Chapter 233: Fall of the Great Desolation Dragon!

(Bonus Chapter!)

The twelfth day since the God of Fear dissolved, outside the Royal Capital.

Today, the capital felt distinctly different from ordinary days. In truth, since last night, a steady stream of people had been returning from all corners of the Alastair Kingdom to the city.

Compared to the total population of the capital, these returnees were few, yet their uniform status as professionals made them stand out.

The period following the end of the Sewentan War served as a reprieve for the soldiers who had campaigned there; they were free to return home, to enjoy a time unburdened by missions or military law.

The same held true for the members of the Night’s Edge who had participated in the expedition. By unspoken consensus, most chose to return to the capital on this day for a simple reason: today was a day of mourning for their fallen comrades.

There was no mandate to attend; in fact, the day did not officially exist. It was merely a time everyone had agreed upon to honor those who had passed.

The dead sleep on, and no grand ceremony can wake them. This mourning was simply a way to etch the memories of the departed into their minds, allowing them to live on in another way.

Though bodies turn to dust, the fire may still be passed on.

The sky was clear, devoid of clouds, and the sunlight was brilliant, casting a translucent glow over the grassy plain outside the city that the mages had meticulously cleared. Whether on horseback or on foot, members of the Night’s Edge emerged from the city, gathering near the meadow.

They were dressed casually; few wore formal attire. Most wore the standard knight’s armor used for patrols or the simple cloth robes worn at home. Overall, the atmosphere was not heavy with the sorrow of a funeral.

Dismount. Stand.

Pause. Gaze.

Rows of longswords, each inscribed with the name of the departed, were driven into the man-made meadow. Every sword represented a member of the Night’s Edge who had lost their life in the war against Sewentan.

These were not fine blades, nor were they the weapons the deceased had wielded in life. They were practical people; anything of value on the fallen had either been given to their families or converted into equivalent currency to be distributed with their pensions.

These swords had been rushed from private smithies in the city. Their shapes varied, not to reflect the traits of the fallen, but merely as the whims of the blacksmiths.

The swords would not remain long; in a week, the mages of the Night’s Edge would bury them, completing the rite.

The ceremony itself required no grandiosity or performative ritual. Those who felt gratitude and respect would come; for the indifferent, even a show of presence would be meaningless.

Many attended this memorial for the fallen of the Night’s Edge—nearly the entire organization was present, including Edward and his companions. The names of Wang Yu and Shugein were clearly engraved upon two of the blades.

The largest group, however, consisted of the city’s residents, who outnumbered the Night’s Edge members. Many who had been rescued by Edward in the Dead Sea held a deep reverence for the organization and its sacrifices.

The Church of Light also sent many representatives. The relationship between the Night’s Edge and the Church had always been strong, and many members of the Night’s Edge were followers of the God of Light. Father Fang was there in person, standing beside Edward.

The remainder included members of the City Guard. These soldiers, who had fought alongside the Night’s Edge, viewed them as comrades-in-arms and had come to bid a final farewell.

The Royal House sent a delegation, largely for the sake of appearances. As nobles were also present, they stood with mournful expressions, performing the necessary social theater to appease the public. Such formalities had always existed, and no one paid them much mind.

Everyone stood in silence, looking at the forest of swords. The atmosphere was not one of grief; though some eyes were red and some stifled sobs, the mood was one of solemnity rather than sorrow.

As if by telepathy, the members of the Night’s Edge stepped forward in unison, offering a respectful salute to the sword-tombstones—a gesture of tribute and a final goodbye.

A representative of the Royal House watched the ceremony with an expressionless face. Beneath his mask of mourning, he wore a cold, mocking smile. The names of Wang Yu and Shugein on the blades confirmed that Edward had finally abandoned the search for them, which would save the Crown much trouble.

"BOOM!"

A deafening roar erupted behind the crowd. The sound echoed throughout the capital, and even outside the city walls, the shockwave remained thunderously clear.

The crowd turned in astonishment, shock washing over every face as they saw what had transpired. Smoke billowed into the sky, staining the clouds a dull, ash-gray.

