The Kingmaker System Chapter 714 - 713. Dragon Versus Witch (1)

The dispersal of the ash-laden clouds came as a surprise to Domina; she watched as they were replaced by rain clouds. However, this was no ordinary downpour, but a rain infused with the Dragon’s purifying mana.

While the dark mages, being hybrids, could endure this, Reikah was another matter. Having already suffered a defeat against the Dragon, this rain would render his Hell’s Flames useless, forcing Domina to devise an alternative strategy.

Positioned atop a broken building, she found the rain somewhat uncomfortable, drenching her entirely. Yet, her gaze remained fixed upon the Dragon.

She observed as the Dragon effortlessly cut down the apprentices she had trained for years. They couldn’t withstand him for more than a few seconds, their heads severed before they could even cast a single spell.

Her attention then shifted to Reikah, who had drawn his hood low to shield himself from the rain. As a newly formed Dominus, he was susceptible to the purifying mana. The final stage of becoming a Dominus involved consuming demon flesh, a process that also made him more vulnerable to this particular Dragon, who possessed the most bothersome affinity.

Domina remained uncertain why this half-human Dragon wielded such power, but she was confident that his mana was not inexhaustible. Furthermore, he was unaware of their scheme, making it simple to keep him occupied here until their counterparts on the other side completed their task. The anticipation of the Dragon’s expression upon realizing he had been deceived filled her with a dark amusement.

"Go assist on the other side," Domina instructed, handing him a piece of paper inscribed with a drawing.

Reikah cast a glance at the Dragon standing in the middle of the street, surrounded by the mangled bodies of dark mages. The Dragon's presence radiated waves that compressed the surrounding air and rain, creating an effect akin to tenfold gravity in his vicinity.

Tearing the page in his hand, Reikah caused a large, inscribed black circle to materialize beneath his feet before he was enveloped by an obscuring black mist.

Domina watched the Dragon for a moment longer before leaping from the rooftop, confronting him directly.

Upon landing, Domina made no immediate move. The rain descended steadily around her, hissing softly as it met the ground, but she paid it no attention. Her focus remained riveted on the Dragon before her, as if the surrounding world had ceased to exist, leaving only the two of them.

Only then did her hand drift towards her side.

Secured at her waist rested a book that seemed out of time.

Its worn appearance spoke not of age, but of frequent use. The cover was darkened, its pages' edges uneven, suggesting they had been handled excessively and not always gently. No inscriptions or titles were visible on its surface, yet its mere presence exuded a quiet, oppressive weight.

This was no ordinary grimoire.

The Tome she carried did not contain spells to be recited, nor circles to be drawn. There were no incantations waiting to be uttered.

Instead, its pages held… entities.

Beings that had once roamed freely, existing beyond any control, were now imprisoned within fragile sheets of parchment. Each page acted as a seal, each inscription a cage meticulously crafted to contain that which should never have been confined.

And when a page was torn, it was not a spell that was unleashed.

It was a being that was set free.

Domina’s fingers brushed lightly against the edge of the Tome, sensing a faint pulse beneath its surface, as if the contents within were conscious… waiting.

Her gaze lifted, returning to the Dragon. He regarded her impassively, as if she were merely another insignificant obstacle, much like those he had so brutally dispatched moments before. But could he be more mistaken?

Her expression was devoid of hesitation, showing no trace of urgency or exertion. If anything, she appeared almost… intrigued.

"You've certainly made a mess," she stated, her voice tranquil, unaffected by the surrounding chaos. "It would be a pity if all that effort were for naught."

Her thumb slid beneath the corner of a page.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

"And I do wonder," she continued, her eyes narrowing slightly, "how long that strength of yours will endure… when you are no longer confronting something that can perish."

Ocean observed her confident speech, as if victory were already assured, while her statistics flickered before his eyes.

[Name: Lilith

Title: Domina

Mana: Dead Mana

Class: Summoner

Authority: Codex of Sealed Calamities.]

[Class Description: Summoner]

A misnomer. The wielder does not summon or create. Instead, they unleash entities bound through forbidden methods and command them using their names. The Summoner binds calamities through contracts, thus ensuring they can never break free once bound.

Note: The type of contract significantly influences the outcome, as there are various ways a Summoner can unleash their calamities.]

