Primordial Awakening: Rise of the Legendary Dragon God

The sound of heads crashing and cracking still echoed through the air when Kael turned slowly.

Seraphina stood barely two meters away from him, white mana still faintly rippling around her body, her expression frozen between shock and fury.

The sky behind her was empty now—only drifting clouds and the distant silhouettes of the demihumans remained.

But her mind was anything but empty.

Because this was her first active mission as a leader, and everyone had their eyes fixed on her, who was said to be one of the greatest geniuses for becoming a high archmage at the age of 28.

She wasn't even supposed to get this mission, as it was important and required an experienced person to lead it. But her father had used his authority to provide her with this opportunity.

Yet, she failed.

Now, even if she were to kill Kael now, Astraea would still be the one losing, as they had lost two archmages.

It was then, while she was still thinking about all these things, that Kael's golden eyes met hers.

"… Are you still retreating, or did this change your mind?" He asked evenly. "I'm asking because I don't want to end up killing you, too."

For a heartbeat, Seraphina said nothing.

Then—

As if all of her concerns were thrown out of the world, her eyes hardened.

A vast white magic circle bloomed into existence behind her back, runes snapping into alignment with terrifying speed.

Kael's pupils narrowed.

The instant the circle stabilized, a pure white ray tore forward—clean, absolute, erasing everything in its path.

But since Kael had already predicted that, when he saw the magic circle, he teleported away.

The beam ripped through empty sky, space screaming where it passed.

Kael reappeared several meters away, wings beating once to steady himself.

He sighed.

"…Hah," he sighed. "This is why you keep your subordinates on a leash."

From behind Ragnar's group, Rina snickered.

"Heh. If they had discipline," she said lazily, her tail swaying, "they wouldn't be humans."

Seraphina shot her a sharp glare—but only for an instant.

Her attention snapped back to Kael.

And she froze.

Because she saw a change.

Beneath his clothes, black scales were spreading—layer by layer—covering his arms, chest, neck, and legs.

Thin reddish membranes filled the gaps, flexing subtly as if alive. The change was seamless and efficient.

Others merely saw his arms and neck, which were covered in black scales, a condition he had had since the fight started.

But Seraphina saw more.

His aura had changed.

It was denser. Heavier. Like an ancient fortress settling into place.

His defense had strengthened drastically.

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

She didn't hesitate.

She never had.

Her hand lifted—and multiple magic circles flared into existence around her body, orbiting like celestial weapons, each one humming with compressed power.

Kael exhaled slowly.

"…You people really never learn your lesson."

He disappeared.

Space folded again.

A thunderous boom cracked the sky as Kael reappeared right behind her, fist already in motion.

The punch moved faster than sound.

The air detonated.

BAM—

But Kael frowned.

Because he didn't feel like his punch connected, nor did he see any reaction from Seraphina.

And when he looked below, his frown only deepened.

Because his fist had stopped.

Barely an inch from Seraphina's back.

It was as if he had punched the world itself.

An invisible barrier of mana—vast, omnipresent—had halted him completely.

Not a spell.

Not a technique.

Nature itself was resisting the strike.

Of course, whatever that was, it was cracked from Kael's punch, as he hadn't held back at all, but it was still there, and it annoyed him.

He didn't even realize that what he had done was impossible, nor could he see Seraphina's shocked expression as she felt the crack.

"…Hah."

From the side, Ragnar shook his head slowly.

"Looks like his first time fighting a High Archmage," he muttered. "No one who's faced one before makes that mistake."

Kael heard it, but he didn't have time to process it.

Because the magic circles around Seraphina fired.

Thin beams—razor-straight, brilliant white—shot backward, forward, and sideways; every possible angle was accounted for.

It was as if she had known that Kael would attack from the back and his attack would be blocked.

She was prepared for this moment, so although she was shocked to the core, she still attacked.

Kael reacted instantly, but he realized that teleportation was impossible. He was too close, and the attack was too fast.

So, he crossed his arms in front of him.

The beams struck.

Not with explosions—

But with precision.

And unlike what he had expected, those beams punctured his defenses.

Light pierced through his hands, straight through his forearms, shoulders, and torso—clean holes burned through scaled flesh in rapid succession.

Kael's body jerked.

Golden blood sprayed into the open sky.

It shimmered strangely—liquid sunlight spilling from wounds that should not exist.

The demihumans stared.

"…Golden blood?" Rina murmured, her eyes widening.

Even the others were shocked, especially Seraphina, who knew what golden blood meant.

But she still tried to deny that impossible conclusion that had been trying to make its way into her head.

Kael, on the other hand, snarled under his breath and vanished, reappearing several dozen meters away, wings beating hard to keep him aloft.

Blood dripped from his hands.

Then slowed.

Then stopped.

