Chapter 60 – Light vs Darkness

The blast of pure white light from Zareen’s staff clashed head-on with the Ice Dragon’s black-blue breath.

The collision tore the silence of the mountaintop apart. The snowstorm around them turned into a raging cyclone, whipping at their faces as if the sky itself had been ripped open. The ground split with a deafening crack, vibrations traveling up through their boots and rattling their bones.

Zareen dug his heels deep into the ice, gripping his staff with both hands. Every muscle screamed in protest. The weight of the clash pressed on his shoulders, forcing him lower, as if the mountain itself wanted to bury him.

“Just a little longer, Zareen!” Yuna’s voice cut through the blizzard, sharp and commanding. Her black sword was raised, ready to leap in front of him should the shield collapse.

And then, suddenly, the light faded.

The dragon’s breath sputtered out as well, dissolving into mist that froze mid-air and shattered like glass. Zareen staggered, breath coming in ragged gasps, his sweat turning to ice on his face.

“You’re insane…” Doni’s voice cracked, his wide-eyed stare fixed on Zareen. “If it were me standing there, I’d be ashes right now—no, I’d be *frozen* ashes!”

Zareen didn’t answer. He simply planted his staff upright again, trying to stop the trembling in his hands.

---

### The Counterattack

“Our turn!” Yuna’s boots dug into the ground as she launched herself into the air. Her blade burned with black energy, striking the dragon’s neck with a clean arc. The blow cut a thin crack into the black crystal embedded in its scales.

Sari followed immediately, her chain whirling before snapping tight around one of the dragon’s wings. “**Chain Bind!**”

For a second, the wing was held. The dragon roared, the sound so loud it shook the snow off distant cliffs.

“**Rain Meteor Shot!**” Doni’s voice rang as a rain of glowing arrows lit up the sky, pelting the dragon’s body. Some struck the cracked crystal, splintering it further.

The dragon’s roar deepened, shaking the mountaintop until it felt like the whole peak would collapse beneath them. More black smoke poured from the wounds, thickening the oppressive aura until it became difficult to breathe.

---

### The Hidden Numbers

“HP at 82%!” Doni shouted, eyes wide as if staring at something invisible.

Zareen blinked. “Eighty-two… what do you mean?”

“The health bar!” Sari called from where she swung on her chain, landing on the ice. “We need to drop it below seventy-five percent before we can even attempt the seal!”

Zareen froze. “Health bar…? I can’t see anything.”

Yuna spared him a brief glance, her expression sharp. “You really can’t see its status?”

“No,” Zareen said, shaking his head. “All I see is a monster that wants to turn us into ice sculptures.”

Yuna didn’t press further. She just gripped her sword tighter and charged forward again, her strikes faster, more vicious.

---

### The Threshold

The battle raged on, relentless. Zareen’s chants never stopped, cycling through buffs, heals, and protective barriers.

“Seventy-six percent!” Doni shouted. “We’re almost there!”

But before relief could sink in, the dragon threw its head back and let out a howl that split the sky. The black crystal pulsed, glowing so brightly it was painful to look at. Its red eye flared like a furnace.

Snow whipped up into a blizzard that blasted them backward.

“This is the rage phase!” Sari yelled, digging her heels into the ice.

Zareen felt a cold, alien fear coil around his heart. *So this is why the first raid failed. At this point, it becomes unstoppable.*

---

### Surviving the Frenzy

“Reapply buffs! **Defense Up! Regen Max!**” Zareen slammed his staff down, white light spreading like ripples across the battlefield, reinforcing his team.

Doni’s fingers trembled as he loosed another arrow. “This thing’s gone crazy! My arrows are freezing before they even leave the bowstring!”

“Keep firing!” Sari barked back, her chain lashing out to catch the dragon’s tail mid-swing.

Yuna intercepted a claw strike, her sword shrieking as it scraped against hardened scales. “Zareen! Forget offense—just keep us alive!”

“I will!” Zareen shouted back, his voice hoarse. *That’s my job. I am their anchor.*

---

### A Flicker from the Past

As he pushed more mana through the staff, something warm pulsed in the satchel at his hip. Zareen’s hand moved almost on its own, pulling out the ancient scroll he had received from Sorcerer Gifa.

The parchment glowed faintly, ancient runes blazing to life as if resonating with the dragon’s aura.

“Zareen! Eyes front!” Yuna snapped as she deflected another strike.

Zareen’s grip tightened around the scroll. *Sensei… so this is what you meant. This fight isn’t just to defeat the dragon. It’s to save it.*

He clutched the scroll in one hand, staff in the other, and took a deep breath that burned his lungs.

*If this is the only way… then I’ll do it. Even if it costs me everything.*

---

### Light Against Darkness

He planted his staff in the ice, lifting the scroll high. “Everyone, buy me thirty seconds!”

“What are you—thirty seconds in this storm!?” Doni squeaked.

“Just do it!” Yuna barked. She darted forward, unleashing a flurry of dark slashes at the dragon’s legs, forcing it to focus on her.

Sari whipped her chain in a perfect arc, catching the other wing again. “I’ve got it—don’t waste this chance!”

Doni gritted his teeth, arrow after arrow leaving his bow. “Fine! You’d better make this worth it!”

Zareen began chanting, his voice low but steady, calling words older than the language of men. The scroll burned with white fire, the runes unraveling into threads of light that wrapped around his body.

The dragon turned its head toward him, sensing the magic. Its maw glowed, preparing another breath attack.

“Not this time!” Yuna shouted, leaping onto the dragon’s foreleg and driving her sword into the joint. The dragon roared, breath stalling for a moment.

Zareen’s eyes snapped open, glowing faintly with white light. “**Perfect Cure – Seal Protocol!**”

A massive sigil erupted beneath the dragon, spanning the entire plateau. White chains of light shot up, piercing through the black crystals on its body.

The dragon screamed—not in rage this time, but in pain, and perhaps something like grief. Its blue eye shone clearer, the red glow in the other beginning to dim.

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### The Last Push

“HP down to seventy-four percent!” Doni shouted, his voice wild with hope.

“Then keep hitting it!” Sari yelled.

Yuna delivered one last slash, the final crystal on the dragon’s shoulder shattering into dust. The aura of darkness wavered, flickering like a dying flame.

Zareen focused every last drop of mana he had, light pouring from his staff until it cracked under the strain.

“Seal—**COMPLETE!**”

The white chains constricted, dragging the darkness out of the dragon’s body. Black mist swirled into the air before dissipating like smoke in sunlight.

Finally, the dragon collapsed onto the plateau, its chest rising and falling slowly. The aura of death that had suffocated the mountain was gone.

---

### Aftermath

Zareen fell to his knees, the scroll crumbling into ash in his hand. He was shaking too hard to stand.

Yuna approached first, offering him her hand. Her expression was calm, but her voice carried a rare softness. “You did it.”

Sari collapsed backward into the snow, laughing breathlessly. “I thought we were goners. I really did.”

Doni flopped down next to her. “Next time someone says ‘raid,’ I’m running the other way.”

Zareen looked at the dragon. Its single blue eye was open, watching them. There was no hatred there now—only a quiet, weary gratitude.

*We didn’t just survive,* Zareen thought. *We saved it.*

And deep inside, he knew: this was only the beginning. The darkness was gone from the mountain, but somewhere in the world, other shadows were waiting.