As soon as the words left his mouth, the dragon’s blue flames turned white. The transformation happened too quickly for anyone to react as the fire crawled across its ribs, neck, wings, and skull, sealing every broken section Zich, Cole, and the summons had worked so hard to damage.

Under that faint white glow, cracked bones stitched themselves back together. The shattered leg joint pulled into place as if time had reversed, while Slimy’s poison burned away and the deep spear wounds closed one after another.

Around its body, the chains loosened as the bones beneath repaired, and the battlefield fell so quiet that even the injured players stopped groaning, leaving only the faint crackle of white flames in the air.

Watching the damage vanish in real time, Zich’s smile slowly faded.

At that moment, Blood Leech rushed forward on instinct without waiting for a command, claws spread and proboscis aimed at the dragon’s leg, but before it could even reach the joint, the dragon lowered its skull and exhaled a narrow cone of white flame that struck it directly.

Its armored body lasted less than a second before breaking apart under the heat, dissolving into fragments of black smoke and red light.

Right after that, the Silverback Grunt roared and charged with its club raised high, but the dragon barely turned. It simply shifted its skull and released another short burst of white fire that swallowed the Grunt whole, burning through its weapon, arms, chest, and head before the summon collapsed into scattered light.

Seeing both summons disappear within seconds, Zich’s eyes trembled slightly as doubt crept into his mind.

For a brief instant, he wondered if they could even kill this thing.

Not far away, Cole saw the same thing. His jaw tightened, his grip on the spear trembling before he shouted, "Full retreat! Everyone fall back to the shelter line now!"

"Retreat? Back to the shelter wall?"

"Damn it!"

Since the fight began, Cole had never once ordered a retreat, only pushing them to block, reposition, and attack. Now the shield users pulled back with pale faces, ranged fighters lowered their weapons to carry the wounded, and even the chain users abandoned their positions without hesitation.

One of the shield users glanced back. "Cole, what about the kid?"

At that exact moment, Cole’s eyes shifted toward Zich as the dragon moved.

It ignored everyone else.

Instead, its skull turned and locked onto Zich alone, its jaws opening slowly.

Immediately, Zich’s hand moved toward his backpack.

Before he could act, Slimy bounced forward and placed itself between him and the incoming attack.

Silk Barrier!

Throwing itself forward, it activated Silk Barrier as a white layer formed in front of it, managing to block only half of the attack before the flame burst through and shattered it completely.

The blast sent Slimy flying backward, its body smoking heavily as it crashed near Zich’s feet.

Zich’s fingers twitched as he watched Slimy break apart into fragments, his expression twisting with anger and irritation.

Without stopping, the dragon continued walking toward him. It was not rushing or raging, just moving with steady, deliberate steps that cracked the ground beneath its claws while white flames pulsed within its ribs, heating the air around it.

Without hesitation, Zich turned and ran.

With his summons gone, Cole’s team retreating, and a berserk boss targeting him alone, survival came first. He moved through broken trees with his body low, barely avoiding another blast of white flame that tore through the spot he had just left.

"Damn persistent skeleton," he muttered under his breath.

Still, the dragon kept coming.

Reaching a patch of open ground, Zich slid to a stop, his breathing growing heavier as sweat ran down his face. He quickly pulled out all four soul shards and threw them in different directions so they scattered across the ground, each glowing faintly.

"Go fetch."

The dragon did not even glance at them.

Stepping past the nearest shard, it crushed the ground beside it without slowing. Its skull remained locked onto Zich as if the shards no longer mattered unless they were in his hands.

Zich stared at it, nearly wanting to pull his hair out.

Slowly backing away, he realized there was nowhere good to run. Broken trees blocked one side, burning ground covered another, and the dragon was already lifting its head.

Cole’s team was too far away.

In the distance, Helen and Jayden stood frozen for a moment, watching as the dragon ignored everything else. Jayden’s lips parted slightly while Helen’s grip tightened around her weapon.

"Get out of there!" Cole shouted from afar.

Zich looked up.

The dragon’s mouth opened wide as white flames gathered deep within its skull, brighter and denser than before, building into something far larger than a simple breath attack.

Heat pressed against his face.

Zich narrowed his eyes.

For the first time, a sharp realization hit him.

This might actually be the end.

The dragon released the attack.

Before the flames could reach him, a shadow dropped between them.

BANG!

There was no warning, no shout, just impact as the ground cracked beneath the figure’s feet and the incoming white flame collided against a barrier raised by one hand.

The barrier did not flicker or tremble.

Instead, the fire split around it, tearing through the ground on both sides while the man holding it stood completely still, as if blocking the attack required no effort at all.

The man wore simple white combat clothes. His posture was relaxed, shoulders unmoving, breathing steady, one hand raised effortlessly to block the dragon’s full force attack.

When the flames faded, there was absolute silence.

For a few seconds, no one spoke, everyone trying to understand who this sudden figure was.

The man turned his head slightly, though he did not look at Zich or Cole. His gaze remained fixed on the dragon as he let the barrier fade.

Behind him, the Association members froze when they recognized him.

"Shelter Lord," one of them gasped.

....

Let’s go! Lets hit the mission Goals!