Bly slowly stepped back, raised his hand, and opened the spatial transfer array.
He struggled to pull his gaze away from Leon, summoning every ounce of strength to
free his body from the terrifying pressure.
Bly turned around and stumbled toward the spatial array.
"As long as I get out of here… leave this mess… Let the Empire clean up the monsters they raised!"
Bly muttered almost hysterically as he leaped into the spatial array.
Unfortunately.
Just as Bly's upper body entered the array, he immediately felt his tail being yanked from behind.
Bly instantly understood what was happening.
He didn't turn around, but desperately struggled to get into the array.
He was so close, just a little more, and he could escape this hellish place!
But the person behind him remained motionless.
At this moment, the frantic Bly looked like a cornered rat.
Trying to crawl back into his dark, decayed hole.
Bly clawed at the ground, leaving two savage streaks behind him.
Leon simply held onto his tail, watching the scene calmly.
"You're a Dragon King, and yet you're like this now?"
At this point, Bly didn't have the time to respond to Leon's mockery.
He just wanted to escape.
To get away from here.
But even after clawing at the ground until his hands were bloodied, he still couldn't break free from Leon.
The pain forced Bly to pause.
Then, he heard the cold sneer from behind.
"Is this the end, Dragon King?"
"Really…"
"Too weak."
The next moment, Bly was forcefully pulled back by a huge amount of power.
Immediately after, Leon threw Jags into the air and, holding onto Bly's tail, casually tossed him into the air like trash.
The two Dragon Kings met mid-air.
Leon clasped his hands together, then slowly pulled them apart. A long spear suddenly appeared in his hands.
He pointed the thunder spear at the two men in mid-air, then threw it with great force.
The spear tore through the air, pierced the clouds, and finally, with Bly's heart-wrenching scream, pierced both of them.
The brilliant thunder exploded in mid-air, lighting up the blackened land.
Leon flicked his hands, and the remaining lightning detached from him.
"Not enough to satisfy me."
In the distance, Rossweise watched the familiar thunder, a glimmer of hope flashing in her tired eyes.
"Leon…"
"Mom!"
Noah ran back from the previous battlefield, waving her hand, her face full of smiles.
Rossweise stared blankly at her daughter.
She knew what that smile meant.
In that moment, the queen's heart, which had been suspended in the air, finally began to ease.
Her persistence and waiting had finally paid off.
Rossweise hugged Little Light, holding Muwen's hand, and began walking toward Noah.
And not far behind Noah, that familiar figure followed.
He was just the same as ever, standing there after an explosion, acting all indifferent.
The queen smiled and buried her face in Little Light's cheek, her shoulders trembling slightly.
But before Rossweise could adjust her emotions, she suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet tremble.
She raised her head and stared wide-eyed.
Four giant dragons descended from the sky, surrounding Leon.
From the energy fluctuations and dragon's might they emitted, each of them was at the level of a Dragon King, or even an Over-Dragon King.
Several kilometers away, Nacho Salaman looked at the scene, muttering continuously,
"Kill him… Kill him fast!"
"He cannot live! He must die here! At any cost, he must die here!"
"Four battle-type Dragon Kings, Leon Cosmodeous, you die today, no matter what!"
On Rossweise's side, the head maid, Anna, looked at the battlefield ahead, recognizing the four Dragon Kings.
"Your Majesty… These are not the same type of Dragon Kings as Bly, who use spatial magic. These are pure battle-types. Each one surpasses Star Flame Dragon King Star in power, let alone now there are four of them…"
The spark of hope that had just ignited was instantly extinguished by cold water.
Rossweise stood frozen.
Without Anna's explanation, she could feel the terrifying wave of power coming from the four.
It was only when she and Leon teamed up that they forced Star into a self-detonation.
Now Leon had to face four Dragon Kings who were comparable to Star all by himself.
Just how strong must he be to end this nightmare?
On the battlefield, the dragons might swept across. Any other dragon standing between these four would have been torn to pieces.
But the small human figure remained standing—
Even seemed to be smiling.
"That guy, Nacho, is almost insane."
"To kill this human, they actually want all four of us to team up?"
"I thought Bly and Jags would handle this, but it seems we need to clean up their mess."
"Less talk, just kill him. If we don't, the old men in the Empire will deny everything."
The four Dragon Kings simultaneously raised their heads, gathering blazing dragon flames in their mouths.
Dragon flames were the most basic and effective attack used by dragons.
When a Dragon King's power was strong enough, they didn't need flashy magic.
A single breath of dragon flame could destroy everything.
At this moment, the four top Dragon Kings simultaneously unleashed their purest dragon flame at Leon.
An attack of this strength could obliterate any strong opponent.
Even if he miraculously survived, so what?
Early death, late death, it didn't matter.
The four dragon flames rushed toward Leon from four different directions, and in the blink of an eye, engulfed him.
"Haha… Hahahaha—"
"Die, Cosmodeous! Die!"
"Without the protection of the Black Gold War Chariot Armor, how could you survive this attack?!"
"It's over, it's all over!"
"Leon Cosmodeous, finally erased from this world!"
Nacho Salaman knelt on the ground, his hands clawing at his hair as he screamed frantically.
