"Breaking free so quickly? How is that possible?!" Borchi was profoundly shaken.
Its Mental Blast was powerful enough to throw a small army into chaos, yet it had only stalled its opponent for the briefest fraction of a second. That impossibility echoed in the dragon's mind even as the battle continued at blinding speed.
Regaining consciousness almost instantly, Karl watched as the dragon's claw—wreathed in dangerous, pale golden lightning—rapidly enlarged before his eyes. The air screamed around it, charged with crackling energy.
There wasn't a hint of panic in Karl's gaze.
In one smooth motion, he raised his arms and crossed them above his head in a defensive block.
"Boom!!!"
The dragon's lightning-laced claw slammed solidly into Karl's crossed forearms. A violent explosion of pale golden electricity erupted outward, like countless frenzied serpents bursting free from confinement. The lightning swallowed Karl's figure whole, flooding the sky with blinding brilliance.
Electric arcs overflowed and crackled wildly, racing across his silhouette as if trying to tear him apart.
Yet at the very center of that storm, Karl's expression remained calm.
This lightning—capable of piercing refined steel in an instant—stopped just short of his skin. An invisible barrier shimmered into view: a Bio-Force Field. The pale golden electricity struck it repeatedly, flickering and dispersing in vain, unable to penetrate even a fraction of an inch.
Suspended in midair, Karl did not so much as waver. He did not retreat. He did not tremble.
It was as though the dragon's thunderous strike had been nothing more than a feather brushing against him.
Borchi withdrew its claw and retreated a short distance, hovering in the sky. Its vertical pupils narrowed as it stared at Karl, reassessing the threat before it. Pale golden electricity began gathering once more around its talons, coiling with increasing intensity.
In the next instant, several bolts of lightning shot from its claw tips, weaving together into a vast electric net that covered nearly half the sky. The web crackled and roared, a cage of radiant destruction.
Karl did not hesitate.
He charged straight into the electric net.
Lightning struck the Bio-Force Field in rapid succession, each impact producing faint ripples across its invisible surface. The barrier trembled—but held firm.
Seeing this, Borchi thrust both claws forward. The scattered lightning condensed into a concentrated beam, a searing column of golden light that cut through the air with devastating force.
A flash of excitement flickered in Karl's eyes.
They glowed red.
His Heat Vision erupted forth, twin beams of crimson energy surging to meet the dragon's attack head-on.
The two forces collided in midair.
For a moment, the sky was consumed by brilliance brighter than the sun itself. The violent clash generated a shockwave that rippled outward in all directions, slamming into the ground far below. Members of the dragon-hunting party staggered, barely managing to keep their footing as the wind howled around them.
When the light finally faded, Karl was already moving.
He closed the distance in an instant.
Borchi's pupils contracted sharply. The Dragon Breath brewing in its throat faltered as it extended a claw to intercept him. Karl caught the incoming strike firmly, the impact echoing like a thunderclap. With a sudden upward shove, he deflected the massive claw slightly off course.
That tiny opening was all he needed.
Moving like a fish darting through water, Karl slipped past Borchi's instinctive swipe with its other claw. Then his right fist shot upward like a cannonball fired from its barrel.
It slammed into the dragon's chin.
"Bang!"
A heavy, bone-jarring thud echoed across the heavens.
Borchi let out a strangled whimper of pain. The force of the punch sent its enormous body flying backward and upward, completely out of control. It felt as though its entire jaw had nearly shattered under the blow.
Two trails of scorched black smoke puffed involuntarily from its nostrils. The Dragon Breath it had been preparing was violently interrupted, leaving it momentarily disoriented.
Roaring in fury, Borchi unleashed a surge of telekinetic force. An invisible wave burst outward, striking Karl and shoving him back more than ten meters through the air.
The dragon's chest heaved. Its breathing grew ragged as it glared at Karl with mounting intensity.
Karl responded with a grin.
It was a provocative, almost playful smile.
Then he charged again—faster than before.
Borchi refused to retreat. It surged forward to meet him head-on. Yet instead of colliding in a single explosive impact, the two figures began ascending rapidly at the moment of contact, spiraling upward like intertwined whirlwinds.
