Chapter 214: Divine Battle (Part One)
Maybe it heard my voice, or perhaps it sensed someone in front, the massive white dragon lifted its enormous head, its twisted horns shaking off a shower of gray ashes. Its gigantic eyes blinked open in the floating ash, and the rice grain-shaped slit pupils rapidly contracted a few times. Then, it revealed its fierce fangs and let out a low growl that was threatening but tinged with exhaustion and weakness.
“Grrr…”
The fishy wind from its growl blew right in my face, ruffling my silky black hair. In the next moment, the white dragon opened its gigantic mouth and roared in anger.
“ROAR—!!!”
It was like a dragon’s roar that could pierce clouds and shatter stones, mixed with a sprinkle of dragon saliva, sweeping over my face like a hurricane and making my hair fly behind me in a dramatic fashion.
“Ugh…”
I quickly covered my ears, braced myself, and shouted with my eyes shut tight, “Big White! It’s me! Don’t be scared—!”
Ah.
I think its slobber just flew into my mouth…
“Pff!”
I spit on the ground, tightly pressing my lips together, rubbing my throbbing forehead. When I looked back at the white dragon, a flicker of irritation danced in my gaze.
And just like that, the white dragon stopped its roaring.
It seemed to have recognized me. Its gaze gradually calmed, and its massive head leaned closer. It sniffed me, and its breath tousled my hair again. Then, like a playful child, it nudged me with its head, sending me tumbling backward, landing with a thud on my behind.
“Ow…”
I grumbled, crawling back up. The big white dragon stretched its neck and rubbed its head against me, so I couldn’t help but laugh as I hugged its nose.
“Hehe~”
It’s okay…
It remembers me…
How wonderful…
The burning sensation bursting forth from within had quietly eased, transforming into a warm, sun-like flow that gradually gathered in my lower abdomen. The power seemed stable now; I wasn’t in pain anymore. Yet, with a slight swelling feeling from my belly, a wave of drowsiness began to wash over me.
Getting a bit sleepy…
But it wasn’t overwhelming, not like before when I’d just been swallowed up and instantly felt the urge to sleep. Maybe it wasn’t that time yet—I just felt drowsy, and Big White was all furry and warm; I wanted to sleep so bad, but I could hold it together.
“Yawn~”
I opened my mouth and yawned.
Not time to sleep yet…
“Grrr…”
Big White emitted a low grumble and nudged me again with its head. I pushed it away playfully: “Quit it.”
Then I patted its snout: “You smell terrible…”
While speaking, I looked up toward the tumor hanging above.
Thud thud, thud thud…
The sound of a heartbeat grew clearer as the tumor continued to contract and shrink. It wasn’t doing anything at the moment, but a bad premonition crept into my mind.
I’d better get Big White away from the top of the cliff and move far from that disgusting thing…
“Big White, follow me.”
I tugged at its fur near the mouth, pointing towards the edge of the pit: “Let’s go down and get out of here.”
It should understand me.
I tilted my head at Big White and winked.
But the white dragon didn’t show any sign of moving.
“Grrr…”
It let out a low growl, slightly pulling back its massive head, as if resisting, then suddenly stuck out its tongue and licked me.
“Ew!”
A warm, slippery sensation shot from my feet to my face, catching me completely off guard. I jumped back two steps, raising my hands to wipe my face with my tattered sleeves.
“Big White!”
“Grrr…”
“Don’t lick me!”
“Grrr…”
The giant dragon let out a whiny sound of grievance.
It suddenly raised its head, propping itself on its clawed front limbs, standing tall, its massive mouth opening wide. I thought it was going to roar again, so I hurriedly waved my hands: “Stop it, don’t make a scene! Quickly, follow me! You…”
Suddenly, I stopped mid-sentence.
Buzz—
A faint golden glow erupted from the dragon’s giant body, tiny sparks of golden light swirling around like drifting feathers, then morphing into a blazing white. The giant dragon tilted its head back, its mouth wide open, shining out an even brighter white light.
“What are you doing…”
I gawked at it.
A milky-white little branch emerged from the white dragon’s mouth, floating gently in the air, exuding a dazzling gold light that almost turned my eyes gold.
What is that…
The branch was about the thickness of a finger and the length of a palm, crystal clear and white. Its twisted limbs branched off, lacking leaves, wrapped in the aura of a divine miracle and a humming sound, looking extremely beautiful at first glance.
I took a step forward, tilted my head back, and reached out to grab it, wanting to see it up close, but the next instant, it spun in the air with a faint buzzing, and “whoosh”—it shot into my chest and disappeared.
?!?!
I was startled, letting out a tiny gasp as I patted and groped my chest, my eyes wide with confusion, suddenly turning to Big White and asking, “What was that! What went into my body?!”
“Grrr…”
“What did you give me?!”
“Grrr…”
The golden glow on the white dragon intensified.
But its massive body was gradually fading within the ever-brighter glow.
It was about to disappear…
“Big White!!!”
I panicked, rushed towards its grounded claw, opened my arms wide, and hugged its fluffy limb. The white dragon lowered its head, nudged me, sending me crashing back to the ground.
“Grrr…”
It seemed to be speaking to me.
Then, its body gradually became transparent, transforming into specks of golden starlight, floating into the gray sky and dissipating away.
“Big White…”
Amidst countless floating lights, I slowly stood up, a wave of sadness welling up within me as I pressed my hand to my chest. I stood there blankly for a long time before suddenly realizing: it wasn’t dead.
Just like the last time it vanished, it wasn’t dead… Maybe it just needed to rest somewhere…
The dancer had said, Big White is a pure energy entity; as long as this world doesn’t collapse, it will never d*e…
It has to be like that…
After a while, as those lights scattered with the wind, I sniffled and began to look around the pit, trying to find Captain Gray who had fallen and disappeared earlier.
The pit was large, but there were almost no rocks blocking my view. The black and jagged rock layers were fully exposed; if anything had fallen into the pit, I should have noticed it immediately.
But after looking around, I found no sign of Captain Gray.
He’s not here…
Could he have fallen out of the pit?
With a whoosh, I flapped my fiery wings, soaring out of the pit and hovering at the peak, scanning the bizarre rocks below for any trace of that black scythe.
But…
It seemed to be nowhere…
How strange…
I remember…
Ah!
Suddenly, it clicked.
At that moment, I was entangled by those vein-like tentacles and my hand was broken. Captain Gray fell; amidst the chaos, I didn’t look closely, but could it have been dragged away by those tentacles in the end? I wasn’t sure, but if it was nowhere to be seen, maybe it was taken away…
But where did those tentacles take him…
…to that tumor.
I suddenly looked up.
Drip.
Hot liquid dripped down, landing on my cheek.
What…
Instinctively, I raised my hand to wipe it, then opened my palm to see in front of my eyes.
…it was bl**d.
Drip, drip, drip… whoosh—
bl**d rained down from the sky.
