The massive, jagged claws of Dravhark dug deeper into the bodies of the two Drakes. Both of them screamed, a raw, powerful sound of pain as the razor-sharp talons tore through their skin and even pierced alter Drake's sacred armor, making them both scream due to the extreme pain.

Dravhark, whose face was contorted into a grin of pure, sadistic amusement, looked down at them, his cold, yellow eyes filled with a terrifying, unyielding hunger. He revelled in the moment, a predator who had found his prey, and he was not going to let them go. He slowly loosened his grip, and the two boys, whose bodies were trembling with a deep, bone-shattering exhaustion, stopped screaming for a moment. But then, Dravhark tightened his grip again with a force so brutal that it made them scream once more. The dragon, whose deep, guttural laughter echoed through the air like thunder, simply looked at them with a slow, malicious smile.

For Dravhark, this was nothing more than a game. He was a being on the verge of divinity, and these two humans were nothing more than toys that had managed to amuse him. He had been so interested in their weapons and the fact that they were able to scratch his scales that he had forgotten about this being a battle to begin with. He was just going to have his fun with them, torture them for a while before they die, and then take their weapons for himself.

He was thinking about taking them to his father, Vharzun, as an offering, for he had heard that his third brother, Zorvhael, had brought a priceless treasure to the main temple just the other day.

Not far from there, Arion, who had been standing there, was completely unable to move. The sight of the two boys being tortured like this, their screams of agony filling the air, brought back a torrent of memories that he had buried deep in his mind. He saw the faces of his allies, the strongest heroes and warriors of all the races, being killed in the same way, without him being able to do anything.

He fell to his knees, his face pale and his body covered in a cold sweat, repeating to himself over and over again.

"It's useless... it's all over..."

He then closed his eyes, waiting for the end to come… However, something happened. A voice, a familiar voice, a voice he had forgotten, began to speak in his head. It was the voice of the boy with the long white hair, the voice of hope in a sea of despair.

The image of his dead comrades, who had run to fight the dragons, came to his mind, and their silhouettes merged with the two boys he was seeing being tortured in front of him. A single thought, a single phrase, began to echo in his mind, a phrase that the Empress had screamed at him in the cave: "What's the purpose of living in cowardice and impotence? You may die, but not before making those who take everything from you suffer at least part of what they did to you!"

Arion suddenly opened his eyes, trembling from head to toe… The faces of her former comrades and family flashed in front of him. And without thinking clearly, he let out a powerful roar, a sound that was a mix of rage, despair, and a newfound strength. His body, which had been screaming at him not to move, was now filled with a new, powerful energy. He got up from the ground, his teeth clenched so tightly that his mouth began to bleed, and a large, golden bow appeared in his hands, his trusted and legendary weapon with which he had slain countless beasts and even come face-to-face with Draclings during the war.

Arion also materialized a golden arrow, pulled the string back with all his might, and pointed it directly at Dravhark's massive, cruel head. He took a deep breath, and with a single, fluid motion, he released the projectile... It shot through the air like a golden streak of light, a final, desperate prayer against a cruel fate.

Moments before, Dravhark, on the other hand, was still toying with the two boys, his sadistic smile as wide as a chasm. He was in no hurry. He was going to play with his victims until they finally lost consciousness from the constant pain or until they succumbed to their injuries, whichever came first. However, in a moment, his senses, which were as sharp as a blade, picked up something, a tingling sensation that made him stop completely and turn his gaze to the side, as if he were looking at something in the distance.

"My personal soldiers... Have they been destroyed?"

He didn't know it, but for some reason, his three Superior Draclings, which he used as commanders, had been defeated almost at the same time in three different places. He couldn't understand how this was possible; those Draclings had been created using the bodies and souls of the greatest warriors of that world, which had increased their power and ferocity. It was impossible that there were individuals among the survivors who could face them.

That single thought was enough to distract him to the point that he did not notice Arion's arrow, which shot through the air and hit him directly in one of his eyes.

It didn't do any damage, but it was enough to catch him off guard. He let out a surprised roar and, in a fit of rage, let go of the two Drakes. He raised his massive, jagged claws to his eyes in a purely reflexive action, as if he were trying to remove something that was not there.

The two boys fell to the ground like inert sacks, their bodies covered in wounds so deep it was a miracle they were still alive. A normal user, even one of immense power, would have been out of the fight for who knows how long, if they had not died on impact... But not these two.

A system window appeared over both of them, and the same message was displayed twice.

