Dragon's Wrath: The Cursed Returnee

Chapter 313 Final Battle (25)

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"As expected of me… I just had the craziest idea," Ethan said while he was watching his friends fighting.

"I shouldn't have expected anything less from you… Just wait for a bit since, with time magic, I can negate the effects of chaos energy," Emily said. "It will consume a lot of mana, though. Since it is almost like magic to revive the dead."

"Wait, you will need to save your mana for when I truly need that," Ethan said. "Just trust me, okay? This will look like madness, but we will need some madness to win here."

While she understood the necessity of exploring unconventional methods, she couldn't shake the unease that settled within her. The direction the conversation was taking seemed to delve into uncharted territory, one that challenged her beliefs and raised questions about the moral implications of their actions.

Before Emily could ask for details, Ethan suddenly made his sword pierce his chest… he truly had gone mad. Even the giant monster was left surprised when he saw that… Still, after he pulled his sword, Ethan's body began to glow as if he had used some sort of magic, but soon the energy disappeared, and nothing had happened.

"What the hell are you doing! I always knew that there was something wrong with you, but this is far worse than I had expected!" Emily shouted.

The others didn't have time to check what Ethan did since they were too busy, but Emily still tried to heal Ethan while he was agonizing. Fortunately, his own wound was easier to heal than the enemy's, so soon, his vitals returned to normal, and Emily sighed in relief.

"What were you thinking? Explain this right now!" Emily said.

"It is better if you see what I have in mind instead of revealing my plan to the enemy…" Ethan replied once he got up and took a deep breath. "Overpowering this thing will take too long because it adapts to our strength."

As Emily pondered the insights shared by Ethan, a realization slowly dawned upon her. The enemy they faced, despite possessing seemingly infinite energy, was intentionally restraining itself. It wasn't unleashing its full power but rather using just enough to ensure its swift defeat. The reason behind this strategic approach became clear to Emily—the enemy had never faced an opponent as formidable as Ethan and his friends before.

In that moment of clarity, Emily understood that the enemy had never experienced the thrill of an actual battle, the struggle against a worthy adversary. Its immense power had been acquired effortlessly without the trials and tribulations that Ethan and his friends had endured. The enemy lacked the perspective that comes from fighting and growing stronger, rendering it unable to fully comprehend the depth of their determination and resilience.

With this realization, Emily's doubt began to fade away. She recognized that their strength, forged through countless trials, was a testament to their tenacity and unwavering spirit. Despite the overwhelming odds stacked against them, Ethan and his friends had faced each challenge head-on, pushing the limits of their abilities and growing stronger with every battle.

"... Does that mean that the enemy will keep getting stronger as we get stronger?" Emily asked with her eyes filled with surprise.

"Yes…" Ethan replied. "Chaos isn't a physical being. While it assumed a physical form to fight us, it is the first time that he is being alive…while he is a cluster of dark emotions, he still is an aspect that seeks balance. So, it will only do what is necessary to defeat us. He won't go over the top."

Emily realized that the whole fight made her understand that Ethan was right. Still, she didn't know how Ethan was planning to deal with that… the only option seemed to be that they had to eliminate him as fast as possible, but was that even possible?

"Keep your guard up. He might do something stupid if we let it go berserker in the end once he realizes that his existence is in danger," Ethan declared and then activated his black Omni Armor.

The giant monster stopped attacking and focused its eyes on Ethan again. He could tell that the little worm had another plan to deal with him, and Chaos wasn't planning to fall for the same trick again.

Everyone raised their guards as well and prepared to back Ethan up. Chaos decided to assume a defensive stance with its tentacles, and Ethan was thankful for that since he had the chance to change his armor once more… If that isn't enough, he won't know what he should do. 

Ethan began to tremble, and the appearance of his armor began to change from black to a bit of red and green as well… he was enhancing it with his own life force.

The Omni Armor responded to it, and its shape began to change…

As the battle intensified and the energy surged through Ethan, a remarkable transformation began to take place. The Omni Armor that enveloped his body underwent a significant change, becoming thicker and more prominent in key areas. The shoulders, elbows, and knees were adorned with reinforced plating, enhancing both his defense and offensive capabilities.

But the most striking alteration was the emergence of what appeared to be metallic wings from Ethan's back. These wings, unlike anything seen before, possessed an otherworldly aura. Gleaming with an ethereal glow, they added an imposing and majestic presence to his already formidable form. The metallic texture of the wings suggested a fusion of technology and magic, embodying the convergence of power within Ethan.

