NOVEL NEXT Chapter 84: Dead?
A being sharpened by countless lifetimes. A being whose very existence made war with the Dragon race impossible.
And as for the other races? They could try.
But none had succeeded. Because to strike the Dragon Emperor was to challenge the entire Dragon race—and that was a war no race could win.
Not now. Not ever.
"Use your methods," the Dragon Emperor said coldly, voice like steel echoing through the ruined sky. "Drop the act."
Draeven and Aephyra stood still for a moment, exchanging a glance.
They had hoped... perhaps... there would be another way. But there wasn't. Not against him.
They sighed, their expressions firming.
"This is for our son." Their voices were soft—but resolute. Unshakable.
In the next instant, their bodies surged with a dreadful glow.
They burned their soul essence — their lifespan—
To temporarily sever the shackle of the Dragon Emperor's bloodline dominance.
It was a desperate act. One that even most Sovereigns wouldn't dare attempt. But they were no longer fighting for themselves.
They were fighting for the future. For their child.
The air cracked apart as Draeven vanished, leaving afterimages of violet flame. Aephyra shot upward, her undying flame surging outward like a phoenix reborn, consuming the sky with golden inferno.
"Void Maw—Break!"
Draeven roared as he raised his hand, and space itself twisted and churned. A swirling vortex of devouring flame opened up above the Dragon Emperor, its center pulling in even light. The void howled like it was alive, hungry to erase all things.
Aephyra followed it up with her mightiest technique— "Eternal Pyre: Annihilation Bloom."
The golden flames exploded outward in a lotus-shaped inferno, condensing to a singular point before erupting in a blinding sunburst. The heat turned the sky white, and even space seemed to crackle from the pressure.
Together, Void and Pyre formed a storm of destruction that eclipsed the battlefield.
And yet…
The Dragon Emperor stood there.
Unmoving.
A deep thrum pulsed outward from his body—like a heartbeat from an ancient dragon slumbering beneath reality.
The air warped.
And then—
"Return."
That one word echoed, and the flames reversed.
The devouring void twisted in on itself and snapped shut like a crushed throat.
The undying flames recoiled—and then turned back, racing toward their source.
Before Draeven or Aephyra could react, they were engulfed by their own attacks.
"GRAHH—!"
"KUHH—!"
Agony flared through them. The very flames they forged now burned them alive.
That was the Dragon Emperor's true terror.
A cursed ability, ancient and absolute—
As long as dragons existed, he was nearly unkillable.
Any damage done to him could be reflected—transferred—back to the attacker.
And the stronger the attack, the greater the backlash.
Aephyra coughed blood, kneeling on one knee, body scorched by her own Eternal Pyre.
Draeven clutched his side, dark flame leaking from a deep wound that hadn't been there moments ago.
They had no choice but to cancel out their flames...
'He could actually still damage us when we're out of his control!' they were both greatly shocked.
The damage was great but still, they rose again. They refused to stop. They can't give up, they're the last line of defense for their son, if they failed, then their son is done for.
Draeven raised his palm, and the air twisted—
A black sphere formed, dense and silent.
"Void Prison."
The space around the Dragon Emperor collapsed inward, forming a tight sphere meant to trap even the strongest of creatures inside a timeless fracture.
At the same time, Aephyra slashed her hand through the air. A line of golden fire carved across the world, slamming into the prison—
"Soulbrand Flame Seal!" A technique forbidden even among ancient flame users. It didn't just burn the body. It marked the soul.
The explosion was silent.
So immense it tore the sound from the world.
For a moment… hope flickered. But then—
A clawed hand emerged from the smoke.
CRACK-!!!
The Void Prison shattered like thin glass. The golden flames died with a hiss, as if suffocated.
And the Dragon Emperor walked forth.
Untouched.
The ground beneath him trembled from his mere presence.
"You've done well." His voice was calm—too calm.
"Better than I expected."
Draeven and Aephyra panted, shoulders heaving, bodies battered and scorched.
He looked at them, his gaze unreadable.
"I will admit... I didn't think you'd actually find a method to loosen the chains of my bloodline. You broke free… temporarily."
His voice lowered.
"But that isn't enough."
"You only reduced my control."
"I can increase or suppress my bloodline aura at will."
He stepped closer, eyes glowing with ancient power.
