"Now, as for what I want…I want you to fight in a duel, that simple!"
Hearing Chaos' words, Dweezel's eyes narrowed.
'A duel?'
The immortal snake was extrely confident in his ability to defeat Chaos, especially now that he was in Alexander Aphelion's body.
He couldn't understand the treacherous commander's motives for challenging him.
Did the bastard want to die that badly? He doubted it.
"Sure, I'll gladly slaughter you," Dweezel responded coldly. "But what's the catch?"
"Hahahaha!" Chaos laughed heartily. "Catch? You really think I need so sort of advantage to take you down?"
He paused for a mont, his gaze turning cold and confident—though only briefly—before returning to his playful deanor.
"Hahaha, you're right. There is indeed a catch. Needless to say, the winner takes everything. You'd better be grateful that I'm giving you this chance! I could just kill this little sweetheart of yours and ruin everything—but where's the fun in that? No, I shall give you a chance."
Retrieving sothing from his spatial bag, Chaos strapped a beeping collar around Aeryth's neck, making sure to caress her fair skin "extra gently"—just to make the immortal snake fu with anger.
Satisfied, he shifted his attention back to Dweezel, who remained outwardly calm despite the storm raging within.
"Now then, here are the conditions: You must fight inside my domain. You're not allowed to escape until the battle is over. If you try…"—he clapped his hands together—"boom! Your soulless little chick's neck explodes."
He smirked, tapping the collar. "Oh, and this thing? It's on a tir. Five minutes? Ten? Fifteen? Thirty? Who knows? What I do know is that you'll need to have killed by then."
Dweezel gritted his teeth, failing to suppress his anger this ti.
"Ahh… you're so adorable, Dweezel Hawkins. Just let your anger out and let enjoy myself—what do you think? If you manage to kill , wouldn't that make your victory all the sweeter?"
Chaos chuckled, then clapped his hands together. "Now then, I won't delay things any further."
With a snap of his fingers, the collar's beeping grew faster and louder, the sharp, frantic rhythm screaming danger.
"D-Dweezel, save …" Aeryth's voice ca out in a robotic monotone—but this ti, it trembled ever so slightly.
It seed the resurrection experint hadn't gone as smoothly as the immortal snake had hoped, but at the very least, Aeryth was still capable of fearing death.
The sight shook Dweezel to his core. His beloved…had just beco even more perfect!
At that mont, he knew he couldn't allow Aeryth to die, not at any cost!
"Summon your domain, wretch. I shall destroy you at your own ga." replied the immortal snake coldly.
"Hohoh, what an honor! Dweezel Hawkins of the Golden Sun, taking an unknown wretch like so seriously. Let's proceed, then."
The next mont, the surroundings turned entirely dark.
Both Chaos and Dweezel were scouts, and under normal circumstances, darkness would have been the latter's ally.
Yet, to the immortal snake's surprise, he couldn't see through this domain.
He was as blind as a bat under the noonday sun.
Chaos' playful voice then sounded from the front: "Now then, Dweezel Hawkins, entertain ."
***
anwhile, amidst the chaos and utter devastation of Yon Augenn's streets, Dweezel's forbidden army had sohow managed to stabilize the situation—thanks to the respite granted by the arrival of the divine dragon deity.
People and monsters, after all, do tire—whereas the damned abominations and soulless humans were like machines, ceasing only when utterly destroyed. The ogres and the coalition army were expected to face a slight disadvantage in a battle of attrition.
Nonetheless, Abominations, Soul Warriors, and Lesser Soul Warriors had, for a ti, stopped erging from the countless nooks, crannies, and fissures they had been crawling out of, while human reinforcents continued to arrive.
At last, the full extent of Dweezel's forces had been revealed.
The coalition army's temporary disadvantage would most likely be reversed soon enough.
The problem was that they remained unaware of Dweezel's true plans, and shifting the tide of battle would take ti.
Luckily, a mysterious ssage ca through in ti—received only by those from Colzen Academy via their mana communicators.
It outlined Dweezel's sche, the actions Ian and the others needed to take, and the urgency with which they had to act.
A grim mood settled over them.
Distracted, David lost focus—just as a particularly powerful abomination lunged at him.
The creature, a grotesque hybrid of cockroach and human, brandished four razor-sharp sickle-like limbs, poised to tear the Colzen mage apart.
David, focus, you idiot!" Seira roared, her voice laced with fury, horror, and worry.
She and David had grown close after their squadrons were assigned to the Valenzia Strike Force.
The midget refused to watch him die over a stupid mistake.
Without hesitation, Seira dashed forward and lunged at the abomination with all the speed she could muster. But the creature was faster—and it seed she wouldn't make it in ti.
David was no pushover. He didn't panic and reacted appropriately.
However, rely reacting the best he could was not enough to get him out of every situation, especially one as dangerous as this one.
The abomination was too fast.
David knew he wouldn't be able to [Blink] away in ti, so he raised his elental staff to defend himself from the blow.
Despite being a mage, David was no stranger to lee battles.
A simple block should be manageable.
To everyone's horror, the abomination's sickles phased through the mage's elental staff, heading straight for his neck.
Just as David braced for death, a purple-edged katana flashed before him, intercepting the abomination's strike and knocking it back several ters.
A gray-cloaked adventurer—seemingly of the scout class—suddenly reappeared beside the abomination, ending its life with a single vicious blow to the brain.
The Sickle Roach slumped forward and crashed to the ground with a heavy thud, finally giving the coalition army a chance to take in the sight of the newcors.
There were two of them—both clad in tattered gray cloaks.
Their faces were…extrely familiar.
"S-Sieg!!" David exclaid, his voice brimming with excitent as an unconscious tear slipped down his cheek. "Where have you been, man? We missed you! You just disappeared on us!"
"Yo, David. It's been a while," Sieg replied, pulling back his hood and scratching his cheek awkwardly. "Sorry about the sudden disappearance..."
In truth, he was ashad—his abrupt departure had been driven by the lingering insecurity of always losing to his close friend and rival.
He had even left his dear Lesurii behind in a desperate search for power.
Fortunately, he found it—and he fought tirelessly to make it his. Whatever ca next, he was ready to face it with all his heart.
Besides, it wasn't just his combat prowess that had grown over the years.
He had sharpened his mind as well.
Now was not the ti for reunions, though—there were far more pressing matters at hand.
Like dealing with Dweezel's forbidden creatures and figuring out what to do based on the ssage sent by the mysterious sender.
Siegfried and Lesurii would just have to navigate the chaos blindly for now and follow their comrades and close friends in battle.
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