They stopped at every village along the way but found no survivors, only rage and regret. The deeper they ventured, the more unstable Kai and Nerva became. One wrestled with the demons within, the other with the crushing weight of his duty as the shield.

  After another hour, they finally caught sight of the marching army. It had halted at yet another village, where the massacre continued without mercy.

  Their leader, Francis, lounged in a chair, sipping something warm. Spring had yet to arrive fully, and the air still carried a chill. He was guarded by four masked figures, the Voiceless.

  “They sure can scream,” Francis chuckled, watching the slaughter. The Voiceless said nothing.

  “You lot are so dull. Sworn to silence, what nonsense,” he mocked, swirling his drink.

  Then a scream pierced the air, and Francis dropped his cup.

  A figure tore through the sky at impossible speed, its massive red wings blazing with power. The roar it unleashed made everyone look up in fear.

  Francis squinted, trying to make sense of what was coming. The creature was humanoid, with red-scaled limbs, burning horns, and eyes filled with pure rage. As their gazes met, the creature’s eyes shifted, becoming reptilian.

  Francis stumbled backward, falling off his chair. “My gods! What is that monster!? Voiceless, protect me!” he shouted, trembling as the four masked warriors stepped forward to intercept.

  ***

  A few moments earlier.

  As the group laid eyes on the army and its massacre, Nerva trembled.

  “Everyone, we attack now. Protect who you can. Leave the Voiceless to Xarion and me; they’re all Peak Master level. The rest of you, take on the mercenaries. Most are Peak Knights, and their soldiers are weaker than you.”

  While Nerva laid out the plan, Kai stared at the distant horror. Knights dragged villagers into the open and cut them down, laughing. Some begged, some fought, some ran.

  It was all useless.

  Mortals and apprentices stood no chance against Knights or Magi. Parents shielded their children with their bodies, but it made no difference. They all died, crying, pleading, broken.

  The sight shattered Kai’s heart. It reminded him of the Thalunids, of Florian’s cruelty, of Viridya’s pain. Rage surged through him, fury boiling over. His heart pumped mana like a flood through his veins, and he let go of every restraint.

  They all needed to die… by his hands.

  He roared, and his third magic circle spun freely. His Draconic Visage activated at full force. Scales erupted across his limbs, horns ignited, and his wings flared with burning red energy. In an instant, he transformed into his dragon form and shot forward, leaving the others behind.

  Umbra frowned, sensing his fury and his loss of control.

  “He’s consumed by rage. We need to move, now!” she shouted, speeding after him.

  The rest paled, urging their mounts forward. Nerva cursed under his breath.

  “Goddammit. Another thing to worry about!”

  ***

  Kai landed like a meteor in the midst of the soldiers outside the village, the ground cracking beneath him. Without hesitation, he struck out with his clawed hands, shredding the nearest two knights into mangled pieces of flesh and shattered armor.

  The others screamed in panic and retaliated, slashing at him with Rare and Unique weapons. Being from Rond, they were well-equipped, but it didn’t matter. Kai’s newly evolved Eternal Moon tattoo glowed with a greenish hue, effortlessly deflecting their attacks. Even the few strikes that managed to pierce through left no trace, not a single scratch.

  He pushed forward without care, tearing through the ranks like a force of nature. Blood sprayed, limbs flew, and wherever Kai passed, chaos followed. The sight of this draconic creature slaughtering their comrades broke the soldiers’ resolve; they turned and fled in terror.

  Kai’s eyes locked onto the fleeing prey. Instinct took over. He activated his Poison Jet spell.

  Countless smaller bluish magic circles appeared in the sky, each firing compressed jets of pure poison. The projectiles pierced through armor and flesh, melting insides and drawing screams of maddening agony.

  Still, he did not relent.

  He summoned another spell, a massive fiery moon crackling with lightning formed above the battlefield, its surface pulsing with raw, unstable energy. Kai soared into the sky, eyes burning with fury, and hurled the moon downward.

  The moment it struck, the ground erupted in a cataclysmic explosion. Fire and lightning surged outward in a blinding wave, engulfing the fleeing soldiers. Their screams tore through the air as the inferno consumed them; flesh blistered, armor melted, and bones turned to ash. Some tried to crawl away, their bodies half-incinerated, only to be swallowed by the storm of flame and thunder.

  The moon’s detonation left nothing behind but scorched earth and the lingering echo of agony. Kai hovered above the devastation, his roar drowning out the final cries of the dying. It still wasn’t enough. He wanted more. He needed them to suffer more.

