Gatomon's [Cat's Eye] had successfully taken effect, allowing Dark, who was still on the cliff, to breathe a small sigh of relief.
The greatest fear for Miltank's [Rollout] was being interrupted at the very start.
The first roll, in particular, was especially easy to block!
But as long as it got past the initial stage, the speed and power of each subsequent roll would increase exponentially.
By the third roll, even if the opponent wanted to stop it, it would be incredibly difficult to do so!
With a move power of 240, it was at the apex of spirit skills—a truly terrifying level!
Not to mention there were two more exponential increases to come!
...
With the demon dragon now confused by [Cat's Eye], Miltank's second roll was guaranteed to be a successful hit!
And so it was.
Ricocheting off the mountain wall, Miltank, with ferocious momentum, once again rolled across the demon dragon's right cheek!
Sheets of dragon scales were crushed and deformed, and the demon dragon let out a sudden howl of pain!
Gatomon seized the opportunity, closing in to land a [Cat Punch] on its lower jaw!
"BOOM!"
The demon dragon's massive mouth snapped shut, and it bit its own tongue.
Its eyes grew moist, and tears threatened to fall.
But the jolt of pain also broke its "confused" state. It swung its tail in a horizontal sweep almost subconsciously!
In an instant, a dust storm erupted.
The fierce wind whipped up sand and dust, sending them flying like bullets.
Gatomon only had time to cross its arms to protect its chest before it was viciously struck by the tail!
After a moment of stillness.
Gatomon's body was sent flying backward, slamming into the mountain wall with a "boom"!
The wall immediately cracked, and even the clifftop trembled.
For a second, Dark thought Gatomon was done for, but its block seemed to have worked, as it still had some magic power left.
The demon dragon's strength was beyond imagination!
"Shuckle!"
Before he could even shout, a bright light burst from Shuckle's eyes.
It used its psychic powers to their fullest, enveloping itself in a psychic aura.
"Power Trick!"
Shuckle's attack and defense stats were instantly swapped by the psychic power.
[Attack: 0→2200]
[Defense: 2200→0]
"Power Split!"
The next moment, the psychic light shot towards the demon dragon roaring in pain below.
On [Shuckle]'s card, its defense value instantly skyrocketed!
It leaped from 0, after the stat swap, all the way to 1700!
This meant that the demon dragon's original defense was likely as high as 3400!
And if this demon dragon wasn't even a defense-oriented type...
A flicker of horror appeared in Dark's eyes.
He immediately realized that the demon dragon before him was very likely an eight-star Tier 3 magical beast!
Even if it was just a vanilla eight-star creature, it was still an existence that lower-year students could only look up to.
"So, Alvit's treasure map wasn't meant for lower-year students at all?"
"But that makes sense. What lower-year student could guarantee getting past the giant bear and lion stages without a scratch?"
"It's very likely this treasure map was hidden somewhere only upper-year students could access it."
"Perhaps it was tucked inside a reference book that only upperclassmen use."
"Principal Cynthia, you really did something that wasn't so clever..."
As a wry smile appeared on Dark's face, a new Magic Guide Card had already materialized in his hands.
...
Down in the basin, Miltank had already completed its turn and begun its third roll!
After being doubled three times, [Rollout]'s power had risen to 240. Both its speed and force had reached a level impossible for a normal four-star spirit!
But against a demon dragon that was very likely an eight-star creature, this much power was still not enough!
"In the name of Dark Demon, I perform a Sacrifice Summon!"
To support Miltank in completing its third collision, Dark had a burst of inspiration under pressure, finally compressing the casting time for the Sacrifice Summon to under 10 seconds!
Gatomon, who had been smashed into the mountain wall, suddenly burst into light.
A massive sacrifice summon circle lit up on the wall, instantly drawing the demon dragon's attention.
But it was still in agony. It merely glanced at the summon circle before turning its rage toward the rolling Miltank!
"Hmph!"
Two streams of fire shot from its nostrils.
The demon dragon faced Miltank, opened its mouth wide, and a thick stench of sulfur billowed out as flames began to gather.
But on the sacrifice summon circle, a pink spirit with ribbons had already appeared.
It held its head high, its pupils shimmering with a gentle, water-like light.
"Syl~~vee~~on~~..."
