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Deep within the Forbidden Forest, moonlight was fragmented by the twisted shadows of the trees.
The night was thick as ink, reeking faintly of rotting leaves. Ian stood motionless, the cold wind tugging at his robes; thankfully, his flowing hair did not stand on end. His eyes reflected the rolling chaotic mist behind the half-open bronze gate, a gaping maw eager to devour anything that dared draw near.
Suddenly, the mist inside the bronze door churned violently. A deafening dragon's roar split the silence, and that same ancient Dragon burst forth again, its wings unfurling to blot out the sky!
Its colossal body filled Ian with an uncanny sense of déjà vu. The moment it broke free, its black wings swallowed the moonlight entirely.
"ROOOAAAR!!"
In its amber eyes burned a hatred hotter than magma. Flames coursed between its scales, staining the night crimson. Perhaps this was why the rest of the Forbidden Forest had been echoing with increasingly terrifying dragon roars, for this reappearing Dragon seemed to grow angrier each time it returned.
"What the bloody hell is going on here, oh?" Ian was truly stunned. The situation was far too bizarre for him to make sense of. He had killed the dragon. Its body vanished. Then another identical dragon crawled out of the bronze door?
It looked exactly the same, down to every scale and scar. He couldn't help but suspect that the dragon he had slain twice already might in fact be the same dragon, appearing again and again.
As Ian pondered this, the Dragon wasted no time; the white glow in its throat flared, and a torrent of dragonfire roared forth, hot enough to melt steel! Flames swept over the ground like a tidal wave, twisting the air and charring the earth black.
"Again?" Ian sighed helplessly, raising his wand. "Never learn your lesson, do you?"
He wasn't the least bit concerned with how many times the dragon could "respawn." A Legendary Wizard's magical vitality and recovery were far beyond those of ordinary spellcasters.
Unless he continuously cast dozens of high-level spells per second for extended periods, his magic power would never truly run out. It regenerated almost instantly, always at peak performance.
That was what made Legendary Wizards so terrifying; unless they faced opponents of the same tier, their magic could essentially be considered limitless. A wizard who reached this level was no longer a mortal, and that wasn't a mere metaphor.
To most, Legendary Wizards had already transcended humanity itself. The gap between them and ordinary spellcasters was as vast as heaven and earth.
"Whoooosh…"
The tsunami of flames surged toward him, but Ian neither dodged nor shielded himself. Once again, he seized control of the dragon's fire, and the raging inferno froze midair, halting just short of him. Then, with a snap, the flames reversed direction.
The dragon's tail lashed furiously, smashing through three thousand-year-old oaks in its rage. The falling trunks struck the earth with thunderous crashes, and the sparks lit up the cold glint in Ian's eyes.
"Let's make sure you stay dead this time."
This time, Ian infused his spell with Transfiguration, and Fiendfyre. The flames turned instantly blue, twisting into the shape of a roaring dragon, which lunged back toward the wide-eyed Dragon in horror.
Now that Ian knew the slain dragon's corpse would always vanish, leaving behind no materials, he no longer bothered holding back.
There was no need to show mercy, not when even the dragon's blood from earlier had "reset," restoring the battlefield to its original state, leaving only the faint scars of Ian's previous magic as proof of what had happened.
"ROAR!"
The Fiendfyre, now transformed into a Dragon, let out a terrifying roar. Its massive form was even larger than that of the ancient Dragon, whose body itself rivaled a hill, forcing the ancient beast to instinctively attempt to retreat.
However, the ancient dragon's colossal body was far too large to take flight or dodge. Even its retreating steps couldn't escape the range of the Fiendfyre's assault.
"ROAR… !"
The Dragon howled in agony as searing flames devoured its scales. The air reeked of burnt flesh and scorched metal, the creature's legendary magic resistance proved useless against Fiendfyre, doing nothing more than slowing its inevitable destruction.
In truth, that only made the torment worse. Those instantly consumed by Fiendfyre perished swiftly, but this dragon was forced to endure pain far beyond that, its maddened roars echoed as it rolled violently on the ground, yet it could not extinguish the cursed flames.
"Let's give you another taste of the old experience."
Ian licked his lips greedily at the sight of the dragon's hide, but he knew he couldn't possibly claim such a prize. With a sigh, he flicked his wand. The fire crystal in his grasp shattered, scattering countless blazing fragments that swarmed toward the dragon like a hive of fiery bees.
Once again, he merged his Storm Without Shadow into the attack.
When the invisible blades tore through the dragon's scales, dark-golden blood sprayed out like rain, hissing as it corroded deep pits into the earth. Tormented by both fire and storm, the dragon's struggling grew weaker and weaker, until at last, its immense body collapsed with a thunderous crash that shook the ground.
Ian's expression did not change. He did not move. He merely watched the fallen dragon's corpse in silence.
Sure enough, under the pale moonlight, the dragon's massive form began to turn transparent, its body scattering like sand blown away by the wind, dissolving into countless motes of light that drifted into the night air.
"Sigh…"
Ian raised his head toward the valley ahead, where the eerie bronze gate was once again trembling violently. He understood now, if he wished to end this endless cycle of battle, he would have to destroy that bizarre door.
"I guess I'll have to break this thing. Storm Without Shadow, shatter!"
His wand traced a complex trajectory through the air. Space twisted, and countless invisible blades whirled together into a vortex, slashing wildly at the bronze gate. Yet amid the shrill clash of metal and magic, not even a single scratch appeared upon its surface. The dark brown rust clung stubbornly to it.
The bronze door stood unmoved, as though silently mocking Ian's futile efforts.
"I don't believe you're untouchable!" Ian's wand erupted with blinding green light. The power of Avada Pestilence surged forth like a tide, filling the air with a nauseating stench of decay. The force, what he called corrupted energy, smashed into the bronze gate, yet failed to leave even the faintest mark.
Clearly, the gate was not a living entity.
"Bloody hell…" Ian frowned deeply, then unleashed Fiendfyre once more. The flames surged like living creatures toward the bronze gate, leaving blackened scars on the ground wherever they passed.
Everything they touched was annihilated, except the gate. The instant the Fiendfyre touched its surface, the flames were swallowed whole, vanishing completely, leaving behind only a few wisps of smoke rising gently into the air. The supposedly indestructible Fiendfyre didn't just fail to damage the gate, its very magic was unraveled and undone.
Ian could feel it.
(To Be Continued…)