[The effect of the title 'He who succeeds in the impossible' is currently active.] [The user Drake Shaw may maintain consciousness for 5 minutes regardless of bodily condition.]

Both of them had the same title, and both were fully conscious despite the immense pain and damage they had suffered. Alter Drake, whose voice was heavy with pain, looked at Drake with difficulty in his movements.

"Still with me?"

He said. Drake, whose voice was also heavy, responded.

"Of course."

Alter Drake let out a small, pained smile.

"Well… time for round two."

He said, mustering all the strength he had left to raise one of his hands, and a system window appeared above him.

[Notice: UR-class Plot device: "Party Heal... But With a Catch!" has been used] [A random number of nearby users cataloged as allies will be healed of all kinds of damage.] [The number chosen has been... 4!] [Only two users are in the vicinity; the healing will be carried out.]

Immediately after that, two beams of light shot down from the sky, enveloping the two boys in a warm, gentle light. Their bodies, which were on the verge of death and covered in blood, were instantly healed in less than the blink of an eye. The immense wounds that had been left by the dragon's claws disappeared, their broken bones repaired instantly, and the blood that had been gushing from their bodies simply vanished.

Dravhark, who had recovered from the "annoyance" in his eye, saw this and, with a roar of rage, sent his two massive arms toward the boys with the intention of grabbing them again. But before he could grab them, both of them disappeared, using their own skills of fast movement to dodge.

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Already midair, both boys were floating, their respective wings extended, holding them in the air. Drake looked at alter Drake.

"What do we do now?"

He asked, knowing that, even after being healed, they were still in deep trouble.

"The dragon has a passive to protect itself from enemy skills."

Alter Drake looked at him with a serious expression.

"But no defensive skill is absolute… It has to have a weakness. We just need to find it."

However, the problem was that they couldn't afford to take any more risks. Dravhark, whose eyes were still filled with rage, attacked again, but this time Drake and alter Drake dodged as best they could while flying thanks to their own wings.

Despite their speed, the dragon was still a difficult foe. The dragon's massive arms shot forward in a series of attacks, and the boys barely managed to avoid them time and time again. They tried to counterattack with their weapons and even other skills, but nothing happened. The result was the same, and the barrier that nullified their skills remained as strong as ever.

Finally, after a couple of seconds of dodging, Dravhark managed to bait both of their movements, forcing them to interrupt each other's path and leaving them still for a brief moment, more than enough time for the dragon to grab them again.

But it didn't happen. A series of arrows shot through the air, hitting the dragon in the eyes once again and making him flinch. The distraction was brief, but it was enough for the two boys to escape before being grabbed. Dravhark cursed aloud, touching its eyes again, while the two boys turned to see who had shot the arrows.

It was Arion, whose body was a testament to a new, powerful determination. He was standing on the ground, and while trembling, his eyes were fixed on Dravhark, ready to continue fighting even though his most powerful shots were not doing any damage.

Drake and alter Drake, whose faces were a mix of shock and awe, finally understood.

"The attacks!"

Drake said, realizing what was happening.

"The attacks that are not skills!"

Alter Drake also understood. As they had seen moments ago, their weapons had been able to do damage. It was the same with Arion's arrows. Dravhark's passive seemed to work in a literal way, nullifying enemy skills, but not protecting him from direct physical attacks, which was the "weakness"... Barely, but it was better than nothing.

Alter Drake clenched his teeth. Even with that knowledge, he was not sure if the three of them would be enough to do something about such a powerful entity, but at the same time, he also knew that if the whole team had not been separated, some of them would have already died at the hands of the monster, so it was also a good thing they were apart.

But just as he thought that, a series of whistles echoed through the air. All of them turned and saw a large bombardment of missiles coming from a flank toward the dragon. The missiles, however, exploded before they could even hit the dragon, a manifestation of one of the spells that Li and alter Li shared. Alter Drake saw with horror that a group of his companions had managed to get to where they were and were approaching, without knowing that what they were doing was making things even more complicated.

Even worse, Drake noticed that they were not the only ones. From other flanks, the other two groups were also coming, all of them at the same time. They had all defeated the Superior Draclings that had attacked them, and after that, they had not lost time in going to the spot where they had seen Dravhark's gigantic figure "disappear", though in reality he had only shrunk.

As they got closer, the rest of the users began to attack. Teo fired his divine revolvers, but the light bullets disintegrated before they could even touch the dragon. The same thing happened with Kazue and alter Kazue, who used the skills [High Plasma Manipulation] and [Inferno Flame Degradation], respectively, to send two elemental torrents, one of plasma and the other of a strangely reddish fire, but they also disintegrated before they could reach their target.

