Alice fell through the sky like a broken meteor.
Half of her skull had been torn open. Black scales mixed with blood as fragments of flesh and bone scattered through the air behind her. One of her eyes no longer existed, and part of her jaw hung unnaturally loose from the earlier attack.
Even then, Alice remained conscious.
A dragon’s body was absurdly durable, especially one with her Constitution. As long as her heart and brain were not completely destroyed, death would not come easily. Pain clouded her senses and her thoughts felt sluggish, but she could still think. She could still act.
So she kept her eyes closed.
Her massive body continued falling while she pretended to be unconscious. At the same time, her senses rapidly expanded across the battlefield.
The plan had been simple from the very beginning.
Other teams had too many members. Hunting them down was impossible. Even if Isaac’s team found one or two people, the rest could simply stay hidden while conserving stamina. Or they could kite Isaac’s team. The battlefield was large enough for that.
The only realistic option had been forcing everyone into a single place.
The Boss Monster.
That was why Emily and the others had been fighting so aggressively from the start. They wanted to create pressure. Once Isaac’s team exhausted themselves against the Boss Monster, the hidden teams would inevitably make their move.
And they did.
Alice had expected attacks. She just had not expected the other teams to focus on her with this much brutality.
Still, the situation worked in her favor.
’They know I won’t die from a single attack like this.’
Her thoughts remained calm despite the pain tearing through her head.
’So they’ll observe first. They’ll want to confirm how severe my injuries are before committing another strike.’
The other teams did not want to kill her. This was still a competition. But knocking her unconscious was enough. If Alice lost consciousness, Isaac’s team would immediately lose one of its strongest supporters.
That was why she continued acting limp while falling.
They had to be nearby. The attacks came too quickly and too accurately for long-range observation. If she could locate them now, the next stage of the plan could begin immediately.
Alice silently expanded her mana further.
The battlefield sharpened inside her perception. Bursts of mana. Movement eight hundred meters to the west. Hidden presences trying to suppress themselves after attacking.
Everything was going perfectly.
Alice’s plan was perfect. However, she forgot to count for one thing.
[The obsession of dragons with their treasure.]
A terrifying wave of mana erupted from below. The air itself trembled.
Only a fraction of a second passed, but Alice immediately understood who it belonged to.
Isaac.
Her eyes nearly opened on instinct.
He was angry.
Alice felt alarm spread through her chest.
’He’s going to kill the Florathi team leader.’
She had not sensed Isaac near the battlefield earlier, but it made sense he was nearby. He must have left hidden clones around them from the beginning to protect them.
The moment Alice suffered a fatal injury, his emotions exploded and his mana leaked out.
That was bad.
No, worse than bad.
If Isaac revealed himself here, his team would immediately face disqualification. The entire City would witness him interfering directly in the competition. And if he actually killed the Florathi leader in that state, the political consequences would become a disaster.
Alice almost cursed aloud.
Isaac’s current actions were irrational.
If he stopped to think for even a second, he would realize she was still alive. And as long as she was alive, she could heal herself. This injury looked horrifying, but it was not enough to kill her.
But Isaac was also a dragon. And dragons did not think logically when it came to their treasures.
Without hesitation, Alice abandoned her act. Her eyes snapped open.
[Miracle of Grace.]
Golden light exploded across her broken skull. Flesh rapidly regenerated while shattered bones pulled themselves together with sickening speed. Blood evaporated into mana as the healing spell consumed enormous energy.
At the same moment, Alice opened her jaws.
[ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR—!]
The Dragon Roar erupted across the battlefield.
A monstrous wave of mana exploded outward from her falling body. The sound itself distorted the air while black clouds scattered from the force.
Undead creatures on the ground shattered instantly. Skeletons collapsed into dust while lesser summons were blown apart. Even nearby members of her own team were forced backward from the pressure.
But Alice had no choice.
Isaac’s mana spike disappeared beneath the overwhelming surge of her roar.
Since his emotions had caused his mana to erupt irregularly, Alice could bury the disturbance beneath her own attack. To everyone watching, it would simply appear as if the pressure came from her Dragon Roar.
