Abyssal Sovereignty

Since the girl had learned the 'Ancient Dragon Tongue,' some time had passed. During this period, Farkonia had imparted many dragon combat techniques to the girl—until today.

"Are you ready?"

Outside the castle, Farkonia stood before the girl. The gentle aura of an elder sister had faded significantly, replaced by the imposing presence of the Dragon King.

"Yes."

The girl, fully prepared, entered a battle-ready stance.

It was now time to test the fruits of her labour, a rematch between Farkonia and the girl.

As for Pupu, it had been safely sent out of this realm, entrusted to the care of the dragons in the Valley of Dragons.

"Well then..."

The magic surrounding Farkonia began to stir, becoming so dense and potent that it was visible to the naked eye, enveloping her entire body.

[ Roar!!! ]

Like a dragon breaking free from its shell, a majestic and dignified green dragon emerged from the magical energy.

[ Come forth. ]

With these words, the battle officially commenced.

The girl conjured various spells in the air, or more accurately, imitations of dragon breath. Farkonia had not only taught her dragon combat techniques but also the unique dragon breaths and other dragon-exclusive attacks.

A barrage of dragon breath was launched towards Farkonia , but...

[ Deflect. ]

Just as the dragon breaths were about to strike Farkonia , she simply uttered a single word in the 'Ancient Dragon Tongue' infused with magic. Instantly, all the dragon breaths were deflected, like light refracted, completely missing her.

[ Do not underestimate me. ]

In that moment, the sky darkened, and thunder rumbled through the stormy clouds above.

Farkonia extended her dragon claw, and a bolt of lightning struck down from the clouds, passing through her claw and being caught within it.

[ I am not limited to poison and wood attributes alone. ]

The lightning in Farkonia ’s claw took the shape of a sword, which she slowly raised before bringing it down.

The lightning extended along the path of the swing, sweeping across the area in front of Farkonia like a blade of energy. Trees were charred to ash, rocks were split into rubble, and even the ground was scorched to blackened earth.

[ Detonate. ]

A voice came from behind Farkonia . Suddenly, a powerful explosion erupted near her upper left wing.

[ Did you dodge? ]

Farkonia swiftly flapped her remaining three wings, distancing herself.

Compared to when the girl was first defeated by a single word of 'Ancient Dragon Tongue' infused with magic, she was now capable of holding her own against Farkonia.

Seeing the girl in the distance gathering magic, preparing to unleash an even more powerful and concentrated dragon breath, Farkonia was not to be outdone and prepared her own dragon breath in response.

In the next instant, deep green dragon breath collided with deep red dragon breath, forming a massive sphere of light in the middle.

However, the sphere, initially centred, gradually moved towards the girl.

Farkonia was, after all, a pure dragon, and in the realm of dragon-exclusive abilities, she was stronger than the girl.

Boom!!!

In the end, the girl lost in this clash of dragon breaths. The sphere exploded in front of her, causing a catastrophic blast that even toppled the distant castle.

[ Do you have any strength left? ]

Before Farkonia lay the girl, her entire body covered in severe burn-like injuries, with the left half of her body blown away.

Despite her ghastly wounds, Farkonia knew that as long as the girl had magic, it was only a matter of time before she fully regenerated.

Therefore, without waiting for the girl to recover, Farkonia swiftly lunged forward, grabbing the girl and slamming her into the ground.

With a tremendous crash, dust and debris were sent flying, and a massive crater formed in the earth.

Farkonia slowly rose, observing the girl within the crater. At this point, she was a bloody mess, teetering on the brink of being reduced to pulp.

[ Sigh, there will be more opportunities. We shall fight another day. ]

A faint light began to emanate from Farkonia ’s body, preparing to revert to her human form and take the bloodied girl back to the small cabin.

[ Compared to last time when you were reduced to pieces, this time it should be harder for you to recover... ]

Splish.

Suddenly, a faint, sticky sound of footsteps drew Farkonia’s attention.

[You...]

At Farkonia ’s feet, the bloodied girl was forcing herself to stand, using a body whose bones were shattered and muscles had fused into a grotesque mass.

"...I...won't stop...until I've avenged myself..."

[ ... ]

Such unwavering determination caused Farkonia to waver.

[ ...At this point, I must tell you something. ]

"...?"

Despite maintaining her dragon form, Farkonia 's face clearly showed hesitation and pity.

[ You... may not be able to exact your revenge. ]

"...What are you saying..."

[ Time flows very differently in this abyss, fluctuating between one-ten-thousandth and ten-thousand times the speed of the outside world. Even so, over a large enough span of time, the average time flow in the abyss matches that of the outside world. ]

"...So...?"

[ You... have spent eighty thousand years in this abyss. ]

"!"

This revelation caused the girl's thoughts to come to a screeching halt.

Eighty thousand years in the abyss? The average time flow in the abyss is almost the same as the outside world? Does this not mean that those who betrayed her, causing her to fall into the abyss, are all...

In that instant, all her memories, all her hatred and fury flooded the girl's mind.

The scene of being betrayed and cast into the abyss, the struggle to escape from the jaws of monsters, the battles with fragments of evil gods, the relentless combat against swarms of creatures... Overwhelming memories and emotions bombarded the girl, or rather, Yverantheia's mind.

"...Heh... Hehehe... Hahahahaha!!"

With Yverantheia's laughter, an aura of dread and terror erupted from her, a presence so malevolent that it could drive one to madness just by witnessing it, so corrosive that it could cause living flesh to disintegrate upon contact. Even the very space around her began to crack.

[ Ugh...! Damn it, has it come to this? ]

Farkonia , resisting the horrific aura emanating from Yverantheia, flew high into the sky, where the pollution had yet to reach.

During her conversations with Misako, Farkonia had noticed that Yverantheia's mind was highly unstable, her only remaining goal being 'revenge.' The harmless behaviour she had displayed during this period was merely due to being trapped in the abyss, unable to directly enact her vengeance.

Farkonia had originally intended to stabilize Yverantheia’s mind as much as possible before she left the abyss and to reveal the truth to her. She did not want Yverantheia to gain immense power only to collapse upon discovering she could not fulfil her revenge, resulting in an unstoppable catastrophe.

However, just moments ago, Farkonia had witnessed her unwavering resolve, and she could not bear to keep the truth from her any longer. So, she had finally revealed it to the girl at this moment, leading to this outcome.

[ I'm sorry, I couldn't hold back. ]

These words were not only directed towards Misako and all the creatures within the abyss but also towards the girl—Yverantheia—before her.

In Farkonia 's mouth, an immense amount of magic began to gather, more than she had ever amassed before. This was all her magic, meant to destroy the mentally shattered Yverantheia, who was on the verge of becoming a calamity.

[ May you find peace... ]

With this prayer, the dragon breath formed from the immense magic was unleashed downward, engulfing Yverantheia and everything around her in a blinding light.