CHAPTER 178: TRYING TO ATTACK THE PRIMORDIAL IS A BAD IDEA

"Just stay still and accept it for the rest of us," Zarion said as he stepped forward, his voice steady but heavy with authority.

"It will make it easier for us."

Fwish!

Sam didn’t answer.

He only smiled at them, calm in a way that didn’t make sense in the situation.

"Why are you smiling?" Zarion’s expression hardened, his eyes narrowing as if he were staring at something that unsettled him.

The others all flinched, almost in unison, when they saw that smile.

It wasn’t the smile itself, but the faint crimson aura that flickered out from Sam’s eyes, spilling into the air like fire bleeding into smoke.

The male angel shifted on his feet, clearly agitated, and spoke to his partner with impatience.

"Let’s just get this over with. It’s one versus five, and we’re stronger than him."

"Are you?" Sam asked softly, his smile stretching wider, crimson light glowing brighter.

The female celestial sneered and walked forward, her green halo burning hotter behind her head.

"Your bluff won’t work. You’re nothing. Let’s just finish this."

Sam’s smile didn’t fade.

Instead, he tilted his head slightly, the light in his eyes intensifying.

As Zarion stepped forward again, his body began to shift.

Light wrapped around him, and with a sudden flash, his human frame expanded, stretching into something far larger.

Scales spread across his body, wings unfurled, and his draconic head rose above them all.

The transformation completed in seconds, leaving a towering dragon in his place, dark scales rippling with energy.

"You really should know your place," Zarion rumbled, his voice deep and thunderous now that he stood in his true form.

Aura poured from his body in heavy waves, bending the air and distorting the space around him.

The glow of his eyes burned through the shadows, shining down on Sam as if to remind him of the difference between them.

But Sam didn’t show a hint of fear.

Not a twitch.

Not a step backward.

Only that same smile.

The other dragon followed Zarion’s lead, his body glowing before bursting into his own draconic form.

The celestial woman’s halo erupted with green flames, fire dripping and spilling across her shoulders as her divine energy built up around her.

The two angels radiated divine light as well, their wings stretching wider, feathers glowing as power surged through them.

Together, they prepared to end everything in one swift strike.

From a distance, Belle watched, her heart sinking.

Her claws dug into the floor as she forced herself to remain still.

She wanted to move, to act, but she couldn’t.

She had thought that she was free here in this realm, free to rely on nothing but her own strength.

She was strong, one of the strongest of the dragons.

But even strength had limits.

What could she possibly do, surrounded by all of them?

She knew she could defeat Zarion if it was just the two of them, but with four others backing him, her power meant nothing.

Especially against the celestial.

Her eyes flicked toward the woman whose green fire halo burned so brightly.

The celestials were the strongest race alive.

There was no way Belle could win against her.

But even knowing that, she couldn’t look away from the human standing there without fear.

"Goodbye, human," Zarion declared, his massive jaws opening as energy built in his throat.

The dragon’s chest expanded, ready to release a storm of fire that would incinerate everything before it.

---

[Name: Zarion Grimscale]

[Rank: Immortal]

[Level: 1]

[Class: ???]

[Skills: Dragon Form, Dragon Breath, Power Scales...]

---

Sam didn’t even bother checking the details of Zarion’s skills again.

He didn’t care.

Belle’s thoughts raced.

’Come on, human. You did something before, I could feel it. Why aren’t you moving now?’

Even as death loomed before him, Sam turned his head slightly.

His eyes found Belle’s position across the chamber, and his smile grew wider.

The crimson aura flowing from his eyes thickened, surrounding him, and the strange pressure of his affinities filled the air.

"Just get this over with," the celestial woman muttered, irritation clear in her tone, "Or let me do it. It will be much quicker."

The male angel agreed without hesitation.

"No need to fight. He’ll die anyway."

"Agreed," the other angel said firmly.

And at that moment, Sam’s voice cut through their words.

"Goodbye," he said, his grin widening until his crimson aura bled brighter into the air.

Zarion’s eyes flickered with confusion.

He hesitated, his flames on the verge of release, his massive head drawing back as he demanded, "What are you talking about—"

GAZE OF THE PRIMORDIAL!

