Mikhail

 Radiant light burst like a blazing sphere.

Mad magic and pure elemental force clashed fiercely, indistinguishable from each other in intensity.

After a thunderous shockwave, the tide of battle clearly began to shift.

With the Abyssal power surging through him, Sui Ming fought more ferociously than ever.

In contrast, Bai Ling—deprived of the aid of natural elements—was beginning to falter.

“Hey! You could at least help or something! Don’t just stand there like a statue!”

“Relax, relax! I’m calling someone!”

The crow seemed to be holding a pitch-black slab to her ear like a phone, fumbling to connect a call.

“Boom!”

Amid the dust, that maddened golden silhouette once again lunged forward.

It streaked through the air, leaving behind a brilliant golden arc far stronger than before.

By now, Bai Ling’s body was covered in wounds from the prolonged battle.

Blood trickled from her pale arms, soaking her silver sleeves.

A deep resonance stirred in her blood.

Something ancient echoed in her ears.

She smiled bitterly, then—after a brief moment of hesitation—reached for a brilliant scale gleaming on her chest.

Of course she knew the cost.

If she used her Heartshield Dragon Scale, her family would instantly be alerted to her location.

And the one person she least wanted to face… would find her.

But so what?

The boy who once reached out to her in the depths of that frozen cave was now suffering.

And after receiving that warmth…

How could she not stand up for him?

She had spent her entire life running—

From her race.

From humans.

From the world.

From the shadows of the past.

Was she really going to keep running, even now—

When a friend was in danger?

Like some mangy, broken-legged mutt?

What a joke.

With a sharp yank, she tore the shimmering, rainbow-hued scale from her chest.

In an instant, an overwhelming surge of mana exploded from her small frame—

Like a mountain awakening.

“Ten seconds is enough.”

“Come back to me, Sui Ming!!”

A dragon’s roar echoed through heaven and earth.

A colossal phantom materialized, solidifying midair and descending like a sovereign.

The abyssal hymn of nightmares rang out again, attempting to drown it—

But for once, it was overpowered.

“Give him back to me!”

Her fist—charged with every elemental force of the world—slammed into Sui Ming.

He didn’t even have time to react.

The blow struck clean.

The entire realm shattered like glass.

Even the barrier the crow had erected earlier crumbled under the sheer force.

The countless strands of Abyssal corruption recoiled—

As if terrified—

Retreating back into Sui Ming’s body without a sound.

“Ha… ha… Is it… over?”

Bai Ling raised her head, panting.

She looked down at the dull, fading silver scale in her hand.

A flood of mixed emotions stirred in her chest.

Then she glanced at Sui Ming—fast asleep, peaceful as ever—

And sighed.

“…Whatever. At least he’s alive.”

But the sky—once pristine—was now dimming.

Not a single raindrop fell.

No pressure drop.

Only… a shadow circling above.

The darkness lifted slowly.

A single white beam of light pierced down through the clouds.

From it stepped a man.

Handsome.

Waist-length silver hair.

A proud, disdainful expression.

And… pale blue horns clearly visible on his head.

His gaze swept the scene below.

When he saw the silver-haired girl, his face changed.

“Ling… Is that you?”

The man’s voice was careful—almost trembling.

“Nope. Wrong dragon, Mr. Baiming,”

The girl replied coldly.

“Ling’er, come home.

Let’s go back…”

“Ha. Home?”

She laughed bitterly.

“You’re calling that place a home?”

“A place that couldn’t even protect the one who sacrificed herself for the dragons—

You call that home?”

“Give it up, Baiming.

The moment you abandoned her two years ago,

You should’ve known this day would come.”

“Your wife—dead.

Your daughter—banished.

How’s that lonely life treating you?”

“Answer me, Baiming!!”

Bai Ling screamed, the anguish tearing through her voice.

Tears welled in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.

“She… she still believed in you, you bastard!!”

“She thought you could change it all.

She believed in miracles.

But you…

You destroyed them with your own hands!!”

“I… I had no choice back then…”

“Enough!

Spare me your excuses!”

She flung away the hand he tried to place on her shoulder,

Then turned, ready to walk back to Sui Ming’s side.

“…This… this is Abyssal power?”

Baiming stared at the white-haired boy collapsed on the ground.

“Ling’er! Move aside!

That thing’s a contaminated host!”

Without waiting for her reply, he raised his hand.

At once, the skies trembled.

Gales surged across the land,

And pure mana resonated through the air.

“Baiming, I said STOP!!”

But it was too late.

Before her words could even reach him,

A blade formed—long and brilliant enough to change the color of the sky.

And it plunged straight toward the unconscious boy.

At that hopeless moment—

A vicious strike howled through the air, intercepting the divine blade.

“Who’s there?!

Show yourself!”

“…Tch.

Even little lizards are barging into human lands now, huh?

What the hell is Olgana doing?”

A silhouette appeared on the horizon, walking out beneath the setting sun.

The man was a walking mountain of muscle—

Each sinew twisting like molten rock on the verge of eruption.

Yet on his massive arms…

Strange alchemical formations glowed.

A jacked-up mage covered in runes?

‘Seriously?

Since when did muscleheads do alchemy too?’

“Sage—Mikhail?”

Baiming’s eyes narrowed.

This was one of the greatest alchemists alive—

Why was he here?

“Just fulfilling a request,”

Mikhail replied casually, summoning a soft crimson array in his palm.

[Alchemical Rite — Firecalamity]

An exclusive creation of Mikhail.

A forbidden array that turned all organic life into searing flame,

Self-sufficient. Self-fueling.

By harvesting life force, it bypassed the fundamental alchemy rule of equivalent exchange.

“You really think a [Sage]-tier alchemist like you can face me alone?”

Baiming’s voice was cold.

“Wanna find out?”

Mikhail grinned.

The muscles on his arm flexed.

Crimson particles shimmered into the air—

Each one brimming with devastating power.

And they all surged straight toward the dragon man.