(Edward's POV)
I raised my sword, ready to deliver the finishing blow to this dragon.
BANG
Something slammed into me with tremendous force.
I was sent flying backward, crashing through the air.
What the !?
I immediately activated different spells mid-flight, magic circles materializing around me to slow my momentum. wind resistance spell, gravity spell ,and spatial manipulation spell to help me slow down,as well as a levitation spell.
I twisted my body, landed in a crouch, and skidded backward across the ground, boots digging into the dirt.
What the hell just happened?
I looked up.
The dragon was standing.
Its injuries,the cracked scales, the burns, the blood were healing.
Flesh knitting back together.
The Scales are regenerating.
The damages are reversing before my eyes.
The dragon grinned, a vicious, triumphant expression.
"Surprised, human?" it rumbled, flexing its newly restored limbs. "Lucky for me, I learned a healing spell."
Damn it.
I cursed under my breath.
Of course it knows healing magic.
But i didn't expect a dragon to know that considering things but I'm not surprised as well, considering some are good at magic.
I should have anticipated this.
But come on the moment i returned to duty.
And my first opponent knows healing magic,of course i know a few healing spell. But it's really annoying fighting against one.
The dragon stretched its wings, fully recovered, eyes blazing with renewed confidence.
"I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart, little knight," it sneered.
I stood, brushing dirt off my shoulder, gripping my sword tightly.
"Yeah, no way that's happening."
I then teleported my sword away.
Meanwhile i begin casting Multiple magic circles materialized around me,multi layered, spinning, complex.
Alright.
If it can heal, I need to overwhelm it.
Fast.
Or use something it can't recover from.
I ran through my options.
Standard attacks won't work if it just heals through them.
I need something that incapacitates, that's continuous,something it can't escape.
An idea formed.
That spell could work.
I've been refining it for years, but I've never used it in actual combat.
Guess now's the time to test it.
I raised both hands.
A massive complex magic circle appeared above me far larger than any I'd used so far, intricate and multi-layered, rotating with precision.
Water began to materialize.
Not just a little tons of it.
Drawing moisture from the air, from the soil, from the nearby stream, all converging and condensing into a massive sphere of water above the dragon.
The dragon's eyes widened. "What?"
The water dropped.
It slammed down onto the dragon, engulfing it completely in a massive sphere of water. I then immediately sealed the dragon inside the bubble.
The dragon thrashed, trying to escape, wings beating, claws tearing at the liquid . But due to it being liquid it's effect only cause some disturbance in the water.
But then several smaller magic circles appeared around the sphere, spinning rapidly.
WHOOSH.
High-pressure jets of water and wind blasted from the circles, compressing the sphere, tightening it, preventing the dragon from moving free.
The dragon roared muffled, distorted underwater.
I stepped forward, focusing, maintaining the spell with one hand while gesturing with the other.
"Let me introduce you," I said calmly, "to one of my personal creations."
I spoke the name in three languages, the syllables flowing together with magical resonance.
"Aqua Vinculum Triplex."
"Triple Point Trap."
"Piège du Point Triple."
I snapped my fingers.
The water around the dragon began to change. As the pressure inside the water dropped to 0.006 atm,and the temperature drops to 0.01 °C
Soon a part of the water begin to boil and create cavitation bubble inside the water, while some are freezing into ice crystals, and some remaining liquid.
The temperature fluctuated wildly, cycling through the three states of matter in rapid succession.
Freezing,Boiling,Vaporizing.
All at once.
All controlled.
The dragon screamed, thrashing harder, but the spell held
.
"This spell" I explained, my voice steady, "manipulates water at its triple point the precise temperature and pressure where ice, liquid water, and steam all coexist simultaneously."
I tightened my fist.
The bubbles soon intensified.
Steam hissed violently inside the sphere.
"I can freeze you solid, boil you alive, or suffocate you," I continued. "All at the same time. And since you have a healing spell..."
I smiled coldly.
"The only way to stop you from healing is to drown you,constantly. Until your body can't regenerate fast enough to keep up."
The dragon soon was slowly feeling the attack and pain caused by the spell.
As the cavitation bubble that are forming inside the water are creating shockwaves every second that slowly damages it's outer part allover it's body.
Not to mention inside the dragon, bubbles are forming in the tiny gaps underneath the scales and in the soft tissue of the gums, eyes, and nostrils. As the bubbles implode, they act like microscopic jackhammers. Detonating every second as the nervous system are being destroyed. The bubbles soon slowly destroy the dragon eyesight.
