The enormous serpent rose before Noir. Its crystalline body writhed slowly as the lake’s waters trickled down its scales, forming small waterfalls all around it.
The creature opened its mouth. A blue light began to gather between its fangs.
The young dragon spread both wings and darted to the side just as the torrent of energy tore through the air.
BOOOOOOM!
The attack grazed his body and exploded against the wall.
Noir spun through the air.
The snake was already attacking again. Its enormous head hurtled toward him like a mountain crashing down.
Noir vanished into the shadows and reappeared several meters higher up. Then he disappeared again. But the snake followed his movements.
A crystalline tail sliced through the space where he had appeared.
FWOOSH!
Noir reappeared near the chamber ceiling and took a deep breath; he glanced sideways toward the cabin.
Arlene was still trying to figure out how to open it. He wasn’t done yet.
’I need time.’
Besides, he’d noticed that the snake had a strange ability—it always attacked wherever he appeared, using the shadows, and it was incredibly fast despite its large size. It was too unfair! He wanted to be big and powerful, too.
The serpent raised its head once more. Its glassy eyes fixed on him, clearly displeased that it had failed to kill the young dragon who kept causing it trouble.
Noir felt the immense mana gathering around the creature; he closed his eyes. The mana began to gather within his body. Streams of energy began to course through his black scales and slowly concentrate around his throat.
The snake stopped; it seemed to sense that something was changing.
Noir opened his eyes; his red pupils glowed intensely. He had used this magic very few times, since the massive drain on his mana always left him on the verge of fainting.
But now it was different; he had evolved. His body was stronger, and his mana reserves were much greater.
Noir slowly opened his mouth as the mana around him began to respond to his call, and he said two words in the Dragon Language:
"Water, fire."
The world responded; for a moment, everything stood completely still, as if time had stopped.
Then...
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A gigantic explosion of water and fire erupted in front of Noir. An invisible force compressed in a single direction, and the space in front of him seemed to warp.
The serpent’s eyes widened; it tried to resist, sinking its enormous fangs into the air. Its body began to absorb the lake’s mana. But it wasn’t enough.
The wave of fire and water struck it head-on.
CRAAAAAAASH!
The gigantic crystalline body shot forward. It crossed the lake; the crystal-clear waters rose like a massive wall and crashed into the far end of the chamber.
¡BOOOOOOM!
The impact shook everything. Shards of glass fell from the ceiling; the snake remained embedded in the wall for several seconds.
Noir was left suspended in midair. His chest rose and fell rapidly; he had exhausted an enormous amount of mana.
But... he hadn’t fainted! Well, if he used two words again, that would almost certainly happen, but he didn’t want to take the risk—even though he still had enough mana left to use his abilities and human magic.
’...This magic always demands too much; perhaps, with my next evolution, I’ll be able to use it freely.’
The young black dragon took a deep breath as his wings trembled slightly and a smile slowly spread across his face. He had forced that monstrous creature to retreat.
Noir looked at the serpent, and at the same time, his senses were focused on Arlene and Uki, hoping they would manage to open the booth and escape this level—or the dungeon—which had left him with many unanswered questions.
The glass eyes opened again; the creature began to break free from the wall; many cracks formed around its body, and several scales were completely shattered, with mana seeping out.
Noir let out a small laugh. His claws clenched.
’Good.’
’Now I just need to hold on a little longer.’
***
The crystal serpent, having emerged from the wall, was already attacking Noir with all its fury, creating enormous waves of crystal that moved at great speed, as if it wanted to crush everything in its path.
But the young dragon was too elusive and vanished into the shadows, dodging every attack.
Noir smiled. After his Dragon’s Tongue attack, the crystal monster was much more cautious than before, and that was exactly what he wanted: the more cautious it was, the more time he could buy.
He vanished into the shadows once more; the creature followed his movements, moving faster and faster.
The young black dragon began darting from shadow to shadow around her, dodging his attacks and slowly pulling itself away from Arlene. But his mana was dwindling.
’I won’t be able to keep this up for much longer.’
"NOIR!"
The young dragon turned his head; the door to the booth was open, and a white light illuminated the interior.
"IT’S OPEN!"
Noir felt immediate relief.
"COME IN!"
Arlene and Uki went in first.
Noir flew toward them because he didn’t have enough mana left to use the Shadow Move again.
The serpent saw him, and its mana began to gather once more, preparing a final, devastating attack.
"Shit!"
Noir sped up, flapping his wings faster and faster and generating friction due to his high speed.
The blue light appeared behind him, as if it were Pac-Man, about to devour him and end his life once and for all, since the final attack was charged with all the mana provided by the dungeon.
FWOOSH!
The attack shot forward. Noir spread his wings as wide as they would go; the energy grazed his tail, and one of his scales broke off. A wave of pain coursed through his body, but he didn’t stop.
The door was just a few meters away, but it felt much farther, as if he’d never be able to reach it.
Noir crossed the threshold.
"CLOSE IT!"
Arlene slammed the door mechanism.
CLANG!
The door slammed shut.
The blue torrent crashed into it.
BOOOOOOM!
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