A Journey That Changed The World.

Chapter 1707: Dark Magic

Archer caught its upper jaw between his claws. The enemy creatureʼs teeth snapped shut inches from his face. He snarled and forced the creatureʼs head sideways before slamming it into the surface of the ocean, the impact creating another enormous explosion of water. The sea dragon immediately retaliated by whipping its tail around and striking him across the ribs, sending his gigantic white body skidding through the waves.

He recovered almost instantly. His wings spread wide as he hovered above the water, white scales glistening beneath the dark sky while the sea dragon emerged from the waves opposite him. For several seconds, neither moved. Then both charged again. The sea erupted as the two colossal dragons crashed into one another, claws tearing into scales and enormous jaws snapping as they wrestled across the violent surface.

Their battle carried them farther from the walls with every exchange, each impact sending towering waves crashing toward the coastline while Archer fought the sea dragon head-on, refusing to give it even an inch. The next collision was far more violent. Archerʼs claws locked around the Sea Dragonʼs neck as the creature twisted beneath him, its enormous body thrashing through the water with enough force to create waves that towered over the surrounding coastline.

Archer drove his teeth into the thick scales along its shoulder, ripping through the armour as the dragon screamed and whipped its tail around, catching him across the side and sending him crashing through the waves. He barely had time to recover before the Sea Dragon was upon him again. Its jaws snapped around one of his wings. The impact tore through several layers of scales and sent a burst of pain through his body as the creature dragged him beneath the surface.

He fought back immediately, driving his claws into its face before violently wrenching himself free, leaving deep gashes across its muzzle. For a moment, the Sea Dragon disappeared beneath the waves. Then something changed. A strange black glow began spreading through the water around it, making him stop. The ocean beneath him darkened as thick tendrils of black energy wrapped themselves around the Sea Dragonʼs enormous body, crawling between its scales like living veins.

Its wounds began closing almost instantly, while its muscles swelled and its eyes changed from their previous glow into burning pools of crimson. Archerʼs eyes narrowed. ʼʼDark magic.ʼʼ

The Sea Dragon erupted from the water. Its power had multiplied. The creature slammed directly into him before he could fully react, driving him beneath the surface and carrying him through the depths. Its claws raked across his chest, tearing several long wounds through his white scales, before its jaws closed around his shoulder.

Archer roared. He struck the Sea Dragon across the skull with one enormous claw, but the creature barely moved. Instead, it tightened its grip. The enemy suddenly whipped its body around and hurled him through the water, sending him crashing into the seabed hard enough to create a massive underwater crater.

Before he could rise, the creature descended upon him and began tearing into him with its claws, each strike powerful enough to shake the surrounding ocean. Archer caught one of its limbs. His claws dug into its flesh. With a furious roar, he twisted his entire body and threw the Sea Dragon away. The creature smashed through the water before turning around almost immediately, its dark aura expanding around it.

Archer rose from the seabed. Blood drifted through the water around his enormous white body, but his wounds were already beginning to close as his regeneration took effect. His crimson eyes locked onto the Sea Dragon, and for the first time since the battle began, his expression carried genuine excitement.

The Sea Dragon roared and charged. He charged back. They collided beneath the waves. Their enormous bodies became a blur of claws, teeth and twisting coils as they tore into one another, the Sea Dragonʼs dark magic allowing it to match his overwhelming strength while his regeneration allowed him to continue fighting through wounds that would have crippled another creature.

The Sea Dragon drove its horns into his side. Archer responded by clamping his jaws around the creatureʼs neck. The creature thrashed violently, smashing him against the seabed again and again, but he refused to release it. His claws dug deeper into its body as he pulled himself closer, biting down harder until cracks began spreading through the darkened scales. Above them, the surface of the ocean had become a raging maelstrom.

