Return Of The Strongest Player

It was from above him.'Mutation?'

Arthur couldn't help but mutter internally, staring at the blood in his palm.

[User's body is de-constructing.]

[User is about to enter hibernation.]

'No!' Arthur screamed with all his might, rejecting the system messages as his right eye turned bloodshot. 'If I go into hibernation, that will mean the end for me. No, I can't go into hibernation…'

Arthur desperately fought for survival, pushing the unknown force that threatened to bind him.

His left eye–the Celestial Ametrine Eye–leaked blood that seeped onto his clothes, dying them a crimson color. Blood shot through his nostrils while a searing pain rushed through his left lung, forcing him to the ground.

His eyes drooped, a desperate attempt for the body to shut down.

His organs began shutting down, while his breathing began to become rhythmic.

*

Lisa, Bob, and Jin-Woo stared dumbfoundedly at the scene, desperately defending themselves against the Gruelling Devil, unable to interfere. Their expressions were blank, while a sense of regret arose.

Why had they chosen to trust Arthur?

Also, they felt doubt.

Would he come after them, next?

They witnessed the brutal scene in which the crimson-eyed man–without a hint of hesitance–gouged out Jimmy's eyes before ripping out his own, implanting the former's eye into his own socket.

Such an act… was worthy of the label, "psychopath."

No, this was pushing even such a term.

The entire scene was something that opened their eyes to the brutality a "human" was capable of. Although they associated such scenes with the works of Devils, even humans could perform such malicious acts.

Humans were just as bad.

Heaven's Spire was not worthy of the name "Heaven."

Perhaps Hell's Spire would be more fitting.

Suddenly, Bob burst into laughter. Lisa and Jin-Woo desperately defended against a claw strike from the Gruelling Devil, scrunching their eyebrows while staring with confusion at the old man. Had he lost it?

"Have you lost it, old man?" Lisa asked with bared teeth, blood dripping down her forehead due to a recent wound. All five–no, three of them were in a life-threatening situation, yet the old man had the nerve to laugh?

It had to be true. He'd truly turned mad.

"No," Bob waved his hand in dismissal, withdrawing from the battle. "I was just waiting for Solace to show his true colors."

"Oh, yeah? Now what, are you going to join him?" Lisa inquired, forming an expression of annoyance as a numbing sensation rushed across her arm. "We're all going to die here, anyway."

"You guys might," Bob agreed. "But I won't."

Suddenly, the old man dug into his pockets, retrieving a dagger with a sleek, white blade that emitted a faint glow. The dagger had a dark hilt with protruding, jagged edges that Bob conveniently avoided placing his hand on.

Then, Bob stuck out his tongue, laughing hysterically as it lengthened. His teeth grew longer as his face evolved into a snout coated by dark-brown scales. His eyes suddenly glowed azure, spilling voracious flames.

The dagger, which was barely twelve inches, grew to the length of a regular longsword.

Bob suddenly let out a deafening roar as his body grew at a terrifying pace, assuming the heavenly appearance of a Dragon.

His body resembled both sides of the coin–a Western and an Eastern Dragon.

'A… Dragon?' Jin-Woo muttered internally, feeling light-headed as the attacks of the Gruelling Devil worsened his condition over time. He inadvertently released a soft chuckle, accepting his death at that moment.

Lisa also seemed terrified and incredibly confused. Then, she suddenly had an epiphany… 

"Jin-Woo, remember when Arthur disrespected King Bahamut's daughter? That old coot probably sent this guy."

"Old coot… At least maintain respect for King Bahamut before his subject," Jin-Woo gritted his teeth.

Once the transformation was complete, Bob released another deafening roar, almost tearing the eardrums of both Jin-Woo and Lisa once and for all. Their insides shook with much intensity, attempting to adjust to the sight of a true Dragon.

They had never witnessed such a phenomenon before.

Dragons were hard to come by, and only the strongest players ever received the opportunity to meet one or visit the Celestial Peaks. Dragons usually hid themselves while ascending through Heaven's Spire.

That rule, of course, didn't apply to the Princess.

'What kind of Dragon is that?' Lisa wondered, staring at Bob with a critical lens. Brown scales, a mixture of Eastern and Western, and a rather neutral reaction to the criticism of King Bahamut… Could it be that Bob was not from the Celestial Peaks?

Could he be from the Shimmering Dragon?

Lisa wasn't certain. 

Suddenly, an invisible pressure bore down on their shoulders, forcing them to the ground. 

Within a second, the Gruelling Devil decapitated both Jin-Woo and Lisa, ending their lives before they could even realize it. Without wasting a second, the Gruelling Devil rushed toward Bob.

Bob continued to exude the pressure known as Draconic Authority, flaunting the supremacy of his species.

The Gruelling Devil shook his head violently in frustration, sensing that Draconic Authority was interrupting the release of his powers, and restricting him through shackles he was not allowed to see.

The Gruelling Devil roared, smashing the ground several dozens of times.

The ground that was known as the "Arena" devolved into chaos. Cracks enveloped the area, flinging debris in all directions. 

'Ignorance,' Bob thought, flying without the use of the traditional "wings" that Western Dragons possessed. His ascend seemed almost heavenly to witness. Alas, no one except the Gruelling Devil and Eros was present to witness it.

A white light permeated the Arena, blinding the Gruelling Devil. 

"Die, Dragon!"

The Gruelling Devil screamed.

'What…' Bob suddenly felt his heart throbbing due to the Devil's words, something he could have never expected. How could an inferior Devil shake a superior Dragon's heart? It was nigh impossible.

Suddenly, Bob felt an approaching threat. He turned to face the Gruelling Devil, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Die!"

A voice descended upon Bob's ears, but it wasn't from below.