As he walked toward Galm Kael on the training grounds, it felt as if time had suddenly stopped
"Hmm, these blue flames remind me of the fire dragon Emrid's flames"
"That voice... Grosolun!"
"You seem to be going through a rough patch, kid"
Kael knew how powerful Grosolun was; perhaps he could help him
"Yes, Lyran's father must have sensed the dark magic inside me. I can't even move because of the pressure. Grosolun, can you help me?"
"If I could give you all my power, you could wipe out that 8-ringed guy in front of you in seconds, but your body can't handle all my power. I can give you a bit of dragon magic, kid, but defeating an 8-ringed mage with that will be very hard. I can take care of this guy for you instead!"
"W-wait, Galm—Lyran's father—we can't hurt him."
"You're too soft, kid. Take a look into that man's eyes—do you think he's going to let you live? Besides, I'm now a dragon spirit bound to you. If you die, I'll vanish too. I'm not stupid enough to take that risk."
"There must be another way."
"Your good intentions will be the end of you one day, kid. I'll give you a bit of my power, but try to keep the fight as short as possible—otherwise, your body won't be able to handle this power after a certain point."
"Thank you, Grolos. I won't forget this kindness."
When Kael accepted the pure, primal, and searing power flowing through Grolos's dragon veins into his own body, he underwent not just a magical transformation but a physical one as well; his body felt as if it were burning from the inside out.
As Kael's brown hair turned black, his eyes took on the vertical slit of a dragon's, glowing a golden yellow. From his eyes down to his face, thin dragon scales formed along his veins.
When Galm saw how the young man in front of him had changed in an instant, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.
"What on earth is this! I was right to suspect you—what exactly are you? You don't look human."
"O-okay, I can feel the power of Grosol flowing through me now. What should I do?"
Galm: "Who are you talking to? Have you gone mad from fear?"
"Extend your hand forward and repeat what I say."
"Aethel-Vokun, krosis-sul!
Dii fahl, grah-in-drah!
Yol-Toor-Shul, nust krin!
Dovah-zul, ko-un-drah!"
The words pouring from Kael's mouth instantly thickened the air in the room. When he recited the incantation, his voice sounded as if two people were speaking. Galm took a step back when he noticed that strange, intense surge of mana gathering at the center of Kael's palm
"Dragon's Decree, Destruction Dragon Grosolun!!"
When Kael sent the magic he had gathered in his hand toward Galm, the spell had taken the form of a black dragon.
As the spell raced through the air, it left behind cracks that seemed to have torn from the void; it was as if reality itself were being ripped apart by this power.
Galma struggled to comprehend what was happening; he had never heard of such a spell, nor seen one like this in his life. To stop the violent spell bending the air as it came toward him, he formed a double-layered barrier with his hands. The moment the dragon-shaped spell bit into Galma's barrier, it shattered into pieces. Galma tried to hold the spell—which continued to bear down on him—with both hands, as if holding the dragon's mouth Galm's feet were leaving deep marks on the ground as he slid backward.
"What kind of spell is this? If I let go, it feels like it'll swallow me whole! How can a child at the 4th Ring push me this hard!"
Galm grew serious and, grabbing the dragon-shaped spell Kael had sent by the dragon's jaw, split it into two pieces.
The boundless burst of power brought by the eighth ring had obliterated Kael's spell.
"Is that what you call 'judgment'? Let me show you the true judgment!"
When Galm raised his hand, a fiery visage formed around him.
The swirling red and blue rings began to crack the stones on the ground with the intensity of the heat. Kael felt the weight of this attack on his shoulders; it was as if not just a spell, but the weight of an entire mountain had crashed down upon him.
Galm swiftly thrust his right hand forward. The fiery visage expanded and surged toward Kael. This was not a complex spell, but a pure wave of destruction aimed at incinerating its target. Kael tried to step back, but the pressure created by the spell restricted his movement.
"Jump backward, kid."
Kael continued to move exactly as Grosol had instructed. Although Grosol had formed two dragon wings on Kael's back to help him escape the spell, the shockwave created by the spell had flung Kael backward.
When Galm saw Kael flying through the air, he couldn't hide his astonishment.
"What kind of magic is this?"
Galm suddenly formed multiple flaming arrows around him and began firing them at Kael in a volley. Kael glided swiftly through the air, trying to dodge Galm's piercing arrows. When one of the arrows struck one of Kael's wings, he lost his balance and tumbled toward the ground.
Kael was gasping for breath. Even though Grosol had only transferred ten percent of his power to Kael, the 15-year-old's body was too weak to withstand the dragon magic.
As he stood up, Kael felt dizzy; his consciousness was beginning to fade. He felt as though he were seeing two Galms standing before him. Noticing that Kael was losing consciousness, Grosolun tried to warn him.
"Pull yourself together, boy!"
Kael didn't respond to Grosolun; the dragon magic had drained his body faster than he'd expected.
He took a few unsteady steps. His knees felt like they were giving out. Even breathing had become difficult. The power in his hand was still coursing through his body, making it hard to control his muscles.
The Galm in front of him was watching him closely. He had noticed that Kael's condition was worsening.
"So that's all there was to it..." said the Galm
Grosol was preparing to withdraw the dragon magic from Kael.
"That's enough, kid!"
"W-wait, I can still fight—"
Grosol cut him off before he could finish his sentence.
"The battle ended before it even began. I'm sorry I can't keep my promise to you."
"What! Wait, Groso—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Kael felt the power in his body suddenly drain away. The intense mana that had been coursing through his veins just moments ago had completely vanished. His knees buckled, and he collapsed where he stood. A black barrier formed around him.
When Galm saw Kael collapse to the ground, he stopped his fire spell.
"Mana... is it gone?"
