Chapter 124: Dragon Vs Swordsman
The streets of Playmore shook beneath Daito Greyhell's footsteps as he sprinted through the burning city alongside Brandon. Every passing second carried them deeper into the heart of the battlefield, where collapsing buildings and raging infernos painted the skyline in shades of crimson and black. Smoke rolled through the avenues like storm clouds, reducing visibility to only a few dozen meters at a time, while the constant sounds of battle echoed from every direction.
Every enemy that stood in Daito's path disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared.
A pack of upgraded Freakers burst through the side of a collapsing department store, their grotesque bodies dripping with corrupted Savage energy as they charged with bloodcurdling screams.
"GRAAAAAAAAH!!"
Daito never even slowed.
SHIIIIING!!
His blade flashed once.
The charging monsters continued running for another step before their bodies split into eight perfectly clean sections.
SPLAT!!
PSSSH!!
Chunks of flesh crashed against the pavement as Brandon ran straight through the crimson mist without breaking stride.
Moments later, three Stars descended from opposite rooftops, their weapons already glowing with Savage energy.
"He's ours!"
They never finished the attack.
SHING!!
Silver light swept across the street.
The Stars froze in midair.
Then—
SHLK! SHLK! SHLK! SHLK!
Eight razor-thin cuts spread across each of their bodies before gravity claimed them.
SPLAT!!
PSSSHH!!
They struck the ground in pieces.
Royal Guards attempted something more organized. Several squads spread into disciplined formations, unleashing synchronized attacks from multiple directions while heavy Savage artillery opened fire behind them.
The street erupted beneath a storm of bullets, blades, and explosive shells.
RATATATATAT!!
BOOOOM!!
KRAAASH!!
The explosions swallowed Daito completely, or at least....that was what they believed.
A single streak of silver burst through the smoke.
SHIIIIING!!
The barrage stopped instantly.
One by one, the Royal Guards stared at each other in confusion before thin crimson lines appeared across their armor.
Then—
SHRRRK!!
Every soldier separated into eight clean pieces.
SHLK! SHLK! SHLK! SHLK!
Armor, weapons, and bodies collapsed together in gruesome silence. Brandon looked around while continuing to run, his expression growing heavier with every destroyed street they crossed.
"...This place..."
He swallowed hard.
"...It's become hell."
Daito's eyes never left the path ahead. His voice remained calm despite the destruction surrounding them.
"...Then we end it quickly."
The words had barely left his mouth....when both of them felt it.
An overwhelming pressure erupted somewhere behind them. It wasn't merely powerful, it was also violent.
Primal like an ancient dragon had suddenly awakened.
Brandon's eyes widened in horror.
"...DAITO—!!"
Too late.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
A colossal dragon made entirely of greenish-blue energy burst through the smoke like a living natural disaster.
Its enormous jaws swallowed Daito whole before he could fully turn around.
"MYSTIC DRAGON DESTROYER!!"
The dragon roared.
The sound alone shook every building within several blocks.
"OOOAAARRRGHHHH!!"
Daito's scream echoed from inside the spiraling torrent of dragonic energy as his body was consumed by its unimaginable force.
The attack refused to stop.
It carried him forward through the city with unstoppable momentum.
CRAAAAASH!!
The first building exploded apart.
BOOOOOOM!!
Then the second.
KRAAAASH!!
The third.
Concrete skyscrapers crumbled like sandcastles before the dragon's relentless advance. Entire roads were ripped open as enormous fissures spread beneath the attack, swallowing vehicles whole before reducing them to molten debris.
Streetlights vaporized. Traffic signals disappeared. Everything standing in the dragon's path ceased to exist.
Finally—
The dragon reached its limit.
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!!
A blinding explosion engulfed nearly the entire western district of Playmore.
The shockwave spread outward in every direction. Windows shattered across neighboring sectors. Burning buildings collapsed under the immense pressure. The sky seemed to ripple.
Far away... Everyone felt it.
Inside the aircraft, Nyx instinctively grabbed the side of the cabin as the violent tremor rocked the entire vessel.
"...No..."
Wei-Wan paused in the middle of his duel, slowly turning toward the massive pillar of greenish-blue energy rising into the heavens.
Aerin's heart skipped a beat.
"...That attack..."
Even Mardale looked toward the distant explosion with disbelief.
"...Impossible..."
They all recognized it.
Mystic Dragon Destroyer.
Champagne's ultimate technique.
A technique designed specifically to be launched upward into open skies whenever possible because of its overwhelming destructive power.
It was never meant to be fired across an active city.
