"How do you plan to fight?" Throne folded away his telescope. He already had a rough plan in mind. For a melee fighter, facing a dragon was pure torment—no dragon would be fool enough to descend and brawl hand-to-hand. Fortunately, both he and Sellen were mages. "We bring it down first. The lake's shallow. If it gets stuck in the mud, it won't escape easily."
Throne had faced the Ulcerated Tree Spirit before. He knew the basics of handling behemoths, but a flying dragon was a different beast. It wasn't just airborne—it was intelligent. You couldn't catch a fish with a hook that showed its teeth too plainly. Sellen nodded, her silence as steady as ever. She spoke only as Throne vaulted over the balcony's edge.
"Apprentice, be careful." Throne's hand froze mid-motion. He turned, his expression briefly startled, then broke into a grin. "Alright."
He leapt down, his boots sinking into the lake. The water rose to his thighs, the mud beneath treacherous. As the dragon's shadow loomed closer, Throne crouched low, submerging himself up to his chin. Dragon hunting was a delicate art in The Lands Between. Back in the Erdtree's golden age, warriors slew dragons and wielded their power through the Dragon Communion ritual. Throne wondered what he might gain from hunting one. He moved slowly through the mud, his narrowed eyes glinting with greed. He'd learned that different kills yielded different rewards. Even if dragons offered nothing directly, The Lands Between had its rituals. Offer a dragon's heart, and its power could be yours.
"Every part of it's a treasure." Throne's head broke the surface for a moment, his tongue flicking over his lips. That was the real reason he'd come here. A gust of wind brushed his face as the black dragon spread its wings, landing with a ripple that spread across the lake. Throne slowed further, mimicking a ninja's controlled breaths. Hold. His movements became fluid, predatory—a cat stalking its prey. Boom.
Agheel's heavy body hit the ground with a deafening thud.
Throne seized the moment, pulling several knight's lances from his pack and planting them in the lake. From a distance, they looked like reeds. One hundred meters. The massive beast lowered its body, let out a fiery burp, scanned the area, then settled its front legs. Fifty meters. Its eyes closed. As a nocturnal creature, it was exhausted from nights of destruction. Twenty meters. The dragon filled Throne's vision. He could see the barbs, the dense black scales.
Hot air blasted from its nostrils, scattering leaves. The dragon slept, but its vigilance remained. A few bird calls would crack its eyes open just enough to glance around. Throne had already merged with the water's flow. Ten meters. He stopped. One hand gripped a staff, the other a long blade. He waited as the dragon, stirred by the birds, closed its eyes once more.
Kill. The water surged, the suppressed killing intent erupting violently. Agheel sensed it instantly.
Its eyes snapped open, and a figure appeared in its serpentine pupils. Without hesitation, it roared, its maw widening. Whoosh—
A jet of dragon breath roared toward him—ten meters long, thick as a tree trunk. The lake's surface split apart, water boiling into steam. Mist swirled. Who dares? Agheel, the battle-scarred dragon, finally turned its mind to the question. But before the thought fully formed, light pierced the haze. Throne dropped from the air, gravity pulling him down.
His right arm rose, spiral magic coiling around his blade. No hesitation. He drove it into Agheel's back. Rock Blaster. A sneak attack, savage and precise, exploiting the moment of distraction. Like a miner, he drilled the spell into the dragon's flesh. The rotating magic shredded scales, gouged muscle. Hot blood sprayed, drenching him. More effective than any ballista. A scream tore from the dragon's bones. A roar shook the air.
It was like waking to find a drill gouging into your spine. Agheel's head snapped up. It rolled, thrashing across the ground. This wasn't bullfighting. This was chaos. Throne had planned to follow the wound with a Cannon of Haima, but dizziness hit him. He shifted the spell. Starlight Movement. Slower than Bloodhound's Step, but it carried him farther.
He reappeared on the lake's surface, the water warm under his feet. Ahead, Agheel writhed, crushing ruins to rubble. It rolled once, twice, then stilled. Its massive eyes locked onto him. Man and dragon stared, frozen for a heartbeat. Throne raised his staff. Crystal Torrent. A ball of magic bloomed above the dragon's head, spraying blade-like crystals. Agheel reared, letting the shards slam into its body. Sparks flew. Its long neck stretched.
A roar erupted. The sound waves hit like a hammer. Throne leapt back. He didn't speak dragon tongue, but the meaning was clear: I will eat you!!
Ambushed in its sleep, a gaping wound in its back bleeding freely, Agheel seethed with rage. Yet, as a creature of high intelligence, it stayed calm. Its neck twisted, scanning the surroundings. No other enemies. Confusion flickered through its fury. A human? Here to die?
Throne didn't give it time to wonder. His blade swung in a diagonal arc. Frost Slash. The lake's surface froze. Ice crept up the dragon's scales.
Agheel's wings snapped open, stirring a gale. Its massive body lifted from the ground. Its head rose, throat glowing orange. Fire erupted—a pillar of flame that fanned wide as its neck swayed. Steam billowed. Throne didn't hesitate. He leapt back, once, twice. Bloodhound's Step. Advanced form. His body flickered in and out of existence, retreating in half-second bursts.
Throne knew running was impossible in this mud. No wonder it nests here.
Ahead was a wall of fire. An ordinary human couldn't move in this sludge. The lake water warmed. Agheel took flight, the flames forming a barrier. But Throne stopped retreating. His hand shot out, gripping the knight's lance he'd planted in the lake earlier. Magic Weapon. He pulled it free, the enchantment already complete. The three-meter lance gleamed deep blue. He twisted his waist and hurled it.
