At some point, the world had already turned into a boundless expanse of darkness.
A sea of black lightning surged across the sky. Countless bolts crashed down like raging tides, carrying the force to destroy everything.
"Boom!"
The thunder roared so violently it felt as though it could tear apart flesh and shatter souls, making the scene appear vast and overwhelming.
Lightning mixed with curses shattered the void itself. Space broke apart into fragments as hollow cracks devoured everything around them, only to be swallowed again by the endless flood of lightning.
The radiance of the thunder was too intense. Blinding bolts filled every inch of the sky.
Several kilometers away, the Heavenly Dragon Lord had already returned to his true form. The island-sized dragon floated high in the air.
An invisible barrier surrounded the area, cutting off all interference from inside and outside.
"So terrifying..."
Standing on top of the Heavenly Dragon Lord's head, Mare gripped the divine item [Shadow of Yggdrasil] and spoke with a trembling voice.
With the support of his special class, [Disciple of Disaster], he could clearly sense the terrifying power contained within the storm.
"This isn't right. It's only the birth of a young dragon. Why would it provoke the world's malice?"
The Heavenly Dragon Lord spoke with an unusually serious expression.
Although the Eight Greed Kings had once rewritten the rules of the world, causing the Dragon Race to lose the world's blessing, the worst result should only have been the restriction of Wild Magic.
A newborn dragon influenced by the world's laws would simply lose the inheritance of Wild Magic and be forced to accept Tier Magic instead.
But the current situation was beyond the Heavenly Dragon Lord's understanding.
Even if something had gone wrong, it should not have turned out like this.
Beside him, Demiurge bit his nails, his eyes filled with unwillingness.
He had disappointed the Supreme Being.
They had invested so many resources, considered every possible factor, and even had three True Dragon Lords assisting.
Logically speaking, failure should have been impossible.
Damn it. Where exactly had things gone wrong?
Aura's expression was also dark.
Although the dragon creation plan had been led by Demiurge, she had also spent a great deal of time on it.
Before the dragon was even born, Aura had stayed beside it every day.
Using the special abilities of her class, [Beast Tamer], she constantly applied magical suggestions to ensure its loyalty after birth.
But now it seemed all that effort had been wasted.
"Waaah... the forest... the forest is finished..."
The Dryad flew around in panic, tears continuously falling.
Unlike what it looked like on the surface, the Dryad could feel what was truly happening.
The forest was dying.
Flowers, grass, and trees were withering. The world's curse was corrupting the earth's veins. If nothing stopped it, the entire Tob Forest would inevitably become a lifeless wasteland where nothing could grow.
Naohara said nothing. He simply frowned as he stared up at the sky.
He raised his hand, and a dazzling magic circle appeared.
[10th-Tier Magic: Control Weather]
Magic surged upward as a pillar of light shot into the sky, attempting to change the climate.
But even a World Boss could not resist a curse that came from the world itself.
The thunder paused briefly, but only for a few seconds before returning to its full fury.
The brilliant magic circle shattered.
Naohara lowered his hand, a subtle change appearing in his expression.
He did not attempt to cast Super-Tier Magic again.
He had already obtained the answer he wanted.
"Did it not trigger any spread?"
After thinking for a moment, Naohara slowly walked forward. Ever since earlier, he had been feeling a strange impulse.
His body was instinctively excited, as if it had encountered some delicious food and could not wait to taste it.
This feeling was very similar to when he first encountered a True Dragon Lord, yet also slightly different.
His desire for dragons came from the class [Dragonslayer].
But the desire he felt now came from the class [Catastrophe Dominator].
"Naohara-sama, what are you doing?"
Noticing Naohara's movement, Demiurge immediately asked.
"I have an idea I want to try."
"No matter what the outcome is, do not tell Momonga or Herohero about this. Otherwise it will become troublesome."
Naohara knew very well that what he was about to do was like playing with fire.
From the analysis of his earlier experiments with the World-Class Item [Demon Gate], even a World Boss could not truly resist the power of the world itself.
