Logan didn't have much time to recover. Before long, he spotted that unreliable teammate of his, Chameleos, flying toward him in a pitiful state. Its whole body was battered, its face showing naked panic, and it whimpered out calls as it came.
White mist kept spewing from its body, dispersing the black-violet scale dust that had once again filled the sky.
Hot on its heels, Shagaru Magala remained in its Frenzied state, leaving in its wake zones of highly concentrated Frenzy toxin wherever it passed.
"Gwaa!" (I can't take it anymore! Really can't hold on—he's going to kill me, gwaa!)
As the two dragons barreled toward him, Logan's Regeneration—which could only be pushed to full effect once he was out of combat—was abruptly cut off.
He swerved aside, narrowly dodging the energy sphere Shagaru Magala spat his way. Chameleos had just slipped into invisibility, only to be blown out of it again when Shagaru Magala detonated its scale dust. What followed was a merciless close-quarters thrashing.
Logan wanted to curse, but found himself at a loss for words.
Fine. He admitted it—he had misjudged again.
He really shouldn't have expected a spell-caster-type weather manipulator to endure against an all-rounder warrior, especially when there was a gap in power between them.
Exhaling slowly, the Calamity Flames around his body surged once more.
The scorching heat warped the air around them, instantly vaporizing both the poisonous mist and the drifting Frenzy scales.
Logan once more assumed a combat stance.
That brief moment earlier hadn't been enough to fully mend his injuries, but it had at least suppressed them to the point they no longer hindered his movements.
With Logan rejoining the battle, the crushing pressure on Chameleos suddenly eased.
Even in Frenzy Form, the Shagaru Magala could not afford to ignore Logan's blazing Calamity Flames. Coupled with Logan's superior speed, most of his strikes were hit-and-run—flashing past before Shagaru Magala had the chance to entangle him.
Now that a steady core had taken over the brunt of the fight, Chameleos was finally able to free itself to spew vast clouds of poison mist, suppressing the Frenzy Virus scales in the air. Remaining invisible, it constantly shifted position, spitting venom and toxic breath to support Logan.
For the first time, a rhythm seemed to form between Logan and Chameleos. At last, there was a measure of coordination in their combat.
Whether it was Logan's fire or Chameleos's poison, both could inflict real harm on Shagaru Magala.
Hounded by Logan's relentless harassment, much of the scattered scale dust was burned away, giving Chameleos the chance to counter with its poisonous fog.
In turn, Chameleos filled in the gaps—lurking in the shadows to continually sabotage the Frenzy Virus miasma fields Shagaru Magala tried to establish, preventing those viral traps from restricting Logan's movements.
No longer facing a disjointed, turn-taking assault, Shagaru Magala began to feel stifled.
Chameleos vanished into its white mist, impossible to track. Logan's speed was overwhelming, forcing the dragon into an endless, futile chase.
When it tried to set viral gas traps to confine Logan, Chameleos would destroy them from the shadows.
And when it attempted wide-area scale explosions, Logan slyly danced at the border between black and white. Even before diving into the domain of Frenzy Virus, he would first clear a swath of scales with that unnaturally wide-reaching breath of fire—only then charging in.
The key was simple—leave no openings!
Intellect reclaimed its throne, reason once more suppressing the beast within.
Only then did Shagaru Magala realize—it was fighting two Elder Dragons, not one Elder Dragon and some top–tier creature.
From beyond the black mist, Logan's flames only burned fiercer, their rising heat with every clash defying all reason. This abnormal escalation made it impossible for Shagaru Magala to judge how much energy Logan still possessed to maintain Elder Dragon–level combat strength.
Until Logan's reserves were truly spent, Shagaru Magala had no choice but to treat him as an Elder Dragon.
It wasn't as though it was some restriction-breaking Elder Dragon. True, it held absolute dominance over ordinary Elders, but against two at once, even it was overextended.
