Chapter 494: Reverse Scale Memory (III)
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The Young Dragon Patriarch already realized that he won't be able to drag this monstrosity down with him. It pained him to know that this thing never took him seriously at all.
But since it desires him so bad, the worst thing he could do to, at the very least, get some vengeance, was to make sure that it wouldn't get anything from him. That's what led him to this decision.
And this was a great plan...or conclusion to this. He thinks that at least this way, he wouldn't be used into anything nefarious planned by the void. He's just hoping that his death wasn't completely meaningless, and that those who will see his memory would learn something out of it.
OouuuUooo!
But alas...it was too fast and too smart.
The creature's tentacles erupted from underground, binding him in place. To the young patriarch's horror, the energy he had silently gathered dissipated into nothingness. Then, he felt the mouths on the tentacles gnawing on his flesh, feasting upon him like he's some rare delicacy.
In a blink of an eye, thousands of tentacles pierced his body, gnawing on his flesh, chewing his bones, draining his energy, and eating their way into his soul.
It was clear that the Young Patriarch was suffering, he struggled madly in his restraints, doing his best to get rid of the tentacles that bound him to no avail. They were too persistent and tough, plus, he was already weakened.
Then, to everyone's horror. They were forced to watch as the creature separated his flesh, bones, and soul. Every part of the Young Patriarch was struggling on his bindings until the end, and it was clear that at this point he was terrified. He screamed, he roared unwillingly, saying that his death wasn't supposed to be like this, that he refused to be used by the void.
But none of what he did or felt mattered.
The void creature meticulously peeled off his layers and roared as if cackling madly. Then, the skies directly above it darkened ominously.
And to everybody's horrified looks, a single gigantic and dilated eye appeared.
"Argh!!!"
Some of the audience clutched their heads in agony. A mystical and sharp pain assaulted them by surprise. Nobody expected that they would experience something like this just because they caught glimpse of that eye, and this was from a memory too.
OoooUuuOoooUuuO!
The memory continued with the void creature seemingly prostrating in surrender to that eye. It became completely docile and peaceful, as if it didn't just cruelly harvested everything there is available to the Young Patriarch.
Willow, Chief Blackwood's apprentice, looked at Cedric. He noticed that the creature obviously spoke just now, and usually, Cedric would transalte it audibly. But so far, he remained quiet. This made him wonder why.
It was then that he saw the Dragon Chancellor glaring hatefully at the memory replay. The scales on his void suit was wriggling, almost standing up vertically and his claws were clenched in anger, so much so that blood frely flowed him his palms because of how tight his grip of it was.
'Ah, so he didn't want to make matters worse.'
The audience then noticed the pupils of homongous eyes in the void sky shifting. It looked briefly at the soul of the young patriarch and then back ar the void creature.
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Then, a pillar of black light erupted from its pupils, bathing the void creature in some kind of accursed spring.
The gigantic eye then started sprouting fangs from above and below its eyelids that began closing while the eye itself retreated somewhere. It's as if it turned into a mouth from an eye.
Without any delay, the mouth began descending, and with a single gulp, it swallowed the soul and flesh of the young patriarch, leaving only bones eith barely any flesh left.
This, was the cruel death of Young Dragon Patriarch. Despite doing his best and not wanting to become a tool of the void, he still ended up as one anyway. He couldn't even resist this ending despite doing everything he could.
Only his skeleton remained, which also served as the protective shell to his reverse heart scale.
As for that void creature, it has been promoted. Now, it bore an insignia on its body and unique circular pattern in between its main eyes. It also felt way stronger than before.
Its many eyes gazed at the carcass of the young patriarch, its gaze lingering on it for a solid minute before glitching away. It didn't take long before it was gone out of everyone's sight.
Reaching this, the memory replay ended. The lights were siphoned back to the reverse heart sclae on Dragon Chancellor's still clenched fists and most of its vibrant and raibow-colored glow disappeared.
With the disappearance of the memory, the room was plunged into heavy darkness. Everyone felt varying ranges of emotions from what they witnessed. Some were fuming, others were horrified. Some were petrified, others were indignant or unwilling.
However, no matter what they felt, nothing changed reality. The death of the most promising dragon in the past few centuries was too miserable and pathetic.
Thud! Thud!
The strong and unyielding footsteps of the Dragon Chancellor startled everybody in the room. Beneath his visor, his expression was dark and positively murderous.
Fwoosh!!
But like a flash of light, someone stood before him. It was the burly figure of the Ancient Titan Chancellor. The bulky fellow clutched both of the Dragon Chancellor's shoulders and stressed:
"Don't do anything stupid!"
Grrrrr!!!
The Dragon Chancellor's growl reverberated throughout the entire room. Everything and everyone it passes felt the power behind that the sound he emitted. Cedric himself felt his organs vibrating fiercely because of it, making him feel secretly horrified.
"You better not take you fucking paws on me then. Because if you do, I will march through the void and strangle that shitstain!"
Nobody in this room doubted what he said, regardless of whether he had the ability to do just that or not. Even the other Chancellors joined the Ancient Titan in holding him back.
They just lost a very promising junior, they certainly can't afford to lose another one this fast.
"Alright everyone, let's return to our respective residences first to cool off. We'll make plan as soon as everybody regains their mental clarity. Worry not, we will act. But for now, let's rest. It's been a long day."
The voice of the Mystic Fae Chancellor, which sound extremely familiar to Cedric for some reason, echoed in the room. And so, despite their unwillingness, everybody reluctantly followed the orders. The chancellor had a point after all. Besides, he promised that there will be action soon, so they chose to compromise for now.
Still reeling at what he just witnessed and feeling heavy about the ending, Cedric listlessly followed Chief Blackwood and Willow to where they came from.
They returned silently, each one having their own thoughts about what they just watched.
Cedric felt stifled. It couldn't be helped. This whole situation gives him a grim sense of familiarity. A looming and seemingly nigh-unbeatable threat hanging above their heads...it's too much.
In his daze, Cedric didn't even notice when they got on the elevator that brought them down the building. If it wasn't for Willow tapping his shoulders to get his attention, he'd probably still be dazed.
"Your face is a mess, clean it up."
Cedric blinked at him. He then looked at his reflection on the elevator walls and saw that there were some dried blood on his nose, ears, eyes, and on the corners of his mouth, making him look a little terrifying and hideous.
Smiling wryly to himself, he wiped his face clean with a cloth from his inventory. Then, unable to hold back his curiosity, he asked Willow:
"This means war, isn't it?"
"An existential one, very likely." Willow nodded helplessly. "It might be a personal vendetta for the Wise Dragon Race, but it will definitely concern the alliance as a whole."
"Your translations gives us a somewhat clear perspective of just how horrible this threat is. I'm afraid that things will turn chaotic and hectic very soon so you best be prepared."
Cedric sighed. He didn't expect that he'd participate in another war this soon.
Hell, it hasn't even been that long since he liberated his home from the demons, yet here he was, about to participate in another existential war. He hasn't even made it halfway through his required tenure yet!
Alas, even if he was to entertain the thought of running away from this, it's already too late for him. He has already exposed his ability to them and his value was already recognized by the Paragons and the Chancellors.
He can't run away from this. Therefore, the only thing he could do is to try his best to survive.
Cedric and Willow separated once they're out of the building, returning to their respective residences.
It wasn't until a week later that the call to action was made. And on this very day, the Border Patrol Guardian was mobilized as a whole.
The confrontation between the creatures of the Primordial Chaos and the creatures of the Void, begins here.