Chapter 480

Chapter 480

Croanos stood upright, its many eyes fixed on Zeon.

Even the portion of its body that rose above the blood pool was over ten meters long. No one could guess how massive the rest of it was beneath the crimson surface.

―KROAAAH!

A roar burst from Croanos’s maw—a sound that was half beast’s bellow, half human wail.

It almost sounded as if the creature were trying to speak to Zeon and Tesserina.

Of course, neither of them understood its words.

Then—

Bubbling…!

The blood in which Croanos was submerged began to boil violently.

The bubbles swelling and bursting upon the surface carried an ominous feeling.

“Looks angry, doesn’t it?”

“It was born angry.”

“Why?”

“It inherited its mother’s curse without its own will. That’s why it became such a horrific being.”

“I can see that.”

Zeon nodded at her words.

If he were in Croanos’s place, forced to bear a curse not his own, he too would live in endless fury.

Ssssshhh—!

Steam rose as the boiling blood sent vapors swirling into the cavern.

In an instant, the vast space was filled with red mist.

Tesserina raised a shimmering barrier.

“Be careful not to breathe in the steam. It carries Croanos’s malice—inhale too much, and you’ll lose your mind.”

“Got it.”

Zeon nodded, channeling mana into his Superheated Gauntlet.

At once, a red wall of flame erupted around him—a Fire Shield, forged through his gauntlet.

Hiss!

Every wisp of steam that touched the barrier evaporated instantly.

It was Zeon’s first time manifesting a Fire Shield, but he did it flawlessly.

Thanks to Tesserina’s earlier adjustments, his mana flow was now faster, smoother—

his control sharper than ever.

Even in a cavern choked with cursed steam, Zeon’s mind remained clear.

―KRAAANAAH!

Seeing the two of them unharmed, Croanos roared again, trembling with rage.

SHWAHH!

Countless tentacles stretched out from its body and lashed toward them.

“Hmph! A lowly beast dares to strike at me?”

Irritation flickered across Tesserina’s face as she swept her arm.

CRACK!

A colossal bolt of lightning crashed down.

Giga Lightning.

The ultimate thunder spell struck Croanos squarely.

―KRAAARGH!

The monster convulsed under the hit, its hide charring black, steam pouring from its body.

At first glance, it looked grievously wounded—but Tesserina knew better.

“Tch. As I thought… this body won’t be enough.”

A creature burdened with a god’s curse could not be killed by such a spell.

Maybe a dragon’s full magic could—but not a chimera’s.

All she had done was provoke it further.

Dozens of the eyes embedded in its flesh turned toward her all at once.

SHWAAA!

Hundreds of tentacles shot through the air toward Tesserina.

She cast a flight spell, darting upward to evade—but she couldn’t avoid them all.

BOOM!

One struck her shield head-on, sending a brutal shockwave through her body.

Tesserina was hurled backward, slamming into the cavern wall.

Zeon didn’t panic.

Even if she was a chimera, she wielded the power of a dragon. A hit like that wouldn’t come close to killing her.

“She’s not used to fighting in human form…”

It was obvious—Tesserina’s inexperience was showing.

Having always fought in her dragon body, she’d never truly adapted to human combat.

Despite her overwhelming strength, she couldn’t use it efficiently.

Humans had their own way of fighting—a style completely different from that of dragons or giant beasts.

SHHHHH—!

Behind Zeon, a spatial rift opened.

A torrent of sand poured out, swirling violently.

Sensing the shift, Croanos snapped its tentacles toward him.

They came like lightning—hundreds of them, too fast for the naked eye to follow.

At that very instant, the sand exploded outward in a high-pressure burst.

Zeon had unleashed Sand Blaster.

PAPAPAPAPANG!

Every incoming tentacle was intercepted midair.

They weren’t severed or destroyed—just struck back, their size shrinking from the shock.

Croanos flinched, clearly surprised by the unexpected resistance.

Zeon didn’t waste the opening.

The sand beneath him surged, propelling his body forward at incredible speed.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Steam and sand collided, detonating into shockwaves that cleared the air ahead—

carving open a path straight toward Croanos.

Zeon sprinted down that narrow corridor of turbulence.

Behind him, serpents made of sand lifted their heads—

Sand Vipers.

SHSHSHSHSH—!

Dozens of the sand snakes lunged at Croanos.

The monster swung its tentacles furiously, destroying most of them—but several struck true, slamming into its massive torso.

―KRAAAHHH!

Croanos roared in fury.

It hadn’t been hurt, but the sudden impact enraged it further.

Then, from the blood pool, hundreds of crimson pillars erupted skyward.

They spun furiously, like Zeon’s sandstorms—a Blood Storm.

ROOOAAAR!

Hundreds of twisting red cyclones surged toward Zeon.

He responded in kind.

“Sand Storm!”

CRRRAAAASH!

Blood Storm and Sand Storm collided.

