The Billionaire CEO Becomes the Youngest Emperor-Chapter 26 - 25: Little dragon

The world's silent scream echoed across the continent.

The moment the name "MALVERIA" was spoken, reality wavered. It wasn't the air that trembled, but the very certainty of existence itself. For millennia, all had believed they were breathing oxygen. But in that instant, that belief crumbled.

The air vanished.

Not that it had disappeared—but the sheer power of Malveria imposed a higher truth: oxygen had never been the true breath of life. What all had deemed essential was nothing more than a lie, a mere illusion erased in an instant. From now on, only its mana remained. A dark, unfathomable current that asserted itself as the sole reality.

The Rank 6 mages and swordmasters were the first to perceive this crushing illusion. Each breath no longer filled their lungs with air, but with a living essence—corrupt, boundless, and absolute. They choked under this imposed truth. Their very existence wavered before this overwhelming presence. Without exception, all were consumed by terror.

The lower ranks felt an excruciating pain in their lungs. Their bodies refused to accept this new breath. Some suffocated, others screamed, and the weakest collapsed where they stood.

Ordinary humans saw nothing. Understood nothing. And yet, a primal instinct stirred within them. Something unthinkable had just occurred. The mere act of breathing now filled them with a visceral dread—an irrational horror that crushed their souls.

Across the empires, chaos erupted. Administrators and druids were buried under a deluge of alarming reports. Every empire, every duchy, every province reported the same inexplicable phenomenon. A catastrophe was unfolding.

Even the druids—among the mightiest of their kind—were not spared.

Regardless of their power, they all shared the same terrifying realization.

A predator was watching humanity.

And the worst part... was that no one could find its source. Because this mana, just like the air before it, seemed to have neither beginning nor end.

***

"How many times am I going to pass out today?"

Lucian was the closest to the source of this catastrophe. That alone was absurd. He should have been unconscious. No—he should have been dead. Even the transcendents, far from the epicenter, were suffering in agony.

And yet, he was still there.

Lying on his stomach, his breath heavy and ragged, his body trembling under the weight of a force he could neither comprehend nor withstand.

Meanwhile, MALVERIA stretched joyfully. A radiant smile on her lips, like a child waking up from a long slumber. Completely indifferent to the devastation she was causing.

— "AMAZING... I REALLY MISSED THIS FEELING OF FREEDOM! HEHE..."

♪⁠♪♬ ♪⁠♪♬ ♪⁠♪♬♪⁠♪♬♪⁠♪♬♪⁠♪♬

She hummed cheerfully, stretching as if this were nothing more than a simple morning routine.

She was truly happy.

Then, suddenly, she paused, as if a thought had just crossed her mind.

— "Oh, I almost forgot..."

With a casual motion, she turned toward Lucian, still pinned to the ground.

— "What was your name again, kid?"

— "...."

Nothing.

Only the sound of his ragged breathing answered her.

Her smile softened slightly before she finally lowered her gaze to him.

And in that instant, her expression changed.

Her eyes turned ice-cold. Her amusement vanished, snuffed out like a candle in the wind.

— "Did I release my energy without noticing?"

Sigh.

The mere act of exhaling was enough to bring an end to the universal catastrophe.

As if none of it had ever happened.

The air returned to normal. The suffocation disappeared.

The energy she had released had lasted only one minute and twenty seconds.

And yet, the damage was unimaginable.

Then, she reached out toward the broken little human at her feet.

Lucian felt his body lift off the ground, suspended in midair, held by a dark force that wrapped around him—inescapable, absolute.

---

Ah... ah... ah...

Huh...?!

My breathing... it's back to normal?

The feeling of danger had vanished. But the shock remained. Worse yet...

"Why the hell am I floating?!"

Seriously... what a shitty day.

My body wouldn't move. Not a single finger. And yet, I was clearly hanging in the air, carried by something indescribable... something sinister.

With great effort, I forced my eyes open. My body, as if pulled by an invisible force, was drifting straight toward her.

No... not just a woman. MALVERIA TENEBROS.

I tried to collect my thoughts, but everything was a mess. This power... it was beyond anything I had ever imagined. And yet...

Why had this name never appeared in the novel?

This doesn't make sense!

...

Unless...

What if she appeared in the final Chapter I never got to read?

A sharp migraine shot through my skull.

Now that I think about it... it makes sense.

Which means... maybe there's a season two? A sequel I never got to read because of my transmigration?

Ahhh... screw this!

I was stuck in midair, face to face with her.

I held my breath.

I had seen what she did to that mysterious man. I had felt the overwhelming pressure of her power—the force that had nearly crushed me.

