Aegon no longer thought of holding back his strength. His body suddenly began to transform.
His back split open with a violent surge, and a pair of fleshy wings burst forth. From them, steel blades sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, gleaming with a deadly chill. Bone-white steel armor quickly spread across his body, while sharp blades jutted from his joints. His feet transformed into massive white steel battle-axes, sinking deep into the soil.
With a powerful beat, his steel wings—each spanning more than five meters—stirred a gust of wind and lifted his body steadily into the air. At the same time, a dragon lance over six meters long thrust out from his left palm. Aegon grasped it firmly, his aura blazing with unstoppable might.
"You!! You've awakened???" Jaehaerys cried out, eyes wide in shock, staring at Aegon as if beholding something unimaginable.
On the ridge, the rebel lords and ministers were struck dumb, their faces pale with terror as they gazed at him, trembling with disbelief.
Aegon's voice rumbled from beneath his helm, deep and steady.
"This is only a half-awakened state. At Bitterbridge, by chance, I gained the ability of magic resonance. With it, I can freely control the extent of my awakening. Even if I raise it to ninety-nine percent, I can return to my pre-awakened state through resonance without losing control."
Hearing this, Jaehaerys exhaled in relief, slowly lowering the bronze sword he had leveled at Aegon. The tension in his eyes eased.
Aegon rose into the air before them, his dragon lance leveled at the Cannibal-monster.
"Today is the final battle! It begins now! Any Dragonkin who survives this fight shall be granted the title of Count. Whoever slays Maegor himself will be made Duke!"
...
The surge of power from the high ground caught Maegor's attention. Yet he did not veer toward Aegon and his host. Instead, he drove the Cannibal straight at the rebel army.
Controlling the beast had drained his strength. He craved entrails to replenish his magic, and to him the rebel soldiers were the perfect source.
Before the towering monster, massive as a mountain, men were as ants—utterly powerless.
Maegor swung the enormous arm jutting from the dragon's back. In a single sweep, blood sprayed in sheets and hundreds of lives were snuffed out. Soldiers caught in the writhing entrail-tentacles entwined around the monstrous blade were torn limb from limb, their organs ripped out and fed mercilessly into the dragon's maw. The field was transformed into a scene of unspeakable horror.
Aegon led his Dragonkin in a fearless charge the instant Maegor began his slaughter. But once they closed the distance, they faltered—how could mortals fight a creature of such colossal size? No warrior in Westeros had ever faced such an abomination at close quarters.
Aegon gripped his dragon lance and drove it forward with all his might. The tip managed to pierce the tough hide, but it could not inflict real harm. Against the dragon towering dozens of meters high, he was like a dragonfly before a storm. No matter how fiercely he struck, he could not deal a killing blow.
The beast, on the other hand, could reap lives with a single swing. Under such an overwhelming disparity, the Dragonkin were no different from common soldiers—fragile and doomed under its onslaught. Even the top-ranked among them could only just cling to life, unable to counterattack, unable to mount any effective offense.
Aegon, realizing the stalemate, shifted his aim toward the human face embedded in the Cannibal's neck—the face of Maegor himself.
But the colossal arm on the dragon's back barred his way, disrupting every strike. The beast's one remaining fleshy wing also moved at key moments, shielding Maegor's face like an unbreakable wall. Blow after blow, Aegon was denied.
As the battle dragged on, Dragonkin fell in greater numbers, while Aegon had won almost nothing.
Jaehaerys unleashed the flames of bronze, sending torrents of fire crashing against the dragon's armor. But the blaze flickered weakly across its scales before vanishing, leaving no mark.
The tide had turned fatally against the rebels. Despair and helplessness pressed down on every heart.
Then, at the brink of ruin, a blue dragon's silhouette tore through the night sky.
Aegon looked up, and at once his gaze locked on it. From its shape and flight, he knew it instantly—it was Dreamfyre, his mother Rhaena's dragon.
Something seemed to be on Dreamfyre's back. Aegon frowned, confusion and worry clouding his mind.
'That looks like an Awakened one… Could Mother Rhaena have been taken captive? What in the Seven Hells is going on?'
"Big brother, where are you?" Rhaella's voice rang out from Dreamfyre's back, carried across the night sky.
Hearing that familiar cry, Aegon immediately understood—neither Rhaella nor Rhaena had been abducted.
But then… who was the Awakened riding on Dreamfyre?
A grim thought flashed through his mind. Could it be Aerea? His heart clenched, his eyes sharp with fear and unease.
Moments later, Dreamfyre's massive wings brought her close. Aegon's gaze locked onto the figure. It was Aerea.
"Brother, is that really you? Seven hells, you've awakened too? What's going on?" Rhaella shouted.
"Don't worry. I have a way to restore myself," Aegon called back, flying swiftly to Dreamfyre's side.
Hearing this, both Rhaella and Rhaena finally allowed themselves a breath of relief. They quickly recounted to Aegon the terrifying series of events that had unfolded in the Red Keep.
Aegon listened, his heart heavy with sorrow. He now understood—Aerea had been forced to awaken only to protect Rhaena and Rhaella.
"In that case, we fight together. First, we kill Maegor. Afterward, I'll try to use magic resonance to see if Aerea's body can be restored," Aegon said firmly, his eyes burning with resolve.
"Yes!" Rhaella answered without hesitation, her gaze just as fierce.
At her command, Aerea's massive demonic body leapt from Dreamfyre's back. As she soared, the petal-like bone blades behind her head vibrated at high speed, buzzing as they propelled her into a graceful, controlled glide through the night air.
