Dragon Maken War

“Kook!”

Jeffers was taken aback. Azell hadn’t moved, yet a beam of light came down at angle from the sky towards him.

If Laura hadn’t acted, he would have suffered a direct hit. When Jeffers realized this fact, he shuddered.

Azell appeared in front of him like a phantom.

“Bastard!”

Jeffers lashed out with his sword in surprise. He was the descendent of Almarick, who was called ‘The Sword that parts a storm’. Instead of being a magician, he was a swordsman, who practised the Dragon Arts. The sword strike infused with powerful Dragon Demon Magic cut through Azell.

‘Clone!’

However, it was a fake.

Pah-ah-ah-ah!

In a flash, Azell was split into three. He attacked Laura, Kieren and Jeffers at the same time. None of the three Dragon Demon were able to locate Azell’s real body, so they lashed out against the opponent in front of them with their full strength. Amongst the three, the real Azell was the one to attack Kieren.

...or they were under that false assumption.

Pah-haht!

“Koo-ahk!”

The terrifying sound of flesh being cut rang out as blood fountained into the air. Before the first scream could die down, the sound of steel being used was heard continuously followed by the the sound of destruction. Then the screams rang out one after another.

“He wasn’t aiming for us?”

Kieren was a beat late in assessing the situation. The one to attack Kieren had also been a clone. The magic was very intricate, and there been enough resistance in cutting the clone’s flesh that he had mistaken it for the real body. However while the three Dragon Demons were focused on the clones, Azell had attacked their subordinates in the rear.

Kieren no longer hesitated.

“Dragon Demon Weapon: Bleeding Star!”

A red light was emitted from him as Kieren revealed the Dragon Demon weapon passed down to him by Baldazark, who used to be one of the four great Dragon Demon generals. At a glance, it looked like a crystal ball, which was as big as a child’s head. However, at the center of the weapon, one could see several thousand layer of threads made out of light. It was dizzying to see such a tangle of threads as they wriggled around. From the surface, it was letting out a blood colored light, and the threads of light started to rapid flow into the surrounding.

“Duke Almarick!”

“Understood. I order using the authority granted to me by my great name! Return form the Eternal Battlefield! Dragon Demon Weapon: Storm Blade!”

Accompanying a blast of wind, a large sword appeared. It looked to be made from a transparent material like glass, and it started to burn with blue flame when Jeffers took hold of it.

Azell didn’t care if they brought out their Drag Demon weapons or not. He was creating havoc within the ranks of the Dragon Demon king worshippers. All the combatants gathered there had considerable amount of martial powers, but they were like scarecrows in front of Azell.

The three Dragon Demons carrying Dragon Demon weapons went forth to stop Azell. However, they were also swept up into the chaos.

“Which one...is the real one?”

Laura mumbled as if she was groaning.

Azell was multiplying as time passed. Every time he used the Instantaneous Movement to evade, a new clone appeared. Moreover, all the clones possessed a presence that made it was impossible to tell which one was the real body. These clones were even able to use physical attacks to take down the enemies.

What if they use the Dragon Demon weapon to discern the real body of Azell?

This was another foolish idea. The Dragon Demon weapon called the ‘The Sword that Split the Heavens’ was freely being passed amongst Azell’s real body and clones. Azell was using this special property to the fullest extent as he continuously moved the location of the Dragon Demon weapon as he continued his slaughter....

“...I guess enough of you have gathered in one place.”

At some point, the Dragon Demon king worshippers heard Azell’s low voice, and they felt terror wash over them. In a flash, Azell’s clones collapsed on itself, and Azell appeared outside of the perimeter of the Dragon Demon king worshippers. He emitted a frightening lightning strike.

Kieren was dismayed.

“We’ve been had! Everyone scatter!”

Azell had made several dozen clones, yet they hadn’t been created to take down all the Dragon Demon King worshippers. Even Azell couldn’t create and maintain such a high number of clones. There was a limit on how much offensive capability he could allocate to each clone.

Moreover, the elite troops of the Dragon Demon king worshippers were doing quite well in weathering Azell’s surprise attack. The only ones to be taken down were the ones that came across the Dragon Maken. In the end, only 10 were taken out of battle, and the rest were injured.

Azell had wanted to cause chaos. He used the chaos to control the movements of his enemies.

Azell’s plan was carried out perfectly. Kieren realized that his allies had been maintaining a perimeter for defense, but they were now concentrated in a single location.

“It is too late.”

Azell put on a smile of satisfaction as he brought down his sword.

-Horn of the Thunder Dragon!

The intense thunder, which was reminiscent of a Dragon’s Roar, swallowed up the Dragon Demon king worshippers.

Ggwah-gwah-gwah-gwah-gwahng!

6

While her sight was burning white from the intense thunder strike, Laura was swept up by a strong sense of deja vu.

Her mission had been a failure when Azell had interfered. After the failed mission, she had returned to her family house to meet someone. This being was the oldest elder within the Plain of Darkness. During the Dragon Demon war, this being caused fear and chaos within the ranks of humans just by appearing in front of them.

She had talked to this being about Azell.

‘Maybe this is the start of fate repeating itself again.’

At the time, Laura hadn’t fully understood what this being was talking about. Even amongst the standard of Dragon Demons, this being had lived a very long life, and the way he saw and thought about the world was very alien.

He smile as he looked at the conflicted Laura.

‘Unfortunately, you are a child, who had everything taken away to mold you into Aunsaurus’ heir. When the day we’ve been waiting for come, I might be able to wake up from my sleep. At that time, you’ll have all your answer. At this time, I cannot tell you everything. Instead, I’ll show you a memory that you will need.’