The cavitating bubble also when explode creates ultrasonic heating reaching up to 4,700°C per microsecond, while short due to the amount of bubbles there are,the friction from the constant vibration and shockwaves increase the dragon's internal temperature to rise rapidly. Causing the cells to slowly collapse.
As it's blood soon begin to simmer, and its internal organs is slowly undergoing thermal coagulation ,and turning to jelly. Meanwhile some part of the body started to freeze due to the cold temperature.
The dragon soon screamed,
'AAHHHHH WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!!!'
But due to the water,and it's body it was unable too scream as it's tongue,muscle and throat was melting and turning to a goo.
'AAAHHHHHHH'
The dragon's begin struggling as it grew weaker,and Its movements slowing. It's regeneration was able to heal some part including it's eyesight,but immediately the cavitation bubble destroy the regenerated part,and it soon went blind again.
(Edward POV)
It's working.
I held the spell, watching carefully.
This is a new technique.
I developed the theory years ago, but I've never actually tested it in combat.
The concept is soundly stupid manipulate the phase transitions of water to create a trap that's simultaneously freezing, boiling, and suffocating. And by definition doing a torture session.
But maintaining it requires constant focus and energy.
I can't hold this forever.
But I don't need to.
I just need to hold it long enough.
The dragon's thrashing slowed further.
Its eyes began to glaze.
Almost there.
The dragon's movements were slowing more and more. Its healing was struggling to keep up with the constant damage from the triple-state water trap.
But I wasn't done since i know it might survive.
I raised my free hand, and several new magic circles materialized around the water sphere these ones crackling with electrical energy.
Blue white arcs of lightning danced between the circles, building in intensity.
"One more thing," I said, almost conversationally.
I glanced at my team, who were watching from a safe distance.
"Anyone want burnt or roasted dragon?"
Before anyone could respond, I thrust my hand forward.
"Lightning Chain."
CRACK
Multiple bolts of lightning shot from the magic circles, converging on the water sphere.
The moment the electricity made contact
The water sphere exploded with blinding light.
Electricity doesn't just pass through waterit spreads through it, following the path of least resistance, amplifying as it goes.
And in a sphere of water with rapidly shifting temperature and pressure ice, liquid, steam the conductivity was chaotic.
The lightning didn't just strike the dragon once.
It chained through the entire sphere, arcing and bouncing, striking the dragon from every direction simultaneously. As parts of the dragon that were frozen shattered or some frying the dragon nervous system
Over.
And over.
And over.
The dragon's continue to scream in pain as the regeneration gave the dragon experience of a life time.
If the dragon could scream it would be the sound of pure, unfiltered agony, that would even make the most sinner think that God's punishment look more merciful.
As the regeneration of the dragon continues, the dragon was slowly dying, in agonizing pain.
As the cell that it regenerate reformed and was then tear apart and stretched again. The Lightning meanwhile was cooking the nervous system but due to it's regeneration the dragon continues to feel the pain. It's eyes also regenerate but then immediately get destroyed again.
The Operative who was watching this don't know whether to be impressed or horrified.
Meanwhile Edward continues the torture.
I held the spell, watching coldly as the dragon writhed.
Healing magic won't save you from this.
Not when your entire nervous system is being fried.
Not when your mind can't even process the damage fast enough to start regenerating.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was only about a minute, I released the spell.
The electricity dissipated.
The dragon hung limp in the water sphere, it's inside was now paste, it's blind,and it was in so much pain.
And sadly for the dragon it was still alive.
Barely at this point,it was now just begging to die.
Meanwhile Edward secretly thought
Shit it's still alive
I'm not going to give it a chance to recover.
I clenched my fist, and the water sphere still holding the dragon began to rise.
Slowly at first, then faster.
Higher and higher into the sky.
Fifty meters.
One hundred meters.
Two hundred meters.
Until the sphere was just a distant point of light above the forest.
"Time to end this," I muttered.
I raised both hands and pulled them downward sharply.
The water sphere and the dragon inside plummeted.
Gravity and magical acceleration combined, sending the sphere hurtling toward the ground at terrifying speed.
But I wasn't done yet.
I slammed my hands onto the ground, and massive magic circles erupted across the forest floor dozens of them, layered and interconnected.
" Grand Earth Spike,and Cryo Spike!"
CRACKCRACKCRACK
Enormous spikes of stone and ice erupted from the ground, each one at least ten meters tall, razor-sharp, angled upward toward the falling dragon.
