Chapter 314: Third Trial, Obsidian Wyrm
The new environment stretched endlessly before them.
A massive arena carved from ancient stone surrounded Caelus and Sylvia on all sides. Towering pillars lined the perimeter, each one etched with glowing runes that pulsed with faint golden light.
At the center of the arena, hundreds of players had already gathered. Their voices echoed off the walls as they assessed their surroundings.
Caelus quickly scanned the crowd.
Chad stood among his guildmates near the eastern edge. Lunari had appeared closer to the center.
But two familiar faces were missing.
"Freya and Candy aren’t here," Sylvia observed.
Caelus nodded slowly. "They must have been placed in a different section of the trial."
The Domain Event had clearly separated participants based on some unknown criteria. Perhaps combat score, perhaps rank, or perhaps something else entirely.
Before he could think further, a System Notification appeared before everyone.
[Third Trial: Dragon’s Descent]
[Objective: Defeat the Trial Guardian.]
[All participants must work together.]
[Failure results in permanent death.]
[The Trial Guardian will appear in: 30 seconds.]
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Players who had been chatting nervously fell silent. Weapons materialized in trembling hands. Skills activated as defensive barriers flickered to life.
Everyone understood what "permanent death" meant.
Twenty seconds.
Ten seconds.
Five.
The ground beneath them began to tremble violently.
CRACK!
The stone floor at the center of the arena split apart. Massive chunks of rock flew upward as something enormous emerged from below.
A dragon.
Its body was colossal, easily fifty meters from head to tail. Obsidian scales covered every inch of its form, each one shimmering with an inner fire. Its eyes burned like molten gold, and when it opened its jaws, flames flickered between rows of teeth longer than swords.
[Trial Guardian: Obsidian Wyrm]
[Rank: ???]
[Combat Score: ???]
Lunari’s face went blank the moment the dragon fully emerged.
"This aura, It’s overwhelming. How powerful is this dragon?"
Her holy energy flickered weakly around her body, seeming almost pathetic compared to the oppressive presence radiating from the creature.
ROOOAR!
The Dragon let out a roar.
The dragon’s roar shook the entire arena. The sound alone sent weaker players stumbling backward, their ears ringing.
"We’re all going to die!" someone screamed.
Panic rippled through the crowd. However, if they just stayed panicking then death will personally welcome them in Hell Soon.
Hence, the first wave of players in the front charged forward with dangerous looks on their faces.
They were the brave ones, the ones who believed that numbers could overcome any obstacle. Dozens of skills activated simultaneously. Fireballs, lightning bolts, ice spears, and blade energy waves all converged on the dragon.
The attacks struck its scales and accomplished nothing.
The Obsidian Wyrm didn’t even flinch. It simply swept its tail across the ground.
BOOM!
Twenty players were sent flying like ragdolls. Some crashed into the arena walls with sickening thuds. Others tumbled across the stone floor, their bodies broken and still.
"Focus fire on its eyes!" a guild leader shouted. "Maybe that’s its weak point!"
More attacks rained down on the dragon’s head. A few actually reached its eyes, but the creature simply closed its lids. The obsidian scales there were just as impenetrable as everywhere else.
The dragon retaliated with a breath of white-hot flame.
Screams filled the air as players scrambled to avoid the inferno. Those too slow were reduced to ash in seconds.
"Hubby, we should join the battle," she said urgently. "At this rate, everyone will be killed."
Caelus placed a gentle hand on her shoulder hearing this.
"Let’s watch for now."
Sylvia looked at him in confusion.
"Trust me."
She hesitated for only a moment before nodding. If Caelus said to wait, then she would wait.
Caelus was not going to blindly rush in, he was going to gauge its attacks and then also its combat score first.
The battle continued to deteriorate.
Chad and his guildmates had formed a defensive formation, their combined barriers barely holding against the dragon’s attacks. Lunari unleashed her Divine Aegis, protecting a cluster of injured players from another tail sweep.
But they were losing ground with every passing second.
The Obsidian Wyrm seemed to grow more aggressive as it realized how weak its opponents were. Its attacks became faster, more vicious.
A group of players attempted a coordinated assault on its underbelly. The dragon simply rolled onto its side, crushing them beneath its massive bulk.
