Chapter 319: The Dragon's Roar

Humming cheerfully, Noelle strolled down the road toward the central district of Skyborne City. She was in high spirits. Watching the city take down a beast tide had thrilled her, and though she still yearned for more action, her heart was content.

"Hmm...?"

Her nose twitched slightly. A flicker of confusion, followed by faint displeasure, crossed her face. She had picked up a scent she didn't like, faintly reminiscent of the undead plane. Noelle detested the death-stained stench of that place.

Dragons possessed extraordinary olfactory senses. Noelle was certain about what she had smelled. There could be no mistake.

Looking around, she noticed a group of people silently passing by. Their attire and matching insignias marked them as members of the same research group.

"Mm."

After a brief moment of thought, Noelle realized they were likely returning from the undead plane. That would explain the aura clinging to them—an aura she instinctively loathed.

Slowing her steps, she deliberately widened the gap between herself and the group, allowing them to move ahead.

She had time. So long as she made it back in time for the evening lessons with Avia and her brother, there was no rush. It was fine to take a leisurely pace, especially if it meant not having to breathe the air around those reeking of undeath.

The group paid her no mind. They continued on in silence and soon vanished from view.

"Hm?"

Noelle glanced curiously at the still-novel sights of Skyborne City as she walked. The towering architecture, the whir of arcane machinery—all of it still fascinated her. But as she kept walking, she began to frown. She let out a soft, puzzled murmur.

Something wasn't right. The smell hadn't gone away. Even after the researchers had disappeared from sight, the scent remained, coiling in her nose like smoke. That stench, dead, damp, and wrong, continued to linger.

Vigilance was something Sieg had taught her from a young age. When something felt off, she wouldn't dismiss it. Rather, she had been instructed to trust her instincts and investigate. A false alarm was better than ignoring a danger that could kill her, after all.

Noelle quietly slipped her right hand into a hidden fold of her coat pocket. Her fingers found a miniature figurine, a finely carved icon of the Lady of the Night. This was one of the safeguards Wang Yu and the others had given her.

The Lady's power, even diluted by distance, was potent enough to manifest a divine spell in an instant. Ancient darkness unspooled across the void.

Maintaining her outward calm, Noelle extended her mind to the identity card within her pocket, attempting to reach Sieg and the others through it.

She sent the signal—only to receive no reply.

The Magiweb that blanketed Skyborne City had been cut off. Her card was useless.

Her heart skipped. This wasn't merely a chance encounter. She had barely shown herself in public, but she was certain she was being hunted. There was only one group she could think of who would do this—the Church of Dragonkind.

She had no time to wonder how they found her. The city proper wasn't far off. And if her pursuers had even the barest knowledge of Skyborne City's defenses, they wouldn't dare attack her in its midst. That meant the ambush would come before she entered the city.

Noelle knew that she was nowhere near strong enough to survive a full assault from the Church. Her only chance was to stall for time until Sieg and the others could reach her. But could she hold out for that long?

She felt the second object near her side as she exhaled silently.

She had to create an opening. She wasn't as strong as Avia or Sieg—and the attacker would likely know that too. But sometimes, weakness could be a weapon in disguise.

Meanwhile, Varma scrutinized Noelle via her own means.

A dozen revived researchers moved in silence, cloaked by spells and the shadows of the surrounding architecture. They were closing in on Noelle at a slow but steady pace. Their linked necromantic energy wove an incomplete spell array around her, one that simultaneously extended their perception and prepared a deadly trap.

At that moment, Varma was feeling simultaneously surprised and delighted. She had expected her heretic quarry to be Sieg Wilsbach, but had instead come across a juvenile red dragon. It was an unexpected bonus.

"Then where could Sieg Wilsbach be? The Crimson Mark can't be wrong. She's a dragon herself, and a fledgling humanoid at that. She'll be easy prey. There's no need to waste the void ritual meant for Sieg on her," Varma murmured to herself as she closed in on Noelle. She continued eyeing the red thread emanating from the Crimson Mark, which pointed straight to Noelle. It was clear that Noelle was one of her targets, but where was the other?

