…What in the blasted hells is Veira doing here? Leonis suspiciously regarded the red dragon from atop the building.
He thought she was away, pursuing the Devil of the Underworld and the Azure Fort.
“…Leo, where were you during all this?!” Leonis heard Veira’s voice ring in his head telepathically.
“I went back to the Rognas Kingdom. But forget that, what is this monster…?” He turned his eyes to the undead dragon that was regenerating even as they spoke.
“This is Gisark, the Divine Dragon of the Six Heroes. Or what’s left of him, anyway.”
“…What?”
Leonis looked at the dead dragon creeping across the earth. Some of its rotting flesh was still covered in golden scales that did look like Gisark’s.
“This is an intense aura of death. He’s undead,” said the black wolf standing behind him.
“Blackas, do you have any idea who might be able to turn such a hero into an undead minion?”
“…Yes. I know only one that would be capable of such a feat.”
“Yes, I think so, too.” Leonis glared at the seal mark glowing on the Divine Dragon’s forehead. This was the mark the Undead King, Leonis Death Magnus, branded his minions with.
…So he sent him as a vanguard. Interesting.
Leonis landed on the ground and chanted a spell.
“All death is mine to wield. Sixth-order spell—Vraz Ochur!”
A skull appeared around Gisark and crept into its body. This was a spell that forcibly usurped control over an undead creature. However…
■■■■■■!
Gisark raised his large body and fired off a ray of heat that swept through the air, cutting down buildings that collapsed with a rumble.
…He resisted the spell. Not an unexpected outcome, Leonis whispered to himself as he strode through the shadows atop Blackas’s back.
He wasn’t under the impression he’d succeed at usurping control over Gisark, but this did serve as proof that it was him who had transformed him into an undead.
I can’t inflict too much damage on my kingdom.
This area was evacuated of its civilians, but it was only a matter of time until Excalibur Academy would send a unit to dispatch the Void Lord. Fighting one of the Six Heroes while defending them would be difficult.
“Blackas, can we drag him into the Realm of Shadows?”
“My apologies, Lord Magnus, but the Realm of Shadows is unusable after the Deus Machina self-destructed inside it. Even if you were to drag him in, it would likely collapse from the inside out.”
“Blast…,” Leonis grumbled and contemplated other options.
Gisark reared his head and blew another ray of heat at them. Blackas hopped into the rubble’s shadow and emerged out of another.
“Another idea, then. Would it be possible to use the shadow corridors to transfer anyone trying to enter this battlefield to another area?”
“Transferring anyone who tries to enter… It’s possible, but it will be a difficult task.” Blackas snorted. “And it won’t work against anyone airborne.”
“That’s good enough. Please do it.”
“Understood. However, I won’t be able to guard you, Lord Magnus—”
“That’s fine. There’s another dragon here, and though she makes for a fearsome opponent, she’s the most reliable ally when she’s on my side.”
With a roar, Veira’s red dragon form bit into the Divine Dragon’s neck. Her fangs crunched on his windpipe, spewing hellfire directly at him.
Divine Dragon Gisark’s body shined like a burning furnace.
Leonis hopped off Blackas’s back.
“Good luck, Lord Magnus—”
“Yeah. I’m counting on you.”
Blackas crept into the shadows.
“Veira, keep him pinned down…!”
“…Who do you think you are to boss me around?!”
Leonis spread his arms and began chanting.
Doing it without a staff doesn’t feel right…
Reconsidering, he reached into his shadow and pulled out the Staff of Death’s Eye. It was a special staff with a Reaper’s eye sitting on its tip. This was a Legend Class item, a considerable step down from the Staff of Sealed Sins, but it was still the second-strongest item in Leonis’s possession. Given Leonis’s overwhelming power, the amplified effect it had on its spells was negligible, but at the moment, he needed it mostly to stay in form.
“Earth, become a raging spear and run my foe through…!”
Leonis’s field of expertise were spells from the Realm of Death, but those were ineffective against an undead opponent.
“Tactical class eighth-order spell—Graz Garud!”
Countless stone pillars surged up from the ground, stabbing through the undead dragon’s body.
■■■■■■…!
With a roar, Gisark flapped his wings, shaking his large body to shatter the stone pillars and fly off. However—
“You’re not getting away!”
Leonis used an eighth-order gravity spell, Vira Zuo, forming a gravity sphere over Gisark’s head that slammed the dragon into the ground.
“Hey, are you trying to hit me with those spells, too?!”
“Not my problem, just get out of the way!”
“I’ll get even with you later, Leo!”
Veira stomped on the ground, kicking off into the air. Spreading her wings, she blew fire on Gisark once more.
“Darkness, burst forth!”
Leonis swung his staff, chanting a tenth-order destruction spell. But the moment he unleashed the spell, the ground beneath them surged up.
“What?!”
Countless tree roots burst from the ground, interrupting the spell and forcing him to hop away. The roots continued extending through the air, pursuing Leonis.
Is this some kind of elf sorcery that controls tree roots? No. I know this…!
Seeing the tree roots grow with rapid, startling speed, Leonis’s eyes widened. At the end of the roots was the face of an old man, contorted in agony—a face Leonis recognized.
“How are you still here…?!”
It was the face of the Archsage of the Six Heroes—Arakael Degradios.