Chapter 478: Fight well. And die without regret.

A/N: Gore Warning.

…

“You should know it since you have learned the Heavenly Net Formation, the three squads above do not target you, they target your Dragon.

And if they move when I command, your Dragon would not—”

Reed tried to threaten, but Kael was listening—

His focus was somewhere else.

[Draconic Surge]

[Cooldown left: 10 seconds.]

Kael took a deep breath as he read it.

10 more seconds…

With that thought in his mind, he shifted his focus back to Reed and—

“This will be my final warning.”

He spoke, his voice was low, but the power it carried made it echo throughout the battlefield, making each soldier nervous.

Reed paused, narrowing his eyes at the child’s bold words.

“Break your formation.”

Kael ordered.

Reed blinked, pretending not to understand.

“What was that?”

Kael’s cold blue eyes looked right into his and—

“I said—break your formation.

Now.”

The cold air around them grew heavier. The soldiers clenched their weapons, prepared for what was about to come.

Reed too, stared at Kael with a solemn look on his face and—

“I do not take orders from you, Hero.”

At those words, Kael exhaled slowly, stretching his neck before he lifted his head and looked at all the soldiers who had surrounded him.

“Then you’ll learn,”

He said quietly.

“…what happens when you corner a dragon.”

“What did you sa—”

Reed asked with a frown. Kael had spoken clearly, but for some reason, he couldn’t hear him properly—

And Kael did not care.

He glanced at his firstborn. The Father and Son’s eyes met and the air fell silent, even the wind dared not move.

And then—

“Igni.”

Kael called out.

The Primordial Fire Dragon growled softly, fiery red flames flickering between his scales as the Dragon prepared himself—

Kael momentarily looked at Reed one last time, making the Second in Command flinch, but before he could react or say anything, Kael turned back to his Dragon and—

“Kill.”

He ordered.

The very sky pulsed once—as if the world itself was holding its breath.

Then, the chaos was unleashed.

WFFOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH

The sound tore through the sky like an unleashed storm.

Before anyone could react, before a single command could be shouted, Igni moved. The Dragon’s body twisted with impossible speed, his colossal wings slicing through the air. His scales burned like molten embers,

And then—

Flames erupted.

Two soldiers, along with the flying beasts beneath them, vanished inside a blazing wave of crimson fire.

“AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

“KKKRRRRRIIIIEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!”

“RROOOAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!”

Their screams mixed with the beasts’ screeches as the inferno swallowed them whole. The scent of burning flesh and charred scale spread instantly through the cold morning air.

The remaining soldiers froze in horror. Their eyes widened at the sudden attack but…

This was merely the beginning—

Within a heartbeat, the fire moved again, as if searching for the next target. It jumped through the air as if it was a living creature, instantly curling and striking at the third and fourth soldiers.

“AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!”

“KKKRRRRRIIIIEEEEKKKKKK!!!”

“RROOOAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!!”

The soldiers and their beasts screamed in agony. Their desperate cries for help and mercy were lost in the roar of flames as both man and beast disintegrated into nothing but falling ash.

“Formation—!”

One soldier tried to shout, but his voice broke mid-word as panic rippled through the troops.

The soldiers who had been staring at the smoldering remains of their comrades turned toward where Igni had been—

But…

But there was nothing there.

The Dragon was gone.

“W-Where is he!?”

One of the soldiers shouted but then suddenly—

Whoooosh

A heavy gust of wind hit his face from the side. A sudden chill ran through his spine—and then he heard it—

“KKRRRIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHH!!!”

He, and the other soldiers around him, spun around. Far to the left, Igni was seen in the sky, his jaws clamped around the neck of a massive wyvern.

“NO—!!”

The soldiers tried to reach out but—

Kliichhh

“KKRRRIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHH!!!”

With one vicious twist, the Dragon ripped its head clean off.

Blood exploded like rain.

“AA—AAGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!”

The beast’s rider screamed as he fell from his wyvern, his body spinning helplessly toward the ground below.

“RROOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!!!”

The rest of his beasts quickly rushed in, breaking the formation to protect their rider.

The rest of the soldiers panicked even further—

“Fall back!”

“Stay together!”

“Stay in formation!”

They ordered, but it wasn’t working.

The once-perfect formation of the Sky Kingdom broke apart like shattered glass. Beasts collided midair, soldiers scrambled to stabilize themselves.

Chaos spread faster than the fire itself.

The Heaven’s Net Formation—the cage that was supposed to be unbreakable—was breaking.

And through it all,

“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!”

Igni roared, his eyes burning with fury and… excitement.

The Primordial Fire Dragon had been waiting—waiting for this exact moment.

