The sky cracked, the earth trembled, and the terrifying pressure of the golden dragon enveloped the entire battlefield with just a breath.

Even those watching from a distance were drenched in cold sweat, some falling to their knees under the weight of Stah’s overwhelming dragon aura.

However, standing before the majestic and terrifying form of Stah, Leon Cassmod showed no fear.

Lightning gathered in Leon’s hand as he loudly expressed his dissatisfaction with the giant creature.

He was really starting to hate how these Dragon Kings always roared when they transformed.

Sure, transforming was fine, but did they have to make such a big deal of it?

Did roaring make them feel more powerful?

"Come on, this is a battle, not a competition to see who can shout the loudest."

Leon glanced over at Rosvisser.

As much as he wanted to complain, he knew that the dragon aura from someone like Stah wasn’t something an ordinary person could withstand.

Even for someone like Rosvisser, who was also a Dragon King, standing this close to Stah was challenging. The pressure from a more powerful dragon was a natural instinct, embedded in their bloodline.

Rosvisser stared at the enormous creature, her face calm, her body relaxed.

Leon opened his mouth, intending to check on her, but she beat him to it.

“Leon.”

“Hm?”

“That shout of yours just now... it was amazing.”

Leon blinked, surprised by her words, and looked at Rosvisser.

She was smiling, her expression completely genuine, a smile full of heartfelt praise.

Still, Leon noticed a faint trace of cold sweat glistening on her forehead and at the tip of her nose.

In that moment, Leon understood.

The overwhelming dragon aura had affected her more than she let on.

The things buried deep in her bloodline couldn’t be easily changed, even for another Dragon King.

Yet Rosvisser had shown no outward signs of discomfort, relying entirely on her strong willpower to withstand it.

It was Leon’s shout that had fully grounded her, helping her push through the overwhelming pressure.

She wasn’t lacking in courage—she just needed someone to back her up at a critical moment.

And that person was Leon.

“If you complimented me like that more often, I’d be really happy,” Leon said with a smile after his brief shock. “So, how about saving another compliment for after the battle?”

Rosvisser spread her dragon wings, slowly covering herself with them. Just before her face disappeared behind the wings, she replied, “Depends on how you perform, idiot.”

With that, Rosvisser fully spread her wings, and the next moment, a silver dragon roared into the sky.

The battle entered a new phase from that moment on.

Dragons had different advantages in their humanoid and dragon forms.

In humanoid form, they had finer control over magic, with more concentrated attacks, but lacked explosive power and had weaker defenses.

In dragon form, these weaknesses were completely compensated for, though at the cost of agility and higher magic consumption.

For the Silver Dragon Clan, speed was their specialty, so in terms of size and magical power, Rosvisser was no match for Stah.

To defeat this gleaming golden monster, she and Leon would have to work perfectly in sync, without a single mistake.

Luckily, the two of them were in perfect harmony.

They didn’t even need to speak; a single glance was enough to understand what the other was planning.

In other words, they had their own internal communication.

Seeing Rosvisser take to the sky and get into position, Leon adjusted his stance.

“Round two... begins.”

The couple launched their attacks on Stah simultaneously—Leon from the ground and Rosvisser from the sky.

This time, however, Stah did not summon the Twilight Bell.

In his humanoid form, his smaller size allowed him to more effectively channel his magic into the bell.

But in dragon form, it would take many times more magic to summon a defense of the same strength.

Besides, the bell had already been pierced by that human brat, so it probably wouldn’t be as effective even if he tried again.

Instead, Stah opted for offense, using his dragon form’s immense power to intercept their attacks.

“ROAR!!”

A deafening roar erupted from Stah, and countless beams of golden light shot out from his mouth.

It was like a golden rain, crashing down toward the ground.

His first target, of course, was Leon Cassmod.

After the earlier exchanges, Stah now understood why the Empire was so desperate to eliminate this man.

If left alive, the chaos he could cause would be incalculable.

Rulers had different ways of maintaining power, but there was one thing they all agreed on:

Uncontrollable factors must never be allowed to exist.

And Leon was uncontrollable.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—

Golden beams of light exploded all around Leon, causing a series of magical detonations beneath his feet.

His silver armor was swallowed by fire and smoke, temporarily obscuring him from Stah’s sight.

But before Stah could lock onto Leon’s position again, he felt a wave of heat from above.

Looking up, he saw three crescent-shaped flames streaking toward him.

*S-rank Fire Magic: Chasing Moon Flames*

The spell combined fire magic’s explosive force and burning damage with a blade-like shape, greatly increasing its piercing power.

The three crescents struck Stah’s head, leaving noticeable scorch marks on his golden scales.

But in the end, they only damaged his scales—a superficial wound for a Dragon King.

“Dragons have truly fallen. For a new generation Dragon King to only manage this much,” Stah scoffed, not holding back his contempt for his enemy.

“If you still had such overwhelming power, why have you hidden in the shadows for the past century, even siding with humans?” Rosvisser shot back without hesitation.

“I’ve allied with humans for the sake of the dragons’ long-term future.”

