In the magical world of Tron, dragons were nothing but myths.

They existed in fairy tales weaved by elders to fascinate little children.

They existed in the songs hummed by bards to entertain travelers.

They existed only in the realm of fantasy.

These mythical creatures were painted as magnificent yet terrifying in all the stories circulating throughout this planet. They were beings of immense power and wisdom.

But no one had ever seen one.

The legends were thought to be just that - legends.

That is

Until Valerian transformed.

ROOAARRR!!!

The resounding roar of the mighty dragon echoed through the town of Omai. Everyone present couldn't believe their eyes.

These people who had dismissed dragon tales as mere figments of imagination, now found themselves questioning everything they knew.

Valerian raised its head and coldly looked down upon the orcs and the Magi of the Gracie Family. Just a casual glance from him caused their bodies to tremble.

This was the might of a dragon!

As Valerian proudly stood tall in all his glory, the orcs who were nearest to him had already dropped to the ground out of sheer terror. They found themselves subconsciously retreating.

Gorgo, who was at the forefront of this group, felt like his heart had already stopped beating. The sheer amount of pressure radiating from the gray dragon in front of him caused him to desperately gasp for air.

He was on his way to kill Adam. To him, it was a foregone conclusion. But never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that a dragon would appear out of nowhere and obstruct his way.

As for the Gracie Family Magi, they were frozen in shock and horror.

Morden raised his trembling hand and pointed at Valerian in sheer disbelief, recalling the words of his deceased son. "K-Kevin he he was right!"

Since his son had exited the Soaring River Secret Plane, he had told him time and time again about the existence of a gray dragon that had helped Adam within the secret plane.

However, both he and Oswald had brushed this off as Kevin lying and making up excuses to justify his defeat at the hands of a mere commoner.

They didn't believe him.

But when Morden glanced at the dragon standing before him, his mind turned blank and he kept mumbling to himself, "He he he didn't lie He didn't lie!"

Oswald, on the other hand, had his eyes wide in shock. Professor Hemingway was the same. There were very few things that could surprise powerful Magi such as them.

Forget a Mana Liquefaction Magus, even a Mana Vortex Magus or a Mana Core Magus would be astounded if they saw a dragon suddenly appear in front of them.

While everyone was too stunned to even move or speak, Valerian capitalized on this opportunity. He thought to himself with a grim expression, Brother asked me to buy him time

I don't know what he's trying to do, but I must protect him no matter the cost.

The young dragon was sure he could easily take care of the Rank 1 insects before him. But when he glanced at the two Mana Liquefaction Magi in the distance, a hint of nervousness and even fear flashed past his topaz eyes.

No! He screamed inwardly. I must do whatever it takes!

The next moment, he flapped his large wings and flew toward the orcs that were nearest to him.

Gorgo was the first one to snap out of his daze. He knew he was no match for a legendary dragon. Thus, he hurriedly weaved hand signs and immediately fled with the help of a mobility spell.

However, the other orcs weren't that lucky.

With a simple swipe of his claws, Valerian had effortlessly torn these orcs to shreds. There was no amount of armor or defensive spells that could stop a dragon's razor-sharp claws.

The young dragon glanced at the fleeing Gorgo but decided to not chase him because, at the last moment, he had managed to graze the orc with a swing of his tail, heavily injuring him.

Instead, he focused his gaze on the Magi from the Gracie Family as well as Edward and Lisa who were lying at their feet.

Seeing the couple's miserable and bloodied appearance, Valerian's eyes blazed with rage.

He opened his maws wide and furiously roared!

The next moment, something spectacular happened.

An invisible wave of energy rippled out from inside his gaping jaws and struck the Gracie Family Magi.

When these people were struck by this energy wave, they were immediately sent into a daze, their thoughts halting and their minds in utter chaos.

Even the Rank 2 Magi were momentarily stunned.

Valerian flapped his wings yet again and flew in their direction like a bolt of gray lightning. He landed before the couple then viciously swung his tail at the muddleheaded Rank 1 Magi.

SPLURT!

With a simple swing of his tail, Valerian had reduced half a dozen Magi into mere bloodmist. However, the one he really wanted to kill had escaped.

He coldly looked in the distance and saw that the Rank 2 Magi had already retreated a large distance. Moreover, Oswald had made sure to grab Morden at the last moment and fall back.

The three of them had disbelief etched on their faces, still unable to comprehend that they were actually in the presence of a dragon.

Oswald couldn't help but involuntarily gulp as he laid eyes on the menacing stature of the legendary beast in front of him.

Kevin was right! It really is a dragon He thought to himself.

Then, he cast his gaze over at Adam, who was motionlessly kneeling down on the ground with his eyes closed, and had another bizarre thought.

But how did that boy encounter such a fortuitous opportunity? It is unbelievable!

He then shifted his gaze back to Valerian, his brown eyes which contained fear and shock were now slowly replaced by excitement and greed.

The next moment, he secretly glanced at Professor Hemingway and found that he was also looking at him.

Slowly, their lips curled up into a smirk as they seemed to have come to a mutual understanding.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity they simply couldn't pass on!

Meanwhile, Edward and Lisa had incredulous looks on their faces as they stared at Valerian standing before them.

Lisa weakly reached out with her trembling hand and asked with uncertainty, "Little Val is that really you?"

Valerian lowered his head and stared at the blonde youth. His eyes softened and he gently nudged his massive, scaly head against her palm.

Both Lisa and Edward couldn't help but helplessly chuckle. Just a moment ago, they were at death's doorstep, and now all of a sudden they were saved by a dragon whom they thought was a cat all along.

The young dragon deeply glanced at Lisa, Edward, and then at his childhood friends Ennea and Aquila, who had already lost consciousness.

"I will protect you."

Then, his gaze landed on Johnathan's corpse and his yellow pupils gleamed with immense sorrow and anger. "John"

The next moment, he heard the sounds of footsteps coming in his direction. He turned his head and looked ahead. There, he saw Oswald Gracie and Professor Hemingway slowly walking toward him with sinister intentions.

Valerian's eyes flashed in apprehension.

He was scared. He knew he couldn't go toe to toe with a Rank 2 Magus, much less two of them at the same time.

Yet, he resolved himself and stepped forward. He flapped his large wings and took flight.

What was bravery?

Was it the absence of fear?

No!

It was the triumph over fear.

True bravery was born in moments of terror.

Valerian roared to the skies and fearlessly charged at his enemies.

"I am a mighty dragon!"

"I will not cower!"