For too long, he had held himself back, obeying his Father’s restraint, listening to his calm commands—commands that always sought peace, not death.

He understood it.

His Father disliked killing.

But now…

Now his Father had spoken.

The single word—Kill—echoed inside his mind, awakening something primal that had been chained for far too long.

All the hesitation had vanished.

All the restraint had burned away.

“RROOOAAAAARRR!!”

“AAAGGGHHHHH!!!”

The Dragon’s claws tore through another beast that tried to ambush him from behind. Its wings snapped like paper, its rider thrown screaming into the fire below.

WVOOSHHH

The flames danced around Igni’s body like living serpents, wrapping him in light as he moved through the air—faster, wilder, freer.

And as the soldiers and their Bonds screamed, scattering in every direction, Igni lifted his head toward the sky.

For the first time in a long while, he roared—not in warning, not in anger—but in pure… liberation.

“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!”

The sound seemed to shake the heavens itself.

Every beast still alive around him flinched in terror, their instincts screaming as loudly as they could. Every single part of their body wanted them to run. Their bodies wanted them to understand…

In this situation…

They were just… prey.

Prey who were in the presence of the True Predator.

Even the soldiers holding their weapons tightly felt their grips falter.

Above the clouds of fire and ash, Igni’s massive silhouette glowed against the faint dawn light—the Dragon’s wings spread wide, his flames painting the sky red.

The Heaven’s Net Formation had become a sky of fire—

And the one who ruled this fire was—the Primordial Fire Dragon—Igni.

…

On the other side of the battlefield—

“!!!”

Reed’s eyes went wide as he watched the chaos unfold in front of him.

The once-perfect Heaven’s Net Formation was collapsing—flames everywhere, soldiers screaming, Bonds falling from the sky like flies.

And at the center of it all… the Dragon.

“I–Impossible…”

He whispered in disbelief as Igni tore through another squad like paper.

“W-Wasn’t he just… a baby…?”

He couldn’t understand.

How was a beast who was barely a few months old doing… this?

Even if it was a Dragon… how did any of it make sense?

Soon, however—

“No…

I cannot let it happen…”

His horror turned into rage.

He pointed his trembling finger at the Dragon and shouted,

“Focus on the beast! Attack—!”

But his command never finished.

A shadow flashed before his eyes—faster than anything he had ever seen. Reed froze, his voice died in his throat. When he blinked, Kael was already there—standing right in front of him.

Reed’s eyes fell on the ground where Kael once stood but—he was no longer there.

“H–How are you f–fly—”

The Second in Command couldn’t even finish the question as Kael’s hand shot forward, grabbing his head.

The young Hero’s cold blue eyes glowed faintly, and his entire arm shimmered with fiery light. Crimson scales formed instantly over Kael’s forearm, glinting in the light of Igni’s fire.

Yes, he activated another one of his abilities—

[Draconic Strike]

With his scale-covered arm that held twice the strength he originally did, Kael tightened his hold around Reed’s skull.

The Hero then looked right into Reed’s eyes with intense, cruel light and pressed tightly.

“!!!”

Reed’s breath caught in his chest as he felt the sheer force pressing against his skull. His body trembled violently, his hands clawed helplessly at Kael’s wrist. He tried to use all his strength to free himself—but it was useless.

The pressure was too strong, his strength useless against that grip.

For one frozen instant, Reed saw his terrified reflection in Kael’s eyes and—

His mind collapsed into panic.

His vision blurred, his heartbeat thundered in his ears and he—

“W–Wait! Please wait! I–I was only following orde— We can—”

He tried to beg.

But Kael didn’t listen.

Neither did he speak.

His face didn’t move.

Just—a chilling emptiness.

And then—

CRACK

Reed heard a thunderous voice in his head. The bone of his skull had cracked under Kael’s grip, ready to snap. His heart pounded like a drum, his eyes begged for mercy, heavy tears rolled down his cheeks—

But it was already too late.

With a sudden, savage yank, Kael pulled.

A wet, sickening CRACK tore through the air as Reed’s head ripped free from his neck. The spine came with it, vertebrae snapping one by one, white bone glistening with blood and torn tissue. The head dangled in Kael’s grip, Reed’s eyes frozen wide, mouth open in a silent scream.

Blood sprayed like a fountain, drenching the ground in a hot, red rain. Chunks of flesh and muscle hung from the torn neck, the spine trailing like a grotesque rope, dripping gore.

Reed’s body collapsed, twitching for a moment before going still. Kael threw the headless corpse away as if it wasn’t worth anything.

Then, with his face covered with Reed’s blood and one hand holding the enemy’s head—he stared at the rest of the Sky Kingdom Army.

“You brought this on yourself.”

He spoke.

“Fight well.

And die without regret.”

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