The air crackled with tension, thick with the weight of something inevitable.
[The next explosion will be the final one before the Hatred Demon reveals himself,] the Crown of Calamity’s voice echoed within Alex’s mind, heavy with an unshakable certainty.
“Quickly!”
Xyrran’s voice, usually calm and composed, carried a rare edge of urgency.
His massive dragon form trembled slightly as he cast a wary glance toward the swirling ritual circle below.
The runes that lined its surface pulsed violently, the energy radiating from it nearly suffocating.
It was reaching its limit.
They could all feel it—something immense, something beyond comprehension was about to be unleashed.
The entire city groaned under the sheer force of the energy emanating from that circle, as if Dragon City itself was being crushed under the weight of an unseen power.
None of them wanted to be around when that power finally broke free.
The other dragons made their decision without hesitation.
They vanished in bursts of light, returning to Xyrran’s domain—an isolated space where time flowed differently.
Inside, they could observe events unfold at a safe distance, spending hours strategizing while barely minutes passed in the real world.
But even in that sanctuary, they knew one thing for certain.
The moment the Hatred Demon became aware of them, it would be over.
Alex, however, had no intention of running.
Not yet.
Without another word, he shot forward, his wings slicing through the air as he landed in front of Xyrran.
Without hesitation, he threw a punch into the dragon’s stomach.
Then another. And another.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Each strike landed with precision, not strong enough to truly injure Xyrran, but firm enough to be felt.
Alex didn’t waste time putting unnecessary force behind them—speed was more important.
Yet, somewhere deep in his subconscious, there was a flicker of satisfaction at striking a dragon.
+2 DP! +2 DP! +2 DP!
Over and over, his fists connected, his movements a blur.
Until—
[Destiny Points: 150/150]
He had maxed them out again.
Xyrran stood firm, though his stomach now bore shallow wounds, and a thin trickle of blood ran from his mouth.
He remained silent, neither scolding nor questioning Alex’s actions.
He had seen this before—witnessed how Alex fought in the dragon bloodline trial, using a similar tactic against both the Minotaur and the Fallen Angel.
If Alex wanted to win, this was necessary.
Finally, the dragon dipped his head slightly in acknowledgment.
“Good luck, human,” Xyrran said.
His voice, calm once more, held no arrogance—only understanding.
“Do whatever you can. We will handle the rest.”
And with that, the dragons disappeared, retreating into their hidden domain.
Alex exhaled, his gaze shifting back toward Dragon City just in time to hear it.
BOOM!
The final explosion.
There was no need to look.
Alex had already committed to his next move the moment the sound reached his ears.
He closed his eyes, shutting out the chaos, shutting out the impending terror.
WORLD CLEAVER.
He activated the skill.
When he opened his eyes again, he wasn’t in the real world anymore.
A vast, endless white stretched in every direction—his mindscape.
This space, a blank slate where his consciousness could focus entirely on the skill at hand, felt strangely quiet despite the battle raging outside.
At the center of it all hovered the [Blade of Destiny], slowly rotating in place, humming with a golden radiance.
But then, something caught his attention.
To his left… A deep red stain bled into the white, spreading and shifting unnaturally.
The color was rich, pulsating, almost alive. And the space around it shook.
The moment he saw it, Alex understood: it was his hatred.
His very own rage, taking form within his mind, clawing at his consciousness, threatening to take over.
A crimson panel materialized before him.
[You cannot stop the hatred. Just keep doing what you are doing.]
The message was simple, but Alex didn’t question it.
Whoever—or whatever—was speaking to him was right.
Trying to fight the hatred would be pointless.
Instead, he focused.
Because if he was right…
If his mind was fully engulfed by hatred, wouldn’t that mean the conditions for [Hatred’s Fury] would be met?
It was just a theory. But it made sense.
Somewhere in the distance, a deep, rumbling force shook his mindscape.
The real world was waiting. No more hesitation.
Alex reached forward and grasped the hilt of the [Blade of Destiny], initiating [World Cleaver] for real this time.
The moment his eyes snapped open, he felt it.
The air had changed. Everything was wrong.
A suffocating pressure crushed the sky, and an eerie crimson glow swallowed the world whole.
The atmosphere was thick, oppressive—almost like reality itself had been stained in red.
Dragon City was almost entirely.
Or rather, it wasn’t gone—but it had been erased in all but name.
Almost every building had been reduced to ash or crumbled into debris, the once-magnificent structures shattered beyond recognition.
And at the center of it all, the ritual circle had become an uncontrollable force of destruction.
It spun faster and faster, its runes no longer readable, glowing with an intensity that threatened to consume everything around it.
Alex could barely breathe.
‘At least I got World Cleaver ready…’
He steadied himself, gripping the blade tighter.
His hands trembled—not from fear, but from the sheer magnitude of what he was witnessing.
This wasn’t a battle anymore.
This was the end of something.
And at the same time, the beginning of something much worse.
[The Crown of Calamity warns you to use the Blade of Destiny to run.]
[You will not win.]
Alex exhaled sharply.
“Just help me.”
He didn’t care if the Crown was right.
He wasn’t running.
[The Crown of Calamity will assist to the best of its capabilities.]
[Get ready, Alex. We may both perish.]
Alex frowned.
“You can die?”
[The moment you die and I am removed from your head, I will become part of the Hatred Demon.]
[This may be our last discussion.]
A brief silence.
Then, Alex let out a small, almost reckless smile.
“Then let’s make sure we talk again after we kill the Hatred Demon.”
The Crown didn’t respond.
But for some reason, Alex could feel it acknowledge his words.
And then—
BAM!
From beneath Dragon City, the ground erupted.
A giant hand—no, a monstrous claw—tore through the earth, stretching toward the sky.
Its sheer size was unimaginable, towering over what remained of the city, its dark red flesh pulsing with raw, uncontrollable hatred.
Alex barely had time to process it before another BAM! shook the world.
A second hand.
A second claw.
Both massive beyond reason, both coated in dark energy, their very presence distorting the air itself.
And then—
BOOOOOOOOOM!
The ground collapsed entirely.
The world split apart as a titanic being pulled itself free from the ground that had closed in on it beneath the city.
The Hatred Demon had returned.
And this time, it was stronger than ever before.
Alex could barely see past the thick wall of mist and debris that had erupted from the ground, but he didn’t need to see it.
He felt it.
This wasn’t just a monster.
This was something far beyond what he had ever faced before.
This was going to be his hardest fight yet.
An impossible one, and yet, he had no choice but to win.
…
A/N
You can skip to chapter 389 if you don’t want to see this fight, though I don’t recommend it since it’s the most important one in the entire novel, and thus the longest, you do you though.
The next battles will be much faster as this fight is basically to show how powerful Alex got.