Chapter 298: Wings of Steel

"What a surprise. You're really intent on proving yourself, aren't you? But you're still not strong enough. You remain unfit to meddle in matters concerning It."

From her perch, the silver dragon Aurelian regarded the approaching Sieg with cool composure. Though a flicker of surprise passed through her eyes, she remained unmoved.

""Brother, Sister—please don't fight!"

Noelle cried out, her voice trembling with tears. She couldn't understand why her brother and sister would quarrel right after a long-awaited reunion. Though she was quite a bit older than Wang Yu and Avia, her mental maturity remained that of a child. It was an inevitable result of the slow growth of her long-lived race.

"Don't worry," Avia soothed Noelle gently, ruffling the little red dragon girl's hair. "Your brother and sister are just... play-fighting. That's all. They're just playing."

She glanced at Wang Yu, who simply shrugged without a word.

Avia reached out into the Seed of Eden and opened a spatial gate. The moment it opened, a flurry of metallic components flew forth, crackling with magic. Violet arcs of electricity danced wildly across their surfaces.

The parts streaked through the air and converged toward Sieg. Aurelian gave them a brief glance but made no move to interfere, allowing them to reach him unhindered.

The embedded magitech circuits in the parts resonated with the arrays etched into Sieg's draconic scales. Rings of energy sparked to life as each piece aligned and locked into place, filling out the skeletal remnants of his ruined wings.

The segments snapped together via gravity magic. Internal mechanisms fused the metallic parts into a seamless whole.

What had once been broken stubs were now a pair of steel-forged wings—slightly smaller than those of a typical dragon, but no less imposing.

"Sorry, Sister," Sieg said quietly, nodding toward Avia, who had transferred him the parts via the portal. "I know how powerful you are. That's why I had to rely on a little help."

Aurelian's silver eyes gleamed with renewed surprise, but she remained detached.

"If you seek my recognition, then come prove yourself. I don't mind a few tricks."

"Then here I come!"

Sieg's massive claws slammed into the earth. His towering form thundered forward, accelerating with every bound. The weight of a full-grown dragon made the ground quake and groan. Dust clouds billowed in his wake.

Far off, Wang Yu and Avia had already escorted Noelle away. Even if this was technically just a "playful squabble," when two dragons clashed, the resulting shockwaves were anything but benign.

"Well, the undead plane makes for a pretty good arena," Wang Yu mused from his perch atop a low ridge. "Both of them are getting suppressed by the realm's laws, so neither side will be at full strength. That might just prevent them from doing real damage to each other."

"But come to think of it, Sieg's got the upper hand here," he added thoughtfully. "Aurelian's being suppressed more severely, while Sieg's magitech circuits and steel wings—those aren't bound by the plane's rules at all."

Wang Yu rubbed his chin as he watched the clash unfold. "He's got all the advantages... but can he actually win?"

"Not likely..." he muttered, smacking his lips.

Before he could elaborate further, Avia tapped him on the head. Her gaze, sharp and silent, was directed at the teary-eyed Noelle in her arms. She was staring anxiously at the scene of the impending battle, her wide eyes fixed on her siblings.

Wang Yu gave a quick "OK" gesture and fell quiet, turning his full attention to what was shaping up to be one hell of a family dispute.

The magical arrays etched across Sieg's massive draconic body began to glow as he charged forward. Enchantments surged to life as earth and fire mana answered his call.

Blazing spheres of molten rock rose and hovered around him, then hurtled forward in a barrage toward Aurelian. The silver dragon stood calm and unmoving in the face of the assault.

"Human-style arrays? That does suit your temperament, but going against draconic incantations with them is rather reckless."

Aurelian's voice rang out, crisp and cool, interwoven with the ancient cadence of the draconic tongue. At once, four cruciform blades of silver light coalesced around her.

As the meteor-like projectiles descended, two of the silver crossblades leapt skyward, meeting the burning stones in mid-air. With a single, flawless sweep, they split the blazing orbs in half, dispersing their molten essence and dissolving their magical cores.

The searing heat vanished in the air. Even the dense clods of earth crumbled into little more than rubble. As for the two remaining blades, Aurelian gripped those in her taloned foreclaws as she launched forward, finally taking motion.

Two dragons, vast and powerful, thundered across the battlefield, racing toward one another. Earth trembled beneath their charge.

Then Sieg opened his jaws wide. From the crimson glow flaring in his chest, a vortex of seething flame surged upward. Rage ignited in his core in a spiral of brilliance.

He unleashed a torrent of blinding flame, white-hot with intensity. The flames erupted toward Aurelian in a single, devastating blast.

Sieg's dragonbreath collided with the silver crossblades Aurelian held. An explosion rocked the field. Fire plumed skyward as shockwaves gouged a massive crater in the ground.

Yet Aurelian remained undeterred. With a sweep of her blades, she parted the curtain of flame, revealing the shimmer of unmarred silver scales beneath. Her wings beat once as she burst through the firestorm in a sudden, furious dive.

Sieg, evidently having expected this, abruptly took a step back. He anchored his claws deep into the earth. The magical circuits across his body and on his metal wings flared to life with gravity matrices. Purple arcs of energy curled around him, radiating bright light.

He summoned every ounce of gravity magic he could muster. With crushing force, the violet lightning snaked up Aurelian's form, dragging her straight toward the ground with fearsome pressure.

Caught mid-dive, Aurelian could not adjust in time. The force doubled the momentum of her descent. Her massive frame slammed into the earth like a falling star.

The impact shook the land. Debris and rock burst outward in every direction. Aurelian carved a vast, deep crater in the ground.

