Mutation and Regeneration

Elizabeth slowly grasped the bronze hilt—and drew the Sword in the Stone.

In that instant,the world shifted—a change silent, imperceptible to all but Dragon Kings.

All natural laws seemed to recoil in fear of the blade.

Jörmungandr’s pupils shrank to pinpricks,its remaining scales bristling upright.

For the first time in millennia,terror bloomed across its draconic face.

“This is… a Law Weapon!

And… the power of the Creator God!”

“How can you possibly possess this?!”

It knew—all too well—that to be slain by a Law Weapon meant absolute annihilation.

No revival.

No trace.

Eternal erasure.

“You don’t need to know,” Elizabeth said coldly.

“You only need to know—today is your end.”

Seeing the once-proud Dragon King reduced to trembling dread,

Elizabeth’s faith in Kaelen’s memoir solidified.

This sword could truly kill Jörmungandr—forever.

“NO! NO! This cannot be His will!!!”

For the first time, the shadow of true death fell upon Jörmungandr.

After countless ages of immortality,it finally smelled its own end.

Its mind frayed into madness.

It scanned the battlefield desperately,seeking any escape—and found one.

Its gaze locked onto Black on the Hodyr’s deck—and froze.

It remembered—this human carried the scent of Nidhogg,the Dragon King of Dragons,the first among the Twelve,the only dragon blessed directly by the Creator,whose authority neared divinity itself.

If this human bore Nidhogg’s essence—a fragment of his body, an artifact of his soul—then devouring him could restore Jörmungandr to full power!

Hope flared in its dying heart.

“Heaven spares me!”

It roared—and with a single dragonic command,every sea dragon in the ocean EXPLODED.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Thousands—tens of thousands—

Orexis included—burst into crimson mist.

The entire fleet staggered in shock.

Elizabeth sensed danger—but before she could act,the blood fog surged,encasing her completely—even blinding her senses.

She slashed with Heaven’s Judgment—the sword beam cleared a path—but more fog rushed in,sealing her in a crimson prison.

Jörmungandr knew it couldn’t hold her long.

So it spat a torrent of azure essence-blood—infusing the fog—which condensed into a massive blood sphere,trapping Elizabeth inside.

“Pathetic last stand,” she scoffed—yet confused.

This sphere wouldn’t last.

Why sacrifice all its kin just to buy seconds?

It was too wounded to flee far.

She’d catch and kill it easily.

But blinded by the blood sphere,she didn’t see what happened next.

Outside, Jörmungandr’s body shrank violently—its mountainous form compressing into a hundred-meter-long azure serpent.

Lightning-fast,it shot toward Black like a blue comet!

“STOP IT!”

Lucy reacted first—her hands flashing,walls of ice erupting in the serpent’s path.

But even wounded, it was Emperor-tier!

The ice shattered before she could blink.

She could only watch helplessly as the serpent closed in on Black.

Black froze—his blood turning to ice.

He never expected the Dragon King to target him!

He tried to dodge with Autumn Wind Triple Cut—but his body wouldn’t move—locked by Jörmungandr’s will!

At the last moment—

Alice lunged,trying to shove him aside—but couldn’t budge him.

Pale-faced, she raised Crimson Soul,standing between him and death.

But against a Dragon King?

Hopeless.

CRACK!

The five-star blade shattered—a shard impaling Alice’s chest.

The serpent’s maw gaped—not with fangs,but with a blinding azure light.

In one motion,it swallowed both Black and Alice whole!

Then—vanished into the sea.

Silence.

The entire Hodyr stunned into stillness.

Then—horror dawned.

Alice and Black… eaten by Jörmungandr?!

Irena staggered,gripping the railing to keep from collapsing.

She cast Spirit Sight—but no trace of their auras remained.

Tears welled in her eyes.

How… how could the story end like this?

Jianye stood frozen,her usual composure shattered.

“This… wasn’t supposed to happen…” she whispered,her mind reeling in chaos.

BOOM!

Elizabeth shattered the blood sphere,her rage rippling the ocean.

She dived into the sea,a silver streak chasing the serpent’s trail.

Ten minutes later—she reappeared on deck,and unleashed a blast that sent a hundred-meter tsunami skyward.

The fleet trembled—this wasn’t their Empress.

This was wrath incarnate.

“Your Majesty…” Lucy ventured, voice shaking,

“…are Alice and Black… consumed…?”

Elizabeth shook her head, voice low and grim:

“Not consumed.They’re alive—but Jörmungandr has trapped them inside its Dragon Pearl—a soul-space hidden somewhere beneath this sea.

The spatial signature is faint…

I cannot locate it yet.”