Artificial Core of Existence (End)
The setting sun slanted across the scene, and a gentle breeze blew.
It was hard to believe it was out of civic duty, but the direction the prey had chosen to flee really was a more secluded spot than the office building.
So neither the flurries from earlier nor the severed limbs now had drawn any onlookers—at least, not yet.
But that was only a matter of time. Someone had clearly noticed the commotion inside the building.
Still, it didn't matter. The one on the ground didn't have long left.
"Much easier on the eyes like this."
As a courteous hunter, Fu Qian didn't insult his opponent at a time like this.
"That was a pretty good strategy, too."
He wasn't offering empty flattery.
The enormous heap sprawled across the ground still bore traces of the giant dragon's former splendor in its skeleton, but its skin had become far more attractive.
Gone was the plague-ridden mass of interwoven flesh. In its place was smooth, delicate gray-white skin, as if it carried an air of timelessness.
Its body had grown much thinner, but the color somehow suited it.
Paired with its pale-gold eyes, barely open to a slit, it looked in the setting sun like an old man near death, quietly watching the sunset.
Its time really was running out.
The most obvious sign was that its gaunt body was covered in countless crisscrossing cracks. There was hardly a single sizable patch left intact.
It looked as if it had been cut into pieces and then barely glued back together.
That was more or less what had happened. Its last great attack had erupted inside its own belly.
That was why Fu Qian had praised its escape strategy.
What had happened was simple.
After bursting out