To become a king and a magician

Stepping on the magical ground, Vortigern swung the swarm of insects that had transformed into long whips, entangling Xia Chuanhu's body and pulling him back in front of him.

Do you understand now?

Vottigan grabbed Xia Chuanhu by the neck with one hand.

"You can do nothing anymore. You lament your powerlessness and feel your weakness in front of me, then show a desperate and miserable expression, as if the whole world has betrayed you—that's the only reaction you can make. Let me see what a pathetic dog you are, Holy Sword Wielder."

"Ugh..." Trembling as he grabbed the swarm of insects wrapped around his neck, Natsukawa Torama forced a smile. "What a twisted sense of humor... So you're the kind of person who enjoys torturing your opponents? That's quite unexpected... This can easily backfire, you dragon."

"Overturned?"

Vortigern raised an eyebrow: "You mean, looking like you, you still have a chance to turn things around in my hands?"

"The light of the Holy Sword has dimmed completely, and all hope has been devoured by me—magic, body, even existence itself—for every wound I inflict on you, you will be devoured by me a little more."

Do you need me to give you a mirror so you can see what you look like right now?

The devouring from Vortigern had never stopped. In just the few dozen seconds that Natsukawa Tiger had been bound, Vortigern had already devoured a considerable portion of Natsukawa Tiger's power. Adding to that the previous portion... Natsukawa Tiger's power had probably been completely devoured by about 70%.

(Is that enough?)

He tightened the whip, forcefully strangling Xia Chuanhu's neck. With a smile, Vottigan lifted Xia Chuanhu's chin, lowered him to his own height, and then bit his lip hard.

"Ugh————"

The dry, parched lips conveyed a cold, bitter sensation. With this sudden kiss, Natsukawa Tora clearly felt the last bit of strength in his body being taken away by Vortigern bit by bit!

It was as if he was using a straw to suck up every last bit of beverage residue stuck to the bottom of the cup, not wanting to leave any trace. The bottomless attraction almost completely drained Natsukawa Tora's inner self.

Then—

"Ugh... Haa..."

Vortigern, whose bloodless face had regained a slight flush, raised his head, withdrew his unusually long tongue from Xia Chuan's tiger mouth, and licked his lips with a hint of lingering satisfaction: "That's all... Your power has been completely, completely, completely, completely devoured by me, Holy Sword Wielder."

"Um...you..."

The intense emptiness and weakness emanating from his body, the complete drain of his strength, left Xia Chuanhu so weak that he couldn't even utter a single word.

Releasing the whip and setting down Xia Chuanhu, Vottigan felt a surge of satisfaction as he looked at him prostrate before him, like finally seeing a bountiful harvest after a long period of hard work.

Six thousand years of waiting, six thousand years of anger, six thousand years of fear, six thousand years of resentment... all of it has come to an end today with the fall of Natsukawa Tora.

“You said it was over, didn’t you?” Vortigern looked down at Natsukawa Tora. “That’s right, it’s over. It’s over between you and me. You will die here and fall forever, Holy Sword Wielder, with nothing left.”

"boom!"

With a muffled thud, Vortigern kicked Natsukawa Tiger and the now-dull-glowing Holy Sword away, sending them both plummeting into the endless abyss of despair.

64. Breaking through Naraku

Consciousness plunged into a deeper realm.

Perhaps because all existence had been absorbed by Vortigern, Natsukawa Torato could clearly feel that he was no longer related to his original body.

It felt somewhat like an out-of-body experience.

The body that is now falling into the abyss is just an empty shell; everything inside is with him now.

Then.......

"Didn't you digest me?"

With his feet firmly planted on what could be called the ground, Natsukawa Tora gazed at the pitch-black space around him.

This is probably inside Vortigern's body. Although you are inside the Naraku Insect, or you could say inside Vortigern, the Naraku Insect and Vortigern are two separate entities. Even if they are the same being, their bodies are indeed two separate entities.

Natsukawa Tiger is currently inside Vortigern's body.

Everything she devours eventually converges at this place, where it is digested, absorbed, and transformed into her power.

However, this would probably be ineffective against Natsukawa Torato, for a simple reason: the Holy Sword.

For Vortigern, the light of the Holy Sword was both food for her to devour and a deadly poison that would cause her great harm. As she was, it was fine to just absorb it, but if she wanted to possess the light of the Holy Sword, she would definitely not be able to withstand it.

As the wielder of the Holy Sword, Natsukawa Tora is also protected by the Holy Sword, and digesting him will inevitably lead to digesting the Holy Sword as well.

So he can still exist here now.

only--

“My situation was probably also beyond Vortigern’s expectations.”

Xia Chuanhu could be certain that Vortigern had not expected to regain consciousness within her body. This was something he himself had never anticipated, even though he had indeed left some contingency plans, none of which included this.

