Chapter 623

Dragonblood Frenzy.

It was a negative trait of Dusk Bringar that existed even in the game.

But it was just that, existing. It had never been used when allied, nor had it been used when appearing as an enemy.

It was merely acknowledged as a background setting for having such a negative trait.

The conditions for its activation were complex, involving her having to reclaim the blood essence she had distributed among her four direct knight subordinates.

Naturally, such an action would result in the loss of their former powers for these Dragonblood Knights.

Hence, Dusk Bringar was currently employing a workaround.

Her four Dragonblood Knights were kneeling on one side of the arena, connected to Dusk Bringar by a stream of red magical power.

It seemed that she was reclaiming the blood essence through this magical conduit.

This would prevent the knights from losing their powers permanently, but they would be unable to join the battle immediately.

"..."

Kneeling and sending back the blood essence through the connected magical conduit,

The four knights looked pitifully at their master. A trace of sad regret crossed the face of the leading old knight - Andimion.

Is it worth triggering such a rampage to this extent?

Boom!

"Arghhh!"

Its worth might be uncertain, but its destructive power is absolutely tremendous!

All attacks from Dusk Bringar, now in a state of Dragonblood Frenzy, transformed into that of a dragon species, spreading destruction over a wide area.

A single basic attack would devastate an area, sending shockwaves in all directions.

She literally became a 'boss monster.'

'It might look somewhat powerful this way!'

But the downside was not over yet.

'The next problem is, it shaves off the lifespan...!'

It's unclear what exactly lifespan means to a half-human, half-dragon who lives for hundreds of years in the game setting! But it's certainly mentioned as a demerit.

During Dragonblood Frenzy, the holder's lifespan is reduced.

"Haah..."

Right now, Dusk Bringar was throwing away her own life to win the martial arts tournament finals and gain the command rights for the operation to subdue the Black Dragon...!

'This is a big problem too, but the biggest reason I didn't use Dragonblood Frenzy in the game is-'

"Hyaaaah-!"

It makes one lose their mind...!

Distinctions between friend and foe blur, and her existence shifts more towards that of a dragon - or more accurately, a monster.

In the game, it was implemented such that she would attack allies out of control.

And here, in reality... she opened her mouth wide, spewing terrifying golden light from her eyes.

Tremendous magical power condensed between her unique sharp teeth. This is it!

"Are you serious, Your Grace?! This is too much!"

"Then... surrender quickly...!"

With a breath, Dusk Bringar gathered her breath.

We, terrified, nevertheless rolled away in unison, just as we had trained for dragon species tactics... and then, the next moment.

Swoosh-!

Boom!

The dragon breath unleashed by Dusk Bringar exploded.

The arena was completely devastated, and the unseated southern plains were split in half, tearing the area apart. Aaargh!

"Breath! Dodge to the sides-!"

As Evangelin said this while holding up her shield, she was blown far away by the tail end of the breath.

"Argh!"

"Evangeliiine!"

Why block that when I said to dodge!

Luckily, she seemed not too badly hurt thanks to her transcendent defense and [Damage Save], though seeing her roll far away on the ground meant returning to the match was out of the question!

Swoosh-!

Following the breath attack, Dusk Bringar who had charged towards us performed a graceful spin.

Her tail, adorned with red magical power, swept towards us as it gathered massive energy - it was a floor attack!

"Remember jump rope?! Dodge at the same time! One, two..."

I was about to count 'three' but the tail attack came at 'two'. Aaaah!

Missing the timing, I, along with Junior, who was also physically weak, screamed at the same time. We can't dodge!

"Hup!"

Then Lucas, gasping for breath, grabbed both me and Junior by the nape and yanked us upwards with a jump.

The Dusk Bringar's tail attack just swept beneath our feet, scouring the ground. Dragon, damn scary!

"But now, I'm starting to see the pattern!"

Upon hearing my words, the main party members nodded together.

The Red Dragon is, after all, a dragon species.

The patterns are fundamentally similar to those of the Black Dragon.

If we apply the dragon species counter-tactics we've trained so far, we can manage...!

