Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 606: The End

The deadly gray-black energy stream was like colliding with an absolute void.

There was no rebound, no explosion, and no usual energy dissipation trajectory when dispersing.

The gray breath just stopped advancing abruptly on the projection map in a manner that defies all energy observation common sense, and then silently disappeared from the simulation display, as if it had been erased like pencil markings or, more like its fundamental existence had been negated by a higher-tier presence.

It was as if the dragon’s breath, powerful enough to obliterate a Level 1 Peak, had never been breathed, or...dissolved by itself upon touching a border undetectable by the system.

Meanwhile, the real-time feedback data stream sidebar of the system was madly scrolling with cold prompts:

[Warning: Unknown energy disturbance detected at target area (challenger coordinates).]

[Analysis failure: Disturbance type unclassifiable, energy spectrum missing, trace of rule interference...reading error.]

[Logical conflict: Detected attack behavior (Destruction Breath - Nidhogg) energy release record, but no corresponding energy arrival and effect record detected.]

[System self-check in progress...no hardware errors found, data chain intact, virtual environment stable.]

[Conclusion: Phenomenon observed, unable to parse the cause, recorded as an out-of-protocol event - No. 734.]

[Comprehensive Evaluation Module:...affected by unknown interference, evaluation suspended, S+ rating temporarily locked.]

The observation hall fell into dead silence, with only the slightly piercing tick-tock of the system prompts and people’s suppressed breathing.

Everyone, including the well-informed Rhine, stared in shock at the absurd data on the projection wall and crystal screens.

"What...happened?" The petite female apprentice’s voice was dry as she adjusted her glasses, trying to find a reasonable explanation from those logic and reading error prompts, but her mind was blank.

"The dragon’s breath...is gone?" murmured the boy with the metal arm, "Just like that, it’s gone? Not blocked, not neutralized...the system didn’t even see the process? It’s just...gone?"

"Unknown energy disturbance...out-of-protocol event..." Rhine repeated these words, a chill rising from his spine.

He knew better than anyone else how powerful and precise this Witch Array simulation system was, created by the cutting-edge forces of the Seville Empire, capable of almost perfectly replicating and analyzing most known energy forms, rule applications, and combat models from Level 1 to Level 4.

What could be something that the system cannot classify, reads as error, or even creates logical conflicts...

In the virtual battlefield, Duke was oblivious to the anomalies observed by the outside world.

He only felt the indestructible protection of the ancient barrier and the tranquil and immense power brought by the Destiny Bell.

This power seemed independent of the rules of the Witch Array simulation system, existing on its own. The system could only detect the disappearance of the dragon’s breath but couldn’t comprehend the existence of the barrier itself, because it involved a level that might have touched the higher concept of destiny, far beyond what this system was designed to interpret for simulating regular energy and material interactions.

Duke took a deep breath, clearing his mind of distractions.

The barrier still stood firm between him and Nidhogg, buying him precious time to catch his breath and gather strength.

In the dragon eyes of the Nidhogg, the dark whirlpool violently rotated, revealing a light of fury completely provoked.

It couldn’t understand why its breath failed, but it didn’t stop it from taking a more direct and violent form of attack.

Its massive body began to push deeper into the arena, and its huge claw covered in black scales rose with space-ripping force, preparing to deliver a physical strike of devastation.

...

When the last enormous Holy Light Judgment Sword descended from the sky, severing the head of the Destruction Dragon Nidhogg, time seemed to stand still for a moment.

The colossal black body of Nidhogg, akin to a mountain, suddenly went rigid.

Its dark whirlpool dragon eyes, seemingly capable of devouring everything, abruptly expanded, with the rotating darkness within pausing, shattering, and revealing an almost human-like emotion of shock, as if it couldn’t believe it would be ended here, in this manner.

Immediately after, endless cracks spread instantly across its body, centered around the hit dragon eye.

There was no deafening explosion, no bloody spectacle.

The body of the Destruction Dragon Nidhogg, along with its soul-freezing, existence-obliterating extreme oppressive aura, began to dissipate noiselessly like a weathered sand sculpture or an image erased by a higher-dimensional force, transforming into fine gray-black light points.

As the last speck of black light vanished, the entire virtual arena shook violently.

The annihilation rift environment, simulated and on the brink of shattering due to Nidhogg’s arrival, peeled away like a fading curtain, revealing the stable, pure, silver-white spatial essence composed of countless basic runes beneath it.

The warm and gentle restorative radiance from the Witch Array system, like mercury pouring down, uniformly filled every inch of space, dispelling all remaining coldness and destruction aura.

The ancient barrier that was once indestructible now covered with tiny cracks, quietly retreated as it had appeared, merging into the deep consciousness within Duke, where the Destiny Bell with its hands slowly rotating had been restored.

"Dong..."

A far weaker, yet seemingly conclusive bell resonance gently reverberated in Duke’s soul before it completely subsided.

Duke staggered a step, barely supporting himself with the Blazing Sun Judgment, breathing heavily.

He appeared disheveled, his robe torn, multiple injuries on his body, his complexion pale, and both his spiritual power and physical strength nearly exhausted.

Yet his eyes shone with astonishing brilliance, like stars quenched in flame, filled with weariness but revealing deeper sharpness.

He could feel that some boundaries within himself had been broken through in this fight of life and death, gaining a faint yet undeniable mysterious understanding of power, especially of the profound Destiny Bell.

At this moment, the grand, cold system voice, seemingly with a barely detectable hint of "confirmation" now, resounded through this silvery-white space that returned to calm:

"Tenth challenger, Destruction Dragon Nidhogg (young form), confirmed defeated." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Level 1 Ten-Star · Final Trial, fully completed."

"Challenger: Anonymous (Code C2-19). Final evaluation in progress..."

Outside, in the Zone C observation hall.

The projection on the wall, representing the despair-inducing huge dark energy symbol of the Destruction Dragon Nidhogg, was completely extinguished before everyone’s eyes.