"This is impossible!" someone wailed. "We can’t even scratch it!"
More and more players fell.
Some were burned alive. Others were crushed beneath claws or torn apart by teeth. The arena floor became flooded with blood.
The dragon’s massive claw swept toward Chad’s position. His guildmates tried to reinforce their barriers, but the impact shattered them completely.
Chad was sent flying through the air, blood spraying from his mouth.
Lunari immediately rushed over to heal Chad, her depleted holy energy struggling to mend his injuries.
Less than fifty players remained standing.
The Obsidian Wyrm reared back, preparing another devastating breath attack. This one would finish them all.
"Now," Caelus said suddenly.
He stepped forward with his aura radiating the battlefield.
The world seemed to slow around him as he walked toward the dragon. His footsteps echoed across the arena catching everyone.
Surviving players turned to stare at him in confusion.
Caelus ignored them all.
He stopped thirty meters from the dragon and raised his head to meet its burning gaze.
[Fighting Spirit Activated: Ancient Dragon God]
BOOM!
Power erupted from Caelus’s body like a volcanic explosion.
Golden energy burst outward from his form, rising higher and higher into the air. The light was so intense that everyone had to shield their eyes.
When they could see again, they froze in disbelief.
A dragon made of pure golden energy towered above Caelus.
It was massive, easily matching the Obsidian Wyrm in size. Its form was regal and terrifying, with horns that curved like crescent moons and eyes that blazed with ancient wisdom. Every scale on its ethereal body shimmered with divine power.
The Ancient Dragon God had manifested in its complete form.
"What... what is that?" a player whispered.
Lunari stared with her mouth hanging open. The holy energy she commanded felt like a candle flame compared to the sun before her.
"This aura," she breathed. "It’s on par with the dragon itself. Maybe even stronger."
The Obsidian Wyrm hesitated for the first time since appearing.
It could sense the power radiating from the golden dragon.
Whoosh!
Caelus floated upward, his body merging with the center of the Ancient Dragon God’s energy form. He stood within its chest, controlling its movements as if it were an extension of his own body.
"Come," he said simply.
The Obsidian Wyrm roared in challenge and lunged forward.
The two dragons collided with earth-shattering force.
BOOM!
The impact created a shockwave that sent the remaining players tumbling backward. Cracks spider-webbed across the arena floor.
Golden claws met obsidian scales. The Ancient Dragon God tore through the Wyrm’s defenses with contemptuous ease, leaving deep gouges in its supposedly impenetrable hide.
The Obsidian Wyrm retaliated with its flame breath.
The Ancient Dragon God simply opened its jaws and released its own torrent of golden fire. The two streams met in the middle, creating an explosion of light and heat that blinded everyone watching.
Caelus moved within the energy form, directing each attack with precision. The Ancient Dragon God’s tail whipped around and slammed into the Wyrm’s side.
CRACK!
Ribs shattered beneath the impact. The obsidian dragon staggered, its balance lost.
Caelus pressed the advantage immediately.
The Ancient Dragon God’s claws descended in a devastating combo. Each strike tore away more scales, more flesh. Black blood splattered across the arena floor.
The Obsidian Wyrm tried to flee, but there was nowhere to go.
Golden jaws clamped down on its throat.
With a single, brutal motion, the Ancient Dragon God tore the Wyrm’s head from its body.
The massive corpse collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Silence fell over the arena.
Then the surviving players erupted into cheers.
"He did it!"
"We’re saved!"
"That was incredible!"
Amidst the cheer, Caelus began to descend, the Ancient Dragon God slowly fading around him.
But he didn’t celebrate like others yet, he felt like something was wrong.
The Obsidian Wyrm’s corpse was twitching. Black ichor oozed from the stump where its head had been, but instead of pooling on the ground, it was flowing back toward the body.
The ichor gathered at the neck wound and began to reform.
"No way," someone whispered.
A new head emerged from the darkness. But it wasn’t a dragon’s head anymore.
It was something far worse.
The creature’s body began to mutate. Its obsidian scales cracked and fell away, replaced by writhing shadows that seemed to absorb all light. Its limbs elongated and twisted into impossible angles. Multiple eyes opened across its form, each one burning with malevolent purple fire.