As the sole and highest-ranking master of the underworld energy, Asterion's will dictated the very nature of this power.
When he harbored malice or thoughts of destruction, any lifeform infected by the underworld energy would naturally find itself unable to withstand the guidance of such malice, leading to irreversible mutations toward madness and depravity.
According to the latest and most authoritative research from Wycademy scholars, among all the natural disasters humanity cannot overcome, Kushala Daora symbolizes the wind that destroys all, Teostra symbolizes the fire that burns all things, and Amatsu symbolizes the storm that brings devastating floods... To humans and lesser creatures living in this world, Elder Dragons are the very incarnations of natural disasters. Their existence alone represents a violent facet of Mother Nature.
Yet, looking beyond humanity's narrow perspective and examining the ecological cycle, Kushala Daora also symbolizes the wind that disperses the gloom and revives all things, Teostra symbolizes the fire that sustains life by burning away the corrupted, and Amatsu symbolizes the wind and rain that nourish the earth to allow everything to grow... In short, aside from these Elder Dragons that represent the cycles of normal natural phenomena, nature also harbors anomalous Elder Dragons like Gore Magala and Shagaru Magala, which symbolize viruses.
Compared to natural phenomena like ice, thunder, fire, and water, the concept of a virus is much more abstract and modern. Of course, in the eyes of humanity, even a Forbidden Species like Alatreon represents a facet of nature—this entity symbolizes pure destruction.
Human scholars use this exact line of thinking to explore the purpose behind the existence of Elder Dragons. In their view, whatever exists is rational. Therefore, the existence of an anomalous Elder Dragon that symbolizes evolution in the natural world is nothing to be surprised about.
After all, the survival of the fittest and natural selection have been the unchanging truths of nature since time immemorial. Only by constantly evolving to better adapt to the current environment can a creature avoid being weeded out by nature.
Even at this very moment, as Asterion enjoyed the freedom of high-speed flight, the evolution and adaptive reconstruction taking place inside and outside his body had not stopped for a single second.
Asterion's previous skeletal structure and external anatomy were products born during his juvenile stage to suit his flight speed and survival needs at the time.
Now that his flight speed had skyrocketed, if he wanted to lighten the burden of flying and move even faster, Asterion had to undergo further skeletal and muscular changes. Even his entire external shape needed to transform to perfectly withstand the intense pressures of such flight—who knew, he might just fly straight into outer space one day.
His bones popped and crackled continuously as his internal anatomy underwent constant optimization. Asterion's head, which had retained the foundation of a Glavenus over all these years, now became even sharper, allowing him to easily pierce through the air and wind directly ahead.
The two crystallized horns atop his head also naturally altered their growth angle, shifting from their original forward-jutting position into a sleek, swept-back form that extended smoothly toward the back of his head.
Asterion's massive body began to take on a more aerodynamically efficient, streamlined shape. The sharp crystal spines and clusters that grew naturally for defense across his skin, and even his rough underworld crystal carapace, regrew and solidified amidst this evolution and high-speed flight, becoming smoother and more fluid.
Everything was optimized to reduce air resistance, allowing Asterion to fly faster and with far less effort.
In the past, an evolutionary process that altered skeletal and shell structures would have required Asterion to find a safe nest and slumber for several days. But for his current self, it was a trivial matter that could be achieved effortlessly while on the wing.
There was no need to add any new organs; it was merely natural optimization. Once this refinement was fully complete, Asterion felt his body grow suddenly lighter, and his flight speed surged even higher out of thin air.
"Roar!!!"
In high spirits, Asterion opened his maw and roared once more. However, due to his extreme speed, the sudden rush of high-pressure gale into his throat almost made him choke, though this minor mishap did absolutely nothing to dampen his mood.
"I don't eat beef!"
Having become a Forbidden Species, Asterion felt that he was practically the Homelander of dragons. Countless forbidden thoughts cropped up in his mind. He no longer needed to constantly suppress his aura and conceal his whereabouts out of caution, as he had done back when he was weak.
Quite the opposite, Asterion was now recklessly unleashing his terrifying, Forbidden Species-level aura, letting it surge outward like a tsunami. His intention was crystal clear—to let every living creature in the New World know who the real boss was!
