CHAPTER 261: DOOM IS UPON YOU, KILLING THE KING OF DRAGONS

[The Primordial is here.]

[Why did you try to fight him?]

[There’s no hope anymore.]

Sam didn’t know what the dragons were staring at.

He just saw their faces go pale, their bodies frozen as if the life had been drained out of them.

Their eyes darted around, searching for something only they could see.

’I can’t keep them alive,’ he thought, his gaze darkening. ’I have... to kill them.’

Because if even the King of the Dragons—the most prideful and powerful among them—could feel such terror before a human, then the truth would become clear.

They would realize what he really was.

And that was something Sam could never allow.

He didn’t care much about himself.

He could kill anything that came his way, erase anyone who threatened him.

But putting Belle and Seraphine in danger was something he would never accept.

[Let’s get this over with =)]

’Right,’ he thought.

"Hey," Sam shouted, his tone steady, "I’m ending this. They probably know."

Hearing those words, Seraphine didn’t hesitate.

She raised her scepter, summoning it out of thin air, and pointed it upward.

"Privacy Zone!" she declared.

A bubble of shimmering energy spread outward, enveloping the entire restaurant in a translucent dome.

Inside it, no sound could escape.

No vision could pierce through.

No one outside could see or hear what was about to happen.

It was untraceable and indestructible unless one had the strength to break through it by force.

Not that anyone would dare.

After all, the King of Dragons himself was inside, and even the Celestials, who might’ve been strong enough to challenge him, knew better.

They could fight, maybe even win, but there was no point.

It was smarter to turn away. To pretend they saw nothing.

Sam was just a human to them, after all. If he died, it meant nothing.

[They do not care about you... so why should we care about them? =)]

Sam’s face didn’t change.

Calm. Cold. Focused.

He opened his [Spatial Inventory] and reached inside, pulling out the weapon that silenced the room in an instant: the primordial sword.

Its presence alone sent waves of pressure across the air.

The dragons’ eyes widened the moment they saw it, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t move.

Their instincts screamed at them that what stood before them wasn’t human.

Crimson panels appeared in the air, one after another, filled with words that branded him as what they feared most.

And with every new panel, their despair grew heavier.

"I despise people like you," Sam said quietly, his tone calm yet edged with venom.

His expression darkened, though a faint, unnerving smile spread across his lips.

"But it’s fine... I can just end it quickly."

Primordial Tendrils!

The sword pulsed, and dark crimson tendrils burst forth, whipping across the air toward the dragons that had tried to ambush him.

Fwish!

In an instant, the tendrils coiled around their necks, one by one, binding them like puppets on strings.

Their wings twitched.

Their claws scraped helplessly at the invisible bindings.

And still, they could not move.

"I wonder..." Sam said softly, his voice almost curious, "...why you’re trying so hard to hunt me. I haven’t even done anything."

But to Alphox, the King of Dragons, those words were meaningless.

His eyes trembled as he looked at Sam.

What he saw wasn’t a man.

It was a being cloaked in shadow, the outline of a nightmare given form.

Only his eyes burned through the darkness, glowing like two cold, crimson stars.

And that grin, wide, sharp, filled with quiet malice, looked exactly like the ones they had seen before.

’The Primordials.’

The monsters that destroyed cities, massacred thousands, and left nothing but silence in their wake.

’I... get it now,’ Alphox thought, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest. ’These beings... truly need... to be eradicated...’

SNAP!

One by one, the tendrils tightened.

Bones cracked, necks broke.

The sound was sharp, final, echoing through the silent dome.

Every dragon’s head fell limp except Alphox’s.

The others were gone, their lifeless bodies collapsing to the floor.

Alphox’s entire body trembled, his breath shaking as Sam stepped closer.

Each footstep echoed like thunder. Until he stood right before him.

The tendril around Alphox’s neck tightened slightly, just enough to remind him of how close death was.

His mouth quivered, trying to speak.

The words wouldn’t come out at first, but through sheer will, he managed to force a few out.

"I... see..." he whispered, his voice trembling. "You... are... just... like... them..."

He wanted to scream that this human was the Primordial.

He wanted to warn the world. But that name, just the thought of it, froze him completely.

It was a word that carried death. So he said nothing more.

"..."

Sam stared at him in silence. Then turned to Belle.

"I’m going to do it," he said quietly, his eyes locking on hers. "Last chance to speak up."

Belle didn’t answer immediately.

She closed her eyes, taking a long breath.

That was her father standing there. The King of Dragons.

The one everyone bowed to. The one who ruled through power and fear.

But to her, he was just a man who never cared.

A man who called her weak, who tried to shape her into something she never wanted to be.

He’d abandoned her countless times in his pursuit of strength and respect.

And she knew, deep down, that if their positions were reversed, he wouldn’t hesitate.

He wouldn’t defend her. He wouldn’t even flinch.

So when she opened her eyes again, they were steady.

"Just get this over with," she said, her voice firm, her gaze unwavering. "I... want to be with you guys, not them."

For a brief moment, Alphox’s lips twitched into what looked like a smile.

But it wasn’t pride. It was a terrified, broken grin.

"Haha..." he muttered weakly, "Good... you are... acting... like a true... dragon..."

"I’m not like you," Belle said coldly. "And I’ll never be."

"It... doesn’t matter..." Alphox wheezed, a trace of arrogance flickering even now. "Because in the end... I’m still... the one... who killed... HER... for... being... too... wea—"

SNAP!

Sam didn’t let him finish.

The sound echoed through the bubble as Alphox’s body went limp.

Belle’s face twisted with fury at his final words, her eyes burning with rage and grief.

The bodies of the dragons lay still, scattered across the floor.

Sam raised his sword.

Fwish!

Tendrils shot out once more, sinking into each corpse.

The bodies convulsed slightly before dark, red energy was drawn out from within. Their hearts.

The sword absorbed the essence, devouring every last trace of life it could take.

"Huh," Seraphine murmured, tilting her head slightly. "That’s new."

"Never seen him do that before," Belle said quietly, shrugging.

The Primordial Sword pulsed faintly in Sam’s hand, glowing for a brief second before settling.

He couldn’t level up anymore, but that didn’t matter.

The energy strengthened him in ways that didn’t need a number to measure.

When it was over, Sam sheathed the sword and sighed.

"Alright," he said with a small grin, "we should go now."

"What about them?" Seraphine asked, pointing at the fallen dragons. "We can’t just... leave them here, right?"

"If you want, I can say I was the one who killed them!" Belle offered quickly, her tone serious. "I’ll say they attacked me after I tried to stop them."

Sam opened his mouth to respond, but before he could—

Fwish! Fwish! Fwish!

"Huh?"

Everyone froze.

Above each of the fallen dragons, faint shapes began to form.

Ghostly, translucent outlines. Their spirits.

"What the fuck?!" Belle snapped, stepping forward and taking a fighting stance. "They’re back?"

"!!!" Seraphine lifted her staff immediately, ready to cast.

But Sam didn’t move.

He simply stared at the spirits floating above the corpses.

Then, slowly, he grinned.

’Right,’ he thought, ’I can also take the spirits of awakeners.’