Epic Of Ice Dragon: Reborn As An Ice Dragon With A System

Chapter 2347: Oda Nobunaga’s Endless Castle [65]

-----

Surtr's fists tore through the Demons, their bodies erupting into white flames. Then, the flames began to shift—turning golden. Ame-no-Koyane's eyebrows lifted. For a moment, he saw something. Golden fire surged, spreading across the Demons and consuming them. Their bodies twisted, screamed, and vanished.

Ame-no-Koyane's eyes widened. He saw it: Surtr's broken, crumbling body was glowing. Not with cursed power, but something else. Something beyond divinity. The old Kami stepped back, his monstrous arm trembling. Surtr's shattered form began to rise, golden veins pulsing through cracked skin.

BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

Surtr was being attacked from every direction. His body was bitten, slashed, and bleeding constantly.

And yet...

"For my sisters... for my brothers..."

His fists overflowed with golden fire, punching and tearing through dozens of Demons at once. The flames began to spark with a strange new power. His aura flickered. It had vanished completely—yet now, it was returning from nowhere.

"For my wives... for my children... for my friends... for... Master Drake!"

Surtr's exhausted expression began to shift. His eyes glowed with renewed brightness.

Ame-no-Koyane didn't understand yet.

But Surtr...

He was evolving.

"I have to keep fighting..."

"And... I have to win."

There was no room for defeat. Surtr could not allow himself the luxury of losing or resting for eternity. Heavy responsibilities weighed on his shoulders. Above all, his blazing will and draconic heart refused to yield.

No matter what.

FLASH!

From deep within his chest, a spark of golden electricity surged, startling Ame-no-Koyane.

And then—

"KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW!"

Ame-no-Koyane panicked, wielding his demonic brush to paint thousands of Demons, merging them into gigantic Karmic monstrosities. They roared furiously at Surtr—enormous, muscular Oni-like creatures wielding massive hammers and clubs.

RUMBLE!

As the shockwaves reached him and the weapons descended, Surtr's gaze changed. His half-corrupted form began to transform. Golden light surged from the hole in his chest—the spark left behind by his master. It was useless without the willpower to wield it.

"RAAAAHHHHH!"

Surtr roared, thrusting his lone fist upward. As the weapons struck his hand, poised to destroy it—

FLASH!

Bright golden light erupted, burning through the giant weapons and releasing a shockwave of golden fire.

BOOOM!

An explosion of light and flame engulfed the battlefield. The weapons shattered. The Demons were incinerated, their bodies blown apart.

"W-What?! You keep fighting despite everything! Can't you just give up and die?!"

Ame-no-Koyane descended, surrounded by a wave of aberrant faces and Karmic flames.

"Give up? I can't. I simply can't afford that, old man."

Surtr's eyes turned gold, and so did the rest of his body.

FLUOSH!

A golden crown appeared above his head, radiating immense power. The Golden Dragon King Transformation surged through him. At the final moment, Surtr had awakened it.

"HAAAAAHH!"

Fully regenerated, Surtr roared and struck his foe with colossal fists. His aura surged, and the silhouette of a blacksmith emerged—born from crimson and golden fire. His Unique Skill and powers fused, forming a massive titan: a phantasmal being, the embodiment of ancient records and Surtr's own path.

It carried the hopes and dreams of all fire dragons before him.

As the flames faded, the Heavenly Smith was no longer just a skill.

"Awaken!"

RUMBLE!

A giant of crimson and golden steel appeared, clad in heavy armor adorned with red jewels. A golden crown rested atop his head, and a blazing hammer hung in his grasp.

"Heavenly Smith!"

This was Surtr's Archetype.

"W-What is that thing?! Another spirit?! Since when did he—"

"{Heavenly Hammer}! {Celestial Forge}!"

Surtr roared. His aura exploded. Time seemed to freeze for a moment before the hammer struck—again and again.

CLAAANK! CLAAANK! CLAAANK! CLAAANK!

The Demons and all of Ame-no-Koyane's creations were obliterated. The Kami dodged desperately, his demonic arm conjuring thousands of dragon-shaped flames and hurling them at Surtr.

"BASTARD! STOP USING THEM!"

Surtr leapt into the sky, clashing with the specters. With Heavenly Smith, he smashed them apart, reducing them to light.

"YOU DAMN BEAST!"

Ame-no-Koyane roared, unleashing golden and cursed black flames. The sky and earth trembled.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

But as much as he tried to fight, his arm was burning—crumbling under golden fire.

"A-Aaaah! My arm! You...! YOUUU!"

He reached for his brush, but Surtr seized it, infusing it with golden flames and claiming it as his own.

"I'll take that with me!"

Surtr pierced the Kami's face with the brush's wooden shaft, tearing out his eye and driving it into his brain.

"GAAAHHHHH!"

The old Kami screamed. He summoned cursed runes and seals, binding Surtr with hundreds of white chains.

But not his Archetype.

"Heavenly Smith! {Hammer Strike}!"

"HAAAAH!"

The Heavenly Smith roared, shattering the chains and striking Ame-no-Koyane's face and body. His final barriers collapsed. Bones broke. Muscles tore.

"UUUAAAAGGH!"

Ame-no-Koyane screamed. Surtr's hands overflowed with golden fire and light, fusing into a massive sword. He drove it into the Kami's chest and soul.

"{Soul-Shattering Golden Blade}!"

SLAAASH!

"T-This is...! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO MEEEE...!"

Golden flames and holy light erupted from the Kami's soul. His Demonic Stigma, once active, now disintegrated into ash—along with the rest of his body.

BOOOMMM!

Surtr collapsed, gasping for breath, utterly exhausted. He lay atop the rubble, staring at the ceiling as space twisted and distorted above him.

"I've avenged you... everyone..."

The golden flames still danced across the battlefield, flickering in the air like the breath of ancient gods. Surtr stood amidst the smoldering ruins, his chest rising and falling with each labored breath. The golden crown above his head dimmed slightly, its radiance stabilizing as the transformation settled into his body.

He looked down at his hands—one whole, the other lost long ago. Yet even now, golden light shimmered where flesh had once been, as if the fire itself remembered what had been taken.

His Archetype hovered nearby, its sharp eyes gleaming beneath the forging helmet.

"..."

"Yeah... I have to keep moving."

Surtr nodded and stood, sighing. He didn't know if they were truly gone. He couldn't change that. Their souls were silent, but their power lingered within him.

Just as his family had told him, Surtr had to keep living—fighting for the present and for those still alive, waiting for him.

And so, he moved forward, chasing the presence of his fellow dragons and his wives nearby.

"Wait for me... I'm coming!"

-----