Chapter 1238 – Dragon Hunter (7)

Yrelstromoz’s mind had been focused ever since she had realized the legitimate threat to her life. She had allowed her instincts and training to take over, believing in her innate power as a True Dragon. Old abilities, tactics, and skills she hadn’t used for decades had resurfaced in her mind, including some of the sure-fire strategies that should have allowed her to easily slay even powerful B-grades her own level.

However… nothing worked. No matter what she did, the human refused to fall. When she saw him take her Dragon’s Breath head-on, she was certain the fight was over. That he would be completely annihilated, as even if Yrelstromoz didn’t have the most powerful Dragon’s Breath or had trained the ability a lot, it was still the breath of a True Dragon.

So, seeing him still standing there afterward, his aura barely any weaker, had shaken her to the core. It wasn’t better when the Chosen of the Malefic Viper went on the offensive again despite his broken body. She tried to get him away, tried to kill him as she felt the state of her own body and soul deteriorate, but he just kept coming.

Her resolve had slowly waned, turning to fear. After her second Dragon’s Breath had also failed after the human used some kind of time-affinity survival skill, all doubt in her mind was gone.

This human… this C-grade… wasn’t someone she could beat. All thoughts of pride and arrogance disappeared, and all that remained was a desperate desire to live. Her mindset switched from finishing off the human to just running away.

At once, she did two things. Firstly, she tried to reach out to her aunt through the token she’d given Yrelstromoz. Secondly, she released magic to push the Chosen away and allow him to escape.

Yrelstromoz knew the state of her own body. It was doubtful whether she would even survive anymore without any external help. Perhaps if she got away fast enough, she could wait out the cooldown on the potion and drink one. However, her best hope was that her aunt would respond quickly. Maybe she would even come and save her… but Yrelstromoz couldn’t assume that and would do everything in her power to escape on her own.

Burning through her resources, she soared skywards, seeking the safety of space. As a dragon from the Lumenflight, she was one of the fastest variants of dragons, and while she fully recognized the power and even speed of the Chosen of the Malefic Viper now, she remained confident that he had no way of keeping up.

Perhaps he had some escape skills or methods to pursue her for a while, but in sustained speed, Yrelstromoz would win. At least that’s what she assumed as she flew upwards, and fortunately, it appeared that her assumption had been entirely correct.

After being pushed away, the human took too long to even begin giving chase, giving Yrelstromoz a massive head start. A vain hope even appeared in her mind that he’d given up, satisfied with the knowledge he’d won. Not that it should matter anymore, as she only got further and further away, the human just stood below, looking up at her.

Reaching the upper atmosphere, her path to the stars was wide open, and Yrelstromoz truly began to believe she could survive this ordeal… but such was not her fate.

Something changed. Shifted. Yrelstromoz looked at the distant stars until, suddenly, they seemed even farther away and began to dim, as a voice echoed from everywhere yet nowhere.

“Event Horizon.”

The stars died, and all light disappeared from her world. Even the brightness of her own dimming body was gone, and the entire world was filled with darkness for a moment before she saw something.

Vaguely, she saw a ring of light surrounding her. It appeared so close, yet impossibly far, and as she kept flapping her wings desperately, Yrelstromoz wasn’t even sure she was moving, anyway. Ahead of her was nothing, as if she’d reached the end of existence itself. She couldn’t feel herself move, and instinctively she turned to watch the planet below.

It too was gone, and all that remained was a single figure in this empty world, though it was impossible to judge the distance between the two of them. She couldn’t even see his actual form, but instead only saw two eyes in the sea of darkness staring back at her, making a shiver run down Yrelstromoz’s spine.

And then… it was gone.

Light returned, the world became normal, and Yrelstromoz felt herself moving forward once more. Everything appeared the same, but she knew something was different. Whatever he’d done instilled an inexplicable fear in her heart, and deep down, at that moment, she knew:

I’ll die.

