Chapter 595

Zeon’s gaze, fixed on the front, sank deeply.

It was because of the being that had appeared before him as if like a mirage.

It was a man boasting a height well over two meters.

Between the front flaps of the gray coat he wore, gray armor could be seen.

From the gray armor, which looked as if it had been made from the skull of a massive beast, a sinister aura was writhing.

The moment he saw the man, Zeon felt as if all the blood in his body had turned cold.

It was because he sensed the immense energy the man possessed.

Within his body, an overwhelming force—so great it was hard to believe he was human—was raging like a storm.

Zeon instinctively realized that although the man had the form of a human, he was not human.

It was the first time he had felt something like this since the half-dragon Nigel.

The moment Nigel came to mind, Zeon was able to guess the man’s identity without difficulty.

“A… dragon?”

“You’re quite something for a human. To guess my identity so easily.”

The corners of the man’s lips curled upward.

“Who are you?”

“Isn’t it proper etiquette to state your own name before asking another’s?”

“My name is Zeon.”

“Sand Mage Zeon?”

“You know me?”

“Everywhere I go, I hear that name. That’s how I came to know it.”

“I’ve revealed my identity. Now it’s your turn.”

“My name is Reikas. As you guessed, I am a dragon.”

“Why did a dragon try to kill Lord Arisedon?”

“Arisedon? Ah, you mean that strange beast that is neither dragon nor serpent? I did it because it intrigued me.”

“Because it intrigued you?”

“Yes! I sensed the energy of the World Tree from that mere beast.”

Reikas’s cold gaze turned toward Arisedon, who lay motionless, embedded in the sand.

To others, Arisedon might be a fearsome existence, but to Reikas, he was nothing more than a beast that had not yet obtained proper authority.

Zeon asked,

“You attacked simply because you sensed the World Tree’s energy?”

“If that were all, there’d be no reason to attack a serpent that was minding its own business. My principle is to crush dangerous sprouts in advance.”

“So you judged that if it grew further, it would become dangerous, and tried to eliminate it beforehand.”

“That’s right.”

Reikas nodded.

The moment he first saw Arisedon gliding through the sky, Reikas had sensed danger.

It was insignificant now, but given the right trigger, it could become a threatening existence. That was why he attacked Arisedon to eliminate it.

Reikas stared at Zeon.

“But it seems that serpent wasn’t the only dangerous one. I smell danger from you as well, Sand Mage.”

“So you intend to eliminate me too?”

“Didn’t I say? I have no intention of leaving any potential threat in this world. Especially if it’s human.”

“That’s insane.”

“I am not insane. I am extremely rational.”

“That’s what being insane is.”

“Think what you will. I intend to kill everyone here and make my lair in this place.”

A glint of greed shone in Reikas’s eyes.

Through Arisedon, he had easily realized that a World Tree existed nearby.

Although he could not confirm it with his eyes because of the great barrier, it was certain that the World Tree was steadily growing.

It was not the faint, inferior sensation he had felt when passing Elharun, but the firm presence of the original that made him tremble.

How a true World Tree had taken root in this barren world was not important.

What mattered was that a real World Tree was growing nearby—and that it had caught his attention.

Chaos Dragon Reikas.

He was one of the few dragons who had crossed over to Earth when Kurayan was destroyed.

Though he wore the form of a human, the pressure of a dragon emanated from him.

Normally, when a dragon polymorphed into a human, its presence would weaken, but Reikas retained the full pressure of his true form.

At that moment, Tesserina’s voice rang in Zeon’s ears.

—Reikas is said to be the strongest dragon since Lord Krasias. Be careful! Even other dragons fear him.

Having come from Kurayan as well, Tesserina knew of Reikas.

Her words were no lie.

Reikas had been infamous as a tyrant even in Kurayan.

Whether beast or dragon, if something got in his way or displeased him, he killed or devoured it without hesitation. That was why even other dragons feared him.

Reikas scanned Zeon up and down and said,

“I smell something.”

“Pardon?”

“I said there’s a familiar scent coming from you. This scent… is it Nigel?”

“You know Lord Nigel?”

“How could I not? He is the only one who can stand against me.”

Every time he mentioned Nigel, a terrifying killing intent emanated from Reikas.

It was clear just from his reaction.

That he had a hostile relationship with Nigel.

Reikas’s gaze fixed on the gauntlet on Zeon’s right arm.

It was the gauntlet Nigel had given him.

“If it’s something touched by Nigel, I can’t leave it alone.”

“I can’t let you go either.”

“A mere Sand Mage dares to take a dragon lightly. Then try enduring this first.”

The moment Reikas raised his index finger, a beam of light fell from the sky.

Shining Laser.

It was the very magic that had critically wounded Arisedon.

No matter how powerful a protective spell or armor one wore, it was useless.

The ultra-high-temperature laser pierced through everything in an instant.

It was absolutely impossible for human reflexes to block the Shining Laser.

But Zeon was no ordinary human.

The moment the Shining Laser was fired, he instinctively raised his gauntlet above his head.

Piiing!

The laser, blocked by the gauntlet, refracted and flew off in another direction.