He intended to taint the entire New World! Elder Dragons or whatever else—in front of him, they would all have to prostrate themselves!
It was safe to say that this is what happens when a dragon finally makes it to the top. Don't talk about being a reckless young dragon; Asterion only knew one rule: might makes right!
If I had to cower for survival before becoming a Forbidden Species, and I still have to cower to avoid trouble after becoming one... then wouldn't I have become a Forbidden Species for absolute f*ing nothing?!
Asterion actually saw things very clearly. If he could beat them, he would fight them. After all, there weren't many monsters left in this world who could exchange a couple of blows with him anyway; crushing them would be effortless. If he truly ran into someone he couldn't defeat, the worst he could do was run away.
With his current flight speed, Asterion truly didn't know what kind of dragon in this world could stop him if he went all out to escape.
A Valstrax?
Heh, interesting... Little Valstrax, if you've got the guts, why don't you try and catch up? Let's see if I don't beat you to death.
How could he lose? With a Forbidden Species dominating the field, how could he possibly lose!
At this moment, Asterion practically wanted to carve the word "INVINCIBLE" all over his body. As the saying goes, when it's time to be arrogant, you must be arrogant. With that thought, Asterion adjusted the jet angle of his wing-bones and flew directly toward the far north of the New World. He wanted to see with his own eyes the full scope of the New World—something he had never had the chance to behold despite surviving precariously in this world for so many years due to his lack of strength.
Wild ideas popped up one after another in his mind. Asterion had already decided to put on a massive show to celebrate the birth of a new Forbidden Species.
As tsunamis crash against the New World's shores, only today do I truly know that I am myself!
Invincible under heaven!
Just as Asterion was immersed in the joy of absolute invincibility, far beyond his field of vision—at the northernmost reaches of the New World, across layers of oceans toward the east—an entity was moving.
A monster whose appearance resembled both lightning and darkness was advancing with a spine-chilling posture. Blue-purple lightning sparked around its body from time to time, occasionally accompanied by bursts of fire, or ice crystals and water mist. It was as if the surrounding space itself were unstable, causing the local weather to fluctuate rapidly in tandem.
From tail to skull, from chest and abdomen to its back, this monster's entire body was covered in a dense thicket of sharp, inverted scales, exuding an intense aura of aggression from its appearance alone. In particular, the inverted scales on its chest were much broader than those anywhere else on its body.
Growing in dense clusters, they looked like a suit of armor worn over its chest, effortlessly protecting the relatively vulnerable forechest from external environmental impacts and injuries.
Rather than biological scales, these inverted scales were more reminiscent of some unknown metal, casting a blue-purple radiance under the sunlight. It was incredibly beautiful—a fatal sort of beauty.
Yet, what drew even greater awe was undoubtedly the pair of massive horns growing from its forehead. They were a pair of overlapping, pitch-black horns that spiraled forward layer by layer like bamboo shoots, resembling a royal crown gracing a king's head.
This creature strode leisurely, slowly making its way toward the New World.
It possessed the highly standard four-legged, two-winged skeletal structure of an Elder Dragon. From its overall silhouette, it bore a slight resemblance to Kushala Daora, but its tail was far thicker, and its neck, chest, abdomen, and wings were all significantly stouter and more robust than those of a Kushala Daora.
Alatreon. That was the name of this monster currently treading across the ocean. In the surviving records of humanity, it was deemed the symbol of destruction—a member of the Forbidden Species whose information and very name had been entirely sealed away by human kingdoms and the Guild.
Though it might sound strange, this fiercely visaged dragon actually looked rather relaxed at the moment, as if it were taking a leisurely post-meal stroll through its personal garden, serenely setting foot upon the bottomless, churning surface of the ocean.
If one were to look closely at its footsteps, they would discover that this Alatreon was not walking on reef islands that happened to float to the surface or hidden coastal shallows; it was literally walking on a path of ice that continuously spread forward with every step it took.
