Years of planning, finally to be realized today, filled Herzog with an excitement he couldn't control, his face showing tense veins from the thrill.
But now, he still needed to take one more step—to retrieve the long-desired item from the corpse of the dead 'god.'
"Go, Kazama Ruri, help me complete the final step," Herzog said, sitting like a king on his throne, casually tapping the gong, commanding Kazama Ruri with burning anger in his eyes. "For your teacher, bring me the 'Holy Corpse' from the god's remains."
Kazama Ruri struggled to resist, but his body refused to obey, taking step after step toward the body of the Eight-Headed Snake that he had personally slain.
Shing! Shing! Shing!
The blood-red blade cut through the god's corpse, as if a skilled sushi chef expertly slicing a piece of tuna on a cutting board.
Kazama Ruri's sword skills were precise and steady, slicing through the tendons, muscles, and flesh of the Eight-Headed Snake.
Even the pale scales, which couldn't be pierced by fire cannons or missiles, were smoothly cut. The complex, dark golden bone structure was cleaved apart, finally revealing a dark green heart.
Though the creature was already dead, that dark green heart still seemed to have some kind of life in it.
In fact, it even made Kazama Ruri feel as if a giant heart was watching him, almost like a huge creature's eye.
Suddenly, the dark green heart cracked open, and inside was indeed a golden vertical pupil, cold and indifferent, gazing outward.
Where the gaze landed, Herzog immediately felt an oppressive force as heavy as a mountain.
At the same time, as the heart pulsed, the eye desperately tried to break free, emitting a sharp, hissing sound.
"That's the Holy Corpse! That's the Holy Corpse!" Herzog shouted in excitement, completely losing his composure. "Quick, capture it!"
Kazama Ruri moved swiftly. The moment Herzog shouted, he struck, pinning the eye inside the heart.
Thick, foul-smelling green liquid sprayed out with a horrified scream.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several sharp blades of light flashed, dismembering the dark green heart.
Only then did they finally see the true form of the Sacred Remains. It resembled a distorted embryo, with a swollen head that had a large single eye.
What looked like a tail was actually a spine wrapped in flesh, and its ribs jutted out from the flesh, resembling a terrifying, grotesque worm.
The Sacred Remains twisted and hissed. The golden single eye blinked, and one could clearly feel the hatred radiating from it.
"How beautiful, such a perfect evolution!" Herzog approached, carefully examining the 'Sacred Remains' pinned to the ground with blades.
He looked ecstatic, continuously praising it. "Before being executed by the Black King, it evolved into a parasitic form, continuing its existence this way."
The grotesque creature now seemed like the most perfect thing in the world to him.
"Heh, is this the 'god' you seek?"
Gen Chisei, weakened from blood loss and with pale lips, still scoffed. "A hideous insect. Ridiculous."
"You wouldn't understand, Chisei," Herzog shook his head, his eyes still filled with fervor. "But it's okay. Soon, you'll witness my new form."
"No one can evolve into a pure-blood Dragon King through the Sacred Remains. That's the trap the White King left for humans," Gen Chisei felt his vision blur, his body drained of strength, and whispered, "If you offer your flesh to that thing and it parasitizes you, you will no longer be yourself. It will be the new White King living in your place."
"That's because you don't understand how to open the path to evolution."
Herzog controlled Adam with a rhythmic sound, while praising, "To retain your consciousness and evolve into a dragon, you can't let the Sacred Remains parasitize you. You need another container for it to parasitize, and then exchange blood with the unborn White King. Do you understand now?"
"She was born to be a container?"
Gen Chisei looked at the elf-like girl, his heart tightening.
"Heh, no. She's not a container." Herzog's face was filled with greed and desire, as though he wanted to devour the elf-like girl from the inside out. "She is my perfect creation. After I claim the throne of the world, I will make her serve me forever."
As he spoke, he reached out to stroke Erii's soft, long hair, his gaze obsessed and perverse.