As expected of an item imbued with the power of the half-dragon Nigel, it remained unharmed even against Reikas’s magic.

Having been attacked, it was now his turn to return the favor.

Kwoooom!

The sand particles floating in the air gathered, forming a massive pillar of sand.

The sand pillar shot straight toward Reikas.

“Hmph!”

Even against an attack of such immense mass that ordinary beasts would have trembled in fear, Reikas merely scoffed and flicked his finger.

Boom!

With a thunderous explosion, the sand pillar detonated right in front of him.

Watching the sand particles scatter like rain, Reikas gave a chilling smile.

“Interesting!”

He flicked his hand once more.

Zeon’s expression twisted.

In that instant, an immense pressure was applied to him.

It felt as though hundreds of tons of metal were crushing his entire body.

The sand particles supporting Zeon could not withstand the pressure and shattered like brittle snacks.

Losing his foothold, Zeon began to fall.

Toward him, hundreds of magic missiles flew.

Even the same spell differed vastly depending on who cast it.

The magic missiles cast by Reikas each carried power greater than that of a high-level awakened pouring their full strength into a spell.

Swoooosh!

At that moment, the sand on the ground swirled and surged upward into the sky.

Countless streams of sand in the shape of serpents.

Even as he fell, Zeon had deployed Sand Viper.

Bang bang bang bang!

The Sand Vipers intercepted the incoming magic missiles one after another.

As the magic missiles and Sand Vipers collided, explosions erupted in succession.

In this way, Zeon narrowly managed to intercept all the magic missiles aimed at him.

Now it was time to counterattack.

Whoooosh!

A sandstorm rose, supporting Zeon’s falling body.

Riding the sandstorm, Zeon soared toward Reikas.

Kwoooom!

The desert sand surged thickly, as if stirred by an invisible massive skewer, following behind Zeon.

Zeon had unleashed a sandstorm.

In an instant, the sandstorm swallowed Reikas whole.

The violently raging grains of sand struck against Reikas’s armor and coat.

His gray coat was shredded into powder in an instant.

Numerous scratches formed on the armor made from beast bones.

Reikas looked taken aback.

The power of mere sand far exceeded what he had expected.

His massive two-meter body was shaken about like a fallen leaf, and countless wounds appeared on his skin.

At this rate, it felt as though he would be ground down by the sand into nothing but a handful of blood-stained grains.

In the end, Reikas cast aside his pride for a moment and deployed a defensive spell.

A translucent sphere enveloped him, protecting him from the sandstorm.

Thanks to that, it prevented his flesh from being shredded away.

Reikas looked down at his armor with disbelief.

It was armor made from the head of a three-eyed blood leopard, said to possess the greatest durability among all beasts.

On top of that, Reikas himself had enhanced it with magic, increasing its strength and granting resistance to various physical and magical attacks.

Because of that, even considerable attacks would not leave the slightest scratch.

And yet, countless marks had been carved into it.

All from nothing more than a sandstorm.

A chill ran down his spine.

He had inwardly looked down on Zeon for merely controlling sand, but this was by no means something to be taken lightly.

Kwakakakak!

Even at that moment, the sandstorm continued to rage relentlessly.

At the center of the storm stood Zeon.

Like a god of sand, he relentlessly drove the sand against Reikas.

“Impressive.”

For the first time, Reikas acknowledged Zeon.

The fact that a mere human could freely control such an enormous quantity of sand was extraordinary in itself.

But acknowledging Zeon and liking the situation were two different matters.

He did not like the fact that he, a dragon, was being pushed on the defensive.

So he immediately launched a counterattack.

Flash! Flash!

Beams of light poured down continuously from the sky.

They were Shining Lasers.

Zeon moved swiftly, dodging the descending beams.

Kwoooom!

One of the Shining Lasers grazed Zeon’s body.

Thanks to the robe made from Balrog’s hide, he did not suffer a major injury, but the impact still shook him.

Reikas did not miss that opening and unleashed a barrage of magic.

Zeon hurriedly regained his balance and created a wall of sand to protect his entire body.

Bang bang bang!

The sand wall was blown apart by the magical bombardment.

But by then, Zeon had already moved to another location.

Zeon narrowed the range of the sandstorm that had been sweeping widely.

He concentrated it solely on Reikas.

Naturally, its power increased severalfold.

Krrrack!

Reikas’s barrier wavered dangerously.

Cracks began to form in the barrier that could normally repel most attacks without issue.

“Well, I never intended to rely on such a barrier for long, but this is quite something.”

Reikas’s gaze sank deeply.

The fact that his barrier might break from the attack of a mere human wounded his pride.

He dispelled the barrier and shot high into the air.

The sandstorm still raged, but he paid it no mind.

“Blade of Wind!”

Shhh shhh shhh!

In an instant, countless blades of wind burst from his body.

The blades tore through the raging sandstorm and flew toward Zeon at terrifying speed.

Zeon responded by deploying Sand Blaster to intercept them.

Boom boom boom!

Explosions erupted one after another like fireworks.

The full-scale battle between dragon and human had begun.