An Alluring Voice issued from its throat. The effect of its [Charming Body], spreading through the sound, instantly echoed throughout the entire basin.
Extremely lucky.
The demon dragon guarding the treasure was male!
Sylveon, refined with the [Fruit of Lust] at its core, possessed a charm infused with the power of the great sin of [Lust]. Even an eight-star demon dragon couldn't resist being captivated by it!
Almost instantly, the pain and rage in its eyes vanished, replaced by sheer infatuation.
The dragon's breath that was about to be unleashed from its mouth was suppressed and swallowed back down its throat.
And then Miltank's third roll finally slammed into its body!
With its defense value halved, the demon dragon took the full force of a vicious blow!
Its massive, hill-like body was nearly sent flying by Miltank's impact!
Although it wasn't obvious from its appearance, its aura had clearly been weakened considerably.
...
However, after this strike, Shuckle's psychic power reached its limit. The light surrounding the demon dragon suddenly shattered, and its defense was restored.
In its eyes, which had shown heart symbols, a sign of struggle appeared!
The difference in star-ranking was finally showing.
Normally, a debuff from a special move would be weakened when used across one tier, and it would be almost useless across two tiers.
The fact that Gatomon's and Sylveon's special moves had such a significant effect on the demon dragon was already a bug-like anomaly.
Shuckle's [Power Split] had also only lasted for a very short time.
In just a few more moments, the demon dragon would surely break free from the "charmed" state!
But even so, it was already too late!
...
Atop the cliff.
Dark took out another Magic Guide Card, carefully watching the situation below.
Miltank's rollout had entered its fourth round. It had built up so much momentum that it was now unstoppable.
Although the demon dragon was struggling, it was still under the charm's control. This fourth roll would definitely hit.
But the demon dragon's true defense was 3400. As a dragon-type, its vitality was bound to be high as well. It was very likely it could withstand even this fourth attack.
In the end, Miltank's base attack was just too low, which greatly limited its performance.
From this, he deduced that this battle would likely hinge on the very last roll!
If the fourth roll was already this powerful, the fifth roll would be impossible to stop.
But the demon dragon... had wings!
Once it broke free of the charm, all it had to do was flap its wings to fly into the sky, making it impossible for Miltank to hit it!
...
In the brief moment he spent thinking, Miltank's fourth roll had already slammed into the demon dragon's body!
The rotating airflow generated by its spin was like a blade, shredding the dragon scales it touched to pieces.
One of the demon dragon's hind legs was mangled into a bloody mess, leaving it half-crippled!
The excruciating pain further stimulated the demon dragon's nerves, allowing it to successfully break free from the charm's hold.
But by now, its injuries were already extremely severe.
Setting aside the minor injuries to its left and right cheeks, Miltank's third and fourth rolls had caused massive contusions all over its body.
The constant loss of vitality made the demon dragon feel threatened.
But the pride of a dragon prevented it from fleeing immediately.
After fighting for so long, the poor demon dragon finally managed to unleash a full dragon's breath for the first time!
The flame-like breath relentlessly chased Miltank's tail, but Miltank was rolling too fast. It evaded the sweeping breath with a single turn!
"ROAR!"
The demon dragon let out a roar of extreme fury.
The entire dragon reared up on its hind legs.
Its lower limbs were short and thick, providing a very stable base, but its upper limbs were small, slender, and long.
But that didn't stop its claws from being sharp and powerful enough!
In its extreme rage, it clenched both hands into fists, roared at the sky, and then slammed a fist into the ground.
The ground was shattered by the blow!
A terrifying fissure was created, spreading like lightning towards Miltank's position.
Although Miltank managed to dodge the direct hit from the fissure as it turned, it couldn't evade the torrent of lava that suddenly erupted from within!
However, at this very moment.
The airflow generated by Miltank's high-speed rotation had become incredibly fierce, completely enveloping its body without leaving a single gap.
As it rolled, its diameter, including the airflow, now exceeded five meters, making its sheer size no less imposing than the demon dragon before it!
All the surging lava was either deflected by the airflow or sucked into it, turning Miltank into something like a wheel of fire!
A moment later, the wheel of fire broke through the demon dragon's defensive perimeter, accelerating its roll with an unstoppable, crushing momentum.
