High above the battlefield...
Princess Selene watched through her brass spyglass.
Far below, the mighty blue dragon was buried beneath chains, wyverns, and countless soldiers.
Ebruhan struggled.
He roared.
He fought.
But he could no longer move.
A faint smile crossed Selene's face.
"...Advance."
Her calm voice carried across the command line.
Immediately, the remaining mana-restraining cannons adjusted their aim.
---
At the Lumeris defensive line...
Without Ebruhan disrupting them, the cannons fired relentlessly.
BOOM!
One beam after another slammed into the kingdom's barrier.
The enormous magical shield rippled violently.
Cracks spread like spiderwebs.
Small holes began appearing across its surface.
The royal mages desperately repaired one breach...
Only for another to open elsewhere.
Sweat poured from their faces.
Blood trickled from more than one nose.
They were reaching their limit.
Then...
One cannon slowly turned.
Not toward the barrier.
Toward Mia's tent.
Its runes flared brilliantly.
The barrel hummed as mana gathered.
"...Fire."
BOOOOM!
A white beam tore across the battlefield.
Four soldiers stationed around the tent reacted instantly.
"Protect Lady Mia!"
They stepped forward together.
Steel shields locked.
The beam struck.
BOOM!
For one brief second...
They held.
Then the mana suppression flooded through their bodies.
Their strength vanished.
One after another...
The soldiers collapsed.
"...Ugh..."
Their shields clattered onto the ground.
The path to Mia was open.
---
Not far away...
Vinson turned just in time to witness it.
"...Leo..."
His eyes widened.
Without hesitation, he cut down the three Norvoss soldiers surrounding him.
His sword moved almost on instinct.
One.
Two.
Three.
Bodies fell.
He didn't even look back.
He ran.
"LEO!"
---
Emma saw it too.
Her face turned pale.
She had barely recovered enough to stand.
But she forced herself forward anyway.
"No..."
"Please..."
---
Near the ruined tent...
Leo stared at the glowing cannon.
It was recharging.
The next shot...
There was no one left to stop it.
His gaze slowly drifted toward Mia.
She still hadn't awakened.
Her breathing had become frighteningly slow.
"...Hu..."
"...Hu..."
The warmth radiating from her scales was fading.
Then...
A memory surfaced.
---
The open sky.
The wind rushing past.
Leo sat on Mia's back as she soared through the clouds.
He laughed nervously.
"I'll protect you, Mia."
The young dragon glanced back in surprise.
Leo scratched his cheek.
"I know...I know"
"I'm nowhere near as strong as dragons."
"But..."
"You'll see."
"I'll become someone you can rely on."
"I promise."
For a moment...
Mia simply looked at him.
Then she smiled.
"I believe you."
---
The memory faded.
Leo slowly knelt beside her.
He gently stroked her cooling head.
"...Don't give up."
"Okay?"
Outside...
The cannon reached full power.
Its barrel glowed like a miniature sun.
BOOOOOOM!!
The beam erupted.
At the same instant—
"LEOOOOOO!!"
Vinson's desperate scream echoed across the battlefield.
Leo heard it.
Or perhaps...
He simply chose not to answer.
He stood.
Then stepped in front of Mia.
Standing between her...
And the incoming beam.
"...Don't you worry ..."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"...Your big brother..."
"...will protect you."
He closed his eyes.
The beam struck.
BOOOOOOOOM!!
Light swallowed everything.
"...NOOOOOOOOO!!"
The mana beam washed over Leo's body...
But none of it reached Mia.
When the light finally faded...
Leo remained standing for only a second.
His face had become deathly pale.
His knees buckled.
He began to fall.
"LEO!"
Vinson lunged forward and caught him before he could hit the ground.
The count dropped to his knees, cradling his son tightly against his chest.
"...No..."
"...No..."
His voice broke.
"Please..."
"Leo..."
"Open your eyes..."
