Chapter 109

Chapter 109
## Chapter 109

The Great Wyrm Expedition (1)

Swoosh—

A torrential wave of obsidian sorcery flooded the environment, constructing an impenetrable boundary to seal off any escape routes.

There was no way he would permit the beast to slip away after drawing it out this far.

As the dark aura fully cordoned off the territory, only the four individuals remained isolated within the barrier’s confines.

Crackle—!

“Kkahahahat! Behold the extent of my power!”

Harley’s physical frame expanded violently, adopting bestial proportions while white vapors hissed from his skin.

“Hmm, directly manipulating its lifeblood appears quite challenging. A dragon remains a dragon, even when stripped of its sanity.”

Heinz the Second ran his tongue across his lips, meticulously sharpening his sanguine claws.

“Oh? It bears indications of having drained the vitality of other organisms. Could that be the catalyst for its insanity? Yet, a drakainic mental fortification should easily shrug off such a minor amount… It must have been disturbed during dormancy.”

Hans observed the target with cold precision, radiating an eerie presence as he evaluated the creature like a scholar analyzing a specimen.

And then, there was the last one…

[Kuruuuuur—! I-Immortal King…! Immortal King—!!]

The Red Dragon Heratos had been completely paralyzed, resembling a frozen projection from the exact moment Hans arrived.

Suddenly, violent tremors racked its massive frame.

The crimson fires of insanity blighting its gaze flared up and detonated outward.

Wheeeeooo—!

A fierce vortex whipped through the clearing, dragging the atmospheric currents directly toward the beast.

Glancing at the abrupt atmospheric shift, Harley instantly deduced the underlying mechanism.

‘The air currents are merely reacting to the secondary vacuum… The lingering insanity drifting through the heavens is being mobilized.’

The microscopic traces of madness scattered across the terrain were being forcibly pulled in and integrated by the behemoth.

[Kiyaaaaaah—!]

Submerged in absolute lunacy, Heratos let loose a deafening screech.

Meanwhile, the trio positioned before the monster…

Simply observed as its power escalated.

‘Oh! Excellent, truly excellent. It is actively gathering the madness on my behalf. Quite a stroke of luck. Even Harley lacks the capability to achieve that.’

Presumably due to the species’ natural trait of drawing ambient mana, the dragon was forcefully pulling the madness into its core, unlike common beasts.

Essentially, it was amplifying the value of their prize.

[Immortal King! Your life is mine! I shall tear you apart—!]

The atmospheric vortex gradually lost its fervor, and Heratos, now fully saturated with the corrupted energy, glared at Hans with homicidal rage.

Its crimson armor had deepened into an ominous, dark wine coloration, and its colossal, trembling anatomy practically overflowed with unchecked savagery.

‘Insanity completely ravages the vessel’s intellect, prematurely consuming its remaining years and vitality to bestow monumental strength. When that vessel happens to be a dragon capable of enduring for millennia, the resulting power defies calculation.’

Consequently, the density of the madness compressed within its dragon heart during this transformation was staggering.

The lingering taint in the immediate atmosphere had dropped precipitously as a direct consequence.

‘The vacuum isn’t resolving itself anytime soon, meaning this pull influenced a far grander territory than initially anticipated.’

Had the affected boundary been smaller, the corruption from neighboring regions would have quickly rushed in to restore equilibrium.

This was an anomaly achievable solely because the target was a Mad Dragon.

[Kyaaaaaah—!]

With completely unhinged eyes, Heratos launched itself toward Hans like a juggernaut.

Driven by an immense reservoir of mystical energy, the massive creature attained a velocity that completely contradicted its immense scale.

[Hmm, it displays quite the temper. Does it harbor some ancient animosity toward my predecessor, the original Immortal King?]

Naturally, such a straightforward rush was incapable of ensnaring him.

Hans, having effortlessly glided to the flank, collected his thoughts with absolute composure while the air rumbled from the wake of the passing juggernaut.

Subduing the leviathan would not be a grueling task.

He was, after all, the true heir to the Immortal King—the legendary figure who had slaughtered countless drakainic beasts.

However, choosing that path presented a flaw…

[Indeed, exercising restraint is the wiser course.]

Should Hans deploy his unmitigated might, the dragon’s physical form would become utterly corrupted, leaving him with nothing more than an ordinary undead thrall.