And it certainly...was never meant to strike Daito Greyhell.
Fwoosh.....
Smoke slowly drifted away from the center of the devastation. Standing amidst the shattered ruins was Champagne, he was completely still.
His body remained wrapped in the enormous dragon aura, but something about him felt fundamentally wrong.
His eyes.....were completely white.
There was no anger, determination, recognition, there was only emptiness and obedience. He resembled a puppet whose strings were being pulled by someone else.
Aerin's panicked voice suddenly exploded across every communication channel.
"CHAMPAGNE!"
Her voice cracked with desperation.
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"
No answer came, Champagne didn't even blink.
Instead...The dragon surrounding him roared once more.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Without hesitation, he vanished again.
His body accelerated toward the smoke cloud where Daito had disappeared, moving even faster than before as dragonic energy tore through the streets behind him like an endless tidal wave of destruction.
Meanwhile... Beneath layers of shattered concrete and twisted steel... A hand slowly pushed against the rubble.
Pieces of broken masonry shifted. Dust drifted into the air. Then Daito Greyhell forced himself upright. Blood streamed down the side of his face. His jacket had been ripped apart.
The black bandages covering his body were torn open in multiple places, revealing burns and deep wounds beneath them.
Every breath sent agonizing pain through his ribs. Every movement felt as though his muscles were being ripped apart from the inside. Even for someone like Daito...That attack had come dangerously close to killing him.
A high-pitched ringing drowned out every other sound around him.
His vision blurred and his balance threatened to give way.
Then... he felt it fast, far too fast.
Champagne was coming again.
The warning came too late.
Before the dust around Daito had even settled, the air itself screamed.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A deafening sonic boom ripped through the ruined district as Champagne tore across the battlefield like a living missile. His colossal dragon aura twisted around him violently, its emerald-blue scales shimmering beneath the burning sky as the enormous phantom dragon opened its jaws once more.
He was faster, far faster than before.
Brandon had only enough time to look up before the pressure wave struck him.
BOOOOOOM!!
The invisible force blasted the giant backward, sending him crashing through the remains of a shattered office building.
"DAMN IT!"
Concrete exploded around him as he struggled to regain his footing.
Meanwhile, Daito staggered out from the mountain of rubble, one hand clutching his side while blood continued to stream from countless wounds. His breathing had become ragged, every inhale sending sharp pain through his battered body.
Still... He forced himself to stand. His blurred vision slowly focused on the approaching figure.
"...Champagne..."
There was no response and no flicker of recognition. Only the endless roar of dragonic energy.
ROOOOOOOOAR!!
Champagne closed the remaining distance in an instant.
Daito's instincts barely saved him. He twisted his body sideways while raising his left shoulder to intercept the incoming strike, attempting to redirect the attack instead of blocking it outright.
For a fraction of a second... It almost worked.
Then Champagne's hand shifted.
His palm slipped effortlessly around Daito's guard as though he had anticipated the defensive movement from the very beginning.
Daito's eyes widened.
"...What—?!"
THUD!!
Champagne's palm landed squarely against Daito's face. Everything stopped, and then the dragon exploded.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
A monstrous dragon made of condensed Savage energy erupted point-blank, swallowing Daito whole before launching him skyward with catastrophic force.
The heavens themselves trembled.
The dragon spiralled upward through the clouds, carrying Daito within its jaws as greenish-blue flames illuminated the entire skyline of Playmore.
People across the city instinctively looked upward. Some stopped fighting, and others simply stared.
The dragon carved a glowing scar across the heavens before finally detonating high above the city.
KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!!
The explosion split the cloud cover apart.
Moments later...Daito's broken body plummeted back toward the earth.
CRAAAAASH!!
He smashed straight through the roof of a convenience store several blocks away.
Glass exploded in every direction. Shelves shattered. Walls collapsed inward as his body continued skidding across the floor before finally crashing through the opposite wall and rolling into the street.
For a brief second... Silence.
Then—
FWOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Champagne was already there.
He never gave Daito a chance to recover.
His dragon aura expanded wildly as he launched himself high into the air, spinning once before diving downward like an executioner descending from the heavens.
ROOOAAAARRHHH!!
The dragon surrounding him roared with uncontrollable fury.
Its enormous jaws opened. Its claws reached toward the earth. From beneath layers of broken concrete, Daito slowly lifted his head.
Blood dripped from his chin. His breathing had become painfully uneven. His entire body trembled from accumulated damage.
Above him... Champagne descended.
The dragon's roar grew louder, closer, and more violent.
Daito stared upward through the falling debris his exhausted expression slowly changed.
