Chapter 3884: Stolen Power (Part 1) "Nice move, old lizard. Too bad I’ve already learned how to do this!" The power core in Raum’s shield conjured a Decay Bastion with the speed of thought, saving him from the devastating effects of the Guardian tier spell. "Let’s see how you stop it!" Hundreds of lights appeared all over the Wonderer, shining all over his pitch-black skin like stars in a night sky. ’Those are power cores!’ Leegaain’s eyes widened in surprise. ’He’s using them to fuel his next-’ An Eldritch Tier version of Elemental Curse erupted from Raum’s body, and six streams of energy arched their way toward the Guardian, attacking him from as many different directions. "I was afraid this would happen." Leegaain recalled the energy pillars of his own Elemental Curse spell and used them to counter Raum’s. "It means I was right. You’ve already replicated Zor’s mana organ for the Dragon Eyes." "Replicated?" The Wonderer sneered at the understatement. "It’s not that simple, old lizard. I had to learn how the mana organ works and how to obtain a power core with the same properties. "I’ve matched Tyris’ ingenuity just like I’m now matching your power!" The two Elemental Curses whipped around the Guardian and the Eldritch like angry snakes, each elemental pillar failing to push its counterpart back. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎 "How many?" Leegaain bolted forward while taking Father of Wrath out of his pocket dimension and enveloping himself with a Silverwing’s Bastion. "How many Dragons did you kill to accomplish such a feat in just two days after capturing Zoreth?" "More than you think." The Eldritch’s shield, Hungry Soul, blocked Father of Wrath, but the Wonderer’s arm trembled with effort. "The real problem is capturing them alive. Dragons are so gods-damn proud that they prefer death to capture." The two blades moved fast and clashed hard as father and son tried to snuff each other’s lives. Shockwaves and bright sparks of light accompanied the struggle of Davross versus solid Chaos, generating what looked like newborn stars every time the weapons touched. Raum was strong, but Leegaain was stronger and ruthless. His attacks were surgical, aiming at the very light of the Eldritch’s power cores the moment he activated them and made them visible to Leegaain Eyes. Leegaain’s relentless offensive and the might of his Guardian weapon pushed Raum on the defensive as Father of Wrath came closer to its target with each exchange. ’My experiments made me stronger, but they also created the equivalent of vital organs.’ Raum thought. ’Best case scenario, Father cripples one of my power cores and I lose its power until it self-repairs. ’Worst case scenario, the damaged power core explodes and triggers a chain reaction that might kill me. Even if I survive the blast, Father will correct the situation!’ Dozens of new arms sprouted from Raum’s back, sides, and chest, and all of them wielded a Soul Cutter blade. Leegaain furrowed his brow. He had expected the move, but not so many blades. He sprouted as many new limbs and activated the Emerald Flow bloodline ability that he had once shared with Jormun. It allowed Leegaain to develop the necessary instinct to move every arm as though he were born with it. The Guardian didn’t have multiple copies of Father of Wrath, and no need for them. Conjuring so many Soul Cutters had reduced the power of the single blades enough for Leegaain’s Spirit blades to hold their ground. "Was it you?" The Guardian pressed forward, his face centimeters away from Raum’s without a care for the storm of swords and spells that exploded all around them. "Did you kill Ishka the Fire Dragon?" "I don’t know his name, but I dealt with a young Fire Dragon recently." The Wonderer relished in his father’s pain, knowing that every time a Dragon died, their light disappeared from Leegaain’s mind. "I didn’t kill him, though. "I mortally wounded him, and he was supposed to heal himself. To become weak enough from the blood loss and lack of nutrients that I could capture him. Instead, the fool converted his life force into Origin Flames, like this!" Raum’s mouth opened far wider than it should have been possible, releasing a jet stream of black-violet Origin Flames. Leegaain reacted just as the Eldritch wanted and fired back a river of white Primordial Flames. The two kinds of mystical fire coiled and slithered like angry beasts trying to tear each other apart. The conflict lasted for a split second before triggering a violent explosion that pushed the sworn enemies away. "That stupid Hatchling!" The Wonderer’s voice was filled with bitterness at the memory of Ishka’s blazing sacrifice. "I needed him! I need the Fire Dragon’s Primal Spark bloodline ability! "Imagine what I could have done now if I had it!" Raum’s mouth opened again, and many other mouths appeared across his body, their fangs looking like pristine petals of a blooming flower. A flower blooming with Void Flames. Unlike Zoreth, Raum’s body was entirely made of Chaos, and so was the power core replicating the mana organ that ignited the Origin Flames. An Eldritch naturally drained every drop of light element around them, even that in the world energy required to conjure the mystical flames. Raum had watched the recordings of Lith using the Void Flames and hadn’t employed them until that moment because Leegaain was too close. Raum had performed a few experiments with the Void Flames before his father’s arrival and was wary of their destructive power. After all, Chaos was Chaos’ worst enemy, and the Void Flames could hurt their own master just like any other bloodline ability. ’Even worse, they are too fast to fine-tune them with the little practice I had. Especially since I forgot everything I knew about Origin Flames.’ Raum’s mouths widened into savage smiles as a fusillade of Void Flames rained upon the Guardian. Leegaain countered by releasing a burst of Primordial Flames from all over his body, but the black fire was already upon him. The two mystical flames exploded again, but this time he was the only one caught in the conflagration. To make matters worse, Raum aimed part of the Void Flames at the Guardian’s Elemental Curse, tipping the scales of the battling spells to his favor. Chaos eroded Chaos, neutralized Decay, and sapped the strength of the other Cursed elements. The Wonderer’s many-armed limbs were just one step behind the magical attack, plunging the Chaos blades into Leegaain’s helpless form. Yet all the attacks stopped against the emerald dome enveloping his scales. "Not bad, but not good enough." The Guardian’s nostrils flared with smoke and fire. "I can’t believe you’ve already copied the mana organ for the Origin Flames as well, Raum. Your success deserves a reward!" A snap of his fingers projected the Guardian Tier Spirit Spell, Roaring Destruction, outward, enveloping the Wonderer before he could understand what was happening. An emerald sphere with a one-kilometer radius covered the area around the two sworn enemies before exploding with so much force that the resulting quake reached the border of the Gorgon Empire. The light aspect formed an unbreakable dome to trap the Eldritch and contain the conflagration. Earth reinforced all other elements, giving them substance. Water froze Raum, covering his body with enough ice to weigh him down.