Ashan stepped toward the barrier without the slightest hesitation, as if the shimmering wall of mana meant nothing to him at all.
Lia turned sharply to Draven.
"Draven, let him in."
Draven didn't move. He only gave an awkward smile, eyes fixed on the masked figure approaching.
"…I don't think that will be necessary."
"What?" Lia frowned and looked back,
Ashan was already there.
He didn't slow down, didn't raise a hand, didn't cast anything. He simply walked forward, and passed through the barrier like it wasn't even there, his body slipping across its surface without resistance, as though the concept of obstruction didn't apply to him.
Lia's eyes widened in disbelief. 'W-What…? He just walked through it. That's impossible… how?'
Ashan's gaze drifted across the gathered ranks, calmly taking in the mix of tension, hostility, and unease written across their faces before settling on Maren, who stood ready, her posture steady despite the pressure rolling off him.
He stepped closer and extended his hand casually.
"You're Maren, right? Head of this place? Pleasure to meet you."
The gesture caught her off guard, but only for a moment. Maren reached out and took his hand.
The instant their palms met, her body tensed.
A silent alarm screamed through her senses; not from mana, not from any spell, but from the sheer weight behind that handshake, a pressure so dense it felt like standing beneath a collapsing mountain.
"…And you're the one who assisted during the dungeon raid," she said carefully.
Ashan nodded once. "Yeah. That was me."
Without even turning, he lifted a hand and pointed back at the dragon.
"I heard something crawled out of a dungeon and came to cause trouble," he added flatly.
"Didn't expect it to be a weak donkey pretending to be a warhorse."
A few heads turned instinctively.
Then Ashan's gaze shifted to Draven.
Recognition flickered.
"Oh. It's you." He walked over without waiting. "Nice to see you again."
Draven gave a small nod, old memories surfacing, his expression tightening slightly under the pressure.
Then Ashan's attention slid further, to Rowan.
The moment their eyes met, the air changed.
Rowan stood off to the side, staring with open hostility, killing intent practically spilling out of him.
Ashan didn't restrain himself.
He laughed.
Not loudly, but with enough mockery to make it sting.
"Well, well… if it isn't the ill-mannered brat I ran into before."
A few people glanced between them, confused.
Rowan's jaw clenched hard enough to creak.
"You crazy bastard… Why are you here? What kind of stunt are you trying to pull now?"
A muffled sound escaped from nearby.
Roswayn had turned away, shoulders trembling slightly as she tried, and failed, to hide her laughter.
Rowan noticed.
That only made it worse.
Ashan tilted his head, grin widening. "Relax. I just came to check if your hand's working properly." His tone turned deliberately casual.
"Felt a little bad after what I did to it."
Before Rowan could snap back,
ROOOOAR…!
The dragon's roar tore through the air again, dragging everyone's attention back.
Ashan glanced over his shoulder.
The black flames still clinging to its head suddenly peeled away; not extinguished, but forcibly removed along with chunks of its own outer layer. Burnt, cracked plates tore free and crashed to the ground as fresh structure regenerated beneath, reshaping rapidly.
Then the change began.
Cracks spread across its body, glowing seams widening as entire sections shifted. Its massive draconic frame started to compress and reform, bones grinding and snapping into new alignment. The lower body twisted violently, four legs merging, restructuring, as the spine straightened upward.
Its hips narrowed.
Its torso elongated.
Thick, muscular arms tore free from its sides, ending in clawed hands as it rose higher and higher, shedding parts of its old form like broken armor.
By the time it finished, what stood before them was no longer a beast.
It was something worse.
A towering half-dragon, half-humanoid monstrosity, its presence heavier, sharper, far more oppressive than before.
A ripple of shock moved through the formation.
"…It changed form?"
"A humanoid dragon…?"
Lia's expression darkened. "…This just got worse."
The creature's crimson eyes locked onto the barrier, lips curling into something resembling a grin.
"You really chose the wrong enemy," it growled, voice deeper now, more controlled, and far more dangerous.
"I'll tear this entire place apart… and swallow every last one of you."
Mana surged violently around its arm as it pulled it back, pressure building fast enough to distort the air.
"At that level…!" Eirena shouted. "The barrier won't hold!"
It was already moving.
The dragon lunged forward, its claw driving straight toward the barrier with enough force to shatter it, and everyone behind it.
But it never reached.
Ashan moved first.
From behind him, space seemed to ripple,
Then chains erupted outward.