“The future of the dragons should be in the hands of the dragons themselves, not dependent on outsiders.”

Their brief exchange ended as Rosvisser flared her wings and unleashed a spiraling gust of wind.

Immediately after, she gathered flames in her mouth and spat them out.

The fire quickly caught up with the spiral wind, forming a twisting “flame serpent” that shot toward Stah.

*S-rank Fire Magic: Explosive Flame Dance*

Stah’s enormous size gave him overwhelming defensive power and magical output, but it also made him an easier target.

Especially when faced with fire accelerated by the wind, there was no way for Stah to dodge.

The flame serpent struck Stah’s neck, and though his scales absorbed much of the impact, they couldn’t completely block the intense heat.

Stah growled, preparing to gather energy in his mouth to target Rosvisser.

But before he could release the attack, a silver figure shot out from the smoke and fire on the ground.

Leon, gripping a sword of lightning, charged straight for Stah.

Stah had been keeping an eye on Leon, so he wasn’t about to be caught off guard by a sneak attack.

While gathering energy, he swung his massive dragon tail toward Leon.

Leon didn’t dodge, continuing his charge straight at Stah.

“Foolish brat,” Stah thought with a sneer. “You’re dead.”

The golden tail swung down, casting a shadow over Leon and blocking out the sun.

Leon glanced up just as the tail came crashing down.

BOOM!!

The tail strike was not just a casual swipe—it was nearly a full-force blow from Stah.

With the massive advantage of his dragon form, even another Dragon King would struggle to withstand such a hit.

Let alone a human.

As the tail slammed down, Stah released the energy he’d been gathering, sending a blast toward Rosvisser in the sky.

Known for her speed, the Silver Dragon Queen easily evaded the sluggish attack.

“Hah... A reckless brat who charges blindly and a new queen who only knows how to dodge. I don’t even know how to describe you two.”

Rosvisser hovered in the air, her dragon eyes fixed on the shadow beneath Stah’s massive tail.

She believed in Leon. He wasn’t foolish enough to charge in recklessly and get crushed.

“If you don’t know what to say, how about... listening to me?”

Suddenly, a voice echoed from behind Stah’s neck.

His enormous body shuddered.

Stah’s pupils contracted. “Wh-when did you—”

“So, my opinion is... Old fossils like you should stay buried.”

Stah tried to turn and swat the “pest” clinging to his back.

But before he could, there was a crisp snap, and a flash of blue light appeared at the base of his tail.

Immediately, a numbing sensation shot through Stah’s entire lower body.

*A-rank Lightning Magic: Thunder Shadow Illusion*

When Stah’s earlier attacks had filled the battlefield with smoke and fire, Leon had used the cover to create a temporary lightning clone.

As Stah’s attention was drawn to the clone, Leon silently moved behind his massive neck.

This trick only worked on massive Dragon Kings—it would be easily spotted in a one-on-one duel.

Of course, Rosvisser’s cooperation was crucial.

Without her two S-rank spells to distract Stah, the old Dragon King might have seen through Leon’s ploy.

“I’m sure someone told you not to transform into dragon form when fighting me, but clearly, you didn’t listen.”

Leon gathered lightning into a sword.

“But it’s not too late—you can review your mistakes with Constantine in the afterlife. The title? ‘Why Fighting Cassmod in Dragon Form is a Stupid Idea.’”

With that, Leon swung the lightning sword, slicing through the hardened golden scales at the back of Stah’s neck.

Stah

’s dragon eyes trembled violently.

Even Ravi, watching from a distance, was stunned by the sight.

“He... he actually pierced Stah’s scales with a lightning sword?!”

Still reeling from the oppressive force of Stah’s dragon aura, Ravi now felt a new kind of fear creep over him as Leon Cassmod’s strength became clearer.

But this fear was different.

Dragon aura suppression was something inherent to dragon blood.

Leon’s overwhelming presence, on the other hand, came from sheer, monstrous power that far surpassed that of a Dragon King.

Nacho, too, had lost his smug demeanor. His expression had grown grim. “Does Stah have any trump cards left? If not, we’ll have to call in Bly and Jagus. It’ll take all three of you.”

Ravi swallowed, not bothering to argue with Nacho this time. “Understood. I’ll go prepare. We can’t let this monster live... He’s too terrifying...”

He looked at Leon, murmuring once more, “Too terrifying.”

Ravi forced himself to tear his gaze away from Leon and turned to leave the command platform to prepare their final strike.

But before he could take more than a few steps, Nacho shouted, “Wait, look—what’s Stah doing?”

Ravi turned back, his eyes widening as he watched.

The massive golden dragon tilted his head to the sky and let out a long, deafening roar, completely ignoring the blood gushing from his neck.

Light burst forth from his body, and an overwhelming energy began gathering around him.

The power was so immense that it caused the sky to darken and the elements to go wild.

Ravi recognized it immediately.

“H-he’s converting his self-destructive energy into an attack!”

“Wh-what does that mean?” Nacho asked, confused.

“The ancient dragons, when cornered, choose to destroy everything.”

Ravi’s voice trembled, cold sweat pouring down his face.

“And that includes themselves.”