"Gulp—"
Frieren's fingertips trembled slightly.
Even though they were still far from the valley, the acrid smoke rising from within still burned her throat.
"Are you sure you want me to fight that thing?"
She pointed at the massive shadow perched on the last remaining cliffside—Imperial Hell Dragon—amidst a molten valley scorched by its wrathful breath. It was the third time she'd asked.
Agusheed nodded again.
"If this is because I said 'I hate you, Agusheed—' and now you want to send me to my death..."
"Then please accept my most sincere and heartfelt apology."
Frieren bowed deeply, trying to convey her utmost sincerity.
"You think I'm taking revenge for your usual disrespect?"
Agusheed raised his eyes with mild amusement at her serious apology.
"Aren't you?"
Frieren bluntly accused him of holding a grudge.
But Agusheed denied it:
"Flamme told me that you once defeated Bazalt of the Throne."
He casually sat on a boulder by the roadside, flipping through a Spell book.
"But a Demon General and the Imperial Hell Dragon aren't even close in scale..."
Frieren was sure something was wrong with his brain.
"I never said you had to kill the Imperial Hell Dragon."
Agusheed said flatly:
"Just test yourself. Take this chance to gain some experience fighting dragonkind."
Frieren rolled her eyes.
"I'll die."
"If you're in danger, I'll sever its head instantly."
"Agusheed—"
"Hmm?"
"If I die, I'm going to curse you."
His fingertips brushed over a glowing incantation in his Spell book, its golden letters reflecting in his eyes.
"Relax. I won't let that happen. If you died, Flamme would be devastated."
He looked up from his book to Frieren.
"Need me to instruct you during the fight?"
Frieren sighed and turned toward the valley where the Imperial Hell Dragon was sealed.
"Please do."
Upon entering the containment barrier—
Frieren used her limited Flight Magic to float.
She reinforced herself with Cold Emission Magic to resist the valley's heat.
But the dragon, once looming on the cliff, was nowhere in sight.
She scanned with Mana Sense—not on the cliff, nor in the sky...
Then—
The lava pool surged. A massive head burst out from the molten surface.
Ten meters wide. A pair of crystalline emerald eyes. Spiraling horns like twisted branches.
It was majestic, ethereal—if not for the suffocating aura of impending death.
"No teacher should assign fighting a dragon as extracurricular practice..."
She grumbled.
But the Imperial Hell Dragon gave her no time to prepare.
Its eyes seethed with hatred for humans. Its rage of the past days was ready to erupt.
Fwoosh—
Its wings spread, and mana currents in the valley reversed.
"It's going to breathe fire."
Agusheed's voice echoed in her ears in perfect sync with the dragon's roar.
Without hesitation, Frieren cast the Grand Isolation Barrier Flamme had taught her.
The dragon's breath roared in.
BOOM—
Though the shield held, the intense heat singed the fringe of her white hair.
"Hope Flamme or Agusheed has magic to regrow hair..."
She muttered, backing off quickly.
The dragon charged in the chaos.
"Strengthen the barrier with Flamme's other spells."
Agusheed instructed.
Frieren stacked:
Reinforce Physical Resistance Magic
Reinforce Magical Resistance Magic
Her golden barrier flickered as mana drained rapidly.
But Agusheed's judgment was spot-on—
CRASH!!!
The dragon smashed the cliff, hurling boulders like missiles.
Her shield held, but the debris obscured her view—and at this range, she couldn't predict its next move.
"Adjust angle, southwest 23 degrees."
Agusheed flipped a page in his Spell book without even looking up.
"Cast Destructive Lightning Release Magic, full power at its wing membrane."
Frieren felt like a puppet—but obeyed.
Blinding purple lightning struck—spot on.
Yet her eyes widened.
It barely singed the dragon's wing.
"Even its wings are this tough...?"
Then the second breath came—far fiercer than the first.
BOOM—
Her shield cracked.
She deflected the blast and countered with another lightning bolt—this time at its eye.
It only bled a little.
"Even its eyes are armored!?"
She was ready to flee—
But the tail came crashing in.
WHAM—
A desperate barrier saved her from being flung into lava, but she was now right in the dragon's jaws.
It opened its mouth wide.
She braced—
And then it ended.
She realized this when the dragon's head—detached—floated past her, its body falling lifeless into lava.
"He really did sever its head in one strike..."
She marveled at the sheer power of Severance Magic.
As she drifted down with the falling dragon's head, she heard Agusheed calmly close his Spell book.
"You lost focus. Tried to retreat. And still got hit."
"I truly don't understand how you survived Livale the Bloodstained Warlord."
"That was different!"
She sighed.
Few magic users could stay calm at this range.
"If I'd been several kilometers away, I could've run just like back then."
She trudged off—
Then realized Agusheed hadn't followed.
She turned.
He wasn't looking at her—but toward the forest.
"So... that's what happened back then?"
Agusheed's rarely seen amused expression flickered.
With a hint of a smirk, he whispered the name of an old friend—
"Livale?"