Starting from Ainz Ooal Gown, simultaneously traveling through time

Chapter 123 [The Coffin Dragon King], Extermination Completed

White and black were tearing at each other fiercely, neither willing to give an inch.

That was no longer a simple energy clash.

The white pillar of light contains an ultimate fire capable of burning everything.

The black light stream carries a cursed light capable of obliterating souls.

Two forces representing different rules collided head-on in a confined space, and the resulting aftershocks caused the surrounding rocks to melt, vaporize, and annihilate.

Leylin stood outside the barrier, quietly watching this scene.

He was enveloped in a faint golden light, which was the World Guardian blessing bestowed upon him by the Two Realms Mandala.

When the aftershocks of the Soul-Destroying Breath occasionally swept by, it was like waves crashing against rocks, splashing up a patch of black light before dissipating into nothingness.

He silently verified his previous judgment in his mind: "As expected, the World Guardian, a world-class item, can completely resist the soul-destroying effect of Soul-Destroying Breath."

This conclusion was not something he guessed out of thin air.

In the shared space, he had discussed the trump card of the Coffin Dragon King with his other selves.

In the side story, Ainz Ooal Gown, equipped with the world-class item "Flying Squirrel Jewel," withstood two "Soul-Destroying Breath" attacks from the Coffin Dragon King, but was completely unharmed; only the black goat cubs and demons he summoned were instantly wiped out.

This move has extremely extreme characteristics.

For those without world-class items or world-class professions, it is a true "instant death judgment." No matter how thick your health bar or how high your defense, as long as you are hit, your soul will be instantly wiped out, and you will not even have a chance to revive.

But for those with world-class protection—

Leylin glanced at the Coffin Dragon King inside the barrier, who was desperately attacking but still couldn't budge him an inch.

A thought popped into his mind: "The true destructive power of this move might not even be as great as its zombie armor."

At least Ainz Ooal Gown was indeed breached by the dragon zombie on the zombie armor, and it took him a lot of effort to use "Death is the end of all life" in conjunction with "The Sacrifice to the Black Goat Mother" to remove that shell.

In the original work, the Soul-Destroying Breath, after its appearance, only startled Ainz Ooal Gown but did not cause him any damage whatsoever.

Leylin was completely relieved at this moment.

When he looked at the decaying coffin dragon king again, his mindset had completely changed.

This name used to be his biggest psychological trauma. The thought of that breath that could directly obliterate the soul kept him awake at night, and he searched everywhere for the whereabouts of world-class artifacts.

Now—

"I thought he was something special, but he's just a nobody," he muttered to himself.

"It's just a convincing product that relies on special effects."

Inside the barrier, the Decaying Coffin Dragon King is fighting desperately.

Its Soul-Destroying Breath is indeed powerful, but it comes at the cost of burning one's soul power.

To use a somewhat inappropriate analogy: Soul Power is like a mana bar, and its mana bar is almost empty.

If it were still connected to the River of Souls, it wouldn't be so weak now. Back then, it had the entire world as its backing, and its soul power was almost limitless.

--------------------------------

However, in order to obtain the ultimate killing move, [Soul-Destroying Breath], it chose to transform into an undead.

This step is tantamount to betraying the world; its soul has long since broken free from the connection of the River of Souls, becoming a rootless duckweed.

Now, every time it releases [Soul-Destroying Breath], it consumes all the resources it has painstakingly accumulated over the past hundred years.

Through the [Soul Absorption] magic, it devours the souls of countless living beings and transforms them into its own power.

The souls of those humans, demi-humans, and even other dragons were burning within its body, transforming into a gushing black pillar of light.

However, its consumption rate far exceeds its replenishment rate.

The white beam of light opposite seemed endless.

Instead of weakening, it has become stronger.

For the first time, a flicker of doubt appeared in the eyes of the Coffin Dragon King.

"How is this possible—how could his strength be so great?"

It was thinking frantically in its mind.

As a true dragon king, it was acutely aware of the levels of power. Above the true dragon king, there was a legendary realm—

Dragon Emperor.

That was the strongest of the dragons, whose strength was said to far exceed the sum of all the other true dragon kings.

If the Dragon Emperor were still alive, those so-called "filth" would be nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, the Dragon Emperor has disappeared, and no one knows where he went or whether he is dead or alive.

But if—if this Bronze Dragon King reaches that level—

"Has he already entered the realm of the Dragon Emperor?"

The moment this thought crossed his mind, the Coffin Dragon King's mind was thrown into complete chaos.

On what grounds?

It worked so hard for so long, abandoning the dignity of the dragon race and turning itself into this inhuman and ghostly form, all to gain the power to fight against "filth"?

How come this guy, who appeared out of nowhere, so easily reached the realm it had always dreamed of?

Why should I?!

