The Devouring Crown cast a lazy glance at Cloud, who had just appeared before him. Its wings remained dormant as it rested upon the ground inside the enormous cave. Every surface within the cavern had been etched black by the flames that rained down from the dragon's breath during their daily battles. It had long since become a battlefield permanently scarred by destruction.
Cloud did not respond to Ignivar. He walked toward a rock and sat upon it with a weary expression, then proceeded to summon his Status screen.
Name: Cloud
Level: 1
Grade: Celestial
Mana Cores: 0 / 50
Health: 56 / 100
Mana: 50 / 50
| STR 5 | AGI 6 | INT 4
| MAG 5
+----------------------------+
TAMING SPACE (BOX): [3/5]
+----------------------------+
ITEMS: [—]
SKILLS: [Devouring Combustion]
TRAITS: [—]
He exhaled a quiet sigh.
'Well, it seems I can still handle today's battle without worrying too much.'
The young peasant looked toward the Draconic God. Truthfully, it appeared utterly bored and had already begun drifting into sleep while Cloud examined his Status screen. The sheer level of disregard was enough to crush what little confidence he possessed, yet he still stood rigid, prepared for another battle. The suffocating presence of the powerful dragon no longer made him nervous about dying in its hands again. Likewise, his own presence meant little, though Ignivar had already begun ignoring him long ago.
To it, Cloud was nothing more than a source of momentary amusement in its exceedingly dull and immortal existence. It enjoyed the visits, although the battles themselves were far too easy. On the other hand, the peasant had already grown accustomed to the dragon's repetitive attack patterns, yet the overwhelming disparity in power rendered his knowledge almost meaningless.
He brushed his hair back and tilted his head toward the cave's endless ceiling.
'Hm. I would have considered a weapon, but no ordinary weapon can even leave a scratch on it. Only the most powerful Soul Weapons would be capable of landing a proper hit, and as a reminder to myself, I could never afford something like that. I truly cannot do anything against you right now until I become stronger. That is seriously fucked up.'
Previously, he had always been supremely confident that he would be able to tame Ignivar with his current level of power, and thanks to the Conqueror's Rule, that should have been a dream one could truly grasp. Yet the result had remained unchanged.
Cloud gritted his teeth and glowered.
"Hey! Let's start round… uh… I'm not good at counting. Anyways, come at me!"
Ignivar was instantly awakened again after briefly drifting into the hands of sleep. Steam poured from the corners of its mouth and nostrils the moment its eyes opened, spreading heavily across the ground below and rolling along the cave floor like creeping mist. Through the rising steam, Cloud could see flames gathering within its maw before they were unleashed within mere seconds.
He quickly threw himself behind the huge rock he had been sitting on, which had effectively become his personal shield whenever the Devouring Crown used its Draconic Breath.
The torrent of flames smashed violently against the rock and split toward each side. The stone managed to withstand the ferocious firepower, but deep cracks had already begun spreading across its surface, threatening to render it useless as a shield if the assault continued.
Without hesitating further, he raised his hand toward the flames spilling around the rock and shouted:
"Devour!"
The moment the word left his mouth, the flames around him reacted.
Instead of continuing their natural spread, the fire twisted violently, as though caught by an unseen force. The blazing torrent bent inward, dragged toward a single point before Cloud.
Flames that had been rushing past the rock abruptly changed direction and spiraled toward his outstretched hand. The process looked unnatural, almost aggressive, as though the fire itself was being forcibly swallowed.
The devouring effect intensified rapidly, and the surrounding flames were compressed together, drawn into a rapidly spinning mass of fire that condensed into a dense sphere of burning energy. The heat around Cloud surged dramatically as the devoured flames were forced into a tightly compressed combustion point. The fire spun faster and faster, becoming brighter and increasingly unstable the more energy it absorbed.
This was the essence of Devouring Combustion.
Instead of merely absorbing an attack, the skill forcefully devoured the energy within it and compressed it into a volatile combustion that could be released back toward the opponent. The stronger the attack consumed, the more violent the resulting explosion would become.
Unfortunately, Cloud himself possessed absolutely no mastery over it.
The moment the combustion sphere finished forming, he simply pushed his hand forward without giving much thought to control.
The condensed mass of fire shot forward immediately, tearing through the cave air as it rushed toward Ignivar like a violently spinning projectile.
The dragon did not even bother to move its body.
Its massive eyelids lifted slightly as it lazily opened its mouth once again.
Another Draconic Breath erupted forward almost instantly.
The second torrent of flames collided directly with the incoming combustion sphere, and the cave trembled slightly from the violent clash. The compressed fire Cloud had launched struggled to push forward, but the dragon's breath was far denser and far more stable. Slowly yet steadily, the overwhelming stream of flames began forcing the combustion backward.
The pressure between the two forces intensified rapidly before finally collapsing.
The collision exploded outward in a violent shockwave.
A massive blast of scorching air swept across the cave, sending dust and fragments of stone flying in every direction. Cloud did not even have time to react before the force struck him.
His body was hurled several meters backward through the air before crashing heavily against a section of the cave wall. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs as his back slammed against the stone.
For a brief moment, he remained slumped there.
Then he forced himself upright again with an unsteady stance. His legs were wobbly as he staggered forward slightly. Crimson was already trickling from a wound on his head where it had struck the wall. The thin stream ran through his white hair and across the side of his face, leaving red stains against the pale strands.