Atop the mountain known as the "Throne," a corner of the magnificent palace had completely collapsed. A jagged, hideous wound had appeared on the structure that represented the highest authority of Alastair.

No one had seen what happened. No one knew how such a thing could occur. On an unremarkable day after the war, the Alastair Palace had been breached by an unknown force.

Masonry continued to crumble, and cracks spread across the palace. The terrifying impact had not only destroyed the wing but had driven countless fissures into the very foundation of the palace. It was hard to imagine what kind of immense power could cause such a devastating shock.

The materialized magic circle atop the palace began to rotate at high speed. The dazzling arcs of light appearing in the air signaled that the Royal House’s most powerful defensive array, aside from the Banner of Intemis, was activating.

Constructed by a multitude of Archmages, this integrated array was designed to tear apart any intruder with devastating magic.

"Move out! We are under attack!"

"Get out of here! There is an enemy—this is no time for mourning!"

"Captain, please give the order!"

The members of the Night’s Edge were the elite of the elite. While the sudden explosion was unexpected, it did not cause them to lose their composure.

Reacting with lightning speed, they prepared to enter the city. Judging by the blast that had shattered a section of the palace, the intruder was a formidable threat.

"Everyone, I have something to say to you, as a member of the Night’s Edge!"

At that moment, Edward’s voice resonated in the minds of every member present. Father Fang smiled, placing a hand on Edward’s shoulder to channel the divine power of Light, amplifying his message.

"Our Captain, Shugein, and the member of the Special Operations Unit, Wang Yu..."

...

Returning to a few minutes earlier: Avia, Zig, and Charles, cloaked by the power of the Lady of Night, had arrived at a plaza a few kilometers from the palace, a place currently undergoing reconstruction and devoid of people.

"Here. Once you find Wang Yu, use this to get out. I’ll leave the communication to the Lady of Night."

Charles handed three reversed Star tarot cards to Zig and Avia.

To assault the palace, to blast directly into the headquarters of the kingdom's most powerful force—it was sheer madness.

"Understood."

The girl nodded, taking the cards. She traced a line in the air, tearing a spatial rift, and placed the cards inside.

"Right. I’ll leave it to you then."

Zig smiled, taking his cards and placing them into a special stone box at his waist.

It was one of the special items gifted by the Church of Night, originally consigned to an alchemy shop. Only this sturdy piece of spatial storage equipment could withstand the shockwaves of the coming assault.

"Good luck! Don't die—bring that guy Wang Yu back."

Charles shed his usual playful demeanor, his tone becoming deadly serious as he urged Avia and Zig.

Avia and Zig gave him a thumbs-up. Then, wind elements converged, lifting them into the air as they accelerated toward the heights.

Surrounded by gale-force winds, the girl used magic to sustain their ascent while Zig checked his status.

The magi-circuits on his dragon body had been further refined over the past twelve days. For this rescue, he had specialized a set of arrays with unique functions.

Piercing through a layer of clouds, they reached the altitude of the palace. Their destination lay directly ahead: beneath that wing, Wang Yu was being held captive.

"Is the Jade Golem ready? Even with a dragon’s body, it’s too much to withstand that kind of impact alone. We must use the Archdruid’s relic."

The girl looked at Zig, confirming the situation. On the surface of his human skin, bright and complex magic circuits began to glow, flowing through nodes to form various effects.

"Yes, it’s ready. I’m adjusting the dragon-form state. I’ll complete the transformation in a split second. We’ve practiced this many times, but this time, there is no room for error."

Zig smiled, feeling the dragon shell that existed in a space only he could sense, along with the magic runes synchronized to his human form. He was strengthening the connection between the two.

"Good. Then I’ll start preparing the acceleration magic."

Confirming Zig was ready, the girl began to gather her mana.

Wind elements howled from all directions. The air was compressed, its velocity increasing until the friction felt as though it might tear their skin.

The currents swirled around them, poised to strike. With a slight adjustment, these powerful winds would accelerate them to an absurd speed.

