Chapter 108: Prelude to the Decisive Battle

“Mr. Edward, do get some rest. The city guard has already sent word that most of the demons have been wiped out by the local professionals who organized themselves. Now, we just need to wait for the Imperial Guard to deal with that so-called Demon Gate. There is no need to worry.”

Sufang returned from outside with a basin of warm water, wrung out a towel, folded it neatly, and laid it across Edward’s forehead.

Edward had been stripped of his armor and now lay on a small cot in the back of Sufang’s flower shop, clad only in a thin undershirt. Feeling utterly powerless, he found the situation deeply uncomfortable, yet he knew his own condition all too well. Returning to the battlefield was impossible; if he did not recover properly, the risk of permanent, debilitating sequelae was all but certain.

The bed beneath him was soft, but clearly not designed for a knight of his stature. Being a size too small, he looked rather comical lying there. Sufang had wiped away the blood and sweat from his body, leaving him feeling clean and refreshed, free of that sticky, grime-ridden sensation.

Thanks to Wang Yu’s blood therapy, the minor, stubborn wounds that had been so difficult to heal were the first to mend. For the rest, Wang Yu had left him some mild medicine, which, combined with the body-tempering ointment used for nutritional replenishment, allowed Edward’s body to undergo a slow, autonomous repair.

An itchy sensation stirred within him—a sign of his body mending itself. Coupled with the weakness brought on by his physical depletion, it induced a strange, drowsy comfort. His eyelids grew heavy, and his consciousness began to drift.

“I remember Charles telling me Sufang’s name was Chelsea. Good thing I didn’t believe him; Wang Yu is much more reliable.” He suddenly recalled Charles mentioning the cat-girl’s name, which differed from what Wang Yu had told him.

Clearly, Charles liked to tease, while Wang Yu did not. If he had used the wrong name, it would have been far more awkward than calling the cat-girl by a name he supposedly didn’t know.

His eyelids began to slip beyond his control. Exhaustion surged up—the battle with Pernia, the desperate, full-force strike to slay the demon summoner—Edward had reached his limit. Sleepiness washed over him, and his head lolled against the pillow…

“Clang! Crash!” The sharp, sudden sound of a bottle shattering against the floor and the splash of liquid jolted Edward’s drowsy mind into instant alertness. Instincts honed by battle and vigilance drove his weak body to lunge for the sword beside the bed.

“What is it, Miss Sufang!” Edward shouted, forcing himself up to look into the flower shop, despite the overwhelming weakness radiating from the depths of his frame.

“I… I suddenly feel so… so afraid. There is… something that terrifies me, meow…” The warm water pitcher Sufang had prepared for Edward lay shattered on the floor. She was huddled in a corner, clutching her head and shivering violently. Her furry cat ears were pressed flat against her head, and her tail stood stiffly upright—the very picture of a startled cat.

“What?” Edward froze. A moment later, a savage roar echoed through the central district of the royal capital. Edward whipped his head toward the window to see a crimson dragon soaring into the sky.

………

“Is that… a red dragon?” Wang Yu narrowed his eyes as he watched the dragon ascend. He felt no fear, nor did he sense any oppressive aura.

Because he saw the knight encased in smoke-like armor—Shugyin—carrying Charles as he stepped, stride by stride, onto the dragon’s back.

Clearly, even if this were the legendary, formidable dragon race, it was on their side. There was nothing to fear.

“Its features are indeed consistent with a red dragon, both in appearance and… that unique, inherent pressure.” Avia had already climbed down from Wang Yu’s back. She held her fingers in a ring before her eyes, revealing a translucent film of magic inscribed with glowing, pulsing runes.

A Magic Lens—a second-circle spell, a common tool for mages. Beyond its use as a telescope, its primary function was to allow the user to perceive the trajectories of mana.

Avia had recovered from the initial terror of the dragon’s presence. Her will remained unshaken, and the instinctive fear rooted in her bloodline was quickly suppressed by her rational mind.

“However, it is strange. There isn’t a trace of mana on this red dragon. Its power seems to stem purely from its physique,” Avia remarked, her voice tinged with uncertainty. Under the observation of the Magic Lens, there were no fluctuations or traces of magic around the dragon.

“That can’t be right. Aren’t dragons natural-born mages? Their blood should be brimming with potent mana, granting them reserves far exceeding those of normal humans from birth. Their bloodline inheritance should also allow them to master unique Draconic magic quickly. How could a dragon possess no mana?”

Wang Yu trusted Avia’s observations, but if this were a red dragon, the lack of mana fluctuations was nearly impossible.

Yet, the red dragon was hovering in the air, slowly beating its wings as if waiting for something. This made Avia’s conclusion even more improbable.

Because a dragon without magic could never take to the sky. Their wings could never lift a creature of such staggering muscle density and absurd weight.

The sight of this dragon—with its somewhat tattered, deformed wings—hovering in place defied all aerodynamics.

Unless they flapped their wings at the speed of a fly, which dragons could not do, nor had any ever done. All dragons utilized their unique Draconic magic to lift their massive bodies into the high heavens.

This Draconic flight magic, once analyzed by human mages, was found to be composed of numerous elemental types—including, but not limited to, wind, fire, and earth. It was this highly effective magic that carried them aloft.

If the dragon before them truly lacked a trace of magic, it would be impossible for it to drive the Draconic spells required for flight. One had to remember that the terrifying mana consumption of Draconic magic was one of its defining traits.

“Wait, Wang Yu, look closely between those wings. There is something different there.” Avia switched spells, moving from the Magic Lens to another observational incantation. This shift allowed Avia, with her keen perception, to discover the secret behind the dragon’s flight.

Wang Yu focused his gaze on the dragon’s deformed, withered wings, which lacked any wing membrane. The distance was far beyond the range of his ripple perception, but his formidable constitution granted him exceptional eyesight.

He soon noticed that, under the sunlight, there were hazy substances surrounding the dragon’s wings. They were so faint and distant that he had missed them initially, only noticing them now at the girl’s prompting.

“Is that… smoke?” Wang Yu watched the translucent, grayish matter blurring the dragon’s wings, voicing his guess.

“Yes. It seems to be an immense volume of smoke. Whatever is inside is likely not mana. This smoke, covering the dragon’s wings, provides lift in an unknown way, allowing it to ascend even without magic.”

Avia observed the wings carefully, confirming Wang Yu’s hypothesis.

“It seems it really is the Captain. Then, is this red dragon… the Professor?” Once Wang Yu understood what allowed the dragon to fly without magic, he understood why Shugyin had to climb onto its back.

Combined with the pressure field Avia had suddenly felt, and recalling the assassin he had encountered at home—and that assassin’s behavior before being scared off—the identity of this dragon seemed obvious.

“The Professor is actually a dragon? Though he seems to have some sort of ailment; otherwise, he shouldn’t need Captain Shugyin’s smoke to help him take off.”

Wang Yu was somewhat surprised, but he took it in stride. After all, the idea that a Professor who always seemed like a desk-bound academic was actually a dragon was a bit of a stretch, but not entirely impossible.

“Wang Yu, there is very little we can do right now. They must be confronting something; otherwise, this hidden dragon wouldn’t have needed to appear. We must be careful. Whatever requires a dragon to face it may already be beyond our capabilities.”

Avia was cautious. She rationally analyzed their situation, concluding that their options were limited. Essentially, they could only watch Shugyin, the dragon, and the likely-out-of-his-depth Charles engage their enemy.

“Yes, I feel the same. I’m afraid we can only watch, though perhaps we might find a way to help.”

Wang Yu never overestimated himself. He could see that even if he and Avia joined forces against the dragon, they would be dealt with in an instant. Thus, they would likely be powerless against an enemy that forced a dragon to stand its ground.

“However, we do have a decent external aid. If Charles is up there, we might actually be able to help.”

The girl tilted her head in thought, a surprised smile appearing on her face.

“What?” Wang Yu asked, puzzled.

“Lady Darkness told me to tell you: the power you borrowed from her before was too restrained. The power you used was likely less than one-tenth of the total faith crystals she possesses.”

“Because what you used wasn’t her direct power to warp reality, but rather a conceptual power that fits her domain and traits. The consumption is actually very small.”

“The power a deity possesses in their corresponding domain, and what they can achieve, is far more than you imagine. Those were Lady Darkness’s exact words.”

“This…” Wang Yu hadn’t expected the Lady of Night to specifically mention that he had used very little of her power. Still, it showed that she truly considered Wang Yu and Avia her friends.

“That is indeed a powerful aid. If Charles is up there, I might actually have some room to maneuver. But first, let’s see what kind of enemy the Professor and the others are facing.”

Wang Yu smiled. With the Lady of Night as a powerful backer, his confidence grew. Perhaps he and Avia, despite their weakness, could create some variables after all.

……

“Stevenson School of Magic, this is Charles Reid of the Night’s Edge special operations team. My captain, Shugyin Smoke, requests coordinated magical strikes. Do you see it? The dragon here—a Void entity will appear shortly. Please assist with Magic Light Cannons.”

Charles’s feet were shackled to the dragon’s back by cuffs made of smoke, his body swinging wildly with the dragon’s movements, leaving his face a sickly shade of blue and purple.

Yet, he had to hold the communication crystal to coordinate with the Stevenson School of Magic, seeking their support.

“I am very sorry, but our magic array is diverting most of its power to the Imperial Guard, who are preparing for the Demon Gate annihilation operation. It is difficult to provide effective support at this time. Furthermore, the remaining small-scale strikes would likely have no effect on… your battlefield.”

The communicator at the Stevenson School of Magic responded with startling speed, but the result was far from ideal.

The school could not provide high-output magical support; they had already committed their arrays to the massive attack formation that would clear the way for the Imperial Guard in a few minutes.

The tiny fraction of power they could spare would be useless. Clearly, the school had seen the dragon in the sky. The communicator, well aware of the dragon race’s power, knew that their support would be negligible against an enemy that required a dragon to fight.

“Damn it! Why can’t my precognition see these things? What a useless ability! Captain! The magic school can’t provide support. What do we do!”

Charles could no longer maintain his usual carefree, humorous demeanor. At the other end of the chains held in the jaws of the dragon—which was actually Zig—beneath the surface of the artificial lake, a Void rift was being torn open.

A massive, deep purple hand, radiating a faint, starlit hue, was prying apart the liquid surface of the lake as if it were parting the sea, climbing out from the depths.

Charles’s sorcery talent was decent; he could feel the distortion from the Void radiating outward, and the goosebumps rising on his skin from the eerie, corrosive sensation.

The massive purple humanoid rose from below and stood in the air. Its featureless face turned toward Zig Wells-Bach, who had transformed into the dragon.

“Zig, the Dragon of Broken Wings. I did not expect to force you into this form. Then, not only the key, but I believe I shall have other gains as well. Before being shoved back into the Void by the material world… yes, there is enough time.”

The purple humanoid emitted a strange sonic wave. Although the words were like garbled noise, they were converted into information the moment they entered the mind.

“Then we shall slaughter him ourselves.” Shugyin’s response to Charles came late. The next moment, the dragon beat its wings and lunged toward the deep purple humanoid.