Whoosh! The wall of fire tore open, a gaping hole punched through its center. Agheel, barely airborne, jerked its wings shut—too late. A lance pierced through, pinning one wing. The weapon, enchanted against flame, sliced through scales with brutal precision. The wound burned, but the dragon didn't falter. Its eyes narrowed as two more lances hurtled toward it. Without hesitation, Agheel opened its jaws. Whoosh—
A torrent of fire erupted, incinerating the lances mid-air.
The knight was already running, boots sloshing through the lake's shallow waters. Throne knew a thrown lance couldn't bring down a dragon—not like this. This was about buying time, recovering his strength. Bloodhound's Step drained him, and he couldn't sprint to shore in one go. Splash, splash… Water sprayed with every step. He glanced back. The wall of fire still burned, but the dragon had climbed higher, hovering ten meters above the lake.
Its gaze locked onto him, furious and unrelenting. Dragon breath wasn't infinite. Was it coming?! The thought flashed through his mind just as Agheel paused mid-air, dipped its head, and dove. Swish—
The lake's surface split, a straight line of water surging toward him. Throne leaped forward, the dragon's rancid breath brushing past him as he twisted mid-air. His ring flashed, and a knight's greatshield materialized in his hands. He spun around just in time. Bang!!
The dragon's blade-like wings crashed into the shield. The force reverberated through his armor, jarring his muscles, stopping his breath. Throne felt like a pebble skipping across the lake's surface, bouncing ten times before he forced himself to stop. Mud and water absorbed most of the impact, but his head spun. He didn't have time to wipe the weeds clinging to his helmet.
He discarded the dented shield. Frost Star, charged with magic, gleamed in his hand. Starlight movement. Whoosh—
Flames descended where he'd stood moments before, scorching the lake, evaporating water in a wide radius. Agheel roared in pain, its body wracked with effort. The knight was already twenty meters away, pulling the fourth lance from thin air.
Throne gripped the lance, took three charging steps, and hurled it with everything he had. "Get down here!!" he shouted. The lance tore through the air, sparking as it grazed the dragon's hideous head. Scales shattered. If it had struck true, the blow would've been devastating. Agheel twisted gracefully in the air, its huge body flipping as it adjusted its strategy. It seemed to understand—this knight struck hardest when it breathed fire.
A simple solution. Roar—
The dragon's roar erupted in a shockwave, powerful enough to stop a heart at this distance. Throne bit his tongue the moment the sound hit, the sharp pain keeping him focused. He rolled through the mud—
Boom!! The dragon's claw slammed into the lake, water exploding upward. Agheel's head pierced through the spray, its jaws wide, targeting the knight struggling in the water. It lunged, ready to bite down.
Snap. A blade of light sliced through the air, freezing the curtain of rising water into ice. The dragon's head shattered it instantly, but its massive jaws clamped down on nothing but Throne's cloak. A hair's breadth—life or death. Throne halted mid-lunge, toes tapping the ground as he twisted his body, turning to face the gaping maw. Inside, orange-red flames churned, building pressure.
"Why are you roaring so loud?" Carian Piercer!
The sigil flared. Magic surged, coalescing into a sword several meters long. Throne drove it upward, both hands gripping the hilt, veins bulging on his forehead. He thrust with everything he had. Whoosh—
A fountain of fire erupted into the night sky. The dragon writhed, shaking its neck violently, turning the fountain into a wall of flame. Its body thrashed in a frenzy. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Claws smashed down, water erupting in every direction. Throne leaped backward, dodging a barbed tail that swept through the air like a whip. The wind pressure beneath his feet could've cracked stone. He glanced at the dragon's blood-dripping head and activated Starlight Movement for the third time. Cheap magic, but it worked even in the air.
Agheel roared, fire streaming from its jaws as it prepared to dive. But its target vanished. Instead of giving chase, it flapped its wings, gaining altitude swiftly. It wasn't stupid. This human was baiting it, luring it down. Compared to the Carian Piercer, those spears were mosquito bites. I won't give you another chance.
I'll burn you alive from the sky. Agheel's hatred burned brighter than its flames. It had a hundred ways to kill this insect—diving wing strikes, scorching breaths—and it would wear him down until he had nothing left. The wind pressure from its wings made it impossible to approach. Throne shielded his face, a cruel smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. "Smart, but not cunning enough."
Almost as Agheel ascended, a brilliant cyan light erupted from the lakeside town less than a hundred meters away. Sellen stood on the balcony, her dress and black hair whipping in the chaotic air. Her icy blue eyes locked onto the dragon as she raised her staff. Within the massive sigil, four cyan orbs fused into a sphere nearly two meters wide. Comet Azur.
This was no ordinary spell—a variant of the Karolos Conspectus's highest-tier magic, condensing the energy of multiple comets into one devastating blast. The precision required had killed countless mages who dared to attempt it. It was the ultimate test for anyone vying to lead the Karolos Conspectus.
Damn. The sphere streaked across the night sky, and Throne's scalp prickled. He leaped backward, activating Bloodhound's Step. Each stride carried him meters away. After three steps, a force slammed into his back, hurling him forward like a leaf in a hurricane. He rolled through the mud, the silence shattered by a deafening roar. Boom—thud!!
A dull sound echoed. A bone, slick like melting wax, sank into the mud nearby, blue smoke billowing from its surface.