"It's not over. The dragon isn't dead yet..."
The moment those words left his mouth, something unexpected occurred in the sky.
The black dragon—once weak and riddled with wounds from the attack of the Seven Mages of the Constellations—suddenly began to radiate a blinding surge of red and purple energy.
The energy spiraled around its body like the eye of a massive, destructive storm.
The crowd's excitement faded, replaced by a growing sense of horror and dread.
"How is that possible!? Wasn't the dragon already suppressed? Why does it seem even stronger now?" A man cried out in disbelief.
No one answered. Silence fell over them all, each lost in their shock.
"What!?" Ragan froze, stunned by the sight before him.
He hadn't expected the dragon to emit such overwhelming power after being struck by the combined might of the Seven Mages of the Constellations.
But before he could recover from his shock, the dragon's aura surged even further, and its body began to transform.
The scales that had been shattered by the mages' magical formation now regenerated at a pace visible to the naked eye.
They didn't just regenerate—they thickened, hardened, and grew more menacing.
Jagged thorns emerged from the scales, forming a deadly armor capable of pulverizing a person with a single blow.
Its size doubled, and the two horns on its head elongated and curved sharply backward.
Its crimson eyes burned with killing intent so intense, it felt as if anyone who met its gaze would have their soul ripped apart by sheer terror.
"Damn you, humans! I will destroy you all!"
A hoarse, thunderous voice erupted from the dragon's mouth, followed by a supersonic shockwave that obliterated everything beneath it.
Fortunately, Cassiopeia—one of the Seven Mages of the Constellations—reacted swiftly, casting a protective barrier that shielded everyone in the square.
Even so, the shockwave struck several nearby buildings, reducing them to rubble.
It was unclear whether any civilians had been inside, but if there were, they almost certainly perished beneath the debris.
"Prince Nolan... I'm scared!"
Masha's face went pale at the sight of the dragon, which now looked far more terrifying than before.
She buried her face in Nolan's chest, clinging to him tightly.
Nolan remained composed, his gaze fixed on the dragon with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Don't worry. The seven of them can definitely defeat it," he said softly, his voice steady in an attempt to reassure her.
"Nolan," Evalyn said from beside him, her tone serious. "Don't you think there's something strange about that dragon? For some reason... I feel like I've seen it before."
Her words made both Nolan and Elina frown.
Nolan fell silent for a moment. Then, suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Wait... I remember!" he exclaimed, drawing a sharp breath. "That dragon looks exactly like the Catastrophe-Level Dragon that attacked the Western Duke's territory—the territory of the Duke of Valcrest!"
On this continent, monsters were ranked across seven tiers: low-level, middle-level, high-level, city-level, country-level, catastrophe-level, and at the very top—world-level.
The first three levels were dangerous but not particularly destructive.
City-level monsters could destroy an entire city, while country-level monsters had the power to devastate kingdoms—small, medium, or even large.
But catastrophe-level monsters—those were on a different scale entirely. They possessed the power to devastate half a continent.
They were exceedingly rare—almost the stuff of legend. But two years ago, a catastrophe-level dragon appeared in the Duke of Valcrest's territory, nearly reducing the entire region to ashes.
Fortunately, the Singularity of Chaos intervened and killed the beast. Had it not, not only would the Duke's territory have fallen, but the entire Great Empire of Velmora might have ceased to exist.
And now, that same monster—or something even more powerful—had returned.
Worse still, it had appeared in the capital itself—the heart of the Great Velmora Empire.
Nolan's voice rang out loud and clear, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.
"What!? That dragon... it looks exactly like the one that attacked the Duke of Valcrest's territory!"
Their expressions stiffened. Fear crept into their eyes, and many began to tremble uncontrollably.
Who hadn't heard of the dragon's attack on the Duke of Valcrest's territory?
Reports said the death toll had reached five hundred thousand people.
And that was only the confirmed number—no one knew the true extent of the casualties.
Some even claimed the number could be as high as one million.
Such a horrifying—and utterly terrifying—number!
"Duke of Valcrest... Is that dragon really similar to the one that attacked your lands?" the Duke of Austin asked, turning to the middle-aged man beside him with a serious expression.
The Duke of Valcrest didn't answer right away. The wrinkles on his forehead deepened, and fear flickered in his eyes.
After a few moments, he took a deep breath and shook his head slowly.
"That dragon is indeed similar to the one that struck my territory, but it's not the same," he said softly, closing his eyes briefly.
"Then... is there a chance they're connected?" The Duke of Ashvale asked hesitantly.
"It's possible," the Duke of Valcrest replied without protest. "The auras they emit are very similar, but I can't be certain."
The three fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts.
Meanwhile, the Duke of Malvain listened quietly, saying nothing.
Yet his eyes narrowed slightly, as if wrestling with a secret he was unwilling to share.
"Orion, what should we do?"
Lyra turned to him, her voice urgent.
She hadn't expected the dragon to be this powerful—reaching catastrophe level.
If left unchecked, all of them... and this empire... would be lost.
"Wait. Don't be reckless!" Orion ordered firmly.
From beneath his hood, his eyes locked onto the dragon.
A catastrophe-level monster... this was a grave threat.
If it were only a country-level beast, he and the Mages of the Constellations could handle it easily.
But catastrophe-level monsters were a different class altogether—their power capable of devastating half a continent.
Although all seven were Celestial-level mages, facing such a monster without proper preparation was impossible.
Had they come fully equipped, they might have stood a chance.
Unfortunately, their gear was stored in a secret location nearly ten kilometers from the capital.
Retrieving it would take too long.
Moreover, a battle with a catastrophe-level monster here—in the heart of the capital—could destroy everything.
Hundreds of millions of lives could be lost in an instant.
Taking a deep breath, Orion turned to his comrades and commanded, "For now, hold your ground. Focus on fending off the dragon's attacks!"
"Understood!" The six other mages nodded and scattered in different directions.
They pressed their palms together and shouted, "Heaven's Net!"
Whoosh!
Seven glowing magic circles appeared above their heads, rapidly expanding until they merged into a massive net that stretched over the entire capital city.
"In vain, humans!" The black dragon roared.
It spread its wings wide and opened its mouth.
Whoosh!
Inside, a ball of energy began to form—dozens of times larger than before.
The once bright sky suddenly turned pitch black.
Cracks of black lightning flashed through the clouds, erupting with a deafening roar.
The sight drained the strength from many onlookers.
"Are we really going to die...?"
That fear gripped everyone.
The energy ball was enormous and overwhelmingly powerful. No one believed the Seven Celestial Mages' magic net could hold against it.
The dragon lowered its head, aiming the colossal energy ball directly at the square.
"Prepare to die, all of you miserable fools!"