This way, nobody would realize Isaac was nearby.
’Please stop being stupid,’ Alice thought desperately.
Her wings strained as she stabilized herself in midair.
’See? I’m fine.’
She knew he could not hear her thoughts, but she hoped he would understand after seeing her recover.
Thankfully, the terrifying mana pressure below slowly disappeared.
Alice nearly sighed in relief.
Then another attack came.
A white ray of light appeared directly in front of her.
Too fast.
This time, however, Alice was prepared. She twisted her body and raised one wing like a shield. The beam pierced straight through it.
Pain exploded through her nerves as black blood scattered into the sky again, but the attack failed to reach her head.
At the same time, Alice continued extending her senses across the battlefield.
The hidden teams were starting to panic.
Their skills activated one after another, causing mana fluctuations everywhere. For Alice, those mana spikes were like torches lighting up darkness.
One team near the eastern ruins. Another hidden beneath the collapsed canyon.
Alice’s lips curled slightly.
’Good.’
Now she only needed to relay their locations to Emily and Avery. Once that happened, they could move to the next part of the plan and turn the battlefield upside down.
But before her thoughts could finish—
The sky cracked.
Six giant pillars descended from above.
One was pitch black with deep red cracks spreading across its surface like veins. The remaining five were darker than steel, surrounded by violent arcs of blue lightning.
Alice’s instincts screamed immediately.
She tried to move, but she was too late.
The black pillar crashed directly onto her. The impact sent shockwaves across the battlefield.
Alice attempted to force herself away, but flying with a pierced wing had already become difficult. Worse, the pillar carried an unnatural gravitational force. Everything nearby was dragged toward it.
The moment it touched her scales, Alice felt her mana being drained rapidly.
The pillar absorbed mana greedily while its weight increased further and further.
Alice’s expression changed.
’They’re trying to empty my mana.’
If her mana reserves vanished, she would lose far more than healing. Her buffs, support magic, and battlefield control would all collapse immediately.
The enemy teams clearly understood her importance.
Alice roared and pushed upward with all her strength, but the pillar kept dragging her down.
At the same time, the other five pillars moved.
They surrounded the Crimson Sky Wyrm.
The enormous summon roared furiously while the pillars suspended themselves in midair around it. Blue lightning continuously erupted between them, forming a massive prison.
The moment the barrier completed itself, lightning struck the Crimson Sky Wyrm repeatedly.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The creature retaliated with crimson flames and shockwaves, but every time it attempted to destroy the barrier, the lightning interrupted its attacks.
On the ground, Eleanor watched the scene with narrowed eyes.
’They’re suppressing the Crimson Sky Wyrm because of its ability to interfere with others’ skills.’
All of Emily’s summons were dangerous. But the Crimson Sky Wyrm was different. Its ability to block skills made it the biggest threat on the battlefield. That was why every team targeted it first.
Still, Eleanor did not panic. Alice would locate everyone soon. Once the hidden teams were exposed, the next stage of their plan could begin immediately.
Then she heard Emily’s voice beside her.
"I hate this."
Eleanor froze. The words were quiet, but something inside them felt wrong. She turned her head slowly.
Emily stood completely still while staring upward at Alice.
Her expression no longer looked calm.
"Why does she always fight like this?" Emily asked softly. "She tells Isaac not to ignore his own safety because people worry about him, but she still does the same thing herself."
Eleanor’s instincts immediately sounded alarms. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Before she could speak, Emily moved.
Her mana erupted. The pressure alone caused nearby undead creatures to stumble backward.
"My Lady—"
"I’m done waiting."
Her voice remained calm, but Eleanor could feel the emotion underneath it. Emily no longer cared about the plan. She no longer cared about baiting teams out carefully or conserving hidden cards for later.
Alice had been nearly killed in front of her. That alone was enough.
Emily raised her hand slowly.
[Spirit Weave.]
The battlefield trembled.
This was the trump card she had hidden until now.
A skill capable of temporarily fusing two spirits together into a completely new existence.
