On the other side, Gigan Output was increased.
Gabriel's motor reflexes, bodily reactions, and physical strength were amplified by mana, simultaneously with the activation of Mana Zone and the Fifty Units of Mana in his Compression Energy skill.
The pages of his digital grimoire flipped rapidly.
[- Dark Matter Magic: Michael Endschneide des Leerenlichts -]
Sensing what was coming, the Mist Dragon made no attempt to dodge. It seemed to willingly let Gabriel strike.
"You're so arrogant," Gabriel said flatly. "Then try this."
He swung the shovel.
BONK…!!!
The flat side of the shovel slammed into the Mist Dragon's abdomen with immense force.
Instantly, the dragon coughed violently from the full-powered blow delivered by Gabriel.
Moments later, the massive body was hurled tens of meters away, cleaving through the fog along its trajectory.
"Ash's First Style: Following the Flow of the Stars," Gabriel said.
Morgan exhaled softly from Gabriel's shoulder. "Truly an ungainly method… but effective."
Gabriel chuckled lightly. "Beauty is all about the outcome."
The pages of his grimoire flipped rapidly.
[- Spirit Magic: Water Mirror -]
Gabriel leapt back, and his body instantly seemed to sink into rippling waters like a clear blue ocean.
The space warped around him, and he shifted position.
The Mist Dragon raised its head after being thrown, frowning as Gabriel was nowhere to be seen.
BONK…!!!
Suddenly, the same dull impact as before struck its face with force. This time it wasn't thrown back, but several of its teeth broke loose, and its jaw shifted slightly.
"Roarr—"
BONK…!!!
As it tried to roar, Gabriel struck again. This time, the blow came horizontally, moving from bottom to top.
The pages of the grimoire spun rapidly once more.
[- Dark Matter Magic: Final Michael Endschneide des Leerenlichts -]
Ki was focused into his strike, forming Zetten to slash at the Mist Dragon's neck.
SLASH…!!!
A blade of mana sliced through the air, and Gabriel slammed the flat side of his shovel against the dragon's head again.
BONK…!!!
Its head was flung far away, and its massive body collapsed instantly. All of it happened in mere seconds.
Morgan, watching quietly, let out a small snort.
"You know," she said in her usual calm tone, "if the legendary Siegfried knew you just defeated a dragon with a shovel, he'd probably cry."
Gabriel chuckled, then turned his gaze toward the fallen Mist Dragon.
"Siegfried wouldn't cry," he replied casually. "This shovel isn't just any weapon. It's the strongest artifact humanity has ever created."
Morgan squinted, raising her tiny shoulders slightly.
"That only works in your foolish reality," she said, her tone cold and sharp, though clearly not meant to belittle.
Meanwhile, the pages of the grimoire spun rapidly.
[- Dark Matter Creation Magic: Zadkiel Urteilsspeer des Leerenlichts -]
In an instant, pale white spears rained down from the sky like a storm of judgment, piercing the Mist Dragon's body from every direction.
The grimoire spun once more.
[- Dark Matter Magic: Haniel Umgestaltung des Leerenlichts -]
The spears shattered into white mist, then reformed into hundreds of razor-sharp feathers, spinning wildly.
They fused into a Dark Matter tornado, shredding, tearing, and pulverizing the dragon's body from the inside out.
Amid the whirlwind of destruction, Gabriel stood unmoving.
Wind and swirling shards of mana whipped his cloak and hair, yet his small frame remained upright, as if he were the very eye of the storm.
The pale light from the Dark Matter feathers reflected in his eyes, giving the impression that he stood before a hell of his own making.
On his shoulder, Morgan sat calmly, her white hair barely fluttering in the whirlwind.
Not a single shard or mist blade touched her, as if the world itself refused to disturb the presence of the fairy queen there.
"See?" Gabriel murmured softly. "Even the storm knows its master."
Almost simultaneously, the Mist Dragon's head, which had been flung far by Gabriel's strike, regenerated its severed body.
"What an intriguing human," the dragon bellowed, its voice rumbling through the mist. "But decapitating me… will not be enough to end my life."
The dragon immediately began gathering a massive wave of Mana, far more powerful than before.
The Dark Matter tornado that had rampaged around it earlier subsided, leaving only a slowly swirling mist vortex.
