Chapter 61: 2 Archmages

3rd Person POV

The dragon soared through the sky, its massive wings beating against the air with thunderous force. As it flew, it unleashed torrents of flames that engulfed everything in their path, reducing buildings to smoldering ruins and sending plumes of smoke billowing into the air.

With each flap of its wings, the dragon summoned bolts of lightning that streaked across the sky, illuminating the landscape with blinding flashes of light. The crackling energy arced toward the ground, striking with deadly accuracy and sending shockwaves rippling through the earth.

As the dragon roared overhead, it conjured fierce hurricanes that tore through the countryside, uprooting trees and tearing apart anything in their path. The howling winds whipped through the air, carrying debris and destruction in their wake as they swept across the land.

With a powerful surge of mana, the dragon unleashed a devastating blast that obliterated everything in its path. Buildings crumbled to dust, their foundations shattered by the force of the explosion, while the ground itself trembled beneath the onslaught of raw magical energy.

As the dragon continued its rampage, it left a trail of devastation in its wake, laying waste to everything in its path with ruthless efficiency. The once-proud city lay in ruins, its streets littered with the debris of shattered lives and broken dreams.

Amidst the chaos and destruction, the people fled in terror, their homes and livelihoods reduced to ashes by the dragon's fury. With each passing moment, the scale of the devastation grew, leaving no corner of the kingdom untouched by the dragon's wrath.

*****

As the dragon approached the royal castle, it unleashed a barrage of mana blasts that streaked through the air like deadly missiles. The mages stationed at the castle hastily conjured protective barriers, their magical energy shimmering in the air as they worked to ward off the impending onslaught.

The first few waves of attacks were successfully repelled by the barriers, the magical shields holding firm against the dragon's relentless assault. But with each successive blast, the strain on the mages grew greater, their energies depleting as they struggled to maintain their defenses.

Despite their best efforts, the dragon's relentless onslaught eventually proved too much for the weakened barriers to withstand. With a mighty roar, the beast unleashed a torrent of flames that engulfed the castle's outer defenses in a searing inferno, reducing stone walls to molten rubble and sending plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.

The mages fought valiantly to contain the flames, their spells weaving through the air in a desperate bid to quell the inferno. But the dragon's fire was too fierce, too powerful to be extinguished by mortal magic alone.

*****

Despair threatened to engulf the castle grounds as the dragon's unrelenting assault finally breached the outer defenses. With a deafening roar that echoed through the valley, the beast unleashed a torrent of white-hot flames that seemed to defy common sense, engulfing the castle walls and mages in a searing inferno.

Suddenly, a booming voice cut the air.

"Enough!" someone shouted

The noise echoed through the air and caused a wave of power to roll outwards that pushed back the flames momentarily. All eyes turned towards the source, it was a figure that had landed atop the highest point of the remaining wall, its arrival heralded by a flash of blinding light.

It was Rivel, the Archmage of the West. And next to him was Archmage Ashford. The dragon, momentarily surprised by the interruption and its senses warning of 2 powerful presences, turned its fiery gaze towards the newcomers.

A low growl rumbled in its throat, a challenge hanging heavy in the smoke-filled air.

A tense silence descended upon the castle grounds, the dragon then released a fiery breath and carved another gaping hole in the wall as a sign of challenge.

The dragon roared in fury, smoke billowing from its nostrils as it charged towards the two figures atop the crumbling wall. Rivel, the Archmage of the West had his staff out and his staff crackled with electric energy, a crackling spear forming at its tip.

The dragon launched itself with a powerful beat of its wings, a monstrous silhouette against the burning sky. Rivel unleashed his attack.

The energy spear, a roaring white serpent, flew towards the dragon with a deafening boom. It struck the beast's chest with a blinding flash, sending a shockwave that rattled the earth. The dragon screeched in pain, smoke billowing from the wound, momentarily faltering in its flight.

Catching its breath, the dragon retreated for distance. A torrent of fire erupted from its maw, a searing wave aimed directly at Rivel. The Archmage slammed his staff against the ground, a shimmering barrier of pure energy rising before him. The flames slammed into the barrier, hissing and sputtering, but failing to breach it.

Rivel, seizing the opportunity, launched another attack. A swirling vortex of wind materialized at the tip of his staff, tearing towards the dragon with a howling scream.

The dragon, its head weaving to avoid the vortex, slammed its massive tail into the barrier surrounding Rivel. The force of the impact made the very ground tremble, cracks snaking across the remaining wall. The barrier flickered, almost failing, but Rivel poured his magic into it, holding it just long enough for the wind vortex to strike.

It slammed into the dragon's side, sending the beast crashing to the ground with a bone-jarring thud.

Seeing its advantage, Ashford raised a hand, muttering under his breath. The ground around the fallen dragon writhed and churned, thick tendrils of earth rising from the cracked stones. They wrapped around the dragon's limbs, constricting its movements. The beast roared in frustration, its claws tearing at the earth's bindings.

Rivel, taking flight with a burst of magical energy, soared above the dragon. He channeled his magic, his entire form crackling with power. With a final roar, he unleashed a devastating bolt of pure lightning. It struck the dragon square on the head, a blinding flash erupting as magic met its head.

Ashford then summoned dozens of pillars of flames that erupted from the ground, encircling the dragon in a fiery cage. As the pillars converged, they detonated in a colossal, mushroom-shaped inferno of smoke and flames.