Then, something happened. The thread split. A faint, nearly invisible strand of red branched off, so fine and ethereal that Varma could barely perceive it even when focusing with her full attention.

"How could this be so faint...? But it must be Sieg. The curio can't be mistaken. I'll save the void ritual for him and capture this fledgling red dragon some other way."

She didn't press further. Time was short. The girl would enter the city proper soon enough. Within its bounds, it would be nearly impossible to prevent the Magiweb from sensing her.

Skyborne City was no place to be reckless—the all-seeing magical network would detect any disturbance. If the alchemical legions of Skyborne City were to lock onto her, even she would fall.

And the city forbade all unregistered spatial magic. Layered space-sealing arrays covered every inch of it.

Varma only had one chance to drag her target into a pocket dimension via the Voidrealm Array crafted for that very purpose. She didn't intend on wasting it on a juvenile dragon.

Raising her hand, she activated her spiritual core, unleashing necromantic energy that momentarily lifted the natural suppression that the material plane exerted on undead.

The energy flooded into her controlled corpses, enhancing the array they had formed. A cold, gray fog began to form, a manifestation of an altered Deathveil that covered a hemispherical region in spectral fog.

It would temporarily block Skyborne City's surveillance and cloak Noelle from sight.

"It's starting..."

Noelle had been prepared. The instant the mist surged around her, she crushed the figurine in her pocket without hesitation.

The power of the Lady of the Night cloaked her in darkness instantly.

Liquid shadow flooded the fog-filled space, swallowing it whole. Not only that, it blocked the perception of all that lay within it, even with senses beyond sight. Even Varma, who relied on magical detection rather than her eyes, found herself suddenly blind.

"She sensed me?" Varma froze for a moment. The divine spell had activated in the same instant as the Deathveil. The girl had clearly sensed her intent and prepared well in advance.

She had to admit that it was a powerful spell. She couldn't perceive anything within the cloaked space.

Her undead allies, poised to seize Noelle and rip her heart out for power, lost all sight of their target.

But the power of a divine spell, even one cast by a deity herself, could not compare to that of a curio. The red thread of the Crimson Mark pierced straight through the darkness and pointed directly at Noelle's true location.

"Blind her. Seize her."

As Varma chanted, the soulcore unleashed a tide of necromantic energy, triggering a cascade of spells. Death magic flooded the fog, guiding the corpses she commanded—once magicians, now hollowed husks—toward Noelle.

The gray mist surged inward. The world around Noelle turned white and gray. But the Lady's power still lingered. Through it, she could still sense her enemies and continue to fight.

"..."

Noelle remained silent. She had no choice but to stow away the item she had intended to use while shielded by the darkness. Somehow, those entities had managed to locate her. Their assault was imminent, and she would have to fight back—another opportunity would have to wait.

From the earth rose gleaming white skeletal claws, reaching for Noelle. Necrotic energy coiled about them like smoke, ready to drain the very lifeforce from any target they grasped.

Noelle lifted her leg and struck out at the oncoming claws. Draconic scales shimmered into existence upon her slender calf as she met the bone talons head-on. In stark contrast to her delicate appearance, overwhelming strength erupted from the blow.

A thunderous impact rang out. Several bone claws were shattered beneath her kick, the fractured remains flung backward at speed. They slammed into the charging necrotic husks of the dead researchers, embedding themselves in the undead flesh.

The broken claws didn't remain inert. Upon contact with the necromantic energy animating those corpses, they stirred again. Reanimated, they twitched and lunged once more at Noelle in a relentless assault.

Above her, from every direction, howling black skulls formed from billowing smoke descended from the air, converging in a shrieking spiral as they sought to pierce her soul.

And as if summoned by the same hateful will, barbed bone spikes slithered across the ground like serpents. Their tips gleamed wickedly, poised to strike at every soft, vulnerable inch of Noelle's body save for her heart.

A low, instinctive growl escaped Noelle's lips. For the first time, the latent pressure of her draconic blood stirred visibly. Draconic might surged around her. Though subtle, it was enough to slightly dull the necromantic spells surrounding her.