"Don't worry, Ash knows that," Gabriel said, extending his right hand forward.
The pages of the grimoire spun rapidly once again.
At the same time, the Mist Dragon unleashed a devastating attack—multi-colored energy capable of annihilating anything down to the cellular level, its destructive power rivaling Cid's Atomic Magic.
Time seemed to slow. The wave of energy barreled toward him, yet Gabriel offered a faint, knowing smile.
[- Spirit Magic: Water Mirror -]
In the next instant, the space and reality before him rippled like drops in a vast blue ocean, swallowing the dragon's onslaught.
The attack faltered, and the Mist Dragon's eyes widened in shock.
"…What?"
Suddenly, the very energy of the previous blast appeared directly above its massive body.
BOOM…!!!
The Mist Dragon's body slammed down, forming a colossal crater that swallowed it into the earth, as if rejecting its presence from the surface.
Amid the onslaught, the dragon could hardly believe what had just happened.
Morgan lightly tapped Gabriel's shoulder, her voice calm yet filled with admiration.
"Impressive… truly impressive, Ash. You wielded the Water Mirror with perfect precision."
The mist glowed softly around them.
Gabriel gave a faint smile, his gaze reflecting like the calm surface of water.
"Water Mirror is just a tool, Fay. What makes it perfect… is how you position yourself within it."
Morgan added, quieter but sharp: "Even so, if that attack contained Anti‑World energy, the Mirror Water wouldn't be able to withstand it."
As if answering her words, the Mist Dragon let out a thunderous roar.
RAAAAAA—!!
The remnants of its previous attack exploded, forming a wave of destruction that swept across the land.
Layers of earth cracked open, rocks and trees vanished in a single breath, while the thin mist parted, revealing a shattered, open landscape.
At the center of the storm, the three pairs of pale wings on Gabriel's back spread wide, shielding him like a living barrier.
The dim white light of the feathers absorbed the brunt of the devastation, allowing the world to collapse around him without touching a single strand of his being.
When the wave finally subsided, the Mist Dragon rose into the air, its wings beating slowly through an atmosphere that had grown far clearer than before.
Cracks spread across the ground beneath it like colossal wounds.
Gabriel lowered his wings.
The mist swirled—then thinned.
The Mist Dragon stared at him for a long moment. Its vast eyes were no longer filled with rage, but with something far deeper—longing.
"You are… very strong," it said, its heavy voice echoing across the devastation. "Stronger than all I have ever seen. If there is a single being capable of granting my wish… it is you."
Its wings beat gently.
"Kill me, Ash. Destroy me until nothing remains. End this existence of mine, bound to the world."
Gabriel raised his right hand, palm open toward the dragon.
His voice was calm—almost gentle—yet carried a weight that could not be ignored.
"Mist Dragon… rather than desiring an empty death, why not form a contract with me?"
The mist around them trembled softly.
"A soul contract. If one day I die… then your body will shatter—truly vanish without a trace, and it will be over."
Gabriel's gaze sharpened.
"How about it?"
The Mist Dragon fell silent, and for a few moments, stillness reigned.
"Why…?" the Mist Dragon asked at last. "What reason do you have to desire such a contract with me?"
Gabriel smiled faintly.
His three pairs of wings beat slowly, lifting his small body as he drifted closer to the dragon's face.
"Ash will be honest," Gabriel said. "Ash desires your power—the power to shroud an entire region in mist."
"Ash has an organization. You could call it a kingdom… but it is still too young. It is not yet time for the world to know of its existence."
"If you die, the mist in this place will disappear, won't it?" Gabriel continued. "That is why… form a contract with me."
The Mist Dragon fell silent once more.
The surrounding mist swirled slowly, as if contemplating Gabriel's words. For several seconds that felt like eternity, only the sound of wind and the lingering traces of mana brushed through the air.
Finally, it let out a low, resonant laugh—heavy and echoing, like stone grinding against time.
"Hah… I see."
Its eyes narrowed, looking at Gabriel no longer as an enemy, but as an equal.
"A child who wishes to conceal his kingdom from the world… and an ancient dragon who longs to be freed from the chains of immortality."
The mist around its body thickened, then thinned once again.
"Fascinating. Truly fascinating."