Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

The dome shrank continuously, growing smaller and smaller until the explosion finally dissipated. Luna, Mei, and Cleo, still wrapped in Dion’s embrace, opened their eyes. Gasp! All three recoiled in utter shock. They weren’t looking at mountains, forests, or monsters anymore. Instead, they stared into a massive, desolate crater two kilometers wide. Turning their heads, they looked at what was left of the mountain range; the entire mountain had been sheared in half, a massive chunk gouged out of its center where the blast dome had just detonated.

Slowly, the three turned to look back at Dion.

"Hey... don’t keep standing there motionless. Cleo, quickly direct me to Gemmeth’s seal," Dion said in a slightly raspy voice while still in his Ancient One form.

"Right... over there," Cleo said, pointing toward the remains of the mountain on the right that had been split down the middle.

"Alright... hold on tight and don’t let go of me," Dion said gently, though his voice remained hoarse.

"Okay," the three replied in unison.

Boom! Dion burst through the air so fast it triggered a sonic boom, shooting toward the direction Cleo had pointed. Luna held onto her hood so it wouldn’t blow off, Mei squeezed her eyes shut and clung tightly to Dion, while Cleo stared ahead, holding her hat as she navigated for him.

As they glided across the crater, Luna and Mei saw that not a single trace of life remained inside. The dark forest that had originally blanketed the mountainside was completely gone. Dion’s magic had fundamentally altered the landscape west of the city of Lutherias. Luna turned to glance at Mei beside her; both of them felt a chill run down their spines, sharing the exact same silent thought: "Just how powerful is Dion?"

Dion continued flying along Cleo’s directions until they finally arrived at a valley near the mountain’s peak. Down below sat a cluster of megalithic menhirs resembling Stonehenge. In the center, a glowing red magic circle spun counterclockwise, crackling with arcs of crimson lightning.

"Oh no... the seal has almost completely broken," Cleo said.

"Alright, let’s head down," Dion said.

Dion hovered down and touched the ground a short distance away from the stone structure, avoiding the red lightning bursting from the center of the magic circle.

"Groaaaaaar!"

A thunderous roar echoed across the valley, shaking the mountain and sending rockslides tumbling down the cliffs. The ground beneath their feet trembled violently. Luna turned to Cleo.

"Cleo, hurry up and seal it again!" Luna shouted over the noise.

"I can’t! I can’t get close because of all that lightning!" Cleo yelled back, shielding her face with her arm.

"Hey... Dion!"

Hearing Mei’s voice, Luna and Cleo turned to see Dion casually walking forward toward the stone menhirs.

"Dion!" Luna and Cleo screamed together.

The three girls made a move to follow him, but greeek! the earth suddenly ruptured right in front of them, creating a deep fissure that cut them off from Dion. The ground shook so violently that all three lost their balance, dropping to their knees and clinging to the dirt. Yet their eyes remained locked on Dion, who kept walking forward without a single backward glance.

"Groaaaaaar!"

Suddenly, a giant dragon arm covered in jet-black scales and terrifying talons burst out from the magic circle. The hand slammed hard against the earth, clutching the ground as if trying to pull the rest of its body out. A second hand erupted right after, tearing into the dirt. Dion halted directly in front of the beast; the stray bolts of lightning bounced harmlessly off his barrier.

The earth shuddered with increasing violence. Slowly, half of the giant black dragon’s head, horned and crackling with lightning, emerged from the rift. Its glowing red eye, giant and menacing, stared straight down at Dion. Dion raised a hand toward the dragon’s head and let out a slight smirk. But then, something completely unexpected happened.

The dragon’s eye, which had been glaring with sheer ferocity, suddenly went wide and round. All traces of rage vanished, replaced by sheer, unadulterated terror, as if the dragon named Gemmeth recognized Dion.

"Huh... what’s going on?" Dion asked, puzzled, his hand still raised.

An awkward silence settled over the entire chasm. Even the seismic tremors ground to a halt, as if the massive dragon had stopped struggling to break free. Dion and Gemmeth simply stared at one another without making a move, let alone fighting.

Luna, Mei, and Cleo, helping each other back to their feet—stood utterly bewildered by the strange standoff before them.

"Um... Cleo, what’s happening?" Luna asked, confused.

"Yeah... why did it... suddenly get so quiet and still?" Mei added, equally baffled.

"I’m sorry... I honestly have no idea," Cleo answered in disbelief.

"Caw... caw!"

A bird flew overhead, cawing softly in the quiet air. Dion, thoroughly confused, slowly lowered his hand. The dragon’s eye instantly softened with visible relief, and the beast even let out a heavy sigh.

"Um... are you that evil black dragon named Gemmeth?" Dion asked.