Tears streamed freely down his face.
A father who had stood unshaken through war...
Was now trembling helplessly.
"...Please..."
Emma arrived moments later.
Breathing heavily, she froze where she stood.
Her eyes shifted from Leo...
To Mia.
The ancient magic circle beneath the dragon had completely vanished.
The Abyssal aura was gone.
Even the heat radiating from her scales had nearly disappeared.
Only one thing remained.
"...Hu..."
A long pause.
"...Hu..."
Each breath was slower than the last.
Emma's lips trembled.
"...No..."
Around them...
The mana-restraining cannons fired again.
But mages able to fix the hole as beam slammed into it
The battered barrier shuddered violently as another beam slammed into it.
The battle raged on.
But for those gathered beside the sleeping black dragon...
It felt as though the entire world had stopped.
Inside the Growth Phase...
The dragon's enormous claw continued pressing down.
The pressure was unbearable.
Bones groaned.
Breath refused to come.
Riko's vision blurred as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
"...Leo..."
His voice was barely a whisper.
The dragon's blue eyes stared down at him without mercy.
"You have your own problems to deal with, human."
Its voice rumbled like thunder.
"You cannot save them."
The claw pressed down harder.
The glass beneath Riko's body cracked.
"You are not worthy of this body."
"You never were."
"So give up."
"Die the same way you always should..."
"...like a weakling."
Another crack echoed.
Riko's consciousness began fading.
Then...
A voice.
Faint.
Almost impossible to hear.
"Don't give up, okay?"
Another.
"Your big brother will protect you."
Then—
"LEO!! NO!!"
Riko's pupils trembled.
Those weren't illusions.
They weren't memories.
He could feel it.
That familiar warmth...
The presence that had always stayed beside him...
It was disappearing.
"...Leo..."
The dragon pushed down even harder.
"Focus on yourself!"
"You cannot save anyone!"
Riko's fingers slowly curled around the dragon's claw.
"...No..."
Another hand joined the first.
His entire body trembled.
"I..."
Black-purple mana slowly seeped from beneath his skin.
"...will..."
The dragon frowned.
"...save..."
The mana erupted.
"...THEM!!"
"RAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
BOOM!!
The dragon's claw actually lifted.
Only slightly.
Its eyes widened.
Then, with a furious roar, it slammed him back into the ground.
The impact shattered another section of the crystal floor.
"Anger does not make you stronger!"
The dragon roared.
"You pathetic weakling!"
"You will never become a dragon!"
Riko coughed violently.
Blood stained the crystal beneath him.
Yet...
His hands found the claw again.
"No..."
He pushed.
"...It's..."
The dragon's leg slowly rose once more.
"...NOT..."
With a roar, Riko forced the massive claw away.
The dragon lost its balance and stumbled backward.
For the first time...
It looked surprised.
Riko slowly stood.
His entire body was wrapped in swirling dark purple mana.
His breathing was ragged.
"...Huff..."
"...Huff..."
"I'll save them."
He looked toward the floating memory shards.
Leo.
Vinson.
Ebruhan.
Everyone.
"I know..."
"...I may not deserve this power."
"I may not deserve this body."
"I may not even deserve this second life."
"So what?"
The dragon growled.
Riko took another step.
"But I deserve..."
"...to protect the people who gave me one."
Another step.
"They're my family now."
"I promised..."
"...that I'd protect them."
Without warning—
WHOOOM!!
The dragon's tail slammed into him.
Riko was launched across the crystal world, rolling over the fractured ground before finally stopping.
The dragon lowered its body.
Its muscles tensed.
"You won't protect anyone."
Riko slowly rose again.
His body screamed in pain.
Blood continued dripping from his chin.
"...I will."
His eyes met the dragon's.
"Because..."
"I'm not afraid of you anymore."
The dragon snarled.
Riko smiled.
A tired...Determined...Smile.
"The only thing I'm afraid of..."