Sam’s voice thundered in the chamber as his eyes twisted, the crimson glow shifting into dark spirals that swirled endlessly like an abyss.

Zarion’s gaze met them for only a heartbeat—

Ding!

[Your soul has been hit with "Doom"!]

Sam knew.

He knew that powerful races often resisted status effects like this.

Which was why he had trained.

Why he had pushed this skill to pierce past flesh and bone, forcing it to strike directly at the soul.

The result was immediate.

Zarion froze. His massive body trembled, his breath catching.

His vision darkened.

When he looked around, he couldn’t see his allies anymore.

He couldn’t see the chamber.

All that remained was Sam, standing alone, his form bleeding with crimson light, aura radiating like pure malice given form.

The others blinked in confusion, watching Zarion’s sudden change.

"What the hell is he doing?"

"The fuck?"

The dragon was enormous, his bulk towering over them, yet he stood paralyzed, fear clear in every shudder of his body.

Because only he had been caught in the [Gaze of the Primordial].

"Do you realize now?" Sam asked, his voice cold, his smile sharpened.

"It really was a bad idea, wasn’t it?"

[=)]

Zarion’s throat tightened.

"Y-YOU?!" he roared, but his voice cracked.

He could only force out a few broken words.

"Y-YOU ARE!"

Panels burst across his vision.

[You’re about to die.]

[How does it feel to feel fear for once?]

[You already know what’s going to happen.]

His heart slammed against his chest as his mind struggled to make sense of what he was seeing.

He was a dragon, strong, immortal, feared.

And yet, he felt fear.

Real fear.

In front of a human.

No—

Not a human.

Something else.

Another panel confirmed the truth.

[The primordial is here.]

The words aligned with Sam’s crimson eyes, aligning with his aura, aligning with the weight that crushed him.

And Zarion realized how hopeless this really was.

"...?"

The celestial woman frowned, irritation flashing across her face.

"Can’t count on anybody, I guess."

She stepped forward, her halo burning hotter.

But Zarion’s roar cut across the chamber.

"H-HE’S HERE!"

His voice cracked, booming against the walls, shaking the air.

"THE P-PRIMORDIAL IS H-HERE—"

The sentence ended in blood.

Sam’s primordial sword swung in a single clean arc, slicing through the dragon’s thick neck as if it were nothing.

The massive form collapsed to the ground, lifeless, the sound echoing through the chamber like thunder.

Sam stepped past it without pause, his expression blank, his crimson aura flowing brighter.

The others froze, shock rippling through them.

They had all heard Zarion’s final words.

"The... primordial is here?"

"What the fuck is he talking about? This is—"

Their voices faltered, their feet shifting back in hesitation.

And just to be certain they understood, the [Tower of Fate] itself intervened.

A massive panel appeared before everyone.

Ding!

[The Primordial is here, good luck =)]

Sam’s aura burst higher, his body glowing with light and shifting colors.

That smile carved into his face was no longer human.

It was something terrifying.

"WHAT?"

They all staggered back, their expressions filled with disbelief.

The human they had been moments away from killing was not human at all.

He was the primordial.

The most feared existence in all the realms.

The other male dragon broke the silence.

"It’s fine. Someone died. That means the [Tower of Fate] is complete!"

"Agreed," one of the angels said quickly, nodding.

"We’ll be able to go back instantly and tell the others about it!"

"Haha!" the celestial woman laughed, her voice sharp and cruel as her aura flared to its peak.

Her green flames rose, colliding with Sam’s crimson aura, the clash shaking the chamber.

"YOU IDIOT! YOU REVEALED YOURSELF, AND NOW—"

Fwish! SLASH!

Sam blurred forward.

In an instant, his sword cut through the space between them, aiming directly for her.

The celestial summoned a weapon instantly, a [Green Fire Spear] flashing into existence to block the strike.

Steel met flame, sparks flying as she barely deflected the blow and leapt back.

Her heart raced.

’What the hell just happened? He moved instantly...’

As the sound of their clash echoed, another panel descended before all of them.

[The "Tower of Fate" wants to make sure that all of you are truly worthy.]

[Meaning that you will all be teleported out in exactly 60 seconds. Simply make sure you survive until then =)]