The blazing flames scorched the earth. Even Rossweise in the distance felt the hellish heat.
The heatwave stirred her silver hair, and as the Dragon King, she knew the horror of this move all too well.
Rossweise seethed, biting her lip. She lowered Little Light and spread her wings, dragging her severely injured and exhausted body forward, trying to rescue Leon.
But before she could take more than a few steps, her weak body stumbled and collapsed onto the ground.
Shirley rushed forward to help her up.
"Your Majesty…"
"I need to find him, let me go."
Rossweise shook off Shirley's hands.
"Leon… Leon… I'm coming, don't die… please, don't die…"
She was barely able to speak, her strength fading with every word.
Yet, she kept moving forward, inching toward the inferno ahead.
The intense heat evaporated the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Yet in her gaze, the figure of that man remained, unwavering.
"I'm coming… Leon, don't leave me… I beg you…"
At last, the collision of dragon flames triggered an explosion.
The shockwave sent Rossweise and Shirley flying.
A massive mushroom cloud rose over the battlefield, its exaggerated form resembling the sun rising early.
"Leon!!"
Before the flames had dissipated, one of the Dragon Kings heard Rossweise's cry.
He slowly turned his head, looking at the few remaining silver dragons. "As expected, as a Dragon King, she has fallen in love with that human. Ha… what a disgrace. But I'll help you all out."
"Take care of yourself first, you filthy lizard."
A wild, defiant voice came from the flames.
The four Dragon Kings turned their gaze toward the sound.
As the fire cleared, a half-skeleton frame flashing with blue lightning appeared, enveloping Leon.
It was this lightning skeleton that had blocked the previous world-ending attack aimed at Leon.
Super S-Class Thunder Magic: Skeleton's Shadow (Beginner Form)
"I'm happily married to my wife; who the hell are you to butt in?"
Leon dispelled Skeleton's Shadow, then bent his knees, lunging into the air with a powerful leap.
"How… how is this possible?!"
"How is he still alive?! What… how is he still alive?!"
"Kill him! Quickly! Do it again! Burn him to ashes!"
"Wait, what's he doing? What's that technique?"
Leon soared into the air, raising his right hand high. Torrential thunder energy gathered from all directions into his hand.
At the same time, the iron-gray sky began to churn, and thunder rumbled in the clouds. Lightning flashed behind him.
In that moment, he resembled the thunder god himself, controlling the wildest force in nature.
Thunder surged, gradually forming into the shape of a lion behind Leon.
Super S-Class Thunder Magic: Dragon Extinction.
This was a technique Leon had created himself, used only once in battle against the Star Flame Dragon King, Star. That time, it required the cooperation of Rossweise and the silver dragons to form the rainclouds.
But now, he no longer needed that help.
What was it they said?
"Rely on others rather than on yourself."
"That's the technique he used to kill Star!! How can he use it by himself?!"
"Don't panic… he can only summon one lion, and we have four of us. He can't possibly defeat all of us at once!"
Just as the words left their mouths, Leon slowly raised his left hand, beginning to channel lightning again.
It wasn't long before…
"Two… two lions… well, we can still just about manage. At least it's not three—"
Boom!
The third thunderlion descended from the clouds.
"Is he even human?!"
The Dragon Kings were completely stunned.
Six months ago, Leon had needed help to summon just one thundering, yet now, he was creating three on his own.
This… this can't be right.
Is this a level achievable by a carbon-based lifeform?
Leon continued guiding the lightning, "What was that you just said? I only have one lion, but you have four? Well then… take a look."
Another rumble of thunder.
The fourth thunder lion descended.
"Are you kidding me?!"
The Dragon Kings were completely thrown off.
They stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the four thunder lions circling around Leon. They felt as though their dragon bodies were as fragile as tissue paper.
"Can you imagine? Constantine actually lasted several rounds under his hand… and yet we can't even put up a fight."
"Has Constantine grown stronger?"
"Who knows… no one will ever know now."
The four thunder lions circled around Leon, who quietly listened to the Dragon Kings' final words before responding nonchalantly,
"When that happened, I hadn't been stretching my muscles in a while, so I took a bit more time with Constantine. Was that what made you think he was strong?"
"Hah… ridiculous."
"Well, whatever. You'll be able to ask him personally when you reach hell."
He swung his arm, and the thunder lions roared as they charged at the four Dragon Kings.
They resisted, struggled, and screamed.
But it was all in vain.
Leon walked calmly off the battlefield, as if the slaughter behind him had nothing to do with him.
Thunder exploded behind him, but he didn't look back even once.
In that moment, his eyes were only on his long-lost wife.
Leon stopped in front of Rossweise, gazing at her, who seemed at a loss.
They locked eyes, neither of them able to break the silence between them.
After a long while, Rossweise spoke softly,
"Leon…"
He reached out, gazing into her eyes, and spoke slowly,
"Let's go home, Rossweise."
It was just like long ago, when Leon had escaped from the empire after dealing with an internal traitor, lost and with no way forward, and Rossweise had appeared before him like an angel.
Back then, it was Rossweise who brought him home.
And now, it was Leon's turn to bring her back.