Chapter 174: Full Moon Night – Part 1 (7)

Greater Invisibility

As Dorothy completed the spell, her form instantly vanished, as if she had never existed in this world to begin with.

Raizein widened her eyes in surprise.

‘Greater Invisibility? Isn’t that a 6th-circle spell? She can use something like that?

She’s definitely not just an ordinary student. Could she be a demon hiding her true identity?’

A 3rd-circle spell like Invisibility or Blink might be possible for a talented student.

But a 6th-circle spell is a completely different matter.

No matter how genius the mage, it is impossible for a student to cast 6th-circle spells at such a young age, especially not with the ease that Dorothy just demonstrated.

Moreover, considering the strength she displayed earlier…

“….Hmm.”

Raizein paused for a moment and extended her senses to the maximum.

Greater Invisibility.

Unlike ordinary Invisibility, which only makes the caster’s appearance invisible, this high-level spell erases all traces of the caster’s presence.

Sight, hearing, smell, and touch—all of these senses cannot detect the caster.

For a period of time, the caster becomes entirely undetectable.

However, as expected, this spell is not without its flaws.

While it makes direct detection impossible, there are still indirect ways to sense the caster.

For example, one could feel the air trembling just before movement, or sense that something invisible is present by swinging a hand and feeling blocked space.

The caster’s presence is not entirely erased; it’s just impossible to detect through the usual means.

Raizein decided to make use of the second point.

She swiftly moved her shadow, sweeping the ground carefully.

There must be a point where the shadows catch on something.

When she found it, she would quickly attack…

‘Huh? Nothing?’

But in the next moment, Raizein’s face showed confusion.

There was nothing.

Despite thoroughly searching the ground with her shadow tendrils, she hadn’t found anything.

Did she miss it somehow?

No, that couldn’t be.

She wasn’t that careless.

There was no way she escaped while she wasn’t looking, right?

So the only remaining possibility is…

Whoooosh!!

At that moment, a sound like the air tearing apart echoed.

An object, launched from the sky, used its momentum to dive straight toward Raizein, closing the distance before she could detect it.

The shape that had approached so quickly swung its brutal hand to strike—

“Whoa, that was close.”

“!?”

It didn’t land.

Just before the attack could make contact with Raizein’s body, Dorothy was caught by shadows and stopped.

In an instant, numerous tendrils wrapped around her, restraining her completely.

Dorothy, looking shocked, shouted.

“What? How?!”

“Heh, it was a bit dangerous.

I thought you would charge in and leap from some point on the ground, but I didn’t expect you to fly up into the air and strike from above.

But even if it took a moment for me to consider the possibility, it wasn’t difficult to respond.”

As she spoke, Raizein waved her hand and cast a spell.

Dispel Magic.

The veil of invisibility surrounding Dorothy vanished, revealing her true form.

A pair of blue wings sprouted from her back.

Raizein smiled faintly.

“Just as I thought. You’re hiding your true form.

And considering your power and magical ability…Could you be a dragon? I heard they were all extinct, so it’s quite a surprise. Was there one survivor left?”

With that, Raizein clenched both hands tightly.

“Well, that’s going to change today.”

“Ahh…?!”

Dorothy screamed.

The tendrils wrapped around her, crushing her body as energy leaked out with each passing moment.

Raizein was sure of it.

Within seconds, Dorothy would wither like a mummy, dying without accomplishing anything.

She would die, leaving nothing behind.

She hated that idea.

She couldn’t die without properly getting back at the hero…

“This… bastard!”

Dorothy gritted her teeth and summoned strength in her arms.

“You’ve been acting so arrogant from the start, messing around like this…Something like this is nothing…”

“Heh, it’s useless. These tendrils are specially crafted. They can’t be cut.”

Raizein sneered confidently, but in the next moment, she was taken aback.

The tendrils themselves were uncuttable.

She had reinforced them with her own magic, so that was a certainty.

But…

“Can’t cut them? Well, that’s convenient.”

Dorothy smiled grimly.

Then, with all her strength, she pulled her arms back and dragged the shadows forward.

At that moment, the shadow beneath Raizein’s feet began to move toward Dorothy, dragging her with it.

And naturally, Raizein was pulled along as well.

