"Click."
The tome of the Ancient Dragon slowly opened in Carlisle's hands. When he opened his eyes again, a demonic purple light flickered deep within his once clear blue pupils.
Pandora's figure reformed not far away, her expression uncharacteristically grave. Something was wrong.
Carlisle's expression had changed.
It was no longer the knight's usual resolve or calmness, but an unfamiliar, savage coldness. His gaze had lost its rationality, replaced by the indifference of a predator.
He slowly rotated his neck, his bones emitting faint cracking sounds, as if the consciousness within his body was adapting to this new form. Then he lowered his head to look at the tome in his hand.
"Ancient Dragon."
A deep, majestic voice emanated from the book, echoing across the battlefield.
On the other side, Regulus's body slowly rose to its feet.
She felt it. Pandora's authority that had bound her was completely nullified. Not broken, but overridden by a higher power.
So that is how it is...
She looked down at her hands as flames spread from her fingers, gradually enveloping her entire body. It burned intensely, yet brought no pain. Instead, it felt like returning to an original warmth.
This is my responsibility...
The flames completely consumed her form, then rapidly contracted, transforming into a dark stream of light that flew into Carlisle's other hand.
"Thump."
A pitch black book lay silently in his palm.
Carlisle looked down at the two tomes, the Ancient Dragon and the black tome formed from Regulus.
His actions were almost instinctive. He slowly placed the black book over the Ancient Dragon.
"Hope Dragon acquired."
A cold, mechanical voice sounded. The powers of the two tomes instantly merged, intertwining ethereal blue and dark patterns to form a new totem.
At the same time, a light condensed at Carlisle's waist, gradually forming a black scabbard with golden patterns. It was not an external object, but seemed to grow from within him, perfectly integrated with his body. Three grooves appeared on the scabbard's surface, the first of which glowed with an ethereal blue light.
Carlisle raised the Ancient Dragon tome, aligning it with the first groove.
"Clang."
The tome fit perfectly into the scabbard.
The next second.
"Boom."
Behind Carlisle, space suddenly warped, and a giant phantom of the Ancient Dragon unfolded out of thin air, the sound of its turning pages echoing like thunder.
The phantom of a colossal dragon emerged from the pages, its ethereal blue scales shimmering with a metallic sheen. Its ferocious head roared toward the sky, and an invisible pressure began to crack the ground across the entire battlefield.
Blazing Sword Draw.
A solemn mechanical voice resounded through heaven and earth.
The phantom of the dragon suddenly solidified. Its massive claws embraced Carlisle, and ethereal blue flames erupted between them, sending scorching heatwaves in all directions.
Pandora quietly observed the anomaly at the center of the battlefield.
"Archbishop Corneas, I need your help."
Her snow white hair floated gently in the storm of energy as her fingers lightly pointed toward Greed in the distance.
"It seems we have encountered some trouble."
Regulus had been standing at the edge of the battlefield, her golden pupils gleaming with excitement as she observed Carlisle's transformation, a theatrical smile on her lips. However, in the next instant,
Her figure suddenly appeared at the center of the battlefield.
"I say!"
Her expression twisted instantly, her voice so sharp it seemed to pierce the air.
"Do not just use your ability to control other people's bodies! I have not even said whether I will help or not! Do you have any idea that you are infringing upon my rights?"
Pandora did not even look at her and simply spoke indifferently.
"You will help."
Regulus's furious outburst abruptly stopped.
Her expression froze, then was gradually smoothed over by an invisible force, her distorted features slowly relaxing.
"Alright."
Her tone became light as she clasped her hands in front of her chest, bowing slightly like an elegant noble.
"Since you have asked me like this, I will lend a hand."
The corners of her lips curved into a smile, but there was no amusement in her golden pupils.
"I am just that kind of gentle and good natured person. But if you truly need my help, then that must mean even you cannot handle this situation, right? Right?"
Pandora ignored her provocation and turned her gaze back toward Carlisle.
When the phantom of the giant dragon finally dissipated, a completely different figure stood at the center of the battlefield.
Black and blue draconic armor covered his entire body, with ethereal blue flame patterns flowing across its surface like living entities. A faint, scorching blue glow shone through the gaps in every piece of armor. The helmet's compound eyes were vertical, resembling the pupils of a dragon.
At his waist, the black scabbard was perfectly integrated with the Ancient Dragon, while the massive phantom of the tome behind him had yet to fully disappear.
Regulus's constant chatter suddenly ceased.
What is this?
That oppressive presence made even her feel a shiver for the first time in a long while.
"Roar."
A dragon's roar that shook whole world erupted from Carlisle's mouth, and ethereal blue energy surged outward like a storm. The ground along its path cracked inch by inch, and rocks turned to dust the moment they came into contact with this aura.
Greed instinctively took half a step back, but then forcibly suppressed the trembling rising within her heart. Her golden eyes locked onto the figure engulfed in blue energy, her voice sharp with forced composure.
"What exactly are you?"
She suddenly raised her arm, spreading her fingers as solidified temporal power gathered in her palm. In the next instant, she swung it forward with force.
"Boom."
An invisible shockwave tore through the earth, rushing toward Carlisle with devastating power. The violent energy struck him directly in the chest, kicking up a sky darkening cloud of dust as shattered rock and earth fragments scattered like heavy rain.
A sneer formed on Greed's lips, disdain filling her golden eyes.
"What is this..."
She elegantly adjusted her cuff, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Just someone who looks impressive but is ultimately useless."
Her smile widened.
"To make me lose my composure like that... you have brought death upon yourself."
Her words came to an abrupt halt.
"Whoosh."
An ethereal blue afterimage burst out from the cloud of dust.
Greed's pupils shrank to pinpoints. She did not even have time to react before a hand covered in dragon scale armor violently seized her head.
What?
Her thoughts froze completely in that instant.
Carlisle's face appeared mere inches away, the cold dragon like eyes beneath his visor reflecting her horrified expression.
The next moment.
"Boom."
He slammed her entire body into the ground with the force of a falling meteor while gripping her head.
The terrifying impact shattered the earth within a thousand meter radius like fragile glass. Cracks spread outward like a web, reaching the horizon as a massive wave of earth surged upward like a tsunami, embedding Greed's body deep into the ground.
...
Re@d adv@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.