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"You… you're actually a Demon King?"
Ddraig looked a little surprised at first, but then gave a cold, dismissive laugh."So, during all these years I've been asleep, the Underworld went and birthed a powerful stranger like you. Interesting."
"But even if you're a Demon King… so what?"
His voice rippled through the air, full of absolute confidence.
As one of the legendary Heavenly Dragons, an ordinary Demon King wasn't even worth noticing.
The next moment, Ddraig moved.
His jaws opened wide, and a surge of overwhelming power gathered in his throat.
Whum!
Brilliant light burst forth, condensing into a towering column of magic that shot toward Edgar like it could pierce the heavens and earth.
"Hmph."
Edgar gave a short, cold snort as a pitch-black spear materialized in his hand. He raised it just slightly.
Demon Spear – Infinite Thunder Strike.
In an instant, all the crimson flames in the world seemed to vanish, replaced by endless, searing blue light.
Before Ddraig's eyes, Edgar unleashed thousands of lightning strikes in the blink of an eye.
The skies ahead turned into a raging ocean of thunder, swallowing the dragon's massive magic beam whole.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The deafening roars merged into one unending explosion.
The collision of their powers was like hundreds of missiles detonating at the same time.
The shockwave swept outward in every direction, so massive it felt like the world itself was being pushed away.
"How… how did you do that?"
Ddraig's eyes widened in disbelief.
In just that instant, Edgar had cast lightning magic over a thousand times. Not only was that impossible under normal casting rules, but this was super-tier magic.
Even a Demon King—or something beyond one—shouldn't have had the magic reserves to pull it off.
Yet the man in front of him stood there like it was nothing.
Edgar only stared back coldly.
[Infinite Magic] + [Demon Spear] — put those together, and reason didn't matter anymore.
"…Not going to answer? Fine. Doesn't matter."
"Because if you think that alone is enough to beat me… you're dreaming."
With a roar, Ddraig's massive body dove toward Edgar.
At the same time, Edgar moved as well.
Absolute Zero.
Whum!
A killing chill spread outward, freezing everything in the Fire World into a snow-white wasteland.
Ddraig's pupils contracted. Frost began creeping over his crimson scales, visible even to the naked eye.
"This cold…"
His expression hardened as his full power erupted, shattering the frost's grip.
But that brief hesitation was all Edgar needed.
Absolute Zero – Slash.
Somehow, an ice-forged blade had appeared in Edgar's hand. He swung.
Shh!
A vast, icy-blue arc tore through the air. Wherever it passed, everything simply… stopped, as if time itself had frozen.
It struck Ddraig's body, releasing a tidal wave of cold.
The sky blazed white. In the next heartbeat, Ddraig was nothing more than a towering ice sculpture.
BOOM!
He fell like a meteor, slamming into the ground with a shattering crash.
Crack… crack…
Fractures spread through the ice, and the frozen dragon exploded into shards.
Though battered and humiliated, his life force remained almost untouched.
"As expected… one of the Heavenly Dragons isn't going down that easy," Edgar murmured. "Still too weak, though."
The truth was, the gap between their tiers was simply too large.
If they were equals, that combo would've reduced Ddraig to dust.
"Ha ha ha! Demon, now you've really got my blood pumping!" Ddraig roared with laughter. "A mere Demon King making me feel this alive… who'd have thought?"
"Let's keep going—"
Before his words were done, his jaws opened again.
Another colossal magic beam dropped from the sky.
It didn't feel stronger than before… but its nature had changed.
Now, it carried a piercing force—one of the Red Dragon Emperor's special abilities, able to punch through any defense.
Edgar frowned, then smirked.
"…Alright. Let's try that move."
Primordial Demon Transformation.
At his words, an overwhelming pressure exploded outward like a tsunami.
The magic around Edgar turned into pure darkness, shattering everything nearby.
It swelled into a black ocean, wiping away every last flame in the space around them.
The magic beam above froze mid-descent, then shattered into nothing.
"…"
Ddraig's pupils shrank.
Just… his magic alone had crushed Ddraig's attack?
"So this is the power of a Primordial Demon," Edgar said with a strange mix of wonder and satisfaction.
His body was changing before Ddraig's eyes.
The upper half of his clothing vanished, replaced by intricate black markings.
The whites of his eyes turned pitch black, while his irises became molten gold with a pinprick of black at the center.
His demon wings grew huge, their edges like countless blades. A thin, razor-sharp tail sprouted from his back.
"You… you're not a demon. What are you?"
For the first time, real fear colored Ddraig's voice.
Edgar's presence was on a level he couldn't even comprehend.
This wasn't just a difference in power—it was a difference in existence.
The feeling Edgar gave him… was something he had never experienced before.
Even the Dragon Gods themselves couldn't compare.
Some deep, primal part of Ddraig's soul was trembling, fighting the urge to kneel in worship.
"..."
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