195: Chapter 195 The Golden Gate Symbolizing the [Future]: Fierce Battle in the Secret Realm and the First [Duel] Concluded

Scorching magma flowed along the rock walls, and the rising steam distorted the air. Dark Bai Ye's short black hair was soaked with sweat and hung limply.

Dark Bai Ye's exposed arms and neck were covered in scars of varying depths. The Reinhardt Family standard-issue enchanted equipment on his body was damaged to varying degrees—burns from the splash of giant fireballs smashed into the ground, and cuts from the sharp air currents flying out of the tornadoes. The [Dark Guardian], a mere Intermediate defensive Dark Magic, had long since shattered into black light dust. After a teeth-gritting sound of bone and muscle friction, Dark Bai Ye forcibly set his ribs, which had been broken by a dragon tail whip, back into place. Then, using the Elementary healing-type Light Magic [Healing Glimmer] to briefly stabilize his injuries, he quickly ran toward the golden portal.

Facing the gray Dragon's powerful physical attacks and potent Dragon Magic, Dark Bai Ye relied on his long-trained, robust physical capabilities and extremely precise magic control to struggle through Gray's doomsday-like death pursuit.

During the flight, Dark Bai Ye's brain entered a state of high-speed operation. He moved at high speed to the left again, dodging the giant tornado coming head-on. "What to do? What to do?! What to do!!" Dark Bai Ye repeatedly asked himself, hoping to find a way to break the deadlock before him.

Pulling the dragon claw out of the ground, Gray looked angrily at the human who had escaped its attack again. It opened its mouth and fired a [Dark Dragon Breath] like a beam of destruction toward Dark Bai Ye.

Watching the dragon breath flying toward him from behind and feeling its destructive energy, Dark Bai Ye's instincts frantically warned him of the fatal death threat. "[Wings of Streaming Light]! [Wings of Shadow]!" Accompanied by a splitting headache, Dark Bai Ye forcibly squeezed out his already scarce mental energy to release two buff-type Advanced spells. A pair of wings condensed from light elements and a pair of wings condensed from dark elements appeared simultaneously behind the black-haired young man. With his legs exerting force, he kicked two small craters into the ground, and the two pairs of wings flapped rapidly to dodge the dragon breath behind him.

Relying on his strong physique, Dark Bai Ye forcefully changed his direction by stomping his feet hard on the ground, coordinated with the light and dark wings on his back.

The dragon Gray, having flown back into the air, saw the human on the ground turning into a black and white stream of light, dodging the Dragon Magic it released like lightning. Angrily, it began to brew an energy ball of [Light and Dark Destruction] in its mouth again. However, because most of the elemental energy in the Secret Realm had been forcibly extracted by the first release of [Light and Dark Destruction], the casting time for this [Light and Dark Destruction] was several times longer, and the intensity of the elemental energy was far inferior to the last time. The intense elemental energy of the Intermediate Dragon Magic also made Dark Bai Ye, who had been keeping an eye on the gray dragon, feel a burst of panic.

"Damn it... I can't hold on much longer..." Dark Bai Ye endured the needle-like headache and coughed up a mouthful of blood foam. The light and dark wings behind him, which had become illusory, solidified again. His footsteps stumbled as he stepped on the ice surface that was constantly cycling between melting and freezing, nearly slipping. He looked at the golden portal ahead, feeling the elemental energy in the surrounding environment being constantly absorbed by the magic released by the dragon in the air. He quickly mobilized the remaining elemental energy in his body to fight for control of the elemental energy in the surrounding environment. While maintaining his run, he chanted a complex and long incantation. The madness sparked by being on the verge of death filled Dark Bai Ye's pitch-black eyes. "I might die! But! Don't you think you'll get off easy either!"

Dark Bai Ye disregarded his head, which felt like it was splitting open, and forcibly vied for control of the elemental energy in the entire Secret Realm with the gray dragon in the sky. Relying on the corrosive ability of the dark elements, he integrated all the elemental energy into the super-level spell [Dark Annihilation Arrow] he was chanting. Wiping away the blood and tears flowing from the corners of his eyes, his pitch-black eyes, surrounded by blue veins, contained crazy killing intent. "It was so hard to endure until the host personality had a mental breakdown! I won't die so easily—!" As Dark Bai Ye completed the magic chant, a giant black arrow, a meter long and compressed from pure dark elements, condensed in front of Dark Bai Ye.

Looking at the four terrain-altering spells the dragon had previously released, because the elemental energy in the Secret Realm was being forcibly plundered by the super-powerful magic being released by himself and the dragon, the doomsday-like fire rain, giant rocks, ice layers, and tornadoes in the Secret Realm all dissipated because the elemental energy constructing their existence had been drained. Even the light and dark wings behind Dark Bai Ye shattered piece by piece, turning into black and white elemental light points that merged into the black magic arrow in front of him.

Ignoring the burning sensation from the fabric on his shoulder ignited by the giant fireball, and the stinging pain of his lower leg being cut by wind blades and frozen by ice, Dark Bai Ye controlled the super-level black arrow to shoot toward the gray dragon, which was still chanting magic in the air. "It hurts like hell! Explode for me!!!"

Facing the black arrow [Dark Annihilation Arrow] shooting toward the black and white energy ball in its mouth, and feeling the elemental energy of the same Rank as the Dragon Magic it was releasing, Gray's black and white dragon eyes instantly narrowed into needle points. While flapping its huge gray dragon wings to fly backward, it released the uncompleted [Light and Dark Destruction] energy ball in its mouth right there.

