*Bang!*

The green magic bullet fired from Charron's finger was small, no larger than a marble. It didn't look like much compared to the bone dragon or the rotting wave.

But Damien's instincts screamed Death.

He didn't try to block. He didn't try to deflect. He threw himself sideways, grabbing the unconscious Isabelle and rolling across the balcony floor.

HISS-CRACK!

The bullet struck the stone pillar where Damien had been standing a fraction of a second ago. There was no explosion.

The pillar simply… vanished. The stone turned grey, crumbled into dust, and then the dust rotted into nothingness.

"Decay Magic," Damien gritted his teeth, dragging Isabelle behind a tipped-over table. "Concentrated decay. One hit and I'm gone."

He checked his status.

[DP: 0.

Mana: Empty.

Aura: Fumes.

Dual-Core State: Collapsed.]

He was back to being a regular 3rd Order mage with a fancy title and an empty tank. And floating ten feet away was a being that could wrestle a dragon.

"You run like a rat," Charron floated over the balcony railing, his skeletal feet not touching the floor.

"But even rats eventually run out of corners."

Charron raised his staff again. The ruby tip glowed.

"Necrotic Rain."

Hundreds of small green orbs formed in the air above the balcony.

"Damn it!" Damien looked around.

The Queen's room was right behind him. If he dodged, those orbs would hit the healers and the Queen.

'I can't dodge. I have to tank it. But with what?'

TWANG! TWANG! TWANG!

Three arrows streaked from the high tower above, moving faster than sound. They weren't aiming for Charron; Lyra knew her attacks couldn't pierce his shield. They aimed for the orbs.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The wind arrows intercepted the largest clusters of necrotic magic, detonating them harmlessly in the air.

"Keep moving, Voss!" Lyra's voice screamed through the communication stone, strained and desperate.

"I can't keep this up forever! His minions are climbing the tower!"

"I'm trying!" Damien yelled back.

He grabbed a handful of mana crystals from his Void Gem, loot from the Golden Dragon dungeon and crushed them in his hand.

It was a wasteful, dangerous way to recover mana, risking vein rupture, but he had no choice.

Raw, unrefined mana flooded his system. His veins bulged blue.

"Shadow Art: Void Shield!"

He slammed his hands forward. A dome of black smoke erupted, covering him, Isabelle, and the door to the Queen's room.

The remaining necrotic orbs rained down on the shield.

His!. Sizzle! Pop!

Every impact felt like a hammer blow to Damien's chest. The shadow mana was being eaten alive by the rot.

"Persistent," Charron sighed. "Boring."

The Lich raised a hand. Not using a spell this time. He just used telekinesis amplified by his 7th-Order mana.

BANG!

Under this pressure, Damien's shield shattered like glass.

Instantly, an invisible fist slammed into his chest, launching him backward.

He crashed through the wooden doors of the Queen's chamber, sliding across the floor until he hit the foot of the bed.

"Young Master!"

The healers screamed. Queen Aelinor, soaked in sweat and barely conscious, turned her head weakly.

"Damien…" she wheezed.

Damien coughed, tasting copper. His ribs were definitely broken.

Charron floated through the broken doors. He looked around the room, at the terrified healers, the struggling Queen, and the broken boy.

"So much life," Charron rasped, inhaling deeply. "It smells… disgusting."

He looked at the Queen's stomach.

"The seed is almost ripe. I will harvest it now."

He walked toward the bed.

"No!"

Damien forced himself up. His legs were shaking. He grabbed his sword, even though he had no aura to coat it with.

"Shadow Step!"

He tried to teleport, but the spell failed. The mana in the room was too chaotic.

'Run. Just run at him.'

Damien charged. It was a clumsy, desperate lunge.

Charron didn't even look at him. He backhanded the air.

SMACK.

A wave of force hit Damien, throwing him against the wall. He slid down, gasping for air.

"Stay down, rat," Charron said dismissively. "You have entertained me enough."

The Lich stood over the Queen. He raised his staff, the tip poised directly over her stomach.

"Die."

ROAR!

A massive figure smashed through the wall! not the door, the wall!

Leona, the Beast-Girl, burst into the room covered in green slime and zombie gore. Her armor was dented, her shield was gone, and she was bleeding from a dozen wounds.

But she was roaring.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

She tackled Charron.

It was like a car hitting a freight train. Leona, a physical powerhouse who could lift carriages, slammed into the Lich with everything she had.

Charron actually stumbled. For the first time, he was moved physically.

"Filthy beast!" Charron snarled.

He grabbed Leona by the throat with his skeletal hand.

CRACK.

He lifted her off the ground. Leona gagged, clawing at his arm, her legs kicking helplessly.

"Leona!" Damien shouted, trying to stand up, but his legs wouldn't listen.

"Strong body," Charron observed, looking at the struggling lion-girl. "You will make a fine zombie."

He began to squeeze. Green necrotic energy flowed from his hand into her neck.

Leona's struggles weakened. Her golden eyes began to roll back, the green light of undeath creeping into her irises.

"Let… her… go…"

Damien dragged himself forward. He had nothing left. No DP. No Mana. No Aura.

He only had the Contract Gem.

Unfortunately, even that was useless at the moment.

'She's dying. She's my subordinate. She's my sword.'

'I won't let her die.'

Deep inside Damien's soul, the Golden Dragon Aura, which had been dormant since he ran out of fuel, flickered. It responded not to mana, but to his will. To his greed.

In an instant, he seemed to see a mighty proud Golden Dragon smirking at him in the air.

'I am the Greedy King. What is mine… IS MINE!' he roared!

WHOOSH.

A spark of gold ignited in Damien's chest. It wasn't mana. It was life force. He was burning his own lifespan to fuel the aura.

"Dragon… ROAR!"

Damien opened his mouth and screamed.

It wasn't a human scream. It was the roar of a primal beast, amplified by the Golden Aura.

A shockwave of golden sound blasted across the room. It slammed into Charron.

The Lich flinched, dropping Leona. The necrotic energy around his hand was shattered by the pure, kingly aura.

Leona hit the floor, gasping, the green light fading from her eyes.

Charron turned slowly to face Damien. His amusement was gone. The green flames in his eye sockets flared with genuine anger.

"That roar…" Charron hissed. "Is that Dragon might? You… you are more than just a rat."

Thinking of those powerful dragons that even his master didn't dare provoke, a hint of fear flashed in Charron's eyes as he wondered if there was a dragon behind this kid.

Inorder not to take any chances, he needed to kill the Kid now.

"Enough playing, Die kid!"

He began to chant. A spell of absolute darkness gathered at the tip of his staff. A spell meant to erase a soul completely.

Damien, who currently leaned against a wall, his vision tunnelling.

Sighed in desperation.

Just now, he had bought Leona a few seconds. He had bought the Queen a few seconds.

But unfortunately, it was not enough; he was done.

In the face of true power, all tricks and conspiracies were indeed meaningless.

'Is this it?' Damien thought, watching the black light build. '

I die here? Like a side character?'

However, just when he was about to close his eyes and give up, a loud cry interrupted his thoughts

"WAAAAAAH!"

A sound cut through the darkness.

It was the sharp, piercing cry of a newborn baby.

In an instant, the room froze.

The black light on Charron's staff flickered.

From the bed, a blinding pulse of White Light exploded outward, a light not magic, but rather it was the pure, unadulterated source of Life.

Yes, the baby and future elf queen had arrived.

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