Below it, two colossal dragons continued their brutal struggle, neither willing to yield. And somewhere within the darkness surrounding the Sea Dragon, Archer could sense something else. Something controlling the thing. His eyes narrowed as the black magic pulsed through the creatureʼs body. ʼʼSo youʼre not the one I need to kill.ʼʼ

Archer tightened his grip. ʼʼYouʼre just the weapon.ʼʼ

The Sea Dragon opened its jaws and unleashed a torrent of dark energy directly into his face. Archer roared as the blast engulfed his head, but instead of retreating, he drove forward through the attack, claws tearing deeper into the creatureʼs neck as the battle beneath the waves entered an even more savage phase.

Its dark energy erupted around them, turning the surrounding water almost completely black as the creature unleashed another savage assault. Archer twisted aside as its jaws snapped shut where his head had been, but the dragon immediately followed with a sweep of its enormous tail that caught him across the ribs and sent him tumbling through the depths.

He recovered quickly, only for the Sea Dragon to crash into him again. Its horns slammed into his chest, driving him backwards as its claws tore across his scales, while Archer responded by wrapping his forelimbs around its neck and biting deeply into the side of its throat. The two enormous bodies twisted violently through the ocean, their struggle creating powerful currents that sent clouds of sand and debris spiralling from the seabed.

The Sea Dragon suddenly wrenched itself free and opened its jaws. A concentrated beam of dark magic erupted from its mouth. Archer crossed his wings in front of himself, but the attack still tore through his scales and sent him hurtling toward the surface. He broke through the waves in an explosion of seawater, only for the beast to follow immediately behind him and crash into his back. Both dragons disappeared beneath the ocean again.

He felt another set of claws rake across his flank, opening several deep wounds, and the pain finally pushed him into something more primal. He twisted around, seized the Sea Dragon by the throat and drove it downward with all his strength, smashing its enormous body into the seabed. The enemy fought desperately. Its dark aura flared. His grip began slipping as the creatureʼs strength surged once more; its claws tore into his foreleg before it managed to wrench its head free.

It snapped at his neck, catching him across the shoulder and dragging him sideways. He let out a fierce roar and slammed his forehead into the Sea Dragonʼs skull. Once. Twice, then a third time. The dark magic surrounding the creature flickered.

Archer noticed immediately. There.

The magic was sustaining it. He drove forward, ignoring the wounds covering his body, and clamped his jaws around the Sea Dragonʼs neck while his claws pinned its massive body against the seabed. The creature thrashed with everything it had left, its tail smashing into Archerʼs side and its claws tearing through his scales, but Archer refused to let go.

The Sea Dragonʼs dark aura began cracking apart. Archer bit down harder, and the black energy shattered. The creatureʼs unnatural strength vanished almost instantly. He released it only long enough to seize its head between both claws before violently wrenching it sideways and delivering one final crushing strike. The Sea Dragon went limp. For several seconds, he remained there, breathing heavily beneath the waves as the dark magic dissipated into harmless wisps that vanished into the surrounding ocean.

He had won. But the victory had come at a cost. His white scales were covered in blood; several deep gashes ran across his chest and flank, and one of his wings had been badly torn. Dark burns from the Sea Dragonʼs magic marked parts of his body. Even his normally immaculate horns were chipped from the brutal exchange. Archer slowly released the dead Sea Dragon and began swimming toward the surface.

He broke through the waves, hovering above the water as his enormous white form began shrinking. His wings folded against his back, his scales receded, and his colossal dragon body gradually returned to its humanoid form. The moment the transformation finished, his regeneration surged. The wounds across his body rapidly closed, torn flesh knitting itself together as the burns faded and the damage to his body disappeared almost completely.

Within moments, only traces of blood remained on his skin and clothing. Archer looked down at himself before glancing toward the enormous corpse floating several metres away. Then he looked toward Draconiaʼs northern wall. The battle was over. He had stopped the invasion, killed the Sea Dragon and survived the encounter, although judging by the state of the ocean behind him, the defenders were probably going to have one hell of a story to tell.

Archer sighed. ʼʼHalime is going to kill me.ʼʼ