Vol 6. Chapter 161: She Will

Atos had indeed done his homework on Leon’s family. He could recite every member’s personality and history from memory.

But there was one thing he hadn’t studied thoroughly—

Noa’s stealth attack.

To Noa, it was almost a conceptual-level skill. So long as her target was at Super Dragon King level or higher, and she was not in their direct line of sight, then in exactly three seconds, they would always suffer a strike from behind.

Even someone like Old Constantine or Kaiser had been caught off-guard by it before.

Now, Atos found himself flanked: assaulted from above, and from both sides—a perfect, inescapable killing triangle.

And just as he hesitated, the Divine Radiance Aurora from above locked him completely in place.

Leon and Kaiser’s attacks followed immediately. Thundercloud Flash and Fatal Severance both cleaved at his waist from front and back.

The moment the blade and the sword touched Atos’s body, he erupted with a violent burst of power to resist.

Magic clashed. Explosions and shockwaves tore across the battlefield.

To keep him pinned down, Noa pushed her Primordial Mode to its absolute limit, pouring every drop of power into the Divine Radiance Aurora.

Within her consciousness, her dragon ancestor manifested as a great white dragon, channeling their ancestral bloodline’s power to Noa more efficiently.

Kaiser’s Fatal Severance—his trump card. Atos had just called it the move Kaiser once used to defeat the previous strongest Void warrior. And it was true.

That technique had once solidified Kaiser’s prestige in the Void Realm.

As for Leon, cloaked in lightning and blood-red mist, he was pushing his Nine Gates · Nightwheel to its absolute maximum, focusing all that force into Thundercloud Blade.

Back during his final duel with Shadow, Leon had succeeded in using Thundercloud Flash to defeat him—but the Thundercloud Blade had nearly shattered from the overload.

At the time, he hadn’t yet been to Undying Island.  He hadn’t found the Doubtborn Clan, who taught him how to restore and upgrade the blade.

Since then, no enemy had ever been worthy enough for him to unleash Thundercloud Blade’s full might—

Until now.

Until Atos.

The blade trembled. Lightning roared.

This time, Leon’s power far exceeded what he had used against Shadow.

And Thundercloud Blade held. More than that—its upgraded form released that power more efficiently than ever.

It was a weapon tailor-made for Leon. Forged not only to carry his strength—but to amplify it.

“You think the three of you... could beat me? What a joke!!”

Atos roared, Void energy bursting from his body in waves of catastrophic force.

The resulting wind and shock blew apart every rock, corpse, and tree within hundreds of meters.

Nothing remained but cracked earth and the four of them.

“Kaiser!! You’ll pay for your betrayal!!”

“I’ll kill you and Safina both—myself!!”

He screamed as he twisted his body to glare behind him—through the rising blood mist—and locked eyes with Leon’s unwavering, burning gaze.

“You think just because you’ve beaten a few Dragon Kings... and reclaimed one of my discarded students... you’re some kind of savior? Hah. Don’t make me laugh. Today, when I kill you—I’ll make sure you understand what it means... To watch your family die... your homeland burn... and to be powerless to stop it.”

The wind whipped through Leon’s hair. But not a flicker of doubt crossed his face.

The blood mist of Nightwheel burned around him, a blaze of indomitable will.

Clutching Thundercloud Blade, he raised his voice through the thunder:

“I’ll wipe every last one of you invaders off this earth. One. By. One.”

No more words needed.

His voice fell. And with it, lightning and bloodfire tore upward from the ground, illuminating the black-violet sky.

Kaiser’s roar grew stronger, his strength surging ever higher.

Leon had fully activated Nine Gates · Nightwheel, lightning and violet light intertwining, amplified by Noa’s divine force—

And the tyrant was swallowed whole by the storm of light.

...

...

No one knew how much time passed.

When the light faded, the exhausted trio had collapsed in three separate directions.

Their chests heaved. Their breath came in painful, gasping pulls.

Leon forced himself to sit up and look toward the center of the blast.

There... Atos had been split in two.

Leon and Kaiser’s strikes had severed his torso clean through from front and back.

Now there was no longer “Atos”—but Upper Atos and Lower Atos.

Noa and Kaiser stirred slowly, regaining consciousness.

The Overachiever Princess was dazed, the blast having rattled her head.

As she steadied herself, she narrowed her eyes at the distance.

“...Did we... do it?”

Kaiser rose with difficulty, using Abyss of Night to prop himself up.

He stared at the bisected Atos, then narrowed his eyes.

“...No.”

“It’s not that simple.”

He gritted his teeth.

“That’s Atos.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Atos’s lower half dissolved into violet mist, vanishing with a twisted laugh.

But the upper half—

Began regenerating.

Bones, muscles, organs—rebuilt at an unnatural pace. In mere seconds, Atos was whole again.