Blood and sand shredded each other, tearing at the walls of the cavern.

Flames burst where they clashed, and droplets of blood and grains of sand sprayed in every direction.

“Ugh, my head…”

Tesserina groaned, pulling herself free from the wall—then froze as she witnessed the battle before her.

Croanos’s rage she could understand. But Zeon’s display of power defied belief.

Combining sand and fire magic, he pressed Croanos relentlessly.

The monster’s enormous body shook violently.

Its whip-like tentacles were being sliced apart, burned, or crushed—no longer able to function properly.

“Fire Rain!”

Zeon raised his hand, and a storm of flames poured down.

Hundreds—thousands—of fiery streams fell upon Croanos.

Its immense bulk made dodging impossible.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

Its flesh melted under the blazing heat, filling the cavern with a nauseating stench.

―KRAAAAAHH!

Croanos screamed, unable to endure the burning pain, and dove beneath the blood.

Even submerged, the Fire Rain would not fade.

The blood boiled, belching out clouds of crimson steam.

Zeon stood atop a pillar of sand, gazing down at the pool below.

Croanos still lived.

He could feel it regenerating within the blood—its life-force drawn from that very liquid.

“As long as that blood remains, it won’t die…”

His eyes narrowed.

“Then I’ll dry it all up.”

No hesitation—he had to strike while he had the advantage.

He couldn’t allow the creature a chance to recover.

Zeon unleashed torrents of sand into the pool.

SHHHRRRAA!

As the sand poured in, he activated Sand Gehenna.

The sand melted under extreme heat, releasing a hellish blaze.

Bubble! Bubble!

The massive pool boiled violently and began to dry up.

Sand Gehenna — the Hell of Dry Heat—draining and corrupting the blood itself.

Slowly, Croanos’s enormous body was exposed.

Its outer shell had melted into a hideous, blistered mass—like a cocoon half-burned open.

Zeon frowned.

From that cocoon-like body, he felt an ominous presence gathering.

CRRRAAACK!

Cracks split across the charred husk.

The shell tore apart—and something emerged.

A human-sized figure.

Its face was misshapen, features blurred; arms and legs twisted unnaturally.

It looked like a failed attempt by a god sculpting man from clay.

But Zeon did not underestimate it.

Cornered, Croanos had shed its massive form, morphing into a human-like shape—

imitating Zeon, the form best suited for battle.

―KRAAAH!

Croanos lunged forward.

“Ugh!”

Its scream alone sent Zeon flying backward—a single roar carrying crushing power, as if struck by an invisible hammer.

Croanos followed, closing the distance in an instant.

―DIEEEEE!

It swung both fists down.

BANG!

Zeon’s body struck the floor like a bowling pin and bounced across the stone.

Croanos leapt again, intent on beating him until nothing remained.

As it clenched its fists, crimson energy gathered around them—the concentrated essence of all the blood it had absorbed.

Though its speech was crude, its mind was sharp.

Every drop of blood in that pool held memories and power from countless lives—and Croanos had absorbed them all.

Among those memories was one of the Arlong—a creature resembling a dragon, but lacking its divine might.

The Arlong had believed that with thousands of years of cultivation, it could ascend into a true dragon.

But it was hunted and slain by the Queen before it could succeed.

Croanos had seen that memory and believed the same path could be his.

If he endured the pain, trained through the hatred—one day, he thought, he could escape this hell.

But the result of his long training was the being before Zeon now—neither true dragon nor perfect human.

A creature caught between man and monster.

Even so, Croanos didn’t care.

If he killed Zeon and took his form, he believed he could become something closer to human.

Though it wasn’t the dragon he dreamed of, being like Zeon didn’t seem so bad.

That was how deeply Zeon’s power had imprinted on him.

BANG! BANG!

Croanos pounded Zeon again and again.

Each blow sent him tumbling across the cavern floor.

When it judged that Zeon had been sufficiently weakened, Croanos extended its hand.

At its level, physical contact wasn’t even necessary—it could extract blood directly.

SHWAAHH!

A terrible suction burst forth from its palm.

It was like a living centrifuge, ready to drain Zeon dry.

But the attempt failed.

CRACK!

Zeon had already risen—his hand clamped tightly around Croanos’s wrist.

Their eyes met in midair—

Croanos’s pupils, filled with hatred. Zeon’s, glowing a deep, molten orange like desert sand in sunlight.

“Got you.”

―L-Let… go…

“No.”

Zeon’s cold voice struck the monster like a blade.

A heartbeat later, Sand Mixer activated.

GRAAAAH!

The raging vortex of sand engulfed Croanos whole.

Every fragment of his body was ground away—flesh turning to dust, muscles to powder.

In an instant, his bones and organs lay bare.

And at the very center—a single, glowing red crystal pulsed like a heart.

Tesserina’s voice echoed in Zeon’s ear.

“That’s its core—its Blood Crystal!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Zeon reached out and tore it free.

CRUNCH!