"...is losing them."
He pointed directly at the dragon.
"And you?"
"You're nothing but a obstacle in my way"
ROOOOOOOOAR!!
The dragon charged.
The entire world shook beneath its weight.
This time...
Riko didn't move away.
He stepped forward.
Then broke into a run.
"I'm done running from you!"
"I'll never become you!"
Black-purple mana gathered Infront of him
It compressed.
Condensed.
Until...
A spear of pure Abyssal mana formed before him.
Its tip glowed with terrifying power.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
"ROOOOOOOOOOAR!!"
The two collided.
Time seemed to stop.
The spear pierced forward.
Straight through the dragon's chest.
Riko burst through the other side while his mana spear head dissolved into particles,
He stood there, breathing heavily.
"...Huff..."
"...Huff..."
Behind him...
The dragon slowly turned.
A glowing purple wound spread across its chest.
Cracks.
Tiny at first.
Then hundreds.
Then thousands.
The dragon stared silently at Riko.
Before...
CRACK.
Its body shattered into countless black fragments.
The entire crystal world trembled violently.
Every floating memory shard shook.
The ground beneath Riko's feet collapsed.
Reality itself began breaking apart.
---------
Outside...
---------
Vinson remained on his knees.
His arms wrapped tightly around Leo's unconscious body.
Tears streamed freely down his face.
"My son..."
"...Please..."
Emma could barely look at them.
Then...
Her eyes widened.
"...Wait."
Tiny strands of dark-purple mana drifted from Mia's body.
One after another.
The air around her distorted.
A familiar magic circle slowly appeared beneath the sleeping dragon.
It rotated.
Faster.
Brighter.
Larger than before.
The tent trembled.
Emma's heart skipped a beat.
"Sir Vinson!"
Her voice cut through the chaos.
"We have to move!"
"Now!"
Outside...
The barrier protecting Lumeris was collapsing.
Massive holes spread across its surface once more.
On the opposite side of the battlefield—
The remaining mana-restraining cannons slowly adjusted their aim.
Every barrel...
Turned toward Mia.
Emma's expression went pale.
"Sir Vinson!"
"WE HAVE YO MOVE!"
"NOW!"
-----
Inside the Growth Phase...
____
Silence.
Riko slowly opened his eyes.
The crystal world was gone.
He stood beneath an endless sky, suspended in a sea of white light.
Countless memory shards floated around him like stars.
Each one reflected a piece of his life.
Leo laughing with tiny mia
Vinson smiling proudly.
Emma scolding him.
Ebruhan training him
Nythera hugging him.
Even memories from his previous life drifted peacefully among them.
Riko looked around, and a small smile found its way onto his face.
"...Leo."
He took a slow breath.
"I'm coming."
The white light surged forward.
It swallowed him whole.
---
Outside...
The ancient magic circle beneath Mia suddenly expanded.
Its diameter doubled.
Then tripled.
Ancient runes blazed with brilliant purple light as it spun faster and faster.
A violent wind erupted from its center.
At that exact moment—
The mana-restraining cannons fired.
Blue beams screamed across the battlefield.
Straight toward the sleeping dragon.
Nobody could stop them.
Nobody was close enough.
Then...
The impossible happened.
The beams stopped.
Frozen.
Suspended in midair only a few meters from Mia.
The battlefield fell silent.
"...What?"
The cannon crews stared in disbelief.
Even Princess Selene's calm expression cracked for the first time.
"...Impossible."
One officer shouted,
"Fire again!"
The cannons roared once more.
More blue beams crossed the battlefield.
Only to stop exactly the same way.
Motionless.
As though time itself refused to let them advance.
Then...
Mia's body slowly rose into the air.
Her head hung low.
Her wings remained limp.
Her tail swayed gently behind her.
Like a puppet lifted by invisible strings.
The spinning magic circle generated a powerful vortex.
Dust.
Loose stones.