Gemmeth didn’t speak, but he slowly nodded his head, even though only half of his skull was out of the portal. Dion became even more confused. He glanced back over his shoulder, realizing the girls were stuck far behind him on the other side of the fissure.

"Cleo, what am I supposed to do with this?" Dion shouted back.

"I don’t know! I’m confused too!" he heard Cleo yell back.

"Wait... didn’t you say we were supposed to seal him?!" Dion shouted again.

"Ugh... I don’t know anymore! I can’t cross over anyway, the gap is too wide!" Cleo yelled.

Suddenly "crash!" Dion heard something shatter behind him. He whipped around to see the entire magic circle shatter into pieces. The crimson lightning inside the menhirs vanished completely, but Gemmeth’s massive arms and head were nowhere to be seen.

"Huh... did he... escape?" Dion asked, looking around in confusion.

He scanned his surroundings, but saw nothing. Everything had returned to absolute silence. Then, kyuuuuu!

Dion looked up, his eyes widening. Floating right above him was a tiny black dragon with wings on its back, cute little spikes running down to its tail, chubby short arms and legs, a large horned head with big round eyes, and a long tail.

The tiny dragon drifted down, hovering right in front of his face.

"Are you... Gemmeth?" Dion asked curiously, pointing a finger at it.

"Kyuuu!" Gemmeth answered, nodding enthusiastically.

Dion turned back once more to look at Cleo, then looked at the little dragon. Gemmeth landed softly on his shoulder, perching right on his Ancient One armor.

"Hey... Cleo! Looks like he isn’t evil after all. Can I keep him as a pet? Huh... Cleo?" Dion yelled across the gap.

"Kyaaaa! Cleo, what happened?!" Luna and Mei’s panicking screams echoed.

Both girls were in a panic because Cleo had fainted right between them, her body collapsed flat on her back. Dion looked back at Gemmeth on his shoulder, who turned to look at him as well.

"Do you... want to come with me to my territory?" Dion asked.

"Kyuuuu!" Gemmeth answered with a firm nod.

"Okay... but when I change forms, don’t go attacking me, alright?" Dion said.

"Kyuuu!" Gemmeth gave a tiny bow of respect.

Dion walked over toward the girls, floating across the fissure in the ground and landing in front of the unconscious Cleo. Luna had cradled Cleo’s head in her lap while Mei was fanning her using her wizard hat. When they saw Dion land nearby, "gasp!" Luna and Mei instantly recoiled in shock, their hands instinctively reaching for the weapons at their sides.

"Hey... wait... calm down, calm down! Don’t do anything reckless... looks like he’s not evil," Dion said, raising both hands to stop them from doing anything rash.

"Is that... the evil dragon Gemmeth from the legends? The one called the Calamity Dragon?" Luna asked.

"Um... seems like it... but it looks like he took a liking to me, hahaha," Dion answered casually.

"Are you... serious?" Mei asked anxiously, still gripping her sword handle.

"What choice do I have? He’s already made himself comfortable on my shoulder... though he definitely needs a bath... he smells terrible," Dion said, gesturing toward Gemmeth perched on his shoulder.

Luna and Mei were completely speechless; none of this made any logical sense to them. They kept staring at Gemmeth, who now looked ridiculously cute compared to his terrifying appearance moments prior.

"Well... if Dion says so, I’ll just go along with it," Luna said softly.

"Yeah... me too... no complaints here," Mei added.

"Alright then... by the way, what happened to Cleo?" Dion asked, pointing at her.

"No idea," Luna and Mei answered in unison, resuming their fanning.

"Fair enough. Let’s get out of here. Can you two carry Cleo?" Dion asked.

"Okay!"

Luna helped Cleo into a sitting position before she and Mei slung Cleo’s arms over their shoulders to support her. Dion picked up Cleo’s staff to carry it for her, reactivated his barrier, and flew them out of the valley until they reached the main path. But as soon as they reached the top, Dion’s barrier began to flicker and thin out.

"Damn it... I need to land. Atomic Nova drained way too much mana, and my absorption can’t keep up with it," Dion muttered to himself.

Dion touched down on the remaining path right next to the massive crater. Immediately, his body was engulfed in light as his Ancient One persona dissolved. Reverting to his original form, Dion’s legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees in utter exhaustion. Gemmeth hovered right above his head.

"Kyuuuu?" Gemmeth asked, concerned.

"I’m fine... just exhausted... looks like I completely ran out of... energy," Dion said, his face deathly pale.

Thud! Dion collapsed face-first onto the dirt, completely motionless.

"Dion!" Luna and Mei screamed at once.

They carefully set Cleo down on the ground and sprinted over to Dion, while Gemmeth hovered anxiously above them.