Chapter 259 The Zone, Destruction Incarnate

["The Zone"]

–Once more, the state of utmost instinct, maximized reflexes, and ultimate freedom had been reached. The young man's brain went into overdrive, connecting disconnected threads, unlocking like seals on a boundless reservoir of thought, freed from the shackles of inhibition.

The Dread looked towards the newly-emerged warrior, though didn't waste any further time before warping forward with monstrous speed, attempting to spear his hand through the Dragonheart before–

FWOOSH

An emergence of condensed, azure flames shot forward, spiraling and combining into a destructive breath that swept through the land, forcing the Dread to evade it by levitating upward. The blast of fire shaped itself into the heads of ethereal dragons, roaring through the air.

It was a split-second release; a reflex by the young Dragonheart that in its short time to create, carved a large chunk of land in front of the swirling mass of flames.

Asher was surprised by this power, but as he looked upon the back of Emilio, he noticed the black-and-azure scales that began to armor his body, though kept stabilized to his arms, torso, and legs.

There were naturally-forming tattoos running across Emilio's body, bringing upon scale-like patterns that originated from a bright-blue glow beneath his chest.

This sight, along with the familiar sensation of power spurred a revelation from the Devilheart:

…He's controlling it. That monstrous state I had to stop him in–he's using it right now, without transforming? Asher realized.

Perhaps most different of all were his eyes; Emilio looked forward with the emerald glow gone from his eyes, now holding a sapphire shine as he looked at the Dread silently.

[Level Up?!//@%]

[Level Twenty-Six Achieved.]

[New Skill(s) Acquired: Dragon Burst]

[Dragonheart System Awakened | Alternate]

[Current Stage: 7/??? | Draconis Monster | CONDENSED]

With a single step, he was already multiple meters forward in an instant, prompting the Dread to wave its hand in response, conjuring a wave of invisible slashes towards the Dragonheart.

How will he dodge that?! He's as good as dead with that much coming towards him! Asher thought.

Though the potency and freedom of creativity of the 'Zone' was witnessed as a seamless usage of magecraft was used, with Emilio hollowing the ground out from beneath him and burrowing beneath the surface as the unseen cleaving swept past.

"Oh?" Dread reacted.

After the invisible blades passed by, the ground rumbled momentarily before Dread looked down just as a hole opened in the soil, revealing the young Dragonheart as he jumped up.

"--!"

A vicious uppercut landed against Dread's chin, cracking against the body that once belonged to Amon with an echoing impact.

"He landed a blow…!?" Asher called out.

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Though Dread wasn't hurt, simply surprised at the unconventional nature of the young man's attack as he fixed himself with an instantaneous readjustment of his next before summoning an ungodly storm around himself.

Sensing the oncoming danger, Emilio flipped back just as a hurricane of darkness shrouded Dread, spiraling with roars originating from the souls of the damned, howling out.

The entirety of the valley rumbled, subject to the storm of death that erupted as the remnants of foliage took to the winds before finally–it settled.

Dread condensed the airs of darkness into his hand before holding it forward with a single word leaving his foul lips: "Hunt."

Numerous shapes of darkness sprouted from Dread's word, scattering around the battlefield in the forms of astral spirits, forged of nefarious spirits that held horns resembling demons.

"What're those–?!" Everett yelled out.

"I don't like it…" Melisande added.

The three ran out, stopping beside Asher to help the injured man out, aiding him to his feet as he winced, holding his bruised abdomen.

"Are you alright?" Melisande asked.

Asher ignored her question, keeping his focus forward as they too were approached by the astral entities, some of which towered over them, wielding weapons made of black crystallizations, "These are…the souls of Ennage's past wars–those that fell in battle."

"Demons?..." Yuna realized.

Though there wasn't much time to question the origin of the entities as there was clearly a fight brewing around them, prompting Yuna to unsheath her daggers as Everett and Melisande stood around Asher.

"What're you…?" Asher asked, huffing.

"Ain't it obvious? We're protecting the weak!" Everett smiled confidently, "--So just sit there and catch your breath!"

–

Emilio was targeted by many of the spirits of fallen demons, flipping around with instinct guiding his movements as the nimble of the bunch slashed towards him with short swords and the burliest of them slammed their clubs towards him.

They were undeniably powerful; the viciousness of the warriors was felt even beyond the time in which they were of living flesh, producing craters in the soil with each missed strike of their clubs.

