Seeing the frost dragon flee, Kael didn't hesitate, "Chase it!"
Smaug and Thorondor launched into pursuit without a second thought.
Only Herpo, weakened by the brutal cold and fighting the pull of hibernation, remained behind to rest and await their return.
The frost dragon moved with surprising speed across the mountains despite its injuries, its massive size allowing it to cover ground rapidly. Kael and his companions pursued relentlessly.
The dragon had temporarily lost its ability to breathe cold after its recent devastating outburst, but it remained dangerously powerful.
Kael could not maintain his Obscurus form indefinitely. He shifted back to human, mounting Smaug's back as they continued the chase across the rugged terrain.
Their battle ranged across many peaks and valleys until they reached the area near Celebdil above Moria—where Kael had once fought a fire demon alongside Gandalf.
Dwarves standing guard there were familiar with Smaug and Thorondor, but they had never seen anything like the colossal frost dragon. Shock rippled through their ranks as alarm bells began to sound.
Kael focused intently on the exhausted, weakened dragon panting heavily below. Its weakness stemmed not just from injury but from the venom of basilisk Herpo—poison lethal enough to fell an elephant with a single drop.
Even mighty Smaug could be felled by such venom, yet somehow the frost dragon endured.
This made Kael even more cautious. He knew a cornered beast of this caliber was at its most dangerous, capable of unpredictable desperation.
The dragon's protective ice layer had melted almost entirely under Smaug's relentless fiery assaults, leaving vulnerable flesh exposed.
The dragon turned its massive head toward Kael, and to his complete surprise, it spoke with sudden humility, "Wizard, I will submit! Spare my life, and I will serve you faithfully, just like your smaller fire dragon there!"
Kael raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised, "You want to submit? Truly?"
The dragon nodded with what appeared to be sincere eagerness.
Smaug bristled immediately, watching the frost dragon with deep suspicion, "Master, don't trust a word from that lying serpent! No dragon except me can be trusted!"
The frost dragon ignored Smaug's outburst and began boasting arrogantly to Kael about its ancient knowledge, superior strength, and the countless benefits it could provide as a loyal servant.
Kael played along with apparent interest, "If you truly wish to serve me loyally, then swear a magical oath to obey all my commands without defiance. Can you do that?"
The frost dragon hesitated, but facing the combined threat of Kael, Smaug, and Thorondor's fierce stares, it finally lowered its massive head in apparent surrender.
"I agree to your terms."
Kael smiled pleasantly, "Then I'll apparate onto your back. Don't resist, and we'll seal the oath together."
The dragon nodded in compliance.
Seeing this, Smaug urgently warned, "Master, please don't trust this ancient deceiver! I can feel his cunning from here!"
Kael reached out to soothe Smaug's concerns, "Trust me. You're my closest and most valued ally."
In an instant, Kael disappeared and reappeared standing on the frost dragon's broad back.
He raised his wand purposefully, "We'll begin with a blood oath—mixing a single drop of your blood with mine to create an unbreakable magical contract. Don't resist the binding."
The frost dragon nodded obediently, biting its own tongue to let icy cold blood flow freely from its mouth.
"Master, is this sufficient?"
Kael waved dismissively, "One drop will suffice."
"Good! Then receive it!" The dragon lowered its head in what appeared to be genuine submission.
But as Kael stepped closer, the dragon's expression suddenly twisted with malicious cunning. Without warning, a devastating blast of freezing breath erupted from its throat.
Caught seemingly unprepared, Kael was engulfed completely in the icy torrent and transformed instantly into a frozen statue of solid ice.
"Master!" Smaug's scream tore through the air in horror and disbelief.
Thorondor shrieked in fury, immediately diving toward the frost dragon with talons extended.
The dragon breathed another wave of numbing cold at the approaching eagle. Thorondor dodged frantically, but his wing still caught the edge of the blast. Ice crystals formed instantly across his feathers, sending him spiraling downward to crash hard against the mountainside.
