Round Two, Black Dragon Arkhan vs White Dragon Vortigern (II)

*BOOM!*

Vortigern's enormous dragon head fell from the sky, heavily crashing into the ground, raising a large cloud of dust. Soon, from the severed part, a plethora of flesh and blood emerged, converging into a new head.

With the expansion of his domain, Vortigern's regenerative ability had significantly improved.

Arkhan frowned slightly as he saw this.

Although the Divine Key could disrupt Vortigern's immortality, his body was too massive for the Divine Key to exert its power in time.

Even if Arkhan slowly chipped away at Vortigern, he couldn't help but glance down.

There, Morgan's cheeks were slightly pale, her legs trembling, and the magic circle under her feet flickered, clearly on the verge of collapse.

Meanwhile, Merlin seemed to be in better shape. However, if Morgan fell, the pressure on him would instantly increase several times, quickly following in her footsteps.

Losing the balance provided by these two powerful mages, the expansion speed of the domain would skyrocket, making it even harder to completely eliminate Vortigern.

After a moment of silence, Arkhan beckoned. The dragon head lying on the ground twitched slightly, and then a black spear flew out, blood and brain matter automatically falling off, leaving it clean and clear.

Arkhan grasped the incoming Black Abyss, a sharpness flashing in his eyes like the edge of a blade.

"Looks like it's time to go all out..."

"Star of Eden, Zeroth Power - Quasi Black Hole!"

The Star of Eden autonomously ascended into the sky.

In an instant, it expanded into a dark and profound black hole with a radius of over a hundred meters, unleashing a terrifying suction force that engulfed everything in its vicinity.

Vortigern vigorously flapped his wings, resisting the gravitational pull from the black hole, but he struggled to completely break free from its constraints.

Arkhan raised his hand, and a dozen golden spears with long chains rushed out, viciously embedding themselves like wedges into various parts of Vortigern limbs, head, and abdomen.

The golden radiance surged on the chains, emanating the power of 'Binding' from the Oath of Judah, constantly suppressing Vortigern's power.

However, the same problem persisted. The massive size of his dragon body significantly diminished the effectiveness of the binding power. Though the Zeroth Power could be activated, due to the limited coverage, Arkhan might end up trapping himself.

If it were the original Herrscher who stepped in, there might be a chance to subdue Vortigern in his massive dragon form.

*ROAAARRR—!!!*

Vortigern roared in anger, his colossal body struggling violently, causing the chains to clatter.

Though he didn't understand Arkhan's purpose, an inexplicable intuition warned him that continuing like this might endanger his life!

However, constrained by the black hole, his mobility was limited, and the scattered chains made his struggles seem feeble.

Arkhan gestured, and a flaming black sword appeared in his hand.

"Jizo Mitama, Zeroth Power - Umbravorex Ignis!"

The black flames burned fiercely, embodying anger, resentment, hatred, and pain—all negative emotions, dimming the entire world at this moment.

The black flames grew more intense, quickly expanding into a tens-of-meters-high fireball. Gradually contracting, it formed a figure clad in red samurai armor, wielding two swords emitting a strange purple light. Inside, a colossal silhouette shrouded in emptiness.

"Let's do this."

Arkhan's wings lightly fluttered behind him and started circling around the massive white dragon. Black Abyss in his hand mercilessly slashed across Vortigern's white scales, leaving behind a trail of inky shadows and countless indistinct scars.

Compared to Arkhan, Jizo Mitama's combat style was noticeably more brutal. Its figure vanished instantly and reappeared beneath Vortigern, raising its two swords overhead. Like a spinning top, it crazily rotated, drilling into his dragon body, wreaking havoc inside, turning everything upside down. 

After about a minute, it emerged from Vortigern's body. The disheveled flesh and dripping blood made its already horrifying appearance even more grotesque. Yet, within the hollow eye sockets of the samurai mask, the eerie flames burned even more intensely.

*ROAAARRR—!!!*

Vortigern howled in pain. For him, the most unbearable wasn't the physical injuries inflicted by Arkhan and Jizo Mitama but the persistent power of death and corruption. These two powers were incessantly gnawing at his immortality, causing his vitality to irreversibly wane.

Nevertheless, the suppression from the Oath of Judah and the gravitational pull of the black hole generated by the Star of Eden had firmly bound him, leaving him unable to muster any resistance.

Under the relentless siege of four Divine Keys, even a god symbolizing the end could only be ruthlessly suppressed.

Realizing he was doomed if things continued this way, a hint of madness flickered in Vortigern's eyes. His massive dragon body suddenly emitted an intense fluctuation, causing the surrounding void to bizarrely distort.

"Dammit!"

Understanding Vortigern's intentions, Arkhan's expression changed slightly. In an instant, he distanced himself, flickering to the vicinity of Artoria and the others, summoning back the Star of Eden, turning it into a barrier that enveloped everyone.

*BOOOOOM—!!!*

The massive dragon body, stretching over two thousand meters, exploded like a million-ton nuclear bomb going off. The violent sound it created in an instant shook the entire planet as if it were trembling.

The explosion's shockwave scraped the ground, slamming into the Star of Eden's barrier, making it tremble violently.

After a full ten minutes, the aftermath of the explosion gradually subsided. What appeared in front of Arkhan and the others was only a devastated land and the mushroom cloud still lingering in the sky.

"Vortigern... Is he dead?" Nidhogg blinked.

"He's just shedding his shell and escaping..." Arkhan said indifferently.

On the System's quest panel, the quest to defeat Vortigern remained gray, indicating that he hadn't died.

"But it doesn't matter; he can't escape."

Arkhan wrote 'Rune - Search' in the air, creating a deep green line extending infinitely toward the distant horizon.

"Do you want to come with me, Lily?" Arkhan turned his head and reached out to Artoria.

Without hesitation, she placed her hand in his palm.

"Your will is my duty!"