Flesh started to knit together before everyone's eyes.

Ragnar raised a brow. "…He's already healing."

Rina clicked her tongue and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Hey, human Archmage!" She called cheerfully. "This is kinda unfair for him, you know?"

Seraphina's eyes flicked toward her, breaking out of her thoughts.

Rina continued, grinning. "He's got zero info on the natural authority High Archmages have. Only fair we tell him, right?"

Her brother nodded calmly. "Name's Rovan," he added. "And yeah—High Archmages don't just cast spells. They gain something called nature's care, which always protects them."

Ragnar inclined his head slightly in agreement.

Seraphina's jaw tightened.

She wanted to attack.

Immediately.

Relentlessly.

But she didn't.

Because if she moved before the demihumans—

Then they would spread word that she had exploited ignorance, that she had relied on others' explanations mid-fight—

The political backlash would be unbearable, as the demihumans would get a reason to laugh at the humans, calling one of their geniuses a foul player who's scared of people weaker than her.

Her fingers curled into fists.

"…Damn it," she whispered.

Across from her, Kael flexed his fingers, golden blood evaporating into light as his wounds finished closing.

He hovered in silence, wings beating in a slow, controlled rhythm, golden eyes fixed on Seraphina—but his attention was no longer fully on her.

On the demihuman's side, Rovan was the first to break the silence, his calm voice cutting cleanly through the charged air.

"SSS-rank isn't just a number," he said. "It's a threshold. The moment someone reaches it, the world acknowledges them."

Ragnar nodded, arms crossed over his massive chest. "Your existence becomes… relevant. You are no longer just powerful—you matter."

Kael's brow furrowed slightly.

Rina grinned, clearly enjoying herself. "It's the point where people stop pretending strength is subjective. Below SSS-rank? You can't beat someone who's reached it. Not truly."

Rovan continued, eyes sharp. "Nature itself intervenes. The moment someone reaches SSS-rank, the world grants them a natural barrier. Any attack that isn't SSS-rank strong simply… stops."

Kael glanced at his hand, recalling the invisible resistance he'd felt.

"So that thing—" he muttered.

"—Was the world telling you 'no,'" Rina finished cheerfully.

Ragnar exhaled through his nose. "Even SSS-ranked attacks are resisted by that barrier. It's just that they're powerful enough to shatter the barrier on impact."

Seraphina's eyes flickered, recalling how Kael's attack made a crack in it even though he hadn't reached SSS-rank, making her sure that he must be eliminated.

Kael, on the other hand, glanced at his knuckles.

Rovan shifted the topic smoothly. "There's more. High Archmages don't need chants. Or circles. Not even mentally."

That made Kael's gaze snap toward him.

"At that level," Rovan continued, "magic responds instantly. Thought becomes reality."

Kael's frown sharpened.

"…Then what does that make me?" He muttered aloud, thinking about how he never chanted or made magic circles.

His question made the air go still.

Everyone paused.

Rina blinked. Ragnar's mane stilled. Even Seraphina turned her head slightly.

Rovan was the first to speak again, slower now. "I never saw him chant or draw a spell..."

"He fights with speed," Ragnar interrupted. "With raw force. Instinct."

"…So he's probably not a mage," Rina concluded. "A Grandmaster, in that case."

She clapped her hands once. "Yep! That fits!"

"In that case, you should be told about High Grandmasters," Rovan nodded. "They are the physical equivalent of High Archmages. At that stage, martial arts and swordsmanship—every technique they've learned becomes ingrained."

Ragnar's eyes narrowed with respect. "They don't think anymore. Their bodies move on their own. Techniques execute themselves, as if alive."

Kael didn't respond, as he was deep in thought.

He had many questions, and he wanted to correct them many times, telling them that he was also a mage.

Heck, he had used it a while ago to make fists made of roots. He was even teleporting around.

But maybe they thought that it was all part of some technique he used.

It was then that—

Rina tilted her head.

"…Wait."

Her eyes flicked to Kael's back.

To his wings.

"…Hold on," she said slowly. "You're not using mana to stay airborne."

Everyone froze.

Rovan followed her gaze. Ragnar's brows drew together.

Kael blinked once.

Ragnar hesitated—then asked, carefully, "Do you… know how to fly using mana?"

Kael tilted his head.

"…You can do that?"

Silence.

Pure, absolute silence.

Seraphina's breath caught.

Rovan stared.

Rina's mouth slowly fell open.

Ragnar let out a low, disbelieving laugh. "…You've been flying with wings this whole time?"

Kael glanced back at them, genuinely puzzled. "That's what they're for."

The sky felt suddenly much, much larger.

And for the first time since the fight began, the demihumans weren't looking at Kael like a curiosity—

But like a question that the world itself hadn't finished answering.

'What are you?'