All good times eventually come to an end.
Before long, the tribal feast concluded, and the village gradually fell asleep.
As honored guests, Lewis and his companions were once again given rooms in the shaman's house—the finest accommodations the village had to offer.
Inside his guest room.
Though it was already deep into the night and everyone should have been asleep, Lewis remained fully awake.
He lay motionless on the bed, pretending to sleep.
Waiting.
Expecting.
Then it happened.
Crash!
The wooden wall exploded inward.
A spear burst through the timber and shot directly toward his bed.
At the critical moment, a translucent shield materialized around him.
The spear struck the barrier and bounced away harmlessly.
A grin spread across Lewis's face.
"So it finally begins."
He threw aside the blanket and sprang to his feet.
Only now did it become obvious that he had never actually gone to bed.
His armor was still on.
Every piece of equipment remained exactly where it should be.
Ever since suspecting Capac, he had been waiting for this moment.
And now—
The enemy had finally made their move.
Lewis's smile became downright feral.
One spear after another crashed against his shield as he strode toward the door.
His immediate concern wasn't the attackers.
It was his companions.
No matter how powerful wizards were, their bodies weren't much tougher than those of ordinary humans.
Caught sleeping, they remained dangerously vulnerable.
Even though Lewis had warned everyone before bed and prepared several protective measures, he still needed to verify their safety personally.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The attack intensified.
The spears ceased.
Fire followed.
An ocean of flames descended from above, engulfing the entire house.
Within seconds, every room had become part of a blazing inferno.
The scale was enormous.
Through his psychic senses, Lewis quickly realized the truth.
The fire wasn't confined to his room.
Every section of the shaman's house had been consumed.
Only one explanation fit.
Dragonfire.
Such overwhelming flames could only originate from a dragon's breath weapon.
As the fire spread, terrifying heat flooded every corridor and chamber.
Everything in its path turned to ash.
Worse still, these flames were far deadlier than ordinary fire.
Lewis's protective shield was being consumed at an alarming rate.
"Quite the grand gesture."
He clicked his tongue.
Then another prepared spell activated.
Invisible power enveloped his body.
The surrounding heat immediately weakened.
Trigger Fire Resistance.
One of the contingency spells Lewis had prepared beforehand.
Like Trigger Shield, it remained dormant until specific conditions were met.
The moment its target suffered fire damage, the spell activated automatically and granted resistance against flames.
If a dragon was truly involved, preparing for dragonfire was simply common sense.
Fortunately, his precautions proved effective.
Once the resistance took hold, the flames lost most of their threat.
After all, this wasn't direct dragon breath.
It was merely fire ignited by dragon breath.
Powerful.
But manageable.
Lewis marched through the inferno.
His first destination was Ciri's room.
The young huntress remained lying in bed.
Fast asleep.
Or so it appeared.
The fire had already reached her mattress and clothing, yet she showed no signs of waking.
If anything, she seemed to be sleeping even more comfortably.
Lewis stepped forward and shook her shoulder.
"Ciri."
"Wake up."
"Now."
Slowly, Ciri opened her eyes.
The moment she recognized him, she rolled over and turned away.
In an icy voice she said:
"It's the middle of the night."
"Why don't you go find your old man instead?"
Lewis nearly choked.
You're still upset about that?
It had happened all the way back in the rainforest search.
He'd partnered with Capac because he suspected the old man.
Nothing more.
But apparently Ciri hadn't forgotten.
At least he now knew she hadn't actually been asleep.
Someone who was truly unconscious wouldn't respond like that.
Still.
This was hardly the time.
Lewis grabbed her arm and hauled her upright.
"Look around."
"The house is literally on fire."
"Doesn't that prove Capac was suspicious all along?"
"If he was dangerous, then partnering with him earlier was obviously my way of protecting you."
The logic was flawless.
Unfortunately, hurt feelings weren't governed by logic.
Ciri had finally gathered the courage to make her intentions clear.
Only to be rejected in favor of spending time with an old man.
The emotional damage wasn't insignificant.
Still, she understood priorities.
Without further protest, she followed Lewis into the corridor.
Together they moved on to check the others.
Tonks proved easiest.
Her room was located farther from the main structure and had escaped the worst of the flames.
Only the spear attack had reached her.
Jaina's situation, however, was much worse.
Perhaps because Capac regarded her as the strongest among them.
Her room had clearly received special attention.
The entire chamber was on the verge of collapse.
Dragonfire engulfed nearly everything.
Thankfully, Lewis's fire-resistance preparations had worked perfectly.
Jaina emerged unharmed.
Once all four had regrouped, they searched the burning house.
The results were exactly what Lewis expected.
Capac's room was empty.
No body.
No signs of struggle.
No indication that he'd ever been caught in the fire.
The old man had vanished long before the attack began.
At this point, his involvement was undeniable.
Standing amidst the flames, Jaina turned toward Lewis.
"What now?"
Without anyone explicitly acknowledging it, Lewis had become the group's leader.
He'd been the one to identify Capac's suspicious behavior.
He'd prepared the defensive measures.
He'd predicted an attack.
Every precaution had paid off.
Naturally, everyone looked to him now.
Lewis's answer came with a cold smile.
"They launched a midnight ambush against us."
"If we don't respond, it'll look like we're afraid."
"So the next step is obvious."
He raised his wand.
"We hit back."
In that moment, all caution disappeared.
No more patient observation.
No more subtle investigations.
A tremendous magical shockwave erupted from his wand.
BOOM!
Thunderous force exploded outward.
The burning walls—already weakened by the fire—shattered instantly.
Timber fragments flew in every direction.
The shockwave continued beyond the house.
Several figures lurking outside were hurled backward and sent crashing across the ground.
Through smoke and drifting embers—
Illuminated by the glow of the fire—
Lewis and the others finally saw the enemy.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Perhaps more.
Tribal warriors surrounded the house on all sides.
Each carried spears and hunting weapons.
But even they weren't the most eye-catching sight.
Behind them.
Towering above the crowd.
Stood a colossal figure.
Three to four meters tall.
Covered in black scales.
A pair of enormous wings folded against its back.
Golden eyes glowed in the darkness.
At last.
The creature they had crossed an ocean to find.
The black dragon.
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