"Oh no. This isn't good."
A few drops of sweat dripped down Laymar's forehead, as his face grew pale, looking at the danger before him.
The shadow dragon towered above Laymar. It was 4 meters in size. Its body, made of pure shadow, was constantly shifting and flickering until it formed into a solid pitched black body.
Its body was sleek and reptilian. The solid black wings tore the air around them, as it flapped its wings. Its head was sleek and angular, with two backward-curving black horns.
The crimson red eyes, glowing like embers within a void, looked as they were looking beyond Laymar.
Its limbs are slender but strong, ending in sharp, obsidian-like claws.
Then, without warning, the dragon opened its void like maw, and in an instant, a beam of pure black energy erupted forth.
The blast lanced through Laymar's chest. But the moment it struck, his body wavered-then dissolved into thin air!
The shadow dragon's crimson eyes narrowed. It had been certain the human before it had perished. Yet, instead of flesh and blood, Laymar had simply… vanished.
"HMM?"
Its gaze darted across the forest, but Laymar was nowhere to be seen.
"Rapid Aging."
A whisper, barely audible, echoed from behind.
Laymar reached out and touched the dragon's black-scaled leg—only for his hand to pass straight through, as if grasping mist.
His eyes widened in shock. The dragon's body had looked solid, but to the touch, it was nothing more than an ephemeral haze.
Before he could react, the dragon's long, shadowy tail lashed out. A violent impact struck Laymar square in the gut, hurling him through the air. He crashed into a tree, the bark splintering from the force.
"Aaah."
Blood dripped from his lips as he collapsed onto the grass, his body wracked with excruciating pain. Every breath sent fresh agony through his ribs, his vision blurring.
As he struggled to crawl forward, his body began to shrink. Then within moments, he had reverted to his true form: a small, purple-black dragon.
The shadow dragon's left eye narrowed.
"WHAT'S THIS! ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT YOU WERE A DRAGON ALL ALONG?"
Receiving no answer, tentacles of living shadow slithered from the dragon's form, lashing toward Laymar and coiling tightly around his small body.
Squeezed by the black tentacles, the dragon brought Laymar close to his face.
"ANSWER ME? ARE YOU A HUMAN OR A DRAGON? BECAUSE I SENSE BOTH THE SMELL OF A HUMAN AND DRAGON FROM YOU. SO, WHAT THE HECK IS EVEN UP WITH YOU?"
As Laymar's small lips tremble from the pain, he faintly smile with his bloodied lips. "I would like to know that myself."
As he spoke, his right hand flicked backward, releasing a single blade of grass into the air- so small the dragon didn't notice.
The moment the grass touched the ground, he muttered under his breath:
"Place Switching."
As Laymar muttered, he vanished from the dragon's grasp. In his place, the tiny blade of grass now lay coiled within the tentacle, while he reappeared a few meters away-standing exactly where the grass had landed
[You have spent 1 mana pointed]
Only 10 mana points left. Damn, can I even kill this thing?!
[Dictionary: The Shadow Dragon is one of the "Ascendant"rank dragons. Even though you are a "Divine" rank, the strongest rank among dragons, doesn't mean you can kill it as you are now. Your abilities are still Infant tier.]
As the notification popped up before Laymar his eyes, he became a little disappointed. But then again he already had a hunch that he wouldn't be able to defeat it the moment he saw it.
"Oi, Oi. I already know this." He smiled ironically.
"THERE'S SOMETHING FAMILIAR ABOUT YOU- ESPECIALLY ABOUT YOUR ABILITIES. JUST NOW IF I AM NOT WRONG YOU USED PLACE SWITCHING AND ILLUSION SKILLS, AM I RIGHT?"
Laymar didn't answer. He just panted.
He instantly turned around, and bolted forward.
While it's true that I can't kill it the way I am now. But, if only...if only I can somehow lure it outside the forest I might be able to kill it. After all, light is suppose to be shadow's biggest weakness.