Together, Aerea and Aegon shot toward the dragon-monster Maegor had become, like arrows loosed from a bow.
"Concentrate your fire on the human face on the Cannibal's neck! That's the key to breaking through!" Aegon shouted, his voice carrying across the battlefield.
He had noticed earlier that the monster guarded its neck with unusual vigilance. That had to be where Maegor's weakness lay.
Jaehaerys and Alysanne circled the beast from their dragons. Compared to the Cannibal's warped form, their mounts were pitifully small—useful only for swift movement and support in battle.
Jaehaerys gripped his Bronze sword tight. With a flash, it reshaped into a long spear. He held it firm at the center as both ends erupted with blazing flames, the air itself seeming to burn away around them.
"Boom!" With a surge of strength, Jaehaerys hurled the Bronze spear at the monster's neck.
From the weapon burst a colossal fire-spear, streaking through the night like a blazing meteor. By fortune or fate, it struck true—piercing the monster's neck.
"AAARGH!! Damn you, Jaehaerys!" Maegor's human face twisted in agony, his scream shaking the battlefield, every note thick with fury and pain.
The rebels roared in response, their morale surging back.
Until now, every strike against the monster had been useless. Many lower-ranked Dragonkin had already fallen, their sacrifices dragging morale into despair. But now—a blow had landed, and hope sparked.
On the ground, Swift Sword Larissa darted like lightning, her body weaving past the monster's attacks. Beside her, Phantom Blade Miriya moved in perfect sync. Their eyes locked on the beast, searching with ruthless focus for an opening. Their goal was clear: climb its colossal form and strike at the exposed giant arm.
The monster bellowed in fury. The flesh-and-blood sword on its arm twisted into a grotesque swatter, thrashing wildly at Aegon, Aerea, Jaehaerys, and Alysanne in the skies.
Maegor knew well that these four were his greatest threat. They could fly, they could attack from range, and they could strike at the vulnerable points where he was fused with the Cannibal. If he didn't crush them first, he risked ruin.
The dragon's fury fixed on the skies—leaving the perfect chance for Larissa and Miriya.
Miriya drew a deep breath and unleashed her Phantom Blade technique. Her figure flickered across the beast's ruined tail, phantom afterimage trailing in rapid succession up its back, too swift for the naked eye to follow.
The top ten demon hunters saw their chance. Without hesitation, they followed close behind, scrambling upward, clawing and leaping onto the giant's massive frame.
From above, Aegon kept a watchful eye on their advance. Dodging strike after strike from the monster's arm, he flashed quick hand signals, urging the hunters to strike with everything they had at the beast's colossal limb.
This tactic effectively scattered Maegor's focus. Once the dragon-beast's attack rhythm was disrupted, the pressure on the four fighting in the skies eased greatly, giving them more chances to strike at its vulnerable neck.
The beast's massive arms were unarmored, with no scales to shield them—perfect targets for the demon hunters' sword techniques.
They unleashed their extraordinary skills, each strike carrying both power and precision. Under their relentless assault, wounds split open across the colossal limbs, blood seeping steadily from the gashes as sword-light flashed again and again.
High above, Aegon wielded two steel spears, each over three meters long. Flames roared at their tips, blazing bright against the night sky. Since gaining his wings through partial awakening, he had been able to unleash phantom sword techniques in the air with speed that even surpassed Aerea's. His figure cut through the sky like a phantom, always searching for the perfect opening.
Aerea, by contrast, could only glide, propelled by the vibration of the bone crest at the back of her head. The limits of this technique forced her to land often, pausing briefly before launching herself aloft again with sheer power to rejoin the fight.
Together, Aegon, Aerea, Jaehaerys, and Alysanne pressed their assault, focusing on the Cannibal's neck. Aegon hurled flaming spears like rain upon Maegor's human face, while Aerea's blade-arms carved deep gashes into its throat. Despite its size, the beast moved heavily, sluggish compared to their relentless strikes.
With their coordination—and the support of several high-ranked Dragonkin—the four managed to hold their ground. The battle raged fiercely, blow for blow.
Fury burned inside Maegor. Hemmed in by their attacks, he found himself struggling to keep control.
His power as the Molten Gold King allowed him to dissolve into molten gold and take root within another body—but doing so suppressed the host's consciousness, preventing it from fully wielding its own strength. That limitation was now dragging him down, forcing him into a defensive struggle.
Take the current battle: the Cannibal had not used dragon breath even once. The reason was simple. To unleash it, the beast's own magic had to work in concert with its internal organs. Maegor, however, could not completely control the Cannibal's magic.
In truth, he had not drawn out the dragon's full might. To seize complete control, he would have to let his molten gold slowly corrode its essence—a process that required time.
But here, in the middle of battle, Maegor could not possibly detach from the Cannibal's body. If he did, the dragon would die instantly—and without it, he would be helpless before Aegon.
'It seems I must release part of the Cannibal's consciousness,' Maegor thought grimly as he fended off the rebels' combined assault.
He knew what that meant: his own mind would plunge into chaos, his consciousness tangled with another's. Yet he had no choice.
He sighed inwardly. From the moment he had awakened, the Seed of Life had already reshaped his mind beyond recognition. One more fusion hardly mattered.
As Maegor began to release the Cannibal's suppressed consciousness, the skeletal dragon head, which had been hanging lifelessly near the ground, suddenly stirred. From its empty eyes flared a flicker of eerie green light.
...
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