It was the first time I had ever witnessed so many taboo spells at once...!
Albion spoke, his voice tense.
『If you take a direct hit from that, not even your bones will remain!』
"I know!"
Surging with white aura, I chanted the incantation—
"I, who am about to awaken, am the Heavenly Dragon of Supremacy who has taken the absolute of law into the darkness! Piercing through the infinite destruction and the dream of dawn, I shall walk the path of the Overlord! I shall become the pure Dragon Emperor—and lead you to the silver illusion and the pinnacle of magic!"
『Juggernaut Over Drive!!!!!!!!!!!』
In an instant, I transformed into the Silver Emperor Dragon.
His power belonged to the domain of gods. If so, I had no choice but to counter it with absolute power capable of slaying even God!
I thrust both arms forward, holding my hands out against the countless taboos rushing toward me.
『Compression Divider!!!!』
『DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDivide!!!!=========』
It was a technique that had erased even the highest-tier Grim Reaper, Pluto. And from that point, it had evolved even further. Receiving this technique—which could compress all concrete matter, dreams, and even illusions—Azi Dahaka's forbidden arts began to condense into nothingness.
Compressing his spells as I moved, I closed the distance toward Azi Dahaka, who was still firing off forbidden arts. Even as my armor was peeled away, I reached out and touched his body—
『Power Dispersion!!!!』
Azi Dahaka's power scattered into the air.
The power that had been radiating so tremendously from him vanished into thin air.
"Wha—My power is draining—?!"
For the first time, shock washed over Azi Dahaka's face.
"—I was waiting for this exact moment."
Imbuing my fist with silver aura, I slammed it directly into Azi Dahaka's face!
Azi Dahaka reeled back. Spitting blood from his mouth, his stance crumbled completely.
If I missed this chance, there wouldn't be another. This evil dragon wasn't naive enough to fall for the same trick twice.
Silver fists and kicks struck Azi Dahaka's body in rapid succession.
"HAAAAAAAH!"
With a full-power strike, I slammed Azi Dahaka down into the earth below—.
▽
Strength drained from my entire body.
Because Azi Dahaka's power had scattered—even if only for a second—every magic circle he had deployed vanished into thin air. Considering how thoroughly I had been overwhelmed, it was a miraculous reversal. Even I couldn't help but marvel that I had managed to break through.
Having poured everything into that final attack, my silver form dissolved, leaving my magic power and physical stamina severely exhausted. Descending quietly to the ground, my legs buckled the moment my feet touched the earth.
Consciousness slipped at the edges... But—
"You really did a number on me, didn't ya?"
Blowing away the swirling cloud of dust, Azi Dahaka emerged.
Because I had struck him while his power was dispersed, I had dealt a decent amount of damage, but... it was clear who held the advantage.
...Strong. Far stronger than the likes of Rizevim.
『Azi Dahaka has reached the Heavenly Dragon class,』 Albion murmured.
I see. On par with the two Heavenly Dragons, hailed as the strongest. It made sense that he was this powerful. Crom Cruach had reached the Heavenly Dragon class through relentless training, but Azi Dahaka had likely forged himself after being resurrected through the power of the Holy Grail. In that case, Apophis—who was on equal footing with this evil dragon and one of the instigators of this war—could be assumed to possess similar strength.
To think I would be pushed this far...
Azi Dahaka spoke with evident amusement.
"This is fun and all as it is, but if you want, you could use Albion's true power, y'know? I'd sure love to see the power that earned you the mock name 'Poison Dragon Emperor,' Albion. Or should I say... Gwiber?"
To hear that name spoken... No, he too was a dragon from ancient times. It was only natural he knew the details regarding the White Dragon Emperor.
The White Dragon Emperor, Albion, once bore the name Gwiber. Though neither Albion nor his rival Ddraig spoke of it, the white dragon was originally a dragon that wielded deadly poison. Despite possessing a beautiful white form, he harbored a hideous poison capable of repelling even gods. Albion hated and cursed his own body for it.
Albion spoke in a voice audible to the evil dragon.
『That name and that power have been sealed away.』
"Sure, but wasn't it because of that power that even the gods of various factions shunned you back in the day? Possessing a beautiful white body, yet holding a lethal poison inside that even gods feared... I kinda like it, y'know? A twisted power like that."
Azi Dahaka shifted his attention from Albion back to me. Cocking his head, he spoke.
"Hey, Vali Lucifer. You look different from the Red Dragon Emperor, but I think you've got parts that are pretty similar, too. It's those eyes of someone tryin' to protect somethin'. It ain't just your pride or whatever. It's the eyes of a guy tryin' to protect someone important to him. ...Is it a woman?"
"...If you mean a woman, I suppose so. But it's not a lover or anything like that. Just... someone who took care of me long ago. I don't do grand things like protecting countless people the way Hyoudou Issei does. No... I can't do that."
I was not Hyoudou Issei. I had never fought to protect others the way he did.
Yet, ever since stepping onto this battlefield, that woman's face—that family's faces—kept rising in my mind. A happy mother, a younger sister, and a younger brother...
If things continued like this, the threat of Trihexa and Azi Dahaka would reach them.
I won't let that happen. I can't let that happen.
I... want to protect them.
"I have things I want to protect, too. Do you despise me for it? Does it make me seem weak? Personally, I don't think it's so bad."
"Gugugu! I've fought a few guys who held onto somethin' like that as their anchor before. Every single one of 'em, without exception, was a tough bastard. No matter what happened to 'em, they came at me until their very life burned out. People say we evil dragons are stubborn, but guys like that are the most stubborn of all—you can't drop your guard for a second. So, I won't look down on you for a moment! I'll recognize you as a true warrior!"
Azi Dahaka deployed a single magic circle.
In a split second, the surrounding scenery warped, and I could no longer hold onto my consciousness.
I fell into the world of illusion created by Azi Dahaka.
▽
"Big brother's awake!"
When I opened my eyes, I was lying on a bed. Sitting right on top of me was a little boy.
Seeing me open my eyes, the boy cheered with a bright smile. Perhaps hearing his voice, the room door opened, and a young girl walked in.
She scolded the boy.
"Geez! You can't just wake Big Brother up like that!"
They looked similar. Somehow, the two of them bore a resemblance to me. In that instant, I understood.
"Big Brother! It's time to eat! Get up, get up!"
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