“!? Wait a second—”

Boom!!

Raizein lost her balance and was lifted into the air.

The body, having lost its support, was sucked straight toward Dorothy. And then…

“Die, you bitch!!!”

“Kyaah?!?!”

Boom!!!!

With the last ounce of her strength, Dorothy threw a straight punch that landed squarely on Raizein’s solar plexus.

A monstrous nuclear punch packed with 120% of a dragon’s power.

Her body exploded as if it had burst apart.

“Kugh, haah, agh…!!”

Raizein plummeted helplessly, a huge hole torn through her abdomen.

At the same time, the shadowy tentacles that had been tightly restraining Dorothy lost their strength and began to dissipate like mist.

The suffocating restraint was gone, replaced by a satisfying sense of freedom.

Stretching out her arms and shaking off the stiffness in her body, Dorothy looked down at the bloodied and collapsed Raizein with a rotten smirk.

“Hmph. Acting all high and mighty when you’re nothing special. You were asking for it.”

She turned away, as if she could no longer stand the sight of her opponent.

Thus, the duel ended with Dorothy’s victory.

However, there were still loose ends to tie up—like Marianne, who had been forced to watch the entire battle while paralyzed by a spell.

Dorothy had concealed her dragon identity with invisibility magic and took flight, but Raizein had exposed her secret to everyone, rendering it meaningless.

She had been forcibly outed.

To protect her honor, she had to silence any witnesses. By whatever means necessary.

With that thought, Dorothy folded her wings and descended to the ground, slowly approaching Marianne.

“Hey, you.”

“H-Hiiik?!”

“No need to be scared. I don’t plan on hurting you.”

Dorothy shook her head, flinging off the blood splattered on her hair, and spoke.

“Just don’t go around blabbing that I’m a dragon. If you do… I might just turn you into a bloody pulp like her. Got it?”

“Ah, uh…”

“Answer me.”

Dorothy scowled, pressing for a reply.

But Marianne, still trembling, could only let out incoherent whimpers.

Dorothy frowned, feeling ignored.

“What? Can’t you hear me? Are you mute or something?”

“N-no, it’s not that… It’s… behind you…”

“Behind me?”

Dorothy turned around without much thought.

And then—

CRACK!

“!?!”

Darkness swallowed her vision in an instant.

A hand shot out from nowhere, grabbing her head and lifting her high into the air.

At the same time, an overwhelming force began draining her energy at an unbelievable speed.

This sickening weakness—could it be…?!

“It’s been a while since I’ve faced an opponent capable of dealing real damage to my body.”

A cold, metallic voice whispered in Dorothy’s ear.

It wasn’t coming from vocal cords—no, it resonated from a deeper, darker abyss.

“Thanks to you, I ‘died’ once. I had to experience that nasty feeling of having my life snuffed out again.”

A pause.

“How do you intend to compensate me for that?”

The voice dripped with malice.

“Even if I rip you apart here and now, it wouldn’t be enough to ease my rage…”

“Kuh, ngh…?!”

Dorothy gasped in pain as the grip on her face tightened.

Raizein’s appearance was monstrous.

Her abdomen still had the gaping hole from before—but now, pure black shadows were filling it in.

The wound was rapidly closing, as if she had never been injured at all.

Even a hydra would be envious of such overwhelming regeneration.

“Oh my, what’s with that face? Don’t tell me you only have one life?”

Raizein smirked mockingly.

“Oh dear~ how pitiful. That means if you die here, there’s no second chance for you. Meanwhile, as long as the darkness remains intact, I can resurrect as many times as I please.”

Within moments, her body had fully healed.

This was never a fight to begin with.

It was just a game—a warm-up session to shake off boredom. A little sadistic entertainment.

Sure, Dorothy’s unexpected strength had caught her off guard.

But in the face of Raizein’s infinite resurrections, it meant nothing.

Now that her amusement was over, there was no more reason to keep Dorothy alive.

She would simply drain every last bit of her energy, turn her into a lifeless husk, and toss her aside.

“Still, that was kind of fun. You actually managed to make me forget my centuries of boredom… if only for a moment.”

With a chilling smile, Raizein tightened her grip and whispered her final declaration.

“I’ll remember you until tomorrow, at least. Nameless little dragon.”