From the ground, onlookers could no longer follow their movements.
Geralt and the others stared helplessly at the sky, watching two blurred shapes weaving through clouds at impossible speed. Occasionally, thunderous impacts echoed from above, reverberating like distant storms.
High in the atmosphere, the battle intensified.
Borchi cast an Atmospheric Spell upon itself. A circulating current of wind wrapped around its massive golden body like a living cloak, enhancing its speed and agility. The friction between its scales and the air produced an increasingly sharp whistle as it lunged, slashed, and swept its tail with terrifying velocity.
Yet even with magic augmenting its power, it remained on the defensive.
Karl's relentless assault gave it no room to breathe.
By now, Karl's clothing had been nearly shredded by the fierce winds and strikes. Several cuts marked his body, traces of blood visible here and there—but the wounds appeared to seal almost as soon as they formed.
He moved so swiftly that even Borchi struggled to track him.
"Bang!"
Another strike.
Karl deflected the dragon's claw as it attempted to seize him. The parry created a brief, vulnerable opening along Borchi's chest.
Karl's gaze sharpened.
Seizing the fleeting chance, he delivered a fully charged straight punch directly into the thick golden scales.
"Thud!!"
The sound was deep and resonant, like a massive drum struck in the sky.
Borchi let out a suppressed roar of pain. The scales did not shatter—but the force penetrated inward, sending violent tremors through its internal organs. It felt as though something inside had shifted under the sheer impact.
The dragon's enormous body staggered uncontrollably.
Then it began to fall.
But this was only the beginning.
Before Borchi could stabilize itself with magic or mount a counterattack, Karl was already there again. His attack rhythm left no gaps—no pauses, no mercy.
A second punch.
A third.
Like a blacksmith hammering iron upon an anvil, Karl struck the exact same spot on Borchi's chest repeatedly.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!!"
Each blow echoed from the heavens down to the earth below. With every impact, Borchi's descent accelerated.
What had begun as a fall became a plunge.
The Golden Dragon hurtled toward the ground like a blazing comet—a falling golden meteor.
On the surface, the crowd craned their necks desperately. They could not clearly see the titanic clash unfolding in the sky. All they could hear were the rumbling detonations, like muffled thunder rolling across the firmament.
The terrifying impacts sounded as though something enormous was being pounded against hardened steel.
Meanwhile, the situation below took a dangerous turn.
The dwarves and mercenaries—blinded by greed—seemed to have forgotten the gruesome lesson taught earlier when several of their companions had been sliced apart by Karl's Heat Vision.
The Green Dragon hidden within the cave remained an irresistible lure.
Priceless.
Potentially vulnerable.
Deadly bait.
Whispers spread through the crowd. Hands tightened around sword hilts and axe handles. Slowly, cautiously at first, then with growing boldness, groups began advancing toward the entrance of the Dragon's Cave.
Greed overpowered reason.
On the other side of the battlefield, the near-death knight Eyck was being carried away from the center of chaos by Doregare.
Although this sorcerer did not share the ideals of many present, he was not one to stand idly by while a man died. Kneeling beside the fallen knight, he began casting a healing spell. A gentle radiance enveloped Eyck's battered body.
Minutes passed.
Sweat formed along Doregare's brow as he channeled mana with precise control. Finally, Eyck's ragged breathing steadied. The knight was dragged back from the brink of death.
Exhaling heavily, Doregare wiped his forehead. Only then did he notice the heated exchange unfolding nearby.
He saw Natasha—whom he had once mockingly labeled hypocritical—standing alongside the white-haired witcher and the two strangely silent Zerrikanian maidens.
Natasha's posture was tense but resolute. Her eyes, sharp and calculating, flicked between the approaching mercenaries and the distant sky where thunder still roared. Whatever personal conflicts existed between them, the looming chaos demanded immediate attention.
Above, the golden meteor continued its descent.
Below, greed and desperation prepared to ignite a second battlefield.
The sky trembled.
And the earth waited.
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