"The difference between a dragon... and the Dragon Emperor... is not in power."
"It's in authority."
He raised a single hand. The world darkened.
His bloodline surged. And in that moment—Draeven and Aephyra felt it again.
That suffocating command, drilling down into their very souls. The universe itself bowed to his blood.
'No… we failed…' That was the final thought echoing in their minds before everything turned dark.
Their bodies fell silent, they were unconscious.
Within moments, the Dragon Emperor's form blurred through space, and he broke through the veiled threshold of Draeven and Aephyra's hidden Labyrinth.
Dark clouds churned above the scorched sky, as if nature itself mourned what was to come.
Hovering in the air, high above the sanctuary they had so desperately constructed, the Dragon Emperor spread his senses outward. Like a tidal wave, his divine perception flooded the landscape—touching stone, soul, and silence alike.
It spread through all nook and cranny and yet…
He couldn't find him. Not a single ripple from Kaeryx. Not a single breath.
Down below, Ethan, watching through Kaeryx's eyes, could see the dragonoid-like figure hanging in the sky, overlooking everything like a tyrant god surveying his kingdom. His pressure made the world feel heavy.
'...Is that him?'
The dragon Emperor.
Ethan didn't understand the details, but his body did. Kaeryx's instincts screamed in terror. His breath hitched. The original soul inside Kaeryx took over for a moment, letting out low, distressed whimpers.
Even without being directly targeted, the infant dragon trembled, curling into itself. Its primal instincts recognized that being. That this was a being that must not be defied.
Meanwhile Dragon who was in a dilemma was quite calm.
'Which method did they use to hide that monster…?' The Dragon Emperor narrowed his eyes.
His divine sense searched again. Deeper. More forceful. Still nothing.
Despite the failure, his face, however, remained expressionless. "Hmph. It's useless."
He hovered in the air, with the unconscious bodies of Draeven and Aephyra suspended beside him—not by magic or telekinesis, but by the sheer force of his bloodline. Their limp forms hung there, pale and trembling, like marionettes bound to the will of their Emperor.
With one hand, he gripped their heads—icy fingers pressing against their temples. A pulse of draconic light surged through them. And secrets spilled.
Memory after memory unfolded within his mind—fragmented, flowing… but enough.
Then— His eyes widened. He paused.
A sliver of genuine surprise flashed across the Dragon Emperor's face. 'So this is it… The method they used…'
He exhaled softly.
'These two… Their talents are terrifying. To achieve such effects with flame methods—methods more advanced than anything I've seen across all my lifetimes…'
He stood, back straightening.
His wings unfurled behind him—shimmering like obsidian glass.
He vanished. Elsewhere, Ethan stiffened.
He felt it. The pressure descending once more.
That godlike presence had found them. As the Dragon Emperor's aura dropped like a guillotine onto the hidden sanctuary, the infant Kaeryx whimpered again and began thrashing, its body reacting instinctively to the overwhelming threat.
The wails were heart-wrenching.
Ethan could only sigh from within. '...Is it time for me to die?'
The killing intent was undeniable. It suffocated the world itself. The Dragon Emperor stepped into the array.
And the trap activated.
Glass Pyre Array—a soul-based formation constructed from condensed flame laws, eternal soul fire, and essence anchors linked directly to Draeven and Aephyra.
Whirr—shatter—BOOM!
The moment his foot entered the boundary, his soul was struck. Thousands of glass-shard-like soul flames exploded around him, piercing into his spiritual core and drawing him into a deep illusion.
The space twisted. The sky fractured. And for a moment—he faltered.
But only for a moment.
He scoffed coldly. He already expected this after searching their memories. The golden flames licked at his soul—but then his eyes glowed and his power shifted.
Scoffing, He diverted the soul damage. Redirected it to Draeven and Aephyra.
Hovering beside him, their unconscious bodies trembled—and they coughed out blood violently.
"At least you two are useful this way." His voice echoed in the illusion.
Their eyes opened, wide with pain—and horror.
And as they turned, they saw it.
The Dragon Emperor. Standing in the center of their formation, his aura roaring, tearing their defenses apart. The barrier split apart like cracked glass. And there— At the center. Was Kaeryx.
Now completely exposed to the danger they desperately hoped to hide him from .
Their hearts sank.
"NO—!"