Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 847 - 788 We Were Originally One

```

The Black Dragon’s wings sliced through the clouds as he soared atop the cloud waves, roaring delightedly under the sole sun, allowing the control of magic to relax, and the dragon-shaped gemstones shimmered in the sunlight before plunging into the sea of clouds. A loud air burst ensued within the clouds, and Alcalon, swirling with a black and red frenzy, sprinted with all his might— the shockwave from the zero-acceleration pierced through the air, leaving "wounds" in the clouds that lingered for a long time.

Alcalon greatly enjoyed this expedition; while Sahazaan’s Life Force was intensely strong, an overly concentrated life force also brought a suffocating sense of oppression. It wasn’t often that he left the earth node, and the eldest warrior son quickly relaxed his body, only to realize that he felt at ease because everything in the outside world seemed so fragile.

With wings outstretched, sparks from friction of the obsidian clusters on the wing membrane burst into the air; sporadic movement of the body even cast sparks like that of metal striking stone. As a member of the Gem Dragon Breed, the constant growth of associated minerals was like human nails and hair, requiring regular cleaning to ensure mobility. Up to now, the Black Dragon Alcalon was quite satisfied with his perfect body. His father’s valor and might, and his mother’s calm and cunning were inherited; the eldest warrior son considered his own physical strength a natural glory, and he was eager to show off his current form to his long-missed siblings.

Although he had mastered the ancient human language, Alcalon did not continue to tease the nerves of the Black Dragon Priest Ohmhead; even though the Berserkers would have preferred the mighty Dragon to lead them, the Black Dragon still shared his power with humor with the Dragon Priest. He recalled the seriousness in Ohmhead’s tone before he departed, as if something important had happened. The matters that concern a Black Dragon Priest would certainly add to Alcalon’s anticipation for this dragon reunion.

"It’s been a while; I wonder how my dear brothers and sisters are nowadays." They would probably prepare their distinctive ways of making an entrance; though not openly stated, the five young dragons have always harbored an eagerness within, driven by pride inherent in dragon nature to compete with their kin. Both the father of dragons and the Dragon Priest were pleased to see this, and Alcalon naturally was an active supporter of this competitive relationship—after all, he had been talking about patricide and usurpation since his youth.

Looking at the Barrier ahead, thick with magic and isolating from the world, the Black Dragon lowered his altitude, landed gracefully, and walked elegantly into the Barrier—if one could ignore the trail of upturned trees and earth he had plowed through on his way.

He saw his siblings, each of whom had grown tremendously.

Claudia was squatting in the corner, dozing off, her vibrant spirit indicating that the Green Dragon was battling in another world; she had become prettier, and even more of a homebody.

Imelt carried no idolized burden, as tender and caring as ever, but with a size that had multiplied several times over; she greeted the Black Dragon cheerfully, with a breath of molten lava, hmm, warm and cozy.

Kristo was still the same, forever busy with a magical device, coping with endless tasks.

And Bordelis, the youngest of them all, had attracted the Black Dragon’s attention right from the start. He was sealed within a massive block of ice, like a fish frozen for the winter.

"I like Bohr’s style the most, in comparison, you guys just aren’t ’hard’ enough."

The laugh from Alcalon’s joke was not returned by the others, but the Black Dragon didn’t mind too much; he was better at sharp sarcasm than making people laugh.

"No, Alcalon. The Sleeper has awakened, the Evil God has arisen from the depths, and Bohr... he has borne the corruption of the Evil God and is now very dangerous."

The mention of the god’s name squinted the Black Dragon’s eyes, his scales gently parting and closing, like the soothing breath after exercise.

The Green Dragon opened her eyes, nodded to the Black Dragon, and turned to report to Kristo, who was studying the data.

"Bohr’s dreams are not greatly warped, his spirit is weak, I think he may have survived, the Evil God’s corruption didn’t crush him."

"Or it may have already lurked within." The Blue Dragon put down the crystal screen in front of him, showing an almost imperceptible smile to his brother with his dragon face, "Magical detection can’t differentiate good from bad either, as if he really were just hibernating. No corruption, no contamination, just like..."

"Like a piece of well-preserved freeze-dried fish," Alcalon confirmed that the two brothers were in sync with their thoughts.

Kristo’s mouth twitched, revealing sharp fangs.

"But you know that’s not realistic. The seas have been completely transformed into the abyss, Bordelis, who fled the deep sea, chose to self-freeze. We wanted to unlock the seal, but we’re not sure if that’s still our brother inside. Bordelis is now, very dangerous. The White Dragon’s ice magic is like locking away time; to allow time to resume, we must face a potentially terrible future. He’s now an unstable Arcane Bomb."

"Bordelis still exists, that’s my intuition," the Black Dragon said, caressing the ice sculpture twice his size, his pupils overlapping with the closed eyelids of the white dragon behind the ice. "We must and will unseal it, Bohr and I haven’t had a proper catch-up yet. The times we once lived together in the Dragon’s Nest are gone forever; I didn’t expect him to have grown so big already. He’s a suitable punching bag."

The dragons were long aware of the Black Dragon’s awkward emotional expression; the eldest warrior son wasn’t a heartless evil dragon.

