Chapter Twenty-One: The Court of Immortality ~ Part Three

  It was a battle of wills, a struggle to see who would remain standing until the very end—and I was certain I would not be the loser.

  My vision began to blur within the thick fog, and only adrenaline kept me upright, while my bleeding slowly crept in, threatening to choke my consciousness.

  The tiger was no better off; his grip that had torn into my flesh began to weaken, and the ferocity that had hunted me gradually faded, as if he, too, could no longer resist.

  The claws that had shredded my chest now hung limp at his sides, motionless—and that’s when I saw my chance. I sank my sharp fangs into the back of his neck with renewed force, and blood erupted in a violent torrent.

  With one final tearing motion, the beast’s neck snapped, his jaw finally releasing my shoulder, and a heavy stillness fell over his body, no longer trembling.

  I pressed my fangs in deeper, just to be sure—and felt no resistance at all.

  And when I realized the beast was finally dead, it felt as if all my strength had been drained in an instant. I crashed to the ground with a resounding thud, the body of the Primeval Ice Tiger collapsing silently beside me.

  Blood flowed from deep wounds along my sides.

  My face and scales were stained with dark crimson, and my shoulder was far from whole—left with a cruel gap from the savage bite that still bore witness to the battle just fought.

  My chest burned with searing pain, blood oozing from the deep marks carved by the tiger’s claws in his final, desperate attack.

  This was no battle wrapped in beauty or adorned with grace. There were no flashy dodges, no elegant strikes, no displays of power.

  It was simply a bare confrontation between two beasts who knew nothing but fighting to the very end.

  I am the victor. I am the strongest. I am the true monster, proud beyond measure.

  I am the Red Dragon.

  This was my first real battle in this world, my first true experience standing on the edge of death. I had survived… not completely unscathed, but alive.

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  And for me, that was an enormous achievement.

  I pushed the giant tiger’s body away with my claws, then lay on my back, my face turned toward the sky. The position was slightly uncomfortable, but the exhaustion was so intense that I didn’t care.

  When the surge of adrenaline left my body, only the aching muscles, the assorted wounds, and the pain remained, making it feel as if my very soul might explode.

  I stared up at the sky, blanketed in a white fog like endless snow, stretching upward without end, like a dream that kept expanding.

  Drowsiness crept over me, threatening to take control, as if darkness whispered in my ear, urging me to close my eyes and surrender to rest.

  I had given everything… wasn’t I entitled to a little rest?

  Just a short nap before I finished this trial… then I would return to the cave, where questions about Mia would flood me.

  Is she looking for me now? Is the Old Serpent worried? Or have they all simply abandoned me?

  As I sank deeper into these thoughts, a low roar cut through the silence from the left.

  I slowly turned my head, and my eyes met another Primeval Ice Tiger—a near-perfect copy of the one I had just slain moments ago.

  At first, I prepared myself for another round of battle… but that resolve quickly dissolved.

  Only one thought dominated my mind: running isn’t half courage—it is full courage.

  What stood before me now wasn’t just a single opponent.

  This tiger had brought an entire herd.

  Over a hundred Primeval Ice Tigers lined up before me—some larger and more terrifying than the one I had killed, others smaller but no less deadly.

  In that moment, hell seemed to crawl across the white icy ground, and I didn’t even realize when I started running. I forgot the pain that twisted through my body; my mind went blank, and all that remained was the drive to run. Every step, every surge forward, increased my chances of surviving this moving nightmare.

  Yet, even at full speed, I couldn’t escape—they were nearly upon me.

  I was a fool… I’m a dragon, and I have wings. Suddenly, I began to flap them with all my strength—and it worked.

  I felt the air beneath my wings, lifting me off the ground at last. I was flying.

  Although I had managed to fly and escape the horde of polar tigers, I couldn’t get far from them. I hovered above them, trapped in the sky while they swarmed below, and the chase was far from over. If I descended to the ground, my end would be certain. I had no choice but to keep flying, gripping my nerves, trying to survive for as long as possible.

  Screaming… screaming.

  What was that sound?

  It came from behind me. And when I turned to look, blood froze in my veins, my throat went dry, and my mind scattered like dust in the wind.

  I was being hunted by dozens of massive birds I couldn’t even identify, trapped between sky and ground at the same time.

  I wanted to unleash my dragon breath to burn them, but hesitation took hold. Using that power would drain me completely—and could cost me my life. So I decided not to use it, no matter what.

  I increased my flight speed, but the giant birds kept pace, their beaks piercing my wings. I lost one of my beautiful wings entirely and could no longer sustain flight. I plummeted toward the ground, yet strangely, the birds didn’t attack me as I fell. They hovered above me, as if some unspoken pact existed between them and the tigers below.

  But that didn’t mean I had survived. On the contrary—the chase was far from over. The horde of tigers still pursued me with relentless madness, never tiring, never faltering. I ran with every ounce of strength left within me, even though hope for survival had long since vanished. I no longer ran seeking salvation—I ran because something deep within my mind and body refused to fall.

  But my heart? It had surrendered. My emotions had stopped clinging to life, as if survival was no longer worth it in this hell.

  One tiger lunged at my tail, tearing it mercilessly. Another ripped a huge chunk from my side, and yet another tore at my already-bleeding, shredded wing. Then another leapt onto my back, sinking its fangs and claws into my flesh, as if to declare the end was near.

  I wanted to give in. I wanted to collapse and let everything end.

  But my body and mind—like two entities separate from me—refused. They refused to fall. They refused to surrender.

  The pride of the dragon refuses to fall here.

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