NOVGO.NET Chapter 531 - 531: Black Abyss
However, Kain had not been in direct contact with Julian when the protective energy emerged. While Annie’s grip on Julian’s arm had created a connection that carried the strange force into her, Kain stood just beyond reach.
The burning sensation within Kain continued to build unchecked, the destructive energy coiling tighter and tighter within his body. His eyes then locked on his wife and son, watching them find relief while he alone remained trapped in escalating torment.
Julian saw the horror in his father’s gaze and tried desperately to reach out, to extend that protective energy somehow but he had no control over the force that had saved him. He could only watch helplessly as the inevitable approached.
With a sound like thunder tearing through reality itself, Kain’s body suddenly exploded.
But this was not the chaotic destruction one might expect. Instead of scattering in all directions, every drop of his blood, every fragment of his being, burst upward in perfect unison, as if something immensely powerful was pulling it.
Julian and Annie remained frozen, forced to witness every horrific moment as Kain’s essence was drained completely from its existence.
The massive eye below pulsed with satisfaction, seemingly pleased by this offering of blood and soul.
However, this was not just happening in Julian’s house. Throughout the entire village, no matter how far the panicked residents had managed to flee, the same horrific fate was unfolding.
One by one, every soul who carried even a drop of House Seraphel’s blood met the same fate. Their body were frozen, their essence pulled out of them as if they owed it to someone else.
The towers of blood from scattered villagers merged into a single, massive torrent that flowed upward through the sky like a crimson river. The stream grew thicker and brighter with each life claimed, becoming a pillar of pure essence that stretched from the cursed land to the heavens above.
All of it flowed directly toward the point where the Patriarch stood suspended, his figure now blazing so brilliantly that he had become blinding like the sun itself. His extended hand seemed to draw the offering to himself, the blood of his entire bloodline streaming toward him like a powerful magnet.
It surged endlessly into his body, each drop that merged with him seeming to ignite something monstrous within his very core. His body swelled in an instant, muscles rippling as his flesh tore and remade itself again and again.
A low rumble spread through the air, like the growl of some ancient beast waking from its slumber.
Dark, ominous horns emerged from his skull, curving upward as if they were carved from the bones of the abyss itself. Black scales spread across his skin, gleaming faintly under the crimson light. His eyes burned brighter than fire, the golden radiance that had once marked his divine heritage now mixing with something far darker.
As more of the essence poured into him, his silhouette no longer resembled anything human.
Wings began to unfurl from his back, spreading wide enough to eclipse the sky above the village.
Something insanely powerful had been born from the sacrifice of his entire bloodline.
At last, as the final drops of blood were absorbed into his new body, the invisible force that had held Julian and Annie in place weakened and released them.
Annie stumbled forward, her knees wobbling as tears spilled freely down her face.
“Ka—Kain…” she whispered, her voice raw and broken beyond repair. Her trembling hands reached out to nothing, clawing at the empty air where her husband had once stood.
Julian rushed to her side, his own hands shaking violently as he fought to process the magnitude of what he had witnessed. He had seen death before, but never like this.
The Patriarch tilted his head down toward them, his new horns casting twisted shadows across the land. His lips curled into a cruel smile as though he were savoring their despair like the finest of wines.
“I feel good,” his voice thundered, looking mesmerizingly at his own body. “So this is what it means… to gain a fragment of power rivalling those hypocrite bastards.”
Below, Annie’s sobs grew louder, each one breaking her voice further apart. She pressed her head into the floor, unable to lift her gaze to the monstrosity above.
Despite his racing heart, Julian forced himself to glance up at the Patriarch. Every part of his being screamed against it but still he lifted his eyes, refusing to cower.
Their gazes locked.
For a single, suffocating moment, time itself seemed to halt.
And then, to Julian’s surprise, the Patriarch slowly raised his hand. His clawed finger extended, not toward Julian, nor Annie, but downward—toward the massive eye hiding beneath the land.
The eye closed and opened in response, as if recognizing its master’s command. A low, screeching hum vibrated through the ground, shaking the earth beneath their feet.
Julian’s breath caught in his throat. No… it can’t be…
The hum deepened into a roar. The ground split further apart as though the world itself was being torn open.
And then it emerged.
From the abyss below, a colossal black dragon flew into the world. Its scales were like fragments of night, each one shimmering with a void-like beauty that devoured light itself. The dragon’s wings were scarred from endless wars and when unfurled it stretched wide enough to cover the whole sky.
Annie screamed, clutching at Julian’s arm as her tears blurred into terror. “No… it can’t be… that’s… that’s impossible!”
Julian’s body froze, every instinct screaming at him to run, to flee, to bury himself beneath the earth where this creature’s gaze couldn’t reach. His heart thundered, but his eyes refused to look away. He had to see. He had to know.
The Patriarch’s cruel laughter rose above the chaos, enjoying every second of this horror.
“Behold,” he declared, his voice rolling like thunder across the trembling land. “The Black Dragon of the Abyss—once chained by the gods themselves, now freed by me! This… is the true might that mocks fate!”