The confusion disappeared, the hesitation vanished, and only cold determination remained.
"... Champagne."
No answer.
SWOOOOSH!!
The dragon continued falling like a meteor of judgment.
The surrounding buildings began collapsing beneath the overwhelming pressure generated by the descending technique.
FWOOOOOOOOOM!!
Enough.
Daito reached toward the communication device attached to his collar.
SSHHK..
A soft static crackled through every connected channel.
His voice emerged calm, almost emotionless.
"...Sorry, everyone."
Those words alone caused Wei-Wan, Nyx, Aerin, Fah-jin, Monday, Zachia, Mardale, Avenor, and every surviving Outsider listening through the communications network to freeze.
Daito slowly wrapped both hands around the hilt of his sword. His muscles trembled violently. Veins bulged across his forearms and neck as every ounce of strength remaining inside his battered body flowed into the blade.
His breathing became slow and measured.
Pain no longer mattered.
"... But..."
He lowered his stance, and the pressure around him intensified until nearby rubble began floating into the air.
"...I'm killing Champagne."
Silence answered him since no one dared interrupt.
Above... Champagne reached the final stage of his descent. The dragon surrounding him let out one final earth-shaking roar.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR!!"
At that exact moment—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The ground beneath Daito exploded.
SSSWOOOOOOOSH!!
He launched upward with everything he had left. His speed shattered the sound barrier. His body screamed from the unbearable strain. Blood burst from old wounds reopening under the pressure.
He bit down so hard that blood ran from the corner of his mouth. His veins swelled violently. Every muscle threatened to tear itself apart.
This wasn't a strike meant to win, it wasn't meant to disable.
This...was a killing blow.
Daito raised his sword as the blade sang through the air.
SHIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!
Two figures closed the distance instantly.
Dragon.
Swordsman.
Both prepared to end the other.
Fwooo...
The entire battlefield seemed to stop breathing.
Then someone appeared between them out of nowhere.
SHLK!!
A crimson arc painted itself across the sky.
PSSH!
Blood sprayed outward.
Daito's pupils shrank.
His sword stopped only after cutting deep into the newcomer's shoulder.
"...Brandon?!"
Brandon had thrown himself directly between them.
His enormous arms wrapped tightly around Champagne's body before the dragon warrior could complete his attack.
Champagne struggled violently. His dragon aura erupted in every direction.
BOOOOOOM!!
Roads shattered beneath the pressure.
BBRRRMMMM!
Nearby buildings cracked, yet Brandon refused to let go.
He roared with everything he had.
"DON'T KILL HIM!!"
Champagne thrashed like a cornered beast his eyes remained completely blank.
No recognition and no mercy, only relentless violence. Brandon tightened his grip despite blood pouring from the deep wound Daito had accidentally inflicted.
His voice became desperate.
"WE KNOCK HIM OUT INSTEAD!!"
Daito clicked his tongue.
"...Tch."
His expression twisted with frustration.
But only for a second.
The next instant... he moved.
FWOOOSH!!
Daito landed directly on Champagne's arms, forcing them downward while pinning his shoulders against Brandon's immense grip.
"NOW!"
Brandon nodded.
Fwooosh...
His gigantic fist rose high above his head then descended like a wrecking ball.
BOOOOOOOOM!!
The first punch slammed Champagne's face into the pavement.
The entire street buckled.
Before Champagne could recover—
BOOOOOOOOM!!
The second punch landed.
CRAACK!
Spiderweb cracks spread across the road for dozens of meters.
Still...Champagne continued struggling, his dragon aura flickered violently.
Brandon clenched his teeth.
One more.
BOOOOOOOOM!!
The third punch crashed into Champagne's jaw as the dragon's roar faltered, its enormous body began flickering.
SHWOO!
Daito didn't hesitate as he twisted his body.
Then—
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!!
His heel came crashing down onto the side of Champagne's head with overwhelming force.
The impact completely shattered the roadway beneath them.
CRAAASH!!
Concrete erupted skyward. The remaining dragon aura burst apart into countless streams of fading light.
Then...Silence.
The pressure vanished and the dragon disappeared. Champagne's body finally went limp, unconscious.
The battlefield fell eerily quiet as Daito remained kneeling over his fallen friend, his chest rising and falling with exhausted breaths. Blood dripped steadily from his chin onto the cracked pavement below.
For several long moments... He simply stared.
The fury that had consumed him moments earlier slowly faded from his eyes, replaced by something far heavier.
Pain, regret, and heartbreak.
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"...You idiot."
To be continued.....