Epic of Ice Dragon: Reborn As An Ice Dragon With A System

Chapter 2362: Oda Nobunaga’s Endless Castle [80]

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Sarutahiko nearly screamed—not from pain, but from the sheer horror of realization—as Hydra’s voice echoed behind him, calm and spectral, like a whisper from the grave. The dragon’s form shimmered with ghostly light, his presence ethereal and untethered. Celene was nowhere to be seen.

"What...?" Sarutahiko muttered, spinning around.

His eyes widened as he took in the impossible sight: hundreds of spectral clones scattered across the battlefield, each one pulsing with Hydra’s unique energy signature. Soul power, aura, magical imprint—everything matched. Even a Kami like Sarutahiko had been fooled.

"Wait... where are the real ones...?!"

"Should you really be wondering that," Hydra’s voice teased, "when I’m right here?"

One of the clones lunged forward, its movements fluid and confident. Sarutahiko didn’t hesitate. He waved his hand and unleashed a shockwave of spatial force, erasing the clone from existence in a single, thunderous blast.

BOOOM!

"Don’t make me laugh," Sarutahiko snarled. "Diversions like that can’t match my power! Come out! Are you the coward now, hiding behind illusions?"

His voice reverberated through the collapsing space around him, but Hydra didn’t answer.

Instead, the clones kept multiplying. They emerged from thin air, from cracks in space, from shadows and light. Sarutahiko destroyed them one by one, his spatial magic slicing through them like blades through mist.

But they kept coming.

Hydra had perfected something extraordinary—a clone-creation spell that merged Phantom Magic with Alchemy. Each clone carried 20% of his power, not 10%. And when a dozen of them gathered...

They surpassed the original.

"{Divine Phantom Alchemy}: {Spectral Clone Synthesis Echo}!"

FLUOSH!

"Hm?!"

Sarutahiko’s eyes darted toward the center of the battlefield. The clones were merging—twisting together like strands of spectral flame and phantasmal energy.

A new form emerged.

Larger. Stronger. Monstrous.

A towering version of Hydra, his body forged from blue fire and violet mist, his aura rippling with raw, unfiltered power.

"{Super Spectral Clone}!"

FLUOSH!

This clone radiated 120% of Hydra’s original strength. It defied logic, defied magical law. Sarutahiko’s mind reeled. How could a fusion of lesser selves become greater than the source?

And yet...

"{Phantom Dragon Fist Rush}!"

It worked.

BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

"GUUUGH?! GAAAHAAAH...?!"

Sarutahiko screamed, his body convulsing as the super clone pummeled him with relentless force. Each strike tore through his defenses, his divine flesh rupturing, blood spraying into the air like ink on parchment.

Above him, Celene’s clones appeared—reflections of her true self—redirecting spatial spheres and gravitational forces back toward him.

TRUUUM!

"Eh?!"

Sarutahiko gasped as his own barriers were ripped from his aura, turned against him. The super clone didn’t stop. It kept striking, each blow echoing like thunder.

"Now I’ve got you!"

Hydra emerged from the veil of space, his real body intact, Celene at his side. A spatial blanket had shielded them from the chaos.

"You were hiding behind those ridiculous blankets?" Sarutahiko roared, his fury boiling over.

He gathered his energy and fired a beam of distorted spatial force. It pierced the super clone’s chest, detonating it in a burst of spectral fire. The beam continued, striking Hydra’s real body—

BOOOM!

"Hydra!"

Celene’s voice cracked with panic as she saw Hydra stagger, blood pouring from a gaping wound in his chest. Purple ichor splattered across the ground, his heart pierced.

"Finally! I got him!"

Sarutahiko surged forward, kicking Celene aside and grabbing Hydra with a massive spatial hand. He began to crush the dragon’s body, laughing maniacally.

"GOODBYE!"

Crack... crack...

CRAAASH!

"Hahahaha! Now I won! It’s my victory! And—"

But then—

The spatial hand shattered.

Sarutahiko froze.

Hydra smiled, his many heads turning toward the Kami. The hole in his chest absorbed blue particles and cursed miasma, healing rapidly.

Alchemy.

"You should have studied Alchemy," Hydra said calmly. "It’s quite handy—especially when you’re a Death Dragon whose concept of death doesn’t apply."

"Y-You! What did you...?! My spell shattered?!"

"I’ve been analyzing your magic for a while," Hydra explained. "Its structure, its dimensional layering, the runic architecture. I reverse-engineered it. Your spell collapsed under the weight of its own complexity."

He raised his hands, proton particles swirling around them like stars.

"I studied Celene’s mirror and found a solution. {Spell Restructuration}. Even after all these years, I’m still learning. Isn’t that fascinating?"

"Hydra! Are you alright?!"

"I’m fine, Celene—Ngh?!"

Hydra’s eyes widened.

Celene smiled wickedly.

She stabbed his arm with a long black knife, venom seeping into his veins.

"You’re not Celene," Hydra said, his voice cold. "I fell for it. I suppose I’m still learning your patterns too, Sarutahiko."

"Heh..."

Sarutahiko grinned as the false Celene was crushed by Hydra’s claws, revealing itself to be a cursed miasma monster.

"{Spatial Mirage}. A friend taught me that. Our powers may differ, but some principles overlap."

"What did you inject into me?"

"A venom from the Eight-Headed Serpent, Orochi. It’s said to melt even the souls of gods."

"Potent indeed. But a wonderful new ingredient. Thank you."

"Ingredient?! Stop joking around!"

Sarutahiko’s aura exploded. Dozens of Celene illusions filled the space, accompanied by massive black and red hands of distorted void energy.

"Hydra, help me!"

"What’s going on, Hydra?!"

"Heeeey!"

"Hydra?! Who are these clones?"

"Who’s the real one, you idiot?! Tell me!"

"None," Hydra replied. "I haven’t known her long, but I know Celene wouldn’t beg for help. She’s far too clever for that."

Hydra unleashed another spell. Giant skeletal arms burst from his body, slashing through the illusions and pushing back the void hands.

But the void retaliated, consuming the skeletal limbs and rushing toward him.

"You shouldn’t have wasted time on those clones. Now it’s over. {Spatial Configuration: Void Hands Embrace}!"

Sarutahiko closed his palms. The void hands obeyed, closing in.

Until—

CRASH!

"Guh?!"

Sarutahiko’s eyes widened.

Celene appeared, wielding a sword of mirror glass, glowing with moonlight—purple and pink, radiant and sharp.

She had returned.

He had kicked her far away, assuming she was weak alone.

A terrible mistake.

"{Divine Moonlight Mirror Blade: Hypnostasis}!"

"Y-You!"

Sarutahiko tried to stop her. His hands lunged forward—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"Gaaaahhh?! What?!"

His own energy rebounded. Her sword reflected his magic, bombarding him with explosions and piercing strikes. Blood sprayed from his body, his form destabilizing.

"Well done, Celene!"

Hydra’s voice rang out behind him.

Sarutahiko turned, stunned. Hydra was still alive.

Celene’s assault had disrupted his magic, giving Hydra the opening he needed.

Through Spell Restructuration, he had pierced the void.

And above all—

FLUOSH!

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