Chapter 731

Whirrr!! Bang!!

A sonic boom rang out as the dragon's huge tail tore space apart, the shockwave blasting the red fog away.

"Hmph! Face my trial, you coward!" the dragon roared.

"Let's talk. How do you know Hercules?"

Davey figured the dragon was likely his only option to learn more about Hercules. Hence, although he didn't have time to waste, he couldn't just ignore him and leave.

"Talk? Alright. I see there's something you want to know. What is it, then? Are you curious about Hercules? Your powers? What do you so desperately want to find out?!"

"Everything," Davey answered arrogantly.

The dragon let out a roar, seemingly liking Davey's answer.

"Then face my trial. If you pass, I'll tell you everything I know!"

His cries and powerful presence pressed down on Davey. Even though all records indicated that ancient dragons were monsters, this dragon seemed to be an exception...

"Super Ribbon," Davey called as he drew his sword.

Whatever the trial, he figured he could just slash his way through it. However, just before Super Ribbon could merge with him, she was stopped in midair. It was as if his arms and Super Ribbon had been frozen.

[Tools are not allowed in the trial!]

"You tricky bastard..."

Nothing Davey tried with Super Ribbon worked—apparently, the dragon was serious Left with no other choice, Davey accepted the challenge. Hercules aside, he figured that the dragon might also know a more efficient way to use his power anyway.

Arbit, the ancient dragon of the sand, counterattacked as soon as he saw an opportunity.

Thud!

Sand began to rain from the previously clear sky, instantly changing the environment.

Thud!!

The new desert catered to Arbit's abilities, a fact made painfully clear to Davey by the massive sand tsunami rushing toward him..

"..."

The attack made Davey stumble. However, he managed to quickly retaliate. stumbled. With a snap of his fingers, he sent a bright blue mana spear flying toward his enemy's wings

Thud!! Thump, thump!!

The spear managed to make contact, but it couldn't even make Arbit flinch. It didn't seem to have enough power to damage an ancient dragon

Bang!

[8th Circle Fire Magic]

[Prometheus]

Blue flames flew toward and struck Arbit. Davey closely scanned him for damage.

"Nothing again. So magic doesn't work on him."

Just like when he tried to use Super Ribbon, his magic was being suppressed. His attacks could get close to Arbit, but they would eventually stop as if frozen in time, rendering them harmless.

"Weakling, I don't have much time."

With a flap of his wings, Arbit summoned an enormous hourglass between them. The sand slowly flowing to the bottom made Davey uneasy.

The dragon's challenge was simple. "Make me bleed before this expires."

"..."

Knowing better than to despair after a few failed attacks, Davey contemplated which of his spells would pack enough of a punch to pierce his enemy's defense. Even in a sea of failures, all it took to win was one successful blow.

[8th Circle Holy Magic]

[Grand Holy Fire Ball]

Boom!! Flash...

Divine power gathered around Davey and turned into a sphere of pure white light. It then burst.

Arbit deflected Davey's holy magic, then flapped his wings to conjure a tremendous windstorm. Strands of sand rained down like spears. Despite looking like small clumps, they possessed world-destroying force and made the earth groan with each impact.

Thud!!! Thud!!

. Davey dodged the merciless attack. Using the space he had created, he then immediately flew up to his head. At the same time, he widened his eyes.

"Unleash demonic force."

Their surroundings were abruptly cast into darkness.

[9th Circle Dark Magic]

[Courtship of the Longing]

"Aaaargh!!"

Jet-black light poured down Arbit's face like a giant hand trying to cover him.

Holy Fire Ball was an offensive holy magic spell with incredible destructive power, but it also reduced the resistance of all other attributes besides holy power. Davey incorporated black magic into the attack, using Holy Fire Ball's unique penetrative property to effectively buff the damage.

Thud!!

Davey used the spell's shockwave to slide away from Arbit and create some distance. Just as he was about to make his next move, he noticed Arbit's tail moving.

Swish...

The slowly swaying dragon tail suddenly flew toward Davey. He was sure he could dodge it, and yet...

"Huh!?"

Thud!!

By the time Davey returned to his senses, he had already been sent flying through the air.

Hiss...

Arbit gathered sand into his gaping maw and melted it with blazing heat. He then roared, firing a massive liquid-glass breath at Davey.

Davey noticed that his previous attack had been blocked by an unknown force. As his mind wandered, he eventually laid his eyes on the hourglass between him and Arbit.

"Ohhh..."

Davey closed his eyes, finally realizing why his attacks had been ineffective.

Despite his unwillingness to go along with Arbit's game, he now knew that he had to start playing by the dragon's rules.

Bang!!

***

Arbit crouched down but found no trace of Davey in his molten breath's area of impact. However, when the sand dust settled, he found Davey with his head bowed, unmoving, and covered in small cuts.

Arbit thought this was the end for Davey.

He was surprised that Davey had the same power as Hercules, but he was still nowhere near as strong as the dragon.

"You said you would save me," Arbit said.

Zzzrrr...

He began charging his breath to execute Davey, eager to destroy every trace of the one and only Sin of God. Arbit figured that if Davey disappeared, that power would cease to exist.

