The Conquerors Path

'Not so mighty now, huh....bastard'

Looking down I gazed at the black-colored dragon shivering within the land that looked dead and dreadful but unlike the mighty-looking dragons that I am used to the one in front of me was shriveled, small, and quite evil-looking, his eyes were red, while several scars and unknown spots could be seen in his body, in a nutshell, he looks very ugly,

'Looks like my plan for Marlene is gone'

Thinking so my gaze traveled towards her who was now floating beside the dragon, looking to be in deep sleep, in the game this part of the arc is heavily hated by the payers, it was by accident that one player found out about this 'trial' and quickly spread it to the other gamers but this wasn't a trial but a deadly sadistic game of horrors.

Basically, the dragon in front of me is a dragon that has lost its way, someone that gave up on the natural flow of time and fused together death and many other banned ways to gain extra life, the guy in front of me was obsessed with living longer and his powers grow stronger with more despair he caused to others.

Back during the never end the age of war, he was responsible for the death of millions of people, and several others were led to madness because of him, in the end, he was caught by the Dragon God and killed, though it would seem that he escaped and was laying low here, taking in the unfortunate souls that fell here and making them go through a wide range of horrors, sucking up all despair he could.

In the game when we come here with a capture targeted, there is only one result, you and the capture target being driven to madness and then killed, my plan was to use that to my advantage, in the game different scenarios would arise with different heroines, I had planned to take them here and use that scenario for myself.

The bastard in front of me would take in the deepest fear in one's heart and make that horror to live, knowing Marlene's and Catherine's trial I already had a path to go for but I pushed the whole plan down when I saw those children, I understood that If I choose the path that I laid, then in the future I will never be able to live with myself,

"Die feeling the greatest pain possible"

I muttered as the destruction element surrounded the dragon's body, 

"ROAR.....NO...STOP.....ARGHHHHHHH!"

A cry of pain like no other left the dragon's mouth as its body started to get deconstructed from the flesh to the last of its cell being ripped apart bit by bit, within seconds his body soon turned to dust, and by the last of it his mentality had broken and he was just a yapping machine, due to my element his soul even got removed, thus removing any chance for his rebirth,

"Sigh.....that was a lot of work"

My gaze turned to the area around me, I could distinctly feel the wails and tears of the dead here, their deep filling every void, 

"Time to add the finishing touches"

Saying so my body started to shine with a green hue, as the aura of life spread from my body across this broken land, a sense of peace following the poor souls that lost their life helplessly, my eyes turned towards Marlene as I flashed her body away, soon I took deep breaths as I utilized my authority of life,

"Come"

Just as I spoke the dead body of Catherine appeared in front of me, just as she had died I had used my authority to hold her soul in place and now she's going to be revived. A gentle green light left my hand as it flew into Catherine's body, flooding her and removing the poison from her and soon her soul started to shine and recombine with her body, while life soon returned to her,

"Come out for the last time, my children"

I spoke waving my hand, saying so three figures soon appeared in front of me, the three of the being my children as they floated in front of me, even the baby was there but the difference was in the fact that the three of them now seemed to have an inexplainable twinkle in their eyes.

Strictly speaking, the three of them could be said to be mine and Catherine's children in a sense, the truth is that the three of them in front of me are the greatest technique that the dragon had created, taking the blood of one and creating a certain type of life but the backlash of such birth is the fact that they wouldn't live for long.

Within days their bodies will wither and die, the dragon had used this to create a scenario of despair whenever a duo of woman and man appear, what greater despair to them than seeing their children die? it wouldn't also help with the fact that he was using a certain mind manipulation technique to erase the existing life out of someone and make their current life feel completely real,

"Daddy....."

The two girls spoke while the baby waved its arms towards me and the three of their gentle eyes brimming with tears, the thing more worse about the technique is the fact that the dragon had been successful in creating three blobs of 'people' and he would twist and turn them according to the target.

In other words, the three kids in front of me have been living a false life of rebirth and death for a long time, moving from death to death and not even having the right to live a long life, forever stuck in the cycle of torture,

"Don't worry you are free now"

Moving forward I hugged the three, their bodied fluctuating as they seemed to turn to just a mass of brownish blob but I didn't allow for it as I flipped my hand and reconstructed the body to stay as how they were, the small baby now in my hand while I patted the head of the two girls with a smile, 

"Daddy, are we?"

The maroon colored haired girl asked with shaking eyes, to which I nodded my head, 

"Yes, even with my powers I can't hold you here for long"

My answer caused the three of two of them to brim with tears while the baby was already crying to this I gave the them a smile, and as I responded,

"Don't be too sad, I, no, me and your mother has a gift for you"

Just as I said so I could feel Catherine's beside me twisting and turning, she was about to awaken, at the same time my time came to a cool down, though before it ended I created a bubble around us that would keep the life here for some more time.

Giving the baby to one of the girls I moved forward as I leaned onto Catherine whose just opening her eyes, placing her head on my lap, I waited for her eyes to open as I spoke, 

"Feeling better?"

"Austin?"

Catherine asked back with doubt, now since the dragon is dead the magic that blocked her own self has been lifted and the hypnotic effect of the fact about the 'family' is also gone, this would make it such that most of the heavy feelings she had would be gone.

But that would have only happened if she didn't have the poison.....