Chapter 46: The Final Card

Kei and the black dragon’s flight path grew deeper and deeper into the forest.

The ancient treetops connected into an expanse of deep blue darkness. Sharp branches continuously scraped across the black dragon’s wings, leaving bloody scratches on its hard scales. Every time it tilted its body to dodge a tree trunk, Kei could feel the small body beneath him trembling in pain.

But it still did not slow down.

Behind them, the sound of wind being torn apart grew closer and closer, Azel was chasing after them.

A stream of purple-black magic power tore through the treetops behind them. Ancient tree trunks shook, branches and leaves shattered and scattered in all directions. The black dragon immediately dove downward, a massive ice spear grazing past its back and slamming straight into a tree trunk ahead.

Boom!

Bark fragments burst outward. The black dragon let out a pained roar, its wings wobbling in midair.

Kei hastily tightened his arms around its neck.

"Hang in there, little dragon!"

He turned his head to look back. Azel was gliding through the forest like a ghost, completely unhindered by the trees. The distance between them was shrinking bit by bit. If they kept flying like this, sooner or later Azel would catch up.

But ahead was nothing but an endless deep forest.

Kei hugged the black dragon’s neck tightly, leaned close to its ice-cold scales, and whispered:

"Little dragon, we have to risk everything now. The deeper we go into the forest, the less hope we have of surviving and getting out."

The black dragon let out a soft snort.

It understood this.

Kei lowered his head to look at the hand gathering magic power. A silver magic scroll was held firmly between his fingers. The golden-yellow veins on the scroll’s surface were glowing faintly, causing the surrounding magic power to ripple uneasily.

[Holy Judgment Light].

An SS-rank magic scroll, this was Kei’s final card.

Once the scroll was activated, all the magic power in his body would be drained completely. Kei would no longer have the strength to use any other magic. At that point, if the black dragon could not finish off Azel, their only option would be to keep fleeing in an exhausted state.

And the chance of escaping one of the Demon King’s four magic generals, who was at SS rank, was nearly zero.

"Little dragon, listen carefully."

Kei spoke louder to drown out the wind.

"I’m going to use my strongest magic, and after that I’ll have no magic power left. If Azel is on the verge of death, finish him off. If the magic fails, you have to carry me and run. Understand?"

The black dragon snorted twice.

It did not turn its head back, but its wings were beating harder. Kei understood that was its answer of agreement.

They began to slow down.

The black dragon deliberately flew lower, exposing traces through the treetops. It even intentionally dragged its claws across several tree trunks, leaving clear scratch marks. Kei withdrew most of his radiating magic power, keeping only a thin thread of magic power around the scroll, so Azel would not notice they were preparing a counterattack.

Behind them, Azel quickly caught up.

"Keep running!" he cackled. "I want to see how much longer you can struggle!"

A purple-black hand lunged from behind. The black dragon folded its wings and flipped midair. The magic claws grazed past its belly, tearing off a few patches of scales. It roared, then immediately accelerated toward the open clearing ahead.

A moment later, the forest opened up.

A vast lake lay nestled among the ancient trees. The lake’s surface was perfectly still, reflecting the gray-purple sky above.

The black dragon shot across the lake.

At that very instant, a figure appeared up ahead.

Azel stood in midair, arms spread wide, blocking their flight path. He had already predicted Kei’s direction of movement beforehand.

"Finally willing to come out of the forest, are you? This is a beautiful place to die, isn’t it?"

He smiled.

Purple-black magic power surged from his body like a tide. It fell onto the lake’s surface, instantly turning the water to ice. The frost spread at terrifying speed, white cracks zigzagging across the lake.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

From beneath the ice, colossal ice pillars suddenly shot upward. Pillar connected to pillar, forming an ice prison that sealed Kei and the black dragon in tight. The black dragon immediately beat its wings to fly up, But the top of the prison was also sealed shut at the same time.

It slammed straight into the ice ceiling.

Boom!

The ice layer shook, only a few small cracks appeared before quickly closing back up. The black dragon fell, struggling to keep its balance among the ice pillars that were constantly closing in.

Azel raised his hand.

Dozens of dark purple ice spikes floated around him, their sharp tips aimed at the young dragon. The mana in his palm continued to gather, thickening like a living mass of shadow.

"Time to die, you annoying brat of a mage. And as for this adorable little dragon, you’ll have the honor of becoming an Undead Dragon in my demon army."

Azel bared his teeth in a grin.

Kei stared at him. He gripped the magic scroll tightly, feeling the last traces of mana being drained from his body. His chest ached, his fingertips were ice-cold, but Kei’s gaze remained calm.

He only had one chance.

"Now’s the time, little dragon!"

The black dragon had been waiting for just that.

It roared, opening its mouth wide. A jet of pitch-black fire erupted from deep in its throat, coiling into a spiral before shooting straight toward Azel. The tremendous heat melted the ice pillars around it, and white steam immediately flooded the prison.

Azel let out a contemptuous laugh.

"Child’s play!"

He swung his hand.

A wall of dark purple mana rose up before him. The dragon’s breath slammed into it, producing an explosion that shook the entire forest. The black fire was forced to scatter to both sides, the flames writhing across the mana surface before dying out one by one.

The black dragon was knocked backward by the recoil. It dug its claws hard into the ice floor, trying to steady itself, but its wings had already drooped from exhaustion.

Azel’s smile grew more and more vicious.

"I told you. You can’t—"

Right behind the fading dragon breath, a golden flash of light silently shot forward.