Chapter 3: The Battle of Fate
At that very moment, high above the sky.
The once-mighty Red Dragon, whose fiery rage had once scorched the heavens, now lay broken and bleeding. Her body was riddled with deep wounds that pierced through flesh and bone, each gashed open with a golden radiance clinging to the edges—burning, searing, devouring the flesh from within. Her wing membranes, once vast and powerful, were torn like tattered cloth, flapping with ragged, wind-hissing tears with every movement, a sight both tragic and horrifying.
Yet even now, she refused to believe she was truly defeated. After all, she was the Red Dragon—daughter of Tiamat, wielder of the scorching Fire, and guardian of untold ancient powers. She had not yet unleashed her final strength. She still had more tricks up her sleeve.
"Boom!"
With a groan of exhaustion, the Red Dragon crashed onto the summit of a jagged mountain peak. The impact shook the cliffs, sending boulders tumbling and dust clouding the air. For the first time, her voice trembled with hesitation.
"Half-Elf... you are formidable."
"Unlike the wretched mortals, your strength surpasses them all. Thus, you deserve the attention of a noble true dragon."
"Join me. Together, we shall rule over the Anzeta Great Wasteland!"
But the Half-Elf Paladin did not reply.
Instead, she slowly raised her Silver Sword, her gaze unwavering. Her silver armor, scorched and blackened from the flames, still shimmered faintly beneath the ash—like a dying star refusing to be extinguished.
"Hunt the Oathbound Enemy, or Expel Minor Evils—I shall challenge greater evil."
"And the sworn foe? There is no mercy."
With a grace born of fury and resolve, Ria leapt into the air. Her Silver Sword flared with a glow like the last rays of a dying sun—soft, not blinding, yet radiating an unyielding light that refused to be swallowed by darkness.
This was the origin of the Dawnblade.
"Soul of Vengeance!"
A piercing cry echoed through the sky as countless spectral figures materialized around the Half-Elf Paladin—ghosts of children burned alive in fire, mothers crushed beneath collapsing homes, farmers who raised pitchforks against the flames only to be reduced to ash, warriors who stood firm against the beast only to be torn apart by claws.
And within them all—her own burning, unquenchable will for revenge.
Ria soared higher, her back now crowned with the phantom silhouette of a pair of obsidian wings—like an angel forged from vengeance itself.
She now towered above the mountain peak.
"ROOOOAAARRR!"
Aklennia roared, her pride as a Red Dragon refusing to allow any lesser being to look down upon her. Fueled by the surge of her bloodline, she unleashed every ounce of primal, brutal strength—her raw, monstrous power, the very essence of close combat, the weapon she had mastered since birth.
She charged—unstoppable, unstoppable, a storm of fury and fire.
"CRASH!"
The collision of two titanic forces sent shockwaves through the mountain, shaking the very bones of the Anzeta Great Wasteland. Even Kai Xiusu, fleeing for his life, paused, glancing back in terrified awe.
"Divine Supremacy Slash!"
With every last ounce of strength, Ria swung her Silver Sword in a downward arc, heedless of the Red Dragon’s snapping maw, her eyes locked on the target.
The blade glowed with the twilight’s final light, slicing sideways—not a clean cut, but a merciless, tearing cleave.
"Swoosh—!"
The sword parted the dragon’s scales as easily as a knife through butter. It tore through armored hide, severed hot, pulsing veins, and split open the thick, living flesh beneath.
Around her, the spectral legion of the Soul of Vengeance roared as one, charging toward the wound in the Red Dragon’s neck. Each impact drove the gash deeper—by feet, by fathoms.
In agony, Aklennia reared back, howling in pain. But the motion only worsened the tear. Blood—hot, thick, and crimson—spurted forth like a geyser.
"Aaargh—!"
She still managed a cry of suffering—until her throat was severed entirely.
No sound came after.
It had all happened too fast.
The Red Dragon hadn’t even had time to lash her claws, swing her tail, or summon the might of Tiamat—her final, divine power.
And yet, the Silver Sword had already found its mark.
The massive, thirty-meter-long adult Red Dragon flailed in midair, wings useless, then collapsed like a falling mountain. She tumbled down the slope with a thunderous crash, rolling and grinding into the earth.
"Boom!"
The ground trembled. The beast’s corpse slid down the mountainside, finally coming to rest in a crumpled heap—her life of greed and evil finally ended.
Her soul might be claimed by Tiamat… or shattered into nothing by the vengeful spirits.
But one truth remained undeniable.
The Red Dragon was dead.
…
Meanwhile, at the southern base of the Cloudspire Peak.
"A Revenant Angel with Wings of Vengeance… nearly the highest tier of Black Rider. Truly terrifying."
"Run! Run! Run!"
Kai Xiusu couldn’t help but mutter, heart pounding. A Sub-Legendary Rank combatant—such a power level was among the elite even in the old 4.0 era. Out of tens of millions of players, only a few hundred had ever reached this rank. And those who stepped onto the path of Legend? Even rarer.
The thought hardened his resolve. He turned and fled—immediately activating the ability granted by the Ring of Agile Wizardry he had swallowed.
"Greased Lightning!"
His speed surged, turning him into a streak of red lightning, dashing toward the distant forest.
Flight? Not now. Not with the risk.
If he was unlucky, a single Divine Perception-aware Sub-Legendary Paladin could slash him apart from hundreds of meters away with a single Blade of Purification.
He knew the truth: this was no ordinary Paladin. She was Sub-Legendary—her very being tuned to detect evil, to cut down the wicked.
Kai Xiusu was too busy running for his life to notice that the Half-Elf Paladin now stood atop the mountain peak, her body drenched in still-warm dragon blood, gazing down upon the southern slope—the very direction the young dragon had fled.
Ria’s amber eyes narrowed with a flicker of confusion.
In her Spiritual Sight, the young Red Dragon ahead was not cloaked in the familiar black aura of Evil Alignment, as all other dragons were.
Instead, it shimmered with the pure, colorless glow of Neutral Alignment.
A neutral Red Dragon? Impossible.
She hesitated only a moment—then raised her Silver Sword, pointing it toward the fleeing creature.
"Beast Paralyze Spell!"
A beam of arcane light shot forth, aimed to freeze the young dragon in place.
But just as the spell neared the dragon’s scales—a shimmering barrier erupted from Kai Xiusu’s body, blocking the magic completely—then shattered like glass.
[Spell Nullification Barrier]
Kai Xiusu froze in terror. That Magic Nullification Talisman could only be used once per day—and he had no second chance.
"Run!"
With a final burst of desperation, the young dragon flapped its still-fragile wings and launched into the air, fleeing with every ounce of strength. In a flash, it vanished into the depths of the Bokala Forest, swallowed by the towering trees.
Ria stood at the peak, her gaze sweeping across the endless green expanse.
She frowned slightly—then shook her head, as if accepting the uncertainty.
A Red Dragon of Neutral Alignment.
She might one day become a terrible enemy… or perhaps the catalyst for a better world.
Or perhaps nothing at all.
Yes.
She would not kill someone for the possibility of evil.
But if the dragon ever committed unforgivable crimes, Ria would have no hesitation—just as she had today.
She would cut it down with her unyielding Silver Sword.
This was the oath of the Paladin of Vengeance.
"To the wicked—no mercy."
"But to the common foe… perhaps, grace."
The Half-Elf slowly removed her helmet, revealing a face both serene and piercing—pale, beautiful, and cold as winter.
She whispered to herself, her voice barely audible in the wind.
(End of Chapter)
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