Before he could unleash his breath, Davey suddenly moved.

Slash!

A large wound appeared on the tip of his wing.

"Argh!"

Arbit didn't expect that Davey could still attack him.

Davey, holding a blue-red sword, slowly raised his head. His face was emotionless—his subconsciousness seemed to be in the zone. Sensing danger, Arbit quickly flapped his wings to create a huge sandstorm.

Srrr...

Unfortunately, a powerful force completely destroyed the sandstorm.

"Hmph!!"

Arbit quickly tried to fire his breath, but Davey was faster.

"How?!"

Arbit had no idea how it was possible, but Davey closed in on him so quickly that he didn't even notice that he had moved. Suddenly, he realized that Davey's inhuman abilities stemmed solely from physical prowess, but that was exactly the problem. He was inhuman. No amount of discipline and training would be enough for a human to reach his level.

Pow!!

Before Arbit could react, Davey had already punched the top of his head. The force made the dragon tremble.

"Huh?!"

Thud!!

Arbit collapsed to the ground, bewilderment evident in his expression. Although he had figured out how Davey was moving at an incredible speed, he couldn't explain why the man's punch felt too heavy. If his memory served him right, only one monster was capable of unleashing power of this level.

"Does that human... Have Antares' power?" he mumbled in shock.

Still, he refused to simply back down. He unleashed enormous Fear.

"You little ant! How dare you try to pass the challenge using cheap tricks!?"

The dragon's furious roar made Davey flinch, but he swiftly recovered.

Pow! Bang!!

Davey's barrage of attacks gradually distorted Arbit's body.

'If these attacks hit me...!'

While Arbit was contemplating, Davey leaped into the air and fell toward him to deal a finishing blow. Aware that it was too late to defend, Arbit was left with no other choice.

He awakened his essence.

[Time Lays Beneath Me.]

Davey froze mid-leap. Precisely speaking, everything in the world stopped except for Arbit.

"Ka... Ka... Ugh... His power sure is terrifying."

By now , Arbit was certain that the human in front of him had the power of Antares, the monster bull who had killed two juvenile ancient dragons long ago.

However, that great feat proved to be their last. Right after that, Eclipse, one of the ancient dragons' leaders, personally tracked him down and executed him for his crimes.

The Malicious Spirits, or high-ranking Atlanteans, were one of the few races that could stand up to the ancient dragons.

Arbit thought that they had been sealed away when the goddess Freyja descended. Hence, Davey's existence made it hard for him to figure out what happened in the outside world while he was stuck in Lost Time.

He slowly approached Davey as he panted.

"Whatever the explanation, continuing this fight will only complicate things... He'll end up taking his power and leaving... We have to stop."

Somewhere in this world, which he had completely frozen in time, he heard a voice.

"Nope. No can do. We're not done here."

Boing!!

Davey, free from his frozen time prison, fell on Arbit.

"If I hadn't prepared a contingency after slaughtering that damn bull, that ability would have put me in a tough spot," Davey said.

The Sin of God's taboo power spread from Davey and pressured Arbit with an extremely heavy force far stronger than the Sin of God that he had been harboring just a moment ago. Its power was as if Davey had condensed everything Arbit sent at him before stamping it 'Return to Sender.'

Davey moved, ignoring Arbit's control over time.

Clank!

The hourglass shattered, and Arbit stumbled and slowly collapsed. Davey saw himself reflected in the dragon's eyes.

Arbit realized that the Taboo's Karma—the Sin of God Davey possessed—felt different from that of Hercules. It possessed the qualities that he currently wished for most.

"Ah... I see..." Arbit muttered. He now sounded calm and relaxed. "You... You didn't break your promise. Hercules, was he meant to fulfill your vow all along?"

He slowly rose to his feet.

"I, Arbit, the ancient dragon who mediates sand and time, pledge allegiance to you, Second Great Lord. Tell me what I can do for you..." he said as he slowly lowered his head toward Davey.

Davey just rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Tell me where we are."

After a moment of silence, Arbit replied, "Yes, my Lord. Before I get into the specifics, I must first tell you what happened in the Golong's Nest, my birthplace—"

"Stop."

Arbit quieted down. The silence stretched for some time.

Davey could tell that Arbit wouldn't shut up any time soon if he didn't interrupt him.

"Keep it short."

"Ah... My Lord, how can you be so harsh to me? Can't you spare some time to listen to what this old dragon has to tell you? I have been waiting for so long..."

"Hm... I think I saw something escape from this place earlier. That could be a problem... Maybe I should go chase it down."

Arbit's face hardened. "I see. A mutant escaping my grasp would certainly be a big problem."

"Would it be dangerous?"

"No need to worry, my Lord."

He lightly struck down his huge front paw.

Thud!!!

The space, which was filled with nothing but red fog, distorted.

"My Lord, you can go ahead and kill it."

"Ha, so simple."

"But before that..."

After a brief silence, Arbit gathered light in front of him.

"There is a disparity between your body and soul. As promised, I will do everything I can to help strengthen your body."

It was as if the heavens themselves were handing Davey once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to help him on his predestined quest to confront Eclipse.