Chapter 49: Surrounded by monsters

The faint light ahead grew clearer and clearer.

Through the dense canopy of the Mist Forest, Kei could already see the edge of the woods. Just a little further was the dragon’s nest, where the time magic circle had been destroyed by Azel moments ago.

Just a little further.

Once they got out of this forest, maybe both Kei and the black dragon would survive.

Kei clung tightly to the small dragon’s neck. His fingers dug into the ice-cold scales, his body swaying with each heavy beat of its wings. The black dragon had been wounded too much, blood still streaming steadily along the gashes Azel had torn across its back, but it never slowed down.

It just kept flying forward, toward the light where the path back to their nest lay.

"Hang in there... We’re going to make it out of here..."

Kei whispered, his voice hoarse from exhaustion.

He didn’t know if he was comforting the small dragon or himself. His mana was completely drained, and his consciousness flickered in and out. Every time he blinked, the scenery ahead blurred, as if the entire forest were being draped in a layer of black mist.

But Kei kept his eyes open.

He couldn’t sleep.

He couldn’t let himself lose consciousness when they were only one step away from the exit.

Just as the black dragon flew through a gap between the trees, a black spot suddenly appeared ahead.

It wasn’t like the giant mouth that had devoured Azel.

This black hole was quieter, as still as a lake that reflected no light at all. It hovered in midair, blocking the path leading out of the forest.

The black dragon immediately folded its wings, trying to change course.

But the distance was already too close.

From within the black hole, a crimson pupil slowly opened.

That pupil was so large it nearly filled the entire space. Dark red veins spread outward around it, like blood vessels crawling across a surface of shadow. It wasn’t looking at the forest, nor at the dragon’s nest.

It was staring straight at Kei and the black dragon.

The moment that gaze touched him, Kei felt his entire body go cold.

Not the cold of ice and snow. It was the feeling of his soul being gripped by an invisible hand, then slowly pulled out of his body.

"No..."

Kei wanted to scream, but his throat only produced a hoarse sound.

His vision began to waver. The light ahead stretched into distorted streaks, and the sound of the wind in his ears grew distant, farther and farther away, as if echoing from the bottom of the sea.

No mana left.

His consciousness was being drained too.

Kei tried to bite his lip to stay alert, but his body no longer obeyed his commands. His arms slipped from the small dragon’s neck, and his head drooped heavily onto the black scales.

"Kei?"

The black dragon noticed something was wrong and immediately let out a panicked cry.

It tilted its body, trying to support Kei with its wing. But at that very moment, a sound came from behind that shook the entire forest.

Crash... crash... crash...

Ancient trees fell one after another.

The giant mouth that had devoured Azel was closing in. It had no discernible body, just a stretch of darkness spreading between the trees, with countless pale white jaws constantly opening and closing.

Ahead was the red eye.

Behind was the giant mouth.

The black dragon was trapped between two ancient monsters.

Its wings trembled.

It understood that if it kept flying like this, both it and Kei would surely be swallowed whole.

The black dragon lowered its head to look at the unconscious Kei, its claws carefully cradling his body. In its golden eyes, once so innocent, there was now only fear and determination.

It couldn’t let Kei die. It couldn’t let the one who had cared for it for twenty years disappear right before its eyes.

The black dragon raised its head and let out a roar that shook the entire sky.

"Graaaaaa!"

That sound no longer resembled the childish cry of a hatchling.

Golden light erupted from its body.

Every black scale stood on end, ancient patterns emerging across its surface. Bones inside its body cracked and popped in rapid succession. The two horns on its head lengthened, sharp claws spread wide, and its tattered wings quickly swelled, blotting out the light above the forest.The black dragon’s body grew at a terrifying speed.

From a size only big enough for Kei to ride, it turned into a colossal black dragon. With every flap of its wings, gale-force winds swept up the entire canopy below. Ancient trees were snapped, dirt and rocks flew in a blur, and the ground shook as if hit by an earthquake.

The black dragon held Kei tightly with one claw.

Its claws were sharp enough to crush a boulder, yet when holding Kei’s body, they were unbelievably gentle. It curled its talons around Kei, forming a snug protective barrier, then raised its head and charged straight ahead.

The monster’s red eyes flickered.

An invisible force pressed down instantly.

The space in front of the black dragon warped, the sky seeming to bend. Red beams shot out from its pupils, slicing its flight path into countless cracks. The black dragon roared, its massive wings beating hard, shattering those cracks with raw strength.

It neither dodged nor stopped. It headed straight for the exit that was already right ahead.

Behind it, a colossal mouth gaped open.

Pale white teeth crunched through trees dozens of meters tall, then rose into the sky like a deadly cliff face. The howling that came from within resembled no sound Kei had ever heard. It was both the cry of a starving beast and the wail of thousands of people mourning in darkness.

The mouth snapped at the black dragon’s back.

The black dragon didn’t turn its head. It just kept flying forward.