Chapter 67: The Price of Perseverance

“Don’t make me repeat myself. You are not allowed to pass!”

The clash between the small and the large, the strong and the weak, should have been a foregone conclusion. Yet, inexplicably, it persisted to this very moment.

There were wings vast enough to tear the sky, and claws sharp enough to shatter the earth. Destruction seemed to be its very essence.

The dragon’s proud head rose high, gazing down as a beast king would.

Within its dilated, draconic pupils, only an impossibly tiny figure could be seen. Fierce glints of malevolence flashed in its wrath-filled eyes.

According to the wyvern’s understanding, it utterly failed to comprehend:

How could such a seemingly frail, toothless opponent stand before it, obstructing its path for so long?

The adversary clearly appeared to be at its last gasp.

Now, numerous beautiful feathers lay scattered across the ground, stained by intermittent drops of crimson blood.

The graceful figure, always so elegant, now seemed imbued with an undeniable sorrow.

Whether at a glance or under close scrutiny, no one would believe the weaker party could emerge victorious.

In such a one-on-one confrontation, the outcome was even more self-evident.

None of Little Eagle’s companions were present to assist her, for they had long since been sent back to the mountain.

Cai had been responsible for their departure. The maiden who had instructed Cai to do so was now battling with her scarred wings, engaged in a desperate, seemingly hopeless struggle.

This place had become a cage, long confining the bird with broken wings.

A mere birdcage should never have been able to trap a colossal wyvern that soared through the heavens.

Yet, the impossible had indeed come to pass here.

Due to the brutal struggle that preceded this, Little Eagle had sustained severe injuries, making her a formidable opponent for the wyvern now.

Therefore, her ability to delay the inevitable was purely a testament to her unyielding will.

She had to endure!

Thousands of demons were injured, and Little Eagle herself was the only reliable combatant left in the group.

To prevent any of her companions from perishing, she had unhesitatingly taken on the responsibility, keeping the wyvern’s attention firmly fixed on her.

On the other side, the wyvern, repeatedly thwarted by an inferior opponent, found its ferocious instincts further ignited.

It ignored all other targets, intent on pulverizing the maiden before it, making her pay the ultimate price for her overestimation of her own strength!

The wyvern’s sweeping tail slammed down with immense force.

In response, Little Eagle flapped her wings to evade it, then raised her sword to her forehead, bracing for the wyvern’s claw that then lunged at her.

All her previous defenses had succeeded; this time, however, was an exception.

Rather than merely falling, she was utterly *swatted* down.

Like a struck insect, Little Eagle’s body plummeted with the wyvern’s claw, shattering the ground upon impact.

As a web of cracks spread across the earth, the wyvern roared, its maw agape.

It had succeeded!

Wait. The sensation from its claw felt wrong.

It didn’t feel as though it had crushed its target; rather, it was—

—*CRACK!*

An upward-thrusting blade pierced through the obstruction. The sharp sword sliced through the massive claw!

As blood spurted forth, the wyvern felt excruciating pain. Simultaneously, its right claw uncontrollably lifted, inch by agonizing inch.

“My apologies, but you’ve given me just a *little* too much time…”

In that instant, Little Eagle’s arms were raised high above her head.

The sword, clutched in her hands, had earlier pierced the wyvern’s sharp claw with a single strike, imbued with her own magic.

Then, Little Eagle mustered her scant remaining strength, slowly but inexorably lifting the wyvern’s claw that had been poised to crush her head.

Not with her hands, but with her *sword* did she lift it!

“The moment before your successful kill was precisely when I had gathered enough power… You truly are unlucky.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than the wyvern’s claw exploded with an undeniable, deafening sound.

“Mangled flesh” could no longer describe it; where the claw had been, only a pool of blood remained.

Indeed, not even Little Eagle’s figure could be seen.

*Swoosh!*

It was gone.

At least, it was gone for the wyvern.

What had been pierced this time was its very head.

As the sword light flashed, a bloody gash appeared on its skull.

While it didn’t explode like the claw, this was, after all, a vital spot.

In other words:

Even so, it was utterly fatal!

Without even a chance to groan, the colossal wyvern toppled.

The earth rumbled from the impact, a sound that grated unpleasantly on the ears.

Landing back on the ground, Little Eagle lowered her sword-wielding hand and coughed several times, no longer needing to suppress it.

“Cough, cough, *ptui!*”

A large mouthful of fresh blood was expelled. Seeing the crimson splatters on the ground, even Little Eagle couldn’t help but think:

‘That was pushing it a bit…’

Her body now ached with even greater intensity.

Even with Cai’s healing, Little Eagle’s condition had not rapidly improved.

Her desperate struggle had, predictably, caused wounds that needed time to heal to tear open, further exacerbating her injuries.

Still, there was a silver lining.

At least the battle was over—

—or so Little Eagle had thought, up until that very second.

Yet, in that instant, she witnessed a horrifying sight:

The fallen corpse began to writhe. Though it was a wyvern, it moved like an insect.

Its flesh slowly peeled away from its body, until soon, only a colossal skeleton remained.

When the writhing ceased, the creature, now a monstrous abomination, raised its head high and let out a deafening roar.

A wyvern in life, it had now been transformed into a bone dragon through You’s necromancy!

“This thing can become an undead? Heh heh heh.”

Little Eagle laughed because, in truth, she was the truly unlucky one.

Driven by its former life’s resentment, the bone dragon charged forward, attacking.

Little Eagle genuinely wanted to dodge, but alas, her legs and wings refused to obey her.

*BOOM!*

She was sent flying, soared briefly, then rapidly plummeted, crashing to the ground and rolling two or three times before her body finally came to a halt.

“Cough, *ptui!* I have some regrets.”

Realizing that this day would be her last, Little Eagle now regretted only one thing.

‘I thought there would be another chance tomorrow… to drag it out until today and have this be the outcome, it’s truly comical.’

If she had known this, Little Eagle felt she should have cast aside all hesitation and, the moment she made up her mind, confessed to the one she loved.

‘I love you. I want to see you by my side every day. No matter how long or short our time, I will be with you until the very end…’

So many words she wanted to say, yet in the end, not a single one had left her lips.

‘I called them ‘little idiot’ so many times, but it turns out I’m the biggest idiot of all. What could be more ridiculous than that?’

“ROAR~~~~~~~~~”

Death, like the bone dragon, was now upon her.

Since she already understood that some words would never be spoken to her, she would embrace her final battle with a mindset of taking everything down with her!

Little Eagle struggled to her feet, then straightened her back resolutely.

All she had left was this tattered life.

Now, she would make good use of this final, desperate gambit!

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