Swift.
Fierce.
Relentless.
The Earth Dragon stomped, ground exploding beneath its massive feet.
Its colossal body launched forward, agile despite its bulk.
The arena quaked. Each step of Draeger shattered the stage into craters.
The dragon closed in on the giant bull, blade gripped in its jaws, dragging sparks across stone—aimed to behead the target.
The Minotaur swung up its hammer to block.
Clang! Boommm!
A shockwave burst from the collision.
Wind howled.
Cloaks of the children snapped wildly.
The air turned cold.
Draeger didn't let the momentum fade—he twisted, tail whipping like a spiked mace into the bull's face.
The Minotaur dipped its horns to absorb the blow. Its mouth opened.
Roar.
"Stone Thorn Forest!"
At the same instant, jagged spires of rock erupted from the ground. The earth trembled.
Draeger leapt atop the stone pillars, dodging the sonic blast.
Dozens of spikes skewered the Minotaur's arm.
It ripped them free with brute strength.
But freedom came too late.
Above, against the sun, Draeger descended.
"Mad Dragonblade Dance!"
Slash!
The bull's left arm severed. The hammer fell.
Not done. Draeger kicked off his own stone pillar, springing back—blade swung.
Slash!
A strike across its back, spine arching.
Still not over. He bounded, again and again.
Leap—slash.
Step—slash.
Faster.
Faster.
Cut.
Cleave.
Slice.
Hack.
Butcher.
The stone forest became his ladder, his springboard.
Each strike rained down with no pause, no mercy.
The Minotaur's life drained like a leaking barrel.
HP: 0.
It lived only through sheer tenacity—limbs shredded, dangling useless.
The end came.
Karua gave the final command—Draeger's blade drove through its chest.
Thud.
The legendary Minotaur collapsed.
The arena thundered.
Spectators gasped for breath, terrified by the dragon's brutality.
A beast of legend felled—outmatched in speed, in strength, in savagery.
"Yesterday… it wasn't like this, was it?" Shocked voices.
"Too fast—couldn't even follow."
"That boy… he actually beat that monster head-on."
"Unbelievable. Karua! You can do it! Win!"
Ray punched the air, screaming from the sidelines.
"Dark-boy's strong as hell! Almost like me!" Jason barked, grinning.
Ray shoved through to stand by him.
Karua bowed his head without turning.
Gratitude burned inside—for Ray's forgiveness, for reminding him he could still trust. That he could still be… good.
The King rose.
Victor, bald, one-eyed, Black Dragon's number one, stared down with cold disdain.
"Think you can win, trash? Even with forbidden items, even giving your life—you won't defeat me."
The insult didn't pierce Karua.
"Heh… fight with everything just to win? Pathetic.
I fight with everything to survive."
A twisted smile.
"Big words. Let's see if they last, freshman."
The King raised his arm.
"Come forth, Bafo."
Name: Bafo
Race: Baphomet
Level: 66
HP: 12,000 | MP: 10,000
Elements: Darkness, Nature
Rarity: S-Rank
Said to be cursed into existence by a hidden god.
A beast of demonic power.
Skills: Black Flame, Dark Drain, Dark Aura, Regen, Endless Abyss, Forest's Blessing.
The horned demon-goat emerged—three meters tall, fur red-brown, eyes bloodthirsty.
A black hexagram blazed beneath its hooves, fire roaring up around its body.
Stones rattled, floating.
Burning, they melded into an obsidian blade in its claws.
The goat-warrior brandished the dark sword, black fire swirling, glaring murderously at the dragon.
"Dark Aura. Regen. Forest's Blessing."
Buff after buff. Its defenses doubled. Magic resistance doubled. Recovery doubled.
Then it lunged, slashing.
Draeger bit down on his stone sword, barely holding back the onslaught.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every strike sparked fire. Black flames seared Draeger, burning even as he blocked.
The goat pressed harder, relentless. Draeger staggered back step by step.
The curse seared Karua's body—fire wounds burning across his shoulder. He dropped to his knees, clutching it, skin charring.
"Damn!" Ray clenched his teeth. He tried to run in, but referees barred him.
Interference meant disqualification. Karua's dragon would be stripped.
Jason scratched his head furiously, but stayed. They could only watch.
Karua pushed his hair from his face, eyes wild.
Nothing left to lose.
"Draeger—Stone Thorn Forest!"
Pillars erupted again. Draeger bounded skyward, weaving between them, circling the demon-goat.
