"Roar—roar—roar!"
Without the slightest surprise, Nergigante, filthy and battered but with injuries that, at least on the surface, no longer looked serious, let out a mournful wail as it charged toward what remained of Shara Ishvalda's corpse—only half of it now.
There was no choice but to rush!
Logan's Precipice Blades had drained the energy of the Terastal domain, and Logan himself had not continued to inject power to sustain it. With two Disaster-level Elder Dragons having fought with full force, Origin Isle was on the verge of sinking.
Even if there was only a slim chance of scavenging some benefit from Shara Ishvalda's corpse, it had to give it everything.
Otherwise, the suffering endured in this battle would have been for nothing!
Fortunately—whether because Nergigante's luck was good, or because Shara Ishvalda's bioenergy was simply too vast to disperse all at once—it did not completely dissipate.
Nergigante actually managed to detect, within the shattered remains of Shara Ishvalda's neck, a dragon gem whose bioenergy had not yet fully faded.
After a frantic bout of tearing and biting, it successfully swallowed it whole.
Nor did Nergigante let go of Shara Ishvalda's blood, still brimming with energy—while it was hot, it gulped down several mouthfuls.
At the very least, it counted as some kind of gain.
Even if it was still little more than a drop in the bucket, it was enough to offer some comfort—better than walking away with nothing at all, as in the past.
Logan watched as Shara Ishvalda's corpse, collapsing along with the ground, began to plunge into the abyss. The creator of this New World, and the greatest crisis born of its madness, finally drew the curtain at this moment.
Spreading his wings, Logan slowly took off. He then noticed Nergigante's small eyes staring with lingering reluctance at Velkhana, flying off toward the Hoarfrost Reach. There was no need to guess—this Nergigante, who had been beaten by Logan and also by an Arch-Tempered Velkhana, was once again setting its sights on its own comrade.
At that, Logan could do nothing more than sigh. He had no extra thoughts to spare—he could only silently hope that the country girl would not end up as Nergigante's next meal.
The exhaustion following the great battle continuously washed over his body. The consumption of stamina had been truly staggering, to the point that Logan did not even use his turbo jet propulsion, instead switching to ordinary winged flight. While recovering his strength, he slowly headed back toward the New World.
It was not until nearly half a month after the battle had ended that the Research Commission finally pinpointed the precise location of Origin Isle. When the fully armed Darren and the recommended teams arrived aboard the mobile research base, all they saw was Origin Isle, nearly swallowed by the sea, with only some shattered "reefs" still protruding above the water's surface.
The Wyverian hunter frowned, focusing intently on sensing the ley lines below, his face filled with confusion.
In his perception, this truly was the endpoint of the Everstream—but why was it a place swallowed by seawater?
"Look—over there! That thing sticking up… could it be a Terastal crystal?"
Just then, Mia, who had lowered the monocular telescope from her head and was scanning the surroundings, suddenly exclaimed. She pointed toward the distance at a dark-red crystal that remained unmoved under the pounding surf. Although its tip looked as if something had blasted it off, it was still fairly conspicuous in this area.
"Let's go. We'll take a look!"
At a whistled signal, several hunters rode their wingdrakes swiftly to a position above the crystal, reeled in their grappling lines, and dropped onto the uneven, fractured platform.
Darren crouched down and reached out to touch it; warmth spread into his palm.
The Wyverian hunter tapped the crystal, then released his Radiant Crystal Butterfly. Watching it cling to the crystal in delight as it drew in energy, he nodded to the others.
"Looks like the Sunblaze Dragon has already been here. What happened here has been resolved by him."
"Ahh—so we ran here for nothing. Still, I do wonder what kind of Elder Dragon the owner of that 'song' was, to make the Sunblaze Dragon take action personally." Aiden said, relaxing completely.
It was a pity they had not gotten to face a new Elder Dragon, but more than that, they felt relieved that the matter had been settled and the New World had once again stabilized.
"There's… nothing left worth investigating here. Let's head back to the Hoarfrost Reach—there's still a lot to do there."
Darren swept his gaze across the surrounding sea. Aside from the Terastal crystal beneath their feet, there was nothing else here worth investigating. Of course, if they had diving equipment, there might have been something to examine—but the trip had been rushed, and they had not prepared any of that. All they could do was record the coordinates and come back to try again if they got the chance.
...
On the Ancient Tree.
Aki looked at Logan sleeping in the nest and quietly swallowed a small piece of Orichalcum crystal.
She did not know how difficult Logan's battle had been, but from the fact that, after returning, his daily sleep and rest had clearly increased, she could tell it had not been an easy fight.
In her cold, slit pupils, there was a deeply human trace of heartache and self-reproach.
Enduring the fiercely aggressive tearing sensation of Terastal energy, which she had already begun to adapt to, Aki squeezed a little farther into the nest. While pressing herself tightly against Logan, she positioned her body between Logan and the entrance of the nest, her neck faintly shielding the area around Logan's head.
Just like that, she closed her eyes while nestled close to him.
…
"Gwa-gwa!!"
Hearing a gwa-gwa cry he had not heard in a long time, Logan, who was basking in the sun, could not even be bothered to lift his eyelids. He turned over and closed his eyes again.
With Shara Ishvalda dealt with, that troublesome dragon's noise had finally been silenced. And after that battle, Logan's stamina had been massively depleted. Right now, his entire draconic body was slack and languid—he truly just wanted to rest properly for a while.
Mother Chameleos choosing this moment to come over—there was no need to think about it. She was definitely here to freeload again.
However, when Mother Chameleos, moving on her four short legs with an utterly unrestrained gait, reached Logan's side, what she said made Logan open his eyes once more.
Mother Chameleos had come to invite Logan to go together to the Guiding Lands!
According to Mother Chameleos's description, the New World at present was full of vitality. And thanks to the abundance of bioenergy, Nergigante had begun to reproduce, while there were no longer any Elder Dragons that posed especially severe threats.
As for Mother Chameleos herself, now a new special individual, the nature of her energy had undergone a tremendous change. Her existence no longer provided much benefit to the ecology of the New World. On the contrary, there was even concern that losing control might drag down the New World's development.
On top of that, her eldest son—who had only just finished atoning—had successfully taken her place and become part of the ecological cycle in the swamp region.
As for the young Chameleos, it had completely integrated into the Research Commission.
Thus, with no remaining role to play, and regarded by the consciousness of nature as a potential threat, Mother Chameleos was required to head to the Guiding Lands, this newly born landmass, and seek a "job position" on a continent with greater plasticity.
Becoming a part of the ecological cycle or something like that—Mother Chameleos was a hundred times unwilling. She much preferred being a carefree slacker, living freely and at ease.
But she also knew very clearly that she had already landed on nature's boss's danger list. Sooner or later, she would have to leave.
In that case, she might as well "rope in" Logan, this sturdy thigh, and go together. That way, she could rely on Logan's deterrent presence and continue being her laid-back slacker self in the Guiding Lands.
"The Guiding Lands, huh?"
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