The wyvern’s golden eyes flared with renewed intensity, its massive chest expanding as ominous heat radiated from deep within its core.

Alex, poised for the final strike, narrowed his eyes, but something about the wyvern’s stance felt off. Its muscles weren’t coiled in fear or desperation but rather with calculated patience—waiting for something.

However, knowing that the beast was a wyvern, a species known to be prideful, it wasn’t that strange.

But then it happened.

The moment Alex closed in to slay the wyvern, its maw snapped open, and an overwhelming torrent of flames exploded outward.

A deep, hellish crimson consumed the entire battlefield.

The sheer intensity of the fire was unlike any ordinary breath attack—it was thick, molten, almost liquid in its destruction, scorching the very air itself.

The ground beneath the wyvern blackened instantly, stone melting into lava as the flames devoured everything in their path.

Alex’s eyes widened as he saw the inferno rushing toward him.

It was too close. Too sudden.

For a fraction of a second, even he knew there was no time to dodge.

The breath attack engulfed him whole.

BOOOOM!!

The explosion sent tremors rippling through the arena, the force alone causing cracks to form in the Colosseum’s reinforced barriers. The blinding blaze crashed into the protective enchantments, making them flicker violently under the stress.

Dust and flames spiraled chaotically, obscuring everything from view.

The audience sat frozen in their seats.

The wyvern, due to the true dragon blood running through its veins, could use the real dragon breath instead of wyvern breath. The difference between those two attacks was vast, and the audience could feel it.

Despite being separated by a barrier, they could feel the heat of the breath.

A deathly silence spread over the Colosseum before gasps, screams, and shocked voices erupted.

“T-That was a direct hit!”

“There’s no way he survived that.”

“Even a strong star-formation knight would be reduced to ashes after taking something like that head-on!”

“Wait… That was a true dragon breath!”

“Fuck! This wyvern was part dragon?!”

Some students held their breaths; others covered their mouths in horror.

Varacius, on the other hand, still pinned by residual gravity, managed to lift his head, his lips twitching into a victorious grin. “That’s it… That monster is dead.”

‘I finally repaid my debt…’ He muttered inwardly, sighing in relief.

The wyvern, still smoldering with residual embers, flared its nostrils and rumbled in dissatisfaction, exhaustion clear in its golden eyes.

But then—

A single voice cut through the rising murmurs of disbelief.

“Look again.”

It was a professor, a stern, battle-hardened instructor known for his sharp insight. His voice carried across the arena like a whipcrack, making everyone turn toward him in confusion.

The professor’s eyes gleamed with something close to awe. “That wasn’t a direct hit.”

“W-What?!”

“But we saw him get engulfed—”

“No.” The professor shook his head. “He deflected it. Or at least, most of it.”

The words sent another wave of shock rippling through the audience.

It was only then that the dust finally began to settle, revealing the spot where Alex had fallen.

The once-pristine barrier bore deep cracks, evidence of the devastating force it had endured.

And then—

A shift. A small movement from within the debris.

Gasps echoed through the arena.

A silhouette emerged.

Alex, battered but very much alive, stepped forward. His cloak was tattered, his left sleeve burned away to reveal faint scorch marks, but his posture remained upright, unwavering.

In his right hand, Verathian gleamed—untouched, undamaged, as if it had absorbed most of the attack’s force.

“Grrrr…” The wyvern growled dangerously as it knew of the result from the moment his attack had connected.

But it now knew that it was at a disadvantage. It might lose now. It might get killed.

The students, on the other hand, were speechless. Some even rubbed their eyes, refusing to believe what they were witnessing.

“Impossible…”

“How?! He should’ve been obliterated!”

“Did his sword… deflect that attack?!”

Honestly, it didn’t.

Verathian had awakened a new ability a while back when Alex crossed the seven-star, star-formation realm. It was mana discharge.

The longer Alex fights and the more mana-rich blood his sword absorbs, the more mana it would store, and once the gauge gets filled, that mana could be discharged in a burst attack.

He had used that burst attack to neutralize most of the breath attack sent at him by the beast, and although he could use his physique to absorb the rest of the attack, he let it hit him.

He wanted to keep it a secret, as revealing everything would bring more harm than good.

After looking around and scanning the audience’s expressions, Alex exhaled slowly, shaking off the last embers clinging to his frame.

‘This would be enough,’ he concluded, satisfied with the results as he had achieved what he wanted to.

His grip on Verathian tightened as he lifted his gaze to meet the wyvern and smiled. “Nice trick.”

