"Counterattack... We must counterattack! Otherwise, death is our only end!"
Dex Flamegold gritted his teeth, speaking to his two remaining companions.
Klein, however, did not reply. An illusory clock ticked within his blue eyes; as the hands turned in rhythmic cadence, his expression grew increasingly grim, beads of sweat breaking out across his forehead.
Ingrid, meanwhile, seemed to have completely lost the will to fight. Clutching her scepter, she stood to the side and pleaded in a hushed voice, "No... we can't win."
"Stop, Dex."
"Please..."
Dex shook his head slightly, a flicker of disdain crossing his eyes.
Ingrid had joined Crimson Edge only a year ago. Unlike the rest of them, who had risen from rugged, humble origins as rough-and-tumble adventurers, this cleric was more like a flower in a greenhouse, having mostly experienced one-sided, overwhelming victories.
"I will never let my curtain fall here!"
"Relentless... Avenger!"
In the end, Dex Flamegold beat the wings behind his back with reckless abandon and flew straight toward his foe.
"Divine Smite!"
He raised his golden longsword and swept it through the air in a graceful arc. In the wake of his swing, a crescent of brilliant radiance cleaved through the air and split the ground below.
It was the all-out strike of a Vengeance Paladin!
*Whoosh—*
Yet Cassius merely let out a low whistle. The starlike Energy Scales swirling about his frame blocked the entire slash outright.
Even so, Dex Flamegold did not lose heart.
The paladin, having assumed the form of an Avenging Angel, flapped his wings and skimmed low across the earth, surging forward in a dive.
Before long, gritting his teeth, he soared above the red dragon. Tightening his grip on the golden longsword, his face twisted into a ferocious snarl as he roared:
"Foul dragon!"
"The great 'Dragon Slayer' Dex Flamegold will claim your head!"
Yet before a colossal behemoth over thirty meters long, this Vengeance Paladin charging without hesitation looked as minuscule as Don Quixote tilting at windmills.
"Soul of Vengeance!"
Dex bellowed, the longsword symbolizing the authority of his Oath of Vengeance blazing with light.
The illusory forms of Grom, Lano, and the others manifested around him. Spirits born of the will to avenge rallied to besiege this seemingly invincible foe.
The next moment, however, Dex felt only a blast of scorching wind. The colossal crimson silhouette dodged effortlessly, reappearing directly behind him.
Whether Channel Divinity or the Soul of Vengeance, both were crushed to pieces by the dragon's near-tangible Frightful Presence.
Desperately, Dex beat his wings, trying to put distance between them while hacking away with his golden longsword—yet it was entirely futile. The enemy was simply too fast.
The sky might have been an Avenging Angel's playground, but it was, above all, the undisputed domain of true dragons.
A massive, grotesque talon snatched the Vengeance Paladin out of the air, grasping him like a fragile bird.
"Caught you," Cassius said flatly.
Dex strained with every ounce of strength, raising his blade to stab at the talons in a desperate struggle.
Yet the red dragon merely squeezed slightly. Dex's armor buckled and collapsed under the pressure, his flesh turned into a mangled pulp, bloodshot veins burst across his eyes, and thick, viscous gore erupted from his mouth.
For the first time in his life, Dex felt his existence held entirely in an enemy's palm, ready to be snuffed out at any moment.
In those eyes that had always seemed unshakably resolute, fear finally surfaced—a fear he had not known in ages. He was terrified. He wanted to live.
"S-Stop..."
"My lord, I... I don't want to die."
Cassius brought him closer to his snout, regarding him with a faint, mocking amusement. "Give me a single reason why I should spare your life," the dragon murmured. "After all, you are the 'great Dragon Slayer.' Since you chose this path, yet lacked the strength to slay a dragon, you are meant to be slain by one instead. That is the natural order of things, isn't it?"
"I... I..."
Dex's purplish lips trembled faintly.
He never could have imagined that the boast he blurted out moments ago to keep up appearances would become his own death knell.
After frantic deliberation, his eyes inadvertently fell upon the holy crest on his sword's hilt, and he finally seized upon a last chance for survival.
"You can't kill me! I'm a Chosen! I am the emissary of Lord Amaunator!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Cassius burst into sudden laughter, chuckling so hard the wings behind his back shuddered, his talons pounding the ground until it rumbled.
"Did you see that old silver dragon glowing all over earlier? Decked out in divine artifacts—now that is what a Chosen looks like."
"As for you? Heh. A pauper like you who doesn't even possess a single piece of legendary gear from head to toe—you dare call yourself a Chosen?"
"Besides..."
He drew out the word, his gaze fixing once more on Dex trapped in his grip. Ferocious light gleamed in his pale gold pupils, and a suffocating aura of dragon fear washed over the paladin.
Instantly, Dex felt as though plunged into an abyss of ice.
For he heard only one sentence:
"I hate people who lie to me."
Before the words had even faded, searing flames erupted from his claw, engulfing Dex Flamegold completely.
"No—!"
"I still... don't want to die..."
Soon, amid unreconciled roars and agonizing shrieks, the flesh was incinerated to nothing within the inferno, reducing to ashes that scattered in the wind.
Left behind in the red dragon's talon, however, was a heavy suit of ornate armor and a shining golden longsword.
"Oh?"
"Mistook it. It really is legendary gear after all. Just a lower tier, with an extra layer of magical concealment cast over it."
"Tsk, tsk. Cautious fellow, wasn't he?"
Cassius casually shook off the ashes clinging to his claw and poked at the gear Dex had left behind, a hint of pleasant surprise tinging his tone.
One thing, however, was beyond doubt: the renowned 'Dragon Slayer' of Fadlan and captain of Crimson Edge, Dex Flamegold, was dead and gone.
Killed by a dragon—such was indeed the destiny awaiting most dragon slayers.
Either retire midway with wealth and glory, or follow the path of self-destruction to the bitter end. At the terminus of the dragon-slaying road, there were never any heroes; corruption and death were the only destination.
"C-Captain..."
Watching the captain she had spent days and nights with perish before her eyes, Ingrid covered her mouth, unable to stifle a cry of horror.
Yet she was utterly powerless. The aura of dragon fear radiating from the dragon felt like an antimagic field; even her divine magic could scarcely take effect against him, let alone ordinary spells.
As for Klein, his face was filled with utter disbelief. The illusory clock within his eyes had shattered.
That was the signature ability of a chronurgy wizard—
*Convergent Future.*
He could peer into possible futures and magically guide one of them onto the events unfolding around him, ensuring that a specific outcome came to pass.
Klein had already constructed the spell matrix for a teleportation spell, preparing to flee this place.
Yet when he paid a heavy price to peer into his own future, he discovered that in every single timeline, the moment he activated the teleportation spell, his fate would be unimaginably horrific.
What chilled him even more to the bone was that he could not see the red dragon's future at all.
Klein had sought to pry into destiny, but that 'Dragon Prince' seemed shrouded beneath a hazy silver mist.
*"Presumptuous!"*
Even his own mind was battered by some immense, majestic force, as if a terrifying dragon a thousand meters long were roaring and snarling inside his psyche.
"No... impossible..."
Klein stood rooted to the spot, muttering under his breath, two streaks of bloody tears streaming from his eyes.
Chapter 337