Record of Ragnarok: Ouroboros

Chapter 23: Last Dragon

The demon king reawakened.

In the last three seconds of the previous standoff, Yu Huang was wounded. Blood poured from his injury as he pressed his hand against the wound, staring at his opponent's back. His body trembled uncontrollably, his teeth clenched, and panic surged through him as he fought to steady his breathing. "W-what's going on!? We can't stop shaking!"

"Lord Yu Huang!?" The Chinese gods, along with Ares, were taken aback by the sudden turn of events. Their eyes widened in disbelief as a collective gasp escaped their lips. In shock, they sprang out of their seats.

"He is not looking right." Hermes calmly said, with Zeus, Athena, and Dionysus maintaining their calmness, their expressions serene and unfazed by the unfolding situation.

"He's finally gone and done it," Göll muttered, her voice filled with disbelief. "He took the risk and became the Demon King. The very title they once called him..." She nervously chewed on her thumbnail.

Aslaug, standing beside her, could feel a cold bead of sweat trickle down her brow. Her gaze was locked on Nobunaga, but it wasn't just the daimyo's appearance or attack that was unsettling. Something about the weapon seemed off. Black flames surged from the tanegashima, a sign of Volund's awakening. However, the black flames suddenly wrapped themselves onto Nobunaga's right arm, before the daimyo casually swung the gun downward with one arm to blow the flames away.

Volund: Demon King Myriad's true power...is unveiled.

A cut appeared on Nobunaga's left waist. He glanced down at the wound with a nonchalant stare, as if it was little more than a minor inconvenience. After a second, he rolled his eyes with mild irritation, then nonchalantly wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, as if the injury was hardly worth acknowledging. "Sticking to the same trick that put me down on my knees as before, huh? You might want to try some different strategies. Relying on the same approach against adaptation isn't the best move."

"This is the part I'm confused about. How did that human end up with the same injury as Lord Yu Huang? I get what his abilities are capable of, but it's hard to keep track of what's what!" Xuanwu muttered, thinking aloud before the sound of footsteps reached the ears of the Chinese gods. Turning around, they saw the empress, Xiwangmu, stepping out of her VIP booth.

"Aunt Xiwangmu, what are you doing here? I thought you were in your booth, watching the match." Erlang asked, standing up to offer his support and steady the empress in case she stumbled from the staircase.

"Erlang, my dear, please let me stay here and offer my explanation," Xiwangmu replied, giving a slight bow to the Chinese gods as they made room to make space for her to sit.

"The Fourth Zodiac: Rabbit enables him to take the misfortune within his sphere of influence and disperse it to those that have experienced good fortune like Nobunaga."

"All the misfortune that would occur to him personally is redirected into his body, consequently, all the good fortune that Nobunaga experiences in inflicting wounds upon him will be wreaked back upon them in equal magnitude as misfortune, and the misfortune that he experiences merely gets deflected and absorbed into his body, causing Nobunaga to experience even more misfortune."

"That explains the injury," Qinglong remarked. "It must have been redirected back onto the human."

"Correct," Xiwangmu replied. "However, Lord Yu Huang's wounds haven't fully healed, so any further serious injuries could be fatal." She pointed to the fresh gash on Yu Huang's left rib, where the wound had only partially closed, leaving behind a scar.