Chapter 403 Lich's Diary (IV)
"Great, Dragon Lord! We meant no offense!"
"Yes, yes! It was that Lich—he corrupted us!"
Three Eye Demons chanted in desperate unison, their tendrils of influence trembling violently. Eye Demons despised all other beings—including each other. Each believed itself the pinnacle of its kind, while any deviation was a disgrace to the race. But they cherished their lives above all.
Faced with an overwhelming display of strength, they knew survival required compromise. Arrogance had to be laid aside.
The middle Eye Demon, its membrane pockmarked with grotesque tumors, drifted forward. Its hideous face twisted into a servile grin:
"Great Dragon, I am the humble Eye Demon Ogu. Your form is so magnificent, a Dragon of your stature must surely possess vast treasures. I offer myself freely—guardian of your nest, to slay any who dare threaten your hoard."
"Oh?"
"Just now—you were the one who said you’d devour me!"
Kai Xiusu extended a clawed arm, seizing the Eye Demon in his grip. With a single claw-tip, he gently prodded the round, pulsating body—as if testing a rubber ball.
The Eye Demon writhed violently, but dared not resist. Terror flooded its being, and it wailed for mercy:
"I—I don’t know anything! It was the Lich! All his orders!"
Kai Xiusu stroked his chin with his other claw, calm as ever.
"Seems plausible."
"Yes, Dragon Lord!"
"It was all the Lich’s fault! Spare me, and I’ll lead you straight to him!"
The Eye Demon spun dizzyingly, yet clung to the hope like a drowning man to a rope. Its voice trembled with desperate excitement.
"But..." Kai Xiusu paused, his tone sharpening.
"You’re too ugly."
The Red Dragon clenched his claw with sudden, brutal force. A surge of terrifying power erupted—so intense it warped the air itself.
Flesh exploded. Eyes scattered.
The insolent Eye Demon was crushed to pulp, a grotesque, sticky mass of ruined meat.
"Disgusting."
Kai Xiusu flicked his claw, brushing away the remnants. A flicker of flame ignited across his palm, burning the last traces of gore and viscous fluid to ash.
"Ogu is dead!"
"No—this can’t be! That dragon will kill me!"
The second Eye Demon shrieked, its massive, bulging eye erupting black smoke. It spat thick, emerald-green slime and vanished into the mist, hoping to flee in concealment.
"Hah."
"Did you really think you could escape?"
A ripple of invisible force spread. The black mist shrouding the tomb chamber vanished instantly, revealing the fleeing Eye Demon mid-flight.
A searing fire bolt lanced forth.
"Aaargh~~!"
The scream tore through the chamber as the bolt pierced the Eye Demon’s body. Instantly, it detonated in a burst of flame.
The creature collapsed, lifeless, reduced to charred ash.
A mere cantrip—yet in Kai Xiusu’s hands, it was enough to end an Eye Demon’s existence.
Kai Xiusu turned his head, pale golden eyes locking onto the final survivor. He smiled.
"Then it’s just you left."
The last Eye Demon trembled in abject terror.
"Great Dragon... I—I—"
"I can cast spells."
"And... I’m not ugly!"
The voice shook with fear, yet the Eye Demon tried to prove its worth—transforming itself into a young woman. A beautiful one, almost—but still with only one eye.
Kai Xiusu studied it.
Indeed, compared to the other two, this one’s skin was smoother, its eye less clouded. Among Eye Demons, it was—remarkably, even strikingly—fair.
Resourceful. Adaptable.
A rare specimen.
Kai Xiusu fell silent for a moment, then asked:
"What’s your name?"
"Great Dragon, I am Kuzu."
Even in the form of a young woman, the voice remained grating—sharp, metallic, like scraping steel.
"Change back. Follow me."
"Yes, Master."
Thus ended the annihilation of the three Eye Demons.
These abominations, crafted by the Lich to counter Human Adventurers, were nothing more than playthings to a Red Dragon of such overwhelming might.
Who could have guessed the "invader" was a dragon nearly forty meters long?
Even the Lich never imagined such a low-probability event.
Kuzu returned to its true form, drifting behind the Red Dragon, posture submissive, utterly devoid of the arrogance it had shown when emerging from the hidden chamber.
"Master," it offered, trembling, "t-that’s the Lich’s Fate Chest."
"I know."
In the Castle of Weeping Souls, the Lich stared fixedly at the magical image of the Fate Chest. His skeletal face twisted in despair.
"Damned Eye Demons..."
"And he—he’s a Dragon! How could a Dragon breach this sanctum?!"
"How could this happen?! All my centuries of meticulous preparation for immortality—ruined by a cursed beast?!"
Suddenly, a chilling suspicion stirred.
The recent, widespread rumors—of the one who unified Anzeta’s Great Wasteland, the Emperor of the Ashen Flame—was also said to be a Red Dragon.
"I concealed myself so well... how could he have found me? No... it’s impossible. A coincidence. It must be."
The Lich pressed his decaying, fleshless head against the crystal skull, fixing his hollow gaze on the Fate Chest. The ghostly flame within his eye sockets flickered wildly.
"No... it can’t be..."
"Impossible... it’s not him."
Then—cracks appeared on the crystal skull.
They spread rapidly.
Crack. Crack.
The Lich instinctively staggered back, clutching his staff with skeletal fingers.
In the dying image, the massive Red Dragon lifted its head. The pale gold depths of its eyes gleamed with amusement.
"I see you."
Orestes felt a crushing, oppressive pressure—seeping through time and space. Even the mighty Lich, long accustomed to superiority, felt the instinct to kneel.
Then—crack!—the crystal skull shattered into a thousand glittering fragments.
"This is impossible!"
"No... no, no..."
The Lich stumbled backward, colliding with jars and vials filled with organs and rotting flesh. His emaciated body collapsed onto the floor. Blood and viscera spilled across the stone.
With trembling hands, he dragged himself up, scrambling for spell components, frantically preparing for battle.
But the bone quill still moved across the diary—scribbling one final, frantic line, the characters jagged and wild:
"He saw me."
(End of Chapter)
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