The giant black arrow pierced through the small black and white energy ball. With a briefly deafening cry of elements, a black-dominated light and dark elemental energy exploded in the air. The explosion in the air kicked up a strong wind, and the subsequent terrifying elemental energy tide made both the dragon Gray in the air and the human Dark Bai Ye on the ground feel their blood boil.

Dark Bai Ye, lying face up on the ground, crossed his hands to protect his face. Struggling to climb up from the pile of rubble, feeling the nearly exhausted mental energy and physical strength in his body, he turned his head to look at the golden portal close at hand. This was his only chance to escape alive.

Dark Bai Ye complained while limping toward the portal. "Can't I even release the most basic Elementary healing magic now... But it doesn't matter. While that stupid dragon is blown away by the violent impact of the elemental energy explosion, this young master is going back to the outside world to enjoy himself!"

Just as he was about to step into the golden portal and leave the Secret Realm, Dark Bai Ye suddenly lunged backward. A giant white light elemental greatsword—the Elementary Dragon Magic [Judgment Light Sword]—stuck straight into the ground in front of the portal. Dark Bai Ye looked speechlessly at the gray dragon flying over at high speed and complained, "This dragon's skin is really thick! Even though the elemental energy of the Secret Realm space has been drained and exhausted, it can still release magic? How much elemental energy is stored in this stupid dragon's body!"

Dark Bai Ye knew that once the gray dragon flew in front of him, he would definitely be torn to shreds. Enduring the dual pain on the mental and physical levels, Dark Bai Ye revealed an evil smile, a flash of determination in his eyes. He gathered all his just-recovered physical strength into his right hand, threw the unknown crystal into the air, and shouted mockingly, "Stupid dragon, I'll give this to you!!!" Gathering the last remaining dark elements in his body, he released an Intermediate buff-type spell [Dark Passage] on himself. Wrapped in a layer of corrosive dark elemental energy, Dark Bai Ye lifted his foot and stepped toward the giant light sword in front of him. With a sound of dark element corrosion, Dark Bai Ye passed through the human-shaped gap in the light sword, jumped into the golden portal, and left the Secret Realm.

The dragon Gray was flapping its huge gray dragon wings frantically, flying toward the despicable human on the ground. Its black and white lizard pupils were full of anger and killing intent. But when it saw the unknown crystal emitting pure elemental energy thrown into the air by the black-haired human, its body, influenced by the "Eternal Hunger" state, forcibly changed direction. It made it forget its initial attack target; there was only endless appetite in its eyes. Its huge dragon wings flapped violently, its flight speed increased again, and it swallowed the unknown crystal in the high air in one gulp.

"Roar—!" Gray let out a satisfied Roar, opened its mouth, and fired a [Dark Dragon Breath] to melt the giant light sword in front of the portal into a puddle of black elemental energy debris. "Click! Click!" As the sound of Gray chewing the unknown crystal in its mouth echoed throughout the Secret Realm, the gray dragon in the air slowly landed on the ground.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The unknown crystal exploded in Gray's stomach, and a massive amount of elemental energy, unimaginable, spread from Gray as the center to the surroundings—that was the elemental energy accumulated over thousands of years in the entire ancient Secret Realm. At this moment, as the elemental energy stored in the unknown crystal was released, massive amounts of materialized seven-colored elemental energy wrapped around Gray's huge dragon body layer by layer.

Gray narrowed its eyes, a satisfied smile appearing at the corner of its mouth. As the "Eternal Hunger" state was instantly filled by the massive amount of elemental energy, it was replaced by a wave of drowsiness. It wanted to Roar, but could not make any sound. Its huge dragon wings hung down powerlessly, its body floated and sank slowly in the wrapping of seven-colored light currents, and finally, it closed its eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

The seven-colored elemental energy, like a cocoon, wrapped Gray layer by layer. The giant seven-colored light cocoon breathed with the sleeping Gray, slowly seeping into the gray dragon's flesh. Both this dragon's Bloodline and body were undergoing a leap-like evolution.

And somewhere in the world, a disheveled figure passed through the golden portal that flashed and disappeared in the air, falling into the surging Torrent in the canyon.

Gemini looked at the scene in the [River of Fate]. As only the gray dragon in the seven-colored light cocoon remained in the Secret Realm, a string of golden text appeared as the prompt screen flickered.

[Result of the First Duel: Dragon "Gray", Operator "Gemini" wins!]

Gemini looked at the screen, a playful light flashing in his eyes: "To go as far as losing a precious unknown crystal at the cost of escaping alive by borrowing the other party's instinct for hunger. This dark personality is quite interesting."

Hapi the Monochrome Bear hopped and clapped for Gemini, its mechanical eyes flashing with excited red light: "Poof poof poof~ [Gemini] won~ Yay! Although my [Character] is covered in injuries, he still escaped, at least he's still alive~ [Gemini] is so strong!"

Gemini looked speechlessly at Hapi the Monochrome Bear, who was scattering flowers on its own head, and stared intently into Hapi the Monochrome Bear's eyes: "What exactly are you planning? Hapi?"

Hapi the Monochrome Bear covered its mouth and feigned ignorance: "Poof poof poof~ How could I have any bad intentions~ It's really that you, [Gemini], are too strong~"

As the conversation between the two ended, Hapi the Monochrome Bear threw the [dice of fate] again, and the [River of Fate] continued to perform the fate of the two [Characters].

The first [Duel] of [double-six fate] ended with Dark Bai Ye's thrilling escape and Gray falling into deep sleep and evolution. As the water of the [River of Fate] continued to flow, the river surface reflected the vastly different fates of the two [Characters]. The next [Duel] where their fates intersect is destined to be even more exciting.