Whenever its forefoot lifted and was about to descend upon the undulating, crashing waves, the patch of seawater coming into contact with its claws would, in less than a second, be instantaneously frozen into an incredibly solid, massive block of ice by a surge of absolute-zero energy.
It was impossible to fathom just how deeply that chilling frost penetrated down into the pitch-black depths of the ocean to generate enough buoyancy to support a monster of such immense proportions—one whose skeletal density and body weight were clearly astronomical—allowing it to walk as if on solid ground without shattering the ice and plunging into the sea.
Looking at Alatreon's relaxed and effortless demeanor, completely devoid of any charging-up movements or broken strides when unleashing its power, it was highly likely that this highly sophisticated micromanagement of instantly altering the surrounding environment was nothing more than a pastime to relieve its boredom—or perhaps, an instinct?
There was no need to calculate, think, or measure; it simply acted on a whim, and the environment around it would shift to comply with its thoughts and will.
Who knew?
Research into the Forbidden Species currently remained purely speculative. No one could truly understand a lifeform of this caliber; even approaching them was exceptionally difficult, much less an Alatreon, a Forbidden Species that symbolized sheer destruction.
Nevertheless, when Asterion, far away in the southern reaches of the New World, burst from the ocean and soared into the sky, recklessly unleashing his aura across the entire land, this ferocious monster—which had been maintaining a steady pace—abruptly came to a halt.
It turned its head directly toward that direction, a flicker of surprise flashing through its normally calm eyes.
"That unfamiliar aura... suddenly grew stronger?!"
Wait, this can't be right?
It was not unusual for an Alatreon to possess mature intellect and the capacity for deep thought. For Forbidden Species with endless lifespans, given enough time, they naturally learned to comprehend everything. Yet even so, what was currently unfolding had completely derailed Alatreon's expectations.
Even with the profound experience accumulated over the countless eons Alatreon had lived, it couldn't help but feel a momentary wave of bewilderment. It rapidly combed through its memories, searching for clues to match the unfamiliar aura it had just perceived with any of its known peers.
Yes, its peers!
Alatreon could no longer recall exactly when it had first noticed that anomalous energy source. In any case, it had been resting in its nest among the northern volcanic chains and islands when it suddenly sensed an unfamiliar, novel energy fluctuation emanating from the south.
The creature releasing that energy fluctuation was certainly decent, but it wasn't strong enough—at least, it was far weaker than a being of Alatreon's caliber. Furthermore, judging by the energy's activity level, the entity was incredibly young.
A mere hatchling.
Hm, the scent of that energy fluctuation was actually quite similar to those irritating pests that Alatreon despised. Just thinking about those creatures that sucked the veins of the earth completely dry wherever they went set Alatreon's teeth on edge.
Fortunately, this unfamiliar aura wasn't part of a crowd; there was only one, unlike those annoying pests that always cropped up in swarms.
At the time, Alatreon hadn't acted immediately. Instead, it took another brief nap before finally stepping out of its nest, intending to catch a glimpse of who this quite promising little fellow actually was.
In its original estimation, it would perhaps take several thousand or even tens of thousands of years before the owner of this aura could stand at the same level it currently occupied.
Of course, it was also possible for the creature to perish during those countless millennia—or even be killed by Alatreon itself.
But what on earth was going on now?!
Why had that aura intensified yet again before Alatreon could even arrive?
It had even crossed that ultimate threshold, becoming a lifeform on par with itself!
Even the vastly experienced Alatreon couldn't help but feel a pang of astonishment. Wait, since when was that threshold so easy to cross?! And in such a brief window of time!
Many things couldn't be achieved purely through the accumulation of time. Just like a Zorah Magdaros, despite accumulating energy until the very end, it was still bound to die, unable to transcend the constraints of its lifespan.
It appeared as though breaking through just one more layer would elevate a creature to a higher plane of existence, yet that final, thin boundary had always remained insurmountable. Since ancient times, countless lifeforms had collapsed before this very threshold.
Alatreon's prior musings had been nothing more than a passing thought. It had never truly believed the owner of that unfamiliar aura would succeed; the creature was merely a subject to alleviate its boredom. Yet, Alatreon had barely even set out, and the entity had already succeeded?!
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