Broken weapons.
Everything around her began circling through the air.
Every soldier—
Lumeris and Norvoss alike—
Could do nothing but watch.
Then...
The frozen blue mans restraining beams began changing.
The brilliant azure light slowly darkened.
Blue...
Became violet.
Violet...
Became deep Abyssal purple.
The beams twisted.
Compressed.
Reshaped.
Until they were no longer beams at all.
Dozens...
Hundreds...
Of enormous purple mana spikes floated around Mia.
The ancient magic circle shrank.
Smaller.
Smaller.
Until it rested directly over her chest.
Then...
It disappeared.
Mia's Brilliant sapphire blue eyes opened.
Without a single movement...
Every mana spike shot forward.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
Four mana-restraining cannons vanished beneath enormous purple explosions.
Black smoke erupted into the sky as Abyssal flames devoured the wreckage.
The explosions echoed across the battlefield.
Mia slowly descended.
Her paws touched the ground.
Nearby...
The shattered black fragments of Nythera's necklace trembled.
One by one, they rose into the air.
The shards began orbiting around her once more.
Mia slowly lifted her head.
She spread her wings.
Then—
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!
The roar shook the battlefield.
It rolled across the plains like a tidal wave.
Soldiers instinctively covered their ears.
Horses panicked.
Even the earth itself seemed to tremble.
Mia's gaze shifted.
She saw Vinson...
Holding Leo tightly in his arms.
For just a heartbeat...
Her expression softened.
Then...
Her eyes moved toward the remaining mana-restraining cannons and launched into the sky.
BOOM!!
The ground exploded beneath her from the force of her acceleration.
The remaining cannons immediately opened fire.
Blue beams raced toward her.
They struck her Abyssal barrier—
Only to ricochet away as if they had hit an indestructible wall.
Mana gathered before Mia.
Compressed into a massive purple spearhead.
She accelerated even faster.
The cannon's protective barrier shimmered into existence.
Then—
She pierced straight through it.
As though it had never existed.
The spearhead tore through the barrier...
Through the cannon...
Through everything behind it.
She emerged from the opposite side without slowing.
A heartbeat later—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The entire cannon erupted into a towering pillar of purple fire.
Another cannon.
Another explosion.
Another.
And another.
Within seconds...
Every remaining mana-restraining cannon was reduced to burning wreckage.
---
Elsewhere...
The wyverns holding Ebruhan down looked up.
Their pupils shrank to tiny slits.
The squad leader pointed at Mia.
"DYROT!"
"Charge!"
The great wyvern didn't move.
Instead...
It let out a frightened whine.
Its instincts screamed at it.
Run.
Its wings spread.
Not toward Mia...
But away from her.
Straight toward the Norvoss rear lines.
"What are you doing?!"
The rider pulled desperately on the reins.
"DYROT!!"
The wyvern ignored every command.
One after another...
The remaining wyverns followed.
Sixteen terrified beasts abandoned the battlefield.
Their riders shouted in panic.
None of them listened.
Predators recognized something that humans could not.
And every instinct told them the same thing.
Do not fight that dragon.
---
Mia landed beside Ebruhan.
Chains still wrapped tightly around the great Storm Dragon.
Norvoss soldiers surrounded him.
Weapons raised.
Mia lowered her head.
Abyssal mana gathered around her.
Dozens of purple spikes slowly formed in the air.
The soldiers froze.
Then—
The retreat horn echoed across the battlefield.
BWOOOOOOO—
BWOOOOOOO—
Norvoss soldiers exchanged stunned glances.
"...Retreat!"
They immediately released their chains and fled.
Moments later...
Ebruhan forced himself upright.
The broken chains still hung from his body.
He let out a tired growl.
"...Grr..."
Then he looked at Mia.
His golden eyes widened with unmistakable surprise.
Mia turned toward him.
A faint grin appeared on her muzzle.
"...Yeah."
"I'm back."