Yrelstromoz had no way of surviving, and her only hope was that her final desperate call for help to her aunt had reached her in time.

—

Jake had never used Event Horizon before, saving it for a moment like this. He wasn’t even entirely sure what would happen when he used it or what it would look like. When he finally saw, he instantly knew there was far more to this skill than he could imagine, and he was barely scraping the surface of what it could one day become.

The Event Horizon was… beautiful. After he’d spoken those two words, everything else disappeared until only Jake, his prey, and the horizon remained. He saw Yrelstromoz and a single line of light endlessly far away, marking the edge of reality itself. Then, in the very next moment, the horizon changed. I curved, folding in on itself until it formed a perfect circle around the True Dragon that flew hopefully on a perfectly black backdrop.

For a moment, Jake saw and felt everything. Even his Sphere of Perception expanded, encompassing this entire world. Yrelstromoz was already over a thousand kilometers away, yet he saw her clear as day. Nothing escaped his sight, and he almost felt as if the impossible-to-reach horizon was within his grasp…

Right as the glimpse ended.

Yet his Event Horizon remained.

Despite reality returning to normal, Jake still saw it. A ring of light, visible only to him, encircled Yrelstromoz, and he was fully aware of her with every shred of Perception he had. It was second nature as Jake lifted his bow and took out the Protean Arrow he’d prepared.

He’d already very slightly changed the shape of Eternal Hunger to look like an arrowhead, and slotting it into the designed arrow body was effortless. With it easy, Jake drew his bow and took aim, something that was more effortless than ever.

Jake didn’t even truly need to aim. In his mind’s eye, he already saw the perfect path between him and his prey. As his Event Horizon, it was only natural that the end-point of any attack would naturally be Yrelstromoz.

His Arcane Powershot charged as Yrelstromoz kept fleeing, moving with absolute desperation as she kept burning through mana. By the second, she got further and further away, but Jake didn’t care as he kept charging the attack that would finish off the True Dragon.

Only when his body reached its limits did Jake release his shot. At the very last moment, Jake poured in every shred of Hunting Momentum he’d built up before he let go of the string.

Right before he did, Jake felt something else that nearly made him pause. He knew Villy was observing him, but right then, another existence gazed upon him. Something far more powerful than he was. Jake quickly suppressed any thoughts born from this and focused solely on his attack.

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An explosion of arcane energy exploded all around him as the Protean Arrow flew skywards. It was faster than any arrow Jake had ever shot before, its speed incomparable even to his wildest imagination. Due to Unblemished Arrows and Jake’s high power, these arrows were normally incredibly fast already, but this was just on another level.

Within less than a second, it reached the True Dragon traveling at top speeds despite her burning through mana and having nearly reached space. She had no space or time to evade it, and the feeble barrier she tried to summon at the very last moment was far too weak to do anything. Not that it helped, as Jake used one final Primal Gaze the moment before his arrow made impact.

The arrow struck Yrelstromoz in the back and penetrated her body, dealing even more damage than Jake’s initial opening attack. She let out a loud roar as the Protean Arrow wrecked her insides entirely, destroying her from within and effectively ending her life. Coupled with an extreme extra dose of Dragonsbane Poison, she didn’t even fully finish her roar before she started falling back towards the planet, and Jake questioned if she would even survive till she finished her fall.

Her scales flickered with light, her consciousness fading. Jake didn’t see a need to shoot a second arrow as he started flying toward where she was falling. On the way, he detonated his Hunter’s Mark with the hope of finishing her off for good to end her suffering, but despite the massive flash of pure destructive arcane energy, the vitality of a True Dragon once more proved itself as she remained alive. In this instance, to Yrelstromoz’s detriment.

Jake knew that her body and soul were both too far gone, and all Yrelstromoz was waiting for was death. She could barely move her energies anymore; the Dragonsbane was too strong at this point. All she could do was fall slowly towards the planet below, and perhaps the only reasons she remained alive were her stubbornness and will to live.