her.
A black-haired boy appears in front of her without a sound, grabs her, then they vanish from the dying dimension. Almost like they were never there.
The second they leave, the dimension collapses in on itself and vanishes from existence.
---
"Will they all live?" I ask a bruised-up Shiro and Astra as I look at the countless unconscious mercenaries on the ground.
My entire body is filled with cuts. Luckily none of them are fatal but my entire body aches just from moving, especially my back and arms. Maybe next time, I'll quickly get away instead of analyzing a skill during an attack
Anyway, the two of them immediately shrug.
Shiro looks at the cuts covering my arms and frowns.
"You're asking about them when you look like that?"
"I'm completely fine. I'm much stronger than I was a year ago."
Shiro gives a light sigh.
"Fine."
Astra then points out the purple-haired girl in my arms.
"Sorry, but who is she?"
"I don't really know either," I respond.
The two of them look at each other and then sigh. I guess they don't want to press on any further, which is good for me. I really don't know who she is, but I'm going to.
"You probably have questions beside this, and now I can answer them. But first, you need to put these two in a room."
When I say two, I mean this purple-haired woman and Claudia, who is in Shiro's arms right now. There's a small red dagger she's holding in her hand. Tightly even.
Are those tears on her face? Looks like I've got questions for them too.
Right now we're in my Infinity's Domain, Absorption Mode. This allows me to create a separate space where I can keep things. Similar to an inventory.
So, I consumed the entire land MorningStar was on, totally wiping it off the map.
I had the mana soldiers help me rebuild the entire place. Since I can alter the time here, it took them Twenty-four weeks to rebuild all this which was equivalent to a day.
I can have Astra explain that to Shiro. For now, I just need them to take these two to somewhere else while I asky my other half here what happened.
I hand the purple-haired girl to Astra who smiles just a little when i hand her to her. With the two girls in their hands, they exit the room.
Once they do I immediately activate Dead Time and accelerate my mind by hundreds of thousands of times it's normal rate.
Explain. Now.
Don't have to be so rude about it.
Let me put it this way. If you don't speak, I won't share my analysis on the skill Azar used.
...Due to using Trinity to escape, it caused the dimension to collapse inward onto itself. When this happened it tore open a rip through space and time. The purple haired girl just happened to be pulled into the rift when it happened.
So basically, this girl is from another world?
Not the way I would put it, but basically.
So just how am I going to explain this to them.
It just means you'll have to reveal me.
...Well, if i want to answer any of their questions, I was gonna have to reveal you anyway, so whatever. At the very least, I won't tell them your alive. To them you'll simply be Khaos, Lord of Null.
I am much more than a simple skill.
Not to them.
I deactivate Dead Time and walk out of the white room like nothing ever happened. Only a real-world second had passed so yeah, nothing happened.
...oh yeah. Khaos, heal any injuries those mercenaries may have. No, I will not say please.
Hmm.
I then send a message to Shiro and Astra telling them to come to my room once Claudia woke up. After all, if anyone needs to hear what I have to say, it's her.
I can see a green light erupt from the white room. Despite it's attitude, this other consciousness of mine ain't half bad.
I enter my room and immediately jump onto my bed, finally allowing myself to sleep after such a long time.