That chant held a vow—a vow to live as the Demon King who wields the power of the White Dragon. If the Red Dragon Emperor, Issei Hyoudou, is the Hero, then I, the White Dragon Emperor, am the Demon King.
Therefore—this is my Demon King Transformation.
It feels a bit strange for a Hero and a Demon King to be friends… but I suppose it's not so bad.
Azi Dahaka looked at my new form with genuine awe.
"Incredible… simply incredible! Rizevim was nothing but a cheap imitation of the Demon King. But you—you are different! You are the true Lucifer. Isn't that right? The one who inherits the throne of the True Demon King, Vali Lucifer!"
"Yeah, you're right. For the first time, I can say it from the bottom of my heart. —My name is Lucifer. I am the one who inherits the blood of the Demon King, Vali Lucifer!"
My true name. My pride. I will dedicate everything I have to this fight!
In response to my declaration, the legendary Evil Dragon let out a roar, his aura surging to monstrous levels.
"I KNEW ITTTTTT! You're a thousand times better than that old man Rizevim! Come at me, VALI LUCIFERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
"What a coincidence! I find you much easier to deal with than Rizevim too! AZI DAHAKAAAA!"
We took to the skies simultaneously. With a single flap of my twelve black wings, a storm tore across the battlefield.
I thrust my hand forward, releasing a mass of mana. The projectile closed in on Azi Dahaka instantly, but he vanished, using teleportation magic to evade. The mana blast missed, soaring into the distance before erupting in an explosion that shook the very foundations of the earth.
The power was beyond my expectations. That was just a simple orb of mana, and it did that?
Azi Dahaka reappeared at a distance, shocked but ecstatic.
"Ridiculous! All that from a casual shot?!"
"Terrifying!"
"What specs!"
I spread my wings and charged. As I carved a trail of silver and black light through the sky, Azi Dahaka unleashed magic on a scale far beyond anything he'd shown before. Magic circles filled the heavens, firing a relentless barrage of spells. Forbidden arts and elemental magic of every variety rained down on me in complex, unavoidable trajectories.
One hit would be enough to kill me.
[LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL]
The jewels on my armor let out a glitch-like sound as I thrust my hand forward.
In the next instant—
"Gah…?!"
A dull thud echoed. Azi Dahaka coughed up blood. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at my fist, buried deep in his gut. He stumbled back, trying to comprehend what had happened.
"What was that…? Teleportation? No… that was different. What did you do?!"
He hadn't been able to react. I had bypassed every spell and closed the distance in a heartbeat. It was only natural he couldn't see it.
Because I—
Azi Dahaka took a defensive stance and fired another volley. I vanished again, appearing instantly to drive my fist into him once more.
"Guh!"
The blow sent him spinning through the air. I followed up with a mana blast that sent him crashing into the earth. A massive crater bloomed where he landed. Covered in dirt, Azi Dahaka let out a delighted laugh.
"I see… I get it now. You're halving the distance? No… it's even more extreme than that."
"Impressive. You figured it out after only two hits."
By applying the power of the White Dragon, I had created a field of 'Halving.' By concentrating that power forward and halving the space between us infinitely and continuously, the distance between us effectively hits zero instantly. In short: pseudo-teleportation.
Still, Azi Dahaka's ability to see through it so quickly was extraordinary.
I focused my will into the tips of my Lucifer wings.
[LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL]
The twelve wings detached from my back, launching into the air. They shifted and transformed into autonomous units—just like Issei Hyoudou's Feather Bits.
Issei's third-tier Balance Breaker, the Celestial Wings, possessed remote weaponry for simultaneous offense and defense. It seems my new power was influenced by him. No matter where I go, I clearly recognize him as my rival.
The detached wings—the Lucifer Bits—swirled around me.
"Go!"
At my command, the twelve bits swarmed Azi Dahaka. Aura gathered at their tips, releasing a coordinated bombardment. Twelve beams of light rained down on the Evil Dragon. Simultaneously, I halved the distance to close in for a finishing blow, but—
"Not so fast!"
All six of Azi Dahaka's eyes glowed with an eerie light. Miniature magic circles formed in his pupils, freezing the bits' fire and my own movement. It felt as if I had hit an invisible, impenetrable wall.
The aura from the bits dwindled and vanished. I flared my own aura to break free from the binding, but…
Albion spoke. "He likely created and cast magic that mimics Balor's Evil Eye and my 'Half' ability simultaneously."
To pull off such a feat in such a short time… He can replicate any attribute, manipulate time and space, and now even mimic the power of Halving. This was the true power of a legendary Evil Dragon who had honed his strength to its absolute peak.
The bits zipped through the sky, firing repeatedly. Azi Dahaka dodged them gracefully, but as one bit moved behind him—
[Reflect!]
The mechanical voice rang out, and a white aura reflected his own magic back at him. Azi Dahaka deployed a defensive circle at his back just in time, while simultaneously filling the sky with thousands of new magic circles.
"How about this!"
A full burst of tens of thousands of spells converged on me. The sheer density was overwhelming.
The bits lined up in front of me, generating a clear blue barrier from their tips. It was the same defensive barrier Issei used. The barrier held firm, completely nullifying the five-digit wave of magic.
"You can use the Red Dragon's techniques too?! You're way too obsessed with your rival!"
"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing. But I'm not just following in his footsteps!"
I waved my hand, and the twelve bits surrounded him at high speed. Left, right, front, back, top, and bottom. He was trapped in a cage of light. Then, I unleashed a crushing density of power.
"""Half Dimension!!"""
Every bit projected a field of Halving. From every direction, the power to diminish existence itself assailed Azi Dahaka.
"Tch! You can use that through the bits too?!"
He barely managed to survive by layering a powerful barrier around himself, but his shock was evident. He used teleportation magic within his barrier to escape the 'Half' zone.
He reappeared elsewhere and immediately created hundreds of illusions of himself. Every clone deployed magic circles, preparing a spell on a scale I had never seen before—forbidden arts mixed in as a matter of course.
Which one was the real one? No… knowing him, every single one of them was likely real enough to kill.
I made my decision. I surged my power to its limit and let it loose!
[LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL]
[Satan Compression Divider!!!!!!]
A beam of absolute demonic radiance erupted. The mixture of silver and pitch-black light instantly compressed every single spell fired by the Azi Dahakas. It repeated the compression cycle again and again until the magic was erased from existence. The shockwave of aura wiped out the clones, leaving only the original in the sky.
Even Azi Dahaka looked stunned by the result. He stared at me and whispered.
"—The Morning Star."
The word that epitomized Lucifer.
"It's an honor to be called that by a legendary Evil Dragon."
"Is it? Right now, you truly look the part. Twelve black wings spread wide, emitting a radiance of silver and jet-black. —Vali Lucifer, the 'Morning Star of the White Dragon Emperor.' Heh… I like it. I really like it!"
Azi Dahaka's aura flared even higher. His body was covered in wounds. He had taken multiple hits from my new form, and his fatigue must have been immense. Yet, there was no sign of him falling. He just stood there, smiling, his fighting spirit only growing stronger.
Bikou and the others would have been fed up by now. But I felt a thrill. The sight of Azi Dahaka refused to yield moved me.
As our spirits clashed, something unwelcome intervened—mass-produced Evil Dragons. Sensing our battle, they had come to interfere.
"DON'T GET IN OUR WAYYYYYYYYYY!" Azi Dahaka screamed, incinerating the intruders with a burst of magic. He spat on the ground. "Honestly, some people just don't know how to read the room."
I couldn't have agreed more. I sent my bits out, coating the area in a specific aura.
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