“Damn it, I didn't think this fellow would be so troublesome! It's on a completely different level from the other dragons!” Midir couldn't help but grow anxious as he saw Aila's face turning increasingly pale.
Because of that momentary distraction, the two fell into the Blue Dragon's trap. When Midir attempted to force a long-distance movement to leave the battlefield, he realized something was wrong.
The dragon had actually predicted his direction and created a twisted spatial vortex at his landing point. The spatial ripples caused by Midir himself collided with it, immediately triggering a chaotic turbulence. Unable to dodge in time, the two were instantly pulled in by the powerful gravitational force.
The moment they entered that terrifying spatial vortex, Midir felt as if his body were being torn apart by countless invisible giants, the pain nearly unbearable.
He pushed himself to the limit, condensing his remaining mana into a shield that tightly enveloped himself and Aila, attempting to resist the horrific forces from the depths of space.
But as they drew closer to the core of the vortex, the tearing force grew increasingly violent, as if it intended to rip the two of them completely apart. Midir's heart sank to his stomach. He knew all too well that if they were separated here, Aila, who knew nothing of space magic, would face an unimaginable disaster.
Whether she was randomly teleported to an unknown, perilous land or torn to shreds by a spatial storm during the process, neither was an outcome he was willing to see.
However, with his current remaining strength, he was completely unable to contend with the incredibly powerful Blue Dragon. Amidst the continuous spatial upheavals, his consciousness even began to drift toward the edge, becoming blurred and indistinct.
In that moment of flickering consciousness, a seemingly familiar scene vaguely surfaced before Midir's eyes.
It was also deep within a fragmented spatial vortex, also two helpless figures struggling with all their might, and a blonde figure who had stood by his side...
“Don't let go! ... I absolutely won't... let it end like this!” Midir suddenly erupted with a roar from his subconscious.
That cry was like a bolt of lightning, instantly pulling him back from the chaos to reality. He snapped his eyes open and used every ounce of his strength to grab the person beside him. By now, Aila had been knocked unconscious by the violent spatial storm, and she lay in his arms like a doll.
Confirming that Aila was only temporarily unconscious, Midir felt both a sense of relief and a surge of unprecedented determination.
He took a deep breath, and the residual mana in his body seemed to be ignited by this will. A rose-colored brilliance blossomed magnificently around him once more, like a flower of hope blooming in a desperate situation.
The dragon's massive body, which had been poised to deliver a fatal blow, suddenly froze. Its cold dragon eyes locked onto that dangerous light, filled with caution and dread.
The dragon let out an ear-splitting roar where it stood, and its space magic was triggered once again. The already unstable spatial vortex seemed to be injected with new waves, instantly expanding to its limit. Everything within a hundred meters was ruthlessly torn at by this power, accelerating their fall toward the center of the vortex.
But this time, its calculations fell through. Midir and Aila did not budge an inch under the protection of the Power of Creation.
Under Midir's meticulous control, this power did not overflow wildly as it had before. Instead, it transformed into a barrier as fine as silk, clinging tightly to the two of them and completely isolating the violent spatial storm outside, preventing it from interfering in the slightest.
Midir took a deep breath and focused his mind. Although maintaining this domain, thin as a cicada's wing, required immense mental strength, the energy consumption was significantly lower than the previous massive barrier, making it more efficient and sustainable.
Seeing this, a flash of panic crossed the dragon's eyes. It quickly retreated several steps, its massive body tensed. It was clearly prepared to leave the battlefield at any moment, no longer wishing to entangle itself with such a difficult opponent.
Just as the dragon was hesitating, the ground beneath its feet suddenly began to boil, writhing as if it were alive. Immediately following that, countless pitch-black shadows erupted from the earth like octopus tentacles, binding the dragon firmly to the ground without warning.
The dragon had been entirely focused on Midir in the vortex, and caught off guard, it was pulled to the ground by those shadow tentacles. Looking back, it discovered that Syndra had somehow broken through the spatial cage and stealthily approached from behind.
Of course, these shadow tentacles were clearly unable to bind the dragon for long. In less than a few seconds, it struggled free of some of the shackles and turned to glare at Syndra, opening its massive maw to breathe out a destructive dragon breath.
But Syndra acted swiftly, giving it no chance to counterattack. Just as the dragon breath was about to erupt, he used his Shadow Stitches to precisely bind the dragon's upper and lower jaws, forcibly sealing that impending explosion of elemental power within its own mouth.
A deafening boom echoed from the dragon's head—the result of its own dragon breath exploding inside its closed maw. Even for a thick-skinned dragon, it couldn't help but be left dizzy and seeing stars, with wisps of black smoke escaping from the cracks of its tightly shut mouth.
It was precisely because of Syndra's assist that the dragon lost maintenance of its magic for a split second. Midir immediately seized this opportunity, using the Power of Creation to tear through the spatial vortex binding them and flying out with Aila.
By this time, the dragon realized Midir had successfully escaped. Without a second thought, it spread its uncontrolled wings and unleashed wind blades toward its own feet. The indiscriminate attack sliced through its own scales and flesh, leaving it bloodied, but it successfully shredded the entire ground, causing Syndra's control to fail.
Breaking free from the Shadow Stitches, the dragon immediately flapped its wings and took flight, wanting to leave. However, Midir, still holding Aila, had already appeared on its back using instant movement, grabbing onto a bone spike protruding from its spine.
Midir understood that the Power of Creation remaining in his body was not enough to completely envelop the dragon, and thus he couldn't deal it a fatal blow.
To truly decide the battle, the most effective method was to strike a critical point on its head and break the control.
The dragon beneath him seemed to realize this as well. It charged straight toward the sky and began performing aerial loops, attempting to use the powerful wind pressure from high-speed flight and the violent centrifugal force to shake the two of them off its sturdy back.
Midir, who had to protect Aila with one hand, almost lost his grip after several rolls. In his desperation, he could only use ice magic to freeze his legs directly to the dragon's back to stabilize himself. However, this also made him unable to move, making it even harder to reach the dragon's head.
His previous experience told Midir that this dragon's mastery of space magic was extraordinary. If he used teleportation recklessly, he might be countered again, creating unstable spatial turbulence that would plunge them both into doom. Therefore, he had to act with caution to avoid falling into a trap.
Similarly, the dragon didn't dare to strike randomly at this moment. It knew that as long as the domain wrapped around the human was still active, its magic couldn't harm him; a reckless attack might only end up hurting itself.
Thus, it shifted to a hit-and-run tactic, maintaining high-speed flight in an attempt to drain Midir's stamina and mana. Once his domain failed, its victory would be at hand.
While Midir and the dragon were at a stalemate, Aila slowly woke up from her unconscious state.
After a brief moment of confusion, she quickly realized the current peril and reached out without hesitation to grab the dragon's back, sharing some of the pressure for Midir. Nevertheless, their situation remained precarious, and the dawn of victory seemed far out of reach.
“Midir, can you still hold on? How are we going to defeat it now!”
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