Since Ravi was here, it meant—

Roswitha turned to look at the two figures standing behind him.

Just as expected, there stood the other two Dragon Kings, masters of spatial magic—Bly and Jagus.

“Long time no see, Silver Dragon King.”

Ravi raised his hand. Dozens of spatial teleportation arrays lit up behind him, from which hundreds of dragons emerged one after another.

They charged at the distant Silver Dragon forces. Without a single word exchanged, both sides clashed in an instant.

“I never thought you’d actually kill Star. To be honest, that man next to you possesses power beyond my understanding,” Ravi said. “If someone like him continues to exist in this world, he will undoubtedly become a grave threat to both the Dragon Clan and the Empire.”

“Silver Dragon King, you’ve chosen the wrong side. Whether you opt for self-preservation or align with us and cooperate with the Empire, you could ensure centuries of prosperity and security for your Silver Dragon Clan.”

“But instead, you chose to help Leon Castmod.”

“And so, I regret to inform you that the two of you… must be eradicated.”

The husband and wife stood back-to-back. Roswitha faced Ravi, her aura undiminished, regal and commanding. She said coldly, “There’s no such thing as ‘choosing sides.’ I’m merely doing what I believe is right.”

“As for so-called self-preservation? Ha… It seems our Silver Dragon Clan has kept too low a profile for too long, leading you to mistake me for a cowardly king afraid of death.”

Ravi frowned slightly, hesitating for a moment before replying, “I do admire your courage in risking everything, Silver Dragon King, but as I said before, you both must be eliminated.”

“You’ve just fought Star, and you’re practically drained of your strength, aren’t you?”

“But no need to worry; I won't use brutish methods to send you away. That’s the beauty of spatial magic.”

Though Ravi appeared calm on the surface, inwardly he was panic-stricken.

If these two hadn’t already used up most of their magic and stamina during their battle with Star, he wouldn’t even dream of bringing Bly and Jagus here with him.

That would be no different from walking to his own death.

Now, Nacho’s so-called “trump card surprise attack” was finally ready to be played as his hidden ace.

Ravi raised his hand, a complex and intricate magic circle slowly materializing in his palm.

The other two Dragon Kings mirrored his actions exactly.

“Spatial magic… Honestly, I have no clue how their attacks work,” Leon said. “But in any case, let’s just take out the loudmouth first. No objections there, right?”

Roswitha nodded. “Agreed.”

After a brief pause, she asked, “Do you still have enough magic reserves?”

Leon touched his chest; the earlier attack had nearly depleted all his magic.

However, he still had Nine Hells Gate’s physical techniques at his disposal.

The problem was, against three Dragon Kings, relying solely on martial arts might not amount to much.

But he had to try—after all, the alternative wasn’t just standing there like a wooden dummy waiting to be hit.

“I can’t use magic for the time being,” Leon said. “Later, I’ll distract him while you attack from the side.”

“Alright, be careful.”

“Got it. Let’s go.”

After finalizing a simple strategy, the two rushed forward, spreading out to run at Ravi from opposite directions.

Their speed was incredible; in the blink of an eye, they had closed the distance, suddenly appearing right in front of Ravi.

Leon pushed off the ground with his right foot, leaping into the air, his knee aimed directly at Ravi’s face for a powerful strike.

The godspeed granted by the Fourth Gate gave him more than enough kinetic energy to turn such a straightforward attack into something catastrophically lethal.

Roswitha, ready in the wings, gathered Dragon Flame in her hands, preparing to strike Ravi from the flank.

Everything progressed exactly as they had planned.

But just as Leon was about to make contact with Ravi, a pale blue barrier rose suddenly from the ground, erecting itself between the two and intercepting Leon’s attack.

Landing lightly on the ground, Leon and Roswitha immediately backed away from the barrier.

After all, spatial magic was something they had never encountered before and had no idea how it might attack.

“What’s with this barrier…”

Before they could finish their thoughts, two more barriers emerged from the soil, forming a closed triangular zone with the one in front of Ravi.

Leon and Roswitha were trapped inside, their movement space severely limited.

S-tier spatial magic: **Gate of the Future**

Roswitha tested the barrier by attacking it with Dragon Flame.

But the moment the flames touched the barrier, they inexplicably vanished.

A second or two later, a massive burst of fire erupted far off in the distance.

Narrowing her eyes, Roswitha could tell—it was the result of her own magic attack striking empty ground far away.

“This barrier redirects magic attacks to remote locations,” Roswitha said grimly, lightly pressing her hand against it. “And your physical attack just now didn’t affect it at all either. This is troublesome…”

The spatial barrier wasn’t like Star’s absolute defense.

Breaking Star’s defense had relied on Leon’s Chidori combined with godspeed-driven kinetic energy—a fusion of magic and martial arts.

But this spatial barrier didn’t just boast immense durability; it could also redirect magical attacks. Which meant the only way to break it was through brute physical force alone.

“So, attacks with the Fourth Gate are ineffective—”

While speaking, Leon slowly bent his knees, dropping into a stance with his fists clenched at his waist.

An invisible energy surged outward from his body, causing the stones scattered across the ground to jump and dance.

**Nine Hells: Fifth Gate: Starbound Strike**

Building upon the godspeed enhancement of the Fourth Gate, the Fifth Gate drastically amplified the user's physical strength and explosive power.

Naturally, though, it was also from the Fifth Gate onward that Nine Hells Gate’s side effects grew increasingly severe.

But Leon didn’t have time to worry about side effects now—who knew what tricks this spatial magic might deploy next.

