Chapter 277

"Break for me!"

With a violent flare of power, its wings unfurled. Its form was no longer human—its body had transformed into a half-draconic shape, crowned with a dragon’s head.

In a single instant—

Two fists struck in rapid succession!

Bang! Bang—

The barriers shattered!

And immediately after, a third punch—wrapped in golden radiance—drove straight toward Kanzaki Rei’s face!

Three strikes, unleashed almost simultaneously!

Boom—

The punch connected!

Kanzaki Rei’s body exploded into mist—

And at that exact moment, a golden war spear cleaved down from the sky!

His figure reappeared abruptly behind the dragon!

Whoosh—

Yet the Golden Dragon twisted around with terrifying speed!

"Come!"

Boom!

The golden spear came crashing down!

[Sixth-Tier Magic: Sacred Radiance War Spear (LV: 501)]

A weapon-summoning spell.

And also—

A spell he had created himself.

Though it wasn’t forged from rare materials, the sheer power of LV: 501 compensated for countless flaws.

Even a temporary weapon conjured by magic possessed strength rivaling that of a master enchanter’s finest creation—

No—

It surpassed ordinary weapons by far.

More importantly...

It couldn’t break permanently.

[Invincible Flow — Sixth Form: Intent · Heaven-Cleaving Descent][Strength Variant: Firmament Collapse (Soul Sacrifice: 100,000,000)]

As Kanzaki Rei brought the spear down—

It was as though he dragged the entire sky with him.

Like the heavens themselves collapsing, the strike crashed into the Golden Dragon’s body!

For the first time—

He felt something unimaginably solid.

A level of hardness he had never encountered in any previous opponent.

The war spear shattered on impact—

Bursting into countless fragments of light!

A radiant shockwave rippled outward from the collision point!

One strike—

And the Golden Dragon fell like a meteor, slamming into the earth!

BOOM!

The ground split apart, dust surged skyward, and the shockwave spread for hundreds of miles—shattering the land and causing countless casualties.

Kanzaki Rei stood in the sky.

From the ruined earth below—

A furious laugh echoed upward.

"Hahaha! You clearly don’t care about these mortals at all—so why pretend to be compassionate?!"

Kanzaki Rei looked down, his expression unmoved.

I never cared in the first place. I only said that to buy time.

Massacring innocents... it’s not like I haven’t done it before in future simulations.

Did you really think I was some saint?

Still—

That attack had done no damage whatsoever.

That was a strike powered by the sacrifice of one hundred million souls.

Until now, no enemy had ever dared to take such a blow head-on.

And yet—

This one had.

So this is what a Golden Dragon amounts to?

Is its body really that indestructible?

...Does that mean the only way to kill it is by striking its destined moment of death?

Kanzaki Rei’s thoughts flickered.

At the same time, he glanced at the dragon’s death timeline.

It could live for a very long time.

Over five thousand years.

Compared to that, human lifespans were fleeting and insignificant.

Which meant—

Even in his own era, this creature would still be alive?

The death timeline showed its end in a future where he did not interfere.

And for the past—

Since he had not interfered—

That prediction was perfectly accurate.

"Then... it’s my turn."

The Golden Dragon shot upward with explosive force!

Using the Phantom Star Ring War Spear as a template, Kanzaki Rei formed a brand-new lightning spear.

Shing—

In an instant, the dragon was already upon him!

Its speed was anything but slow!

Its fist had already been thrown!

Tap—

Kanzaki Rei’s gaze remained calm.

Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

[God-Tier: Apex Ascension State][Frozen World]

After ten seconds of combat, Kanzaki Rei could freely stop time at will.

Within frozen time—

He himself could not act.

He could only think.

However—

The duration of this frozen state was limitless.

In theory, he could remain in suspended time forever, endlessly calculating.

[Frozen World — Action]

Tap—

The entire world stood still.

Everything—

Except Kanzaki Rei.

In that instant, he moved.

He appeared behind the dragon.

The spear in his hand thrust forward in rapid succession!

[Firmament Flow — Seventh Form: Illusion]

In a blink—

Six different Kanzaki Rei appeared simultaneously!

[Firmament Flow — Sixth Form: Extreme · Void (Sixth Tier) (LV: 501) (Soul Sacrifice: 500,000,000)]

At the tip of every spear—

A deep, hollow void manifested.

An endless emptiness—

Hungry. Insatiable.

From Soul Explosion... to Concentrated Burst... to True Condensed Soul Detonation—

Each evolution of this soul-sacrifice death magic had been a qualitative leap!

Countless souls compressed into a single point!

Within a single second—

Endless spear phantoms stabbed forward in succession!

Tap—

At the final instant of that second—

Kanzaki Rei activated:

[Firmament Flow — Fourth Form: Oblivion · Void]

He vanished completely into nothingness.

Time—

Resumed.

Thud!

The entire world seemed to ripple.

BOOM!

The Golden Dragon’s punch blasted into the sky—

Striking the space where Kanzaki Rei had been.

At the same moment—

Faint ripples erupted across the dragon’s body from all directions!

...What just happened?

Who was I fighting?

The Golden Dragon couldn’t remember.

Yet it felt an overwhelming, penetrating force forming within its body—

Exploding outward from behind!

BANG!

A sharp, searing pain—

Cracks appeared in the scales on its back!

What happened?!

I’m... injured?

Who was I fighting?

Why can’t I remember?!

Even so—

Its wounds began regenerating rapidly.

Its body was not only powerful—

Its recovery was equally monstrous.

But in the next instant—

Its back split open again!

Only then did it suddenly recall—

It had been fighting a human child.

"It seems... your defense isn’t as invincible as you thought."

"Breaking it was effortless."

Kanzaki Rei’s voice was cold.

A war spear had already been driven into its body from behind!

Within frozen time, he could act once every thirty seconds.

And in that window—

The enemy was nothing more than prey awaiting slaughter.

One second—

Was more than enough.

Even an 8th-tier mage—

Could be killed instantly with a spear through the brain.

It took that many souls just to break your defense. You should be proud.

But it seems... you’re still far from true invincibility.

Mana surged violently within the dragon’s body.

Without the protection of scales inside—

Kanzaki Rei’s spear had pierced straight into its heart.

But—

The dragon’s massive claw reached back—

Grabbing hold of the spear!

"Human..."

"You think piercing my outer hide means you can compare to a true Golden Dragon?"

"How shallow."

"Pathetically shallow!"

ROAR!

In an instant—

Time froze again.

Kanzaki Rei saw the dragon’s flesh swell violently—

A profound, ancient aura erupted!

He felt it—

A presence known as Dragon’s Might.

Time resumed.

He looked up—

And saw a colossal, majestic golden figure standing in the heavens.

"You should feel honored."

"To witness my true form."

"Mortal!"