Maintaining Frenzy Form accelerated both stamina and energy consumption, while its natural regeneration was slightly suppressed. That was why, even now, the wing claw injured in the earlier explosion still could not be used.
And so, facing the increasingly seamless coordination between Logan and Chameleos, Shagaru Magala began to feel the urge to retreat.
The question was—how to withdraw at the smallest cost.
Sensing through heat vision the blazing figure of Logan, then glancing at the scale-laden environment around itself, an idea suddenly formed.
It opened its jaws wide and began to spew out massive amounts of Frenzy Virus.
High above, Logan sensed that his fire-attribute energy was nearly depleted. Seeing the regions thick with scales once more suppressed by Chameleos's poison mist, he clenched his teeth and forced every drop of power from his fire sacs, diving at top speed.
He intended to recreate the massive explosion once again!
But this time, he had to prepare in advance—he would not allow the blast to wound him as it had before.
As for after the explosion—if Shagaru Magala still stood ready to fight, Logan knew he would have to make his escape.
This time, all three dragons present had learned their lesson.
Before Logan even reached the zone of black scale dust, the Chameleos had already pulled back, taking up a defensive posture.
Logan, meanwhile, slowed his approach. The moment sparks ignited, he retreated at full speed, forcing his Charred Body trait to its limit so that his defenses remained at their peak.
As for the Shagaru Magala, it was even more cunning. It had deliberately stayed at the farthest edge of the black mist opposite Logan. The instant it sensed its scale dust catching fire, it triggered a synchronized detonation and then, without looking back, flew off in the opposite direction.
Just like that, another explosion—large enough to be considered massive—erupted once again in this shattered battlefield.
When the expected violent shockwave failed to come, replaced instead by thick clouds of smoke, Logan reacted immediately.
The Shagaru Magala had staged a trick!
From the outside, the density of the black mist had indeed appeared so thick it looked like a solid sphere of darkness. But in truth, only the outer layer was dense—the inside held far less Frenzy Virus dust.
Logan had only ignited the outer scales, while most of the explosions had been triggered by the Shagaru Magala itself!
It was retreating—
—using Logan's attack as cover for a safe withdrawal.
And because his vision was blocked by the black dust, Logan couldn't see the Shagaru Magala. On top of that, since the creature's goal hadn't been to attack him, his instincts hadn't sounded any warning.
Just as he was about to rush in to confirm his suspicion, his Blast Sac gave a sudden twitch. The stabbing pain made the flames on his body falter for an instant, then flare brighter in a strange, unstable way.
He knew what it meant—his fire energy was running out. Still, to be safe, he forced himself to endure the discomfort and wait for the smoke to clear.
"Gwah?"
A puzzled sound came from nearby, though no figure could be seen. Clearly, that damned Chameleos had gone invisible again.
The Shagaru Magala was gone, and the remaining black dust had been completely eaten away by the toxic mist.
Logan let out a breath of relief. He stopped forcing his Blast Sac and dispelled his Charred Body.
The very next second—
"Achoo!"
After inhaling the drifting white mist, Logan sneezed and suddenly realized—this treacherous "ally," the Chameleos, had filled the air with poison!
"Roooar!" (Clear this fog, now!)
Dragged into such a battle over a single scale, not only forced into becoming the main attacker but also draining all his fire energy and injuring himself in the process—Logan belatedly realized he'd been played for a fool. And even after all that, the Chameleos still had the gall to keep spreading poison.
What now—was it planning to kick him while he was down?
"Gwah!" (Ah! I forgot, gwah!)
An unexpectedly apologetic tone!
The sight made Logan feel that this creature hardly acted like a proper Elder Dragon at all.
Compared to that juvenile Chameleos from years ago—the one who, just to claim a territory, had nearly caused a biological massacre and forced an entire Rathalos pack to flee—
—this one showed none of the cold pride an Elder Dragon was supposed to carry.
Where in the world had the Research Commission dug up such a bizarre Chameleos?
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