Darian thought over the rest of the content he had received. He also got detailed information about how that Array was made, among other things.

Unfortunately, Lucy wasn't there, and he didn't know much about this stuff. But he managed to understand that, with the Divine Dragon's power, it was possible to seal any kind of power and energy in a huge area. The moment they became the target of that creature, it would be impossible to run or go back.

That's why, the moment the time ran out, they would have to fight or fight. As for actually winning… Darian could only count on the same tactic he used to purify Enfield's corruption.

The problem was that he wouldn't be able to do the same thing because the Tanks and Niara wouldn't be able to endure a clash with the Divine Dragon.

The main reason… was that Niara would have her Bloodline and central power completely subdued for the first time in her life.

That was a common effect, since a Dragon could suppress all other inferior beast races. All Mannaz with Draconic Bloodline had always been the oppressors, not the other way around; so Darian couldn't count on her at full strength in this situation.

Even her blessing would be hard to use, because her body wouldn't endure devouring all that power without her Bloodline protecting her.

The situation was terrible, and he didn't have many options. He took a deep breath and turned to Niara, who waited silently at his side.

"We'll fight together up front, while the others stay at a distance. Not even the tanks can help us," His voice sounded calm and worried. "I'll be the main shield… maybe it's better if you use my black power again, so you have some offensive strength."

Niara heard that and narrowed her eyes. "No, I'm your shield, that's not going to change."

Darian sighed. She had gotten really stubborn about these things recently. When he looked at her, trying to think of how to explain, he saw in her eyes an absolute confidence and shine. It was a kind of arrogance and self-confidence that surprised him.

Niara had a very strong instinct, almost premonitory. She should definitely be feeling the extreme danger she would face in the next fight, so she shouldn't have that kind of aura right now.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Darian asked quietly.

Niara nodded and gave a slight smile. He just nodded back without saying anything; there was no logic to it, and she couldn't explain anything that would convince him. But he trusted her completely.

Considering that she really would be able to help him equally, things changed a lot. Darian could focus on using his white power to seal the corruption inside the enemy's body, drastically weakening him.

Since the immortal bodies of these Primordial Beasts couldn't normally be corrupted; it was like sealing that power inside them, stopping them from using it.

Darian received a lot of knowledge from Enfield and understood many things.

Even though they were corrupted Primordial Beasts, their total power wasn't even 2% of what they had when alive. Compared to a Risen Lord, they were unquestionably much stronger, but that was because of their immortal bodies; in terms of raw power, they were only a bit stronger. Of course, they also had other abilities, like using their primordial power.

A Risen Lord had power similar to an elite Spiritual Guardian with nine rings. Since Darian currently wouldn't die easily to someone of that level, with Niara at his side and both of them going all out, they could restrain even Enfield if he were using his full corruption. But without that maximum power, like what happened before, he was simply thrown around without being able to retaliate.

With the Divine Dragon without her corruption, they just needed to bitterly endure her attacks until they created an opening for the Heavenly Elemental Spirits to act.

In theory, everything sounded beautiful.

Darian explained everything to Camille; the tanks would be in charge of protecting the Heavenly Elemental Spirits. The mages and Fighters would attack the first opening to support the couple who would be fighting.

…

When the set time was almost up, everyone positioned themselves perfectly inside the region, already in combat stance.

*Buzz*

All of time-space started trembling, and the distortion inside began to revert to its natural state.

Enfield, still lying down, opened his eyes and slowly stood up. His red eyes vanished, returning to a deep blue.

He looked at all the Mannaz with his Bloodline, nervously positioned on that battlefield; then let out a deep sigh.

Darian understood his thoughts. He had lived his whole life trying to take care of that universe, while also trying to keep good relations with his problematic 'older sister'. But life was harsh, and everything he did ended up thrown away because of the other two Primordial Beasts.

"Don't worry. Your Bloodline will remain alive through them, and they'll all fight in your name to defeat the corruption. This universe will one day flourish with life again, like in the past."

Darian spoke slowly, and Enfield's gaze focused on him for a few seconds. He nodded, giving one last sigh… then turned his eyes to Niara again, as if drawn to her.

After three seconds, he slowly closed his eyes… then his whole body shone.

The Primordial Beasts didn't have a physical body like the living beings of the universes. They were born from the universe's primordial power, and that condensed, like the world itself, manifesting into matter. Now… their body turned into shining particles and started to scatter.

"I really hope you succeed…"

His final words sounded softly, fading away along with his existence, as if they were being carried by the laws of the world into an eternal void.

All the Mannaz had trembling eyes, feeling the bitterness and melancholy in Enfield's final moments; but this wasn't the time to mourn.

Everything went back to normal and, at the same time...

**ROOOOOAR!**

An absurdly loud roar — that echoed directly through their entire existence — made them feel as if their souls were completely shattering.

It was a primitive and immortal roar, a sound that echoed from the dawn of a universe's time, coming from a supreme Primordial Dragon.

All the inscriptions that had been blocking the fluctuations shattered, and then the Divine Dragon noticed the intrusion and activated all its power immediately, sealing all energies in the area.

There was no kind of power around; everything froze, even space-time was paralyzed before that roar. The only things able to circulate were the power of the ring and whatever came from inside people.

In the middle of the miasma ahead of them, a pair of red eyes opened like two beacons.

In that instant...

"!"

Darian almost jumped, taken over by complete panic and surprise.

Niara noticed that and turned to him, confused.

"How… that's not possible…" Darian stuttered in shock, feeling the Divine Dragon's fluctuations perfectly this time.

"This is just the Divine Dragon's body, without any soul or real life inside. Its whole existence is dead and corrupted. This is like a necromancer's work, reanimating it to fight…"

He swallowed hard. Before, he had felt that the Divine Dragon didn't have any common fluctuation, but thought it was because he barely knew anything about their power. Now he realized no — there were no fluctuations because a reanimated body only moved power when it received commands to do so.

"Fuck... with a lifeless body, it'll be impossible for the Heavenly Elemental Spirits to purify the corruption and create an opening. His whole existence is already dead and corrupted, so they'd only subtly get in the way..."

Before, Enfield still had an intact immortal body, and if he tried using too much corrupt power, he'd get contaminated — it would've been a quick suicide. When Darian affected that in him during their fight, Enfield didn't push it and only fought with what he had left. But the Corrupted Dragon wouldn't have that problem, and since he wasn't a Risen anymore but a real undead, there was no connection with the Celestial Shadow for Darian to cut and win the fight. Meaning, they could only win by killing him for real... which was basically impossible.

In other words, his plans — already unstable — were thrown straight down the drain in the very first second.