Eliron quickly grabbed Love from the ground, tossing her to his shoulder as he dashed to the side.

Bang!

Alex’s tail slammed right into the spot he had been, coming down with a rush of wind and a frightening degree of strength. Gold coins were sent flying, priceless treasures bent beyond recognition.

"Damn it you oaf! You’re going to break everything!" Eliron yelled at him, waving his hands angrily in the air.

"Wake up or I’ll have to wake you myself!"

Alex did not seem to like his yelling too much, he unfurled his wings, sending a gust of wind flying towards him.

Eliron took a proper stance, raising his arms to shield his face as the wind came.

Vwooosh!

Everything around Eliron was blown away, gold coins, goblets, even the heavier artifacts.

"Eeek—!" Love yelped right next to his ear.

She had to dig her claws into his shirt to avoid getting thrown off, her body billowing in the wind like a flag.

When the wind stopped, Eliron glared at the massive dragon, his eyes taking in his ferocious form.

’How do I wake him up?’

Although his eyes were wide open, they seemed dazed and out of focus.

Alex was likely still unconscious, but his body’s protective mechanism was very much active.

"This is all your fault, you know that right?!" He glanced at Love.

She averted her gaze, clinging more tightly to his shoulder. "Ehehe, I apologize."

Alex raised his paw, the foot casting a large shadow over them, and then he brought it down with a bang!

Eliron jumped forward into a barrel roll as the foot dug into the cave floor. A small net of cracks tearing through the ground, but Eliron was already gone.

He appeared right in front of Alex, slicing forward with his sheathed sword. The moment the weapon crashed into his foot, Eliron felt a tremor run through his arms.

’It feels like concrete!’

"His tail!" Love screamed into his ear. It was more disorienting than helpful, especially considering that he could see it. But Eliron appreciated the sentiment.

He immediately leaned back as the tail sliced right above him, feeling the gust of wind and heat that followed.

BANG!

The entire room shook as the tail made contact, cutting a deep groove into the wall.

Love whistled at the sight of the destruction.

"Not bad..."

Before it could recover its tail for another attack, Eliron leaped right up toward his face, pulling his sword back.

Then, summoning as much force as he could without mana, Eliron whacked him right across the face.

Thwack!

Alex’s head was rocked back, the dragon stumbling back a few steps.

"Did we get him?" Love asked excitedly as she watched him shaking his head, expecting that he would open his eyes with familiarity in them.

But when the dragon stared down at them, they were met with a nasty glare, one that was filled with unbridled malice.

The dragon took in a deep breath, and Eliron knew hellfire was about to descend.

His throat expanded, glowing like molten metal. Uncontained, blue fire leaked out of his mouth, slipping through his razor sharp teeth, and then just when it had become too much—he unleashed it.

"Hold tight!"

VWOOOSH!

The blue fire came with a demonic howl, like a coming hurricane, only this time, it was fire.

Eliron hurtled towards the side of the room as the fire followed him like a beam of light. Everything that made contact with the fire was gone as soon as it touched it, treasures melting to molten form.

The moment Eliron got to the wall, without turning to look at his back, he stepped on a protruding piece of stone and leaped up, twisting his body in the air as the fire washed over the stone, narrowly missing him.

The dragon took a moment to cool down, coughing out flames, all while Eliron raced towards him.

His eyes were laser focused, his hand tightly wrapped around his sword.

The fire came again, this time in short bursts similar to fireballs. Eliron immediately twisted his feet, cutting towards the left as a fireball exploded into the floor.

The shockwave sent him staggering forward, the heat scorching his body as he continued his dash.

He managed to evade another fireball, and then the last one came right towards his face.

Eliron’s feet skidded on the floor as he raised his sword, his body sliding towards certain doom.

[Phoenix sword art—Scarlet Whip]

Although he could not use his mana, meaning the skill would be nothing like it was meant to be, it was still better than nothing—

Eliron twisted his blade at an awkward angle, then he spun his body, arcing his hand down as he delivered a diagonal slash.

Love’s eyes widened as the fire came, she had expected it to be their end, burned to a crisp by the scorching flames.

She narrowed her eyes, wincing as she felt the unbearable heat. But right before her eyes, Eliron’s blade blurred, and then a clean sword strike cleaved right through the flames, creating a gust of wind that blew both parts apart.

’How did he...?’ She tried to think, but she could not harbor any other thoughts.

Eliron had leaped into the air, once again flying toward the dragon’s face.

He changed his hold on his blade, taking in a breath. "I have a dragon just like you at home, punk! You’re going to need to do better than this!" Eliron screamed at the top of his voice.

"Now either wake the fuck up, or I’ll crack that thick skull of yours!"

The fire bubbled within the dragon’s throat in clear defiance, yet with only his sword, his indomitable will, and the sheer madness that had enveloped him, Eliron smirked as he charged right towards the dragon.

Swish!

His sword cleaved the air apart with a metallic shrill, but just as it was seconds away from making contact, the dragon vanished.

Eliron landed on the ground and turned around to glare at the man who was holding his head as he winced.

"Argh, damnit. I have a terrible headache." Alex cursed. Then his eyes snapped open.

"Eliron! There is an evil seductress at work, seal your—"

His voice trailed off. "How did your pet get down here?" He turned around and frowned. "My God, what happened here??"

Eliron sighed and fell down to his knees, glaring at the prince as he pointed a shaky finger at him.

"You— you bastard!"

<•••>

Eliron used the next few minutes to explain all that had happened to Alex, who glanced at Love with an embarrassed look on his face.

It was clear he had not just succumbed to her tricks, he had definitely fallen headlong.

He even tried to bribe her with jerky to keep quiet about what had transpired, and she accepted it...

But of course, through mental communication, she promised to give him the juicy details later.

Unwilling to spend even a second longer in the tomb, Eliron, with Alex’s help, stuffed every single last treasure into the bag.

Burned gold was still gold after all.

He was about to leave when he noticed something that caught his interest.

A white, blemishless piece that glowed softly under the light.

During the fight, one of the dragon’s bones had dislodged from its joint...