While that wasn’t an entirely negative prospect, a far more profitable strategy existed.

‘To execute it, though, I must secure its movements first.’

Conveniently, an ideal instrument for the task was at his disposal.

[Entracio.]

A solitary command, saturated with abyssal mana, resonated softly through the air.

Instantly, a colossal mire of shadow expanded across the earth.

And then.

Whoosh—!

A titanic drakainic skeleton manifested from the swirling abyss.

[Kuwoooooh—!]

A bellow drenched in the aura of mortality reverberated across the domain, instantly answered by…

[Kiyaaaaaah—!]

A screech driven purely by unbridled insanity.

Entracio and Heratos, two tainted leviathans, locked gazes.

Once allies of the same sky, now bitter adversaries locked in combat.

The ensuing development required no guesswork.

[KuoOoooooh—!]

[Kyaaaaaah—!]

Kwaaang—!

The two massive entities collided with cataclysmic force.

Entracio’s skeletal frame possessed roughly thirty percent greater mass than Heratos, likely owing to his significantly more advanced age at the time of death.

Even so, engaging a physically augmented dragon in a brute strength contest using mere skeletal remains was highly disadvantageous, particularly since he was actively capping his death energy.

Entracio’s utility was strictly bounded to pinning Heratos down.

Of course, that matched the exact purpose behind his invocation.

‘If he taps into excessive force, the flesh and lifeblood will be thoroughly compromised.’

He needed to minimize toxic runoff, even if providing pristine, organic nourishment for his dependents proved difficult.

Hans monitored the wrestling behemoths while stoking his own sorcerous reserves.

Myriad runic circles materialized, weaving together diverse spell structures.

‘I will hold back on hexes for the moment.’

Spatial anchors, kinetic dampeners, gravitational tethers…

He selected an array of incantations specifically designed to mitigate physical degradation.

An undead behemoth stubbornly anchoring its massive weight, a dark sorcerer perpetually disrupting its motor functions, a vampire stalking through the gloom waiting for a blind spot, and a ferocious barbarian throwing himself into the fray like a berserker.

The totally lopsided and merciless Mad Dragon suppression by this disparate alliance had officially commenced.

—

Crack!

The Mad Dragon’s massive jaws snapped shut directly over the Bone Dragon’s spine.

Its jaw mechanics, pushed to the limit by burning vitality, and its razor-sharp fangs were heavily reinforced by the raw mana surging from its core…

Crack— Crunch!

The sheer destructive momentum proved sufficient to breach the Bone Dragon’s defensive runes, dealing direct structural harm to its neck columns.

[KuoOoooooh—!]

Entracio’s skeletal neck began to fracture under the pressure.

While the ceaseless influx of abyssal mana continuously reinforced the marrow and mended the fractures in real-time, an uninterrupted assault would inevitably result in total decapitation.

‘It is of little consequence; a simple reattachment fixes it.’

That specific brand of immortality remained the premier benefit of the necrotic state.

Entracio was by no means fragile, even under the heavy constraints imposed upon him.

‘Yet, this creature proves far more aggravating than anticipated.’

Drakainic beasts were notorious for their profound resistance to sorcery, and this specific Mad Dragon possessed even greater immunity, making it exceptionally difficult for Hans to paralyze it with abyssal arts.

‘Terminating its life is trivial. However, employing that route ruins the prize… It presents quite the conundrum.’

The historical ease with which the Immortal Kings slaughtered dragons stemmed from their mastery over the energy of death.

That lethal toxin would easily bypass even a Mad Dragon’s defenses, but it was currently unavailable due to the suppression of Entracio’s necrotic aura.

[Hmm, let us monitor the engagement a bit longer.]

Hans, hovering calmly above the battlefield to assess the conflict, slowly elevated a single hand.

Wooong—

Dozens of runic formations manifested, discharging a torrent of offensive arts.

Dark beams punctured the Mad Dragon’s hide, while chains of lightning cascaded from above, wracking its frame with electricity.

A concentrated detonation rattled its skull, and dense frost crystallized around its joints.

The moment the Mad Dragon’s focus fractured under the elemental barrage—which managed to breach even its profound mystical defense—

Whoosh—!

Heinz manifested like a phantom, severing the dragon’s jaw ligaments with an extended blade of condensed blood.

