Chapter 585: They disappeared...
Not a single fragment of Vel’dranor’s body remained. The vortex gradually grew smaller, vanishing into the palm of Elion’s hand with a loud whoop!
The surrounding air became strangely quiet.
Elion stood motionless.
Badum.
His heart beat once, and a wave of pulsing pressure spread outward.
Badum.
Another heartbeat echoed, and the pressure intensified.
Elion’s eyes widened.
The system flashed again.
[Assimilation Complete.]
[Greater Dragon Bloodline has been successfully integrated.]
Elion slowly clenched his fist.
He didn’t really feel any stronger, so his baseline strength hadn’t changed, but that was to be expected.
[Ding!]
[Two New Abilities Acquired.]
[Dragon’s Roar]
[Dragon Breath]
"Well, ain’t that useful..."
The names were self-explanatory, but he didn’t think they were great abilities.
’Some of these are situational, so I won’t know how useful they can be until I use them...’
Elion dismissed the system panel with a thought before pulling Kurogoroshi’s sheath from his storage.
The sword immediately began humming frantically, as though it could somehow sense that it was about to be put away.
"Hmmm?"
Elion raised a brow.
He could somehow feel and understand the message the sword was trying to convey.
’You don’t want to go into storage?’
The sword hummed frantically again, its vibrations causing it to bob slightly within his hand.
"You’ve had enough of staying in storage?" Elion couldn’t help but laugh. "Well, okay then."
He pulled a belt from his storage and wrapped it around his waist before sheathing the blade and securing it firmly at his right side.
With that done, Elion finally took a proper look around.
Only then did he fully register the destruction their battle had caused.
Damaged buildings surrounded the area; the street had been practically torn apart, and a massive crater marked the spot where Vel’dranor had crashed into the ground.
Elion’s smile turned a little pale.
"I hope I won’t be asked to pay for this."
The street was quite empty for hundreds of metres, with most people having long since fled the area. Elion spotted the others flying in the sky not too far away, while further down the street, Zenith had touched down on the ground at some point.
Behind her stood a group of guards in armour, with a stoic-looking man dressed in elaborate robes standing closer to Zenith, a stunned expression visible on his strong features.
"Those must be the city’s security officials."
Elion walked toward them, and the ladies above began to fly down as well.
When he reached Zenith’s side, she slipped up beside him, pressing her body against his towering frame with a light smile on her face.
"Good job, hubby."
Elion gave her a smile, placing a hand on her slim waist, but he didn’t say anything in response.
He heard the others land behind them, but he kept his attention focused on the thick-browed man standing before him.
Jammud was looking at Elion the way one might look at a rare treasure.
He was beyond shocked by how things had unfolded.
’He actually did it.’
Jammud’s eyes flickered toward the massive crater behind Elion before returning to the young man standing before him.
The Greater Dragon, Vel’dranor, was dead, and his body, gone... Just like that.
He had watched the entire battle unfold, and even now, he found it difficult to believe what he had witnessed.
He had expected the battle to go on for longer, but it had ended in an almost anticlimactic way.
A young human mage had defeated and killed a Greater Dragon who was two entire major stages above him.
And not only had he won, but he had done so with a degree of dominance that left Jammud struggling to comprehend what he had just witnessed.
At this point, he was starting to doubt that this young man was human at all.
Jammud swallowed as he stepped forward with as calm a look as he could manage.
"Ehem..." He cleared his throat... "Excuse me, young lord..."
Elion raised a brow.
"Young lord?"
Jammud quickly shook his head.
"My apologies. I suppose I should introduce myself first." He stepped forward and placed a hand against his chest. "I am Jammud, the current ruler of this region."
Elion nodded, waiting for the man to continue.
Perhaps Jammud was hoping to address the very matter Elion had been dreading, but even he seemed a little nervous about bringing it up.
There was a brief silence as Jammud waited for Elion to introduce himself as well, but as the seconds stretched on, it became clear that Elion had no intention of doing so.
Jammud’s thick brows twitched slightly before he decided to continue.
"While you were in battle, I had the honour of speaking with your lady, though we didn’t speak much." He briefly glanced toward Zenith. "And regarding the battle... I must say, that was quite the display you put on. Even I’m not certain I would have come out of that fight completely unscathed."
Elion’s eyes narrowed.
If he took the man’s words at face value, there was a double meaning behind them.
Jammud could simply be saying that he would have struggled against Elion, but he would not have died as the other dragon had.
Which, in turn, meant he was subtly telling Elion that he was not someone the young man could defeat.
Elion’s gaze sharpened.
"Should I take that as a threat?"
"Hahaha!"
Jammud laughed lightly.
"Surely you jest. I was simply appreciating your unmatched talent in combat. I would never disrespect the lady standing beside you."
He smiled pleasantly.
But Elion could tell that the man wasn’t merely being polite. He was probably guiding the conversation somewhere with a carefully spoken sequence of sentences.
’How troublesome...’
Elion sighed inwardly... He didn’t want to stay in this place for any longer than necessary, lest more trouble find him.
Perhaps Jammud had also noticed Elion’s concern regarding the destruction around them.
"You don’t need to worry about the destruction. Things like this happen every so often in these parts." He paused before offering a polite smile. "But if you would, please, I would like to invite you to my home for a cup of tea..."
"No, thanks."
Elion answered almost immediately.
The moment he heard that he didn’t need to worry about the destruction, he immediately saw the opening he was waiting for, and took that as his cue to make an exit.
"Huh? Excuse me?" Jammud blinked.
By the time he recovered, Elion had already turned around, Zenith walking casually by his side.
"Wait!" Jammud’s voice rose slightly. "I just want to speak for a moment!"
Elion continued walking.
"At least leave Lord Vel’dranor’s body!" Jammud called after him again, but Elion didn’t stop. He had already made it back to Isla and the six succubi.
"Lady Jaeneva, what about your establishment?" Jammud called out. "Surely you can’t be thinking of closing it down!?"
Jaeneva turned slightly and gave the man an apologetic smile from over her shoulder, waving at him, but she didn’t answer him either.
Under Jammud’s stunned gaze, Elion summoned the Ark and pulled everyone in. A moment later, a stunned silence settled over the destroyed street.
Jammud stood there motionless.
The guards behind him remained equally stunned.
For several seconds, the only sound that could be heard was the soft whistling of the wind passing through the ruined street.
"T-they disappeared?! Just like that?"
"S-seems like it, sir..."