As construct after construct was destroyed, the surrounding Weave instantly lapsed into extreme turbulence. The unraveling order of the eighth-circle spell unleashed surges of raw energy that battered their surroundings relentlessly.
Illusory draconic limbs flailed through empty air, hideous dragon heads sprouted from the walls, and trickles of dragon blood even welled up from the floor, throwing the entire area into pandemonium.
Yet ultimately, amid mournful draconic roars, they pooled their strength and tore the spell formation apart.
The chains bound tightly around the white dragon suddenly vanished.
For the first time in a century, the white dragon's bound body gained complete freedom.
Tinia shook out her wings. Feeling the long-lost sensation of liberation coursing through her body, she let out an exhilarated, heartfelt roar.
"Awoooo—"
Then, having freed herself from captivity, the white dragon lowered her head toward Cassius.
As one of the chromatic evil dragons, a white dragon naturally possessed no default setting for "gratitude." Her gesture was driven far more by respect and submission toward a powerful member of her own kin.
Even though the white dragon was freed, Cassius did not relax his guard in the slightest.
The moment he had entered the top floor, he had felt a potent magical force binding the space—a Dimensional Lock, barring all spatial teleportation spells. But the red dragon had no intention of leaving right away anyway. He meant to strike now, caught off guard while the enemy still knew nothing about him, and finish off the Dragon-Mad Black Wizard once and for all.
Otherwise, leaving an archmage to lurk in the shadows, gather intelligence, and make thorough preparations would only brew far more troublesome complications.
Sure enough, the Cataclysmic Dragon Eye hovering beside him projected another vision.
A twisted, stitched monstrosity bearing Vagnerd's face materialized on the top floor.
"Get ready..."
"Vagnerd is coming."
Cassius warned them calmly.
Beside him, Langpu and Tinia instantly tensed on high alert.
Sure enough, the Dimensional Lock loosened slightly.
First, the limb of a white dragon reached out from empty space, followed by the adhered head of an unknown monster, and behind that, the torso of a human.
At last, the horrific abomination tore through space and emerged before them.
The beast was colossal, standing nearly five meters tall, its body stitched together from all manner of bizarre creatures, with white dragons serving as the primary material.
Yet what made it truly eerie was that none of the parts were where they belonged: white dragon wings sprouted from its legs, human palms were haphazardly grafted onto the surface of its skin, and a ferocious dragon head protruded from what should have been its chest.
In this grotesquely twisted posture, the monstrosity radiated an unnatural horror that defied nature itself.
Vagnerd's upper torso jutted out from the very top of the abomination. He still retained his previous appearance, his waist fused with tangled flesh, though his entire body was now coated in white scales.
"Grrr..."
Seeing such a grotesque scene and the butchered parts of her own kin, Tinia backed away several steps, subconsciously shrinking behind Cassius and letting out trembling, guttural growls.
At this moment, the white dragon's dread of Vagnerd far outweighed her hatred. After enduring a century of torment, this was the first time she felt such a lethal aura radiating from this human.
"My 'sleeping beauty,' you actually broke free?"
A flicker of surprise flashed in Vagnerd's eyes, only to morph into a sneer.
"No matter, heheh. You cannot escape your destiny to be devoured by me."
He turned his gaze to Cassius, an eerie smile spreading across his lips. "As for you, Cassius Claubau Norixius."
"We finally meet in person."
"How ill-mannered you are—trespassing into my domain, destroying my original flesh, and snatching away my specimen."
"Still... your body will serve as the finest compensation. I must taste for myself what Tiamat's darling is like, hahahahaha!"
Vagnerd's booming laughter echoed through the tower, deafening and carrying an aura of terror and despair; ordinary mortals would have been frightened to death by such grotesque sound waves.
Cassius did not reply. Silent, he swiftly drew upon his Metamagic ability to cast several abjuration spells in rapid succession.
Undying Inverted Scale, Protection from Energy, Energy Scales...
Multiple shields and starlike motes of energy draped his body, working in tandem with the effects of Gilded Scales to elevate his defenses to a terrifying height.
Ordinary attacks could not even penetrate his layers of wards, much less touch his inherently resilient armored scales.
And his meticulously calculated Draconic Agility peaked at this moment, granting Cassius an astounding speed of thirty points.
"Roar—!"
With a furious roar, the red dragon tucked his wings and flew at a speed scarcely discernible to the naked eye. Turning into a crimson afterimage, he set off violent sonic booms that rattled the spire.
Trailing dazzling lightning, the red dragon seized the opening and shot like an arrow toward the beast's body, his maw simultaneously unleashing searing flames.
A black energy barrier instantly surged across the stitched monstrosity's surface, only to be pierced effortlessly by the lightning and fire.
Multiple white dragon claws, wings, and tails lashed out at the red dragon, each grafted piece bearing an eerie dark energy that could siphon dragon blood for its own use while corroding a dragon's mind.
Yet blessed with Aerial Maneuverability, Cassius merely banked and swerved, leaving an afterimage where he had been and causing all the grasping limbs to strike empty air.
Positioned directly above the monster, the red dragon poured down a blazing pillar of fire, seeking to obliterate Vagnerd's body in a single strike.
Maximized Flame Breath.
Yet Vagnerd, a wizard who had studied dragons for a century, was by no means unprepared.
His twisted limbs flailed in the air, and an invisible ring pulsing with intense magical fluctuations wrapped around his form.
Aura of Breath Evasion.
The spell's power caused his body to jerk aside with uncanny agility, dodging the terrible breath and leaving only a scorched trail across his skin.
This was a spell tailored specifically against dragons, granting reflexive evasion against breath attacks.
Yet he was not done. Vagnerd's remaining human torso caressed the dragon head on his front, his entire body glowing with shimmering magical auras.
Greater Hide from Dragons.
Hide from Dragons was a renowned seventh-circle spell capable of preventing the touched subject from being detected by dragons.
Yet through a century of research, Vagnerd had pushed it even further, developing spells targeted at dragons that blinded all of their senses. It was relying on these spells that he had hunted white dragons across the frozen plains, turning genuine chromatic dragons into his experimental specimens and raw materials.
Cassius felt the space before him suddenly empty; Vagnerd had vanished without a trace. The red dragon's keen vision, sense of smell, and even his primal instincts could no longer detect his presence.
He could only rely on the Cataclysmic Dragon Eye to anticipate where the next attack would land.
Chapter 215