Upon seeing the glowing dragon, everyone tensed up. No one knew what was happening, and they were afraid that Jared’s move might have activated another arcane array.
Jared, on the contrary, didn’t seem to share the same concerns. After seeing the dragon light up, he hurriedly turned around and touched another pillar.
Sure enough, the dragon’s eyes on that pillar started glowing too. With that, Jared rushed off to touch the rest of the pillars. By the time he was done, the entire area was awash with light, and a dragon had gradually. formed midair.
Everyone was taken aback at the sight of the massive dragon. Boom! The next second, the entire square shook, and the stone door behind them closed almost immediately.
Just like that, escape was no longer an option. “What the f*ck are you doing, Jared? Are you trying to kill us all?” Emiliano bellowed. Jared, however, couldn’t be bothered with him. He stared dazedly at the dragon before levitating himself till he was eye to eye with it.
He slowly stretched his hand out to touch the dragon, but before he could, the creature let out an ear-splitting roar that hit him with a powerful blast. Jared was instantly tossed like a rag doll till he slammed against the stone wall and fell to the ground.
“Mr. Chance…” Skyler muttered as she ran up to the man, only to see blood trickling down the corner of his mouth. Everyone knew how formidable Jared’s body was, yet a mere roar from the dragon had dealt him so much damage.
Even as anxiety surged, Emiliano, Avery, and the rest of the group went on high alert to ensure they were safe from the dragon. The square shook even more violently, to the point where the eighteen stone pillars began collapsing one after another..
Within seconds, clouds of sand and dust engulfed the area while shattered rocks flew everywhere, sending everyone dodging the falling debris and running for their lives.
Afterward, the giant dragon let out another roar before swooping down from midair. It slammed its body into the ground, which resulted in an immediate surface collapse.
The powerful blast almost knocked everyone out, and by the time they refocused their gaze on the center of the square, the dragon had already vanished, leaving behind a dark underground tunnel.
There seemed to be no end to the tunnel, and given that it was shrouded in pitch darkness, it felt very much like a descent to the depths of hell.
Everyone stared at the tunnel, at a loss for what to do next. One thing was for sure-no one dared to take the first step because who knew what’d await them in the abyss?
Jared stared into the tunnel and promptly conjured a flame in his hand that illuminated the entire space. Now that there was light, he walked bravely into it, determined not to let anything stand in his way of achieving his goal.
Skyler and Luol followed closely behind Jared, but Avery and Emiliano remained outside. Try as they might, they still couldn’t decide if they should follow suit.
Their hearts were still thumping away after the encounter with the giant dragon, and they were deathly afraid of what’d happen if the creature were to barge into the tunnel. There was no way they’d make it out alive. “Avery, why aren’t you going in?” Emiliano asked.
“Why aren’t you going in?” Avery retorted. “Look how tight the tunnel is. If it’s littered with traps and arcane arrays, there’s no way we’ll be able to escape! That’s why I think it’s better to be more prudent,” Emiliano replied.
“You’re not the only one who’s afraid of death…” Avery muttered as he rolled her eyes at the man. “Let’s wait it out, then. I don’t hear anything yet, so let them venture further…”
After waiting for a while and realizing there wasn’t any commotion in the tunnel, Emiliano and Avery finally decided to enter with their teams.
Meanwhile, Jared continued leading the way with Skyler and Luol in tow. Although the tunnel was small and cramped, everyone was thankful for the absence of booby traps and arcane arrays.
