I Died and Became a Noble's Heir-Chapter 453: Cho would be proud

Lightning discharged on impact, and the Drake’s flight pattern faltered as electrical current disrupted the fine muscle control needed to maintain altitude.

The Drake roared again, this time in pain and rage, and its spell dissolved as concentration broke.

It compensated for the damaged wing with powerful beats from the right wing, maintaining altitude through sheer force.

Rhys recalled the thrown dagger with a burst of wind magic, the blade flying back to his hand, and immediately, he threw it again.

This time targeting the Drake’s other wing.

But the Drake had learned. It twisted mid-air, using its tail as a counterbalance, and the dagger passed harmlessly beneath it.

Then the Drake countered with its own attack.

Ice spikes materialized in the air around the Drake.

Dozens of them, each one three feet long and sharp as steel.

They launched toward Rhys in a coordinated barrage that covered multiple angles simultaneously.

Rhys activated Lightning Form.

His body dissolved into pure electricity, and the ice spikes passed through it harmlessly. He flowed across the throne room at impossible speeds, reforming behind one of the pillars for cover.

The Lightning Form ability was deactivated, and Rhys immediately cast his following technique. He extended one hand toward the Drake and channeled both wind and water magic simultaneously.

"Torrent Blades!"

Six razor-thin crescents of water wrapped in wind magic launched from his position, curving around the pillar and streaking toward the Drake from multiple angles. The Drake tried to dodge, but with one damaged wing, its aerial mobility was compromised.

Three of the six blades struck home.

One across the Drake’s flank, two more hitting its already damaged left wing. The water cut deep, enhanced by wind magic, and the Drake’s flight pattern became even more erratic.

But the creature was far from defeated.

The Drake opened its maw and released a massive area-effect blast.

Freezing energy erupted outward in a sphere fifty feet in diameter, flash-freezing everything it touched.

Rhys saw it coming and dropped the Storm Current technique, maintaining the electrified floor. He redirected that mana into a defensive spell instead.

"Wind Barrier!"

A hemisphere of compressed air formed around Rhys just as the freezing blast reached him.

The wind barrier held for three seconds.

Long enough for the worst of the blast to pass before shattering under the temperature differential.

Rhys staggered as the cold hit him despite his armor’s protection.

Frost formed on his Tempest Lord’s Regalia as it crept inward toward his skin.

His fingers were going numb, his breath coming in gasps that turned to ice crystals before his eyes.

’Rhys!’ Slyph’s voice carried alarm. ’That attack dropped the ambient temperature by at least fifty degrees! If he hits you with another one like that, your armor won’t protect you!’

"Then I won’t let him cast another one," Rhys growled through chattering teeth.

He activated Wind Step and launched himself directly at the Drake, closing the distance between them with reckless speed.

The Drake tried to gain altitude, but its damaged wing couldn’t provide enough lift fast enough.

Rhys reached the Drake’s flank and drove both daggers deep into its side, between two of the massive scales that armored its body. Lightning discharged directly into the wound, and Rhys channeled everything he had.

The lightning from Tempest’s Edge and wind magic created a vortex inside the wound that tore at the Drake’s internal structure.

The Drake roared and twisted, trying to shake him off, but Rhys held on through sheer stubborn determination.

He pulled his daggers free and struck again, this time aiming for the joint where the damaged wing connected to the body.

Three rapid strikes in the span of two seconds, each one enhanced by lightning and wind working together.

The wing joint shattered, and the entire left wing went limp, completely useless now.

The Drake couldn’t maintain altitude anymore.

It crashed to the flooded floor with enough force to send up a massive spray of water.

The impact stunned it for two seconds, and that was all the opening Rhys needed.

Green tattoos spread across his body, glowing through his armor, as Slyph’s power flooded through him.

His wind magic amplified by thirty-five percent, his physical capabilities enhanced, his connection to Slyph became so intense that her thoughts overlapped with his own.

’Together,’ Slyph’s voice echoed in his mind. ’Let’s end this.’

Rhys thrust both daggers forward and cast the most potent technique he’d learned from the Advanced Elemental Fusion manual.

"TEMPEST’S FURY!"

Wind erupted from Rhys’s position in an explosive burst that filled the entire throne room. The gale-force currents carried water vapor that condensed into rain, and through that rain, lightning struck in hundreds of simultaneous bolts.

But this time, enhanced by the Contractee state and Slyph’s full power, the technique was orders of magnitude more powerful than when he’d used it in the entry hall.

The Drake tried to create ice barriers, but the localized storm overwhelmed everything.

Lightning struck the creature repeatedly, each bolt delivering devastating damage.

The water enhanced conductivity, spreading the electrical current through the Drake’s body. The wind prevented escape, pinning the creature to the floor with atmospheric pressure.

The technique finally ended, and Rhys collapsed to his knees as exhaustion crashed over him.

The green tattoos covering his body faded completely as he dropped out of Contractee state.

His mana reserves were at five percent, his stamina nearly depleted.

But through the dissipating steam and rain, Rhys could see the Drake.

The creature lay motionless on the flooded floor, its white scales scorched black in places, steam rising from dozens of lightning wounds. Its golden eyes were dim, barely open.

"Well fought, little mage," the Drake whispered, its voice weak but carrying grudging respect. "You... have earned... this victory..."

The golden eyes closed, and the Drake’s body went still.

Rhys defeated a creature approaching Nightmare-rank. All by himself.

Pho slowly walked across the water before coming to a halt. "Not bad," Pho’s voice came from the throne room entrance, and Rhys turned to see the Deathfrost Demon standing there with his arms crossed.

"Though you used too much mana. If there were any more, you’d be dead. You took unnecessary risks at several points during that engagement."

Despite the criticism, there was something in Pho’s blank white eyes. Pride swelled through his eyes, but it was hard to see.

"However," Pho continued, walking toward Rhys across the flooded floor, "you adapted to an enemy far beyond your ability. You used the terrain to your advantage. You exploited weaknesses. And most importantly, you survived against something that should have killed you."

The demon placed one clawed hand on Rhys’s shoulder.

That same almost protective gesture he’d used before they’d entered the fortress.

"Cho would have been proud," Pho said quietly. "Now rest. You’ve earned it. And tomorrow, we begin preparing for Floor Four."

Rhys nodded, too exhausted to speak, and let himself collapse onto the relatively dry section of floor near the throne.

Rhys allowed himself to close his eyes and rest, secure in the knowledge that he was getting stronger.

That he was becoming worthy of the title that Jack had helped him work toward.

’I wonder what Jack is up to right now.’