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

Chapter 2354: Oda Nobunaga’s Endless Castle [72]

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Ame-no-Uzume laughed, her aura surging as she clashed with Emerald. The dragon responded swiftly, his Celestial Winds merging with Demonic Flames and Spiritual Chaos to form a vortex of energy. He compressed it into a sphere and launched it at her.

The distance between them proved critical to Emerald's strategy. He had prepared the attack a moment earlier, compressing the energy into the palm of his right hand, aiming to strike her at near point-blank range.

"Aaah?!"

Ame-no-Uzume reeled in shock as the sphere reached her. She tried to seize control and redirect it, but Emerald unleashed a shockwave of wind just in time. The sphere connected—exploding against her face.

BOOOMMM!!!

"Aaaaahhhhh!"

Her agonized scream echoed through the castle as a storm of winds, flames, and chaotic miasma erupted, scattering both combatants across the battlefield.

"That should've hurt her pretty badly..."

Emerald rose to his feet, peering through the dissipating smoke. The endless castle's rooms burned with black and red flames, engulfing the surroundings.

"Don't get cocky. I can still feel her presence... She's—stronger?!"

RUMBLE!

Emerald's alter ego panicked as the ground trembled. From the smoke emerged the goddess, flames trailing behind her winds and forming a blazing storm around her body.

"I can't believe a beast like you pushed me this far! You'll pay for this! You'll pay for covering my beautiful face with these hideous wounds!"

Her body began to change. Her long hair turned crimson, black veins surfaced along her limbs, and her eyes deepened to a piercing violet. A large red eye opened on her forehead, crowned by a long black horn.

Ame-no-Uzume was no longer merely a Kami. With the Stigma of the Karmic Demon Hajun, Karmic Energy surged through her, granting immense power at the cost of her divine authority.

"{Abyssal Cherry Blossom Storm Demonic Step Dance}!"

FLUOSH!

Her aura expanded, revealing a forest of corrupted cherry blossom trees. Their petals, once pink, now darkened to purple and spiraled into a demonic storm. She descended, destroying everything in her path.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Emerald gritted his teeth and unleashed all his power, though his body barely moved. Half his feathers turned red, the other half purple, as the powers of Legion and the Chaos Spirits fused with his Celestial Winds.

"{Abyssal Demonic Celestial Storm Aura}!"

RUMBLE!

His aura erupted into spiraling black clouds. Red and purple lightning struck Ame-no-Uzume, but her mutated form absorbed the damage, allowing her to pierce through his defenses.

"You're pathetic! Hahaha! The weakest of all dragons! You rely on strange beings inside you just to survive! Weak and pitiful—hahahahahaha!"

She mocked him while striking with full force, sending him crashing through dozens of rooms. His body smashed through roofs and floors, debris flying in every direction.

She danced around his broken form, kicking his chin, nose, eyes, stomach—every pressure point—until his body was nearly paralyzed.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

"Nnnggh! Aaaaggghh! S-Stop it! Stop that already! I am not...! I am not pathetic!!!"

Emerald screamed, his eyes spiraling with red light. His claws lunged at her legs, but winds wrapped around them, tearing off scales and feathers, slicing into his bones.

CRAAASH!

"Aaaaahhhh!"

Emerald shrieked in horror. His arm was reduced to exposed bone and muscle, blood splattering everywhere. He cried out, consumed by fear—just as he always had been.

"E-Emerald, don't lose your way! Don't lose focus! You're almost there, damn it!"

His Demonic Alter Ego shouted into his soul, desperate to rally him. The Chaos Spirits were at their limit, but he could still feel their will burning within.

Yet Emerald remained motionless. His consciousness began to fade, darkness swallowing his mind as Karmic Energy burned through him.

"Hahahah! Dance! Dance for me, little birdie! Dance!"

The goddess's mocking laughter echoed as Emerald's mind slipped into despair. The light above the abyss grew distant.

"I'm going to die..."

"Amehia... I'm sorry... you have such a pathetic husband..."

"Ameraldhia… I'm sorry… you have such a pathetic father..."

"Master... I'm sorry... I couldn't do it... I just... I can't..."

Emerald had begun to accept defeat, surrendering everything—even his wife, even his daughter.

That was when the fury within him awakened.

"YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!"

CRASH!

"Ugh?!"

A powerful kick struck his back. Emerald turned and saw him—his alter ego. It was him. No difference in appearance. Just him.

But furious. Enraged. Blazing with emotion Emerald had long suppressed.

"W-What are you doing?!"

"What do you think I'm doing?! I'm trying to wake you up! You're just going to give up on your wife?! On your daughter?! What the hell is wrong with you?! You're not the Emerald I know!"

"And what would you know? You're just a bunch of demon souls parasitizing me!"

"That's not who I am anymore, Emerald! Those souls merged with you long ago. Demons are manifestations of Pandemonium's power. He shaped our minds with his imagination, but when he vanished, we became blank slates."

"What?"

"I'm not a separate entity. I'm you. We imitated you as we merged, forming this personality—me. We're the emotions you repressed because you were too afraid to get angry."

"I-I'm afraid of getting mad?"

"You are! Blame your mom and siblings for spoiling you, for shielding you too much. They taught you to suppress your anger because if you unleashed it, your power would be uncontrollable."

"But why?! Why am I so 'special' when I'm so damn weak?! I don't get it! What are Celestial Winds anyway?! What am I?!"

"Celestial Winds are a rare form of Wind Magic. Only your mother, Vana, possesses them. But you were born with the same gift—young, inexperienced, yet with potential so vast you could rival, even surpass, your mother... a Primordial Dragon."

"W-What?! That's bullshit! I can't be compared to her! Even Triton's stronger than me... tougher... I'm pathetic... just let me die... let me die and—"

"NO!"

BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

"Aaaagh!"

Emerald took three punches as his alter ego roared, crimson eyes blazing. He grabbed Emerald with fury.

"You're going to fight, Emerald, until the very last piece of you dies—because you have a family to return to! Amehia and your daughter are afraid. They're searching for you. They love you! Why can't you understand that?! You're not worthless! You're strong! You have to believe in yourself! Your greatest flaw... is your lack of confidence."

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