CLANG! CLANG!
The battlefield erupted the instant their weapons met. Sparks exploded like fireworks as Ethan's black blade collided with the Demon Dragon Sage's arm. The impact alone cracked the stone beneath their feet.
Ethan moved first, swift, precise, merciless. His blade sliced toward the Demon's limb, aiming to sever it clean off.
But it didn't budge.
The Dragon Sage's body was layered in ancient steel-like scales—true dragon scales. Not magical. Not enchanted. Just raw, monstrous durability forged by evolution and carnage. Each strike Ethan delivered was met with a metallic shriek, his sword skidding across the surface and leaving behind nothing more than shallow scars.
Even a berserker's full-force swing would have shattered before those scales.
Worse still—there was no magic woven into them.
That meant weapons like Fangpiercer, designed to bypass mana and tear through magical defenses, were useless here. There was nothing mystical to penetrate. Only overwhelming physical superiority.
Ethan's mind accelerated.
Angles. Force output. Scale density. Joint flexibility. Impact resistance.
Calculation after calculation flashed through his thoughts in an instant.
Conclusion: His current output could barely scratch the Sage's skin.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
And the countdown was still ticking.
[Countdown: 39:45]
This is going to be risky…
Ethan steadied his breathing, eyes locked on the towering Dragon Sage. No wonder Reinhard couldn't inflict real damage.
The creature's scales weren't just tough, they were monstrous. Far superior to the armored bodies of Devon and Herod back in Almsworth. Those had felt like iron. This felt like striking a mountain forged from dragon-forged steel.
Ethan had the edge in speed, his movements were sharper, faster, cleaner. He could weave through attacks and strike from blind spots.
But speed meant nothing if his blade couldn't bite deep.
He could outmaneuver the monster. He just couldn't break it.
DING!
— SYSTEM MESSAGE —
[Power Enchantment: 1.1%]
[Damage Rate: 16%]
Sixteen percent.
That was all.
The Demon Dragon Sage's lips curled into a cruel grin, heat radiating from its scaled face.
"What's wrong?" it mocked, its voice like grinding stone. "Having trouble cutting me down? You truly believed that was possible?"
Without warning, its fist shot forward, faster than something that massive had any right to move.
Ethan reacted on instinct. His black blade snapped up just in time...
BOOM!
The punch collided with the flat of his sword. The shockwave detonated outward, splitting the ground beneath them in violent fractures. Stone shattered. Dust exploded into the air.
Even with the block, the sheer force behind the blow felt like a collapsing mountain.
Ethan was driven backward, boots screeching against shattered stone as the force overwhelmed his stance. The ground offered no resistance—his legs skidded helplessly, carving a deep trail through debris as dust spiraled around him.
Such… power… he thought, steadying himself mid-slide, arms trembling slightly from the impact.
That wasn't just strength, it was devastation given form.
From the other side of the ruined courtyard, Mia watched in frozen silence.
Just moments ago, she had hated him. Resented him.
But now, her heart skipped painfully in her chest with every clash of steel and scale. This wasn't a one-sided fight. It wasn't heroic dominance.
Ethan was struggling.
And deep down, she could see the truth, his chances of winning were frighteningly small.
King Cazer and Queen Kia stood paralyzed, their royal composure long shattered. They had witnessed battles before. They had seen demons tear through soldiers.
But never like this.
This demon spoke. It reasoned. It mocked.
It fought with terrifying intelligence.
These were no longer mindless beasts driven by instinct. They were evolving, gaining human-like awareness, strategy, and the ability to converse as they destroyed. And that realization was far more terrifying than the battle itself.
The Dragon Sage's next punch came wrapped in explosive fire.
It wasn't just force, it was detonation.
Flames burst outward on impact, swallowing Ethan's guard in a violent bloom of heat. His blade absorbed part of it, but the fire still slipped through, scorching his arms and searing against his cloak with merciless intensity.
The smell of burning fabric filled the air.
Yet Ethan didn't retreat, he endured it.
