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

Chapter 2411: Clash Of Venerables II [47]

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Hajun poured every ounce of his power into a single weapon, a massive golden pillar that erupted from the ground beneath him, launching him toward Drake as he dodged countless explosions of elemental magic.

Amaterasu surged to Drake’s side, diving toward Hajun together. Drake’s blades crashed against the demon’s colossal pillar, dozens of kilometers long, which Hajun swung with terrifying force, trying to hurl Drake away.

"RAAAAHHH!"

CLAAANK!

A tremendous shockwave of karmic flames and demonic energy exploded outward, only for Drake to stop the gigantic pillar with one bare hand. Glowing cracks spread across the weapon before it shattered into countless fragments with a deafening blast, rainbow light bursting from every fracture.

BOOOM!

"W-Wha...?! WHAT?!"

Hajun stared in shock. He had been certain he was the strongest, overflowing with energy drawn directly from Zipangu itself.

Yet Drake proved far tougher and stronger in the end.

"This is impossible...! I have the power of an entire world!"

Hajun charged forward, unleashing a furious barrage of punches at Drake’s chest, head, face, shoulders, legs, even his crotch, but Drake stood unmoved, glaring back with calm fury.

He remained unscathed, taking no damage from blows that could shatter mountains and split continents. For the first time, true fear flickered across Hajun’s face.

"You done?"

"A-Ah...!"

BAAAM!

"Uaaah?!"

Drake slapped him across the face with one massive hand, knocking several teeth loose. At the same moment, Amaterasu unleashed her power. Dozens of searing sunray beams slammed into Hajun’s body.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"NGAAAAHHHH!"

Hajun screamed in agony as holes burned through his flesh. He tried to crawl away from the relentless assault, only for Drake’s swords to descend toward him.

"Aaaahh!"

Panicking, Hajun summoned every shred of remaining power into a pair of blazing demonic swords and clashed desperately against Drake, his expression twisted with both fear and rage.

"Y-YOU! I’LL KILL YOU!"

"You can’t."

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

Hajun unleashed an even more devastating flurry of strikes, each stronger than the last, sending tremors rippling through the heavens above Zipangu.

Drake, however, stayed completely unfazed. His eyes glowed with swirling elemental colors that gradually merged into a brilliant rainbow.

"Haaa... Haaa... Uuuggh! Y-YOU BASTARD!!!"

RUMBLE!

Desperation took hold. Hajun’s body swelled grotesquely as he grew to gigantic size, trying to compensate for the humiliating fact that he was weaker than Drake.

"This is pathetic. I misjudged you. You weren’t even worth my time."

Drake looked up at the colossal demon. His own body began to glow as an explosion of fire, wind, light, darkness, ice, and countless other elements erupted around him. Smoke cleared to reveal the towering silhouette of his true dragon form rising behind him.

"THAT’S...! YOU WEREN’T EVEN USING...! YOUR FULL POWER?!"

"IT’S OVER!"

Drake had enough. He opened his nine jaws and unleashed nine breath attacks, each beam a different element, spiraling together into one overwhelming pillar of destruction. Hajun frantically countered with magic and flames of his own, but everything disintegrated instantly against Drake’s breath.

Amaterasu’s radiant power locked him in place, trapping him inside a cube of pure sunlight.

"T-This can’t be happening to me! Me, dying?! I can’t die! I will simply return to Naraka. I am eternal... I am...! Ahh?!"

His eyes widened in horror as he realized his body and soul were both vanishing. Naraka no longer existed; he had consumed the entire realm to fuel his strength.

"There’s no afterlife for you. I will erase your body and soul until nothing remains!"

"This is the punishment you deserve for daring to kill and betray me, Hajun! We once maintained perfect balance, but your greed twisted everything! I am ashamed I ever created you. You are my greatest mistake!"

"Y-YOU BITCH! I’LL KILL YOUUUUU! NNGAAAAHHHHHH!"

Hajun lunged toward Amaterasu in a final, futile rage, only for his body to rapidly vaporize. Skin burned away, then flesh, then bone, and finally his struggling soul, along with all the dimensional power he had stolen from Naraka.

BOOOMMM!!!

A colossal dimensional explosion tore through Zipangu’s skies, ripping open a massive hole in space and time that led back to what had once been the Cursed Dimension, now transformed into the Heavenly Realm.

Whatever fragments remained of Naraka crumbled apart, scattering between Yggdrasil and Zipangu and forming hundreds of unstable pocket realms that Drake would have to clean up later.

"It’s... it’s over," Amaterasu sighed, gazing downward. "Is Oda Nobunaga dead as well?"

"His soul is here," Drake replied, cradling the faint orb in his claws.

Oda Nobunaga’s spirit looked around in confusion. Only now did he realize Hajun had lost, and that he himself was dead.

"W-What?! I’m dead...?" He stared in disbelief. "Hajun-sama... lost?! No...! My dream, everything...! W-Why?! This can’t be happening!"

He clutched his translucent head with both hands and began to weep, shocking both Amaterasu and Drake.

"You brought ruin to Zipangu, Oda Nobunaga," Amaterasu said coldly. "My husband spared your soul out of pity, but you will be judged for your sins right now."

"A-Ahh...! A-Amaterasu?! It’s really you?!" Nobunaga gasped, stumbling back. "W-Wait a second! Didn’t you die?!"

"Not quite," Drake answered with a faint smile. "My wife isn’t someone who dies so easily."

"Indeed," Amaterasu replied, giving a playful, coquettish smile as she caressed Drake’s enormous dragon head and kissed him tenderly. "Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to revive fully. I love you, my dear."

"I love you too," Drake rumbled, gently rubbing his snout against her.

"..."

Nobunaga stared at the scene, his ghostly face twisting in second-hand embarrassment.

"Just kill me already. This is too much torture!"

"You damn bastard, don’t interrupt my lovey-dovey time with my beloved wife!" Drake roared, all nine heads baring razor-sharp fangs. Nobunaga shrieked in terror.

"Hyeeee! I-I’m so sorry!" he wailed. "I-I’m really happy for you two...! E-Especially you, Amaterasu. I never imagined you could... uh... this is getting awkward, huh?"

"..." Amaterasu fixed him with the same stern, regal expression she had worn in life, then sighed. "You are a victim of the world I mismanaged..."

"Huh?" Nobunaga blinked, startled.

"If I had been more responsible, if I had worked harder instead of taking everything for granted..." Amaterasu continued softly. "If I had lived among the mortals below instead of surrounding myself with creations that eventually betrayed me... perhaps I could have saved this world."

"Yuki—I mean, Amaterasu, you don’t need to think like that!" Drake protested. "It wasn’t your fault! Those traitors betrayed you after you gave them everything! You had every right to relax and do whatever you wanted!"

"Oh, my dear husband, you spoil me far too much," Amaterasu said with a refined giggle, covering her mouth like an elegant empress. "I truly appreciate your words, and I’m happy you feel that way... but I must accept my own mistakes too. Otherwise, I will never grow beyond who I once was."

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