As the wings extended outward, they seemed to pulsate with energy, resonating with the immense power coursing through Ethan.

"To defeat me, you decided to become chaotic yourself. Sacrificing your very own life essence to achieve your goals is nothing but chaotic, sinful, egocentric, arrogant, and insane."

"I never claimed to be anything else," Ethan replied. "It is time to end this party!"

In the end, Ethan jumped toward the enemy, and his impulse destroyed the ice platform that Mary had created. The blast of energy created by the impact pushed his friends away. However, they still saw Ethan almost hitting the enemy's eyes… However, chaos acted fast and opened its large mouth to devour him. The attack made the creature tremble all over, and It even pushed it backward for hundreds of meters. At the same time, it showed an expression of pain, but soon, that gave room to one of satisfaction.

As the jaws of the monstrous entity closed around Ethan, a collective gasp escaped the lips of his friends. Time seemed to slow as they witnessed the unthinkable—an abrupt and unexpected demise. Shock and disbelief washed over them, their expressions frozen in a mixture of horror and sorrow.

The enormity of the situation weighed heavily upon them, and a profound sense of loss settled deep within their hearts. Ethan, the pillar of their group, the one who had faced countless trials and emerged victorious, had been taken from them in an instant.

Emotions ran high as grief mingled with anger and determination. Each member of the group struggled to process the shocking turn of events, their minds racing to find a way to avenge their fallen friend. The monster's audacious act had ignited a fire within them, fueling their resolve to unleash a relentless onslaught upon their adversary.

"This is the price that you have to pay for your own stupidity and arrogance… You will melt in a dark vortex of chaos while you savor the agony of the memories of billions of deaths that I have with me."

That seemed like the perfect description of a fate worse than death… everyone clenched their teeth and fists. It wasn't the first time that they assumed that Ethan had died, but it seemed that it was for real this time… he couldn't escape that, and they had to fight without him… at least he left a knowledge that could help them behind. However… All of a sudden, the expression of the giant monster changed to one of confusion.

"What are you doing… stop struggling."

"He is still alive… attack the monster now that Ethan is buying us time!" Emily shouted.

The group found it hard to believe that Ethan let himself be devoured to deploy some kind of strategy, but the Ethan that they knew was that much insane.

After activating the Omni Armor, the group attacked the giant beast without holding back. Dante and Ian made sure to chop off the tentacles in order to make the enemy waste a bit more time regrowing them. 

Emily used the power of her staff and made time to slow down the monster… even though she was using her entire mana pool, she was only able to slow the beast by twenty percent. Still, that gave time for Aline to make her spirits join a single one of light and attack the eye of the beast with a light cannon.

Using her Frost Breath, Mary created numerous ice boulders, and Anna made her giant ice golem kick all of those toward the enemy… without its tentacles, the giant beast got hit by all those attacks, and the annoyance began to grow on it.

"I have had enough!"

The monster shouted, and the dimension answered to its wrath… everyone could see the energy of the dimension moving toward chaos, and that made the beast grow larger. Still, then all of a sudden, its growth slowed down until it eventually stopped altogether. The giant beast was completely shocked, thanks to it.

"You… How did you do this? You alone shouldn't be able to do that…"

Everyone assumed that Ethan was absorbing more energy than the monster, even though that wasn't supposed to be possible… that was also a bad sign since it could turn him into something else.

Emily tried to use more mana than she could, but that wasn't possible… Everyone was already doing their best, and their potions were about to end as well… they could only hope that Ethan's plan wouldn't be his downfall as well.

As the colossal monster trembled violently, an unsettling sight unfolded before the eyes of Ethan's friends. The seemingly invincible creature, once filled with arrogance and power, now exhibited signs of anguish and distress. Its massive form quivered uncontrollably, its movements becoming erratic and uncoordinated.

The source of this torment remained unclear, as the monster's exterior showed no visible signs of damage. Yet, the tremors that shook its body hinted at an unseen battle raging within. Whatever force had been unleashed upon it had struck a devastating blow, one that undermined its formidable presence and shattered its confidence.

"Are you insane?"

The once-mighty monster now appeared to be in the throes of agony, its colossal form contorted in a display of torment. Its breathing became labored, each inhale and exhale a struggle that reverberated through the air. The weight of its own existence seemed to bear down upon it as if the very act of sustaining its massive form had become an unbearable burden.

