Shen Luolin’s body dissolved into a shower of light, but his consciousness did not completely dissipate. Instead, he was pulled into an absolute void.
**[Host death detected, automatically unlocking mission]**
**[Mission: Dragonborn Bloodline Purification (Mone), over-completed]**
**[Overall Evaluation: S-Rank]**
**[Reward settlement in progress…]**
**[Time remaining until return to the Real World: 60 minutes]**
**[During this stay, your consciousness will remain in this simulated world as an Observer. You cannot interfere with the physical plane, nor can you communicate with any characters]**
**[You will observe subsequent developments from a bystander’s perspective]**
‘This is trouble…’
Shen Luolin’s consciousness gave a silent, bitter smile.
This period of waiting seemed even more torturous than completely vanishing.
—
Inside the Dragon Temple, the light seemed to be swallowed by something invisible, falling into a deathly silence.
Mone slowly stood up straight.
Behind her, a pair of massive and magnificent silver wings silently unfurled. Every feather flowed with a holy radiance, instantly blotting out all the faint light above the altar.
Her overwhelming grief and hatred seemed to be frozen by a layer of divine ice that would not melt for ten thousand years. Only in the deepest depths of her eyes was there a spark of burning embers that belonged to a “human.”
She did not look at the Emperor. Instead, she lowered her gaze to look at her own hands, which had become crystal clear, as if light itself were flowing through them.
There, the final warmth from when that person dissipated seemed to linger.
“Haha… Hahaha!”
The Emperor snapped out of his initial shock. After a brief moment of confusion, a look of crazed joy—more intense than anything before—erupted on his cracked, dragon-like face.
“A perfect vessel! A perfect vessel! Truly, heaven helps me!”
His vertical, lava-like pupils stared fixedly at Mone, filled with unabashed greed. He looked at her as if she were a rare treasure within his grasp, rather than an enemy capable of threatening his life.
He roared, mobilizing all the remaining power in his body. His dragon claws, capable of shattering mountains and splitting stone, swelled once more. Carrying a stench of blood, they lunged viciously toward Mone’s head!
He intended to completely cripple this vessel first, then slowly enjoy this supreme tribute that led to eternal life!
However, Mone did not even turn her head.
Just as the sharp claws were about to touch her silver hair, the holy wings behind her crossed and snapped shut with the speed of lightning!
*Clang—!*
The ear-piercing sound of metal clashing against metal rang out, making the entire Dragon Temple hum.
The Emperor’s dragon claw, which he believed to be indestructible, was easily blocked by those seemingly soft wings.
He even felt the sharp edges of the wings slice through his prideful dragon scales, and a sharp pain radiated from his palm.
An unmatched force rebounded. The Emperor’s massive body was shaken back, stumbling several steps. He looked down in horror and saw several deep, bone-exposing wounds on his dragon claw, with golden blood gushing out!
How was this possible?!
The ecstasy on the Emperor’s face froze, replaced by an unbelievable shock.
“Roar!”
He let out a furious roar, no longer holding back.
He opened his massive maw, gathering all the power extracted from the Heart of Rhinside in his throat. It transformed into a destructive beam of golden dragon breath, like a flood of molten lava, and sprayed it directly at Mone’s head!
He would melt this vessel that dared to resist him, along with those eyesore wings, into nothingness!
This time, Mone finally turned around slowly to face him.
In her eyes, which burned with red-gold flames, a trace of emotion finally flickered.
It was not fear, but a high-level, almost merciful sorrow.
She did not dodge, nor did she even take a defensive stance.
She simply stood there quietly and spread her wings, allowing the golden dragon breath—capable of burning mountains and boiling seas—to completely swallow her petite figure.
A sinister, triumphant grin appeared on the Emperor’s face.
But in the next second, his smile froze.
The moment the violent golden dragon breath touched Mone’s body, there was no explosion. Instead, it was like filthy water hitting a red-hot iron. With a *sizzle*, it was rapidly evaporated and purified!
Mone bathed in the golden light, completely unharmed.
The holy silver glow around her seemed to mock the filth and impurity of this power.
The Emperor fell into a total panic.
Physical attacks were useless, and energy blasts were useless!
For the first time, he felt a fear that originated from his soul.
What he was facing was not just a girl who had gained power, but the inherited will of the dragonborn passed down through generations of lives!
He roared with blustering cowardice, launching a final psychological attack:
“If you kill me, you will gain nothing! That man is already dead! To save a piece of trash like you, even his soul has dissipated! You will live forever in endless pain and loneliness, all alone!”
He tried to use Shen Luolin’s death to shake Mone’s mind, searching for even the slightest opening.
Upon hearing that name, a clear ripple finally moved through Mone’s red-gold eyes.
She slowly raised her hand, gently pressing it against her chest. There, she could feel a familiar, warm power pulsing along with her heartbeat.
“You are wrong.”
“He is not dead.”
“He has simply… found another way to stay by my side.”
“And you are about to pay the price for disturbing his rest.”
The moment her voice fell, Mone moved.
She did not use any fancy moves, nor did she erupt with earth-shattering momentum.
Her figure merely blurred slightly in place, turning into a streak of silver light. Silently, she appeared directly in front of the Emperor.
Too fast!
Alarm bells rang in the Emperor’s heart. He tried to retreat and flee in terror, only to find in horror that the space around him seemed to have completely solidified under an invisible force. His massive body could not even move a finger!
Mone extended a slender, pale finger and gently tapped the Emperor’s forehead.
That was the core where he absorbed the Dragon Temple’s power to maintain his half-dragon form.
At her fingertip, a wisp of the purest Dragon Crystal Power quietly entered his body.
There was no world-shaking explosion, nor was there a scene of flying flesh and blood.
The Emperor simply let out a shrill, non-human scream.
All the dragonborn power he had seized through plunder, consumption, and deception turned against him under the guidance of that wisp of pure power, like rebel forces meeting their king!
The golden dragon scales peeled off his body one by one, turning into dull dust in mid-air.
His strong, burly dragon body shriveled and withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, rapidly reverting back to his aged, hunched, and decrepit human form.
“No… No! My power! My immortality—!!”
He wailed in extreme pain and resentment, watching everything he had pursued his entire life leave his body like a sandcastle washing away.
Finally, along with his filthy soul, he was completely purified by that holy power and dissipated into nothingness.
An empty royal robe fell lightly to the ground, telling the story of a ridiculous, pipe-dream fantasy.
Eternal silence finally returned to the Dragon Temple.
Mone slowly retracted the wings behind her. Her red-gold eyes also gradually lost their divine glow, returning to their original silver color.
However, in that silver, there was now a sense of calm and sorrow that had weathered many trials.
She walked to the spot where the Emperor had disappeared, leaned over, and picked up the Heart of Rhinside from beneath the empty robe. It had been used by the Emperor and was now dim and lusterless.
She held that cold heart tightly, pressing it against her chest. Then, she turned her head to look at the place where Shen Luolin had last vanished.
It was empty, with nothing but the cold stone walls.
A hot tear finally broke free, sliding down her pale cheek and hitting the cold ground, shattering into fragments.
She did not stay.
Holding her father’s heart, she turned and walked, step by step, toward the snow outside the Dragon Temple that had been stained red with blood.
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