"Cheating my ass," Ethan snorted and struck again without slowing down.

If this continued, he would be worn down completely. A dangerous light appeared in Volcanus’ eyes.

"Enough."

The flames around his body suddenly intensified and rose far higher than before. Ethan felt the change immediately. Something was different this time. The surrounding temperature began to spike rapidly and the air itself started to distort more violently than it had at any point before.

Volcanus stopped moving entirely. He raised his head slightly and his expression turned serious. Ancient words began to echo from his mouth, deep and heavy, carrying a strange pressure that made the space itself tremble with each syllable.

Ethan’s expression changed as he watched. "What is he doing..."

Dark red clouds began to gather above them and condensed rapidly, forming layer upon layer while a terrifying aura spread outward from them. Even the space within the formation began to shake under the pressure. Ethan felt a chill run through him.

"This isn’t normal."

Without hesitation, he moved. He charged forward together with the magic construct, attacking from both sides at once. But just as they approached, a barrier appeared. A layer of condensed flame surrounded Volcanus and formed a protective shield around him. Ethan’s attack struck it hard.

Boom!

The impact shook the barrier but it did not break. The spells from the construct attacked as well.

Boom! Boom!

Still the barrier held.

The ancient chanting did not stop. Ethan tried again and increased his output, striking repeatedly, but nothing worked. The shield remained completely intact. Above them, the dark clouds grew thicker and the pressure became suffocating. Volcanus’ voice grew louder.

Then he opened his eyes.

"You should have ended it earlier." A cold light flashed in his gaze. "Now... burn."

The clouds above suddenly moved. Massive pillars of condensed flame formed within them and in the next instant they fell.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The entire space was engulfed. The flames descended like a catastrophe and covered everything, leaving no room to escape. Wherever they touched, even the air seemed to burn away.

Destruction! Endless destruction!

Feeling the terrifying power contained in those pillars of flame, Ethan’s face changed drastically. Although he had transformed into a dragon and carried extremely strong defense and magic, he could feel with absolute certainty that he could not withstand this attack. Taking it head-on would undoubtedly result in death.

"FUCKKKK!" Ethan cursed through clenched teeth.

His first reaction was not to protect himself but his people.

The Battle Frenzy Art activated in the same instant. The change was immediate and violent. The crimson patterns across his scales flared outward like cracks in heated metal and the golden streaks beneath them turned blinding white.

His aura doubled in density and then doubled again, compressing tightly around his body like a second skin made of raw force. Every muscle in his draconic frame surged with a power that felt less like energy and more like pressure, as if the air itself was being pushed away from him in all directions. His eyes went from dark to luminous, burning steady and cold.

BOOOOM!

The next moment he disappeared and shot out toward his group at a speed that left nothing behind but a streak of displaced air.

Wales and Randall had been watching the entire battle from a distance, and they had not spoken much for a long time. There was not much to say. The scale of what they were witnessing had pushed words into irrelevance some hours ago.

"Dad can even transform into a dragon?" Ray asked, his voice caught somewhere between shock and horror as he stared at the massive crimson draconic figure exchanging blows with Volcanus.

"Who knows," Randall muttered, rubbing his eyes slowly as if hoping the image might change.

The knights standing nearby were not doing much better. They had seen the terrifying battle unfold over the course of almost a full day and while they were holding themselves together, the monsters native to this region had not managed the same.

The creatures that ruled these lands through fear and reputation had gone completely silent and still, and more than a few of them looked to be in the middle of something that resembled praying. The general sentiment among them was clear enough even without words. Please take these two menaces somewhere else.

Then Randall saw Volcanus stop moving and raise his head. Something about the shift in his posture made Randall’s chest tighten immediately.

"I’ve got a bad feeling about this," he said, his voice dropping low.

The next moment, before any of them could react, Ethan appeared. His hand shot out and chains of light erupted from his palm and wrapped around the group in a single sweeping motion. No one had time to speak. They found themselves flying through the air as Ethan tore away from the location, leaving a long burning streak behind him.

Wales opened his lips to ask something when the world behind them turned white.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A massive mushroom-shaped cloud exploded and lit up the entire sky with dense, roaring flames. In the next moment, countless pillars of dark purple fire descended from above and turned the sealed space into a purgatory.

The extreme heat made everything burst apart. In less than three seconds, the spatial sealing magic array that Ethan had constructed collapsed completely under the weight of the falling flames. Mountains evaporated and the earth beneath them was simply destroyed. An area spanning several thousands of kilometers was burned into a barren, blackened wasteland.

The level of that attack clearly surpassed the mythical rank entirely.

The waves of flame rolled outward toward them and Ethan immediately responded. Ice and water magic spells shot out from his hands in rapid succession and worked to neutralize the approaching flames while he pushed forward through the heat, sweating profusely with the effort of it.

It was a close call. A very close call. Even a second later and he would have been killed along with everyone else without leaving so much as ashes behind. It would not have mattered as much if it had only been him since he had three extra lives to fall back on but it was not the same for the others.

That made all the difference.