He stood with a contorted, eerie posture.

The eyeball embedded in his sword bulged and twisted, more grotesque than ever.

“Kehehe... ahahahaha—!!”

He laughed with one hand on his face, the other gripping his sword. A laugh that wormed through the bones.

Leon watched grimly. He had already expected this.

Kaiser had warned him—Atos was fused with the Void Realm. He couldn’t truly be killed.

Still... seeing a man who’d just been cut in half regenerate before his eyes... It was hard to accept.

Suddenly, Atos fell silent. His gaze swept over the three of them.

“I’ll admit—just for a second—you surprised me. A brat... a former disciple... and a madman ready to die... And you actually managed to split me. But that’s all. Now, this little game ends. Are you ready?”

In a blink, Atos appeared in front of Kaiser.

Before Kaiser could even react, a kick landed under his chin—sending him flying.

Next, he was behind Leon.

Leon’s superhuman reflexes kicked in—he sensed Atos’s movement instantly, but it didn’t matter.

Atos’s speed ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) outpaced even Leon’s Ultra Sense.

Leon had barely raised his arm when Atos’s side-kick launched him through the air.

“Dad!!”

Noa screamed, trying to activate her Primordial Mode.

But before she could even move, a shadow flashed.

“Don’t rush, little brat—your turn’s next!”

Atos grabbed her by the wrist and seized her throat.

Just a chokehold—and it was enough to forcefully shut down her Primordial Mode.

Atos had once again demonstrated his overwhelming, crushing power.

All three were launched in the same direction and fell together.

“Noa! Noa, are you okay?!”

Leon ignored the stabbing pain in his chest and rushed to her side.

Noa coughed violently, blood at her lips. She opened her eyes slowly in his arms.

“I’m... I’m okay, Dad... This guy is just... too strong... beyond anything we’ve ever faced...”

An enemy that could take down Leon, Kaiser, and Noa in seconds...

How were they supposed to win?

Footsteps echoed from the distance.

Atos strolled forward, dragging his sword. In his free hand—a glowing violet orb.

“Well then, my dear three—what a pity you won’t get to see the day I take over Samael.”

He hurled the orb at them.

The purple light reflected in all their eyes. In that moment despair surged like a tidal wave.

Leon’s heart sank—but he reacted instantly. He shielded Noa with his body.

Kaiser murmured under his breath.

“...Sorry, Sis...”

BOOM!

Wind and heat blasted across Leon’s face, bt no pain followed.

He opened his eyes.

In front of him stood a massive warhammer.

The next moment, a pillar of flame crashed down from the heavens, shattering Atos’s energy.

With a familiar superhero landing, a massive figure rose—Fire Dragon King Constantine, hammer in hand.

“I’ve been watching for a while. Took me forever to find the perfect moment to jump in.”

“...Constantine...”

“Don’t listen to that yellow-scaled idiot,” came a cool voice.

A graceful blue figure walked into view, her hand to her waist, streams of elegant water curling at her side.

Sea Dragon Queen Claudia.

“Like you, we in the Sacred North couldn’t use our teleportation crystals—Void power was suppressing them. That’s why we couldn’t come help right away.”

“Claudia...” Leon whispered.

BOOM—!

The earth shook. Several dragons landed behind them—returning to human form.

“Big Sis... Mevis... Odin... Morgan... even the Tower Master...”

“Sorry,” Odin said, “We set out for the Silver Dragon Sanctuary the moment the Void invaded. We were delayed by ambushes on the way. You did well holding out this long, kid. Now it’s our turn.”

The Dragon Kings stood before Leon’s team, shielding the wounded.

The moment radiated divine force.

Anyone would have felt safe in that presence.

“But... Big Sis,” Leon said, walking forward with Noa in his arms, “Please go to the sanctuary. Rosvisser needs you more.”

He gently passed Noa into Isha’s arms.

Isha stared at him, then at the battered Noa.

“What do you mean, Leon? This is the front line. Why send us to the rear?”

Another Dragon King frowned.

“Do you remember what I told you about Aurora and the God of Time?”

Isha nodded. “Yes. Why?”

“There’s someone who can stop it. Her name is Safina. But she needs your help to save Aurora from that fate.”

Leon’s voice was firm.

“Our time is short. Kaiser and I can still hold Atos back for a while. Please—go find Rosvisser now.”

The Dragon Kings exchanged glances. No one moved.

“...If Leon says someone can save Aurora, we trust him. Everyone—move.”

Constantine hoisted his hammer and unfurled his wings, taking flight toward the sanctuary.

The others followed.

Isha clutched Noa to her chest, looked back at Leon, and whispered:

“...That girl, Safina... I hope she really can save Aurora.”

Kaiser stepped forward, clutching his aching chest, but his voice was resolute.

“She will. She definitely... will.”