“There’s something strange about this thing. Let me handle it! Watch my back.” After a brief instruction to Aila, Midir’s figure blurred, vanishing from his spot and reappearing in front of the elemental being like a ghost.
Against the giant's massive frame, even the tall Midir looked as small as a child.
He quickly activated the magic circuits on Starflame. The white flames reignited instantly, breaking free from their icy shackles as if given life and returning to his hand.
Sensing the sudden threat at its feet, the elemental giant clenched its free hand into a massive fist and swung it toward Midir with world-shaking force.
Unfazed, Midir raised Starflame in a vertical slash to meet the gargantuan fist. However, the blade passed through the giant’s body as if cutting through air, proving that conventional attacks were useless against an opponent composed of pure elements.
Realizing this, Midir quickly retreated several steps to create distance. But the elemental giant had no intention of letting him go. Though its body remained stationary for the moment, the fist it had just swung suddenly elongated like a snake, lunging after him.
Midir shifted his weight, lightly dodging the heavy blow. Simultaneously, he wreathed Starflame in the Flame of Destruction once more, slashing at the overextended giant arm like a bolt of lightning.
This time, the sharp blade didn't disappoint. It sliced the water-element arm clean in two, the cut appearing exceptionally smooth.
But before Midir could celebrate, the severed ends of the giant's arm began to quiver. The end attached to the giant reshaped itself instantly into a new, complete hand, while the severed portion transformed into a blade of ice as sharp as a razor, shooting toward Midir with bone-chilling cold.
“Midir, watch your back!” Seeing him attacked from both sides, Aila shouted in alarm and prepared to rush forward to help.
Feeling the chill from behind, Midir ducked low, pressing himself to the ground like a leopard. The ice blade grazed past him, and he narrowly avoided the lethal strike.
Immediately after, a burst of intense white flames erupted from his back. A heat capable of melting anything vaporized the approaching ice blade in an instant, leaving only a wisp of rising steam.
Sensing the burn of the flames, the elemental giant’s newly formed hand retracted. It didn't launch another attack, instead staring down the two from a dozen meters away.
“How is it? Did you find anything?” Aila hurried to Midir’s side. Seeing him unharmed, the weight on her heart lifted, and she asked with concern.
“It’s tricky. I can only confirm that the parts severed from its body can't be reclaimed, but unless we cut it into pieces and burn it all at once, this is going to be a war of attrition,” Midir said, frowning at the motionless giant.
“What if you use the Power of Creation again? Would that be more effective? And what exactly is it doing?” Aila pressed, her eyes full of confusion.
“It’s made of pure elements. Using the Power of Creation to strip its internal elements isn't very practical. Besides, there's a water source right next to it; it has as much water element as it wants. It’s hard to pull off... As for what it’s doing...”
Before he could finish, a startling commotion erupted from the elemental giant, as if in direct response to Aila’s question.
Starting from the hand it had plunged into the ice, its entire body began to undergo a massive transformation.
Amidst violent twisting and swelling, the giant’s form gradually shifted into that of a dragon. Its volume expanded several times over, and the arm buried deep in the ice transformed into a dragon’s tail, completing this astonishing evolution.
Seeing this, Midir realized what was happening. “I see. It’s absorbing the residual elemental power from the dragon’s remains and converting it for its own use. Its goal was this massive energy from the very beginning.”
Looking by the faint phosphorescence on the walls, the parts of the dragon’s corpse it touched were gradually shriveling up. Before long, the elemental being—now fully draconic—seemed temporarily satiated. Its body stopped expanding, and it pulled its tail out, breaking the connection with the ice.
Seeing the elemental monster, now fully in the shape of a dragon, looking at them with ill intent, Aila asked instinctively.
“Is it coming for us now? Quick, coat my weapon in the Flame of Destruction too! I only have enough War God Battle Qi for my trump cards; I can't afford to waste it on attrition.”
Midir shook his head. “The weapon you have now can’t handle the Flame of Destruction. You won’t be able to control it, and it’ll likely end up hurting you. Let me handle it.”
“But... is there really no other way? Elemental beings... the weakness of elemental beings... Right! Their weakness should be their core!”
Though rejected, Aila didn't give up. She muttered to herself, suddenly remembering hearing her family mention these rare beings composed of elements at the dinner table.
“A core? If it has a weakness, this gets much easier!” Midir waved his hand, tossing several orbs of light toward the ceiling of the cavern, instantly illuminating the surroundings as bright as day. However, under the brilliant light, they found nothing that looked like a core.
It seemed the sudden glare had provoked the elemental dragon. It no longer hesitated, letting out a roar before pouncing toward the two with incredible speed.
Perhaps because it had just absorbed the dragon’s energy, its speed was noticeably faster. Its massive body was upon them in the blink of an eye.
Facing the elemental dragon’s relentless pressure, Midir and Aila dodged nimbly through the cavern. While the space was large enough for the two of them, it felt particularly cramped against an elemental being with the proportions of a dragon.
While it wasn't as awe-inspiring as the original dragon’s hundred-meter frame, it was no smaller than the sub-dragons. The cavern, hundreds of meters wide, only gave it enough room for a dozen or so strides.
Moreover, it wasn't a true dragon. It possessed the bizarre attack methods of an elemental lifeform. After its initial strike missed, two jets of water erupted from its back, shooting toward the pair.
Seeing this, Midir once again condensed the Flame of Destruction, swinging his blade to slice through the approaching water jet. Aila, however, didn't fare as well. Her strength was far inferior to the elemental monster’s, and she was immediately forced onto the defensive. She barely managed to block the hit by forging a palm-sized hand shield, but the sheer force sent her flying back a dozen meters before she could fully dissipate the impact.
Meanwhile, the elemental dragon had already turned around calmly at the other end of the cavern and was bearing down on them again.
In this environment, a creature composed entirely of water elements undoubtedly held a massive advantage. The edge provided by the Flame of Destruction was completely offset by its Ultimate Water. With this, it could slowly grind the two of them down until they died.
While Midir was racking his brain for a way to break the deadlock, Aila suddenly spotted the key. She shouted at the top of her lungs, “I see its core! It’s behind the neck, near the spine!”
Following her finger, Midir finally managed to spot the so-called core. A tiny black sphere was floating inside the elemental dragon’s body, so inconspicuous it was almost invisible.
“What the... are you kidding me?! You’re telling me that for a body that big, the core is only the size of a walnut?” Seeing such a miniature core, the usually even-tempered Midir couldn't help but curse.
“Don’t look at me like that! That really is its core. Who knew it would be so small? Just find a way to break it!” Aila shouted as she dodged the water bullets the elemental dragon was hurling at her.
Rate on N.U.
