LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 103
103. Blood Boils
In a crimson space, I stand face to face with a golden dragon possessing seven heads.
“I’ll say this first. This is battle training. To further enhance your power.”
Greed’s voice shook the atmosphere.
“And my goal is to have fun. After all, I’ve been bored stiff from being sealed for thousands of years.”
A fierce light burned in his seven pairs of eyes.
“Dragons are hot-tempered. If I get too excited, this could turn into a fight to the death. I might even end up killing you by accident.”
The ancient dragon casually spoke such terrifying words.
“Be warned. Give me a good time. Boy—no, let me hear your name.”
“…Haruto Riva.”
I stared directly at the ancient dragon and spoke.
To be honest, any sense of this being training had evaporated.
This could—if I let my guard down for even a moment, it might become a fight to the death.
“I’ll remember that. The boy with the power of a god.”
Greed nodded.
“The me you see here is a projection in an alternate space. But my combat abilities are no different from the original.”
An ancient dragon with power equal to or greater than gods or demons—I gulped.
“First—how about this?”
All seven mouths opened simultaneously, each glowing brilliantly inside.
The moment I realized it was coming, I instinctively activated my defensive skill.
The basic form of defense, [Armor Phase].
The emblem of a goddess with two wings spread wide and floated in front of me, and a rainbow-colored dome encased me.
In the next moment—
Boom!
Greed unleashed his breath.
Seven dragon breaths scorched the red earth, burned the crimson sky, and engulfed my body.
I absorbed the destructive force, waiting for an opening.
I wasn’t just defending.
I was preparing to shift from defense to offense.
“Hmm, you’re unscathed even from a breath that would turn an average angel or demon to ashes.”
Greed growled, launching a second wave of breath.
“Let’s see how much more you can block.”
Seven different types of breath scattered brilliant explosions and shockwaves in every direction.
If this were the real world, a town or two might already be reduced to scorched earth.
“Not yet—”
This time, the third wave came.
—Now.
As the seven breaths swallowed me and the surrounding area was engulfed in light, I switched my skill type.
Just as predicted, the fourth wave came immediately.
But this time, I wasn’t just going to ‘take it’.
“Third form, [Kaleidoscope Shift].”
I refracted all of the breaths.
The seven dragon breaths dispersed into thousands, tens of thousands.
“What…!?”
The lingering light in the surroundings blinded Greed for a moment, causing a brief delay in his reaction.
“Ugh…”
Unable to dodge the countless breaths, Greed was struck directly and fell back significantly.
“You’re something else…”
White smoke rose from his entire body.
Even an ancient dragon, if hit by its own immense attack power, would take damage.
I can do this—
Even if he’s an ancient dragon, his attacks don’t work on me.
And the attacks I reflect back can deal a decent blow to him.
But it’s still not enough.
I need to pin him down—decisively.
I generated a rainbow-colored orb of light in front of me.
A skill that nullifies attack energy, [Void Seal].
It’s a powerful skill, but it has the drawback of only being deployable in one place.
—Wait, hold on.
I reconsidered.
Ever since I met Gregorio and Jack, my skills have increased in both duration and range.
And when I met Electra, my skills were further enhanced.
If that’s the case, maybe—
“…Might as well try.”
I focused.
I visualized it.
I pictured the shape of my power.
One.
A rainbow-colored orb floated before me.
Two—
The orb split.
Three… four…
I focused deeper.
The orb split further.
“Mm…!”
I heard Greed let out a small grunt.
Ignoring him, I focused even more.
And then—
Before me, seven divided orbs floated.
This seems to be my current limit.
“Hmm, what’s this now?”
“I’ll show you right now.”
I launched all the orbs, surrounding Greed’s seven heads.
Then, one by one, I activated the skills.
“My breath…!?”
Greed, who was about to attack without hesitation, let out a puzzled growl.
“[Void Seal]. Inside those, all attack energy is nullified. You can’t use your breath anymore.”
I coldly declared.
“I see, so you’ve sealed off the attack itself. And in multiple places, no less. Quite the clever trick.”
Greed let out an impressed grunt.
“I couldn’t do it before.”
The resonance of my skills and the tension of this moment—it seemed to have accelerated and amplified my imagination.
“Hmm, so real combat is indeed the best training. Interesting.”
The corner of Greed’s mouth curved upward.
“My excitement is rising. This is the feeling I’ve been craving. Hahaha, I want to fight seriously now, human.”
Suddenly, the surrounding area was struck by violent tremors.
“What the—!?”
Countless cracks appeared across the crimson space.
Then, everything shattered.
The sky, the ground.
My vision shifted—
“Haruto…?”
“Haruro-kun, that was quick…”
In front of me stood Luca and Sarome, both looking surprised.
It seemed I had returned to the original location.
In the next instant, a tremendous explosion echoed, and the massive water tank installed ahead of us shattered.
Water gushed everywhere, flooding the ground up to our knees.
From within the broken tank, a dragon with seven heads emerged.
“My blood boils…! I haven’t been this excited since I fought Vim Force. To think a human could make me feel like this.”
Grrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Greed let out a triumphant roar.
“Normally, I wouldn’t be able to affect this world, but right now, it’s different. For a short time, I can materialize and fight with my true power—”
His roar shook the air.
A chilling sensation coursed through my body.
It felt as though my heart was being gripped tightly, crushed under intense pressure.
The pressure was on a whole different level compared to when we faced each other in the alternate space.
This is the original Greed—
This is an Ancient Dragon—!
“This is the Dragon’s Roar, which can only be used on the night of the new moon. Perhaps it is fate that you came to me tonight. Rather than a mock battle in a simulated space, I can now fight you with all my strength—”
“Fate…”
The reason I came to the temple on the night of the new moon was due to Electra’s prophecy.
Did she foresee a future defined by fate?
Or did following the prophecy lead me to this fate?
No—it doesn’t matter now.
What matters now is how I will face this ancient dragon, said to be the strongest.
“Victory or defeat. Though, defeat here means death.”
“…I thought this was supposed to be training.”
I fixed my gaze on Greed.
The ancient dragon’s massive body trembled with amusement.
“I told you from the beginning. If I get excited and carried away—it could turn into a fight to the death. Just like when I fought Vim Force. Now, let’s enjoy this battle of life and death.”