He made a guess, as he was running forward with every ounce of his strength. He wasn't wrong to think that light can kill shadow. But the question was if he would actually be able to exit the forest. From the looks of it, the forest stretched endlessly in all directions. So, no sign of an exit was to be seen. Worse still, the dragon dissolved into pure shadow and began chasing him.
As it was chasing him from the behind, one of its black tentacles shoot forward, and chopped off Laymar's left hand.
It took a second for him to realize that his arm had actually been chopped off. The moment he realized it, he screamed with an agonized face.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah."
The tentacles snatched Laymar and coiled around him once more.
Once again, the dragon lifted him before its piercing gaze.
"I DON'T KNOW HOW, BUT THERE'S NO MISTAKING IT. YOU ARE..." As the dragon tried to say something, he was interrupted when Laymar opened his mouth.
Activate the skill "Breath of Demolition"
As he thought that the inside of his mouth was glowing in purple.
[The skill activation failed]
Abruptly, a notification appeared before Laymar.
"Figures."
Deep down he thought that he might fail to perform this skill. After all, he didn't even see the descriptions or mastered the skill yet.
"HAHA. I KNOW NOW. YOU ARE MAGICIAN DRAGON. I THOUGHT YOU DIED AGES AGO! SO HOW THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN HERE." The dragon said in a harsh and heavy voice. Then as the dragon slowly scanned his crimson red eyes on Laymar's tiny body, it said, "WELL, IT DOESN'T MATTER. I AM GONNA DEVOUR YOU."
As the dragon said that, it opened its pitched black void-like maw.
Guess, I am done for. To think I would die again--right after getting a second chance. Laymar thought, as he resigned to his cruel fate.
Just when everything seemed to be over, a gentle, kind and a commanding voice of a female sounded from Infront of the dragon.
"Oversize."
As the word was uttered, abruptly, oversized axes flew forth through the air like a gust of wind, and smoothly cut through the upper parts of the trees surrounding the shadow dragon.
As the severed branches tumbled to the ground, a flood of concentrated sunlight poured into the clearing-directly onto the shadow dragon.
It recoiled, its body flickering violently.
Knowing the danger, it immediately flung Laymar aside and attempted to retreat into the safety of the shadows.
But the moment it tried to turn, glowing white rods-thin as spears-appeared in a perfect ring around it.
"HUH?" The dragon was confused.
The encircled rods flashed, which made the shadow dragon flicker even more.
Its unstable body was trying to escape, but was failing to do so. It was completely trapped inside the encircled glowing rods.
Both the sunlight from above, and the glowing light of the rods began make the shadow dragon vaporize its body.
"NO, NO, NO, NO." The dragon roared, its voice cracked in desperation.
"What is even happening?!" Not realizing what was happening, Laymar watched in disbelief, as he was sprawled on the ground.
The unstable dragon tried to press its body forward, but it was no use.
Fear surfaced on its face, as it realized that the doom of it was all but certain.
"Aaaaaaah."
It began to scream as its body began to fade.
"Nooo...."
Within a few seconds, it completely faded away without leaving any traces behind.
Laymar just watched the whole thing, looking flabbergasted.
"It's....dead?"
A calm and collective approaching footsteps from behind Laymar was audible to him. He quickly turned his head, and saw some slowly walking towards him.
A woman with long, flowing red hair braided elegantly, was walking towards Laymar.
She had piercing red eyes, framed by round glasses that add an intellectual and mysterious charm. She wore a black lace top with intricate floral patterns, a deep-cut neckline, and a fitted corset-like bodice. A black choker adorned with a red gemstone complements her look, along with matching dangling earrings.
Her arms are covered with black lace gloves that extend past her elbows, and a luxurious black fur cape drapes over her shoulders. A silver chain belt with gothic embellishments and a crimson gemstone rests on her waist. She wore a flowing, layered black-and-white skirt. Her nails were painted black.
She was alluring, confident and otherworldly. She smiled faintly as she saw the tiny dragon before her.