Even so, Emilio felt peerless in the moment; no thoughts or doubts flowed in his mind as he was simply geared into the battle itself, thinking of nothing else as he seamlessly countered the two incoming spirits with a burst of wind sweeping their feet from beneath them.

As the spirits fell, he pointed a single forward to summon two pillars of pointed stone from the ground, impaling the astral warriors.

"--"

While he dealt with those two as their forms dissipated to particles of spiritual energy, a goliath of a muscle-bound demon leapt towards him from behind.

Before it could reach him, Emilio countered by pointing his hand back, summoning the head of a dragon, made by bright-blue flames that snapped its jaws, ensnaring the astral brute. With a squeeze of his fist, the young Dragonheart commanded the magic-born head to crush its jaws, splitting the spirit in two as it faded away.

As Emilio set his sights on the Dread himself, he stepped forward, not allowing himself to be impeded by the rush of nefarious spirits as he raised his hand, invoking a newly-created spell:

["New Era Great Blue"]

Embers sparked around him, spreading out before a flame was born, contorting and shaping itself through a line that spread across each of the warrior spirits that enclosed him. All at once, the line of azure fire burst itself into the full form of a wingless, whiskered dragon of bright-blue heat, taking the form of a Chinese beast of the skies.

Once shrouded in darkness, the dimmed atmosphere created by the Dread's unwanted presence was brightened by the azure glow.

'This chapter is updated by Nov elB i n',

The instantaneous summoning of the flame-born dragon swallowed the long-since dead warriors of the demon continent in its burning wrath, returning them to the afterlife as Emilio faced down the Dread.

"You're a one-man army, it seems," Dread commented, spectating the battle without a worry.

With a single kick, Emilio dashed in with incredible speed, swinging his sword rapidly with strength and precision that repeatedly caused the air pressure to hiss sharply, though Dread simply weaved through each blow.

Emilio subconsciously enhanced himself with reinforcement and the aspect of wind, bolstering his swiftness and allowing him to redirect his own movements without any need to position himself. Each swing began emitting slices of wind, though Dread remained unscathed and unmoving from the spot he stood, using a single finger to deflect each attack.

Dread's dark eyes laid on Emilio before stopping the swift assault by slamming his palm against the Dragonheart's chest, "Die."

A single touch arrived, feeling like an eternity as Emilio could feel the eerie spirit of Dread reaching out into his body, caressing his still-beating heart before gripping it tightly, crushing down as it exploded within the young man's chest.

"Blergh–!"

Emilio vomited up black blood from the internal attack, falling to a knee as his inner fluid poured from his mouth, hacking up.

"Emilio!" Melisande yelled out.

As the silver-haired girl attempted to rush to the young man's aid, she was impeded by an astral warrior, forced back as she tossed a blast of wind at it.

"Get out of my way…!" Melisande angrily shouted.

–

[The Valley of Parmesus | Away From The Dread's Seal]

Sitting on a tree branch, a young man with spiky, dark-blue hair had a spear resting against his arm with a straw between his lips, boredly watching over the forest.

It's the final day…I wouldn't call it a cake walk, but those quests I tagged along with pops for came in handy, he thought, I'll pass this trial and mark my name across the land: "Joseph, the Cobalt Hero"! That's a nice ring to it, I think.

The young man got carried away in his own dreams, smiling to himself as he swayed side-to-side, imagining his name being chanted in the streets of illustrious cities, wearing lavish armor and being praised as a hero.

RUMBLE.

"W-woah–!"

Joseph snapped into focus as he began falling back from a sudden quake that echoed throughout the land, catching himself at the last moment as he flipped back, landing on the ground below with a slight stumble.

"...What was that?" Joseph mumbled.

It sounded as if a war had suddenly spurred as trees groaned and trembled before he ducked down just as the air around him shifted.

"--Huh?!"

As soon as he ducked, he witnessed what looked to be blades of darkness sweep through the sea of trees, bisecting them and casting branches aside.

"What the, what the, what the!" Joseph repeated, watching the ethereal whips of darkness lash out from unknown origin, ripping through the land.

The youthful recruit stumbled a bit from the rumbling, accidentally kicking against a tree log as he fell over with his chin smacking against the ground below.

"Ngh–!" Joseph winced.

["To the recruits just trying to survive in the already cruel trial, the unleashed Dread was a natural disaster unlike any other."]