Chapter 2262: I Will Slay Your Hatred

-----

"RAAAHHH!"

Sangre roared, unleashing a breath attack that blasted through Drake’s left arm, severely damaging his soul.

Simultaneously, he sprouted another pair of arms below, striking Drake in the chin and stomach while his claws tore into his flesh, injecting miasmic venom.

Concurrently, his magic materialized, conjuring dozens of blood spheres around Drake!

All within a second.

"BLOOD NOVA!!!"

Each sphere glowed brilliantly before exploding into massive novas of crimson blood energy, relentlessly erupting around Drake!

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

"Heheh...! That’s gotta- Ah!"

However, Sangre’s triumph was premature. Drake reemerged amidst the smoke, this being their first true battle since Drake’s earlier humiliation of him. It swiftly taught Sangre never to underestimate his brother again.

"{Glacial Spiral: Hyōrin Rasen}!"

Drake channeled his icy dragon breath into a swirling ring of frost that spiraled outward as he spun toward Sangre. Muramasa sliced through his body, Drake’s form resembling a frost spear piercing his flesh and bones for an instant!

CRAAASH!

"UNGH?!"

Sangre endured another devastating blow, his soul freezing. The wound Drake inflicted was encased in deadly, peculiar rainbow and azure ice, which gradually began to seal his powers, akin to the white chains of the Domain of Heavenly Order.

"Y-YOUUUUUU!!!"

Sangre screamed, his aura bursting into crimson blood flames everywhere as he charged at Drake, thrusting his claws forward to clash with his brother!

BAAAM!

"YOU’VE HAD EVERYTHING IN YOUR LIFE!"

BAAAM!

"I’VE NEVER HAD ANYTHING AT ALL! NOTHING!!!"

"Sangre!"

Drake surged forward, sheathing Muramasa to deliver a punch to his brother’s face, followed by a kick to the neck, sending him crashing down.

CLAAASH!

"I’ve fought tirelessly for everything I have now! Don’t assume I was handed everything on a silver platter!"

He descended swiftly, resembling a blazing star, his immense power surging.

"DON’T SCREW WITH MEEEEEE!!!"

Sangre rose, his aura surging upward as he kicked the air, colliding with his brother in midair.

Their auras clashed, triggering a massive explosion.

B O O O M M M !!!

"YOU HAVE A FAMILY, YOU HAVE KIDS, YOU HAVE FRIENDS...! I HAVE NOTHING! I WAS DENIED A LIFE! I WAS DENIED MY CHILDHOOD! I WAS DENIED EVERYTHING! AND NOW YOU COME LECTURING TO ME ABOUT THERE BEING ANOTHER WAY?! FUCK OFF WITH YOUR SHIT, DRAKE! YOU’RE ONE MOTHERFUCKING HYPOCRITE!!!"

"STOP IT, SANGRE!"

The brothers continued clashing, striking each other, piercing one another’s souls, and relentlessly creating holes in their bodies as their auras exploded, blazing like two stars on the verge of collision.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"THERE IS ANOTHER WAY, SANGRE!"

"THERE ISN’T! EVERYTHING...! EVERYTHING IS OVER FOR ME!"

"IT’S NOT!!!"

Drake roared, delivering a powerful headbutt to Sangre’s head.

"Ungh?!"

Sangre gritted his sharp teeth, dizzy as he glimpsed Drake’s furious face.

And noticed he was...

Crying.

"You’re my brother... I love you as my brother, Sangre!"

"What?!"

"I won’t let you die, nor will I kill you!"

"YOU BASTARD! WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"

Sangre roared fiercely, the power of his Chaos Fragment surging with chaotic energy through his entire body, rendering him larger and more muscular.

Simultaneously, a massive pair of black wings formed of chaotic energy emerged from his back as he flew toward Drake with full force, pummeling him repeatedly.

BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

Yet this time, Drake didn’t retaliate...

His aura pulsed through his body, steadily intensifying, as vibrant colors radiated from it.

Drake was continually evolving, his energies coalescing, his divine abilities merging.

His eyes glowed, brimming with determination.

And...

With love.

"Your blows don’t even hurt me anymore."

"Nngh..."

"Your grip has softened, why?"

"...?!"

Sangre stared at his own hands. Despite his power surge...

Drake was correct.

He had inexplicably begun striking him much more softly than before.

Why?

Just why was this happening?

"I know you’ve endured so much... I know it! You said you want a family? Friends? They are here, waiting for you to join us!"

"No, no, no! This is wrong...!

THIS IS WRONG!!!"

Sangre rejected what he had always yearned for his entire life, clutching his head as he opened his jaws wide, screaming.

"THIS IS WRONG!!!"

Suddenly, he transformed into something akin to Triton’s True Form, a colossal dragon composed entirely of his own soul, which emerged from his body and enveloped him.

Drake perceived the resentment, darkness, hatred, and self-destruction within Sangre’s powers.

His Demon Heart of Greed fueled his strength the more he coveted others’ possessions.

That power, that wicked heart, was twisting his mind.

"I AM ALONE...! I WILL BE FOREVER ALONE! FOREVER SCARRED...! MOTHER ABANDONED ME... MY FAMILY FORGOT I EXISTED! I AM NOTHING BUT A PAWN! I AM NOTHING BUT A MONSTER! AND I SHALL DIE AS ONE!"

Sangre’s form continued twisting, revealing countless heads crying and screaming in agony and horror. Drake saw the despair in his brother’s soul and the wicked Demonic Heart attempting to possess him.

"Sangre... I see now..."

Drake smiled faintly, gazing at his brother with compassion as he unsheathed Muramasa and closed his eyes while the monstrous Sangre descended, intent on devouring his soul.

He reached him, engulfing Drake in his brother’s soul, rapidly consumed by his endless greed and grief.

And yet...

Drake’s eyes shone brilliantly, like two stars piercing the midnight sky.

"{Absolute Eclipse: Zesshokuzan}!"

FLAAASH!

Drake gripped Muramasa tightly as its powers surged, and suddenly, everything seemed to stand still. Sangre’s monstrous form attempted to devour him, the battlefield around Fuyu, and his disciples battling the Chaos Dragons.

Behind him, a stunning eclipse of Yin and Yang manifested as the opposing forces fused into Drake’s formidable technique.

One he crafted to finally subdue Sangre.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

In that instant, Sangre saw dozens of Drake’s afterimages as he meticulously slashed through his entire body, appearing and vanishing within a split second.

"Your grief... your anguish... your suffering... and your despair..."

Drake smiled as he passed Sangre, silently sheathing Muramasa and glancing back at his brother.

"I’ve slain them, my brother."

"I-IMPOSSIBLE...! NGRAAAAAHHHH!"

B O O O M M M !!!

-----