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“Fifty million against… five…?”

Cornelia got the shock of her life and started trembling. Although she had never taken part in the great war, she heard bits and pieces of it from those who had experienced it first hand. One of the most important pieces of information she gathered was that…

The great world won, but the victory came at a great cost.

In fact, since the great war took place nine million years ago, the great world had yet to fully recover from its aftermath.

Not only did they lose their elites, the war had rendered a third of the great world into a barren wasteland, completely devoid of magic power.

Back then, the Dragon race was at its prime, being the smallest in number yet most powerful race. Unfortunately, they were also the first race to perish in the war with the Dragon Eaters.

The powerful legendary dragons became food for those beings. And this was how those beings earned their title, the Dragon Eater. By the time the other powerful beings in the great world arrived at the ancestral land of the dragon where the Dragon Eater first invaded, they could not find even the remains of a single dragon.

Such a tragic victory… from a battle where only five Dragon Eaters took part?

If what the Dragon Eater said was true, then that meant in terms of individual strength…

“That’s right, each and every single Dragon Eater… was invincible. That’s what I’ve been telling you since the beginning.”

As if she could read Cornelia’s thoughts, the Dragon Eater ‘considerately’ explained to her, “After all, nothing in your world could rival our black flame. Everything, including power, law and even willpower, is nothing but fuel for it. Considering that the black flame is derived from two other ‘absolute’ powers, it makes sense for you all to pay that kind of price. However…”

The Dragon Eater crouched down and brushed Cornelia’s cheek softly with her finger. There was a trace of sadness and loneliness in her eyes. “You don’t have to be too afraid either… After all, I am the last Dragon Eater in this world. When ants are well organised, they can kill an elephant.”

“The last…” Cornelia gazed into the depths of her opponent’s eyes and almost felt like she was drowning in the loneliness. No one knew better than Cornelia the feeling of being the only one left in this world.

In the next second, she felt a chill down her spine. She looked at the smiling Dragon Eater in front of her, but suddenly felt an immense fear that was ten times stronger than what she felt before in her heart.

Putting herself in the Dragon Eater’s shoes, she knew best what crazy things an outlaw who had lost everything was capable of.

That was all because… she herself was no different.

“You…”

“Oh my, why are you so scared again? You really saved me a lot of trouble…” The Dragon Eater grabbed Cornelia by her neck and lifted her up with one hand.

Just when Cornelia tried to put up resistance, a burst of black flame devoured the last remaining divine power in her body.

“Well then, let the final work begin.”
“W-What… are you trying to do?”

For the first time, Cornelia felt suffocated. She cracked open her eyes with difficulty as she struggled to push her hoarse voice through her squeezed throat. “You’re gonna kill me now that… you’ve had enough fun?”

“Kill you? No, no, I’m just going to beat you to within an inch of your life.” While saying that, the black flame swayed in the Dragon Eater’s right palm. It then melted into liquid and covered her entire arm before solidifying again into a vicious-looking dragon claw.

The dragon claw seized Cornelia’s legs, causing the latter to fall and hit the back of her head against the black crystal ground.

BANG!

The sound of something hard shattering was heard.

Then there was blood flying everywhere.

Although Cornelia’s body had transformed into a divine vessel, it was still incomparable with the black crystal that had “absolute defense”. With the Dragon Eater’s right hand turning into a “real dragon claw”, Cornelia’s entire face was covered by her own blood after one vicious scratch from it.

Cornelia’s ears were ringing. She struggled to get up and stumbled to escape.

“Oh, looks like that wasn’t enough.” The Dragon Eater trailed behind Cornelia effortlessly. Her left arm was now covered by the black fluid. It suddenly swelled and the bulging muscles pulsated with explosive power.

She then drove her fist right into Cornelia’s abdomen.

Cornelia was sent flying backward like a cannonball for a few meters before she slammed against the black crystal wall that had appeared behind her at some point.

Cornelia coughed up a mouthful of blood and left a trail of shocking red blood behind, as she slid down against the black wall.

The Dragon Eater slowly walked up to Cornelia and grabbed her long, white hair that was now stained with her own blood. The action forcefully lifted Cornelia’s upper body off the ground, and brought her head closer to her enemy’s. Cornelia struggled to crack open her glassy eyes, only to meet the Dragon Eater’s gaze.

“Still wanna run?” she asked.

Cornelia was unable to speak at this moment, but she lifted her trembling hands, wrapped them around the Dragon Eater’s wrists and applied force.

The Dragon Eater clicked her tongue. “I see that your desire to live is really strong, but do you think you can escape?”

She tossed Cornelia aside like she was a rag doll and sneered. “I’ve told you so many things, did you decide to ignore them all?”

Cornelia barely lifted herself off the ground by propping herself on her shaky arms when her enemy kicked her in the abdomen again.

The impact sent Cornelia rolling a few times on the ground before she curled up while clutching her abdomen. Her body trembled from the pain. It was so intense that she could not even utter a sound.

The Dragon Eater stomped on Cornelia’s head and crushed her under her shoe like she was a bug.

“Go ahead and run, if you think you have a chance of getting away from me… Just do it. This is your last chance.”

The Dragon Eater then placed her hand on one knee, and leaned down. She whispered softly like a devil murmuring in Cornelia’s ear, “Or just give up resisting? Your resistance is futile anyway. I assure you, things will be a lot better if you just give up.”

Lying in her own pool of blood, Cornelia tried her best to reach out a finger but suddenly froze. A moment later, her hand slowly dropped to the ground lifelessly under the Dragon Eater’s gaze.

Cornelia could feel her bloodstained cheeks getting wetter. Was there something else mixed in her blood?

Sobs escaped her throat, that was now almost mangled beyond recognition. They sounded horrible, like the sounds of a broken flute.

Sorry, Daddy, Mommy… Cornelia can’t take it anymore. As expected, Cornelia is still too… weak…

………

The Dragon Eater looked at the broken Cornelia in relief, and suddenly felt accomplished.

Only by completely crushing her already fragile heart, could she crush the possibility of Cornelia’s revival.

She had to completely destroy her. This was why it was imperative to crush any resistance that Cornelia put up.

The Dragon Eater grabbed Cornelia’s face, lifted it up and carefully examined it like it was a work of art. The more she looked at it, the more delighted she became.

“Now then, the time has come for me to show off my surgical skill. I wonder if Lilith will like my gift.”

The Dragon Eater was getting more and more excited. If she put a small fry that was destined to grow into a mythical water beast in a river that was destined to flow into an ocean, she wondered what kind of waves would it stir up in the future.

Although it could not change the direction where the river flowed, it could at least stir something up, right?

The corners of the Dragon Eater’s mouth curled up as she looked at the small fry named Cornelia. After thinking for a moment, she leaned into her ear and whispered, “Don’t be afraid now, I’m just… helping you to make your wish come true.”