Dragon King: Throne of Demons and Gods-Chapter 112: Buried Glory

The dust was thick in the air. Lloyd lay there, trembling, broken.

He barely heard Midas approaching, his polished shoes tapping lightly against the cracked earth.

"One last offer," Midas said, flipping a gold coin between his fingers. "Sell me your knowledge, or I’ll give you a quick."

Lloyd coughed, spitting blood, but said nothing.

In his mind, he reached out.

Aurus...

’Lloyd?! Lloyd, answer me!’ Aurus’ panicked voice answered through the telepathic link.

’Listen carefully, Aurus...’ Lloyd sent. ’Midas... isn’t strong by himself... He steals abilities... through debt...’

Midas crouched beside him, smiling sweetly.

"Tick-tock, old man," he said. Then, without warning, golden chains erupted from the ground, binding Lloyd’s arm and legs.

Lloyd gritted his teeth but kept speaking mentally.

’If you... acknowledge you owe him something... if you even hint at it... he can steal... anything he wants. Skills... blessings... magic.’

Midas whistled.

"You’re stubborn, I’ll give you that."

He snapped his fingers.

An invisible force twisted Lloyd’s left arm backwards with a sickening CRACK. Lloyd arched, gasping, his breath a ragged wheeze.

’Stop it! Give up!’ Aurus screamed through the link. ’Forget it! Just survive!’

But Lloyd continued, each word burning in his brain.

’He did it... three times... made me owe him... three times... Took my blessing... my stamina... my body strength...’

Golden energy coiled around Lloyd’s body. Midas chuckled and clenched his hand.

Lloyd’s right leg twisted unnaturally, bones snapping. He screamed, the sound tearing itself from his throat like sandpaper.

"See?" Midas said, leaning closer. "Now I have no choice. I’m giving you a meaningful death."

Lloyd’s thoughts blurred but he forced himself to continue.

’Best way... don’t talk... don’t accept anything... and... have many powers... confuse him... break his conditions...’

More chains erupted from the ground, wrapping around Lloyd’s waist and chest, constricting.

He felt ribs crack, organs shifting inside him. His mouth opened in a soundless cry.

’LOYD! PLEASE! JUST STOP!’ Aurus sobbed across the connection.

But Lloyd only smiled weakly.

Midas’ face darkened.

"Enough."

He raised a hand, and the world twisted.

A change in the force of gravity moved Lloyd, lifting him from the ground then hurling him downward like a meteor.

The earth shattered.

Lloyd hit the ground, bones breaking further, organs trembling. His mind nearly blacked out.

He could barely think.

Only pain, only moans, breathless and weak, escaped him now.

Aurus’ voice faded, a last desperate scream.

Midas sneered.

"Arrogant old fool," he muttered.

Golden energy surged from him. The earth trembled, then flowed like liquid, filling the crater, burying Lloyd under a rising tide of dust and stone.

In the darkness, Lloyd felt the first grains hit his face.

The earth swallowed him.

Lloyd felt the weight press against his body instantly, like a thousand hands clawing, pulling, squeezing every inch of his battered frame.

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. The soil filled his mouth, his ears, his nose. He felt the grit scrape against the raw wounds left on his body.

This is it, he thought, the last sliver of clarity whispering in his mind.

He thought about Aurus. About the others waiting. About Darwin, waiting for him on the other side. About Aurus, on the verge of succumbing to despair. About the other party member, if everything was alright, she should be alive even now.

He thought about the promise they made, that they would protect what was left, even if it cost them everything.

A weak smile tugged at his bloodied lips.

"Sorry..." he muttered, voice cracking. "Guess I’m the fourth to fall."

The ground compressed around him, hugging tighter.

Lloyd let out a scream, a raw, animal sound. His aura burst instinctively, a dying flame flaring one last time.

The energy surged wildly, and in that moment, a brand appeared, but not just on him, but on Midas as well.

The mark shimmered black and red against the suit.

Above ground, Midas staggered, blinking in confusion. The air grew heavier. His lungs tightened.

He clutched his throat, feeling an invisible chain wrap around him.

"What... what is this?"

He coughed, his breath ragged.

Beneath the earth, Lloyd clawed inside his mind.

It was darkness. Pure darkness. His body was crushed from every side. His ribs creaked. His lungs screamed. His heart pounded like a war drum in his ears.

So this... is being buried alive...