Alter Drake and Drake were in a state of pure panic. They turned and used their respective wings to try to get closer to the groups and warn them, telling them to get away. But it was too late… There was no control. The groups had arrived, they didn't know what was happening, and they had combined, especially Adam, who had arrived with his group after Samantha had recovered and had immediately gone to Emir to ask him to give him back the sealed power of the Empress. This had surprised the boy, as Adam's new appearance had taken him by surprise.

Alter Drake and Drake screamed again, but it was useless. Even Katya, who was unconscious just a couple of minutes before, was the first to launch herself like a rocket toward Dravhark, walking in the air while her white mask was emanating more cursed energy than ever before, swinging her living scythe that had its blade covered in the energy of the devil Bhaal. No matter how powerful the dragon was, the [Almighty] element would be enough to cut it like paper, just as it had with the Superior Dracling.

Katya reached Dravhark's face and, with a powerful movement, she swung her scythe, ready to cut the dragon's head off… But before she could touch him, the [Almighty] energy on her weapon disappeared, and the only thing that made contact with the dragon was her normal scythe, which made a dry sound and didn't even leave a scratch on him. Katya, whose face was now filled with a mix of shock and confusion, screamed.

"What!?"

Dravhark, on the contrary, who was watching the whole thing with a look of pure, unadulterated amusement, simply let out a small gust of wind from his nostrils, which was just enough to send the girl flying back. After that, the dragon, whose face was a mask of annoyance, simply looked at them. It was as if a bunch of insects had suddenly appeared when he was trying to have his fun with two in particular. And the truth was that none of them was even remotely as interesting as the first two, so there was only one thing left to do.

On the ground, Drake and alter Drake had run back with all the desperation they had. They screamed at the others, telling them to get away, but due to the confusion and the sudden reunion, no one paid them any attention. Drake had managed to grab Kazue by the shoulders to make her listen.

"You have to leave now!"

He screamed while shaking her.

"Eh? Why?"

Kazue asked, her voice filled with confusion.

"We just got here to help!"

But before Drake could respond, the dragon acted… A powerful, heart-crushing roar surrounded the area, and all of the users felt the effects of one of the most terrifying skills of the dragon race. Their bodies became heavy, and they all fell to the ground, with only Drake and alter Drake managing to resist it partially, thanks to the divine nature of their powers. A series of system screens appeared around each and every one of them.

[The skill [Cursed Dragon Fear Lv13] has cursed the target; the altered states [Fear], [Weakness], [Paralyze], and [Vulnerability] have been applied to the affected user.]

It was a total wipe. None of them, except for the two blond boys, who were barely standing, were able to resist, leaving them at the mercy of a demi-god who was looking at them with a sadistic smile, knowing that he would have his fun with them.

But as the dragon was about to deliver another attack, two other figures walked up from behind both Drakes, passing them slowly, and leaving them in a state of pure shock... One of them was a woman with long, messy, red hair, who was wearing a shirt and leather pants, someone that alter Drake immediately recognized, although it was impossible.

It was Solène Beaumont, the woman he thought had died along with most of their allies during the Team Abyss invasion. He stared at her with a look of utter disbelief.

"Solène?"

He said, his voice a whisper, but the woman simply kept walking, alongside the other boy, who had long white hair that was now a light brown. In his hand, he was holding one of Emir's [Interdimensional Containment Cubes], which was smoking, a clear sign that it had just been used, and which he then dropped to the ground.

Drake immediately recognized who the boy was and, despite the situation, he couldn't help but smile.

"You are awfully late as always."

He said with a weak laugh.

"It's about time."

The boy, Adam, looked back at Drake, his red eyes resembling an evil entity; however, the only thing he did was return the smile, raising one of his hands in a sign of confidence.

Adam and Solène stood before Dravhark and looked up at him. The dragon, for the first time in his existence, was in a state of absolute confusion. Two lower beings had not only resisted his roar, but one of them seemed to be completely immune to it, and the other, for some reason, seemed to have gotten stronger. Dravhark, more surprised than annoyed, looked down at both of them and asked.

"What are you?"

————————————

Behind them, flying erratically after being thrown away in the initial air gust, was Falk, finally arriving at the scene and seeing all of the two teams, aside from the four that were standing, on the floor.

"This is worse than I thought… Risking it more is nonsensical; it seems there is no other option."

And with that, he began to fly directly to the upcoming fight.

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