His tracksuit had already been torn during the blast, and the sleeve around his left arm was now soaked with blood from a deep cut that continued to leak steadily.
He wiped some of the blood from his eye with the back of his hand, breathing heavily as he tried to steady himself.
Across the cave, Ignivar had not moved even a single step from its position. The massive dragon remained exactly where it had been before, steam drifting slowly from its nostrils as it watched him with quiet disinterest.
Cloud wiped the blood running into his eye with the back of his hand and forced his breathing to stabilize. His head still throbbed from smashing against the cave wall earlier, and the wound along his left arm continued to leak steadily, staining the sleeve of his tracksuit a darker shade. The cave remained heavy with lingering heat from the previous clash, and waves of steam drifted lazily through the air as the scorched ground began to cool.
The Devouring Crown's glowing eyes tracked Cloud's movements with faint curiosity, though there was no urgency behind them.
Cloud frowned at the sight.
Even after all that destruction, it had not moved an inch.
He inhaled slowly before stepping forward again. His body protested immediately. His legs felt heavy and unsteady, and every movement reminded him that he had little control over the abilities he was recklessly wielding, which were also draining his Mana. Still, he pressed on, dragging his exhausted body across the fractured ground with a stubborn refusal to relent.
Ignivar observed him quietly.
The dragon's jaws slowly parted once more as heat gathered within its throat. The familiar distortion in the air appeared as flames began forming deep within its maw, the gathering fire swirling like a storm poised to be unleashed.
Cloud saw it instantly.
His eyes sharpened as he lifted his hand again.
"Fuck it! Devour!"
The moment the Draconic Breath erupted toward him, the flames twisted violently as though caught by an unseen force. The torrent of fire bent unnaturally, spiraling inward as the devouring pull dragged the blazing stream toward Cloud's outstretched hand. The flames compressed rapidly, folding into themselves as they were forcibly condensed into a rotating sphere of combustion.
The swirling fire trembled violently as it formed, threatening to collapse at any moment under the pressure of its own energy. Sweat ran down Cloud's face as he struggled to contain the devoured flames long enough to release them.
Without hesitation, he thrust his hand forward once more.
The combustion sphere shot across the cave toward Ignivar.
The dragon responded in the same manner it always had.
Cloud staggered backward from the force of the blast but managed to remain on his feet this time.
Ignivar's massive head lifted slightly higher, observing the young man standing across from it.
Cloud ignored the comment entirely and moved again. His steps were rough and poorly coordinated, and he nearly slipped on the uneven stone beneath him, yet the hesitation that had plagued him earlier was slowly fading. When the next torrent of flames erupted toward him, he reacted faster than before.
"Devour!"
The resulting clash shook the cave once more. Cloud slid several steps backward after the explosion. Blood continued to run down the side of his face, and the sleeve of his tracksuit was completely soaked from the wound on his arm, yet he remained standing.
For the first time since the battle had begun, Ignivar slowly straightened its posture.
The dragon stared at him for a long moment, its glowing crimson eyes subtly shifting.
A tense silence filled the cave before the massive form of the dragon suddenly began to change. Fire and ash erupted outward as the enormous draconic frame collapsed inward. The colossal body rapidly compressed, scales folding over one another as the beast shrank at an unnatural speed. Red sparks flickered along its contracting shape until the towering dragon diminished into something far smaller.
Cloud flinched.
'…What in hell is happening right now?'
When the transformation ended, the creature that stood before him was no longer a dragon. In its place was a tall armored knight, imposing even without a weapon. Its entire body was sheathed in layered armor formed from hardened red draconic scales, each plate overlapping the next like the natural protection of a dragon's hide. The design carried the unmistakable silhouette of a heavily armored knight, broad shoulders rising above a powerful frame, while a dark, cape-like mantle of scale plates extended behind its back.
The helmet concealed the face entirely beneath a smooth, intimidating visor. Two sharp, horn-like ridges curved slightly outward from the sides of the helm, giving the figure a distinctly draconic presence despite its humanoid form.
The knight slowly rolled one shoulder, as if adjusting to the new body.
Cloud stared at it, visibly confused.
"What the hell…!!?"
Before he could finish, the armored figure vanished.
The ground beneath its feet cracked from the force of its movement as it dashed forward with terrifying speed.
Cloud barely had time to react before the knight appeared directly in front of him. The sudden shift in distance was so abrupt that his mind struggled to process how the dragon had crossed the entire cave in what felt like a fraction of a second.
Ignivar's armored fist was already drawn back. The scaled gauntlet clenched tightly as the knight prepared to drive the punch directly into Cloud's face.
Cloud recoiled instantly.
'Is the shitty Conqueror's Rule even still in effect!?'
The system had clearly stated that all stats had been equalized. Ignivar should have been reduced to Cloud's level of power. There should have been no possible way for the dragon to move like this while bound by the same weak limitations that Cloud himself possessed.
But the speed of that dash, the overwhelming presence radiating from the armored figure now standing before him, completely contradicted that logic.
Cloud's expression darkened as the realization settled in.
Even if Ignivar had truly been reduced to its weakest possible state…
There was simply no way Cloud himself was strong enough to match it.
The truth was painfully simple…
Even under the restrictions of Conqueror's Rule, the gap between them remained so enormous that Cloud had no real hope of winning this fight anytime soon.