"No, Herzog." Gen Chisei's eyes were filled with rage. He wanted to get up and cut off that filthy hand defiling Erii, but due to heavy blood loss and being controlled by Adam's Word Soul, he could only watch helplessly as Herzog desecrated her.
"My disciple, hold on, don't die." Herzog ignored the sacred remains and dove directly into Adam's body, shouting excitedly, "Next, you will witness how I walk the path to the godhood, watch this great scene through your mortal eyes!"
White threads emerged from Adam's body, just like when the Eight-Headed Snake awakened, wrapping around him to form a white cocoon.
The genes of the White King were transforming his body.
"Did you see that? Adam Anglewid, my most perfect creation!" Herzog revealed his petty side, scratching his head and shouting, "Back at Black Swan Harbor, the only surprise—he is a natural heir to the White King's bloodline, even more noble than you. He is the perfect sacrifice for the gods!"
"Adam."
Gen Chisei watched in pain and despair, unable to stop it anymore.
At that moment, a terrifying and deep pressure, as if from hell itself, froze the entire lake at the bottom of Well of Bones in an instant.
Herzog trembled and stiffly looked to the side.
Erii's face was as cold as ice, like a king ruling over the world. Her eyes glowed with molten gold, and her lips trembled as if she were about to speak a name.
"No! I will not allow anyone to interrupt my plans!"
Herzog roared and forcefully struck the gong.
Bang!
The girl had also undergone brain surgery and was under the gong's control. The massive, accumulated pressure suddenly released.
"Hahaha, no one will stop me, no one!" Herzog shouted, stepping closer to Erii. "You are nothing but a puppet in my hands!"
At that moment, the girl was crying, her eyes sometimes showing fear, and at other times becoming indifferent.
The wide miko robes moved on their own without the wind, and the wine-red hair fluttered wildly. Her crimson gold eyes radiated authority and power, like a mountain collapsing or the earth shaking, sending terrifying vibrations that made the entire bottom of the Well of Bones tremble.
Herzog suddenly gasped, feeling a deep tremor in his soul. It was the fear of a threat to his life.
The sound of hoarse clanging echoed endlessly at the bottom of the Well of Bones.
Herzog struck the clapper wildly, trying to resist the girl on the high platform, who seemed like a deity.
In the end, Erii couldn't resist the clapper's sound. The last glimmer of light in her eyes slowly faded, returning her to being a mere puppet.
"Erii."
The last spark of hope in Gen Chisei's eyes was extinguished in that moment.
He knew that no one could stop Herzog's scheme now. He would ascend to the throne!
"Ladies and gentlemen! You are about to witness the arrival of a new era!"
Herzog strode towards the 'Adam' wrapped in a white cocoon, then began the final procedure.
After inserting the blood transfusion tubes into the arteries, Herzog also inserted two tubes into his own neck.
Under the function of the blood exchange device, their blood started to mix. The fresh blood of the newborn dragon flowed into Herzog's body, while his aging blood flowed into Adam's body.
This was an unprecedented, grand operation throughout history. Through blood as a medium, the power of the White King entered Herzog's body.
His pupils grew brighter, as if lava flowed in his eyes. Snow-white strands began to grow from his body, and his skin, once old and withered, became smooth and nourished by dragon blood. It took on a baby-like red hue.
He stretched his arms wide, allowing himself to be enveloped by the fine strands, feeling the power of the Dragon King.
Snow-white strands spread across the entire bottom of the Well of Bones, resembling a spider's nest.
At the very center of the nest, the giant white cocoon was torn open from within by a sharp claw. The perfect creature burst out from the crack and soared into the air, spreading its wings.
Gen Chisei stared in despair at the enormous creature emerging from the cocoon.
The creature's head resembled a dragon from ancient myths, with four large, menacing horns. Its body was covered in grayish-white scales, engraved with complex, three-dimensional mysterious patterns.
Behind it grew two gray, leathery wings. Its powerful limbs hung down naturally, and its vertical pupils gleamed with a faint golden light.
At that moment, the newborn White King was born!
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