I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 366: Dragon’s Presence

Slyph crashed to the ground and didn’t immediately rise. Smoke poured from her small form, and her yellow hair was now completely charred at the edges.

Jack didn’t give her time to recover.

His hand remained extended toward the sky, and the remaining lightning in the storm clouds. Every last bolt, residual charge, nascent spark, answered his call.

[Forgotten God’s Judgement]

The sky screamed.

Lightning descended not in bolts but in a solid column, a pillar of white-gold radiance that connected heaven to earth with Jack as the conduit.

The power was incomprehensible, divine wrath given physical form, the accumulated electrical potential of an entire storm compressed into a single attack.

Jack’s body seized as the lightning flooded through him. His bones were illuminated beneath his skin; his blood boiled, and his muscles locked into involuntary rigidity.

For a fraction of a second, he was less a person and more a channel through which a god’s judgment flowed.

Every remaining bolt gathered in his outstretched hand, compressing, condensing, refining into a spear of pure lightning that blazed with intensity that hurt to look at directly.

Sylph looked up from the ground, saw the technique building, and her expression shifted to genuine alarm. ”Wait...”

Jack released Forgotten God’s Judgement.

Jack whispered words that Slyph never wanted to hear again in her life. ”Forgotten One’s Judgement.”

[-1,204,000 HP]

The lightning spear crossed the distance between them in a fraction of a second, moving faster than light, guided by divine will that made evasion impossible.

It struck Sylph dead center.

The explosion was unlike anything most nobles there had seen before

White light filled the entire garrison, so bright that nobles on the observation platforms cried out and covered their eyes. The shockwave cracked the floor for fifty feet in every direction, sent support pillars toppling, and opened fissures in the walls that would require master masons to repair.

When the light finally faded, a crater fifteen feet deep marked where Sylph had been standing.

At its center, the tiny wind spirit lay motionless. Her outfit was utterly destroyed, her yellow hair singed to almost nothing, and her black-and-green eyes were closed.

For a moment, absolute silence reigned.

Then Sylph’s eyes opened fractionally, and she coughed out smoke. ”Okay,” she rasped, her voice barely audible. ”That one... actually hurt.”

’Man, this spirit’s regeneration is off the charts. No matter what I do, she regains her health.’

”I SURRENDER!”

The voice echoed through the garrison with desperate intensity, cutting through the ringing silence that followed Forgotten God’s Judgement.

Rhys lay where Sylph had left him, barely conscious, his body broken from Jack’s earlier assault. But his eyes were open now, his winter-ice gaze taking in the devastation, the crater, the battered spirit who had been his trump card.

Blood poured from his mouth as he forced the words out with the last of his strength. ”I... surrender! The duel... is over!”

Jack’s hand, still raised from the last technique, slowly lowered. Divine power continued crackling around his frame, but the killing intent that had saturated the air began to dissipate.

He looked at Rhys, their eyes meeting across the destroyed garrison. No words passed between them, but understanding flickered in that brief connection.

’You fought well,’ Jack’s expression seemed to say. ’But this was always the outcome.’

Rhys’s eyes closed, consciousness finally slipping away now that he’d fulfilled his final duty.

Jack turned away, white lightning beginning to fade as he started releasing the divine channeling. The rules of the duel were absolute; surrender meant the fight ended. Even with power beyond mortal limits coursing through him, even with the excitement of combat still singing in his veins, Jack respected that boundary.

But some mischievous little spirit didn’t see it that way.

The tiny wind spirit rose from the crater, her damaged form trembling, but her black-and-green eyes blazing. Her hands moved as wind coalesced in her hands.

Despite all the damage she took, she was still hurt. But her pride wouldn’t let her stop.

A blade of compressed air formed, not as large as her previous attacks, but sharp and fast, aimed directly at Jack’s unprotected back.

”Can’t let you walk away unmarked, human,” Sylph’s voice carried vindictive playfulness despite her injuries. ”Consider this a parting...”

Shadows erupted from the ground. Manifesting from nothing into a presence so massive it made the entire garrison feel claustrophobic.

A dragon’s head emerged from the darkness, scales black as the void, eyes purple as amethyst, jaws large enough to swallow horses whole. The manifestation was there for less than a second, but in that fraction of time, it moved so quickly that not everyone could catch sight of it.

Drakon’s jaws opened and swallowed Sylph’s wind blade whole.

The attack ceased to exist, consumed by a shadow that swallowed anything whole. The dragon’s head disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, fading back into nothing.

Sylph whipped around, her eyes finding Duke Alaric on the observation platform.

The Duke stood with Lady Genevieve on his arm, his expression perfectly neutral except for the slight smirk playing at his lips.

His gaze met Sylph’s gaze with predatory satisfaction.

The message was clear without words: Know your place, spirit.

Sylph’s jaw clenched, but she didn’t attempt another attack. She turned back to Rhys, her tiny form floating over to her unconscious contractor, and began channeling healing magic.

Jack continued walking toward the garrison’s exit, divine power gradually fading from his system.

His hair, which had been standing straight up due to an electrical charge, slowly fell back into its normal position. The white glow in his eyes dimmed, pupils returning as red lightning flickered weakly where white lightning had just blazed moments before.

Sweat poured down his face and neck, soaking through his torn clothing. His breathing came slightly more complicated than usual. Not quite labored, but definitely elevated from the exertion of channeling divine essence through his body.

But his grin remained.

Wide, satisfied, riding the adrenaline high of a fight that had actually challenged him. His muscles trembled slightly from the departure of the divine power, but his steps were steady, and his posture was confident.

He’d fought a mythical-rank spirit while channeling divinity and proven that even outmatched statistically, tactics, sustain, and overwhelming power can change everything.

Behind him, medical personnel rushed into the garrison to attend to Rhys. Nobles began emerging from their protective positions, voices rising in shocked commentary about what they’d just witnessed.

But Jack didn’t look back. A couple of people approached Jack once the fight was over.

Father Caelen, Seraphina, and S approached Jack. Most people would have thought that nobles would flock to see Jack because of his strength. But, they would be wrong.

They respected Jack, but some even feared him. Knowing he has that much power. He can cause a noble family to cease to exist in a short amount of time. The achievements he has made in a short amount of time frighten most people from being overzealous.

Jack whispered something to Father Caelen, and he disappeared. He gave an order to S, and he vanished from sight. Seraphina fell into place behind Jack as he continued to leave.

”Alaric. Your boy is amazing.” Nobles congratulated Duke Alaric left and right. The son who had been in a coma had now proven how much of a powerhouse he would grow into.