While the mages started what could very well be their final dance, Noah, Evan and the dragon seemed to be ending theirs. Though, all three knew that this fight would not end so simply.
The leviathan that was constricting around the dragon tightened even further, and even more mana poured out of Evan into his strings. It looked like the black dragon was legitimately on its last legs, judging by the way its purple glowing eyes seemed to be dimming.
The whirling sea of strings that touched the clouds continued to furiously whip at the dragon with a thousand whips every second while avoiding the leviathan constricted around it with surgical precision. The same way even a stone could erode through gentle human touch over the course of centuries, even the strings that would usually be shrugged off without a second thought by the dragon could become a source of major damage.
This wasn’t to say that the whips were weak, though. If even a single whip were to land on even a Chief ranked warrior, the part of the body that came into contact with the strings the width of a pinky finger would be sliced through, a result of the thin width and rune of sharpness enchantment on the strings. If the mana being funneled into the rune of sharpness was insufficient or if Evan chose not to activate the rune, rather than slice through an object or person that it struck, it may be blocked. Evan would then manipulate the strings to focus the kinetic energy propagating throughout the strings on the impact site, such that the whip would explode onto the site.
Even for a majestic dragon, this was a cause for concern. Being held down through constriction and being whipped must have been humiliating for the dragon. With both strategic defeat on the side of the demons and now this disgrace, was likely why the prideful being finally began to take this battle seriously.
Mana began to flow through extravagant mana circuits for the first time in a long, long time. Yet, the dragon was flawless in doing so, the mana moving at the maximum possible speed with the expertise of one who trained in mana circulation every day. The dragon likely only meant to flow a small amount of mana through its system, but for the dragon, a small amount was several archmages worth. After all, the dragon had a spirit so large it exceeded the size of its physical body. This was the cause of dragon pressure.
Noah immediately felt the difference. What felt like squeezing the final life out of prey went to feeling like he was trying to grasp the weight of the world. The same went for Evan, who was overflowing with sweat. His Lord-ranked body desperately exerted mana into the strings and the runes of strength amplification on the strings were pushed to full power, but to no avail. In just an instant after activating mana circulation, the dragon grandly unfolded its wings wide enough to cast a shadow on the world and flung off the leviathan like it was a mere insect.
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Noah, who was flung off, couldn't help but inwardly praise the grandeur of a dragon’s mana circuits as he landed with a loud impact farther within the Demonic Forest. Monsters did not possess mana circuits, and were incapable of building mana circuits like humans even if they possessed the intelligence to do so. The dragon was the only exception.
It was the only creature born with mana circuits, and they were circuits incomparably more intricate to any other being on the Calysta continent. Humans would find it a tall order to possess the precision or delicacy to construct the circuits even resembling those dragons were naturally born with. It was even speculated that the human skill of building mana circuits was a mere shoddy imitation from the dragons.
At the moment Noah felt mana swirling around the dragon, he understood that the dragon would soon activate its mana reinforcement, and made haste in activating his own. However, the mana circuits within the leviathan were his circuits as a human superimposed onto the leviathan’s. The dragon’s speed and potency of mana reinforcement was far superior to his own. It was only the fact that Noah’s mana circuits were built upon mana canyons from when he had ripped apart and scarred his spirit, which allowed for Noah to be only flung off, instead of suffering heavy internal damage.
Noah, who Evan released from his strings when Noah was flung away to avoid the scenario where Evan was dragged along, began to summon thunderclouds. He understood that now that Evan was separated almost an entire kilometer from him with a dragon that would prevent reunion between the two again, his immobility on land with this form would reveal itself. Thus, in his current state of being multiple leviathans compressed into one being, he unleashed the power of the leviathan to summon thunderclouds with multiple times the potency of a regular leviathan to prepare the stage for the form that would act as his trump card.
Meanwhile, the dragon leaped a single time through the air and flapped once, then began to fall freely.
Noah, who saw a faint silhouette of the dragon high in the skies, understood its goal. The dragon was going to emulate Noah’s move of a dunk from the skies!
Noah began to inwardly sweat bullets. If the dragon landed on him, he would suffer injuries that couldn’t be simply walked off. Of course, just changing form would allow for easy escape, but Noah wanted to spend as long in this immoblie form as possible to summon thunderclouds at maximum speed. The more thunderclouds available, the higher his chances of victory would be. As he lay curled up, only his head pointed upwards, to the skies that were now rapidly darkening. Noah steeled his nerves, planning to transform at the final possible instant. His glowing green eyes glowed defiantly as he looked up at the dragon, carefully gauging the distance between them.
Evan, who sped through the Demonic Forest with his webs to rocket from one tree to another, almost reached Noah, before he noticed that Noah, the grand beast, was staring at the skies. Confused, he did the same, and for the second time today, Evan let out a rare expletive.
“Holy fuck!”
The sun finally set, and dark clouds filled the night sky.