Chapter 55
With a fierce determination, Gray infused his massive paws with shimmering star energy. The platform of ice beneath him shattered as he launched himself with explosive force, creating a powerful shockwave that splintered nearby rocks and felled trees in its wake. Propelled toward the black dragon, Gray aimed to strike, but the dragon twisted its body with a swift, agile motion, narrowly avoiding his lunge. Undeterred, Gray quickly positioned himself above the beast and conjured a colossal iceberg in the air, the jagged structure glistening with lethal intent. Gravity seized the iceberg, sending it plummeting toward the dragon, its sheer size casting an ominous shadow over the mountainside.
The dragon roared, its wings flapping furiously as it attempted to evade the impending catastrophe. As the iceberg fell, Gray descended alongside it, hurling himself into the colossal structure. He infused the massive ice formation with concentrated star energy, causing glowing cracks to spiderweb across its surface. The air shimmered with silver light as the energy surged through the iceberg. When it finally struck the dragon, the impact was earth-shattering. The force of the collision carved a massive crater into the mountainside, shattering boulders and sending an avalanche of debris cascading down. The dragon was forced downward, pinned under the relentless weight of the enchanted ice.
But Gray wasn't finished. As the dragon struggled beneath the iceberg, Gray summoned more of his strength and unleashed a devastating burst of energy. The iceberg exploded into countless shards of glimmering ice, each fragment glowing with the remnants of star energy. The resulting shockwave rippled outward, flattening the surrounding forest and sending shockwaves that cracked the earth itself. The dragon, caught at the epicenter of the explosion, let out a pained roar as its scales were frozen and blown to smiteren, and its wings battered beyond repair. Smoke and mist filled the air, the once-thriving forest now a wasteland of frost-covered rubble and smoldering remains.
As the dust settled, the battlefield lay in utter ruin. The towering trees that once stood proud were either shattered or reduced to splinters, the ground scorched and frozen in jagged patches. Gray stood amidst the destruction, his form bloodied but now returned to his human shape. "Hhhh, this is fun!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as he approached the dragon's carcass. Without hesitation, he ripped out its heart, the very ingredient he had sought. "And this completes it—the final ingredient for my ascension potion," he declared, pocketing the heart just as Rachel appeared.
Rachel surveyed the devastation with a mixture of shock and frustration. "I get that you go crazy when it comes to ingredients and that they aren't sentient," she said, her tone sharp as she paused to look at the dragon. "But did you have to be so barbaric? You're a sorcerer, for God's sake." Gray smirked, teasing, "Oh, please, don't act like you don't like it." Rachel rolled her eyes as he continued, "Plus, I am not a sorcerer. I am a wizard." Rachel raised a confused eyebrow. "There's a difference?" she asked. Gray looked offended as he launched into his explanation.
"What is the difference? Woman, a sorcerer is someone with innate magical abilities due to their powerful lineage," he said, giving Rachel a pointed look that made her groan. "And a wizard," he added, pointing to himself, "is someone who learns magic through practice." Rachel, annoyed, looked at him and said, "Whatever. Anyway, the mother of that dragon you just killed has come for revenge." Both of them looked up, and in the sky, a small dot expanded rapidly into the form of a furious, colossal black dragon. "Let's hope your healing factor doesn't have a limit," Rachel muttered before returning to her wand form, leaving Gray to face the enraged dragon.
The dragon's roar split the air, its voice like thunder cascading through the mountains as it descended. Lightning surged from its maw, a blinding torrent that lit up the battlefield. The ground exploded in fiery bursts where the lightning struck, leaving trenches and molten craters in its wake. Gray leaped to the side, narrowly dodging the attack. His ice barrier barely withstood the aftershock, the edges melting instantly from the sheer intensity of the heat. The dragon followed with a swipe of its claws, slicing through the frozen shield and sending shards of ice hurtling in all directions.
Gray retaliated by creating a wave of star-infused ice spikes that erupted from the ground, forcing the dragon to take flight. He used a Levitation Charm to propel himself after it, weaving through the air as the dragon tried to shake him off with powerful wingbeats. Each flap sent gusts of wind that uprooted trees and hurled debris like projectiles. Gray barely maintained his balance, countering with smaller explosions of star energy to regain control. He lunged toward the dragon, slamming an ice platform beneath him, which detonated with enough force to launch him higher.
The dragon unleashed another torrent of lightning, the sheer magnitude of the blast incinerating anything in its path. Gray conjured a massive reflective ice wall, but the lightning shattered it with deafening force, sending Gray hurtling through the air. He crashed into a rocky outcrop, the impact cracking the stone beneath him. Before he could recover, the dragon dived at him, its massive talons slamming into the ground where he had been moments before. Gray rolled away, his breathing ragged, as the dragon clawed furiously at the earth, shaking the entire mountainside.
The battle spilled into a dense forest below. The dragon tore through the trees, its massive body carving a destructive path as it pursued Gray. He darted between the trunks, using them as cover while hurling star-infused ice shards at the beast. Each shard exploded on impact, leaving smoldering craters on the dragon's scales, but its thick hide shrugged off most of the damage. It retaliated by smashing its tail into the ground, uprooting trees and sending shockwaves through the earth that knocked Gray off his feet.
Gray scrambled to his feet and cast an Immobulus Charm. For a fleeting moment, the dragon froze mid-motion, its wings locked in place. Seizing the opportunity, Gray conjured a massive spear of ice infused with star energy and hurled it at the dragon's exposed underbelly. The spear struck true, detonating in a brilliant burst of silver light that sent the dragon crashing into a nearby river. Water erupted into the air as the beast roared in fury, its thrashing creating waves that flooded the forest floor.
The dragon rose from the water, its eyes blazing with rage, and launched itself into the sky. Gray followed, using the Levitation Charm to ascend as the dragon fired bolts of lightning at him. He countered with precise blasts of star energy, the resulting explosions illuminating the night sky. The two clashed mid-air, their attacks lighting up the heavens as if a storm had erupted around them. Gray conjured another iceberg and detonated it directly above the dragon, sending shards of ice raining down like meteors.
The battle reached its climax atop a jagged peak. The dragon, its scales cracked and bleeding, roared defiantly as it unleashed one final, massive torrent of lightning. The blast scorched the mountaintop, reducing it to a smoldering wasteland. Gray, battered and bloodied, summoned every ounce of his remaining power. He conjured a colossal ice spear, its surface glowing with star energy, and hurled it at the dragon. The spear struck the beast's chest, the impact detonating in a blinding explosion that lit up the entire mountain range.