Chapter 90. Corrupted Dragon.
Hubert stared at the ongoing war between the mutated creatures and magic beasts, rage visible in the distance. "Are you sure about this Callisto?" he asked, concern etched in his voice.
Callisto, who was leading the way, replied without hesitation. "I can't be mistaken, my lord. The abnormal flow of energy I'm seeing is not coming from this place. I believe the mastermind behind this attack is not here."
The two of them avoided the ongoing battle by taking a detour and entered the outer territory of the enchanted forest, where most of the low-ranking magic beasts lived. The fog that had previously blocked their vision had now lifted, revealing the huge destruction caused by the mutated creatures. It had taken them an hour to reach this point from the entrance, and the sight that greeted them was one of devastation.
As they walked, they couldn't help but notice the lush greenery that surrounded them. This was in stark contrast to the entrance of the forest, which had decayed and withered away.
Suddenly, Hubert exclaimed in shock, "Are those rank 4 magic beasts?" pointing towards several large beasts that stood guard at the frontlines of the forest. These powerful beasts were standing there, doing nothing but overlooking the battle. Their bodies were covered in milky white mana, as if they were just waiting to make a move if the mutated creatures were winning the war.
Callisto, who had been observing everything closely, replied with a cold sweat flowing from his face. "It is. And they have the same cloudy and filthy energy as the fog, meaning they were also infected by it. But it seems like it's under control... for now."
Hubert, who was standing behind him, couldn't hide his shock. "All of them?" he asked, clearly unhappy to hear such news.
"Yes, all of them," Callisto confirmed, worry and fear etched on his face. They had never expected that even powerful magic beasts would be infected by this fog, and the thought of what it could mean for their mission filled them both with dread.
As they all stood there, surveying the damage and trying to process the new information, they knew they needed to end this quickly. They couldn't just stand by and watch as the enchanted forest and its inhabitants were destroyed by the mutated creatures because it also means their own destruction.
"We need to find the source of this infection and put a stop to it," Hubert said determinedly. “Callisto everything is now on your hands, you are the only one who can track and see the energy flow and locate the source of this infection. We have to move fast before it's too late."
Callisto nodded solemnly, understanding the gravity of the situation. "I'll do my best, my lord. But I'll need your help as well. We'll have to work together if we want to succeed."
As they continue with their mission, carefully avoiding the ongoing battle between the mutated creatures and magic beasts. As Callisto focused on tracking the weird energy flow, trying to locate the source of infection in the fog.
Their group had been searching for hours, and they were getting closer to the source of the fog infection. Callisto, claimed that the energy readings he is receiving were becoming stronger and more chaotic, and they knew they were getting close.
And as they went deeper into the forest, even they who can’t see it could feel the dark energy becoming stronger and more chaotic. Callisto's face was etched with concentration as he tried to make sense of the readings he was getting.
Suddenly, they emerged into a clearing and there, in the center of the clearing, stood a medium size dragon with two heads. The dragon's scales were twisted and corrupted, and its eyes glowed with a malevolent energy. Staring at them in hunger.
Hubert's eyes widened in shock and he exclaimed, “That’s a Dragon! A young Dragon! But something seems wrong with it.”
Callisto nodded, his face etched with determination. “There is. Because that is the source of the parasites in the fog causing the mutation of beings it infects.”
Hugo immediately went in front of them, “Then we have to destroy it before it's too late. Even if it belongs to the dragon race who was highly treasured by the three empires. It’s still a threat to us and to the mortal land.”
The group prepared for battle, with Hubert and Hugo taking the lead while the other knights formed a defensive circle around it. When suddenly the dragon let out a deafening roar, and they knew that the fight was about to begin.
The dragon breathed out a stream of corrupted fire, but they were all able to dodge it just in time. They retaliated with their own attacks, but the dragon's corrupted scales proved to be too strong, and their attacks barely made a dent.
“This, how is this possible?” Hugo said in shock upon seeing his attacks to be ineffective against it.
His golden lance aura, a weapon he greatly prides on is useless against it. “It can even resist attacks made from pure aura?” he murmured in a low voice as he quickly changes his strategy.
“There is something weird about this Dragon. It’s a youngling, but the hardness of its scales is comparable to an adult Dragon.” Hugo commented as he imbued his sword with a golden aura, with a powerful swing, he was able to land a critical hit on one of the dragon's eyes, causing it to roar in pain.
"We need to focus on its eyes and mouth," Hubert said. "Those are its weak points."
The group nodded in agreement and set their sights on the dragon's head. They launched a coordinated attack, aiming for the dragon's eyes and mouth.