As we withstood the following breath and tail attacks, Dusk Bringar frowned in annoyance.

"Alright, I was going to end this by giving you a proper beating, but if you're going to keep resisting like this...!"

Then, grasping a sword imbued with twilight magical power, she charged at us.

"What do you think, Your Grace... It seems like you're also running out of trump cards?"

"...!"

The Dusk Bringar was taken aback. The darkness that had shrouded her sclera was dissipating.

It was a sign that the 'Dragonblood Frenzy' was ending.

All four knights were hit by [Elemental Disassembly]. Naturally, the magic connection to Dusk Bringar was severed, and the supply of blood essence was halted.

As Dusk Bringar's Dragonblood Frenzy faded without enough blood essence to sustain the rampage, she shouted.

"Before that happens, I'll just have to take all of you down-!"

The Dusk Bringar, with a resounding roar, kicked off the ground and flew towards me.

Lucas, trying to intercept, was unable to withstand a tail strike launched by Dusk Bringar like a sneak attack and was blown away. Evangelin, who had hurried back, blocked the great sword with her shield but was sent flying again.

And at the same time,

"I found it, Your Highness!"

Damian shouted.

"The reverse scale! Below the Fake Dragon's neck!"

"Good! Go for it, Damian!"

Damian had been continuously searching for the game's turning point- the reverse scale of the Fake Dragon.

Before I could even speak, Damian had already notched an arrow on his bowstring,

"Do you think I'll just watch?!"

The Dusk Bringar was falling towards Damian.

Crack!

The magically wielded great sword shattered Damian's bow.

"Whoa?!"

Damian quickly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender in front of him as Dusk Bringar exhaled a fierce breath.

"Really, why does Ash have so many trump cards...!"

"Ha ha. Your Grace is also one of His Highness's trump cards. His Highness firmly believes in Your Grace."

Dusk Bringar flinched at Damian's following words.

"That you would move like this, firmly."

"...!"

The Dusk Bringar turned her fearsome gaze towards me. Eek!

Swoosh!

I raised a magic barrier on the ground and surfed across the arena - I had already reached right in front of the Fake Dragon.

Judging that Dusk Bringar would prioritize blocking Damian's sniping, I used Damian as a decoy and then dashed towards the Fake Dragon the moment its reverse scale was discovered.

"Ash-!"

Swoosh!

The Dusk Bringar, taking off from the ground, chased after me with flapping wings.

But no matter how fast Dusk Bringar was, the distance was already there.

"Checkmate!"

I lifted the flagpole, aiming its end at the reverse scale.

Then, rushing towards me from behind and lifting her great sword, Dusk Bringar shouted.

"Step aside, Ash! I am to command the Black Dragon subjugation! It must be me, it's my destiny!"

"..."

"If you don't step aside... even if it's you, I'll have no choice but to cut you down!"

Turning slightly to look back, I,

"No, Your Grace can't cut me."

Smiled brightly.

"How could Your Grace possibly lay a finger on this lovely nephew of yours?"

"...!"

The Dusk Bringar, her face contorted, shouted.

"For your sake, I could easily sever your limbs! Move aside now-!"

"I believe in Your Grace. So, I won't move."

"Ashhh!"

The Dusk Bringar, reaching me, swung down her magic great sword without hesitation.

Crash!

The great sword that cleaved through the neck of the Fake Dragon, stopping just above my head...

Thump...!

Stopped.

Not even touching the ends of my hair, Dusk Bringar forcefully halted it.

"Ha, ha, ha..."

The traces of Dragonblood Frenzy were disappearing from the heavily panting Dusk Bringar's body.

Horns, wings, tail, all fading away like mist. The whites of her eyes returned to their normal state.

Fssss...

Eventually, even the magic great sword in her hand, unable to sustain the intense magic consumption, vanished.

With her long black hair, which had been neatly braided, now completely disheveled, looking up at me with a loss of fighting spirit... Dusk Bringar muttered with a sullen expression.

"...That's low, really."

I know.

I smiled at her with my eyes, then thrust the flagpole forcefully towards the reverse scale of the Fake Dragon.