Chapter 61 – The Sealing Scroll

The dragon’s breathing halted for a brief, chilling moment. The black crystal embedded in its chest pulsed violently, and streams of blue-and-black light shot across the entire battlefield, turning the snowy plateau into a nightmarish scene.

“Everyone get ready! It’s going to use a massive AoE!” Yuna’s voice cut through the roar of the storm.

Zareen lifted his staff, already chanting. “**Barrier Max—**!”

But he was too late.

A massive wave of energy exploded from the dragon’s body, sweeping across the field like a shockwave from an erupting volcano. The ground split apart, snow blasted into the air, and tendrils of black aura streaked outward like lightning.

Zareen was thrown back, tumbling across the icy ground before coming to a stop on his back.

And then he saw them.

“Ughhh!” Doni dropped to his knees, his limbs stiff as stone.

“What the hell is this?!” Sari shouted, but her chain slipped from her hands as her body locked up.

Yuna was still standing, but her sword slipped from her grip, her muscles seizing as if someone had poured ice into her veins.

“They’re… they’re stunned!” Zareen gasped, horror washing over him.

He was the only one left standing.

His heart thundered in his chest. *Why… why am I the only one who can still move?*

Then he saw it—the necklace around his neck, the one Zara had given him back in town, was glowing faintly, radiating a warm light that pushed the black aura back.

*So that’s it. This trinket is shielding me. Which means… I’m the only one who can fight.*

---

### The Clock Is Ticking

“Zareen!” Yuna’s voice was strained, her jaw clenched as she forced words through the paralysis. “Drop its HP! Don’t let it regenerate!”

Doni shouted, his face pale. “The HP bar is sitting at seventy-six percent! If you don’t drop it *now*, all of this will have been for nothing!”

Zareen glanced at the staff in his hands. *Drop its HP? But I don’t have a single offensive spell in my kit!*

The dragon’s massive claw slammed into the ground, sending cracks spiderwebbing through the ice.

“Move, Zareen!!” Sari’s voice cracked in desperation.

“I—” Zareen swallowed hard. “I don’t have attack magic!”

“Then do anything!” Doni cried out. “Throw a rock! Stab it with your stick! Just hit it!”

Zareen looked up at the towering monster, the snow and wind whipping his face. Then he exhaled sharply. *Fine. If that’s what it takes…*

---

### The Most Embarrassing Attack

He charged.

“Yaaaaaaaahhh!!”

With absolutely no grace or strategy, he slammed his wooden staff against the dragon’s leg.

**THUD!**

The Ice Dragon froze, literally stopped mid-motion. Its glowing eyes shifted downward, as if confused that something so small and fragile dared to touch it.

The battlefield went silent for one surreal heartbeat.

Doni’s jaw dropped. “Did you just… did you just *whack* a level 200 dragon… with a stick?”

Sari groaned and covered her face with both hands. “I can’t… I just can’t watch this.”

Even Yuna, frozen and struggling to stay upright, pressed her lips together as if holding back a laugh.

And then—

Doni’s voice cracked with disbelief. “Wait—did its HP just drop to seventy-five percent from *that*?!”

---

### Pure Aggro

The dragon roared, this time far more feral than before. The black crystals embedded in its body flared blindingly bright, pulsing like molten cores. The darkness rolled out in waves so thick it made the air feel heavy.

The stun effect shattered. Yuna grabbed her sword, her expression hard as steel.

“Doesn’t matter. Now we hit it with everything we’ve got.”

“**Chain Break!**” Sari roared, her chain shooting out and wrapping around the dragon’s limbs. The links glowed with violet light, locking its movement.

“**Rain Meteor Shot – Full Lock!**” Doni aimed his bow skyward, his last reserves of mana flaring. A downpour of blazing arrows rained down, slamming into the dragon’s body.

“**Dark Doppelgänger!**” Yuna called, summoning a shadowy clone of herself. Two Yunas dashed forward, blades flashing, carving deep cracks into the cursed scales.

Zareen took a step back, clutching his staff tight. *They’re giving it everything. This is our final chance.*

---

### The Dragon Takes Flight

With a titanic beat of its wings, the Ice Dragon blasted snow and ice into the air. Its massive form soared skyward, blotting out the moon.

“It’s airborne!” Doni cried out. “Our attacks won’t reach from here!”

“I can’t bind it at this distance!” Sari cursed, yanking her chain back.

The dragon began firing lances of blackened ice down from above, each strike exploding on the ground and carving deep craters around them.

Yuna lifted her head, her eyes burning with resolve. A massive dark magic circle formed beneath her feet.

“Summon—**Dark Dragon!**”

From the circle, a shadowy dragon emerged, smaller but no less terrifying, its wings stretching wide.

“Zareen, protect them!” Yuna commanded before leaping onto the summoned dragon’s back.

She soared upward, vanishing into the storm. Above them, twin figures—Yuna and her dark clone—slashed through the air like black comets, carving across the Ice Dragon’s right wing.

A deafening crack echoed.

The wing split.

The Ice Dragon let out a howl that shook the mountain and crashed back to the earth, slamming into the ground with an impact that sent everyone staggering.

---

### The Final Moment

“Now!!” Sari shouted, driving her chain into the ice. “**Chain Bind – Full Lock!**”

Dark chains erupted, pinning the dragon to the ground.

“**Rain Meteor Shot – Final Lock!**” Doni loosed his last arrow. The sky itself seemed to split as a meteor crashed down, shattering the last of the black crystals.

The dragon thrashed, its movements slowing. Its breath came in ragged bursts, its body weakening.

Zareen looked at all of them—Yuna landing with snow scattering around her, Sari’s arms straining to keep the chains taut, Doni nearly collapsing from exhaustion.

His hand went to the scroll on his belt. The symbols glowed so brightly now they were almost blinding.

*This is it. Every condition has been met.*

He pressed the scroll to the head of his staff. A brilliant column of white light exploded upward, scattering the darkness like chaff in the wind.

The sigils spread across the entire battlefield, forming an intricate seal under the dragon’s body.

Zareen stepped forward, his voice barely more than a whisper carried by the storm.

“Ice Dragon… it’s time for you to rest.”

The scroll dissolved into pure light as the sealing ritual began, wrapping the dragon’s body in glowing chains.

Its roar shook the heavens one last time before turning into something softer—almost like a sigh.

The battle was about to end.