Golden. Heavy. Alive.
Adamantine sealing chains shot forward like serpents, bending the air around them as they surged ahead, and the moment they touched the barrier, it shattered.
Not from force.
From direction.
A mana barrier follows a very specific structure, its outer layer is hardened to withstand external attacks, while the inner side remains comparatively weaker. In fact, the more durability and resistance it has on the outside, the more fragile it becomes from within.
It's the exact opposite of a domain barrier formed through cursed energy, where the internal structure is reinforced instead, making it far more stable and dominant from the inside rather than the outside.
Ashan's attack ignored its strength entirely, passing through the weakest point without resistance.
CLANG..! CLANG..! CLANG...!
The chains wrapped around the dragon instantly; arms, torso, wings, neck, locking it down mid-motion before its attack could land.
The ground collapsed beneath it.
The creature was slammed face-first into the earth, its momentum crushed, the impact tearing open the ground in a violent shockwave.
"..What…?!"
The chains tightened.
Runes flared along their surface, and in the same instant, its mana flow stopped.
Sealed.
The dragon thrashed, power surging, but the chains didn't move even a fraction.
Silence followed.
Then,
"What… was that?"
"Chains? From his back?!"
"It didn't even reach the barrier…!"
Luphar's ears twitched, his voice low. "…Those aren't made of mana."
Draven's eyes widened. "…Then what the hell are they?"
Maren stared, unable to look away. "…He sealed it… completely."
Rowan stood frozen now, rage replaced by something far less comfortable.
Uncertainty.
Ashan stepped forward through the broken barrier as if nothing had happened, stopping just in front of the restrained dragon. The chains shifted slightly, reacting to his presence alone.
He looked down at it, unimpressed.
"So… humanoid form, huh?" he said casually. "Used your transformation ability."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "What, got tired of crawling on four legs?"
The dragon snarled, struggling uselessly. "What is this?! Release me!"
Ashan laughed under his breath.
"Why?" he asked lightly. "Can't you just absorb them like everything else? Or what, no fire this time?"
Behind him, the others approached cautiously now that Draven had dropped the barrier, tension still thick in the air.
Ashan raised a hand without looking back.
"Relax. No need to rush in," he said. "This wrecked lizard isn't going anywhere."
The dragon's growl deepened.
Ashan crossed his arms, smirking faintly. "You can't break them. You know why?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Because they're not made of mana."
Lia stepped forward despite the warning, Maren following close behind. Carefully, she placed a hand against the dragon's scales, then against one of the chains.
Her brows furrowed.
'The mana… isn't flowing.'
It was locked.
Completely.
Her fingers brushed the chain again; cold, solid, real, unfamiliar.
'If it's not mana… then what is this?'
The dragon trembled violently, the chains humming under the strain but refusing to yield.
"What is this power?!" it roared. "I'll tear you apart the moment I break free!"
Ashan stepped forward and placed his foot down on its snout, pressing it harder into the ground.
"You won't," he said simply.
Then, after a pause,
"You're curious, right? What this is made of."
His gaze lifted, sweeping across the others.
"Chakra," he said calmly. "The result of combining physical energy… and spiritual energy."
A ripple of confusion spread immediately.
"Physical… and spiritual… combined?"
The dragon bared its teeth. "Nonsense. You expect me to believe fairy tales?"
Ashan's eyes hardened slightly.
"Believe it or not… that's your problem."
He lifted his foot.
"Let me make it easier for you."
Before anyone could react, he reached forward, forcing the dragon's jaws open with one hand, raw strength overpowering its resistance.
"What are you…?!"
Ashan raised his other hand.
Chakra began to gather.
At first small, then rapidly growing, condensing into a dense, spinning sphere that expanded with terrifying speed, its pressure distorting the air around it.
"…Ah, shit," Rowan muttered under his breath, already stepping back.
"That thing again…"
The others followed instinctively.
They had seen it before.
They knew what it could do.
Maren grabbed Lia and pulled her back without hesitation.
Even the students braced themselves, sensing what was coming.
The dragon's instincts screamed.
"What are you doing…?!"
Ashan's lips curved slightly.
"What does it look like?"
The sphere grew larger, denser, more violent in his palm.
"This is chakra," he said, voice low and steady. "Pure. No mana."
He leaned forward slightly, holding the massive Rasengan above the dragon's open mouth.
"You wanted proof, right?"
A pause.
Then,
"Bon appétit."
And without hesitation, he drove it straight inside.