A magic shield was cast over each of them—partly to protect the physically fragile Avia, and partly to ensure the violent currents would convert their kinetic energy into speed for the pair.

"BOOM!"

In an instant, the super-compressed air, already heating from friction, was redirected by the girl. She released the power without reservation against the spherical magic shields surrounding them.

Their speed surged. As the wind magic drove the storm to accelerate them, it simultaneously acted as an invisible blade, slicing through the air ahead and eliminating all resistance.

The two, who had been at a standstill only moments ago, accelerated within seconds into blurs invisible to the naked eye, their velocity climbing ever higher.

Magic circuits upon Sieg’s skin flared to life, manifesting as radiant flames behind them; the manic thrust born from this rearward discharge, combined with the high-speed slipstream, drove their momentum to insane heights.

"Whoosh!"

A streak of incandescent light vanished as quickly as it appeared. The pair, already traveling at a terrifying pace, neared their destination; the details of the palace’s outer ramparts were now clearly discernible.

Yet, just as they breached the two-kilometer mark, a spatial ripple flickered. The Phase Gate activated, and the hurtling figures of Sieg and Elvia abruptly vanished, returning to their starting point for a second stage of acceleration.

Through spatial resetting, Elvia and Sieg gained multiple opportunities to build speed. Six times—the girl’s limit for consecutive Phase Gate castings—meant seven stages of acceleration over a total distance of thirty-five kilometers, granting them the chance to push their velocity beyond the sound barrier.

By the time the final Phase Gate was spent, they had reached their target speed. Were it not for a battery of augmentation spells and the defensive magi-tech artifacts prepared over the last twelve days, the girl’s body would have shattered under the strain.

Sieg was fully focused now. Supersonic speed without a sonic boom—this was their current state. Giving the royal guard no chance to react, the two streaked toward the palace.

"Click."

An hourglass appeared in Elvia’s hand, the sand beginning its descent. The time stored within was released, and in Elvia’s eyes, the world slowed to a crawl—the Chronos Hourglass, a wonder granted by Shael.

Time’s flow dilated to a quarter of its normal pace. The final 1.2 kilometers, covered at supersonic speed, passed in a blink, yet the slowed perception granted the girl ample room to react.

Adjusting her posture, void energy surged, and her entire form began to shift into an ethereal state. Fourth-Circle Sorcery: Ghost Form—briefly ignoring all physical damage, save for the incomplete physical effects of objects designated by the caster.

This spell was preparation for the coming impact. In their current state, merely crashing through the palace was not enough; their speed might suffice, but their mass was woefully inadequate.

Sieg’s task was to compensate for this lack of mass. The dragon form, residing in a space only he could perceive, suddenly began to overlap with his human shell.

On Earth, increasing kinetic energy from nothing is impossible, and mass cannot simply change. But this world does not adhere to such rules. Accelerate a low-mass object to sufficient velocity, then augment its mass—it could be done, just as Sieg was doing now.

Dragonification. Revealing his true form, a fierce, massive red dragon manifested out of thin air, retaining the supersonic velocity of Sieg’s human form.

The dragon’s staggering weight, combined with supersonic speed, pushed Sieg’s kinetic energy to an unreasonable level, instantly rendering the Lady of Night’s shroud ineffective.

And so, a dragon appeared abruptly in the sky 1.2 kilometers from the palace, hurtling toward the side hall at supersonic speed. The scene was absurd, almost comical—though the royals would hardly think so.

The Archdruid’s relic, the Jade Golem, was crushed by Sieg beforehand. A unique power instantly coated the dragon’s hide, turning his scales a verdant, emerald green.

Such a ruthless impact, even for a dragon, would be difficult to endure; this item was prepared specifically for that purpose.

The jade layer acted as armor, possessing immense defensive power, though it would dissipate after a single strike.

But one strike was enough. Moreover, this armor was heavy, weighing nearly as much as Sieg himself, further increasing the force of the collision.

"BOOM!"

