Spiral of Madness: Ascension of the Villainous Dragon Prince-Chapter 105: Conquering The Ruined Undead Empire [1]

-----

The Sapphire Shield Fortress Guardian leaped toward Louis, swinging her twin frost spears. Dozens of icicles erupted from the ground and chased him relentlessly. The prince ignited his skeletal, ghostly flame-coated wings and darted away swiftly while the Pugilist and Gravewalker shattered the pursuing ice with their strikes.

The Fortress Guardian pursued frantically. Her spears glowed brighter, unleashing potent winds that destabilized Louis and froze his wings, paralyzing them and severely slowing his flight.

It was enough for her to close in. Ice surged toward him like a colossal hand, seizing his body and yanking him down straight onto her frost spears. Louis clenched his teeth and unleashed his Sword Energy Aura in a flash, slicing through the entire giant ice grasp before kicking her square in the face. She rolled across the ground.

Yet she was a tenacious zombie. She sprang back up almost instantly and charged again, thrusting her frost spears forward. Louis evaded powerful spear energy strikes that carved gaping holes through any zombies caught in their path, annihilating them on contact.

"Looks like you have no qualms about killing your own comrades."

Louis summoned Gungnir with a quick hand sign. He swung his sword in a relentless barrage, dodging her thrusting blows. He pushed Sword Dance to its absolute limit, fusing it with his Draconic Techniques to unleash a Dragon Sword Dance.

"Nnngghh...! Tricky little man!"

The zombie roared in fury and gave chase, but Louis always slipped past her grasp. Her spear attacks carried devastating force, yet they lacked precision and finesse. Her body was immensely durable—layer upon layer of ice armor shielded her—making it frustrating for Louis to pierce through without expending everything he had.

Then her eyes blazed with ghostly flames. Suddenly she accelerated, catching him off guard and slamming a fist into his stomach!

BAAAM!

"..."

He did not fly back as she expected. The prince absorbed the blow and stood motionless in silence. A brilliant light flared behind her back at the same moment she sensed something terribly wrong.

"Was that your best shot?"

BOOOM!

Before the guardian could respond, her head exploded into fragments from a glowing divine golden spear. The ensuing blast shattered her Cores and tore her body apart. Her frost armor and spears melted slowly into water as she collapsed.

The zombies who witnessed it roared in unison and charged Louis, choosing death alongside their leader over surrender like the skeletons. Louis smiled grimly and welcomed them, still surging with the stacked power of the Rune of Slaughter within Gungnir.

"I’ve got a couple more seconds. Let’s see what I can do now...!"

With the maximum power of fifty kills stacked together, Louis thrust Gungnir forward while releasing his Soul Essence and Fantasium to their absolute limits.

The results exceeded anything he had imagined.

BOOOMMM!!!

A colossal pillar of light erupted from his thrust—so overwhelming it hurled him backward. His arm nearly tore apart as he screamed in pain.

"Nngggh?! Aaagh! W-What is this power?!"

He could scarcely believe it as the attack struck the fortress city and obliterated ninety percent of it. Any undead in its path simply ceased to exist—no souls remained for him to claim, nothing at all.

Louis rose slowly, staring in awe at the enormous crater before him, then felt his right arm on the verge of exploding.

He began healing it immediately. Belladine soothed his arm with her spiritual spells while Handy channeled the power of her Spiral Fragment of Compassion to mend him further.

The Flames of Nirvana accelerated his regeneration, aiding his wounded arm. Fortunately no bones had broken, though they felt perilously close.

"If I use this powerful strike, the damage I can deal is immense..." he thought. "But it can also destroy my own body... I’m surprised you’re completely fine, Gungnir."

Gungnir flew circles around Louis as if thrilled to have unleashed her full might and proven her strength to her master. Belladine chased after her playfully, and the two seemed to be enjoying a game. Handy watched from behind Louis’s back, her fingers twitching occasionally as though debating whether to join them.

"Just go."

Louis gently tossed her toward the pair. Handy froze in nervous overwhelm, making frantic hand signs. Gungnir nudged her onto her shaft, letting her ride along while Belladine giggled and darted around them in pursuit. As Louis watched the scene, he no longer knew quite what to feel.

