Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 742: Fly [3]

Rooooar—!

A tremendous roar shook the surroundings.

What followed was a terrifying and suffocating pressure as a gigantic figure slowly began to climb up the sky, as if swallowing the sky itself.

Darkness cast over the land beneath as the figure slowly began to spread out its wings to display the outlines of an enormous dragon. The faces of several people on the platforms changed drastically as some even stood up from their seats, staring towards the sky with wide eyes.

“That’s …”

“How is this possible?”

“A dragon?”

“D-dragon?”

A few shook from the pressure coming from the dragon, their bodies barely holding it together.

‘This doesn’t make any sense. How did this happen…?’

Even Aoife couldn’t believe her eyes as she looked up in shock.

Her hair and clothes fluttered under the tremendous pressure of the dragon as she stared towards the sky. Her yellow eyes flickered after a moment as a certain memory resurfaced in her mind.

‘That’s an Earth Dragon…’

It was a little different compared to the dragon that she had seen in Ellnor, with its body larger than the one she had seen, and the scales on its body sharper and more intimidating.

But more than anything…

Its presence.

It was a lot more terrifying than in the past.

Now…

The dragon felt like a sovereign of the sky.

It felt as though its presence alone was holding the sky in place.

“This shouldn’t be… possible. How is this possible?”

Aoife was brought out of her thoughts by a certain voice as she slowly turned her head, and finally took notice of her brother, who looked at the sky with a pale, yet incredulous expression. His previously composed expression was long gone, and in its place was simply shock.

His expression was the same as that of the people on the other platforms.

Once again, taking a look around her, Aoife noticed that everyone was staring at the sky with hints of fear and apprehension.

In that moment, Aoife understood.

She understood very clearly.

The tides had changed.

The Rite…

It was practically over.

Thud!

“Haha.”

Her body limply fell back to her chair as she stared at the sky absentmindedly. Holding onto her mouth, she tried her best to contain her laugh as her body shook slightly, and a lot of the stress she had previously experienced started to fade.

‘See…?’ She mumbled, her words directed towards the unknown. ‘He is reliable after all.’

Once again, she laughed.

***

‘Why does this feel like some sort of déjà vu?’

Staring at the massive dragon that floated in the air and feeling its regal and terrifying pressure, I felt a mix of complicated emotions. Was this really the Pebble that I knew? The silly little cat that would always get bullied by Owl-Mighty?

I really couldn’t believe my eyes, and yet, there was no denying what I was seeing.

In the end, all that Pebble really needed in order to reach the next Tier was just a little push.

In a way, the ‘cat’ was just like Owl-Mighty.

While its body was ready to evolve, its mind wasn’t. All they needed was just that small push in order for them to evolve.

And now…

“He’s flying.”

Pebble was flying.

The dragon was truly flying.

Hum

“….?”

A low humming shook me out of my thoughts. Hastily raising my head, I looked ahead to see a series of runes starting to glow from the book. A terrifying pressure burst out shortly after as the Madhound and the other mage both had their bodies covered in the runes.

“Quickly!”

The calm expression on the man’s face was gone.

Holding onto the book and seeing his pale expression, I could tell that he understood the severity of the situation. If he didn’t do something now, then he probably would never get a chance to. But…

‘It’s too late.’

I looked towards the sky.

The sky looked back down on me.

Then—

A large shadow cast over me as the massive dragon in the air slowly came down, its gigantic figure towering over everything present.

Just a simple one of its movements was enough to change the entire atmosphere.

“Quick!”

A rushed shout echoed in that moment.

The book in his hand glowed even more powerfully as the Madhound and the other mage snapped out of their thoughts. Instead of focusing their attention on Pebble, they all turned towards me.

“Get rid of him! He’s more important. He’s the one controlling the dragon!”

I could feel the urgency in the man’s voice. He really believed that I was controlling Pebble.

But that was the furthest thing from the truth.

Pebble was its own figure.

Seeing the Madhound slowly arch its back, its body bending unnaturally like a drawn bow, I felt my stomach twist. A massive arrow began to take shape, larger and sharper than anything he had created before, its jagged edges glowing faintly as if straining against reality itself.

Just by looking at it, I knew…

I knew that whatever was about to be unleashed would tear through me in an instant, leaving no chance of survival.