Through the pain, his eyes sharpened, cold, calculating. He scanned every inch of the Dragon Sage's body: the layering of its scales, the flex of its joints, the rhythm of its breathing, the slight delay between ignition and release of flame.
There had to be a weakness, there always was. They clashed again. And again. Each collision rang like iron striking iron, shockwaves blasting outward and hurling them apart in opposite directions. Stone shattered beneath their feet. Flames scattered across the ruins.
Reinhard stepped forward, closing the distance slightly as waves of heat rolled off the Dragon Sage's burning fists.
Ethan stood a few meters ahead, sweat tracing down his jaw, steam rising faintly from his cloak where flames had kissed too close. The temperature around him was suffocating.
"Master," Reinhard said calmly, "shall I assist you in this battle?"
Ethan didn't take his eyes off the Dragon Sage.
"No…" he replied, voice steady despite the inferno before him. "I'll take him on myself."
There was no hesitation. No doubt.
Reinhard paused for a brief second, then obeyed without question. He stepped back and sat atop the rubble of a broken building, resting against what remained of a shattered wall.
Ethan swung his blade once more, precision guiding every strike as he scoured the Dragon Sage for the tiniest weakness.
Then, his gaze locked onto something.
A subtle flaw hidden among the overlapping scales. A single point that shouldn't have been there.
His eyes widened at the discovery.
For the first time in the fight, he allowed himself a fraction of trust, and let his guard slip.
BAM!
The Dragon Sage's fist slammed into Ethan's face with bone-crushing force.
A sickening crack echoed through the air as his jaw shattered completely, pain exploding like fire through his skull. His vision went white, then black, in an instant.
He was lifted off his feet, propelled like a ragdoll caught in a storm.
The ruined walls of the castle rose to meet him, crumbling beneath his weight as he crashed into the debris. Stone and dust exploded outward, and Ethan collapsed among the jagged remnants of what was once a mighty structure.
Fear crawled up Mia's spine, tightening with every ragged breath. She had witnessed Black Blade—Ethan, face the faceless archer, take down the dragon with ruthless precision, battles she had believed only he could handle.
But this… this was different.
Seeing him now, broken and sprawled among the rubble, was a sight that churned her stomach. Her resentment for him, simmering quietly until now, couldn't drown out the helpless panic rising in her chest.
She was, after all, a kindhearted soul—selfless to a fault, always putting others before herself. And in this moment, watching the boy she both feared and despised teeter on the edge of ruin, she couldn't turn away.
Her body moved before her mind could catch up, instincts taking over.
The Demon advanced slowly toward Ethan, each step shaking the ground beneath its massive frame.
Mia's voice burst out, sharp and trembling, high-pitched with fear and defiance.
"Hey! Demon… get away from that boy or I—"
Her words caught in her throat as reality struck her. She froze, hands clamped over her mouth, realizing just how dangerous she had just made herself.
"Mia, what do you think you're doing?!" King Cazer hissed urgently, grabbing her arm. "Do you have a death wish? This is no time to defend someone who's going to die anyway!"
His words struck harder than he intended.
Silence fell over her.
Fear seeped into her veins, spreading through her entire body until her fingers trembled. She hadn't thought it through—hadn't measured the risk.
She had only wanted one thing.
To draw the Demon's attention away from Ethan.
Even if it meant placing herself directly in its path.
The Demon Dragon Sage didn't even spare her a glance.
It continued forward, each heavy step deliberate, as though her voice had never existed.
Slowly, it raised its hand. Flames began to coil around its fist—dense, violent, compressing into something far deadlier than before.
Mia's breath caught.
Watching that blazing inferno gather in the Demon's palm, aimed directly at Ethan's unmoving body, was unbearable.
She knew how many times Black Blade… Ethan… had saved her. And now, she could only stand there and watch as death reached for him.
She took a step.
Then another.
And another.
Ignoring the towering monster advancing toward Ethan, Mia began moving toward the battlefield herself.
King Cazer's eyes widened as he saw her slipping from his side, heading straight into danger. Even Reinhard—who had been silently observing the brutal clash with an unreadable expression was visibly startled to see her step forward.