[Authority: Codex of Sealed Calamities]

An ancient grimoire, its pages serving as prisons for the calamities bound by the Summoner. When a page is torn, the seal is broken, unleashing the trapped entity upon the world.

Note: This form of Summoning is irreversible; once a page is ripped, the released calamity cannot return to the Tome.

Ocean read the entire explanation, a smirk playing on his lips as the Domina watched him, utterly confident in her command.

"You need not trouble yourself over me," he stated, interlocking his fingers and stretching his arms overhead, reveling in the satisfying pops before jerking his neck and turning to face her.

Domina's gaze remained fixed on him, her fingers tightening almost imperceptibly around the page's edge. Her movements lacked any sense of haste or unnecessary flourish. The very restraint in her demeanor amplified the deliberate nature of her action.

Then, she tore it.

The sound was faint, barely audible above the persistent drumming of the rain. Yet, the instant the parchment gave way, the atmosphere itself seemed to contract. The torn fragment dissolved into dark particles that didn't disperse but instead gravitated downwards, seeping into the earth beneath her. What followed wasn't an outburst, but a subtle shift, as if something slumbering below had begun to stir.

Darkness enveloped the street.

Not from any external shadow, but from a gathering presence.

Initially, it resembled mere soot accumulating on the damp cobblestones—thin black rivulets seeping through the cracks, pooling where raindrops should have washed them away. Soon, the soot began to move. It coalesced, rising into uneven mounds that quivered as if propelled by unseen breath rather than mere physics.

The first creature emerged with a wet, tearing sound.

It hauled itself from the ground, its form piecing itself together as charred bone pushed through layers of ash. Its spine bowed in an unnatural arch, ribs stripped bare and blackened as if subjected to ancient flames, yet still holding together a body that defied logic. Its limbs were disproportionately long and jointed, terminating in clawed digits that scraped against the stone as it pulled itself erect. Where a head should have been, a warped, partially melted skull fused in place sat, its hollow eye sockets emitting a faint, internal glow.

Then, another materialized.

And another followed suit.

A notification appeared before Ocean's eyes.

[Ash CrawlersAberrations the size of dogs, formed from burnt bone and compressed soot. Their bodies appear partially incinerated yet uncannily intact. They move in coordinated packs with jerky, predatory motions, utilizing elongated limbs and clawed digits to launch themselves at a target's face or throat. Despite their fragile appearance, they regenerate from ash residue unless utterly annihilated, posing a persistent swarm threat.]

Within moments, the ground fractured in numerous spots as the Ash Crawlers clawed their way into existence. Their initial movements were hesitant, but soon settled into a predatory rhythm. They scuttled low to the ground, circling, their skeletal frames coated in soot that constantly shed and reformed, as if perpetually alight from within.

Above them, the rain began to churn.

A shrill, rasping noise pierced the air, sharp enough to cut through the steady patter of the downpour. Dark shapes ripped through the low-hanging clouds, descending in disarray. Their wings appeared unnatural—too thin, too ragged, their feathers resembling strips of scorched flesh.

Another notification materialized, detailing these entities.

[Hollow RavensLarge, eyeless avian beings with tattered, shadow-like wings and distorted skeletal structures. They emit piercing, discordant shrieks that disorient and harass targets from above, aiming for vulnerable areas like the eyes and face. Their unpredictable flight patterns and relentless dive-bombing attacks make them formidable aerial nuisances when numerous.]

The Hollow Ravens plummeted downwards, their vacant sockets gaping as they shrieked – a sound devoid of voice, carrying only raw dissonance that made the very air vibrate.

They didn't circle.

They dove.

Concurrently, something else manifested, unnoticed for a fleeting instant.

From the fragments of broken bodies strewn across the street, from the damp surfaces of both stone and flesh, slick, dark forms began to ooze forward. At first glance, they appeared small and shapeless, but as they advanced, their true nature became apparent.

[Grave LeechesAmorphous, black, slug-like parasites that adhere to surfaces and stealthily approach their prey. Upon contact, they attach to exposed skin and commence draining mana directly from the host, leading to rapid internal destabilization and physical debilitation. They are slow but exceedingly difficult to detect in chaotic environments, relying on stealth and overwhelming numbers over direct confrontation.]

Grave Leeches, their slick bodies shimmering as if slicked with oil, pulsed and stretched with slow, deliberate contractions. They advanced not with haste, but by creeping, adhering to surfaces, and seeping into crevices with movements that were subtle and patient as they sought to make contact.