But these weren't ordinary spikes.
The stone was reinforced by an additional hardening spell, harder than steel.
The ice was enhanced with freezing magic, cold enough to shatter bone on contact.
And the tips were coated with compressed holy energy glowing faintly with golden light.
The dragon, trapped in the falling water sphere,felt as it was dropped and then-
The water sphere slammed into the forest of spikes.
SHUNKSHUNK SHUNK
Multiple spikes pierced the dragon simultaneously through its chest, through its wings, through its limbs, through its throat.
As the dragon was mutilated as it continues to fall down through the spikes,and with that the dragon's life was cut short as a spike drove straight through its gooey heart.
Another through its skull.
Its body soon convulsed once.
Twice.
And then... It was still.
The water sphere dissipated, evaporating into mist.
The dragon hung suspended on the spikes, impaled from multiple angles, part's of it's organ that is now goo,blood and drips down from the stone and ice spike.
The dragon was dead.
Completely, utterly, dead.
It's life ended in the most gruesome and longest eay possible.
Edward soon had a sigh of relief.
I stood in the center of the spike field, breathing heavily, sweat dripping down my face.
That... took more effort than I expected.
I released the spells, and the magic circles faded.
The forest fell silent.
My team emerged from cover, staring at the scene with wide eyes.
One of them a magician named Henri whistled low.
"Sir... that was..."
"Overkill?" I offered, wiping my forehead.
"I was going to say 'terrifying,' but yeah. Overkill works."
I sheathed my sword and walked toward the dragon's corpse.
No movement, no breathing, it's heart is now goo,and it's brain is destroyed.
It's clearly dead.
But too make sure i soon used mom spatial Convergence spell which the bodies soon was dismembered piece by piece.
I pulled out my phone and dialed my father.
He answered immediately.
"Edward. Status?"
"Dragon's dead," I said. "It had healing magic, so I had to get creative. But it's handled."
"Casualties?"
"One injured Laurent. Non-critical. He'll be fine."
"Good." There was a pause. "And the dragon?"
I glanced at the dismembered corpse. "Very dead. We'll need a cleanup team for the body. And memory modification for any civilians who might have heard the noise."
"Already on it. I'll send another team within the hour."
"Thanks, Dad."
I hung up and looked around at my team.
"Alright, everyone. Secure the perimeter. Make sure there are no stragglers,no dragon kin, scavengers, anything. "
"Yes, sir!"
They scattered to their tasks.
I stood alone for a moment, staring at the dragon's corpse.
Another threat eliminated.
But there's always another one waiting.
I sighed and got to work.
-----
Meanwhile with Michael
-----
(Michael's POV)
I was currently at the town swimming pool, enjoying the cool water.
Well specifically, I was in the kids' section, of the swimming pool,but considering I was still a five-year-old physically, that was perfectly fine.
And honestly?
I'm enjoying this very much.
The water was refreshingly cool not freezing, just the perfect temperature to combat the summer heat.
The sun wasn't blazing down too hard today either due to it being cloudy,which meant I wouldn't end up with a sunburn, and the concrete around the pool wouldn't feel like walking on magma.
Perfect swimming conditions.
Jeanne was here too, wearing her cute little swimming suit bright blue with white stripes. Which fit her very much,and she looks nice wearing that.
...
...
Get your mind out of the gutter.
I mean it.
We're both five years old.
And yes, I'm mentally older, but that doesn't mean I'm going to think about anything weird , she's five and she's my friend.
Well My best friend.
...
Moving on.
Jeanne was happily splashing around in the water, swimming in circles, clearly having the time of her life.
Then she turned toward me with a mischievous grin.
I seeing that immediately panicked.
Oh no.
I know what's she thinking
"Mikey!" she shouted.
Hell no
"Jeanne, don't!"
Too late.
She launched herself at me.
SPLASH
She tackled me, wrapping her arms around my head and shoulders, and tried to push me underwater.
"Jeanne!" I sputtered, struggling. "What are you-!?"
"Gotcha!" she giggled, pushing down harder.
She's trying to drown me.
Again.
I grabbed her arms and tried to pull her off, but her surprisingly strong grip for a five-year-old was preventing me from pulling her off.
Damn Why is she so strong?!
Seriously, what is she eating?!
Since how is she able to hold against me in term of strength.
But i soon was finally managed to twist free, coming up for air, gasping.
Jeanne popped up a second later, laughing.
