Leo braced for the final, incinerating blast of the Purple Flame, accepting his fate to give Ryu the chance to save Gargi. But the agonizing heat never reached him. Instead, a brilliant, roaring wall of vibrant crimson flame—pure, clean, and fiercely protective—erupted from the ground between Leo and the Purple Dragon. The crimson fire collided with the noxious purple stream, creating an explosive burst of steam and neutralizing the poison's attack.
Stepping through the thinning veil of smoke was Flare, her face smudged with soot and her eyes blazing with focused, desperate intent. She was breathing hard, her dress ripped in several places, a sure sign of her frantic rush.
"Leo! I found you!" she shouted over the dragon's indignant roar. "I went back to the Green Goblin village after I finished my research, and they pointed me toward the border!"
Leo stared at her, stunned and alive. "Flare? What are you doing here? You should be safe at the Fourth Castle!"
"You're fighting a Purple Dragon!" she retorted, casting a powerful defensive firewall between them and the beast. "This isn't a problem solved by hiding! I spent hours reading about this creature's abilities and weaknesses in the forbidden section of the library! You need to know that its scales are only vulnerable to certain pressure points, and the Purple Flame's primary weakness is a high-purity Elemental Fire counter-spell!"
She began rapidly outlining a complex magical strategy, detailing the structural integrity of the dragon's neck joints and the necessary temperature of the elemental counter-fire. Leo listened for a moment, a bemused, almost arrogant smile slowly spreading across his soot-covered face.
"Flare," he interrupted gently, taking a step closer. "You're trying to teach a fish how to swim."
Flare paused, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "What are you talking about? I'm telling you exactly how to defeat this dragon, and you're acting like I'm talking nonsense!"
Leo merely shrugged, his eyes never leaving the dragon. "The tome you read about the flames and the specialized Purple Dragon weaknesses in the Forbidden Section of the Fourth Castle Library," he explained, a flicker of mischievousness in his eyes. "That entire volume on elemental dragons and their vulnerabilities... it was written by me."
Flare's jaw dropped. The name of the legendary, pseudonymous scholar and tactical author who penned the most accurate, detailed, and yet highly secretive magical texts—the ones only the highest royal mages were allowed to access—suddenly flashed in her mind: Leo Drakheart. Her worried, bookish companion, the man who always seemed more comfortable doing paperwork, was the most brilliant tactical mind and magical analyst of their generation.
Before Flare could process the monumental revelation, the Dragon roared again, impatient with the momentary lapse in combat.
"Great!" Leo shouted, his voice snapping back to the present, his true energy level now unleashed. "Now that you know the manual by heart, we can work together! You know a lot about this dragon, but I know exactly how the author structured its weaknesses. When that creature fires its Purple Flame at me, use your own Elemental Fire as a back-up counter, and shield me. Then, just get out of my way, and let me show it who the real danger is!"
Flare nodded once, her shock giving way to exhilaration. Leo, finally unburdened of his secrecy, moved with impossible speed, a blur of golden light and enchanted steel. He became a living torrent of combat, dodging and weaving with a grace that surpassed even Ryu's.
The Purple Dragon, confused and enraged by the sudden, focused, and knowledgeable attack, launched another massive torrent of Purple Flame at Leo. Before the poison fire could reach him, Flare unleashed her power. Her crimson Elemental Fire erupted, not to clash with the purple, but to sheath Leo in a protective aura, neutralizing the incoming poisonous effect while simultaneously boosting his speed and the penetrating power of his scimitar.
Leo used the combination of Flare's fire and his own innate speed to climb the dragon's enormous, spiked back in a single, impossible surge. He shot multiple, focused attacks at the creature's neck—the precise spot he had written about in his tactical tomes—pinpointing the small, delicate joint that controlled the flow of its venomous breath. He hit the target with three rapid, devastating strikes.
The Dragon screamed, not in fury, but in pain. It thrashed violently, trying to throw Leo off, but Leo held firm, delivering a final, brutal, fire-enhanced speed kick directly to the exposed nerve cluster near the throat joint.
With a shuddering, gargantuan roar that ended in a wet, choking gasp, the Purple Dragon's massive body gave out. It collapsed heavily onto the ground, its dark scales digging deep trenches in the earth, stunned and temporarily defeated.
Leo landed lightly beside Flare, both of them exhausted, yet strangely elated. They exchanged a weary, triumphant glance. They had defeated a legendary creature using a combination of intellect, magic, and pure, coordinated speed.
"Simple enough," Leo gasped, wiping a smear of purple residue from his cheek. "We finally defeated that creature."
A slow, sardonic clap echoed through the forest.
"I wouldn't call that simple," a smooth, chillingly calm voice drawled from the shadows.
Leo and Flare whirled around. Stepping out of the darkness, her amethyst armor gleaming, was the figure they had seen riding the dragon: Zatana, the Ice Demoness and leader of the Purple Goblins. She carried a wickedly curved, icy black scythe, and a faint, swirling mist of frost surrounded her.
"You managed to defeat Princess Guilia's commissioned dragon," Zatana said, tilting her head, a cold, predatory smile forming on her lips. "She will be so mad at me if I don't bring your cut heads back to her.
To Be Continued