Its speed had surpassed its limits!
The resulting impact force could overwhelm anything!
The demon dragon once again spewed a torrent of dragon's breath, but it couldn't break through the airflow barrier at all.
At that moment.
It finally felt the threat of death. Its draconic eyes revealed unconcealable panic.
Seeing Miltank rolling right in front of it, the demon dragon could no longer resist flapping its wings!
Its bat-like wings created an updraft, causing its body to float up a short distance.
Then, with a powerful flap, a great wind kicked up as it prepared to soar into the sky!
But suddenly.
Miltank, which had been several meters away, instantly closed the distance and slammed viciously into its body!
"BANG!"
Utter destruction!
Whether it was the hard dragon scales, the thick hide, or the steel-like dragon bones.
Before Miltank's fifth roll, they were all like paper toys—crushed, pulverized, and blown apart!
Its final roar was forever stuck in its throat as its life faded away like the wind.
...
"It's over!"
Dark straightened his back slightly, lowering the [Blink Spell] in his hand.
From the moment Miltank rolled off the cliff to the demon dragon being crushed into light, the entire process had taken less than a few minutes.
Eevee's [Helping Hand], Gatomon's [Cat's Eye], Shuckle's [Power Split], Sylveon's [Charming Body] + [Alluring Voice], and finally, the [Blink Spell]!
Everything was to support Miltank in completing its fifth roll!
Even an eight-star demon dragon, having lost the initiative, fell further and further behind, step by step, until it was utterly crushed by this hellish rollout!
...
At the final moment, Dark did not let his guard down.
"DemiDevimon."
At his command, DemiDevimon took the lead, swooping down the cliff. It first circled the basin and then flew into the dragon's lair.
A moment later, it flew out of the lair, bringing the good news that everything was safe.
Dark then looked for a slightly gentler path and carefully climbed down.
"Mii~"
Sylveon extended its ribbon-like feelers, lifting him from halfway down, and then happily nuzzled against him.
DemiDevimon immediately pouted, but it couldn't say much in front of the battle's hero.
Miltank, having chugged a bottle of [Milk], also walked over slowly and stood before Dark, looking up expectantly.
Dark smiled, hugged its head, and rubbed it vigorously, praising, "Well done!"
Miltank immediately showed an expression of joy even greater than when it had crushed the demon dragon.
DemiDevimon flew around anxiously in a figure-eight pattern, impatiently chirping, "Treasure, treasure!"
...
The treasure was right before his eyes, but Dark was in no hurry.
He surveyed the basin and took the opportunity to replenish [Gatomon]'s magic power.
On the card, Gatomon had its arms crossed, a look of dissatisfaction on its face.
It was unhappy that it hadn't been able to last until the end.
Dark whispered a few words of comfort, and after its magic was fully restored, he summoned it again.
Not long after, Shuckle and Eevee also arrived in the basin, helped by Sylveon.
Since they all contributed to the battle, it was only right that they share in the reward together.
Dark waited until everyone had gathered before finally entering the dragon's lair!
DemiDevimon hadn't flown in too deep.
But the first half of the lair was clearly safe.
From the middle section onward, however, he couldn't be sure.
Dark never hesitated to assume the worst when it came to Alvit's intentions.
No one could be sure if she might have included some prankish designs in the final stage.
As they went deeper, the air grew drier, and a pungent smell wafted out from within.
Dark covered his nose until his sense of smell grew numb.
In the end, no traps appeared.
Halfway through, Dark replenished his Magic Guide Spirits' magic power once more before pressing on, finally arriving at the "Treasure's Location"!
But the imagined piles of gold coins and fields of jewels did not appear.
Nor was there the classic trope from adventure novels—the discovery of a dragon egg!
Dark had actually been hoping for that.
Even if it wasn't a dragon egg, a dragon-type/attribute Magic Guide Spirit card would have been a huge win.
But there was nothing.
Absolutely nothing!
He and his Magic Guide Spirits stood at the entrance of the treasure chamber, looking at the final location with utter bewilderment.
The entire cave was covered with smooth, shining mirrors, from top to bottom, without a single gap.
When he opened his eyes, all he could see were countless reflections of himself with a look of astonishment.
It was exactly the same as the secret room Virt had found!
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 50 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin