"Don't tell me... is the dungeon trying to birth another Black Dragon?" Finn muttered, his eyes cold as steel.
He clenched his fists as he gazed down into the pit.
The One-Eyed Black Dragon, the subject of one of the Three Great Quests, hadn't been slain. And now here, before their eyes, stood a creature whose features were frighteningly similar.
Finn didn't need to speculate. He remembered the portraits drawn by the heroes who returned from their doomed quest against the Black Dragon. The dragon emerging now bore nearly the same features.
"It has to be related... it has to be one of its kind."
"Maybe so." Gareth spoke up, his usual calmness laced with tension. "But this thing… it's not the One-Eyed Black Dragon. This one's weaker."
Leon could handle it. That much he was sure of.
Though the creature was formidable, it was not beyond their means. If worst came to worst, they could deal with it, even without Leon, though they would suffer for it.
Finn gave a short nod, choosing to remain silent, his eyes never leaving the unfolding scene below.
"Ais, calm down." Riveria said softly, reaching out to gently grasp Ais' trembling hand.
The girl's entire body radiated killing intent.
"I know." Ais whispered, barely audible. Her jaw was clenched so tightly it trembled.
Her goal had always been the Black Dragon. Just the presence of something related to it was enough to awaken a fury within her that threatened to consume her reason. But this one had been claimed by Leon. And despite her hatred, Ais understood.
Leon needed strong enemies to grow. They had all gained so much from this expedition already. Now wasn't the time to act selfishly. So, with great effort, she forced herself to step back, just barely.
The roar eventually faded. The quake of the shockwave quieted. But tension still hung in the air like a taut bowstring.
At the edge of the basin, the group remained silent, their expressions dark as they watched what was unfolding in the pit below.
Leon stared at the dragon in front of him with narrowed eyes. This wasn't his first time seeing such a creature.
On the tenth floor of the artificial labyrinth, he had fought a being known as Nidhogg. At the time, it had fused with a Jewel Fetus, mutating into a grotesque form—half-dragon, half-spirit abomination.
But now...
This was Nidhogg in its true form.
Unfused. Pure.
In the records, it had been said that the Nidhogg used in Knossos was a black dragon species of the same origin as the One-Eyed Black Dragon. And now, it stood before him, unmistakably from the same bloodline.
As Leon studied the creature, the black dragon finally locked eyes with him. Crimson irises glowed with ancient malice.
The man and the beast stood across from one another in silence, neither making a move, merely observing.
Seconds ticked by, the air heavy with anticipation. And then, Leon broke the silence.
"What is the Dungeon trying to achieve?"
He stared at the black dragon, his voice low, thoughtful.
In the blink of an eye, Leon's figure vanished. A streak of white light tore through the sky as he launched himself upward, his wings of light unfurling behind him like a divine comet, as he shot straight toward the towering black dragon.
The dragon reacted instantly. Within the split trunk of the massive tree, its two claws suddenly expanded in size, swelling with brute strength. It planted them firmly against the inner walls of the trunk, tensing its entire body.
Then—
BOOM!!!
The colossal black dragon erupted from the tree like a meteor, a dark lance of destruction hurtling toward Leon at breakneck speed. The sheer force of its takeoff caused a cataclysmic explosion to echo from the towering tree, sending shockwaves throughout the dungeon.
From the fractured trunk, a tremendous sonic boom burst outward, forming a massive shockwave ring in the air.
The once-majestic tree, already marred by a gaping cavity, could no longer withstand the internal pressure. The trunk cracked straight down the middle. Wood shattered, and the upper half of the tree, hundreds of meters tall, tilted back and collapsed in slow, destructive motion.
CRAAAACK—THUUUUD!!!
At the edge of the pit, Finn and the others could only watch, awe-struck.
"Unbelievable..." Finn muttered under his breath.
That massive tree, so towering, so monstrous, it had been cleaved in two, like paper torn down the middle.
Such power…
If any one of them had taken a blow of that magnitude directly, there wouldn't even be a corpse left.
Just dust.
"So this… is Level 8?" Finn clenched his fists, brows furrowed as he watched the battle erupt below.
There was no time to dwell on the destruction of the tree because the real fight had just begun.
Down in the deep pit, a violent clash took place. Leon and the black dragon collided in midair with a thunderous explosion that rocked the entire floor.
BOOOOOM!!!
The impact was so intense it birthed another shockwave, rippling outward in rings like a stone dropped into a still pond.
Unlike the earlier roar, this shockwave came with physical force.
Even Finn and the others, despite being seasoned veterans, were forced back several meters. Some were knocked off-balance. Dust and debris whipped across their faces, cloaks fluttering violently in the wind.
"Tch… this is insane." Gareth dropped his guarding arm, looking slightly shaken. "That impact was on another level."
Everyone nodded in agreement, their expressions solemn, except for one.
"Tch! That's what I'm talking about." Tione's eyes sparkled with something close to admiration. "Leon's not even using his full power yet!"
Those words snapped the others out of their daze.
Wait… he wasn't?
They all turned toward the battlefield again, this time with sharper eyes. Yes. Leon hadn't used any of his signature powers.
No Tenseigan Mode.
No Hyper Dying Will Mode.
No Dying Will Flame.
He was just fighting in his base form and he was matching a Ievel 8 black dragon head-on.
Everyone fell silent.
If this was Leon's base state, then what was his limit?
Had he surpassed Ievel 8?
Was he nearing the fabled realm of Level 9?
No one dared to speak it aloud, but the thought echoed in their hearts like a thunderclap.
Meanwhile, in the pit, two streaks, one white, one black, intertwined through the air like dueling comets. Shockwaves burst from every clash, the very earth beneath them trembling.
The storm of their battle sent wind, dust, and shattered stone in every direction.
Leon clashed with the black dragon again and again. After one especially fierce exchange, he flared his wings and drew back, floating a few meters away.
The black dragon mirrored him, its wings fanning out with thunderous force as it hovered above the ruined trunk. Both of them panted lightly.
A grin crept onto Leon's face. "Yes… this is it."
"This is the opponent I've been searching for."
This was exactly the kind of fight he needed. He didn't need to enter his Tenseigan Mode. There was no need to use his Hyper Dying Will Mode. Just in his normal form, this dragon was enough to push him, to make his back burn.
Yes, he could feel it, his falna was heating up. The warmth radiating from the mark on his back grew hotter with each strike, each parried blow. His physical stats were steadily increasing.
This black dragon… it wasn't just a threat. It was an opportunity. Leon wasn't going to waste it. He had no intention of killing it quickly. That would be a waste.
He would draw this battle out. Squeeze every last drop of value from the creature in front of him.
"I wonder..." Leon's eyes narrowed. "Will you be like the fusion-type demi spirit from before?"
"Will you let me max my stats in a single battle?"
He didn't know but he intended to find out.
With his thoughts settled, he vanished once again in a flash of white.
BOOM!
The second round began.