Since Vortigern did not anticipate the current situation, he has a chance to reverse it—a chance to completely reverse the current situation.

(If I'm not mistaken, there should be that deeper inside here...)

Relaxing his body, Xia Chuanhu let his consciousness sink into a deeper, more mysterious place.

It's like diving.

Staying on the surface only allows you to see things on the surface, but if you want to see something more real and mysterious, you have to keep exploring deeper.

Sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking... Completely ignoring whether his continued descent would lead to other problems, and without considering whether it would trigger resistance within Vortigern's body, Xia Chuanhu continued to sink.

As he sank, into an endless, boundless world of darkness—

"Buzz~~~~"

A faint light suddenly appeared.

Without any hesitation, Xia Chuanhu moved directly toward the light. The intensity of the light visibly increased as the distance decreased, until it finally appeared completely in Xia Chuanhu's eyes.

"It really is it... Although I only had an unrealistic expectation, I didn't expect to actually find it."

Natsukawa Tora gazed at the object that was radiating light.

It was a golden cup.

It was created by the Magic King Goetia and released into the past of human history. Morgan obtained it and used it to summon and enhance Vortigern.

"The Holy Grail".

Existing within Vortigern, it gave her the source of power that allowed her to directly defeat Natsukawa Torata in his normal state—the Holy Grail of the Sixth Singularity.

Since anything that is devoured will enter Vortigern's body, perhaps by searching within her body, we can find the Holy Grail, which is also within her.

That's what Natsukawa Tora thought. Although it wasn't entirely certain at the time, the outcome was still good.

So what's next...?

"Om-!"

The light gathered in Natsukawa Torato's hand; it was not a physical entity, but merely the holy sword, a manifestation of his power and radiance, taking shape in his hand.

Aiming at the Holy Grail, Natsukawa Torama unleashed a powerful strike with his holy sword! A golden crescent moon instantly pierced the sky!

"Bang----------!"

The impact and tremors echoed through the darkness, the burst of light flashing for a fleeting moment before being swallowed back into the darkness, while the Holy Grail, struck directly by the slash—

"Tsk, completely unharmed?"

Looking at the Holy Grail, which was completely undamaged, Natsukawa Tora curled his lip.

The Holy Grail and Vortigern were suppressed together in the deepest part of Britain for six thousand years, which can be said to be the accumulation of its magic power over those six thousand years. Perhaps the Holy Grail has now developed a complete self-protection mechanism? A half-baked attack cannot destroy it.

"But this is the only way to win."

Natsukawa Tora raised the holy sword again.

Vortigern's power comes from the Holy Grail, so if the Holy Grail is destroyed, all the miracles caused by the Holy Grail will disappear, such as Vortigern's extraordinary ability to devour, and then Natsukawa Torama will be freed from this darkness.

"With the strength I have left... whether I live or die depends entirely on this!"

The holy sword shone brightly once more, and a torrent of gold poured forth from its blade, hurtling straight toward the Holy Grail!

————————————————————

"Well!"

Meanwhile, in Naraku.

For no apparent reason, Vortigern felt a tremor within his body, as if his stomach and intestines were convulsing from food poisoning.

"what happened?"

Touching his stomach, Vottigeng was somewhat confused about his condition.

Could it be that he really ate something bad?

(This is the first time that the light of the Holy Sword has been absorbed along with the entire power of the Holy Sword Wielder. Even my predecessors had never accomplished such a thing. Is my body adapting to the power of the Holy Sword? Or is it digesting and decomposing it?)

Just as Xia Chuanhu had thought, Vortigern was completely unaware that Xia Chuanhu would regain consciousness within her body. In her eyes, Xia Chuanhu, whose holy sword and power had been completely devoured by her, was now essentially a dead man, with absolutely no possibility of making a comeback.

In fact, who could have imagined that a person's consciousness could be reawakened simply through power? Only a special case like Natsukawa Tora, who once split himself in two, could maintain his consciousness even when his power and body were separated.

and--

"Zheng————————!"

Deep within the abyss, a radiant light suddenly shone forth!

Vortigern was immediately stunned, then her eyes widened in disbelief, because in her eyes...

"Bang--------!"

Natsukawa Torama, who should have died completely because her power was devoured, is now radiating intense magic and light, rushing towards her from the depths of Naraku like a rocket launch!

He's not dead yet?

(No, impossible! I've devoured everything about him! The Holy Sword, the magic, the contents, his very existence—how could he still be alive after I've devoured everything?)

"An undead!?"

"It's a living person!!"

As Natsukawa Tora, who had crossed infinite space in an impossible manner and returned to Vortigern's presence, shouted this as he swung his dim holy sword with all his might!

"Clang—!"

Naraku, who had been quiet for only a minute or two, was once again struck by the sound of swords clashing against each other.