But if it was a curse originating from the world, then perhaps there was still a chance.
[Catastrophe Dominator]
This class, which had never appeared in the game before, together with the instinctive reaction of his body, gave Naohara confidence.
However, Momonga and the others absolutely could not find out about this. Otherwise he would definitely be lectured for a long time afterward.
Hearing this, Demiurge looked at Naohara's back. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing.
The command of the Supreme Being was absolute and could not be changed.
As a subordinate, he had to support it unconditionally.
But...
How frustrating!
The dragon creation plan had been his proposal, and he had led the experiment himself. Yet now that something had gone wrong, it was the Supreme Being who had to take the risk.
Demiurge's expression twisted as he clenched his fists.
This feeling of helplessness, of being able to do nothing but watch, made him extremely uncomfortable.
He could do nothing.
Unaware that Demiurge was already attempting a remote login, Naohara first patted Aura and Mare on the head to reassure them, then looked down at the Heavenly Dragon Lord.
"Heavenly, continue maintaining Wild Magic. Inform Brightness and Vampiric and have them return immediately."
"As you command, my King. Please be careful as well."
The Heavenly Dragon Lord responded.
"By the way, Heavenly... aren't you curious why Brightness stopped you from sparring with me back then?"
...
On the ground, directly beneath the thunderclouds.
A black sea of lightning flooded the land, representing the will of the world itself. It could erase all living beings, even their souls.
The dragon stood within the sea of lightning. Its flesh was torn open, its body scorched black. Dragon scales were shattered, and blue blood flowed freely.
Yet despite its severe injuries, the dragon refused to give up. It still raised its head toward the sky and resisted with all its strength.
But the struggle was clearly futile.
The world's curse was wildly eroding the dragon's flesh and soul.
Its level was dropping. Its magic power was dissipating. Its consciousness was fading.
"Boom!"
Another tide of lightning fell, burning with terrifying intensity and burying the dragon beneath it.
Cursed lightning struck its body. Dragon blood splattered while its bones cracked loudly.
"Am I going to die?"
The dragon opened its blood-covered eyes, and a trace of sorrow and fear appeared within them.
Lightning had pierced through its body in many places. The curse spread freely through its body. If not for its powerful strength, it would already be dead.
"Have I been abandoned..."
It looked to the side. Nearby, a grotesque Evil Tree was trembling.
As a being carefully cultivated by Nazarick, the dragon had already developed a faint consciousness while it was still an embryo.
It wanted to prove its value. It wanted to prove that its existence had meaning.
Even though... it did not know why it felt that way.
"Boom!"
Another wave of thunder arrived. The heavens and earth shook as lightning roared downward, piercing the sky like countless massive dragons soaring upward.
"It's over..."
The dragon slowly closed its eyes and waited for death to come.
Its existence had no meaning.
But after waiting for a long time, it did not feel death arrive. Confused, the dragon slowly opened its eyes again.
Looking upward, it saw illusory dragon shadows swirling around.
A blade inlaid with several gems, shaped like the fangs of a dragon, was suspended above its head.
The blade was continuously struck by the sea of lightning. Countless electric scars appeared on its surface, yet it remained completely unharmed. The curse within the lightning could not affect it in the slightest.
"Your existence may have no meaning, but since we ordered your creation, if I do not permit your death, then you cannot die!"
Space was forcibly torn open. Endless black mist seeped out from the rift, accompanied by an extremely violent aura.
A tyrannical dragon aura descended from the sky, forcing even the heavens themselves to retreat.
A giant dragon nearly four hundred meters tall floated in midair. Black mist surrounded its body while black flames flowed wildly across it, like a walking natural disaster.
The flames of Catastrophe burned everything, making the world itself cry out in grief.
The dragon stared blankly at the scene before it.
Drops of liquid filled with rich life force fell down, healing its shattered body.
At the same time, a powerful sense of familiarity surged in its heart.
As the two figures slowly overlapped, the dragon could not help but speak.
"…Father?"
(Platinum Dragon Lord: Damn it!)