When one of the shrieking skulls got within two meters of her, a dormant magic device at her side activated of its own accord. A radiant, spherical shield sprang forth, glowing softly. The black skull collided with it and shattered instantly into a harmless cloud of necrotic mist.

The shield shimmered, having successfully fended off the spiritual assault. Without pause, Noelle lunged forward. From the earth, a living bone spike sprang toward her, aiming to impale—but she met it head-on, her hands outstretched. As her fingers closed around it, draconic features partially revealed themselves.

The spike thrashed with immense strength. Burdened by Its presence, Noelle could not summon her full draconic might. She could only manage to hold the spike barely in place. Crushing it was beyond her.

But what she could not crush, she could devour. Clutching the spike, she opened her mouth wide and bit down. Her draconic jaws, among the hardest parts of her body, tore into the bone like it was mere bark. In a few ferocious bites, the struggling spike was reduced to splinters on the bloodstained earth.

She turned. The necrotized researchers were upon her. Their bodies had been reforged by Varma's craft, granting them strength to rival junior knights. Not only that, they had no fear, no pain, and no weak points.

On her own, Noelle might manage to overcome two or three of them. But over a dozen surged forward in unison.

Her jaw opened again—not to bite down, but to unleash her other weapon: flame and magic. A crimson light bloomed within her throat, swelling into a dense sphere radiating blistering heat.

Among all dragonkin, red dragons had the most fearsome dragonbreath. Their arcane mastery was fused with their breath: when red dragons breathed fire, their magic came along with it.

Noelle was a pure-blooded red dragon. Her flame burned hotter than most, and her gift for fire magic had been unanimously acknowledged by her mentors. Even Wang Yu would not dare take a blast of her dragonbreath head-on.

The orb shattered. A torrent of fire, tinged with flickers of blue, erupted forth, born of both her body and her magic. The inferno surged forward in a roaring wave, engulfing every advancing undead figure.

The blast swept the battlefield. Concentrated flame scattered the necrotic fog, burning it away completely. Noelle no longer needed to rely on the Lady of the Night's shadow-sight to perceive her foes.

Sparks rained down, igniting fireballs that left trails of flame across the ground. Those who had charged her were now nothing but cinders.

Those slightly farther back were reduced to melting bone and charred flesh—grotesque piles of flaming fat and scorched meat, unrecognizable as human.

She gasped for breath. The cost of that single act was immense. Trapped in human form and still but a fledgling, Noelle struggled to wield her full strength.

Without warning, the scorched piles of flesh and blood began to twitch. In the blink of an eye, they merged into a massive, grotesque, sludge-like abomination of blackened gore and corpse-fat. It surged toward Noelle, coiling around her, ensnaring her weakened form and lifting her off the ground.

Noelle clenched her jaw, writhing in defiance. But the slimy horror held fast. Bolstered by Varma's power, it was stronger than she was in her current state. She could not break free.

The charred abomination squirmed and hardened, reshaped by necromantic energy. Greasy tendrils slithered up to Noelle's eye sockets, preparing to strike.

"I must admit, I didn't expect such power from a fledgling heretic dragon,"

Rasped Varma's voice from within the mass. "You've cost me dearly."

Varma made her move immediately. The sharpened tendrils were aimed at her eyes, intending to pierce straight through and crush her brain into pulp.

Whether Noelle remained in human form or transformed into a dragon, no part of her could withstand such a blow.

But in that critical instant, Noelle opened her mouth again—not to scream or to roar, but rather to unleash something she had held between her teeth the entire time.

It was a small metallic square etched with intricate arcane circuitry. Upon closer inspection, it resembled a detachable page from Wang Yu's Spellweaver's Tome. Carved upon it was a specialized Gate of Phases, attuned to a specific target.

Silver light burst forth from her mouth, striking the empty air ahead. A spatial rift opened, no larger than a palm, and barely stable. And just as the sharpened tendrils drew within inches of her eyes—The power of whoever she had summoned surged through the gate. A wrathful roar, like that of an elder dragon, erupted across the battlefield.

A shockwave of pure, overwhelming force detonated from the rift, sweeping forward in a great fan-shaped blast. Everything in its path was annihilated—torn to shreds without mercy. The very air warped. The earth convulsed.