The jade-clad dragon slammed into the palace at supersonic speed without mercy. It was absolute destruction; the surface magic shields shattered like cellophane, collapsing into useless, scattered mana.

Next were the reinforced stone walls, etched with magic runes. These walls, usually as sturdy as a fortress, were pulverized into dust the instant they were struck.

An unstoppable, world-shaking dragon impact erupted upon the castle without warning.

The girl, fixed to Sieg’s back in her ghost form, rode the terrifying beast as it plowed into the palace interior, crushing and obliterating everything in its path.

The Great Dragon’s Fall!

"Boom-boom-boom-boom!"

The jade shell shattered upon impact, its mission complete, while the dragon drove itself deep into the heart of the palace. The entire mountain shuddered for seconds under the continuous, grinding force.

Visible shockwaves rippled outward from the castle, sweeping across the sky, accompanied by a thunderous roar that pierced the heavens above the capital.

A corner of the palace simply vanished into a cloud of dust, leaving behind a gargantuan crater. The tremors from the impact had already riddled the entire structure with countless fissures.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"Activate the magic arrays! Destroy the intruders inside!"

"Get the Royal Guard here, now!"

"What was that?! A dragon!?"

"Check the palace foundations! The impact might have compromised the subterranean levels!"

The palace descended into chaos. This was beyond all expectation—a violent, direct intrusion that ignored all defenses. With no contingency plans in place, they could only scramble to use every resource at their disposal.

A massive magic array began to hum, powerful mana converging at the palace summit as lethal spells slowly charged.

They stood ready to unleash multiple destructive spells through the network of mana nodes spread across the palace to purge the intruders.

This was one of the royal family’s greatest defenses. Years of refinement made this array even more destructive on a localized scale than the one at Stevenson Academy. With this array active, let alone rescuing Wang Yu, even a dragon-form Sieg could do little within the palace.

"What is that!"

"The same thing that appeared during the demon invasion!"

Then, the anomaly occurred. Dark clouds gathered and swirled in the sky. From within the vortex, an indescribable, vast power began to permeate the air. A giant, golden dragon eye tore through space, casting its gaze downward.

With Sieg transformed into a dragon, the Lady of Night’s concealment had momentarily failed. Naturally, that terrifying entity had detected him.

It was an existence devoid of emotion; it would not ponder or hesitate. To destroy and erase Sieg was its only purpose.

"Rumble..."

Thunder and lightning roared as if the world were ending. As the entity descended above the palace, the oppressive weight was felt by everyone within. The instinctive dread humans feel before a superior predator left them frozen, trembling in place.

The giant dragon claw that had once attempted to erase Sieg descended from the heavens again, carrying unimaginable, vast power, reaching down toward the dragon hidden within the crater.

Before it could touch Sieg, the claw first made contact with the giant magic array hovering above the palace.

A fraction of that vast power leaked out—a mere touch—and within seconds, the magic array collapsed under the strain of frantic alarms, shattering into fragments of mana and annihilating itself.

Simultaneously, the vast network of magi-tech circuits within the palace was flooded by an unknown force, causing them to overload and explode, filling the palace with fire and ruin.

The claw continued its descent, but a black firmament rushed to cover the crater where Sieg lay. The Lady of Night’s power activated once more, cloaking Sieg’s presence. "It" had completed its task and was meant to return.

This time, "It" did not stop immediately. The giant claw pressed down a bit further before halting, as if "It," having sensed Sieg multiple times, believed he was still there.

By a hair’s breadth, the claw failed to pierce the shroud of the Lady of Night. Fortunately, sensing Sieg no longer, "It" withdrew its power.

The anomaly in the sky gradually faded, but the palace’s magi-tech defenses had completely collapsed. The opportunity was once in a lifetime.

"It seems next time, It won't be so easily fooled. Mr. Sieg has done all he could; now, it is my turn. Wang Yu, I am coming to save you."

Elvia murmured to herself, glanced at the vanishing anomaly, and without hesitation, turned and charged into the breach in the underground prison. She would bring Wang Yu out!