"Foolish human, so easily deceived!" The frost dragon gloated as it admired the frozen form of Kael standing rigid on its back.
It had been feigning weakness all along, secretly recovering its ability to breathe cold just enough for one final, fatal strike.
Sneering at the ice statue, the dragon spoke with cruel satisfaction, "My master has always been the mighty Morgoth himself. Not even Sauron could truly bend me to his will, let alone a pathetic little wizard like you."
"Now that you're completely in my grasp, I'll devour you whole and satisfy my long-awaited vengeance!"
Without ceremony, it tilted its massive head back and swallowed the frozen Kael in one gulp.
Looking up with utter disdain at the seemingly paralyzed Smaug hovering above, the dragon mocked viciously, "You claim to be a descendant of the great dragon Ancalagon, yet you submit to a mere human master? You bring nothing but shame to our entire kind! Your pathetic master belongs to me now. Begone before I decide to devour you as well!"
Though eager to destroy and consume Smaug too, its broken wing prevented any aerial pursuit, so it reluctantly let the golden dragon live for now.
A familiar voice suddenly spoke with dry amusement, "Who said your meal is actually dead?"
The next moment, Kael reappeared casually standing on Smaug's back, looking down at the frost dragon with open mockery.
The dragon's eyes widened in complete shock and dawning horror, "Impossible! I swallowed you whole! How are you still alive?"
Understanding struck like lightning. Its voice rose in panic, "What exactly did I just eat?"
Kael laughed genuinely, "Quick to realize the truth! You truly are an ancient dragon with some intelligence!"
He continued with obvious satisfaction, "Feeling an unusual warmth spreading through your belly? I prepared some special treats to warm your perpetually cold stomach—including a complete fire demon crystal."
Kael had never trusted the vengeful frost dragon for even a moment, despite his apparent compliance.
Both sides had been engaged in elaborate deception, each seeking the perfect opening for a decisive, fatal strike.
Using carefully timed delayed apparition, Kael had secretly placed a disguised mithril furnace containing all his fire demon crystals onto the frost dragon's back while appearing to approach.
The fire demon crystals, formed over countless ages from concentrated fire demon power in the deepest mines of Moria, burned hot enough to melt even pure mithril.
Fire demons were beings of higher elemental power than dragons. Their crystallized essence produced flames that could not be extinguished by any dragon's cold breath.
Now the dragon had swallowed this furnace whole—essentially consuming a ticking magical bomb.
Activating the furnace remotely with a pulse of magic, Kael released the intense heat trapped within. It burst forth inside the dragon's vast stomach chamber.
The once frigid stomach became blistering hot in seconds, temperatures soaring to thousands of degrees. Gastric fluids vaporized instantly. Stomach walls began to char and burn.
The enormous stomach ballooned rapidly, growing hotter and larger with each passing second as the fire spread.
Outside, Kael's words had barely faded when the frost dragon felt searing internal agony, as if burning alive from within its own body.
Heat radiated outward from its core, felt even on its exterior scales.
The dragon screamed in pure torment, rolling violently across the mountainside. Stones and trees collapsed around it as the earth shook from its thrashing.
Its agonizing cries echoed all the way to Moria's gates, drawing the attention of every dwarf within hearing.
Kael watched coldly as the dragon's belly swelled grotesquely, manipulating the flames to stream explosively from its throat like volcanic eruptions, turning the great beast into a living furnace.
Gradually, the dragon's entire body heated like a lobster being cooked alive, its scales glowing cherry red with internal fire.
With its organs thoroughly burned and destroyed, the dying frost dragon's eyes filled with bitter reluctance and hatred. It opened its mouth, perhaps to curse Kael one final time, but no sound emerged—its throat was too damaged even for a whisper.
Kael raised his wand one final time, "Avada Kedavra!"
The brilliant green curse struck the dragon's skull directly.
This time, the ancient beast fell silent. Its pupils dilated and fixed. Its breath ceased entirely.
The Ancient Frost Dragon Glam was dead.