“Ahahat!”

Harley, having scaled the monster’s flank in a flash, drove his entire mass straight into the beast’s lower jaw.

[Kraaagh—?]

The Mad Dragon faltered from the disorientation, allowing Entracio to wrench his skull free and immediately sink his own fangs into the enemy’s throat.

His previously splintered vertebrae had already completed their restoration.

Unfortunately, the Mad Dragon possessed similar resilience; its ruptured jaw ligaments were already mending, and a throat injury was insufficient to claim its life.

‘It appears incapable of structuring advanced spells due to its degraded cognitive function.’

Even so, dragons were entities that naturally commanded mana as an extension of their physical forms.

Though vastly less refined than structured sorcery, the raw output coupled with its augmented physical state made it a devastating threat.

Booom—!

Highly pressurized mana detonated violently right where Entracio’s jaws were locked.

The Mad Dragon thrashed wildly, broadcasting massive kinetic shockwaves despite the trauma to its windpipe.

Crackle, whoosh—!

The tissue gripped within Entracio’s teeth ripped away completely, showering the immediate area in torrents of blood.

Though this allowed the Mad Dragon to break free from the skeletal dragon’s hold, it sustained a catastrophic injury that would have instantly finished a lesser creature.

…Yet, against its accelerated cell division, the trauma appeared almost trivial.

‘It seems its proficiency in manipulating raw, unrefined mana has actually heightened.’

Its physical traits, already pushed to unnatural thresholds by insanity, received a secondary boost from the raw mana, generating an exponential surge in muscle output, reflex speed, and cellular repair.

A sheath of dense mana coated its hide like platemail, its fangs and talons burned with enhanced lethality, and it could condense kinetic force to detonate like localized ordnance.

And then…

[Hoooooop—]

Utilizing an explosive burst of speed, the Mad Dragon retreated to create distance and drew a massive breath.

Simultaneously, a staggering concentration of mana gathered within its throat.

‘A Dragon Breath…! The execution is nearly instantaneous!’

The velocity and sheer scale of the destructive energy coalescing in its maw completely eclipsed their tactical projections.

The impending devastation was undeniable.

Entracio quickly gathered his own breath weapon to counter the strike.

The atmosphere vibrated violently as rival sources of mana pooled rapidly within the maws of both leviathans.

Finally.

Kwaaang!

A monumental detonation, sparked by the violent convergence of crimson and obsidian energy, devastated the clearing.

The twin breath attacks smashed into one another, canceling each other out entirely and leaving nothing behind but a radically altered topography.

‘…An exceptionally close call.’

Hans breathed a silent sigh of relief as he watched the two dragons resume their brutal melee within the settling dust storm.

The execution speed and total output of that breath weapon had vastly exceeded his baseline estimates.

Hans had been forced to step in secretly, manually elevating Entracio’s threshold to ensure the incoming blast was entirely neutralized.

[The beast possesses far too much vitality. It is entirely excessive.]

Hans pondered the situation while deploying obsidian tethers to chain the Mad Dragon down, subtly altering his hand gestures.

If alternative paths failed, he would have no choice but to eliminate it outright…

However, an answer presented itself from an entirely unpredicted quarter.

—

A silhouette was casually pacing along the spine of the frantically thrashing Mad Dragon, completely unbothered by the violent motion.

Whoosh—!

His honed blood claws tore away a massive scale from the dragon’s reinforced hide, causing a spray of crimson.

Yet, the laceration sealed itself almost instantly, a fresh scale sprouting to fill the void.

“Tsk! What a waste. The underlying quality of the blood is superb, but this corruption ruins the flavor.”

Heinz clicked his tongue in distaste, spitting away the sample of dragon blood he had sampled.

The psychic remnants embedded within the fluid were entirely drowned out by the insanity, ruining any potential for a proper sanguine extraction.

The dragon’s armor was so formidable that wounding it required a serious investment of strength, yet the blood yielded zero benefits, rendering the entire exercise pointless.

It represented the absolute worst tactical match for a vampire.

On the other hand, someone else was thoroughly enjoying the circumstances…

Crackle! Crunch!

“Kkahahahat! This is an endless banquet! A mountain of flesh that never runs out!”

Harley remained firmly anchored to the dragon’s chest, tearing away its armored scales and eagerly consuming the underlying muscle.