Raising My Trash Ability into a Broken SSS+ Rank Skill Chapter 509: The Great Escape- Or is it?
BANG
The instant the glyph was shattered, a radiant glow enveloped his frame, merging his essence with the natural world.
"..." Vritra remained silent, recognizing that the activation was already too far gone to interrupt.
Intervening now risked Dago’s life, so he simply watched the man fade away into nothingness. This silence, however, was misinterpreted as helplessness, fueling Dago’s arrogance.
"The scales will be tipped the next time our paths cross. When that day comes, I’ll drag you across the entire continent to prove that I fear no one..." The Dragon Emperor’s threats grew increasingly faint until he vanished completely.
Below, the spectators were left in a state of pure bewilderment. Had their great sovereign truly fled in terror from a mere nightmare?
...
Thousands of kilometers distant, deep within an isolated temple, dozens of figures were gathered in prayer before a massive, lifeless husk.
These beings possessed hulking frames and sickly, pale green skin.
A sudden burst of light disrupted their ritual, and Dago materialized in the center of the congregation.
"Where have I ended up?" he muttered, his nose twitching in disgust at the foul odor permeating the air.
Turning his head, he spotted the corpse suspended by thick, heavy chains.
Tch, how revolting...
With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a torrent of flames. The fire hungrily consumed the remains, reducing the corpse to a pile of ash in mere moments.
The crowd of over a hundred stared in stunned silence, paralyzed by the sudden sacrilege.
However, once the reality of their deity's desecration sank in, they were consumed by a primal rage.
Their mouths unhinged, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth as they lunged at him in a collective frenzy.
"Hmph! You pathetic maggots think you can challenge me? Dammit, why is everyone looking down on me lately? Fine, I’ll vent all my frustrations on you!"
Dago lashed out with a powerful punch, the resulting shockwave shattering the bodies of over ten creatures, leaving them broken and bloodstained.
"Tell me, Dago, what was it you planned to do to me when we met again?" A bone-chilling voice suddenly resonated through the chamber.
Dago let out a high-pitched, almost feminine shriek of terror. He scrambled backward, eyes searching frantically until they landed on Vritra, who was perched casually atop a wall.
Two massive horns protruded from Vritra's head, and his body remained wreathed in those same relentless flames.
"H-How is this possible?! This is impossible! I—I need to get out of here..." Dago’s mind began to fracture; his intense fear was so potent it seemed to age his physical form by several centuries in a heartbeat.
"Enough games. It's time for you to receive your sentence," Vritra murmured. He stepped off the wall, his figure vanishing mid-air.
Dago felt nothing more than a soft tap against his chest. An instant later, an agonizing wave of pain overwhelmed his senses as blood erupted from every orifice simultaneously.
Every ounce of his strength drained away instantly.
Standing a short distance away, Vritra held a small, spherical core. It was a vibrant orange, thrumming with immense mana.
"Quite decent. I'll take this as payment for my troubles." Vritra tucked it away, considering it a potential gift for Yasmine; if she had no use for it, he would simply refine it himself.
COUGH COUGH
Dago collapsed to his knees, the scent of his own blood filling his nostrils. The agony of having his core torn from his chest was unfathomable.
"Nooooo... ughhhh... cough... ahhhhh!" While his physical constitution was naturally robust, he was now weaker than even the lowliest lord.
"Now, let us move on to destroying your physique," Vritra declared. He approached the broken Dago and rested a hand on his shoulder.
The green-skinned creatures, paralyzed by the sheer pressure Vritra exuded, retreated into the shadows, not daring to interfere.
"W-What are you doing? Cough... ahhh... s-stop it! I'm sorry! I didn't even do... cough... anything!" Dago could only plead for mercy, his ability to use treasures or secret techniques having vanished along with his core.
Without that central power, he was utterly helpless.
Vritra wasn't intimately familiar with the Titan race, but he followed a strange intuition.
A Titan's greatest asset was their physical body. If his theory was correct...
As Vritra focused his intent, Dago’s form began a grotesque transformation.
Scales erupted across his skin, accompanied by a sensation of excruciating pain. Even without Dago’s conscious effort, his body began a forced dragon transformation.
Then, the horror intensified. The scales began to migrate, tearing away from Dago and merging into Vritra’s own skin before sinking beneath the surface.
Dago thrashed and wailed; the sensation of his very physique being uprooted was more painful than the loss of his core.
Vritra was literally stripping away his innate talent.
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh! No! D-don't... stop it! I'm sorry! Uwaahhhhhhh... it hurts! Fuck! Spare me, just once... f-for Yasmine's sake! She is my s-sister!"
Dago was willing to stoop to any depth of humiliation if it meant ending the torment.
But Vritra did not stop. Since this was his first time devouring a physique, his technique was somewhat unrefined.
However, he wasn't worried; he had a living subject to practice on.
'So the Titan race possesses the ability to devour physiques. Interesting. I wonder what other secrets my physique and bloodlines hold,' Vritra mused, feeling his own power swell.
Though he was already a demi-god and the gains were marginal, Dago’s foundation was significant enough to be felt.
After an hour of extraction that felt like Dago’s very soul was being flayed, the process finally concluded.
'Once I master this, the devouring process will be much swifter.'
He looked down at the pathetic wretch at his feet, whose strength had plummeted below that of an ordinary mortal.
"Quite the transformation. Tell me, Dago, how does it feel?" Vritra asked softly, finding a dark satisfaction in the punishment of his foe.
"Y... You bastard... h-how... cough... could you... ugh..." Dago’s voice failed him as he lay sprawled in the dirt.
"You lot, come here. Feast upon the flesh of the Dragon Emperor. Just ensure he stays alive," Vritra commanded, leaping back to his perch on the wall.
Driven by Vritra’s command and a primal hunger, the creatures crept forward. Seeing the man who had incinerated their deity...
They lost all restraint and swarmed him.
BITE BITE
CRUNCH CRUNCH
Dozens of them began to rip him apart, tearing at his limbs and disemboweling him with savage hunger.
Vritra had originally intended to prolong the torture, but witnessing this was sufficient for his satisfaction.
Despite the loss of his core and physique, Dago’s body refused to expire, no matter how grievous the wounds.
His screams only ceased when his throat was torn out and his jaw was consumed.
It was a wretched end, reminiscent of a horror film. Vritra watched the spectacle for several more minutes.
Only after Dago finally drew his last breath did Vritra decide to depart. At long last, Yasmine would be able to reclaim her body.
He had ensured Dago’s soul was consumed by his soul wraiths and had seized all the storage glyphs, which were now at the lord rank.
Vritra already knew where Dago had stashed her belongings back at the palace.
With a burst of speed, he flew back, arriving in the Dragon Kingdom in an instant.
He headed straight for the late emperor’s private chambers.
Looking at the floor, he delivered a devastating kick.
BOOOOOOM
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