He had to break this accursed barrier as quickly as possible.

The Fifth Gate activated, releasing faint plumes of steam from the seams in Leon’s Black Gold Chariot armor.

The steam came from his sweat.

With a low growl, Leon kicked off the ground with his right foot, propelling himself forward.

In an instant, he closed the gap between himself and Ravi, bringing his fist down hard on the spatial barrier with his **Starbound Strike**.

The sheer impact of the punch caused the surrounding ground to tremble, and the barrier itself seemed to waver slightly.

Ravi gritted his teeth, pouring magic into the barrier’s array just to withstand Leon’s blow.

The Fifth Gate’s burden on the body was worlds apart from that of the Fourth Gate, but its strength augmentation was equally mind-boggling.

Yet even with this tremendous power, Leon’s strike still couldn’t shatter Ravi’s spatial barrier.

Ravi exhaled in relief. “Don’t make futile struggles, Castmod. You can’t break the barrier. As I said earlier, the two of you will be eliminated—not painfully, but peacefully. Wouldn’t it be better to quietly accept your fate?”

Leon gritted his teeth against the pain in his muscles and bones. “Shut it, old man. Do I look like someone who’d meekly surrender?”

He retreated to Roswitha’s side and lowered his voice, “This kind of powerful magic barrier—there’s no way Ravi can maintain it all by himself. The other two guys are contributing a significant share of power.”

“And there’s an obvious double-edged aspect to this setup.”

“The advantage is clear: like now, there's no way we can contend against all three of them with just the two of us.”

“But the downside is that if even one of them falters or messes up, the barrier’s strength will be severely compromised.”

While speaking, Leon glanced at the distant melee between the Silver Dragon Clan and the Starry Wanderer Dragon Clan. He sighed internally.

“But it doesn’t look like anyone from outside can come help us…”

Leon’s intention was straightforward: as long as any of the three maintaining the spatial array could be disrupted, there’d be an opening to break it.

The problem was, every Silver Dragon soldier had been stalled by Ravi’s summoned Starry Wanderer Dragon Clan forces, leaving no one able to intervene.

What a hopeless situation…

And then came an even more despairing turn of events.

A magic array formed beneath their feet, and in the center of the circle, a tiny fissure emerged.

The rift glowed with an eerie blue light, its interior impossible to discern.

But it was steadily expanding, as though attempting to draw Leon and Roswitha into its depths.

Roswitha stared intently at the growing rift, her mind racing.

“From the start, Ravi has been talking about ‘erasing’ us—not killing us outright. Which means this thing might not be a sealing technique or spatial annihilation. It’s more likely…”

Thinking back to how her Dragon Flame had been redirected earlier, Roswitha speculated, “A kind of teleportation magic… Ravi’s trying to send us somewhere completely unknown.”

“How perceptive of you, Silver Dragon King.”

Ravi chuckled smugly. “You’re absolutely correct. This is a powerful teleportation array. Killing Leon Castmod in this world isn’t possible—no person or magic is capable of that. Therefore… sending him away to a distant place is undoubtedly the wisest course.”

The trump card surprise attack—this was it.

Although the “kill shot” wouldn’t actually kill Leon, it didn’t matter; as long as this monumental problem could be sent far away, Ravi couldn’t care less about Leon’s fate.

“In that unknown world,” Ravi continued, “you won’t be alone, Leon Castmod. After all, the Silver Dragon King will accompany you.”

“Oh, you two have children, don’t you? In hindsight, I should’ve captured them as well and thrown them into the array along with you. Then your whole family could reunite in another world and live however you wanted.”

“But honestly, I still don’t understand—how could a proud Dragon King lower themselves to mate with a human?”

Bang—

Leon slammed his fist against the barrier. “Old geezer, stay out of me and my wife’s business!”

“Tch, Castmod,” Ravi commented leisurely, confident in his victory. “I’d heard you were one of the most stubborn people in the Dragon Slayer Army, but I didn’t think you’d remain so defiant even now.”

Roswitha paused for a moment, looking at Leon. "So, before we got married, you were already famous for being stubborn?"

"Hiss—That—that’s slander! I was never stubborn," Leon explained.

"Really? Then when are you going to confess to me?"

"That’s not urgent."

"Why is it not urgent? I’m very urgent!"

"Your urgency doesn’t matter."

The couple squabbled and argued, treating the spatial rift beneath their feet as if it didn’t exist.

They also entirely ignored Lavi outside the barrier.

"You bastard! I knew it—you’re trying to weasel out of taking responsibility, aren’t you?"

"How am I avoiding responsibility? If I didn’t take responsibility, how could we have so many kids?"

"They were all born by me! All by me!"

"What kind of heartless talk is that? Without me, could you have birthed them on your own?"

Lavi: "Enough..."

"Don’t you know that the Dragon Clan can reproduce through cocoons?"

"Weak intellect comes from cocoon-born dragons."

Lavi: "Hey..."

"Why do cocoons mean weak intellect?"

"Have you forgotten the three chubby dragons who got beaten one-on-three by Noa?"

Lavi: "I’m telling you, that’s enough!! What are you two doing? You're facing death and still arguing?"

The couple simultaneously stopped bickering, turning in unison to look at Lavi.

"What are we doing? We’re distracting you, of course."

"D-Distracting me?"

Before the words could finish, a sharp bird cry suddenly rang out behind Lavi.

A small, dark figure leapt into the air, aiming the lightning gathered in its hands at Lavi’s shoulder.