I Ascend Alone-Chapter 128: The Birth of National Level Part VII

Pyraethrax roared—a thunderous, world-shaking sound that collided with Leon's Tempest Strike mid-air. The impact lit up the sky inside the dungeon with blinding flashes of wind and flame, like a sun trying to break through a hurricane. The vortex smashed into the dragon's crown, but instead of piercing clean through, it carved molten gashes along the obsidian-like scales.

"He's resisting elemental force!" Celestine shouted, adjusting her stance as her radiant barrage was deflected by a shield of searing heat that pulsed from the dragon's core. "Its core is shifting—it's drawing on some kind of ancient warding magic!"

Mirae didn't slow, even as steam billowed around her. She used the rising heat to slingshot herself higher. Her spear came down in a glittering arc, striking one of Pyraethrax's wing joints. The impact reverberated with a shattering sound—the membranes buckled under the blow, and the dragon faltered mid-air.

"Left wing is damaged!" Mirae shouted, landing with a roll to dodge the tail swipe that followed. "It's not invincible!"

Cain reappeared in a blink behind Pyraethrax's hind leg. With a grin, he spun his daggers in reverse grip and plunged them deep into the creases between molten plates. Shadows burst from the puncture wounds, weakening the beast's balance.

"Found a nerve!" he called out, eyes gleaming. "Give me thirty seconds and I'll open a vein!"

Orion and Leon took that cue without hesitation. Orion charged with a powerful battle cry, bringing his Obsidian Greatsword down like a guillotine. It struck the point between neck and shoulder, releasing a splash of magma and a guttural bellow of pain from the dragon.

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Leon darted to the opposite side, already preparing another strike. "We keep pressuring it—we force it down!"

But Pyraethrax wasn't falling.

The ancient dragon reared back and, for the first time, unleashed a breath weapon unlike any seen before—a stream of black fire tinged with voidlight. It wasn't just hot—it consumed heat, life, and even mana from the surrounding air. The dungeon itself groaned as the blast carved a hole through the battlefield.

Celestine raised her staff and formed a radiant shield. "Everyone down!"

The breath hit her barrier, and for a heartbeat, the world went white. When the light faded, the shield had cracked in a spiderweb of fractures, and Celestine dropped to one knee, blood leaking from her nose.

"Can't tank that again," she muttered, biting her lip. "It burns... the soul."

Pyraethrax's core pulsed again, this time with a rhythm that felt like the heartbeat of an ancient god. Cracks of voidlight surged along its throat and chest, illuminating the massive scales in lines of cursed brilliance. The air trembled as the dragon reared its head back, gathering an overwhelming charge of its devastating breath.

"Scatter—now!" Leon shouted, his voice distorted by the pressure warping the dungeon space.

But the breath was already unleashed.

A tidal wave of black fire laced with voidlight exploded forward. Unlike any ordinary blaze, this breath consumed mana, heat, and spirit—it wasn't fire that scorched flesh, it was entropy given form.

The breath hit.

The world inverted into silence as the wave of voidfire collided with the battlefield. Heat, light, and even sound were ripped away in a heartbeat. The wave consumed everything in its path, not as flame burns flesh, but as oblivion devours meaning.

Leon barely managed to twist mid-air, throwing up a barrier of compressed wind that cracked and shattered the moment the fire touched it. He was flung backward like a ragdoll, his body crashing through a stone pillar before skidding across the obsidian ground, leaving behind trails of charred armor.

Orion's greatsword met the fire head-on. The obsidian weapon, forged from a fallen meteorite, held for a single second before crumbling into fragments. His armor glowed red-hot, seams breaking apart as he was engulfed and tossed across the field, groaning from the impact.

Cain's form blurred into shadow in an attempt to dodge—he wasn't fast enough. The fire clipped his leg, and even his shadow-drenched limbs withered upon contact. He rolled into cover, smoke rising from his body, the air around him cold from the void left behind.

Mirae slammed her spear into the ground, activating a defensive glyph. The glyph burst with radiant energy, forming a dome of kinetic force that took the brunt of the breath—but it cracked, splintered, and exploded like glass. She flew backward, coughing blood, and her shoulder dislocated from the blast.

Celestine's shield had already been weakened from the first breath. This time, it shattered entirely. The barrier disintegrated under the torrent, and she screamed as the fire struck her—her armor melted, divine magic lashing out to preserve her vital organs, but her left arm was scorched black. She hit the ground hard, convulsing, her staff rolling away.

I watched as Leon pushed himself to his feet, blood dripping from his temple, one arm hanging limply.

"Is this all your world has to offer?" Pyraethrax's voice resonated like molten iron against stone, distorted through the drones, yet clear enough to freeze the blood in every single person watching.

"These are your so-called 'champions'? These insects who got burnt at the touch of true power?"

His laughter shook the room—mocking, thunderous, and terrifying in its confidence.

My own heart pounded in my chest, but not from fear. From fury.

Pyraethrax was more than a beast. He was an ancient will wearing the flesh of a monster.

And he had just declared war.

"You picked the wrong world to mock," I muttered, just loud enough for the system to hear.

And somewhere deep inside me, the Abyss stirred.