Chapter 584: Devour
Elion watched Vel’dranor’s massive body writhe on the ground with a calm but shocked gaze.
’Maybe I should have used those flames from the very beginning?’
Weren’t they a bit too effective?
Just as he was thinking that, the system panel flashed beside him, but it was red instead of the usual translucent blue.
[Mana Resources Dropping Rapidly ⚠️]
[Mana: 402 / 1278]
[399]
[380]
[300]
’Well, shit!’
Turns out the flames didn’t fuel themselves.
His hope of simply waiting until the flames finished the bastard off died right there.
His mana wasn’t going to last for that long.
And he really didn’t want to find out what would happen to someone whose mana was completely drained.
Baddum!
However, a splitting headache suddenly pulsed through his head, and his vision was riddled with momentary blindness that synced with each painful pulse, almost making him stumble out of the sky.
“The heck…?”
Elion immediately clutched his head.
The pain wasn’t too great, and the blurriness in his vision disappeared almost as quickly as it came.
[World Eyes overused. I suggest you put them back into passive mode. Naturally, without your mana and your eyes to power them, the flames will go out as well…]
The system advised.
Elion groaned.
“Of course…”
He sighed.
It would be odd for his eyes to possess so much power without any sort of consequences. This was the first time he was experiencing said consequence, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
Elion looked down at the groaning, writhing dragon one last time.
“I guess I’m going to have to finish this the conventional way.”
The flames had done plenty; all that was left to do was finish off the bastard.
’I have to do it quickly, though.’
After all, with the dragon’s overpowered vitality, he might just recover and regenerate instantly if given the chance.
With a casual blink, Elion’s World Eyes faded away, leaving his normal deep-blue pupils behind.
As they did, the black flames scorching Vel’dranor began to fade away as well, flickering into nothingness within seconds.
As soon as they disappeared, Elion beckoned himself down toward the ground, landing on his two feet before approaching Vel’dranor’s monstrous body, which was also beginning to shrink back into its humanoid form.
Before long, all that remained was his charred, towering human body.
He was completely naked this time, though there was little to see; the flames had reduced his body to a blackened mess.
The grotesque sight of his sinewy flesh trying to knit itself back together spurred Elion into motion.
He lifted his blade, activating the [Void-Touched Edge] to finish the job this time.
Vel’dranor tilted his head, opening his tired golden eyes to meet Elion’s gaze.
“Y-you…” He breathed raggedly. “Y-you… are a dragon… Aren’t you? Cough! cough!” The question caused Elion to narrow his eyes.
“And what if I am?” He had no idea how this guy had come to that conclusion, but there was no need to deny it. This guy was about to die, after all.
“Haha…”
Vel’dranor laughed weakly.
“It’s a shame… Things are about to get interesting…”
He paused, struggling to catch his breath.
“And… And I won’t be alive to see it.”
“Haha…”
He gave Elion another faint smile.
“Well, go on then. Get on with it.”
Elion stared down at him for a moment. There was something strange about the way Vel’dranor had said those words.
He wasn’t begging or even trying to bargain for his life. He wasn’t even particularly afraid.
After everything that had happened, the dragon seemed almost content with the fact that his life was coming to an end.
Elion tightened his grip on Kurogoroshi.
“Any last words?”
Vel’dranor’s lips twitched into another faint smile.
“Last words…?”
He let out a weak laugh.
“You’re quite considerate for someone about to kill me. There is no room for kindness in this world, after all. I would never extend the same courtesy to you if you were in my position.”
He coughed again.
“Show too much kindness, and the world will devour you… Remember that… I won’t have someone who defeated me die in a pathetic manner.”
Elion gave the dragon an incredulous look, but he ended up nodding, putting the words to the back of his mind.
“You are oddly talkative for someone who is about to die.”
Vel’dranor laughed, but he ended up coughing out plumes of black smoke.
“Touchee…”
With that, Elion brought his blade down in a smooth, swift swing, decapitating the dragon with ease.
Vel’dranor was briefly surprised by the suddenness of it, but as his head separated from his neck, he let out a final, hoarse breath, his eyes slowly losing their light.
A moment later, his eyes were dull and lifeless, and dark red blood slowly began to pool beneath his severed head.
He was finally dead.
Elion let out a quiet breath.
The short battle had done little to sate the anger he was feeling toward his own incompetence, but he shook his head from side to side, deciding that he would reflect on it later that day.
At this point, Elion decided to try one of many abilities he hadn’t used before. With his free hand, he beckoned toward the charred body, turning his palm toward it.
“Devour,” he said aloud.
A dark vortex emerged from his palm, rapidly growing larger as it expanded toward the corpse, a sharp whipping sound filling the air as the vortex completely encompassed Vel’dranor’s body.
The moment the vortex completely enveloped Vel’dranor’s body, Elion felt a strange sensation travel through his arm.
It was almost like something had latched onto his palm.
WHOOOOOM!
The vortex suddenly intensified as Vel’dranor’s enormous body began breaking apart, but not physically.
At least, not at first.
Something intangible was being ripped from it.
Elion’s eyes widened slightly as he felt a vast amount of energy being pulled into his palm.
Mana, vitality, and bloodline essence.
Even the remnants of the dragon’s soul seemed to be trembling beneath the force of the ability.
’So this is Devour…’
The vortex became darker.
Fragments of blackened flesh began lifting from the corpse, followed by streams of faint golden energy that twisted through the air before being swallowed by the vortex.
Elion frowned.
The amount of energy contained within Vel’dranor’s body was absurd.
Even after death, the dragon’s existence seemed unwilling to simply disappear.
[Target successfully identified.]
[Devouring…]
[Greater Dragon Bloodline detected.]
[Royal Variant detected.]
[Bloodline purity: 92.7%]
[Beginning bloodline extraction.]
Elion’s eyes widened.
Bloodline extraction?’
’That was something he hadn’t expected.
The vortex suddenly pulsed.
BOOM!
A violent wave of energy surged through Elion’s body.
He staggered backward.
“What the hell…”
His veins began glowing faintly beneath his skin as a strange heat spread through his chest, followed by an immense amount of pressure.
Elion felt as though something enormous had awakened inside his body.
His pupils narrowed instinctively.
The system continued.
[Greater Dragon Bloodline successfully extracted]
[Attempting integration]
[Warning]
[Existing Peak Primordial Dragon Bloodline detected…]
[Purity:100%]
[Foreign bloodline possesses insufficient purity to overwrite existing bloodline]
[Alternative integration pathway available]
’Alternative pathway?’
[Would you like to assimilate the Greater Dragon Bloodline into the existing Primordial Dragon Bloodline?]
Elion stared at the notification.
He didn’t even need to think about it. It would probably come with a new set of abilities.
“Yes.”
The moment he gave his answer….
BOOOOOOM!
The remaining energy inside Vel’dranor’s corpse erupted, and the vortex expanded violently before collapsing inward.
Every remaining fragment of the dragon’s body was swallowed.