The King snapped. "Endless Abyss!"
Ruuummmmbbblllllleee…
Bafo stomped.
The stage split, earth yawning into a bottomless chasm.
Every pillar sank, swallowed. Draeger had no footing.
It launched one last leap—straight at the dark beast.
"Mad Dragonblade Dance!" Karua screamed.
"Black Flame." Victor commanded.
Bafo's obsidian blade ignited.
Slash—Draeger's stone sword shattered, cut clean.
The demon's strike ripped across Draeger's side, piercing stone armor. Black fire engulfed him.
The dragon crashed, writhing in agony.
"Arrrrghhhhhh!" Karua howled—the curse burning his flesh, climbing to his neck.
Ray couldn't watch. He leapt up, hurling potion, but it fizzled. Curses ignored healing.
"You stay out of this, Ray!" Karua shoved him back—Jason catching him below.
"Don't die on me, Karua! I swore I'd never watch someone die in front of me again!" Ray roared.
Karua smiled faintly, tender, then turned to his suffering dragon.
"Draeger… if it's not enough… unleash the dragon's power. Ignore me."
At once, the cursed bracelet flared. A phantom blade stabbed Karua's chest. His body convulsed, blood spraying.
"…Heh… devour its fire, Draeger. Burn it all…"
The dragon convulsed, muscles boiling.
Its body swelled—larger, larger—stone melting into molten plates.
Its scales became lava armor.
[Congratulations. Draeger has evolved: Earth Dragon → Lava Dragon.]
[New Skills: Flame Devour, Lava Dragonblades.]
Karua laughed, chilling.
"Draeger… Lava Dragonblades."
The dragon rose, standing tall on two legs, lava oozing.
It drew two magma swords from its maw, dripping red flame.
Screeeech—dragged across stone. Then charged.
Bafo answered with a blaze of black fire.
Both beasts swung.
CRASSSHHHHH!!
Red fire and black fire collided, detonating.
Heat engulfed the arena. Even the protective wards strained—students gasped, some fleeing, others summoning water beasts in panic.
Flames raged like the world's end.
Victor grinned, exultant.
"Yes! That's it, freshman! Karua! That dragon—give it to me!"
Karua was already mad with laughter.
"GYAHAHAHA! Slice it, Draeger! Forget defense! Just kill it before it kills us!"
The dragon unleashed a storm of blades. Bafo struck back with equal fury.
HP plunged on both sides.
Red and black flames carved across flesh.
Blood sprayed.
Rage.
Madness.
Slash.
Slash.
And slash!
Until—one body fell.
Thud.
Karua collapsed first, nearly dead—but smiling—because before him, Bafo fell too, felled by his dragon.
Cheers erupted.
"Karua wins!!!" the referee cried.
Ray and Jason rushed in. Jason splashed high-grade potion. Ray called Phoenix to heal.
"Damn dark-boy's a walking burden! And Ray, you're using my potions too?! What a pain in the ass!" Jason yelled.
"Shut it, Jason! You'd let him die? He's only got us!" Ray snapped, hauling Karua up.
Karua bowed weakly, blood on his lips.
"…Don't… don't save me. I don't deserve it."
Jason bristled. "I'll smack him, Ray."
"Later. Just get him to the infirmary," Ray held him back.
"Damn punk thinks the infirmary's his home…" Jason muttered.
Then Victor stepped forward. Calm.
He held out a vial—the Phoenix Tear.
"This is what you risked your life for, isn't it? Take it, next Black Dragon King."
Karua accepted, smiling faintly.
But pain flared—burning him alive.
Draeger—now a Lava Dragon—roared in agony.
The curse twisted it further.
Its body swelled, growing vast as a castle.
Students screamed. Panic spread.
Women shrieked. Lava breath incinerated gardens. Blades tore through walls.
Karua clutched the Phoenix Tear desperately, powerless, writhing.
The dragon's eyes were void-black, lost to the curse.
Ray, Karua, Jason—all stared at the rampaging titan.
"We're screwed, Ray. Witzany's not even here—he's overseas. What now, man?" Jason panicked.
Karua was already gone, mind lost, hugging the tear, helpless.
Ray clenched his fists.
"I'll handle this."
He stepped forward.
Jason stayed, guarding Karua.
Ray faced the Lava Dragon head-on.
And summoned the Ancient Orca.
"I told you. I won't let you face this alone."
…
…
…