"Mia! What do you think you're doing?" Queen Kia cried out, panic breaking through her composure. "You'll die!"
"Maybe I will die," she said softly.
She turned back, meeting her parents' terrified gazes. Her expression was no longer trembling—it was resolute.
"But if my death can help… if it can give even a little chance to the only person who can win this…" Her voice steadied. "Then I'll do whatever it takes to save my city."
Without waiting for another word, she stepped forward.
The Demon's molten eyes remained fixed on Ethan, dismissing her entirely.
Mia raised her hands.
"Ice Crystal."
Mana surged from her body in a burst of frost-laced wind. Two massive pillars of shimmering ice erupted from the ground on either side of the Dragon Sage, jagged and radiant beneath the darkened sky.
She clenched her hands together.
The twin crystals roared inward....and fused.
A deafening crack split the air as the ice sealed shut, encasing the Demon Dragon Sage in a prison of glacial steel. Frost spread rapidly across its burning scales, steam exploding outward as fire and ice collided in violent resistance.
For a brief, fragile moment, the monster was frozen.
Mia stepped closer to the frozen Dragon Sage, icy mist swirling around her trembling figure. She positioned herself directly in front of the imprisoned monster, hands rising once more as she prepared to cast another spell. Frost gathered at her fingertips, the air around her dropping several degrees.
But then, a deep, cracking sound echoed from within the ice. Thin fractures spider-webbed across the frozen prison. A red glow pulsed beneath the surface.
In the next instant, the Dragon Sage's scales erupted with violent fire. Flames burst outward from its body, spreading through the ice like veins of molten lava. Steam exploded into the air as the glacier began to melt—slowly, but unstoppably.
The prison was failing.
Amid the rubble, Ethan's fingers twitched.
A faint tremor ran through his arm.
His shattered jaw throbbed as consciousness clawed its way back. Slowly—very slowly—his eyes opened.
His blurred vision cleared just enough to register one thing.
Mia. Standing directly in front of the Dragon Sage, just as the monster shattered free from her ice.
Why is she here…? That damn fool…
Ethan's thoughts burned hotter than the flames ahead of him. He tried to speak—but agony shot through his shattered jaw. No sound came out.
Gritting through the pain, he forced his arms free from the broken wall pinning him down. Stone scraped against torn skin as he dragged himself out of the rubble. His legs trembled violently when they touched the ground. Every nerve in his body screamed in protest.
But he stood.
Slowly. Completely.
Ahead of him, the last of the ice prison dissolved into steaming water. It dripped from the Dragon Sage's scales as flames hissed and devoured the remaining frost.
The Demon rolled its shoulders, fire pulsing faintly between the cracks of its armored hide.
"Ha… ha…" it rumbled mockingly. "What pitiful magic for a little girl blessed with such high mana."
Steam rose between them. And Mia stood directly in its shadow.
Mia couldn't move.
Her thoughts vanished, wiped clean by raw terror. The only thing echoing in her mind was a single, crushing realization—I'm going to die.
The Dragon Sage slowly lifted its massive hand, flames spiraling around its claws as it drew back for a direct strike to her face. The heat alone made the air shimmer.
From behind, King Cazer's voice broke into a desperate scream.
"Mia!"
Queen Kia's cry followed, sharp and shattered. "Please! Leave her alone!"
Their pleas tore through the battlefield
—but they meant nothing.
The Demon's burning hand came down.
Flames spiraled violently around the Dragon Sage's fist as it thrust its arm forward, accelerating toward Mia's face with merciless speed. The air shrieked from the pressure alone.
Ethan moved.
Ignoring the agony tearing through his body, he launched himself forward, blade aimed at the Sage's neck—the very weak point he had discovered moments earlier.
"Mia, run—!" he tried to shout, but his broken jaw twisted the words into a strained, fractured sound.
Too late. The Demon adjusted instantly.
The punch that had been meant to crush Ethan redirected mid-motion... and slammed straight into Mia's face.
At that moment she knew.. She have met her end.