Then he showed her the far distant past by showing her his memory of the Dragon Demon war.

This knowledge wasn’t passed down to her by words. It hadn’t been shown through the records.

He pushed the memory from his mind into Laura. She experienced it as a daydream. This allowed Laura to experience the past as if she was actually there.

She had the memory of an experience she had never experienced before, but it made her feel a sense of deja vu right now.

The man with the swirling red hair, the sword, and the overwhelming thunder strike....

It was identical to what she saw within the memory of the Dragon Demon war.

“Azell Karzark... The man who will have the chance reverse the fate of the king.”

Her mumbled words were drowned out by the explosion created by the thunder strike. Even she couldn’t hear her own words.

Koo-goo-goo-goo-goo......!

The white explosion created by the thunder faded away.

“Kook... Shit.”

Kieren’s fists were shaking. He had been barely able to block the attack. If he hadn’t called out his Dragon Demon weapon, and if Laura hadn’t used her Vitan’s Chalice, which had an insanely high defensive capability, their party would have been decimated from a single strike.

However, he was only able to protect only his immediate vicinity. At that moment, Kieren hadn’t realized it yet, but half of his troop of 100 was killed. Their corpses weren’t even left behind. Moreover, even amongst the survivors, only half of them were able fight.

Kieren mumbled to himself as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened

“...could it be? Is he Azell Karzark reborn?”

From an early age, he had heard countless stories about the Dragon Demon war. He was actually fed up with it. He was told about how great his grandfather Baldazark was. Moreover, he was told stories about Azell Karzark, who had killed Baldazark. He was told how frightening and terrible Azell was....

The Azell of right now reminded him of the Azell within the story. Each of the elements that had contributed to make Azell into such a powerful martial might could be seen now. It was as if the Azell of the past was reborn.

Kwahng!

At that moment, an explosion rang out from the side. Kieren looked towards the direction in surprise, and he saw Azell clashing with Jeffers.

“Hmmm. It seems your mental fortitude isn’t too bad.”

Azell hadn’t let up after unleasing a calamity level attack on his enemies. He had killed several survivors, who were standing there dumbfounded. Then he ambushed Jeffers. However, Jeffers blocked the attack as if he had expected an ambush.

“How dare you ambush me this way! Did you really think it’ll work on me?”

“Still, your say those bold words but your expression says otherwise.”

Azell taunted Jeffers. In truth, Jeffers was trying to hide his fear by using his bluster. Unlike his imposing voice, his expression was rigid as cold sweat ran down his body.

“Anyways.......”

Azell suddenly tilted his head in puzzlement as he asked a question.

“I’m really curious about this, so please don’t misunderstand my intentions. Just here me out. I just want to confirm it again. Are you sure you are Almarick’s descendent?”

“Why are you spouting that nonsense again? Are you trying to insult me?”

“No matter how I see it, it doesn’t seem like you are lying about it... At the very least, you believe it is true. How strange. I’m having a hard tim discerning the secret design behind this move.”

“What did you just say?”

Kieren went over his thoughts as he looked at Azell.

‘Is it a clone or the real body?’

The Azell, who was clashing violently with Jeffers, didn’t hold the blue Dragon Maken anymore. He held the Dragon Sword. Its white blade was made from dragon bone.

However, he had been tricked time and time again, so it stopped him from coming up with a swift judgement. At that moment, Kieren thought he was being cautious with his actions, but even this hesitation was induced by Azell.

Before he could come up with a plan of action, Azell moved first. More clones with substance appeared as they attacked the Dragon Demon king worshippers. On top of it all, Kieren’s worst case scenario came to pass.

‘What the hell! He can clone the Dragon Demon weapon!!’

All of Azell’s clones were holding the Dragon Maken. Each Dragon Maken was letting out a resonance of Dragon Demon magic, so one couldn’t tell, which one was the realy one.

Moreover, one of the clone was aiming for the fallen Niberis, who was being attended by one of her subordinate.

“Niberis!”

Kieren moved without any thoughts on his own self-preservation. He let his own Dragon Demon weapon block the attack heading towards him, and he stood in front of Niberis.

Pah-ahk!

Kieren felt a pain intense pain. He had received a deep wound. The pain was so intense that Kieren wasn’t able to let out a scream. He used his Dragon Demon magic indiscriminately.

“Ooh-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

He didn’t even have the time to properly shape his magic. He just formed powerful image in his mind, and he let out Dragon Demon magic like a whirlwind. This choice of action might lead to his death, but he didn’t have the luxury to be picky.

Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah......!

At the same time, he recalled his Dragon Demon weapon, which was blocking Azell’s attack from where Kieren’s original locaation.

If he had his Dragon Demon weapon, he would be able to block consecutive attacks from Azell!

However, the expected follow up attack never arrived. After a brief moment, Kieren was able to recover his senses, and he used magic to stop the bleeding. He assessed his surrounding.

Cheng! Che-cheng! Kah-ah-ah-ahng!

Azell was in a fight against Jeffers. Jeffer’s Dragon Demon weapon and Azell’s Dragon Sword was being swung in a splendid style. Sparks and shockwave exploded forth when their swords impacted on each other.

At a glance, it looked like an even fight, but if one was more careful in one’s observation, one could tell this wasn’t so. Moreover, it was weird that these two beings were fighting in such a manner.

‘Duke Almarick. Why are you using your Dragon Arts?’