Every second was an eternity. The soil filled his mouth; he couldn’t scream anymore. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t hear.

Only feel.

The crushing, suffocating, paralyzing sensation of the earth reclaiming him.

He fought to breathe, instinctively flaring his aura just enough to create a tiny pocket of space.

Air.

Sweet, filthy air.

But it was torture.

Each breath dragged the process longer. Each breath meant he would suffer more.

His mind fractured. Images of friends, of enemies, of days he barely remembered flashed before him. Was it madness? Was it the end?

Just... let go, part of him whispered.

But another part, the stubborn, scared part, roared louder.

NO! Don’t let it end like this! Keep fighting, keep breathing! Anything but this!

Lloyd forced himself to not endure it. He bit his tongue, feeling the blood pool in his mouth. His nails dug into the dirt until they snapped.

Tears, he didn’t even realize they were falling, mixed with the soil.

The crushing pressure broke another rib.

His heart slowed.

The beat became a sluggish, sickening thud.

Just a little longer... Just a little longer and you won’t feel it anymore...

He smiled bitterly in the darkness, invisible to anyone.

See you soon, Darwin...

The last thing he felt was the world collapsing into him, his body folding in like a crumpled piece of paper.

Then, nothing.

Lloyd’s last heartbeat faded into the dirt, and silence claimed him.

Lloyd’s body lay still. Compressed, broken, swallowed by the world he once protected.

There was no grandeur to it. No beauty. Just a crushed old man and silence.

Above, Midas fell on the ground. Lloyd’s last attack made him share the same fate.

The room back in the castle was dead silent. Aurus stared ahead, immobile.

His eyes were wide, hollow, as if a part of him had been ripped away. The King gripped the arms of his chair, hands trembling. Edward and Adrian couldn’t even form words.

It was unthinkable. Lloyd, the Sage, the indestructible Arcane Master, had fallen.

Aurus slammed his fist against the table, fissuring it.

"DAMN IT!" His voice broke through the air, but no one dared to respond.

Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, Midas’s body was still. Then, slowly, a spark of golden light flickered in his eyes.

He groaned, slowly rising and stretched his arms as if trying to shake off a heavy memory.

He dusted his coat carefully, clicking his tongue again.

"This damn fool... can’t afford to die alone? Feels like I can still feel the dirt crawling over me..." he grumbled. He cracked his neck, twisting it side to side.

"Annoying old corpse... didn’t even give me what I wanted."

He sighed, annoyed.

"At least that’s another one down," he muttered. "Just two more."

His golden eyes shone fiercely. He pressed two fingers against his temple and his eyes glowed.

"Move. There’s no more time to waste. They’re not fools, we can’t waste any more time. Bring him. Now."

Far away, in a whole other world, a shattered land where mountains of ice pierced the sky and rivers of flame burned the ground, a lone figure moved among the chaos.

Bel stood, calm. He pulled his black sword from the back of a massive Storm-Fanged Basilisk. Blood evaporated on contact with the blade.

His clothes were intact. His skin without a scratch.

[Quest Update: Monster Elimination Complete]

Storm-Fanged Basilisks: 1000/1000 (Completed)

Ruinwood Wardens: 1000/1000 (Completed)

[Reward: Elemental Amplification Bonus - All elemental powers increased by 20% for the duration of the Trial Dungeon.]

Bel wiped the blood from his sword, letting the notifications vanish with a blink.

He looked up.

A new message appeared.

[Quest Update: Resource Collection - Completed]

Tempest Iron: 1000/1000 (Completed)

Heartwood of the Shardroot Tree: 1000/1000 (Completed)

[Reward: Void Weapon Enhancement Unlocked] [Effect: Damage output +15%, Attack Speed +10%]

[Processing: Initiating Void Weapon Upgrade...]

[Next Objective: Defeat the Floor Guardian - "Malgeirith, the Titan of Hollow Winds"]

Bel raised his gaze to the sky.

There, above the shattered islands, wings unfolded.

A massive creature hovered among the swirling clouds. It was a giant beast, its body lean like a hunting falcon but stretched long like a dragon, covered in black scales edged with gleaming silver.

Its wings were sharp and jagged. It let out a shriek that boomed across the floating ruins.

Bel smiled faintly, his sword shining in his hand.

"Alright," he muttered. "Let’s get this upgrade."

The final battle of the first floor had begun.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l