His voice was calm, but beneath it lay something dangerous.

He rolled his shoulders, stretching his fingers. The warmth of his eternal devourer physique surged through his veins once more, filling him with renewed vigor.

The injuries, however, weren’t healed as Alex had intentionally made them so. By using healing breath, he could easily heal himself, but again, too much talent brings envy.

He wanted to keep his power in a believable range.

The wyvern, stared at Alex, its golden eyes glinting dangerously, hesitant to move.

It had thrown everything into that attack—an attack meant to finish him.

And yet, Alex still stood.

That attack was something only dragons are supposed to be able to perform, yet it did it by pouring everything it had, and now it was completely exhausted.

So much that it couldn’t even heal its wounds like before.

If Alex, who looked completely unshaken, wanted, he could kill the wyvern by making it bleed to death.

“Now…” Alex lifted Verathian, its blade humming with an eerie resonance. His form flickered again, that deep, pulsating astral glow returning in full force.

“Let’s finish this properly.”

Alex wasted no time.

His body flickered like a phantom, vanishing from his position as he propelled himself forward with explosive force.

The ground beneath him cracked under the sheer pressure of his acceleration, and in a heartbeat, breaking the sound barrier with his speed, he was upon the wyvern.

“ROAR!!!!” The beast, though weakened and exhausted, let out a final, desperate roar.

Its wounded body trembled as it tried to lift itself, golden eyes burning with the last embers of defiance. It knew what was coming.

Alex’s grip on Verathian tightened, his blade humming with ethereal energy as he prepared the finishing blow.

But then—

A strange shimmer filled the air.

Wisps of a translucent fog drifted into the barrier of the arena, spreading unnaturally fast.

It rolled over the battlefield, seeping into every corner of the arena like a creeping tide.

It was thick enough to obscure vision, but Alex, whose eyes were sharper and better than others, could still see clearly.

‘Poison.’ His instincts flared as he inhaled slightly.

[It’s not lethal.]

Sophie’s voice echoed in his head, telling him the result of her inspection. [It is a sleep-inducing poison. A strong one at that.]

Alex’s eyes narrowed at her words, but thanks to his poison immunity, he didn’t get affected by the poison.

The same, however, couldn’t be said for the others.

A heavy thud echoed as the wyvern, its body already fatigued, succumbed to the gas first. Its massive frame shuddered before its golden eyes lost focus, its breathing deepening as it fell into unconsciousness.

Alex’s gaze snapped toward Varacius.

The berserker, who had been pinned under gravitational pressure moments ago, had no chance to resist. His body sagged, his eyes rolling back as he crumpled onto the stone floor, unconscious.

The audience, on the other hand, was shocked and confused.

“What’s going on?!” “I can’t see anything!” “Is this magic?! Who’s interfering?!”

Such questions echoed through the Colosseum as no one could see what was happening inside the barrier anymore.

Only Alex, who was still standing, could see what was going on.

‘Who is it?’ His breath was steady, his senses were still sharp, and his eyes were darting around.

He spun, scanning the arena, searching for the source of this sudden interruption.

And then—

A voice.

Feminine, smooth as silk yet carrying an undeniable weight of command.

“That’s enough.”

Alex’s entire body tensed at the sound. He turned sharply, his gaze locking onto a figure emerging through the dissipating mist.

She stepped forward with effortless grace, her presence both alluring and imposing.

Long, flowing silver hair cascaded down her back, shimmering under the arena’s light. Her golden eyes, slitted like those of a predator, bore into him with ancient wisdom that sent a chill through his core.

Adorned in elegant black and gold robes accentuating her sculpted form, the woman exuded an aura of authority unlike anything Alex had felt before.

The air around her rippled with restrained power, something primal yet refined.

And then he saw them.

A pair of obsidian-black horns curved gracefully from her head, their surface glowing faintly with golden veins of energy.

A dragonkin.

No—

A dragon.

One that could transform into a human at that.

Alex’s grip on Verathian instinctively tightened, his body instinctively preparing for whatever was to come.

But he didn’t move.

He simply met her gaze, waiting.

The audience yelled, still confused about what was going on, asking the referee or the experienced teachers if they could see anything, but no one could do anything.

Alex, however, didn’t know what to do. Especially since he didn’t know who the woman in front of him was.

And then, with a soft smile that didn’t quite reach her piercing golden eyes, the dragon spoke again.

“Put your sword away, Alex Drakathor. This battle is over.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep