At the heart of the Ancient Green Forest, where fog devoured the sunlight and shadows ruled the land, the two adventurer teams finally converged. Every step they took deeper into the territory of the Forbidden Dragon felt like descending into another world.
The deeper they went, the dimmer the sunlight became as if something unnatural was swallowing it whole. The air grew thick with icy mist, stinking of dried blood and toxic mana. Trees twisted and warped, their trunks contorted as if bent by some ancient, otherworldly force. Every footstep felt heavier not from the terrain, but from the suffocating bloodlust tightening around their hearts.
Louis raised his hand. The entire squad stopped.
Beside him, the Thunderfang Tiger King a Legendary-ranked beast let out a sudden vicious snarl. Its whiskers bristled, electric sparks flaring across its fur. Its emerald eyes gleamed with a killing intent that crackled through the air, warping space itself.
"Something's coming…" Louis muttered grimly.
No one dared to speak.
Then, the fog began to change. From pale white… to violet… then into an abyssal black that seemed to devour the world itself. The forest turned deathly still. No wind. No rustling leaves. Only the pounding of hearts echoed like war drums before a slaughter.
And then
"GUUUUUUUURRR!!!"
A roar tore through the void. Not just a cry of rage it was a requiem laced with despair, hatred, and primeval mana. The ground shook. Gales howled in all directions.
From within the black mist, two eyes flared open blood-red, like crystallized wrath. Anyone caught in their gaze felt their soul seize up. The will to fight vanished like smoke in a storm.
And then a tail strike from hell.
A shockwave shattered the fog, compressing the surrounding air with such force that it blasted everything outward. The mist scattered, revealing a massive circular clearing—like a death arena prepared by fate itself. The earth was scorched, the rocks shattered, the air stank of death.
It had arrived.
The Forbidden Dragon – World-Rank Beast.
A monstrous dragon, towering over 20 meters tall with a body stretching beyond 50 meters. Its entire form was clad in obsidian-black scales laced with a metallic sheen. Each scale was etched with ancient, blood-red runes that slithered and pulsed as if alive. Its soulless red eyes emitted a pressure so immense that even seasoned adventurers instinctively took a step back.
Six crescent-shaped wings unfurled from its back, each exuding a destructive aura. Every twitch of those wings tore subtle rifts in the fabric of space.
A creature beyond the boundary of beast and legend.
"…It's real," Louis whispered, cold sweat running down his temple.
No orders needed. The team moved.
In the blink of an eye, twenty warriors stood tall ready to march into hell itself. The Thunderfang Tiger King roared, stomping into the earth and summoning a ring of lightning. Mages surged with mana. Summoners called forth their beasts. Fighters lowered their stances, weapons gleaming under a dim sky.
Kael, Draven, and Lania watched from the back. There was no hesitation in their eyes anymore.
They knew… this was no longer just a mission.
This was a battle for survival.
"CHARGE!"
Louis's voice cracked like thunder. Instantly, the entire force surged forward.
The Thunderfang Tiger King struck the ground, unleashing a burst of electrical energy that paralyzed the Forbidden Dragon for just a heartbeat. And in that breath Louis vanished. He launched from the earth, a blur across the sky.
"Decapitate!"
His twin silver blades crossed in an X. A gleam of silver streaked through the air
SHNK!
The strike cleaved the dragon's head clean off.
A torrent of black blood sprayed like a geyser, sizzling on contact and melting the earth into poisoned mire.
But that… was only the beginning.
Other fighters followed up, slashing at the dragon's limbs. Blood flew. Scales cracked. Roars thundered across the forest.
Behind them, mages and summoners unleashed hell.
"Glacial Arrowstorm!"
"Flame Dragon Annihilation!"
"Mana Barrage!"
"Fire!!!"
Dozens of spells and beast techniques ignited the battlefield. A storm of fire, ice, lightning, and darkness swallowed the monster. Lania cast her Ice Soul Art, temporarily freezing its movement.
Kael fired into the lingering fog with the Canon Turtle, blasting open clear lines of sight.
Everyone poured everything they had into this. One shot. One chance to end it.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The Forbidden Dragon collapsed, its body shattered beyond recognition.
Silence.
Dozens of eyes turned toward the battlefield.
"…Is it over?"
[End of Chapter 14]
Next Chapter 15: Requiem of Ruin