The monster's gasps for air echoed through the battlefield, each one a desperate cry for relief from the torment it endured. Its eyes once filled with malice and dominance, now reflected a mixture of pain and desperation. The sheer magnitude of its suffering was a stark reminder that even the most fearsome creatures were not immune to vulnerability.

"You can't kill me… I am an aspect of reality… I am eternal. Chaos will always exist!"

It was about time for Ethan to say something sarcastic, but no one could tell where he was, much less hear him, but they could tell that he was waiting for his chance.

"I will admit my defeat for now… but I will take all of you with me!"

Typical words of a loser… still, instead of thinking of that, everyone felt shivers all over when the whole dimension began to tremble, and cracks began to appear on it.

"What now?" Aline asked. "It seems that whatever he is doing, it won't end in time…"

"The dimension is shrinking… chaos is trying to crush us with it," Dante said while biting his lips. "Our goal is to stop him, and we can't do that if we escape now… we have to make sure that he will disappear at least for a while. That will make the monsters that he revived disappear as well."

That was a tough decision… but it was necessary to make it. If chaos crushes them with his dimension, then he definitely will die using a lot of his power.

The group could see the limits of the dimension fast approaching… they only had a couple of seconds left. Although they didn't try to show that, they felt their chests tightening and something like an endless hole at the bottom of their stomach… It was tough to die even before reaching the age of legal drinking. 

"Curse you… I will return, and I will make you pay for this!"

The giant monster screamed one more time, and then the creature began to expand again. Its face looked like a balloon that had reached its limits… and then some parts of the monster's body began to explode. Chunks of disgusting flesh began to rain down in the area alongside blood… and numerous Ethans.

"What the…" Emily muttered in shock.

Those were a bit different than the original; their eyes were purple, and their flesh was also glowing on the same tone… they seemed like copies that had absorbed too much chaotic energy. 

More of those copies began to appear and fall as the giant monster began to explode… it seemed that Ethan had been devoured to do that… to make the beast explode by making copies of himself. They didn't know that he had such an ability, but those weren't copies… those were summoned creatures. When Ethan died by his own sword, he used Ethereal Summoning to register himself as a creature that he could summon… that wasn't supposed to be possible. Still, it worked because he was no longer human when he died but something like a zombie since he was half-dead.

When the final parts of the giant monster exploded, the place was surrounded by countless copies of Ethan, and the final one finally showed up covered in blood and gastric juice… half of his body had been melted as well…

"I don't know what is worse… your current appearance or the fact that you summoned thousands of copies of yourself," Emily said.

Ethan made the copies enter his inventory since their release would bring back chaos in a matter of hours, and after that, he fell to the ground.

"Ah, hey…" Emily said, preventing Ethan's fall.

"The dimension is closing… it will smash us to death, you know," Ethan muttered, barely raising his head.

Everyone looked around and confirmed that it was the truth… while chaos disappeared for a while, his existence was what kept the whole dimension active, and now that he was gone…

"Shit, let's return to our starting point!" Dante declared.

While using Omni Armor and their last vestiges of mana, the group flew away. Ethan couldn't even keep his eyes open, so Emily and Ian lent him a shoulder to lean on.

Still, before long, everyone was out of mana, and they were still far away from the starting point…

"Keep going, and don't look anywhere aside from the front!" Dante said.

The dimension that seemed endless a while ago now looked like a shoe box… the idea of being crushed by that was as unpleasant as dying by the hands or tentacles of the chaos.

All of a sudden, in the distance, the group saw something glowing… Luneria and Hannah should have opened the portal to them, but the walls of the dimension were about to pass the portal and close it.

"We aren't going to reach it in time…" Aline muttered.

Everyone realized that… they were exhausted, out of potions, and wounded… they couldn't give any more energy that they didn't have.

"What a pain… such an annoying mood," Ethan said and then made one of his copies emerge from his inventory. "Sorry about this, me. Art is an explosion."

The clone suddenly unleashed all the energy inside itself. Then it exploded… the shockwave propelled the whole group forward… but they were spinning uncontrollably toward the portal… There was a chance that they would miss it… Still, Ethan used gravity magic that he learned from chaos to make everyone be sucked toward the portal. They barely crossed it when the dimension collapsed…