A magic scroll was a unique item that could be considered a one-time-use artifact. The scroll was made of a special type of paper that could bear the weight of a magic spell.

The model component required for the spell had to be personally carved by the Magus on the scroll. Moreover, the material components required for said spell also had to be embedded in the scroll through a special method.

The magical scroll used by Kevin contained a rank 2 spell from the School of Invocation. It was a spell so famous and devastating that it had become a symbol for the Magi.

Fireball!

The material components for this spell were the excrement of the fire salamander and fifty grams of sulfur. These components had already been imprinted in the scroll by the Magus beforehand.

All Kevin needed to do was imbue the magical scroll with his mana, perform the required physical component, and finally tear the scroll in half.

As soon as the spell's requirements were met, a large amount of mana was forcefully extracted from the youth and used as fuel to activate the Rank 2 Spell.

Kevin, whose mana was already in a state of chaos to begin with, was now instantly depleted, causing him to cough out yet another mouthful of blood and fall to his knees.

Yet there was a victorious smile on his face as he saw the giant flaming ball launch toward Adam.

On the other side, when Adam saw the strength and pressure emitting from the fireball hurling toward him, he instantly knew that it was a spell greater than Rank 1.

Realizing this, his heart sank. He was in no state to dodge this incoming attack. If the spell hit him directly, he would surely die.

Adam's mind worked on overdrive as he calculated various ways to find that sliver of a chance to come out of this alive. In the end, his eyes narrowed and they shone with resolve.

He looked at Kevin in the distance who seemed to be on the verge of passing out. Then, Adam gathered all the remaining strength in his arm and flung the spear at him at an astonishing speed.

The spear whizzed past the fireball and went straight toward Kevin's head.

Kevin's eyes widened at this sudden turn of events. He couldn't help but curse out loud, "You bastard!"

He couldn't believe that even when Adam was about to die, instead of looking for a way to survive, the youth would much rather take the chance to end his life.

Seeing the spear enlarging in his vision, Kevin forced his body to lean to the side. He couldn't evade the incoming attack, but at the very least, he could try to make sure that the spear didn't hit his vitals.

At the last moment, he was able to lean sideways. The spear, instead of piercing through his head, pierced through his left shoulder instead.

"AGGHH!!" Kevin was swept off of his feet. He flew dozens of meters backward, and when he finally landed on the ground, he realized that his left arm along with the shoulder was missing.

Suddenly

BOOOOOMMM!!!!

A bright explosion of flames blossomed in the distance. The fireball exploded and everything in the radius of nearly ten meters was instantly bathed in flames.

And that was not all, the flames continued to spread in all directions, burning everything in its wake. Such was the devastating attack power of a Rank 2 spell.

Seeing that Adam was caught in the epicenter of the explosion, Kevin smiled. And the next moment, his eyes rolled over and he lost consciousness.

A long time later, after the flames from the spell had died down, the area that had taken the brunt of the spell finally became visible.

The entire place was scorched. Anything and anyone that was caught up in the spell had been burned to a crisp. Over ten lifeless and charred bodies came into view. These were the Magi that had helped Kevin with the ritual formation.

All of them were dead!

Suddenly, a gray light flashed and Valerian appeared out of nowhere. He looked around in nervousness, his tiny body trembling. When he gazed at the charred corpses around him, fear gripped his heart and his topaz eyes involuntarily started to tear up.

He looked around in a panic, trying to search for Adam. However, he was so anxious that he couldn't even think straight.

"Myu" The young dragon tried to calm down and focused on his bond with Adam.

The next moment, he turned his head in a particular direction. His gaze landed on two still bodies, one on top of the other.

"Myu!!" He hurriedly ran toward the bodies, tears streaming down his furry face.

Brother! The little one thought in desperation. Please be safe!

When he reached the two bodies, he pushed away the one on top. This could barely be called a corpse as it was burnt to a crisp. It wouldn't be surprising if a few minutes later it turned to ashes.

When Valerian's gaze landed on the heavily wounded body at the bottom, he couldn't help but begin to cry out loud.

"Myuu!" Valerian nudged his head against Adam's charred body but received no response.

The youth's body had burnt marks all over. His robes and the pointy hat that he loved to always wear were completely tattered and ruined. Moreover, a long and deep cut ran across his face that made Valerian tear up even more.

"Myu! Myu! Myu!" The young dragon tried to wake Adam up but failed.

But he knew that Adam was alive. After all, his chest was heaving up and down ever so slightly.

Valerian's expression turned determined and he thought to himself, Must keep brother safe!

The next moment, his body started to magically transform. The fur on his body receded into his skin, and in their place, gray scales grew all over. A pair of wings sprouted from his back and stretched wide.

For the first time since he was born, Valerian had transformed back into his true self.

A mighty dragon!

Valerian came closer and gently grabbed the unconscious Adam with his sharp claws. Then, he flapped his wings and took flight. With every flap of his wings, he rose higher and higher into the sky.

His topaz eyes shone with worry and urgency as he carried Adam and flew into the distance.

The circle of fate always moved differently from the will of men.

On the ground, as fate would have it, Kevin, who had been unconscious all this while, finally came to and opened his eyes just as Valerian was taking flight.

Initially, he thought he was seeing things because of the blood loss. But when he confirmed that things were indeed true as he was witnessing, tumultuous waves rose inside his heart.

He was able to accurately identify not only the charred body but also the legendary magical beast that was carrying it.

With sheer disbelief etched on his pale and bloodied face, Kevin's lips parted, and he slowly muttered,

"It's a dragon!"