"You should've seen your face!" she said, grinning.
I wiped water out of my eyes. "You're a menace you know that!?."
"I know!" She beamed proudly.
I deapdan at Jeanne.
"That wasn't a compliment"
"Oh, i know that,i find it fun seeing your face" Jeanne Grinned seeing my face.
..
I really sometimes want to hit her on the head,but I'm an adult well mentally, and i won't to get mad because thats a low blow if i can't handle myself against a child. Not to mention i know for a fact she knows that i was able to hold breath longer than her or any other kids. And will definitely stopped if I'm actually suffocating.
Meanwhile Nearby, Mom sat on a poolside lounge chair, watching us with an amused smile.
She was wearing her own swimsuit,a practical one-piece,and had a book in her lap, though she wasn't really reading it.
She was too busy keeping an eye on us.
Good.
At least someone's watching to make sure Jeanne doesn't actually drown me.
Jeanne's mom, Charlotte, wasn't here. She'd stayed home to prepare dinner for later.
Which meant Mom was in charge of supervising both of us.
Lucky her.
Jeanne swam over to the edge of the pool and grabbed a small bag she'd brought.
"Mikey! Look!" she said, pulling out a collection of pool toys floating rings, a beach ball, noodle pool,and a pair of swimming goggles.
She put the goggles on, and then adjusting them over her eyes.
"Now I can see underwater!" she declared.
"That's... great?" I said.
She grinned and dove underwater.
I watched her swim around, remarkably graceful for a five-year-old.
She's actually really good at swimming.
No floaties,no hesitation,and just pure confidence.
Meanwhile, when I was five in my original life, I needed floaties and constant supervision.
Jeanne's just... naturally athletic, I guess.
She surfaced, shook water out of her hair, and then-
SPLASH
She then tried to tackle me again.
"JEANNE!"
"Hehe!"
Why.
Why does she keep doing this.
I managed to push her off again, and we ended up in a splashing war both of us flinging water at each other, laughing,
Mom chuckled from her chair. "You two are having fun, I see."
"Mom, she keeps trying to drown me!" I called.
"I'm sure you're fine, tesoro," Mom replied, clearly not concerned.
Damn it
Jeanne grabbed the beach ball and tossed it at me. "Catch!"
I caught it, then tossed it back.
We played for a while passing the ball, diving for the floating rings, racing across the pool.
It was... fun.
Really fun.
Just being a kid.
Playing in the water.
...
After a while, we got tired and climbed out of the pool, dripping wet.
Mom handed us some drinks, and we sat on the edge of the pool, legs dangling in the water, catching our breath.
Jeanne leaned against me, still wearing her goggles, looking completely content. Which she was drinking some juice mom gave her
"That was fun," she said, while taking a sip.
"Yeah," I agreed. "It was."
She looked at me, grinning. "Maybe,We should do this every week!"
I smiled. "Sure....I guess Why not." I then sipped my lemonade.
Though i know for a fact she'll try to do something again the next time we swim.
Mom watched us with a warm expression. "You two are adorable."
Jeanne beamed. "I know!"
I just shook my head, smiling.
Yeah.
This is good.
This is really good.
--------
Meanwhile - Somewhere Else
--------
(Edward's POV)
I stood in the back of a transport truck, watching as my team loaded the dismembered dragon's corpse secured in reinforced containment into a specialized storage unit.
The cleanup was almost done.
Memory modification spells had been cast on nearby civilians.
The forest had been restored as much as possible.
And the dragon was being transported for disposal.
Another mission complete.
I pulled out my phone and checked the time.
Two more days.
Then I can go home.
I thought about Giulia and Michael.
I wonder what they're doing right now.
Probably something normal.
Peaceful.
I smiled faintly.
Good.
They deserve that.
I put my phone away and got back to work.
---------
(Michael's POV)
I stood by the pool's edge, towel wrapped around my shoulders, drying myself off after a long hour of swimming.
That was exhausting.
But fun.
Jeanne stood beside me, also drying off, grinning from ear to ear.
"That was SO fun!" she declared.
I nodded. "Yeah, it was!"
She suddenly shoved me.
I stumbled backward, arms windmilling
Oh no!!
I barely caught myself before falling back into the pool. Though Jeanne also grabbed my shirt not to make me fall to the pool.
"Jeanne!" I shouted.
She burst into laughter. "Almost got you!"
I then stand up.
As she release her gripped on my shirt.
She really tried to make me wet again.
After I just dried off.
She's a menace.
