Chapter 3882: Feed Cores (Part 1)

The only runes left on Raum’s amulet belonged to his associates, who were working in the field and too far away to reach the hidden lab in time.

"Before you do something stupid, know that I’ve already pillaged your lab, emptied your stock of magical resources that you left outside your omni pocket, and even stolen your diaries." Leegaain said. "Everything you have and are is stored inside my pocket dimension.

"Run away, and you’ll have to start your precious research from scratch. Run away, and the madness we both know is consuming you will turn you into a rambling idiot who doesn’t even remember his own name."

"My diaries?" Raum’s Decay eyes went wide in surprise, knowing that his father was right.

Many times during the millennia had the Wonderer lost himself to oblivion and insanity, managing to return to his senses only by clinging to the written records of his existence.

Raum treasured his diaries as much as his magical research and would rather die than let his descendants learn about the depths of his depravity. At least until the moment he could justify his actions by offering them the secret of true power and immortality.

"Well, before you do something stupid, father, remember where we are." The Wonderer elongated his claws until they prickled Xenagrosh’s skin and drew droplets of her black blood.

"One wrong move and I’ll kill everyone here, including your precious daughter." He waved at the scores of hapless creatures chained to the ceiling who groaned in pain.

"Don’t you dare call me father, monster." Leegaain snarled. "You have lost that privilege the day you started this insane research. As for Zoreth, why should I care whether she lives or dies?

"She discarded my blood and ignored my teachings. She betrayed my legacy just as you did, and even though she committed fewer atrocities than you, that’s not enough for me to care about her." He shot a tier five Spirit Spell at Zoreth to underline the concept.

Manastorm was more than enough to kill her in her current state, and Raum had to cut and deflect the emerald bullets to ensure the survival of his priceless specimen.

"Just as I suspected." Leegaain nodded, ignoring the pained expression that twisted his daughter’s face for a split second. "You need her. You haven’t learned everything you need from her yet.

"Without her and your books, you’ll never be able to replicate your recent success. Now, either you answer my questions or I’m done talking."

"There’s not much to say." Raum inwardly cursed, knowing that the Guardian was right. "I never lied to you. In life, I was the person you speak of and truly believed all the nonsense that I taught to my descendants.

"Death, however, changed everything. During my final moments, when I struggled for air and my lungs burned like no mystical flame ever did, I learned what true fear is.

"I realized that soon I would have lost everything I worked so hard to build and that, in time, even my memory would be one of the many footnotes in the Mist Dragon clan’s history.

"Then, my fear turned into rage at the idea that Mogar would keep spinning like my 10,000 years of sacrifices meant nothing, and that lesser beings would live and prosper while my corpse rotted.

"I couldn’t accept it, Guardian. I couldn’t accept such an injustice and did the only thing I could to right Mogar’s mistake." Raum shook his head. "I’m not a monster. I’m a-"

"Coward." Leegaain nodded. "I now see that you were never truly noble or selfless. Those were just a mask you could afford to wear thanks to the power of my bloodline and the might of your magic.

"Once faced with death, however, you couldn’t pretend anymore and revealed your true, ugly self."

"I’m not a coward!" Raum roared, making the room around them tremble and the chains rattle. "Everything I did, I did it for our Brood! If you read my diaries, you know that I always planned to share my gifts."

"I read them and I know that the first thing you did was to run away. Like a coward." Leegaain replied. "As for your so-called gifts, they are nothing but another deception you need to excuse what you’ve done.

"Even if I were to let you go and you share your knowledge, you wouldn’t do it because it’s the right thing. Only to ease the guilt and shame you feel for your actions, Raum."

"Shut up!" The Wonderer released a thick black aura that filled the room like a sudden storm. "What right do you have to judge me? You’re older than history remembers and can’t die!

"It’s easy to call me a coward when you yourself wear a self-righteous mask. Would you be so arrogant if your days were numbered? No, you would not. You would act no differently from me."

"I can’t die?" Leegaain sneered, throwing the Eldritch a look full of disdain. "I almost died while helping those you call lesser creatures more times than you can count, even before I became a Guardian.

"After that, I only became more intimate with death. Age can’t kill me, that’s true, but a piece of me dies with every one of my children, lovers, and friends I lose. Do you have any idea how it feels to fall in love with someone and watch them grow old and weak?

"To hold a little Hatchling in your arms and know that he’s going to die before you? To watch the world around you change while you remain the same? My life may be eternal, but I die a little every single day, and that pain keeps me sane.

"You are a coward, Raum. Not only because you’ve run away from death, but also because you keep running away from the truth. And the truth is that your existence is a curse." Leegaain weaved at the sorry, bleeding figures hanging from the chains.

"A curse that ends now."

The Father of all Dragons’ white aura washed over Raum’s lab, purging the world energy from the lingering Forbidden Magic and putting the prisoners out of their misery.

Leegaain could hear their silent screams and knew that they were beyond saving. Raum had tortured them for much longer than Zoreth. Their minds were broken, and only the healing properties of the Odi chains kept the ruins of the Divine Beasts’ life forces together.

’I’m sorry, children.’ He thought. ’I’m sorry, Zoreth. There are wounds not even a Guardian can heal.’

"No!" Raum screamed, exerting the full might of his newly acquired powers to keep the purifying tide away. "No, no, no! Leave them alone, you monster, and face me if you dare!"

With each Divine Beast that died, the Wonderer lost priceless data he had yet to compile, and his chance of extracting the mana organs of the members of the Organization decreased.

Alas, Chaos was a single-minded element. It was born to destroy everything it touched and protect only itself. Raum needed sheer willpower to keep the ravenous hunger of his aura from devouring the Shadow Dragon he was trying to save.

To make matters worse, Leegaain’s onslaught was relentless, and no matter how many defensive arrays the Wonderer activated, the Guardian turned them off before they could take effect and tip the scales of the battle.

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