“Come on, we can do this!” Hubert shouted as he landed a powerful blow to one of its mouths, blowing it apart.
“That’s it, one more head to go, and were done here.” Hugo added as he aimed for the other eye of the dragon. Piercing with his sword covered in a golden aura. It’s like butter met a heated knife sinking smoothly on its body.
Despite of the Dragons eyes covered in a thin film of layered glass like a gem. Hugo was still able to penetrate its defense and destroy its eyes.
With his last attack, they managed to take down one of the two heads. But their happiness didn’t last long as they saw a new dragon's head growing from the destroyed area.
“It can’t be. Dragons can’t do this. They can't regenerate this fast.” Sir Daniel said in disbelief.
The group stood there in shock as they watched the new head grow bigger and bigger until it was fully formed.
“Everyone gather behind me, now!” Hubert shouted, bringing the group back to their senses. And as soon as they finished gathering the Dragon have finally completed its regeneration. It only takes a short time.
Hubert didn’t waste any second as he immediately activate the shield of obedience putting it in full power and allowing it to use as much as energy from it’s mana crystal. But before he could even fully activate it, the dragon let out a deafening roar and unleashed a devastating attack on the group.
It’s a huge beam of corrupted energy flooding their surroundings with darkness, destroying everything in its path. The group barely had time to react before it hit them, engulfing them in a blinding light.
When the light dissipated, the group was left mostly unscratched except for some of part of their armor and weapons that failed to enter the range of the shield, as the attack completely obliterates them to ashes.
“What was that?” Asked by them after surviving the attack.
“How did you know it’s coming?” Hugo asks Hubert, who is now equipped with the shield of obedience and now changes his armor color to white.
“Callisto has already warned me from the beginning of our fight, that powerful energy is growing inside the Dragon’s body. Besides, I find it suspicious that our battle with it is going too well, and its far too easy, despite many magic beasts fighting it.” Hubert explains as he looks towards Callisto and nodded as a sign of gratitude.
“This dragon is clearly not the same Dragon that we know. Heck! Its not even on the same colored species of Dragon that we are aware of. Something is wrong with this creature.”
"But we cannot retreat this time or we are all doomed," Hubert declared. "We must defeat this dragon once and for all."
The group nodded in agreement, determination etched on their faces. They knew that this would be their toughest battle yet, but they were ready for it.
"Hugo, you take the left head, I'll take the right, for the others focus all your attack on both its neck make sure that you gotta attack it the same time as us." Hubert instructed, his sword glowing with milky white mixed with a golden aura coming from the shield. "We'll strike at the same time."
Hugo nodded, imbuing his lance with aura as well.
“Callisto, be ready with your shield," Hubert added, glancing towards the tank in their group.
"Got it," Callisto replied, his hands already crackling with energy.
The dragon let out a deafening roar, signaling the start of another battle. It lunged towards them, but the group was ready. Hubert and Hugo charged toward the dragon, their swords and lances glowing with aura.
"Now!" Hubert shouted, and they both struck at the same time, their weapons cutting through the dragon's scales and slicing off its head.
The dragon let out a final roar before collapsing to the ground, motionless. The group let out a cheer, victorious.
"We did it," Hubert exclaimed, relief and triumph evident in his voice.
"We couldn't have done it without each other," Hugo added, clapping Hubert on the back.
“But I still want to bring this dragon back to the city. I know that the kingdom would surely question us about this event and this creature is our only proof of this madness,” Hubert said as they dragged the dragon back home.
At the same time, the fog trapping them has also started to banish as all the mutated creatures in their territory died. Even the war between the two factions in the far distance has stopped.
The epic fight between the dragon and knight was seen through the eyes of a huge black cat, its pupils even reflect the retreating back of Hubert and his knights while dragging the body of the unknown dragon that causes this chaos.
It was clearly satisfied with the fight it saw, as it only watched them fight that small Dragon in the far distance, contemplating whether to join them or not.
But it immediately got distracted by the dead prey on its paw. It is clearly the real mastermind of the fog and parasites invasion, the Dragon that Hubert and the others have fought is just a cover for its retreat.
At last, after waiting for a long time, the huge black cat and several rank 5 magic beasts have finally found the opportunity to ambush this creature and kill it in the process in revenge for the torture they suffered these several months, resisting the invasion of parasites in their body.
It was glad that it brought back that weak human to its home as the food he cooks managed to help them control their situation, without him it would be hard to tell if they can resist becoming one of the mutated creatures in this forest.
But still, it was not happy with its prey. It was clearly weaker than them but its power is strange. Thankfully, that creature helps them resist the invasion and as a thank you they plan to bring their prey to it.