Especially considering my current situation.

But…

I smiled.

My situation was similarly different from before. Feeling the mana in my body, alongside the changes, I now had enough energy to move.

I had now reached the seventh tier.

If I wanted to, I’d be able to stop all of them.

I had achieved what I wanted to achieve.

Or at least, almost…

Swoooosh! Swoosh—!

The arrows faded from the Madhound’s hands as the space before them trembled.

A deafening, thunder-like crack split the air the moment they were released, the sound rolling through the forest like an explosion. The ground quivered beneath my feet as the warped air surged toward me, bending and twisting the space around me.

Not even a split second, and the space around me opened up. It was so fast that it was practically impossible for me to predict or even stop the arrows.

But…

I didn’t really have to do that anymore as I lifted my hand up once.

‘It’s worth testing out with my last remaining mana.’

Right after, the arrows came. They tore through the air toward me, but… as if an invisible barrier wrapped tight around my body, each one bent midflight, twisting off course and vanishing past me.

I stood in silence, watching them fade into nothing, before slowly lifting my gaze toward Pebble as it approached from the sky.

Thump!

The moment its enormous frame touched the ground, the surroundings trembled as its gaze fell on everyone present. A terrifying pressure burst out from its body as the group of three reacted, quickly getting into fighting positions to fight against Pebble.

But it was no use.

Pebble was no longer the same as it was in the past.

Monsters had always been stronger than humans of the same tier. Not only that, but Pebble was a bona fide dragon.

The moment the three tried to react, Pebble lifted its arm before pressing down.

WOOOOM!

The ground caved in with a deafening crash the instant Pebble moved, leaving a massive crater in its wake. The three figures were slammed down violently, their bodies crushed against the earth. Only the book holder remained upright, trembling, his body barely resisting as the runes across the open pages burned with light.

Pebble’s eyes narrowed at the sight.

It didn’t look really pleased by the fact that a mere human had been able to stop its attack.

Pebble pressed its foot once again.

WOOOOOM——!

The gravity multiplied. The brightly glowing book immediately dimmed right after as his face paled considerably, until—

Spurt!

Blood spurted out of his mouth.

The book turned pitch black shortly after as his body crumbled onto the ground alongside the other three.

“…..”

The world grew silent a few moments after that.

And then—

“Enough.”

I finally spoke, stopping Pebble from doing anything more.

Listening to me, the dragon stopped whatever it was doing as it brought its foot back and closed its eyes. Standing next to me, Pebble’s presence remained terrifying as I looked in the direction of the three people before me.

All three were breathing, but their conditions weren’t good. A lot of the bones in their bodies looked broken.

I locked eyes with the book, and for a brief moment, I felt almost tempted to reach for it.

But right as I was about to do so, a certain voice reached my ears.

“It looks like the Rite is over.”

Father-in-law appeared in front of me from out of nowhere. I silently clicked my tongue and got rid of the thoughts as I looked around me. The surroundings were deathly silent, and I could feel the gazes of everyone present.

From shock, to even fear…

I could see it all with my eyes.

I even picked up subtle traces of red, and I made sure to memorize every single person who contained such emotion.

‘This information will come in handy down the line.’

I now had a better idea as to who was with whom and who was against me.

“You’ve given me quite the big surprise.” As father-in-law spoke again, he stared at Pebble with a curious look as he carefully massaged his chin. Then, under the eyes of everyone present, he began laughing as he turned his attention towards me.

“Who would’ve thought that the cat you were hiding turned out to be some sort of dragon? I’m sure the Marquis will try to file some complaints, but don’t worry, it won’t be of any use. I was present during the agreement between the two of you.”

Father-in-law laughed once again. It really did feel like he found the situation to be extremely amusing. I merely smiled at him.

To be honest, despite the sudden rank up, I was still struggling to remain standing.

I was quite exhausted, and it was taking every part of me to remain standing before everyone. Thankfully, as if understanding my current situation, father-in-law placed his hand over my shoulder and looked up towards the audience.

“With this, I mark the end of the Rite.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but I was certain that everyone within the vicinity had heard his words.

“The winner is…”

He raised my hand.

“Julien Dacre Evenus from the Evenus Household.”