Beside an unremarkable hillock on the battlefield, the grievously wounded silver dragon lay dying on the ground.
Olivia's eyes were tightly shut as faint groans and muffled gasps of agony slipped from her lips.
Her slender body, over a dozen meters long, curled into a tight coil. Dense chaotic mists crept out from the wound on her wing, spreading across her body and steadily eroding her flesh.
Suddenly, a silvery radiance showered down, driving away the abyssal energy. Golden beams of light then descended, causing the wound to slowly knit and fresh flesh to sprout.
Pinching the piece of the "Wind of Bahamut" between his talons and invoking the magic of Dragon's Respite, Cassius stood quietly beside the silver dragon.
After a long silence, he finally spoke:
"Why did you do that?"
Olivia struggled to open her eyes, her blue-gray gaze burning with unyielding stubbornness. "I once swore to myself... that I would save you."
"I'm not... a liar like you."
Her words came in halting breaths, yet they were remarkably resolute.
"Naive, reckless, styling yourself a savior... you possess every stubborn trait of the silver dragon race—or perhaps virtues, as they call them."
"Still... you're silly enough to be almost endearing."
Staring intently at this young silver dragon who had suffered so terribly after being deceived by him, yet had stepped forward to save his life in a moment of crisis, Cassius wore a profoundly conflicted expression.
His pale-gold vertical pupils flickered slightly, lost in inscrutable thought.
Olivia's eyelids trembled. She arched her neck slightly, trying to lift her head and read the red dragon's expression, but her strength failed her, and she slumped weakly back onto the ground.
"Mm... is it all over?"
"It will be over soon," Cassius replied calmly.
Seeming satisfied with that answer, the silver dragon could no longer hold her eyes open; after a few slight flutters, they drifted shut.
Olivia sank into deep unconsciousness. Her battered body rose and fell in shallow breaths—she was simply too exhausted.
The red dragon beat his wings once more, a faint, inadvertent savagery flashing across his features.
"Though... before that, I still need to drag out a few rats hiding in the shadows."
...
In the seam of the Material Plane, within an extradimensional space temporarily conjured by a spellcaster.
"Have you lost your mind?"
"Open your eyes and look! That red dragon just defeated the renowned 'Silver Wings,' Oszedro, in a direct clash!"
"A hundred-odd thousand gold coins isn't nearly enough to throw our lives away for! Especially when our dear employer was already dragged off by an abyssal demon!"
An anxious woman's voice rang out.
The speaker was a full-figured woman clad in white robes—Ingrid Garces, legendary Light Cleric of the "Crimson Edge."
Dex Flamegold tightened his grip on the greatsword in his hands, his eyes burning with intense resolve as he spoke in a low voice:
"He did defeat Oszedro, but that doesn't mean he still has that kind of power right now!"
"After a battle of that magnitude, that red dragon has to be running on empty. This is our greatest chance to slay a dragon!"
"Just think about it—this is the dragon that brought down Oszedro, the one called Tiamat's 'Dragon Prince'!"
"Once we sever his head, our names will be etched into the annals of history! The renown of the Crimson Edge will echo across the Feanso Continent and throughout the entire multiverse! We'll become heroes of the forces of righteousness, and even Lord Amaunator himself will extend an olive branch to us!"
Dex's voice grew more hurried and feverish, as if he were already beholding that glorious, splendid future.
The members of Crimson Edge peered through the magical scrying projection. Indeed, the red dragon was covered in wounds, visibly listless and drained, having seemingly lost the overwhelming majesty he possessed before.
A hulking man, bare-chested and covered in crimson tattoos, hoisted his greataxe onto his shoulder and snorted hot vapor through his nostrils—this was Lano, the legendary barbarian.
"Boss, I'm with you!"
"He's just an oversized red dragon, isn't he? I can butcher him all the same!"
Ingrid's delicate brows furrowed. An uneasy dread still weighed upon her, and she voiced her doubts once more: "Even if we actually manage to slay the dragon, how do we get out in one piece? There are tens of thousands of dragon-blooded vassals out there!"
Dex smiled smugly. "We have a legendary spellcaster with us, don't we?"
Clad in a blue-black robe, Klein stroked the crystal ball of true seeing in his hands and murmured softly, "None of that red dragon's minions can cast ninth-tier spells. If I want to leave, they can't stop me."
"And they can't catch a shadow, either."
A patch of darkness rose, coalescing into the lean silhouette of a man clad in black—Gromm Dursley, the legendary ranger and Gloom Stalker, the most enigmatic member of Crimson Edge.
Dex glanced around at the party members, then turned to look at the hesitant Ingrid. "Well?"
"Take this gamble with us."
"This red dragon has unleashed endless sin and war. Right now is our best chance to strike him down!"
A gleam flickered in the paladin of vengeance's eyes.
Though he was a mercenary chasing coin, he also held fast to his sacred oath never to spare the wicked—especially when doing so brought both glory and fortune.
"You bunch of lunatic gamblers," Ingrid whispered after a long silence.
Suddenly, the cleric's eyes flew wide. Her face blanched, and her voice began to tremble.
"L-Look there..."
"He... I think he's noticed us!"
Ingrid thrust a shaking finger toward the magical projection behind Dex.
There, the red dragon was grinning savagely. His pale-gold vertical pupils seemed to pierce straight through the planar barrier, locking gazes with her from afar.
Ingrid was utterly certain.
That was the gaze of a predator eyeing its prey.
Dex frowned, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Ingrid, aren't you being a little paranoid?"
Gromm let out a low chuckle, chiming in, "We're inside an extradimensional space conjured by Klein. Even a legendary spellcaster would struggle to detect our presence, let alone track us down."
Right then, catastrophe struck.
BOOM—
A deafening roar tore through the air, followed by the sound of ripping cloth.
The members of Crimson Edge were caught completely off guard by the abrupt upheaval, thrown into momentary disarray. Yet their wealth of legendary experience allowed them to instantly snap into battle formation to face the approaching threat.
Ingrid raised her scepter, unleashing a brilliant burst of holy radiance. Dex sprouted radiant wings from his back, transforming into an angel of vengeance enveloped in a shimmering aura. Lano roared at the top of his lungs, runes blazing across his flesh as he manifested as a primal champion. And Gromm's form blurred as supernatural shadows swirled around him.
Everyone looked upward, instantly sucking in a breath of cold air.
With raw physical might, the red dragon's talons tore straight through the planar boundary of the world, ripping open a massive, jagged rift across the ceiling of the extradimensional space.
That colossal draconic head thrust right through, looming over them as he stared down, pale-gold vertical pupils blazing as though ignited by fire.
"Greetings..."
"It has been quite a while, dragonslayers."
Chapter 334