[Gamma-Knife]

That’s an awfully short name for a spell so potent, Joey Luciani. Great spells and skills usually have longer names. Or just your name. But now, I’d worry about the [Archmage].

I look above and see [Archmage] Marcus descend like a meteor in his humanoid form. When he slams to the ground, debris shoots everywhere. He immediately crouches beside Adriana and puts a claw on her face with a frown. A flash appears under his hand, and his eyes go wide. There’s tenderness and rage in his gaze, while multiple expressions of disbelief also cross his scaled, horrid face.

“What did you do?!”

Were they lovers? Was he—

Man, should I try and kill him right here and now? I’m not sure I can take a goddamn Dragon who’s also an [Archmage]. That might be a bit too much, even for me. Currently, at least.

“She challenged me to the death,” I say while hoisting Lucinda up. Funnily enough, keeping Lucinda in this Princess carry is definitely the hardest thing I have done today. Elves are not short and petite. They have muscles. Not that I mind squeezing those thighs again, though.

“How did you kill her?!”

I sigh and enhance my voice, ready to make a case out of this.

“Are you interfering in the duels of the younger generation, [Archmage] Marcus? Isn’t that shameless of you? Your disciple attacked me without even letting me speak. I am still holding in my arms the person you personally put under a spell. What makes you believe that you can touch my spoils of this battle?”

I look at Adriana’s corpse. I’m not against the idea of gathering some Dragon materials. Even better, I’d be elated to do so. If all Dragons are like these two, I’d be happy to fucking eliminate them all.

Anyway, I’m hoping that him trying to keep it together in front of this many people will deter him from doing anything stupid. But, if he doesn’t care about his reputation or what others might do, I’m screwed.

“Do you have any idea who you are speaking to? Do you think a Dragon would bow to an arrogant child? I’ll pry that pathetic magic out of you by simply extracting the brain from your dead body!”

Well, it didn’t work.

“I mean, do you seriously think I cannot kill you? Right here, right now? Do you think that I only have one trump card? If you want to bring me down, you better bring your A-game, bitch.”

I start preparing the spell matrix of the last ace up my sleeve. I have only one thing left that can save me from being vaporized by [Archmage] Marcus in an instant – I have no idea what his exact capabilities are, but—

Wait.

Aren’t I forgetting something?

I turn to the stands, where all my companions are looking at me with shocked faces. All but one.

“Yo! Stanimal! Care to help me with this idiot?!” I shout to my administrator. I mean, he’s strong, isn’t he? I’d rather not fight against all these idiots alone.

Plus, I’d be curious to know what dynamics I have created now. I mean, so far, I haven’t really done anything strictly illegal, have I? Not like the Dragon isn’t eager to eat me alive all the same. But what am I to be blamed for? I even saved Lucinda!

Judging from Princess Laura’s fiery expression, I guess that wasn’t something she appreciated. Not that much, at least. But even she turns to Stan, pleadingly looking at her ancestor. But she doesn’t really look ready to jump up and fight with me, does she? Whatever. If there’s one person who might prevent a bloodbath, it’s Stanimal. Yet, at the same time, I have a terrible feeling. I know Stan doesn’t like to get involved, but he wouldn’t really abandon me just like this, would he?

Luckily, he gets up and speaks loudly from the stands. Although, what he says leaves me disappointed.

“Marcus! Let’s not interfere with the young generations! He defeated Adriana fair and square! Back down and save some face!”

Meh, I appreciate the effort. The problem is that [Archmage] Marcus doesn’t really seem to care about saving face. And he’s not listening. He’s just looking at me like you would at prey or a fuming piece of kebab on a very drunk night. I think he would rather kill me and deal with the consequences later. Now, can I take a massive Dragon who’s also an [Archmage], probably level 50, if not higher?

Not likely.

Yeah, I agree. My dispelling ability is good, but it can only go so far when going against a hugely overpowered individual. If I have to fight Marcus, only a very fast [Gamma-Knife] could take him down. And even if it’s super powerful, it takes around thirty seconds to cast. There’s a good chance that this idiot [Archmage] would vaporize before then. And I can’t really distract myself too much with dispelling stuff while I’m casting.

“I wanted to gut you the second I saw that filthy hat on your head. If there’s one thing I’m happy I lived through, it’s the fall of those arrogant little shits. We should give more credit to the Sirens for dealing with Juler’s bastard kind.”

Well, looking at Stanimal, it seems that he’s not willing to jump in the line of fire – literally. That’s... disappointing. Not even Laura seems ready to do much else than stand there and look like a tool. I’m here alone, on my own.

Young Luciani, leave it to me.

I’m ready to accept Lord Juler’s proposal to fight on my behalf as I see [Archmage] Marcus’s body mutating.

“I’m sick of keeping this form. I’ll have you look at a superior lifeform before I kill you.”

And with that, the [Archmage]’s body starts shifting and changing. His scales slide onto each other, covering his humanoid form and creating new ones out of thin air. His body bloats and expands, getting bigger and bigger. Let me tell you; it’s not a pretty sight. It’s like a newborn abomination was being birthed from an invisible alien incubator.

In a matter of seconds, I find myself looking at a… not majestic creature. Not majestic at all. His head is flat and looks like the bastardized version of a Parasaulophus, the dinosaur. Or maybe a very ugly pterodactyl. His body is not strong and grand but thin and snake-like. His claws are crooked, more pointy than sharp.

Marcus’s whole form looks more like a Dragon copulated with an eel.

“He’s quite ugly,” I cringe as I look at [Archmage Marcus].