How could I not be terrified?

I glanced to my left.

Chris was still crouched.

Why?!

Why the hell is he just sitting there when I desperately need help?!

Then, suddenly, her voice rang out.

— "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"

A firm voice. Almost... sensual.

— "Huh?! I..."

I was still trying to process everything, but she didn't give me the chance.

— "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"

I'm going to die!

Before I even realized it, I screamed:

— "LUCIAN! LUCIAN VOLDRECK!"

Hmm...

She now had a thoughtful expression, one hand resting on her chin, as if she were pondering something important.

— "Indeed... you do look a lot like that kid... What was his name again?"

Suddenly, her eyes fell on Chris, still crouched, trembling.

— "Come here, kiddo."

Kiddo?

That was the second time today someone had called this old man a kid... Why?

Chris slowly lifted his head. His terrified gaze made it clear he didn't want to move.

— "DO YOU WANT TO DIE?"

Chris frantically shook his head and walked toward Malveria, his head lowered, like a condemned man heading for the gallows.

She stared at him, a faint amused smile on her lips.

— "If I remember correctly... you were that other kid's little dragon, weren't you? Remind me of his name."

Chris struggled internally. He opened his mouth, hesitated, but he knew he had to answer.

— "Yes... yes, it was... it was..."

His words faltered under Malveria's suffocating pressure.

— "It was... His Majesty Adrian Voldreck."

A flicker of satisfaction lit up Malveria's eyes.

— "OH, YES! THAT'S RIGHT! ADRIAN !"

Her smile widened.

— "He was quite amusing... Where are you now, Adrian?"

Chris hesitated.

— "He is..."

He didn't even have time to finish.

— "Doesn't matter. He was just a human, after all."

With a casual wave of her hand, she literally brushed away any interest she had in the subject.

Lucian, however, was shaken.

She knows... my father?!

Adrian Voldreck.

Lucian's predecessor.

And she just mentioned a dragon...?

The questions piled up in my head, an endless stream of thoughts I couldn't afford to dwell on. Not now.

Every breath had to be calculated.

Then, suddenly, the dark energy holding me in the air vanished in an instant.

I fell.

Luckily, I was already close to the ground, otherwise...

I crashed down hard, unable to catch myself.

Malveria stared at her hands for a moment, looking displeased.

— "I knew it... It was still too soon to come out. My mana is still being drained, isn't it?"

Then, her gaze fell back on Chris.

But this time... something had changed.

— "Back then, I did nothing... out of consideration for little Adrian."

The air grew heavy.

Suffocating.

— "But you... you dare stand before me?"

A chill ran down my spine.

The atmosphere became unbearable.

— "You are the last of those pathetic dragon whelps."

Her smile vanished.

— "But I suppose you don't care for your life."

Lucian's eyes widened.

His lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.

Ah...

---

Azrael Itharion stood in his laboratory, surrounded by ancient grimoires and magical crystals, still pulsing from the aftershock of the phenomenon that had shaken the world.

In front of him, his three disciples were panting like athletes at the brink of exhaustion—breathless, faces pale. They were still struggling to grasp what they had just felt, what their own mana had whispered deep in their guts: something inconceivable had just manifested.

Azrael, however, was slumped in a chair, his back hunched, drenched in sweat. But it wasn't exhaustion that held him down.

It was ecstasy.

His fingers dug into the armrests, his eyes burning with feverish light as he murmured:

— "I'm certain... it's... the same feeling."

He, too, had been a victim of that nightmarish minute. He, too, had felt that divine breath crush the world, reshaping even the fabric of reality.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

But unlike the others, he wasn't afraid.

No... he was enthralled.

A slow grin stretched across his face, feverish and wild. He looked like a scholar uncovering a long-lost forbidden manuscript, or a gossipmonger thrilled by the most scandalous revelation.

His heart pounded violently.

He had to understand. He had to know.

With a sharp tone, he declared:

— "Gather your things. We leave for the Thirteenth Empire in three days."

His disciples' eyes widened, their already ragged breath catching in their throats.

— "Master, wait... After what just happened, the International Mage Association will definitely summon you! The High Council will convene to analyze this disaster!"

— "And?" he cut in, not even sparing them a glance.

A heavy silence fell over the room.

They knew their master was unpredictable. Obsessed. But this—this was madness. Ignoring a gathering where the

world's greatest archmages would seek to unravel this calamity? Turning his back on a catastrophe to set off on a journey—to the most wretched empire of all?

But Azrael was no longer listening.

One thought echoed in his mind, over and over.

"I must study this power... no matter the cost."