"Master Louis! J-Just what was that attack?! It was incredible—like nothing I’ve ever seen before!" Zorba exclaimed in awe.

"It was the byproduct of a Rune I obtained," Louis explained. "However, the power is too much. It could destroy my entire arm... or kill me. I should synchronize it with Death Sense the next time I use it."

"...? A Rune?" Zorba looked confused.

Louis explained what Rune Stones were while they walked toward the basement. Once inside the fortress basement, Louis searched for the treasure chest as Zorba dealt with the zombie guards. There, he found yet another chest. He smiled with anticipation, opened it, and discovered something less valuable than a Rune Stone this time.

"..."

It was a Potion. A glass bottle filled with blue liquid. It had no label, so Louis used the System to inspect it.

"A Frost Warrior Potion?" Louis wondered. "Well, that’s new."

"What does it do?" Zorba asked.

"Once you drink it, you gain the ability to manipulate and create Ice through Fantasium," Louis explained. "It has a time limit though—probably an hour."

"Looks like something I could use...!" Zorba’s eyes lit up with excitement.

"Sure, take it," Louis shrugged, handing it over.

"Thank you so much!" Zorba said with genuine fascination, already analyzing the potion’s components.

"We’re done here. Let’s move. Hurry."

Without wasting time, Louis, Zorba, and their army of undead marched through the wastelands of the Desolate Empire, occasionally clashing with small groups of Ruin Eaters.

After nearly two hours of travel—during which Louis continued meditating and cultivating while seated atop one of the salt golems’ heads—he sensed a disturbance in the surrounding energies.

The Emerald Shield Fortress came into view soon after. Unlike before, the entire place was eerily silent. Only when they nearly reached the walls did the defenders appear.

The undead of this fortress were not skeletons or zombies.

They were...

"Ghosts!" Zorba cried out in fascination. "They’re ghosts, Lord Louis!"

"I know, I know," Louis rolled his eyes. "Focus, Zorba."

"Y-Yes!"

As both concentrated, the knights shielded them from the onslaught, protecting them with their shields, weapons, and ghostly auras. Ghost Soldiers materialized—translucent, green-tinted, burning with green ghostly fire. They wielded weapons and slashed the air, unleashing waves of ghostly sword energy and fireballs.

"Zorba, stay focused and don’t die," Louis said. "I’m going in!"

"W-What?! Wait!" Zorba protested. "My lord, it’s dangerous! Ghosts are intangible; you need to prepare!"

"I know their weakness," Louis smiled. He soared higher and higher, channeling the power of his Fantasy Heart. His Aura surged, taking the faint shape of a giant dragon—his own delusions and madness of becoming one manifesting fully. His spear and sword glowed with holy light. Ashen Frost coated his weapons and body, then reversed, transforming into pure holy light. "Reverse Despair into Hope! Ashes into Holy Light...!" he recalled his mother’s words.

As he roared, hundreds of Ghost Soldiers rushed him, unleashing countless long-range attacks. Louis answered with a full-power assault—dozens of thrusting spear strikes, slashing and stabbing sword techniques, horizontal sweeps, rapid jabs. His Aura shaped into a roaring holy dragon that bit and tore through the ghosts one by one, while his spear and sword targeted their cores.

Zorba watched in awe. Louis was handling them all alone! Zorba had no idea Louis could even control Holy Light, but it had clearly become part of his elemental arsenal at some point. He had heard rumors that Louis inherited no power from his mother and that was why he seemed weak—but those rumors were clearly lies.

"Prince Louis is an incredible man...! I’ve never seen someone so strong, bold, and charismatic! I made the right choice by following my instincts and deciding to follow him!" Zorba thought, laughing inwardly. "Those dreams must have been prophetic—all leading to this day when I would meet him and my life would change forever! Attack! Attack, all of you! Hahahah!"

His golems roared and launched a counter-assault. By coating themselves in ghostly auras, they could harm the Ghost Soldiers, smashing them with powerful blows. Zorba rode Hecatoncheires—the giant, multi-armed salt golem—and smashed through the door leading into the fortress, only to face hundreds more ghost soldiers inside.