```

"The flame of Imelt can melt ice, and the dreams of Claudia can protect his mind..."

"Therefore, we also need a force strong enough to suppress him, even if it’s the corrupted Bordelis." The Black Dragon looked at his brother, his eyes like gold digging for hidden meanings in the Blue Dragon’s gaze, "I’m surprised, my brother, your magic should be enough to counter him, instead of calling your eldest brother to be your bomb disposal expert."

Kristo hung his head in the questioning, disliking the act of passing danger onto family, but, "I have become the conscience of the magic network; I cannot allow the nodes to be tainted with corruption, nor let the Sleeper touch the key to subverting the world. I’m sorry, Al, my responsibilities do not allow me to be in jeopardy."

Alcalon didn’t see a problem with it; as a warrior, he should be at the forefront. He was more curious about something else. "Why do you think I could resist the corruption of the Evil God? It’s not about being tough-skinned; you know well that divine corruption isn’t so simple. What makes you speculate that, Kristo? Did Morocoy tell you?"

"Yes, our teacher possesses some secret wisdom." The Blue Dragon buried the truth in his heart, fully aware of the true purpose of the large Barrier, and shifted his gaze under the seemingly smiling eyes of the Black Dragon.

Alcalon accepted the Blue Dragon’s suggestion and positioned himself in front of Bordelis’s iceberg.

"Begin the thaw, Mel. I am ready."

The second sister thought of her little brother and had been waiting for a long time, transforming into a huge bellows that spewed the Flame of Life at the iceberg. The temperature rose, the volume of the ice was reduced, and dense steam fogged up in the Barrier, Kristo easily manipulated to move this cloud of mist out of the Barrier.

Bordelis was freed from the icy prison, collapsing onto the ground with a thud that other terrestial dragons could hardly imagine. With restrictions lifted, Alcalon cautiously approached his brother, standing tall and overlooking the giant White Dragon, with a bloody fervor vibrating, his approach reminiscent of a headsman’s approach with his blade in hand.

The sense of life-threatening oppression and the blood scent, which holds extreme enticement to kill, were expertly baited by the Black Dragon, tapping into the Evil God’s blind and foolish aspects with primal instincts.

The claws of the dragon seized the White Dragon’s mouth, and Alcalon, ever daring, even opened it to find the Sea Dragon’s teeth neatly arranged, smaller in size, and greater in number.

The other three dragons sighed in relief seeing this; no counterattack meant that Bohr was still...

At the moment when all the giant dragons’ spirits relaxed, a spine as big as a battering ram shot out from Bordelis’s gaping mouth, like a harpoon launched straight at the Black Dragon’s throat, where the breath’s fire sac, the heart, and the area above the reverse scale are located.

The nearest Imelt had no time to sound a warning; she felt a chill run through her body, her mind filled with the horrifying vision of Black Dragon blood splattering everywhere. Claudia lunged forward, Kristo used magic uncontrollably.

But it was too late, nobody could save Alcalon, except for himself.

Suddenly, the scales of the Black Dragon burst open, tendrils and grotesque bulges grew from the cracks in his body, Alcalon swelled in size, and the White Dragon’s bone spur punched a hole in his throat, or rather, it happened to penetrate right through a split in the Black Dragon’s flesh.

The three dragons fled from the Black Dragon faster than a sprint, staring in shock at the elder Black Dragon whose transformation looked even more corrupted than the White Dragon, forgetting to make a sound.

That was undoubtedly the corruption of the Evil God, and even more thorough than the corruption of the White Dragon, but when had it happened?

Blue Dragon Kristo remembered the arrangements set by the scholar.

"Ever since my grandson was replaced by someone else and my son became the Evil God’s meat bomb, I reflected on my mental state. I discovered that, after being in contact with the deep-sea magic network for so long, my subconscious might have already completely accepted the Evil God’s forces as favored kin. I thought my fondness for Lyle was due to his kindness, my recognition of Yino was due to the closeness of blood, and the drive behind the creation of the Evil God’s plan was based on the yearning for the dragon’s madness. But judging by the results, my decisions must have been altered by this affection."

"Kristo, arrange a meeting, gather your brothers. Let Alcalon touch the unknown Bordelis. Perhaps this is another mistake of mine, hopefully. Frankly speaking, my student, since you all left the Dragon’s Nest, I have found that compared to you, my student, I favor that Black Dragon more."

"I hope it’s just my paranoia."

"No, Teacher, it’s not... Alcalon, he has been corrupted by the Evil God for a long time."