Chapter 45: Azel

The peaceful time Kei spent with the little black dragon lasted until the twentieth year since he first entered the dragon’s nest.

Twenty years.

If placed in the outside world, that was enough time for a child to grow up, enough for a city to change its appearance, and enough for Kei’s comrades to complete countless campaigns, perhaps even to have defeated the Demon King by now.

But inside the dragon’s nest, Kei still looked exactly as he did on the first day he entered this place.

He still hadn’t been able to become an SS-rank mage despite trying hard to study magic during the days he’d been locked up here. And the little black dragon beside him still couldn’t speak the language of humankind.

It had grown much larger than five years ago. A massive body, wide black wings, and hard scales covering its entire form. Just by spreading its wings, it could block out the entire sky inside the dragon’s nest.

Yet in Kei’s eyes, it was still just the little dragon that bit his finger every day to feed on his mana.

"Little dragon, today we..."

Kei hadn’t even finished his sentence when the entire dragon’s nest suddenly shook.

Boom!

An explosion rang out from above. Large chunks of rock fell, slamming hard onto the ground. The mana that had been quietly enveloping the dragon’s nest suddenly fell into chaos, and the glowing lines of the time magic circle flickered repeatedly.

Kei’s expression changed. He realized that someone was attacking the dragon’s nest and this time a magic circle from the outside.

"Impossible... Who on earth..."

He immediately pulled the little black dragon back, but a giant crack had already appeared in the sky that had once been frozen still.

Crack... crack...

The magic circle was being broken apart from the outside.

The time that had been frozen began to flow again. The leaf suspended midair fell, the sound of birds outside rang out for a split second before being immediately swallowed by the crashing of stone.

A figure stepped through the torn void.

Kei was no stranger to that person.

Dark red hair, sharp arrogant eyes, and black armor covered in mana patterns. The oppressive pressure of the demon race flooded into the dragon’s nest, chilling the surrounding air.

It was Azel, one of the four strongest demon generals serving under the Demon King.

He looked around the dragon’s nest, then burst into loud laughter.

"Ha ha ha! After centuries of searching, I finally found a living dragon whelp!"

Azel’s gaze quickly shifted to Kei.

"Didn’t expect an extra gift to come along with it. A brat of a mage who’s been causing trouble for the demon army all this time, we’ve been looking for a chance to kill you, and running into you here today is a double blessing!"

Kei didn’t answer.

He only quietly stepped back, standing behind the little black dragon. His fingers closed slightly, mana beginning to flow out from his body, quickly forming complex glowing patterns around his palms.

He couldn’t underestimate Azel. If it came down to his current strength alone, Kei had no chance of victory whatsoever. He could only think of a way to escape!

The little black dragon let out a roar.

"Agh!!!"

It spread its wings wide, completely blocking in front of Kei. Then, a searing stream of black fire shot straight toward Azel.

Boom!

The flames swept across the ground, burning everything they passed. But Azel simply raised one hand, and dark purple mana immediately gathered in front of him, forming a dense wall.

The dragon breath slammed into the mana wall, exploding into countless sparks before vanishing into the air.

"Is that all? Indeed, just a newborn dragon whelped. I really am too lucky!"

Azel sneered.

He swung his hand.

A terrifying surge of mana immediately struck the little black dragon head-on. Its colossal body was sent flying, crashing hard into the rocky wall of the dragon’s nest.

"Little dragon!"

Kei gritted his teeth.

The little black dragon struggled to its feet, but its wings were already injured. Still, it tried to charge at Azel again, its eyes filled with rage.

"Stop! Come back, little dragon!"

Kei knew it was no match for Azel.

But the little black dragon didn’t hear him. All it knew was that the one before it wanted to hurt Kei.

Azel curled his lips, and the mana in his hand began to condense into a sharp blade.At that very moment, Kei raised his hand.

"Prison of Ice!"

The magic of the S-rank mage exploded.

A massive pale-blue ice cage instantly appeared, surrounding Azel from all sides. Sharp pillars of ice interlocked, locking his body firmly inside.

Crash!

Azel’s magic blade slashed down, but it only left a small crack on the ice.

The black dragon, having escaped the attack, immediately flew toward Kei.

"We have to run, little dragon!"

Kei didn’t need to be told twice. The black dragon crouched low, pressing its wings close to the ground. He quickly climbed onto its back, gripping the scales in front tightly with both hands.

"Fly out of the dragon nest, we need to find help!"

The black dragon roared, then beat its wings hard.

Its massive body shot upward instantly, piercing through the gap left by the shattered magic circle. Kei turned his head for one last look at the dragon nest.

Azel was still trapped inside the ice cage.

But just three seconds later, the ice pillars began to tremble violently.

Crack!

Crack crack!

The prison of ice collapsed into countless fragments.

Azel stepped out of the broken ice, the contemptuous smile on his face long gone. He raised his head, watching the figure of Kei and the black dragon flying into the distance, then immediately lunged forward in pursuit with a fierce expression.

"Do you think you can escape me? That dragon is mine!"

Azel’s laughter echoed across the sky.

Kei looked ahead, feeling the terrifying surge of magic rapidly closing in from behind. He instinctively tightened his grip on the scales beneath his hands.

"Little dragon, we have to fly faster!"

The black dragon roared, furiously beating its wings.