Isaac had once used it before. He fused the Abyssal Mammoth with his lightning summon to kill the Crimson Sky Wyrm when it attacked their City.
But Emily’s current combination was far more terrifying. High above the battlefield, the trapped Crimson Sky Wyrm suddenly roared. At the same time, on the ground, mana erupted from the Thorn Tyrant.
And then—
Emily fused the Crimson Sky Wyrm and Thorn Tyrant together.
Both monsters instantly dissolved into light.
The crimson body of the Sky Wyrm broke apart first, turning into streams of red energy that slipped through the lightning barrier surrounding it. The barrier that had been trapping the wyrm moments ago failed to stop the transformation at all.
The red light shot downward across the battlefield and merged with the Thorn Tyrant’s massive body below.
At that moment, the other teams finally realized something was wrong.
Several hidden mana signatures abruptly moved toward Emily’s location. Attacks flew from different directions almost immediately. Blades of compressed wind, beams of mana, and explosive projectiles crossed the battlefield in an attempt to interrupt the fusion before it completed.
But they never reached their target.
Avery appeared in front of the attacks like a wall.
She continuously cast layers of defensive magic around Emily. Some attacks were redirected into the sky while others shattered against her barriers. Explosions erupted around her one after another, yet she did not move from her position even once.
"Change of plans!" Eleanor shouted while staring at the growing light. "Everyone defend yourselves immediately!"
Even she could feel it now.
Something dangerous was being born.
The light expanded further before finally condensing inward.
Then the new monster appeared.
It looked like a giant serpentine dragon whose lower body disappeared into the earth like the roots of a colossal tree. Thorn-covered branches erupted from its spine and spread across the sky like enormous wings. When those branches fully unfurled, they formed a massive canopy overhead, darkening the battlefield beneath it.
Seven giant leaf-like wings slowly moved behind the creature.
Green scales covered its body, but thick wooden sap leaked between the gaps like blood.
Inside Emily’s mind, two voices immediately clashed.
[Why do I have to merge with you?]
[Shut up and focus on the battle!]
The Hanging Briar Dragon raised its head and looked around. Then its body began transforming again, the result of Thorn Tyrant’s ability to go into second form.
The green scales slowly turned crimson before cracking apart. Vines erupted from beneath them in endless numbers. Some resembled insect legs. Others looked like the limbs of beasts or undead creatures twisted together into unnatural shapes.
Its entire lower body became a writhing mass of vines and roots.
The dragon’s head split open.
It no longer looked like a dragon at all. Bone, wood, vines, and flesh twisted together into an abomination-like skull.
Then its mouth opened completely.
A red beam erupted outward. The Hanging Briar Dragon swept the beam across the battlefield in a full circle.
Everything disappeared.
Explosions erupted endlessly as the beam crossed the land. Stone melted instantly. Walls vaporized before collapsing into glowing liquid. The world itself turned red beneath the light of the attack.
Even the three Drowned Kings and the undead army vanished.
One undead creature floating in the distant water near the edge of the battlefield was erased instantly. The hidden Phylactery concealed inside its body shattered before it could even react.
The other teams never reached the Boss Monster’s location.
Some were still rushing toward the battlefield when the beam reached them.
The attack was catastrophic. It carried destructive power comparable to a powerful Catastrophe-type monster.
The red beam continued sweeping outward until finally, several seconds later, it disappeared.
Silence followed.
No castle remained.
No battlefield remained.
Everything visible in every direction had melted into a burning landscape of glowing stone and black smoke.
Two teams had escaped the dungeon after failing to block Emily’s attack.
As for the remaining teams—
No one knew whether they survived.
Only Emily’s team remained unharmed beneath the Hanging Briar Dragon. The massive canopy above them had protected the area around its base from the destruction.
Then glowing notifications appeared in front of everyone.
[Boss Monster, Drowned King, has been defeated.]
[Primary Contributors: Emily Warren, Alice Calloway, Eleanor Weiss.]
[Rewards are being distributed according to contribution.]
[Portal to Third Area is being opened.]