I glared at her, but she just kept laughing, completely unbothered.
Mom walked over, shaking her head with an amused smile. "Alright, you two. Let's get everything packed up."
Jeanne grabbed her juice box,orange flavoured and took a long sip, then held it out to me.
"Want some?"
I took it and drank. "Thanks."
Mom glanced at the pool toys scattered around. "Jeanne, don't forget your toys."
Jeanne nodded quickly. "I won't!"
She gathered up the floating rings, beach ball, and goggles, stuffing them back into her bag.
I helped her collect the last few items, and together we headed toward the exit.
Later - At Jeanne's House
------
I sat at the dining table, cutting into a perfectly cooked steak.
This is really good.
Jeanne's mom, Charlotte, had cooked dinner for all of us,some of the things she made for us are steak, pizza, and some pastries for dessert.
She's a great cook.
Jeanne sat across from me, happily munching on a slice of pizza, tomato sauce smeared on her cheek.
She looked completely content.
"My mom's pizza is the BEST!" she declared, taking another big bite.
I smiled. "It's really good."
She glanced at my steak, eyes widening slightly. "Mikey, how's your steak?"
"It's great."
"Can i try it ?."
" You should ask your mom to make you some next time."
Jeanne pouted. "But that takes too looooong."
I sighed. "Fine."
I cut a piece of steak and held it out on my fork.
Jeanne leaned forward, opening her mouth expectantly.
I fed her the piece.
She chewed, eyes lighting up. "Mmm! That's good!"
"Told you."
She grinned. "This is fun!"
I raised an eyebrow. "You keep saying 'fun.'"
"Because it IS fun!" she insisted. "Everything's fun when I'm with you!"
I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I guess it is."
Meanwhile with their parents.....
Giulia and Charlotte sat at the other end of the table, speaking quietly while keeping an eye on the kids.
Giulia glanced at Michael and Jeanne, then leaned closer to Charlotte, lowering her voice.
They really are a nice pair thinking about it.
"Michael and Jeanne probably going to be shocked meeting his new strpsister ." Giulia then whispered with a faint smile.
Charlotte blinked, confused. "His stepsister ?" While looking at Giulia.
But Giulia leaned in even closer and whispered something to explained.
Charlotte's eyes widened.
"Oh!" She smiled warmly. "Congratulations! That's wonderful!"
"Thank you," Giulia said softly.
Charlotte tilted her head. "When will she be arriving here?"
Giulia thought for a moment. "Probably around Christmas. We're still finalizing everything, but that's the plan."
Charlotte nodded. "That'll be exciting. I'm sure Jeanne will be thrilled to have another person she can play with."
Or a rival,Giulia thought with amusement.
But yes, hopefully a friend too.
Charlotte took a sip of her wine, her expression turning thoughtful.
"You know," she said quietly, "I don't know why, but... I feel like Jeanne is unique. Different from other kids."
Giulia nodded. "I feel the same about Michael actually."
Charlotte looked at her curiously. "Really?"
"Mm-hmm." Giulia glanced at her son. "He's always been... exceptionally smart. Even as a baby, he didn't have any problems with studying, reading, or writing. He also never really caused trouble. He picks things up fast,a bit too fast."
Charlotte smiled. "Jeanne's the same. Sometimes she can do things easily things we never taught her,or lifting something. Or she just knows things without us explaining them."
Giulia met her eyes. "We're lucky, aren't we?"
Charlotte nodded. "Very lucky."
They both turned to watch their children.
Michael was patiently feeding Jeanne another piece of steak while she giggled.
Giulia smiled softly.
Yes.
Very lucky indeed.
" By the Way Charlotte, where's Gerald anyway ?" Giulia turned her head back to Charlotte, since she was wondering on where's her husband.
" Oh....um...he has a business trip, so he had to leave " Charlotte replied with a smile, though for some reason Charlotte was having a bit of a cold sweat for some reason.
" Oh i see, Edward also had to do the same"
Giulia said while also smiling.
_________________
Yeah it's pretty clear that Michael Family particularly Edward and Vivienne, really are son and mother. When making spells, and looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Also yes,the templar knights are currently modernizing considering the fact they very much use assault rifle and drone,(Insert Load gun with holy intent meme). Which they're role will be important in the future.
As i may have stated before.
Moving on it looks like, Jeanne Family is hiding something as well. So stay tune.
Also yeah this is a bonus chapter.
So See ya in the next chapter 👋
- AgentByteGOC