The massive shadow shifted again.
Then the clouds cleared completely.
A colossal black serpent revealed itself beneath the moonlight, its enormous body coiling around broken ruins and jagged cliffs like a living disaster. Black scales reflected faint streaks of silver light while crimson patterns glowed beneath parts of its body.
Just breathing—
Made the surrounding air tremble.
System prompts immediately appeared across Zael's vision.
[Black Flood Serpent — Level 90]
But Zael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Eye of Insight."
The information changed instantly.
Not completely.
But enough.
[Dragon Blood Serpent]
[Level:90]
[Evolving]
[Status: Mutated Ancient Beast]
[Danger Level: Extremely High]
[Bloodline Concentration: 13%]
Zael's expression shifted slightly at that.
Dragon blood?
That explained the pressure.
Even from this far away, the thing felt oppressive.
Around them, more people started appearing one after another.
Groups.
Dozens of them.
Some injured.
Some exhausted.
Some still actively fighting off beasts that chased them all the way here.
And strangely—
The beasts stopped advancing once they reached the area surrounding the serpent.
Like they had accomplished their goal already.
Zael noticed immediately.
His eyes swept across the surroundings calmly.
Everyone here had the same expression.
Confusion.
Wariness.
Because the situation made no sense.
Groups from different directions.
Different paths.
Different battles.
Yet somehow—
All of them ended up here.
At the same place.
In front of the same creature.
Zael's suspicion grew instantly.
This wasn't coincidence.
Not even close.
"I think something is wrong," Auralis muttered while gripping the crimson hammer tightly.
Lily stared at her for a second.
"You think?"
The sarcasm in her voice was immediate.
Auralis ignored her.
Honestly, nobody had the energy to argue properly anymore.
The serpent moved again.
Slowly.
Its massive head lifted higher into the sky, golden slit-like eyes sweeping across the gathered humans below.
And the moment those eyes passed over them—
Zael felt it.
Pressure.
Ancient.
Heavy.
Predatory.
Several weaker awakened around the area visibly stiffened while some outright stumbled backward under the gaze alone.
But Zael didn't move.
Instead—
His eyes narrowed further.
Because now that he looked closer—
He noticed something else.
Chains.
Not physical ones.
Energy.
Massive streams of faint energy stretched from the surrounding beasts toward the Dragon Blood Serpent almost invisibly, feeding into it constantly.
Like all the chaos earlier—
Was intentional.
The beasts weren't chasing people randomly.
They were herding them.
Toward this thing.
The moment the Dragon Blood Serpent lifted its head fully—
The beasts attacked again.
Not in a frenzy.
Not overwhelmingly.
Controlled.
Calculated.
Just enough pressure to keep every awakened there fighting constantly.
A wolf-type beast lunged toward a nearby group while armored creatures burst from beneath the ruins again. Winged beasts circled overhead before diving down at random intervals, forcing everyone to stay alert.
It was coordinated.
Too coordinated.
Zael cut through a beast rushing toward Lily before immediately dodging another attack from the side.
"Yeah," he muttered while tearing his blade through another creature, "this is definitely planned."
Around them, dozens of awakened groups were forced into combat. Nobody could rest. Nobody could leave easily. Every direction had beasts pushing them back toward the central area where the Dragon Blood Serpent remained coiled silently.
Watching.
Waiting.
And slowly—
Absorbing.
Zael could see the faint streams of energy more clearly now. Every death fed the serpent. Human or beast—it didn't matter.
The thing was growing stronger.
Meanwhile—
Far away from the battlefield—
Deep inside another section of the dungeon—
A dark hall stood in silence.
Ancient stone pillars lined the area while dim blue flames burned along the walls. The atmosphere was cold, heavy, unnatural.
Three figures stood around a massive mirror-like construct.
All dressed in black.
Heavy cloaks obscured their appearances completely, shadows hiding their faces beneath lowered hoods.
Inside the mirror—
The image of the battlefield reflected clearly.
The Dragon Blood Serpent.
The awakened.
The endless fighting.
"The lord will be pleased with this," one of them said in a raspy voice.
Another figure stared at the mirror with visible excitement burning within his murky grey eyes.
"Yes… yes…" he muttered almost feverishly. "As long as the Dragon Blood Serpent absorbs enough awakened blood, it'll successfully evolve into a true dragon."
His breathing grew heavier.
"A dragon… do you understand what that means?"
His voice trembled slightly.
"Even in our old world before its destruction, dragons were creatures of myth. Untouchable beings."
He looked back toward the mirror almost reverently.
"But now…"
A grin spread beneath the shadows of his hood.
"We can create one ourselves."
"A fully evolved dragon under our command."
The air grew still for a moment.
Then—
"Silence."
The third figure finally spoke.
Calm.
Cold.
But carrying enough authority to immediately shut the others up.
"Now isn't the time for pointless excitement."
Unlike the others, this one stood perfectly still, gaze fixed on the mirror.
"This is our last chance."
The atmosphere tightened instantly.
"Since we failed at the camp…"
A faint pressure leaked from him.
"And failed to capture or kill Kael within the abyss…"
Silence followed.
Heavy silence.
"...we will not be given another opportunity."
The other two lowered their heads immediately.
No arguments.
No excitement.
Only tension remained as the image of the battlefield continued flickering within the mirror.