Galm approached cautiously. Kael wasn't moving; he was only breathing weakly.
"That power from a moment ago... it felt as if it didn't belong to this boy..."
Just then, the mana in the air suddenly rippled. Galm instinctively leaped back and cast a barrier around himself
A massive magic circle, unlike anything Galm had ever seen, appeared over Kael's body; ancient inscriptions adorned the circle.
The expression on Galm's face seemed to change for the first time, becoming serious.
First, a massive claw emerged from the circle. It was covered in pitch-black scales, and the moment it touched the ground, it caused the floor to shatter. Then a second claw appeared.
The calm expression on Galm's face had completely vanished.
The summoning circle expanded further. The darkness within it seemed to have turned into a bottomless void. From within that darkness, long horns, massive wings, and a massive body slowly emerged.
The moment the black dragon raised its head, a heavy wave of mana spread out around it.
Galm had come to a complete standstill. He couldn't take his eyes off the creature before him. The moment the dragon touched the barrier Galm had erected, it shattered into pieces.
By the time the black dragon had fully emerged, even the training ground felt too small for it. It couldn't fully spread its wings.
Grosol raised its head.
And roared!!
The sound shook the entire training ground in an instant. Pieces of stone fell from the walls, and the cracks on the ground widened. The roar didn't stay confined to the room—it echoed throughout the entire mansion.
The servants in the corridors jumped in fear. Even the windows on the upper floors of the mansion trembled. The knights standing in the rooms near the training ground leaped to their feet without understanding what was happening.
Even the guards outside the mansion flinched when they heard the sound.
"For the love of the gods... What was that?"
"The sound came from below, from Master Galm's training area."
"Did you hear the windows cracking? I could swear the vases on the upper floor fell to the ground!"
"Knights!... The knights armed themselves and rushed to the entrance of the training ground! But the door... the door was sealed shut; it wouldn't open no matter what.
Grosol slowly lowered his head and looked toward Galm. The warm breath escaping his nostrils formed steam on the stone floor.
"You're still standing before me!!..." he said in a deep voice. "You've got some nerve, human!!"
Despite the pressure on him, Galm stood up straight. He looked at the cracking floor of the training ground, then turned his eyes back to Grosolun.
The aura emanating from the black dragon didn't resemble that of an ordinary creature... But Galm didn't back down.
On the contrary, a stern expression formed on his face.
"Do you think you can scare me!?"
Galm began to form blue flames around himself. The flames were not like ordinary fire; they were fueled by dense mana, causing the surrounding air to tremble.
Then, one after another, rings of mana appeared behind his back.
The first ring...
The second...
The third...
As the rings opened one after another, the temperature inside the training ground began to rise.
When the eighth ring appeared, the blue flames suddenly grew.
"I am Galm. I am the 8-ringed royal mage of the Northern Kingdom. I bow to no one but the king!!"
Blue flames swirled around Galm's shoulders.
The Dragon's Deep voice echoed through the training ground.
"Interesting!"
The dragon brought its massive head a little closer. Its sharp purple eyes were fixed directly on Galm's eight rings.
"You humans! What arrogant creatures you are. I have lived for thousands of years and witnessed the downfall of many kingdoms—and it was always your arrogance that caused it. You are lowly life forms who never learn."
Galm's expression hardened. He stretched both hands forward, and all eight rings glowed simultaneously.
The blue flames began to converge like a giant vortex.
"Then witness this too, dragon!"
"Blue Hell!!"
The concentrated blue flames advanced toward Grosolun in the form of a massive column. Wherever the flames passed, they melted the stone ground, leaving crimson trails in their wake.
For several seconds, the blue fire completely engulfed Grosolun's body.
Galm squinted as he stared into the flames.
Then, a heavy silhouette began to emerge from within the flames.
The dragon's massive black body had emerged from the blue fire as if nothing had happened.
There were faint red glimmers between its scales, but not a single wound was visible.
When Galm saw that his spell hadn't worked, he realized he needed to get even more serious; the dragon standing before him hadn't made a move yet. "What is it waiting for?" he wondered.
"It seems I won't be able to take down this massive creature with normal attacks... very well..."
Galm clapped his hands together, preparing to cast his signature spell. The "signature" spell is a unique spell used by every mage who reaches the 6th ring; mages spend years creating their own signature spells once they reach the 6th ring.
"Alright, big guy, let's see if you can handle this too!"
Galm formed a summoning circle from blue flames.
"Heir of the Fire Ancestor, Blue Ifrit!!"
Right in the center of the blue magic circle, an Ifrit appeared—holding a flaming sword in its hand, with horns reaching all the way to the ceiling of the training ground, and a body formed directly from magma
As the Ifrit's massive sword struck the dragon's scales, sending sparks flying, the creature—which had stood as still as a statue until that moment—suddenly stirred. A dark glow began to rise from the dragon's throat, seeping through the gaps between its scales.
An indescribable anxiety suddenly gripped Galm's heart.
"Something's wrong!..."
What emerged when the dragon opened its mouth was no ordinary fire. It was a pitch-black flame, as if torn from the void itself, that absorbed light. This flame emitted neither heat nor light;
The black flame pierced through the lava shield Ifrit had raised for defense as if it were a piece of paper. The attack, striking Ifrit directly in the chest, tore a massive gash in the spiritual being's body.
Ifrit's body, formed of magma, began to freeze and turn to ash at the points where the black flame made contact
Galm had frozen in place, his hands still in the sealing position. His eyes were wide open, trying to comprehend the scene before him. The signature spell, for which an 8th-rank mage had sacrificed his life, had been obliterated by a single breath attack from the dragon!
"Impossible...!"
Galm's voice trembled. "This can't just be a dragon's breath. My Ifrit... How could it be destroyed, even though it's made of pure fire!?"