Sieg didn't let up. The arcane circuits along his frame continued to pulse. The sheer weight of the purple lightning-clad dragon grew immeasurable. Cracks spiderwebbed outward beneath his sister, the earth itself groaning under the strain.

His tail infused with raw fighting spirit, whipped up and crashed down. A deafening crack sounded as the ground split further.

Then Sieg began to exert fine control. He concentrated half the gravitational pull onto Aurelian's body to keep her pinned, while the other half seized the ruptured earth behind him.

A massive slab of stone, like the heart of a mountain, rose up from the battered ground, levitated by focused gravitational magic.

With a sharp tug, Sieg hurled the monolith down toward where Aurelian lay crushed.

The world shook. Rock shattered into fragments as the great monolith landed. For a heartbeat, Aurelian was still. But Sieg was not fooled. He was well aware of her strength. He watched the surroundings warily, alert and cautious.

A rift in space tore open beside him. Aurelian emerged unscathed in a blur of silver fury. As she streaked past, the cruciform blade she held raked across Sieg's back, splitting his scales and tearing his flesh with a deep, savage gash.

Aurelian was a master of spatial magic. The earlier blow hadn't landed at all. She had evaded the boulder with ease.

The violet lightning coursing around Sieg's body dimmed. Aurelian's sudden counter had destroyed much of the gravity circuits carved into his scales. That was the fatal flaw of external magitech arrays: they were far too fragile compared to the innate magic of dragonkind.

Wings flaring wide, Aurelian swept low and curved back, her talons biting into the earth as she slowed and pivoted. Then once again, she launched toward Sieg, whose ability to cast gravity magic had been nullified.

He stared, unwavering, into the eyes of the silver dragon charging him. The blades she wielded were forged from draconic magic and were powerful enough to wound even the sturdiest of dragons. If she struck him again, this duel would be over.

He had but a single chance. She dove toward him, opening a portal right before her. The spatial rift swallowed Aurelian whole and spat her out right beside Sieg.

But Sieg had been ready. He had been waiting for her to use space magic—and this time, he caught her just before her strike could land.

In the final moment before the strike could land, Sieg transformed back into a human. His far smaller frame easily avoided the incoming blow.

In his hand, the human Sieg held a magitech ring, a short-range teleportation device known as a Flicker Ring. Locking eyes with Aurelian's towering draconic form, he vanished in a flare of light. A heartbeat later, he reappeared behind the silver dragon.

Though he could not teleport his entire draconic form, his human body was good enough. Once relocated, Sieg transformed back into a dragon.

With a guttural roar, he emerged in full draconic form right behind Aurelian. His talons lashed forward, seizing hold of her silver-scaled body.

Fighting spirit surged through him. Every fiber of muscle and tendon strained as he gripped her tightly, trying to pin her down. Aurelian was leaner than him, and Sieg was trying to exploit the one advantage he had: raw physical might.

The gravity matrices in his iron wings activated, giving him tremendous upward lift. The outer layers of his metal wings shifted and unfolded, revealing hidden rows of blazing nozzles.

Alchemical fuel ignited. Flames burst from the jets, crowning the metal wings in crimson fire.

This was the true form of Sieg's newly restored wings.

Sieg beat his flaming wings hard, lifting Aurelian bodily into the sky in a trail of blazing light.

She struggled, but in her current position, with no proper leverage, her efforts were in vain. And when it came to brute force, Sieg had the upper hand.

Together, they soared through the sky. Then, the flames reversed direction. As the jets roared downward, Sieg dove down toward the ground. With gravity and propulsion combined, he fell faster and ever faster.

"Sorry, Sister. This... was the only way I could think of to win."

Sieg's voice was almost rueful over the rush of wind and fire.

Aurelian offered no reply.

The two dragons plummeted as one. Their shadows loomed ever larger.

A thunderclap of impact shook the land. Shockwaves ripped through the ground, fissures racing outward in every direction. The sky was choked with dust. Dead trees were torn from the soil and flung aside. It was impossible to guess what remained at the center of such devastation.

"...They'll be okay... right?"

Wang Yu frowned, watching the roiling dust cloud. Even under the suppression of the undead plane, that impact had been catastrophic.

Sieg wasn't one to take reckless risks—but this? This was a desperation gambit, a strike that harmed both attacker and defender alike.

"He's alive. His sister is... stronger than I imagined."

Avia's scrying spell easily pierced the dust veil as she peered within. What she saw left her astonished.

At the bottom of a vast crater lay Sieg, back in human form. His clothes were in tatters, his body caked with dirt. He looked utterly spent, barely able to move.

Shattered fragments of metal littered the surrounding area. The impact had completely annihilated his steel wings. He couldn't even maintain his dragon shape.

"If I hadn't cushioned your fall at the last second, you'd be in far worse shape."

Aurelian approached calmly, now also in human form. She seemed entirely unharmed. There were no tears in her silver robe, nor even a trace of dust on her pale hair. Her cool voice rang with crystalline clarity.

"Cough... yeah, you've gotten even stronger, Sister..."

Sieg coughed and forced a smile, voice tinged with helpless frustration. He had thrown everything into that strike—and in the end, it hadn't been enough. She had even gone so far as to protect him from his own attack.

"Get up," she said at last, kneeling beside him and offering her hand. "You've proven your resolve. And I can tell you're not just bluffing. These tools you've built... they're not finished yet, are they?"

"Mm."

He took her hand. With her help, Sieg pulled himself shakily to his feet.

Aurelian reached out and tapped him lightly in the center of his chest, marking him with her acknowledgment.

"Show me how high those borrowed wings of yours can fly," she said softly.