And so, under the effects of Avada's Transfiguration, scattered chunks of broken stone rapidly floated up and transformed into birds. Chirping loudly, they circled around the enraged Ukrainian Ironbelly, wheeling merrily at a height just beyond the point its craned neck could reach, as though mocking its shackled wings. From time to time, they even dropped unidentified objects from above—and under Avada's deliberate control, they aimed specifically for the dragon's nostrils.
The enraging effect of this move practically overrode the curse on the cloak itself.
"ROAR!"
At first, when there were only a few birds circling above its head, the dragon did not pay those annoying little things any mind. It kept all of its attention fixed on the tiny thing that constantly radiated that irritating aura and stubbornly refused to be hit.
Even after the flock above its head had grown into a buzzing swarm, and quite a few odd-smelling white splatters had landed on its back scales, it still only shook its chained wings a little in an attempt to drive them off, while continuing to chase Avada relentlessly. It seemed the curse on that cloak truly was remarkably effective.
But after one lump of white unidentified matter hit one of the dragon's nostrils with perfect accuracy, and then another heavenly projectile dropped straight into its open mouth while it was roaring, it finally snapped.
"RAAAARGH—!!!"
With a roar filled with boundless fury—so terrifying that even the spectators beyond the barrier felt their organs tremble—the gigantic Ironbelly suddenly thrust up its neck, more than ten feet long. A blinding red light blazed between its interlocking fangs, and the air around its mouth began to twist...
In the next moment, a searing stream of dragonfire shot forth like a world-cleaving sword amid surging heatwaves, crossing dozens of meters and smashing violently into the barrier above with a heart-stopping explosion!
As for the flock of birds that had been circling over its head, most of them were utterly annihilated by that earth-shaking blast of dragonfire before they could even cry out. The few pitiful survivors flapped their wings in panic and hurriedly flew back to circle above Avada's head instead.
'Good. Now the dragon's had a taste of success. No, wait—it seems what it tasted wasn't just success...'
While enduring the death stare of the dragon's blood-red eyes and watching that fortress-like body crouch low again, like a fully drawn bow ready to be loosed, Avada felt his mind settle slightly.
'And these birds can also create a kind of suggestion—so that the moment the dragon sees them, it instinctively blasts them with a breath attack... Though once probably won't be enough. I'll have to keep provoking it like that a few more times. There's no time limit in this match anyway... hm?'
Just as he was thinking and preparing for the dragon's next move, several patches of blue light suddenly appeared in the open ground between him and the dragon, with quite a few of them directly blocking the path of the dragon's inevitable charge...
'Ha, lucky!'
The arena itself had just delivered him divine assistance, and Avada was delighted.
'I was just thinking about how to make the dragon develop some psychological trauma toward melee, and now the sturdy pillars are here. Judging by the dragon's posture, it's about to pounce. Then in three seconds, the pillars will rise right as it lunges, and it'll slam straight into them and knock itself senseless...'
'Add that to the suggestion effect from my Transfiguration birds, plus the fact that I'll keep controlling my distance carefully... and after this round, this dragon will turn into nothing more than a stationary artillery platform that only knows how to breathe fire!'
'Three, two, one...'
In the final instant before the pillars rose, he saw the furious dragon roar as it kicked off with all four limbs at full force, dragging its massive body forward with terrifying momentum as it crashed toward him. Even though he had already predicted the outcome, his heart still gave a slight tremor.
In the next second, the sturdy stone pillars burst up from the ground in a wash of blue light, completely cutting off his view...
Boom!
Bang!
"ROAAAR!!"
Hearing the three almost simultaneous sounds erupt from behind the pillars, Avada curled his lips into a smug smile.
It worked.
After such a collision, the dragon would surely become much more cautious around pillars rising from the ground. And since it had already gotten a taste of success from using dragonfire, as long as the charging pillars did not appear at the unfortunate exact moment to lie directly on its charging path, he would be able to use the guidance of the Transfiguration birds to make the dragon's breath charge the golden egg for him!
Wait, no, that was not quite right—there was a full five seconds between the red signal and the actual rising of a charging pillar. Even if one did appear directly in the dragon's charge path, he would still have ample time to handle it calmly and force the dragon to remain in place and breathe fire at the pillar!
He had already grasped the rhythm of this task.
He stood beyond defeat!
Thinking about the smooth and effortless situation that would follow, the corners of Avada's mouth lifted again. Timing it carefully, he quickly retreated some distance before the sturdy pillars sank back down, while also gathering more broken stone from the ground to create even more birds, letting them circle freely in the sky, ready to await his command at any moment.
Rumble...
The sturdy pillars only lasted for five short seconds. So before the Ironbelly had even fully recovered from its disoriented state, the pillars had already sunk back into the earth with a heavy rumbling sound. Once it realized the obstruction before it had disappeared, the dragon's gaze rapidly refocused, locking dead onto the culprit in the distance who had repeatedly caused it to suffer losses. A deeply unsettling growl emerged from the depths of its throat, while red light began to flare all around its body...
"Heh, it really is starting to use dragonfire as a conditioned reflex now."
Avada chuckled. "The method I figured out earlier was right. Controlling the dragon's mindset is the single most crucial factor in winning this match. Now all that matters is when the charging pillars appear..."
"Huh, wait."
He blinked in confusion.
"When a dragon is about to use its breath attack, isn't it only supposed to glow red inside its mouth? Why is its whole body glowing this time? Don't tell me it has some hidden ultimate move..."
"Wait, no! The magical structure underground..."
"Holy shit, that red light isn't coming from the dragon—it's coming from the ground under its feet!!"
"No—"
Avada's scream had not even gotten halfway out when an enormous orange-red stone pillar shot up from directly beneath the Ironbelly without any warning at all, lifting its hundred-ton body more than ten meters into the air!
"ROAR!"
The dragon had very obviously been startled as well. Its body twisted violently, its thick tail lashing downward and striking the pillar beneath it with a solid blow. Then, panicked by the sudden rise into the air, its front claws began flailing wildly, each slash striking the pillar with blade-like dragon talons...
Crack.
[Charging pillar destroyed. Remaining: two. Champion, please proceed with caution.]
"..."
The smile vanished from Avada's face.
(End of Chapter)