The power of the attack was strong enough to even clash with the Eternal Flame, forcefully calming it and sparing Caelum from further torment.
Erta immediately rushed toward him to heal him while the rest of the battlefield remained in absolute silence, unable to comprehend the sequence of events. The war battle had just started, had it not? So why have two of the faction leaders died already?
Whether it was the malevolent fairies, the Valkyries or the humanoid soldiers, none of them could understand what truly happened. All they knew was that they were dying due to none other than a battle between beings they could not even begin to compare to.
Not even the Chosen who were present could follow the battles. They saw Erta setting up the formations, but even that was beyond them. How could such a large formation exist? What was even powering that thing?
No one could understand... except for one.
They would have been stronger if they still had their mounts. They might have won if they had not fought each other first. They could have lasted longer had they cooperated. Such were the thoughts of the being who witnessed the battle. And with a furious voice, she spoke.
[These useless fools had only one job yet they deluded themselves into thinking they were kings and gods. How laughable.]
"So says the coward hiding behind these fools."
Caelum replied coldly as he got up. His scorched body was already healing with Erta's magic and his Eternal Flame, the same one that caused these injuries to begin with. He had to rethink ever using it in such a way again.
While the idea was sound, the actual manifestation of power was subject to many different factors that he had yet to comprehend. Until he learned the true weight of his powers, he cannot blindly manifest them lest he suffer a far graver injury.
[Human, you have tested my patience enough. You were supposed to act according to your role, yet you continue to defy me. I am the director, the playwright, the conductor! Yet you think you reign free to annul my script?!]
"Sorry, but I didn't get a role. I auditioned though! Just in case you might've missed that."
[Enough of this farce. You fools may serve me yet. Come and wake with this offering, Fafnir!]
From the cracks on the land, dark smoke rose up. It devoured the bodies of Aldurin and Odin along with the many corpses of soldiers, fairies, barbarians and Valkyries. And from within that dark smoke, dark mana erupted in a disgusting lake of black.
Caelum and Erta quickly sensed the dense concentration of that same energy from the dragon veins present in this black liquid. In fact, it seemed to be the major component of the mixture rather than dark mana.
The smoke was blown away as the black liquid quickly reformed into a giant black-scaled lizard with large bat-like wings. Its eyes glowed like lava as it stared at Caelum. It spoke with a disembodied voice that sounded more like a snake hissing.
[Such a beautiful flame! Give it to me, human! I shall add it to my collection!]
Here was a dragon cursed by malice and greed. Its name, Fafnir. The play has reached the climax.
The site of a dungeon, unique across the world, was a part of the river right next to the ruins of a battle against monsters that came through a gate. The extraordinary circumstance captured the world's attention more than the giant mana screen.
However, when the world saw the battle unfolding through the screen, they could only watch silently and with bated breaths. They all remained still as a single human wreathed in radiant flames easily defeated a ghastly king and a mythical god.
They watched as he fought back from the abominable creatures they became, enduring a baptism of fire to secure victory. They watched as the giant formations unleashed a power that none of them could even match.
The overwhelming power of those two monstrous enemies was completely gone. The man the world knew to be the Angel of Slaughter had transcended his name. But before the world could even celebrate, a new and much more terrifying enemy appeared.
The Chosen who have retreated to the back of the army with Erta stared at the dragon in utter despair. Unlike the leaders of the Wild Hunts, just the very sight of the dragon instilled fear in them.
Even Erta and Caelum, with their souls strengthened by the Life Covenant, felt the pressure from Fafnir's presence alone, but with them together, they could resist the pressure much better.
"Cal, that's not a true dragon, but a monster created from the image of one. But we can't be careless. Even if it is weaker than a true dragon, it is still a dragon."
"I know. It's a good thing we prepared two insurances. Though I still didn't expect a dragon. That woman should've lost a lot of mana just summoning this."
Finally, the danger that Caelum and Erta had been sensing was here. The very existence of the dragon veins were enough to paint a picture of the power that their enemy wielded, so they knew this was bound to happen.
This was why they had to prepare insurance. The first were formations that Erta had used to kill Aldurin and Odin. And the second will soon be revealed.
"Its aspect is Greed. We'll need to use everything we have. I'll support you so go ahead and use your wings."
"Alright, let's do this!"
Erta cast a simple magic that let Caelum fly freely. Even if he did not use his wings, he was moving just as fast and smoothly.
He fused his wings at the tip and shot toward the dragon like an arrow, but it barely hurt. Just a few scales flew off. Fafnir did not even move and just watched him as though he was an interesting specimen.
Erta covered him in holy mana as he increased the output of Eternal Flame. He flew down to the ground before shooting upward quickly. His black wing transformed into a giant blade while his white wing wrapped around it.
The Eternal Flame lined the tip and edge of the blade. As it hit the dragon's chin, it sunk in and blood dripped from it. This time, the dragon responded by swatting him away like a fly.
[That stings. Although you're not as powerful as Sigurd, I acknowledge your strength. Come, show me more. Let me feel more of that precious flame.]
"Cal!"
Erta rushed to him quickly, but Caelum was not really injured much. The troll's vitality and the Eternal Flame healed his minor injuries quickly, but the dragon did not really plan to kill him just yet.
As he got back to his feet, Caelum gazed at the ground where Aldurin and Odin fell and transformed. How funny that he was thrown near it.
"Cal, are you alright?!"
"I'm alright. More importantly… Do you know how to use a spear?"
He picked up two objects from the ground. One was a whip made of black human spine and the other was a spear containing great power. They were the weapons left behind by Aldurin and Odin.
"No. Are you going to use them?"
"Like you said, we have to use everything."
"Then take this as well."
Erta pressed her lips against his rather unexpectedly. A strong heat flowed from her body into his own. It was Erta's Holy Flame.
Caelum felt the fire within him burn even hotter as they separated. With his strengthened Eternal Flame, the whip and the spear glowed brightly. He had no time to question her. He just shot into the air once again. Erta flew high as well, casting a strengthened barrier around Caelum.
[Surely you do not believe those toys would change anything.]
Fafnir still did not recognise him as a threat and continued to watch him. Caelum felt conflicted about it. On one hand, it meant that he could not really hurt the dragon. On the other, he was allowed to do as he pleased. And he decided to capitalise on that.
The whip coated with white golden flames was further reinforced by his colourless wing's tendrils coiling around it. The spear similarly coated in flames was covered in a layer of black mass that sharpened and hardened even further.
With his preparations complete, Caelum flew straight toward the dragon's chin. The wound he had inflicted on it, albeit small compared to the dragon's size, was still large enough for Caelum to recognize as a weakness.
He pulled back on the whip and lashed out immediately after. The whip tore more scales than the attack that caused the wound, and even sunk into the dragon's flesh.
Caelum pulled himself toward the wound swiftly by using the whip. As he neared it, he thrust out with the spear imbued with a concentrated amount of Eternal Flame.
[GRRAAAAAAAAAHHH!!]
The dragon howled in pain and realised too late that the fly it was watching was actually a hornet. The moment Gungnir penetrated the dragon's flesh, the Eternal Flame exploded out to release the true power behind the attack.
It was the power that Odin had concentrated and stored in the spearhead but never got to use. It would have been powerful enough to gravely injure Caelum had Odin been successful. Caelum used his Chaos to explosively increase the stored power while containing it with the Eternal Flame.
The burst of power tore the dragon's jaw apart as it bled from the throat and neck. It even lost its tongue to the flames, yet it still managed to roar.
[Damn you, human! I have allowed you the honour of entertaining this great me, yet you dare...!]
And as though waiting for that moment, Erta released the magic she had been preparing.
Above her, a giant spear of light appeared. Caelum used the blast of his attack to push him toward her. It was time to use the other insurance that they had prepared.
A bright golden light erupted from their bodies. As Erta embraced Caelum from behind, they looked like a singular star that threatened to burn the entire world.
[I am Fafnir! And I shall not fall again!]
Fafnir shot out a breath full of curses and poison, but the bright light purified it before it even left the dragon's throat.
Caelum's wings extended upward and coiled around the spear of light and began to spin around it like a hurricane. The light around them slowly began to die down as it was drained into the spear created by Erta.
Seeing this as an opportunity, Fafnir let out more of its cursed poison breath. At the same time, Caelum threw the spear of light forward.
The hurricane of white and black along with the white golden streaks of Eternal Flame shot toward the dragon, its dense mixture of purifying powers tore through everything in its path.
The breath instantly vanished as the hurricane tore open the dragon's throat. It opened a path for the spear of extreme light to pass through and reach its destination.
The dragon's heart, which was full of curses, was pierced by the spear and slowly burned. The dragon did not even bother moving as it felt its heart slowly crumbling to ash.
[Ahh… as it was before, so shall it be again. I died so foolishly to Sigurd once. And now I die so foolishly to the two of you.]
"You don't have to lie anymore. She has no control over you now."
[Very sharp, human. What are your names?]
"I am Caelum Grace. And this is my wife, Erta Ki'ana."
[Very well. I shall engrave your names upon my soul. Now, take my heart as Sigurd once did.]
Caelum and Erta flew toward the dying dragon. His wings that have now returned after reinforcing the spear shot toward the dragon's heart deep inside its body.
It slowly drained the dragon's power together with the spear of light. The spear contained so much power that it continued to exist even after accomplishing its purpose.
But it soon returned to Caelum who shared it with Erta through their connection. The power of the dragon called Fafnir also flowed to them both. Just as Erta said, as one gains power, both grow stronger through the Life Covenant.
"May you finally find peace in the arms of eternity, Fafnir."
With the dragon's heart drained of its power, the body dispersed into dark mist. The battlefield was now clear of all the corpses, but it was not any less dreadful.
The few remaining enemies fled in fear while the surviving soldiers and knights fell to their knees. One of them spoke in a low voice that echoed throughout the silent battlefield.
"It's the King's lance… The King has returned…"
Following his words, other soldiers and knights began celebrating.
"King Arthur has returned!"
"Glory to Camelot! Glory to the King!"
The entire army rejoiced. Even the Chosen, who were only roleplaying, were too immersed in the act that they too nearly believed it to be true. They began cheering along with the rest of the army.
The person in question, however, was staring at something to the west.
"It's time to end this. Are you ready, Erta?"
"Yes. Lead the way."