Reawakening: Primordial Dragon with Limitless Mana-Chapter 49: Elder-rank

*Cough* *Cough*

Hades hadn’t expected this.

Even if the Sage was past his prime, Hades never imagined the enemy would strike Bavech so boldly.

But he was wrong. They attacked—and not subtly, but with overwhelming force.

’Why now?’ He didn’t know.

But what he did know was this: they were in serious trouble.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, his voice rough, barely above a whisper, as he reached for Rinne’s hand.

The explosion had gone off in the building next to theirs. Yet, it had completely obliterated the shelter they were resting in.

The roof was gone. And through the gaping hole above, the night sky was a storm of wings and flame.

Dragons—dozens of them—soared overhead, unleashing chaos upon the town.

"I-I’m... agh," Rinne gasped, trying to stand—but the moment she shifted her weight, pain twisted her face.

A slab of concrete had struck her ankle. The bruising looked bad.

Without hesitation, she extended her hand and summoned healing magic. A soft light enveloped her foot.

"We need to evacuate," Hades said, his tone firm. He could sense their danger.

He wasn’t going to fight a dozen Elder-ranked dragons head-on. They simply couldn’t win.

Their only option was retreat.

As Rinne finished healing herself and rose to her feet, she gave a small nod. "I’m good now. Let’s move."

They clasped hands and jumped down through the hole blasted in the wall, landing safely in the alley below.

The stables were already burning. Their horses—gone. Running was their only option.

"We head for the forest," Hades said, scanning the sky. "We’ll lose them in the trees."

But just as they turned—

"Uh-oh..." Rinne muttered.

From the sky, a massive Elder-ranked dragon descended. Its wings beat slowly, deliberately, as it landed before them with a ground-shaking *thud*.

It wasn’t a coincidence. This one came for them.

Hades narrowed his eyes. "Rinne... I need your support."

He released her hand.

She nodded without hesitation and summoned her staff. Driving it into the ground, she activated a glowing magic circle beneath them.

A warm current surged through Hades. His muscles tightened. His senses sharpened.

He didn’t need to check his stats—he could feel the boost.

Before them, a black dragon stepped forward, snarling, its obsidian scales shimmering under the moonlight.

"Alright then..." Hades rolled his shoulders, fire flashing in his eyes. "Here I come!"

His figure vanished in a blur—appearing right before the dragon, his fist already cocked back.

The creature’s pupils shrank as it twisted and slammed its tail toward him.

"Shi—khuk!"

Hades barely reacted in time. He caught the tail—but the force of it launched him like a missile through the air.

He smashed into a nearby house, splinters flying as he crashed through the wall and dropped to one knee, gasping.

"Hades!" Rinne shouted, her voice trembling as she threw up a barrier in front of him.

*CLANG!*

The dragon’s jaws slammed against the glowing shield—just inches from Hades’ face.

He winced, shook his head, and stared into the mouth of death, panting.

Then, with a snarl of defiance, he launched himself upward, hands clenched together overhead.

The dragon craned its neck, preparing to snap him mid-air.

But just as Hades was about to land into its jaws, his trajectory shifted—unnaturally, impossibly fast.

Featherless Flight.

His body curved mid-air, swerving around the creature’s maw.

**DOOOOOM!**

His strike landed square on the dragon’s neck with a brutal impact. The beast shrieked, stumbling backward.

"Featherless flight... nice skill," Hades muttered, already on the move again.

He leapt forward and slammed a follow-up punch into the creature’s lower jaw.

**CRACK!**

The dragon reeled, its body lurching from the blow.

With a snarl, it flared its wings and launched a gust of wind powerful enough to throw rubble through the air like blades. Hades leapt back, shielding his face as debris grazed his arms.

Above them, two dragons circled—the largest among them descending, wings spread wide, eyes fixed on its prey.

"Rinne, barrier!" Hades barked.

Without hesitation, she raised her staff and slammed its base against the ground. A shimmering dome spread around them just in time.

BOOOOM!

The dragon’s breath attack slammed into the barrier like a tidal wave of fire.

Rinne grit her teeth, sweat beading down her brow. Her hands trembled from the strain of holding it together.

"It’s... pushing too hard!" she hissed, her knees buckling. The heat bled through the dome, singeing the air.

"Just a little more—" Hades grunted.

As soon as the flames died down, he rushed out of the barrier and met the charging dragon head-on.

He ducked beneath its swipe and drove a punch into its gut. A crack echoed, but the beast retaliated with a brutal tail swing.

CRASH!

Hades was flung across the street, smashing through a half-collapsed wall. Dust and shattered wood burst around him.

"Hades!" Rinne cried.

She dropped the barrier and ran toward him, limping slightly. Her hands glowed pale green as she knelt by his side.

"Don’t move—"

"I’m fine," Hades growled through clenched teeth, though blood dripped from his lip and his side was turning purple fast.

The air around Hades twisted.

Heat shimmered in waves as he stepped forward, his glare locked onto the Elder-ranked dragon. His aura surged. Hair swayed. Power boiled beneath his skin.

Above him, two solitary-ranked dragons beat their wings. Their jaws parted wide—

and a hellish volley of flames rained down.

"No!" Hades shouted, halting her chant mid-word.

He wanted this.

As the fire swallowed him, his body glowed red-hot. Skin cracked. Heat rolled off him like a storm. The flames didn’t burn him—he devoured them. Wordlessly, without a single cry, he took it all in. His skill activated, and the inferno was drawn into him.

The dragons ran out of breath—but they had already lost.

What remained was not the man they attacked, but a walking inferno.

Each step Hades took cracked the ground beneath him. Concrete split and hissed under his molten feet. His eyes glowed like twin suns, locked on the Elder-ranked.

The beast growled and reared back. Its chest puffed. Flames churned inside its throat.

Hades shot forward.

He became a streak of red lightning, tearing across the battlefield.

But Rinne’s heart dropped.

"He won’t make it," she whispered.

The Elder was about to release its breath—but then it froze.

Those eyes...

The dragon saw them—eyes that didn’t belong to prey or man.

They belonged to something older.

Something far above it.

A king.

Terror rooted the Elder where it stood.

That single, fatal pause—

**BOOOOM**

Hades’ flaming fist rammed straight into the dragon’s throat.

For a second, nothing.

Then—

a small hole punched through.

A heartbeat later, the back of the dragon exploded open.

Flames howled out, the very same ones the dragon had breathed at him now torn through its own body.

Its corpse hit the ground, smoking, hollow, and broken.

Hades stood there, steam rising from his body, eyes still glowing.

But the battle was far from over.

°°°°°°°

A/N:- There might be a few spelling mistakes. I will edit it later.