"Dragonblood Mode?" Patri looked at Charles, his face filled with uncertainty and suspicion.
The elves were a race favored by magic, but what he sensed in Charles was an even nobler and more violent power.
Dragonblood Mode was a new spell developed by Charles, and it could be said to be his current strongest power.
After awakening the power of the dragon, Charles was not content, since dragon power still needed time to mature before it could truly blossom.
So Charles began to think about how to further strengthen himself.
There were three conditions for a new spell to appear in the grimoire. First was the growth of the mage themselves—this referred to the increase in magic power and control.
The second was the study of the relevant magical principles, and the third was the mage's strong desire.
Now, the third condition was fully met. The first only required completing his training—mastering magic skin would fulfill that. Only the second was a problem.
However, when it came to magical principles, imagination played the most important role. After all, Charles was a transmigrator—if he couldn't think something up himself, he could always refer to characters from other worlds.
Charles searched his memory for flame-based abilities. Then he remembered a world where everyone had flame powers and developed all sorts of strange flame techniques.
The world of "Fire Force"... a world of firefighters!
The creators of that world always tried to explain utterly unscientific things with scientific theories.
Flame jets or explosions were normal enough. Plasma beams created through extreme heat could still be justified.
But entering another universe by altering your own expansion rate to stop time? That was pushing it. Who could believe that was just an advanced use of flame abilities?
Charles had no intention of developing similar abilities. Even if he knew the principles, with his current magical knowledge, he couldn't pull them off.
What Charles referred to was the ability of another person in that world.
In that world, though most people had fire-related powers, their strength was generally low. As a result, they developed a high level of precision control, giving rise to many different ability forms.
The top fighters on the protagonist's side were captains of the special fire brigades. The one Charles referenced was the captain of Company One.
That man could make heat flow through his body, turning himself into a living embodiment of flame. His power, speed, and defense were all astonishing.
Even a plasma beam that could cut steel couldn't pierce his skin. He had crushed the protagonist's attacks just by stomping the ground.
That all sounded easy enough, but Charles suffered quite a bit during the development phase.
How could such terrifying heat flow through his body without disrupting his internal systems? How could destructive flames strengthen the body without damaging its tissues?
Charles got injured more than once during his experiments.
Only after mastering the training for magic skin did the spell finally succeed. Still, it ended up quite different from the original ability.
Even with the grimoire's help, Charles couldn't make such intense heat flow through his body. So he substituted dragon power instead.
In this way, dragon power, the technique of magic skin, and the principle of heat circulation were integrated by the grimoire to create this spell called Dragonblood Mode.
Unfortunately, Charles's current physical condition couldn't sustain Dragonblood Mode for too long, and dragon power couldn't continuously support the spell's operation either.
Of course, once Charles grew stronger and his dragon power matured, that might change. But for now, his limit was seven minutes.
After regaining his composure, Patri naturally saw through this and said, "I see. This spell must put a heavy burden on you. How much longer can you keep it up?"
Charles replied without hesitation, "Long enough to defeat you!"
As he finished speaking, flames coiled around his fist as he once again rushed toward Patri.
Now that Patri had calmed down, he would no longer clash with Charles head-on. All he had to do was stall until Charles could no longer sustain the spell, and victory would be his.
"Light magic, Whip of Judgment!"
The dancing light whip sliced through everything around Patri. Even Charles in Dragonblood Mode couldn't fully endure it.
So, facing the incoming whip, Charles cast a spell.
After awakening his dragon power, Charles's dragon-slaying magic finally showed its true might. What he was casting now was real dragon magic.
"Flame Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Under the impact of searing flames, Patri's light whip shattered. Charles punched through fire and shards of light, his fist continuing toward Patri.
"Don't get cocky!"
After suffering repeated setbacks from Charles, Patri—who already hated all humans—couldn't help but rage.
"Light magic, Sky-Splitting Flash!"
Charles twisted his body to dodge the incoming beam. But unexpectedly, the spell fired in succession.
The second beam caught Charles off guard, blasting him away.
As he tumbled through the air, Charles stabilized himself with jets of flame from his hands.
White vapor rose from the area on his chest where he had been hit. The circulating dragon power not only enhanced his body's functions, but also constantly healed him.
"What a troublesome spell," Patri muttered.
Charles curled his lips. Patri was the last person qualified to say that. His light magic boasted not just power and speed, but also the ability to heal him with no side effects. In comparison, Dragonblood Mode—with its heavy burden—had no clear advantage.
'Four minutes left,' Charles thought, determined not to waste any time.
Patri's spells didn't stop, with light beams firing at him in quick succession.
Charles had to dodge rapidly—getting hit would only add to the strain and consume more dragon power, shortening Dragonblood Mode's duration.
The beams struck the cliff walls like a barrage of explosives. The cave ceiling had already been blown off, and now the walls were riddled with holes. The entire mountain was nearly torn apart.
After dodging the beams, Charles quickly saw through Patri's intentions. And naturally, he couldn't let him succeed.
"Flame Dragon's…"
Charles's cheeks puffed up as a magic circle formed in front of him, drawn in ordinary magma. It was taller than a person, with a radiant dragon-head pattern in the center.
"Roar!"
A small flame first appeared in Charles's mouth, then exploded into a massive fire pillar.
The fire pillar surged toward Patri, lighting up the entire night sky. Even the air grew warm.
Patri's pupils contracted. He could already sense the danger from the surging magical power Charles had gathered before unleashing the roar.
Sky-Splitting Flash might have rapid-fire capability, but it lacked power. It was merely a toned-down version of another of his spells. To counter Charles's attack, he now used the powerful magic he had been saving as his trump card.
"Light magic, Divine Punishment Beam."
This time, the light beam Patri released wasn't dazzling like before. Instead, it had a dim, shadowy feel. Even Patri himself looked as though he was shrouded in darkness.
But that didn't mean the spell was weaker. On the contrary, it was because so much light had been gathered—so much that it swallowed even external light—that this phenomenon occurred.
The light beam and fire pillar collided, not with an explosion or tremor, but in a calm deadlock.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! This is seriously bad!" The cigarette fell from Yami's mouth as he spoke solemnly.
Asta, who had just learned how to sense ki, was sweating heavily. He too could sense the terrifying energy produced by the clash of their spells.
There was still a gap between the two beams where they hadn't physically touched. In that space, a tiny black dot floated.
As the clash continued, the black dot grew larger until everyone could see its true form. It was an energy black hole, created by the convergence of unimaginable magical force.
The energy black hole devoured both spells completely. Even the space around it began to twist and tear from the strain.
The magic circle in front of Charles dispersed, and he dropped to one knee.
The color of his skin lightened, his body temperature fell, and the scales on his face disappeared. At that moment, Dragonblood Mode had reached its limit.
But Charles showed no sign of concern—because he hadn't come alone.
"Alright!"
A tattered cloak fluttered as a muscular man stepped forward, completely shielding Charles behind him.
"Time for a substitution! You did great—now leave the rest to me!" Yami said as he drew his sword.
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