  Witnessing the carnage unfold, Scry paled. From within Kai’s inner world, he shouted, “Kai! Take control, you bastard! I sense Master Knights approaching. Kai… WAKE UP!”

  His voice cracked with urgency as he flew toward the slumbering Hydragon. Kai’s soul was buried deep, overwhelmed by the storm of emotions that had consumed him.

  Scry cursed under his breath and poured fire mana into his claws. He began slapping each of the Hydragon’s three heads with increasing desperation. “Wake up, you ugly snake! Wake up, or I swear I’ll cook you! By the Spirit King, I’ll eat you whole!”

  The dragon’s heads, now reddened and scratched, groaned under the assault. Finally, the central head opened its emerald eyes, dazed and confused. Sensing its body spiraling into madness, it activated its third crimson eye. A pulse of grey soul energy rippled outward, flooding Kai’s mind.

  The other two heads stirred, groggy but aware. Realizing the danger, they roared in unison, their voices echoing through the inner world.

  Scry exhaled sharply, then screamed again into Kai’s mind. “Wake up this instant, you suicidal lunatic!”

  Above the scorched battlefield, Kai twitched. His body, suspended in the air, finally responded. He blinked, regaining control, and surveyed the devastation, the burning corpses, the shattered earth, and the distant thunder of approaching armies.

  He sighed. I need to fix my mind one of these days.

  “I’m back, Scry. Thank you,” Kai whispered.

  “You better, you maniac,” Scry snapped, his voice still trembling. “You had me worried. Now go kill those monsters with your own hands, and stay calm this time.”

  Kai nodded solemnly, flexing his draconic claws. My body feels invincible. Good.

  He dove forward, shouting, “Thunderfire – Ignis Fulgur!”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  ? It was the perfect moment to unleash the true power of the Second Circle. He had been pondering how to fully harness Thunderfire, and his Thunder Tree had given him the answer. No more splitting fire and lightning, he would merge them, control them, and let his draconic breath carry their full force.

  The result was devastating.

  A torrent of dragon’s fire fused with mystical lightning surged from his mouth, amplified through the Thunderfire Circle. The breath attack exploded forward, a beam of pure destructive energy. Fire and lightning intertwined, enhancing each other in a chaotic dance of annihilation.

  Wherever the attack landed, the battlefield was reduced to scorched ruin. Soldiers screamed as they were vaporized, their armor melting before their bodies even hit the ground. The incoming armies tried to retreat, but they were burned to ash before they could take a single step.

  As the attack faded, Kai advanced toward the village. He had annihilated the forces surrounding the settlement, but more were coming.

  At that moment, Umbra, Nerva, and the others arrived, witnessing the aftermath of Kai’s enhanced spell.

  “That’s a Thunderfire Dragon’s Roar!” Xarion gasped, eyes wide with awe.

  “Such a powerful spell… Looks like he’s back to his senses,” Liliya exhaled, relieved but clearly intrigued by the magic.

  “Let’s move! Stronger forces are pouring in!” Nerva shouted, leaping off his mount and joining Kai.

  Umbra floated beside them, smiling as she sent a message to Kai.

  ? “Welcome back, you crazy idiot! When did you get so fast? Next time you go on a slaughter spree, don’t leave without me. Got it?”

  ? She transformed into her Divine Beast form, growing to a towering eight meters.

  “Fear me, humans, for Umbra has come!” she roared, soaring into the sky and unleashing beams of Abyssal Thunderfire toward the enemy ranks.

  ***

  Nerva landed beside Kai, who was calmly striding toward the incoming enemies, his aura still crackling with residual power.

  “You’re insane, you know that?” Nerva muttered, half-scolding, half-awed. “Charging in alone like that… But I have to admit, you decimated their lower ranks. Almost no one below Peak Knight is still standing. Thank you, truly.”

  He meant it. Nerva knew Kai never wanted to be part of any war. But he also knew Kai despised injustice and the twisted rules of this world.

  “Don’t mention it,” Kai replied, his voice low. “Let’s go, we might still save someone.”

  He folded his wings behind him and drew his sword. Noxblade shimmered like moonlight, pulsing with a violet glow as Kai leapt into the fray.

  Nerva smiled, summoning his dual kite shields. A silver aura enveloped him, flickering with hints of Grand Master evolution. Mercury-like streaks danced across his body as he charged forward.

  Xarion and Zara followed close behind, weapons drawn. Liliya and Umbra hovered above, raining fire and thunder down upon the battlefield.

  The four warriors tore through the enemy ranks like a storm.

