NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30: Clash of Titans
I saw Gregorius, fully transformed into the Avatar Collective. His blank white eyes, his four-meter-tall giant body, and six pairs of wings gleaming like a supernova. His holy aura was so intense that the air around him vibrated, the grass turning into golden crystals.
But instead of fear, I felt a burning desire—a desire to fight a powerful opponent I hadn't felt in a long time.
"Noa, it seems we must get serious from the start," I said, raising my right hand.
"Very well, my lord," Noa's gauntlet said enthusiastically.
[BALANCE BREAKER: OVERLORD]
Dragon armor emerged from my gauntlet, enveloping my body in a layer of gleaming obsidian.
Reddish-black scales covered my entire body, a helmet shaped like a dragon's head with glowing red eyes, and dark wings spread from my back. The power coursing through my body increased dramatically—this was my true, latent form.
The Avatar Collective stared at me with cold white eyes. "SO THIS IS THE TRUE FORM OF THE DEMON LORD WHO THREATENS THE HEAVENLY ORDER."
"Threaten?" I laughed, my voice echoing in the dragon helmet. "I'm not threatening—I'm going to destroy your order completely."
The Avatar Collective raised its lightsaber—a blade of pure energy that could cut through reality itself.
[HEAVENLY JUDGMENT SLASH]
A vertical slash that created a fissure in the air itself. Its speed and power surpassed physical comprehension—it was a strike that could split a mountain in two.
I didn't dodge. Instead, I charged forward with both hands barehanded.
[DRAGON CLAW INTERCEPT]
My dragon armor claw collided head-on with the lightsaber. The explosive energy sparks created a fifty-meter-radius crater around us.
CRASH!
Shockingly—my obsidian claw wasn't shattered. Instead, the lightsaber cracked in several places.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" The Avatar Collective took a step back. "THE POWER OF DARKNESS SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO RESIST A PURE HOLY WEAPON!"
"You don't understand," I grinned beneath my helmet. "I'm no ordinary demon Lord. I'm the antithesis of your order."
I advanced with lightning speed, my right claw swinging toward his chest.
[VOID REND]
An attack that tore not only flesh, but also the target's soul. My claw left a trail of darkness that devoured the light.
The Avatar Collective reacted with godlike speed, its wings moving to parry.
SLASH!
Three of its six light wings were severed. Golden blood—or something like it—dripped to the ground.
"GRAAAHHH!" the Avatar Collective screamed, but it was no longer a harmonious voice. There was a tone of pain there—proof that even extensions of the gods could be wounded.
The Avatar Collective retreated, its white eyes gleaming with divine fury.
[DIVINE LANCE STORM]
No longer hundreds—thousands of spears of light appeared in the air, each as large as a large tree. Each spear was powerful enough to pierce through the earth.
"Now we're talking," I muttered excitedly.
[DRAGON EMPEROR'S ROAR]
I opened my mouth, gathering pure dark energy in my throat. Then—
ROAAAAARRRRR!
A sonic wave laced with destructive energy erupted from my mouth. The sound alone was enough to shatter eardrums within a kilometer radius, but the dark energy contained within was far more terrifying.
The spears of light that had been coming at me instantly vanished upon impact. Even the Avatar Collective was sent flying backward, its massive body dragging along the ground, crashing into the ruins of a building.
But it rose again, though its armor of light was badly cracked.
"SUCH A TECHNIQUE. YOU'RE NO ORDINARY DEMON LORD," he spat, spitting golden blood.
"WHO ARE YOU?"
"Me?" I walked leisurely toward him, each step leaving a trail of black fire. "I am the nightmare of your gods. I am proof that your heavenly order is imperfect... and I am the hero you betrayed."
The Avatar Collective advanced for a melee attack, its giant fist wrapped in holy light aimed at my face.
[GODS' WRATH PUNCH]
A punch that could destroy a fortress. The wind from the blow alone made the ground behind me crack.
I caught the blow with my left hand, the clawed fingers of my dragon armor gripping his wrist.
"Too slow," I whispered, then gripped tighter.
CRACK!
The sound of bone—or whatever the Avatar Collective's equivalent was—breaking. He screamed in pain.
But I wasn't done yet. With my right hand, I punched him repeatedly in the chest.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Each blow left a crack in his armor of light. Golden blood began to pour from his mouth.
"STOP!" he shouted, but there was a hint of desperation in it.
"Stop?" I laughed sadistically. "You think your gods will stop when they destroy the world? You think Gregory will stop when he kills Zereth?"
I threw him into the air with full force. His four-meter body flew like a projectile, crashing through some rubble before crashing to the ground with a thud.
The Avatar Collective struggled to his feet, bleeding all over. His three remaining wings trembled weakly.
Suddenly, a roar descended from the sky—louder and angrier than before.
"OUR VESSEL HAS SUFFERED SEVERE DAMAGE." "THIS DEMON LORD HAS BEEN BEYOND OUR CALCULATIONS." "GIVE THE AVATAR COLLECTIVE THE HIGHEST PROTECTION."
A golden light more intense than before descended from the split sky. But this time it wasn't for transformation—it was Divine Armament.
The Avatar Collective's armor of light began to melt away and was replaced by something far more solid. Pure silver metal with gold engravings, each piece gleaming with concentrated divine power.
[AEGIS OF THE SEVEN HEAVENS]
The armor of the gods—protection usually granted only to the highest-ranking archangels. Each plate of armor was a fragment of the heavenly throne itself.
"NOW I AM DIRECTLY PROTECTED BY THE POWER OF THE SEVEN HEAVENS," the Avatar Collective rose, his body now encased in armor that made his previous aura seem like a candle compared to the sun. "NO POWER IN THIS MORTAL WORLD CAN PENETRATE IT."
I watched the transformation, eyes gleaming within my dragon helm.
Interesting, I thought. The gods were truly desperate enough to give me armor from their own thrones.
"The Aegis of the Seven Heavens, huh?" I grinned broadly. "I wonder if the armor of the gods can withstand the wrath of a Dragon Emperor?"
The Avatar Collective floated in the air, its new armor sparkling like stars. Its wings of light grew back, this time larger and brighter.
"NOW THE REAL FIGHT BEGINS, DEMON LORD."
I spread my wings of darkness, black flames blazing around me. "Good. I'm tired of that warm-up."
The two cosmic forces prepared for round two. On one side, the Avatar Collective in armor straight from the seventh heaven. On the other, I, in my true Dragon Emperor form.
The battlefield around us was in utter ruin—the ground turned to lava by our power, the sky split open, reality itself trembling on the brink of collapse.
Let's see, I thought as I gathered even more dark energy, if your gods are truly as wise as they claim.
[ABYSSAL DRAGON ASCENSION]
My dark powers increased even further. My obsidian armor transformed, its black scales now gleaming with an eerie violet light. My dark wings spread to cover part of the sky, each flap creating a vortex of darkness.
The Avatar Collective was not to be outdone. Its Aegis armor glowed even brighter, as if the seven heavens were merging into one form.
[CELESTIAL JUDGMENT FORM]
Its body grew to five meters, each movement leaving a trail of golden light that seared the air. Its light sword transformed into two—a pair of blades made from the pure essence of the gods.
"FEEL THE WILL OF THE SEVEN HEAVENS!" it shouted, hurtling toward me at a speed that distorted space.
I met its attack with open claws, dark energy swirling around me like a hurricane.
"And you shall feel the true wrath of the Dragon Emperor!"
BOOM!
Our collision created an explosion that obliterated everything within a kilometer radius. The shockwave spread all the way to the nearby city, while the sky above us continued to crack like shattered glass.