At the same time, another thought was also growing in its mind:

If—if I hadn't forced that bronze fire dragon to its death—

If I could have a proper talk with this Bronze Dragon King—

If I could learn from him how to reach that level—

Now, do I also have the opportunity to become stronger?

pity.

None of this is possible anymore.

It personally drove the dragon to its doom, watching it self-destruct in front of it. The dragon's dying words, "Thank you, Aww," now seem like the most vicious mockery.

It glanced again at the pair of cold, golden eyes outside the barrier.

There was no anger, no pleasure, not even the joy of victory in those eyes.

Only peace.

It's like looking at something that's taken for granted.

The Dragon King of the Decaying Coffin suddenly felt a sense of absurdity.

It had been busy for hundreds of years, killing so many living beings and accumulating so many zombies, but for the first time, it used all its strength to attack its own kind.

Moreover, they can't beat them.

How wonderful it would be if the person in front of me were not of the same race, but a "filthy" one?

Then it can see with its own eyes how those despicable creatures struggle desperately in the face of the Soul-Destroying Breath.

Then all its sacrifices over the past century have been meaningful.

pity.

The white light began to overwhelm the black.

Inch by inch.

True fear finally surfaced in the eyes of the Coffin Dragon King.

It has lived for thousands of years and has never known what "fear" feels like.

But at this moment, seeing the white beam of light getting closer and closer, it sensed it.

That's the smell of death.

True death, the kind that even the immortals cannot escape.

Rumble—

White finally swallowed up black.

The beam of light was directly in front of the decaying coffin of the Dragon King.

Its [light armor] lasted for less than a second before shattering completely. The dark light that had gathered its last defensive power was as fragile as paper in the face of the white flames.

Next are its scales.

Those scales, once as white as snow and as beautiful as works of art, began to melt, curl, and vaporize under extreme heat.

Then comes flesh, bones, internal organs—everything is crumbling.

But what caused it the most pain was not the destruction of its body.

It is the soul.

That white flame was not only burning its body, but also its soul.

It is immortal and should not feel pain. Its nerves have long since decayed and its senses have long since become numb.

But at this moment, it was in so much pain that it wanted to scream, to beg for mercy, to go back to the past and make a different choice.

But it was all too late.

Before its last vestige of consciousness faded, what it saw was a pair of golden eyes outside the barrier.

There was still no emotion in those eyes.

Only peace.

It's like watching a moth fly into a flame.

boom-

The mushroom cloud rose again.

This time, it was even more spectacular than when the bronze fire dragon self-destructed before.

Four countries near the Katynius Mountains witnessed this devastating scene for the second time in a single day.

A mushroom cloud shot into the sky, tearing apart the clouds within a hundred miles. The sheer brilliance of the light brought tears to the eyes of countless people who were looking up, causing them to temporarily lose their sight.

The shockwave swept across, cleaving several surrounding mountain peaks in half. Rocks that had stood for millions of years collapsed, shattered, and tumbled down like building blocks.

The earth trembled, and the sky wailed.

Countless birds fell from the sky, and countless beasts lay on the ground howling in agony.

The world seems to be experiencing the end of the world.

-

When the light finally faded and the dust gradually settled, the main peak where the decaying coffin dragon king had once resided had completely disappeared.

Instead, there is a massive abyss several kilometers in diameter and of immeasurable depth.

At the bottom of the abyss, there are glass-like crystals that have been melted and cooled, reflecting an eerie and magnificent luster under the sunlight.

The Dragon King of the Decaying Coffin.

Gone.

Not a single scale was left.

Leylin hovered above the giant crater.

He withdrew the [World Severance Barrier] and slowly dispersed the remaining embers of flame.

Then he lowered his head, looked down at the empty abyss, and remained silent for a moment.

"What a waste," he said softly.

He had originally wanted to extract more primordial magic from the Coffin Dragon King, after all, he was a true dragon king who had lived for thousands of years and his mind should be filled with a wealth of knowledge.

Unfortunately, after that exchange of blows, there was no way he could hold back.

"Unchanged—the goal has been achieved."

He sensed the energy consumption within his body; it was indeed considerable, but still highly manageable.

More importantly, that name can finally be crossed off his "threat list" in this world.

The Dragon King of the Decaying Coffin.

It has been entrenched in the Katynius Mountains for centuries, a nightmare that has terrified the four surrounding countries.

That madman who used millions of living beings to forge the Corpse Armor.

That pitiful creature who once wanted to eliminate the "Dragon Emperor's filth" but became so obsessed with the fire that he forgot who he was.

Finally, it disappeared completely.

Leylin took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

"The gloom that had always loomed over my world has finally disappeared."

He took one last look at the bottomless abyss, then turned away.

Its form faded in the air and quickly disappeared into the distant horizon.