The once-empty street had transformed into a creeping infestation.

Domina observed this unfolding scene in silence.

Ocean remained motionless.

For a solitary moment, the creatures paused, as though held by an unseen command. Then, as if a leash had snapped, they surged forward simultaneously.

The Ash Crawlers were the first to reach him.

Moving in coordinated groups, their forms glided over the ground with unnatural swiftness, their claws scraping and snapping as they lunged upwards. Their targets were not his body, but rather his face, his throat, his eyes. One creature leaped directly towards his head, its jaws stretching wider than any bone structure should permit, a jagged fissure splitting its skull.

It never reached its destination.

Ocean’s hand moved, not with brute force, but with refined precision. His fingers enveloped the creature mid-leap, arresting its motion as easily as one might halt a falling object. For a fleeting instant, its limbs flailed, claws scraping in vain against his arm. Then, pressure was applied.

The creature’s body collapsed inward with a sharp, brittle crack. Bone fractured. The structure that held it together failed instantly, and what had moments before appeared as a living entity disintegrated into fragments of ash and charred splinters that scattered across the damp cobblestones.

The remaining creatures did not falter.

Three more launched themselves from different vectors – one aiming low, another from behind, and the third soaring towards his shoulder.

Ocean took a single step forward, his movement economical yet perfectly positioned. His foot descended, and the crawler beneath it was reduced to a flattened ruin. Its bones snapped with a muted, wet sound before it dissolved completely.

He rotated slightly, his arm executing a sweeping arc.

The action displayed no discernible effort, yet its impact was absolute. The two remaining creatures were struck while airborne, their bodies shattering apart before they could even complete their trajectory, disintegrating into fragments that vanished the moment they touched the ground.

From above, the Hollow Ravens descended.

Their shrieks amplified as they closed the distance, their wings beating in erratic patterns that disturbed the very fabric of the air. One reached him first, its beak gaping unnaturally wide as it plummeted straight towards his face.

Ocean did not look upward.

The rain surrounding him seemed to respond.

What had been falling in steady drops moments before now obeyed his will, though no command was visibly uttered. The water coalesced, rising in thin, blade-like streams that sliced upward through the air. The first raven was bisected before it could make contact, its body splitting cleanly down the middle. The two halves parted in mid-flight, dissolving into a dark residue long before reaching the ground.

The rest met a similar fate.

Each assault was nullified before it could materialize. Wings were severed, bodies impaled, forms torn asunder by currents moving too rapidly to perceive. The sky above him was cleared within mere seconds, the piercing cries ceasing as abruptly as they had commenced.

By then, the Grave Leeches had reached him.

They did not attack head-on. Instead, they scaled his form, sliding along his boots, spreading across the ground to latch onto his legs and coat, seeking any exposed skin. One managed to make contact.

The response was instantaneous.

Its body tensed, clinging as though it had found purchase, and for a fleeting micro-instant, it began to draw sustenance. Then, it froze.

The surface of its form began to warp and distort.

The mana it attempted to absorb was far beyond its capacity to contain. The purification intrinsic to him surged back through the point of contact, overwhelming the creature from within. Its body spasmed, swelling unnaturally before imploding, dissolving into a thin, viscous smear that was washed away by the relentless rain.

The other leeches suffered the same end.

Some burst upon contact. Others withered and dissolved before they could even fully attach, their forms unraveling as if deconstructed at a fundamental level.

Ocean remained standing precisely where he had been from the outset.

The street around him returned to its former silence, the remnants of the creatures already being swept away, leaving no trace of the recent confrontation.

He lowered his hand slightly, his gaze returning to rest upon Domina.

His breathing remained steady. His stance showed no tension. There was no indication that any significant event had transpired.

If anything, he appeared mildly unimpressed.

"Is that all, Lilith? I anticipated something more."

Domina's eyes widened; no one apart from her direct superiors within the Dominus knew her human name. How could this Dragon possibly know it? She shook her head, thinking that while he might boast, this was undoubtedly his end.

Ocean let out a smirk. "Surprised? Fret not, I shall keep you entertained until the final moment. Proceed. Tear more of those pages and allow me to demonstrate what true devastation entails."

A pained grimace contorted Domina's features as she seized additional pages, tearing them apart with renewed fury.