  Kai’s Noxblade glowed with a deep purple aura, each strike erasing enemies in a flash of purple light.

  ?Nerva spun like a whirlwind of silver, his daggered shields punching through armor and bone with brutal precision.

  Zara moved like a phantom, shadowstepping behind enemy lines, her blades slicing weak points and flooding veins with poison.

  ?Xarion, wielding twin scimitars, melted the ground beneath him as he spun, a living inferno, incinerating all in his path.

  Umbra, watching the chaos unfold, roared with delight and dove into the fray. Her body was encased in shadow-forged metallic armor, her dark aura burning like cursed fire. She clawed her way forward, savoring each kill with primal joy.

  Above them, Liliya floated gracefully, clearing out stragglers with precise blasts of elemental magic.

  Together, they carved a path through the battlefield and breached the village, or what remained of it.

  There, a band of ten mercenaries stood waiting. All were Early Master level. Behind them loomed four Voiceless, their presence chilling the air.

  Francis was nowhere to be seen.

  “That bastard ran!” Nerva growled.

  “We need to get through them first,” Xarion warned, eyes narrowing.

  “Yeah, I know,” Nerva muttered, his voice low and tense.

  ***

  As they advanced, one of the Voiceless soared into the sky, chanting spells silently, mana twisting around him.

  “Liliya!” Nerva shouted.

  “I’m on it!” she replied, leaping off her gryphon and casting Fly on herself. A blazing sun ignited behind her as she dual cast Sun’s Prism as well. Beams of condensed fire lanced out, searing through the sky toward the Voiceless mage.

  The enemy canceled its own spell mid-cast, hastily summoning Wind Walls to shield itself. The clash of elemental forces lit the sky in a storm of heat and pressure as the two mages began their aerial duel.

  On the ground, the others surged forward.

  Umbra and Zara charged the mercenaries, while Nerva, Kai, and Xarion engaged the remaining Voiceless. The other Peak Knights had long since fled, trailing behind Francis deeper into Fallhaven.

  “Time to dance,” Xarion smirked, rushing one of the Voiceless.

  The enemy responded with a flurry of spectral daggers, launching them toward the charging Dracorious and jumping backwards. Xarion spun mid-air, conjuring a fiery tornado that deflected the blades in a swirl of heat and ash.

  The Voiceless leapt upward, summoning more weapons, this time coated in a blinding white aura.

  “An assassin with Light element? Now I’ve seen everything,” Xarion chuckled, activating his own fiery white aura. His twin scimitars gleamed, slicing through the incoming barrage.

  He danced between the attacks, his draconic sight guiding him, tracking trajectories, deflecting only what was necessary. But the Voiceless grew impatient. Facing an equal, he couldn’t afford to make mistakes.

  With a snarl, the Voiceless summoned a rain of greatswords forged from pure light aura.

  Xarion’s eyes narrowed. “Aura weapons… That’s an old technique. This could be dangerous.”

  He poured more aura into his blades, trying to recall the sensation he’d felt during his battle with Longhorn. He was close, so close, to awakening Grand Master Aura. He knew it had something to do with the melting aspect of fire, but something was missing.

  He sighed, then dashed forward, his entire body cloaked in white flame. Red markings across his scales began to glow as he prepared his strongest attack.

  The aura greatswords descended like divine judgment. Xarion tried to defend, but the sheer force broke through his defenses. Wounds opened across his body, blood sizzling against his burning aura.

  “You coward! Fight me like a real warrior!” he roared, unleashing his innate skill, Dragon’s Fear.

  The Voiceless staggered, just long enough for Xarion to cast his spell.

  “Rolling Magma!”

  A massive river of molten fire erupted before him, melting the aura weapons instantly. The heat warped the air, the ground, even the mana itself.

  Xarion stared, dazed. That’s it… That’s what my aura should represent. Fire that melts everything, even mana.

  ? The aspect of melting was his truth. He smiled, but the enemy didn’t give him time to celebrate.

  The Voiceless leapt onto floating daggers, rising into the air. He summoned a ten-meter greatsword of pure light aura, its edge radiating a will to cut, sharper than anything Xarion had ever faced.

  The blade descended.

  Xarion unleashed his White Dragon’s Breath, but the sword sliced through it, continuing its deadly arc.

  Images flashed through his mind: his tribe, Zara, the future he dreamed of. He crossed his scimitars, bracing for impact.

  From across the battlefield, Zara saw him and screamed painfully, “Xarion!”

  The light engulfed him as he roared and charged into it, refusing to fall.

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