“I never expected Bone Burial Snow Mountain to be this cold.”

The full moon hung high in the night sky as Alina walked alone along the mountain path, wrapped in a heavy cloak.

Bone Burial Snow Mountain lay not far to the northwest of Di Village. Strangely, though the region enjoyed springlike weather all year round, the mountain was blanketed in snow from its foot to its summit. No matter what the temperature was outside, the moment you entered the mountain, you felt a chill that pierced straight to the bone.

“Is there something strange about the moon tonight?”

Maybe it was just her imagination, but Alina couldn't shake the feeling that the moon had taken on a sinister, dark-red hue.

“Hoo... hoo...”

Two icy gusts swept past, carrying snowflakes with them. Alina huddled deeper into her coat.

Meanwhile, in a shadowy spot not far from Alina, the village chief was hiding quietly, watching her every move. If anything happened to her, he could reach her as fast as possible.

But the very next second, he saw Alina vanish right before his eyes. Her presence disappeared along with her.

“What’s going on?!”

The village chief realized what had happened and rushed out, no longer caring that he might give himself away. But no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find Alina—the girl who had been right in front of him moments ago.

“Damn it! Has that Doragon started to regain its strength?!”

The village chief’s expression darkened. If Doragon really had regained its strength, Little Alina would be in danger.

...

Alina, of course, had no idea what was happening to the village chief. She was still making her way step by step toward the mountain summit.

At the same time, the mist covering all of Bone Burial Snow Mountain grew thicker, and clouds slowly veiled the blood-red full moon. Alina noticed none of it.

“Is the village chief pulling my leg? Where’s this Doragon supposed to be? I haven’t seen so much as a shadow.”

Alina breathed out a cloud of cold air and grumbled.

She’d been walking for nearly two hours now. She hadn’t seen Doragon, let alone anyone else.

“No one has entered this forbidden place in a very long time. So, what brings you here?”

Just as Alina was about to give up searching, a voice rang out from all around her.

“Who’s there?!”

Alina immediately gripped the one-handed sword on her back and warily scanned her surroundings. The only one who could be here was the legendary Doragon.

“How amusing. You’ve spent all this time looking for me, and now you ask who I am?”

The voice let out a delighted laugh. Then the whole mountain began to tremble.

“This is...”

To Alina’s astonishment, the entire stretch of ground beneath her rose into the air. A colossal head slowly emerged from the mist. Only then did she understand why she hadn’t been able to find Doragon.

The entire Bone Burial Snow Mountain was Doragon—and Alina was standing on its claw.

“Human, I can sense many things about you that I find unpleasant.”

A gigantic golden eye appeared before Alina, bearing down on her with overwhelming pressure. Anyone with a weaker will might have submitted on the spot.

As expected of a creature standing at the peak of the world. Alina was secretly astonished.

But her excellent upbringing helped her regain her composure in no time. She spoke gracefully:

“So, you’re Doragon? I came here today...”

But before Alina could finish, another dragon claw came crashing down at her, bristling with killing intent.

“Boom!”

The two claws slammed together with a violent crash. The surrounding cold mist was forced outward, blasting away in every direction until the whole area was shrouded in a hazy fog.

“Let’s see you survive that before you try talking again.”

Doragon spoke nonchalantly, as if it had just crushed an ant. But it soon sensed that something was wrong.

“Hey, hey! It’s rude to interrupt someone just like that.”

As the mist cleared, Alina stood unharmed, one arm raised. She’d blocked Doragon’s strike with just one hand.

Doragon’s pupils contracted sharply, its slit pupils narrowing to thin lines.

This seemingly delicate human girl had stopped its attack with such ease. It hadn’t used its full strength, but the feat was still enough to astonish it.

“I was going to talk things over with you, but since you’re being so rude, I won’t bother holding back.”

A cocky smile tugged at Alina’s lips, completely at odds with her cute, flawless appearance.

“Listen up. Today, I’m going to defeat you—or be defeated by you.”

As she spoke, rings of light began to flare around Alina. She leaped clear of the dragon’s claw, clenched her fist, and punched hard toward Doragon.

The punch unleashed a terrifying rush of wind, whipping up the snowstorm across all of Bone Burial Snow Mountain.

Doragon grew serious too. Alina was no bigger than an ant beside it, but it still raised its claw to block her powerful punch.

“Boom!”

The two collided. At first, nothing happened. Then a terrifying shock wave burst out between them, blasting away the surrounding snow and even the clouds above. From the sky, the whole area around Bone Burial Snow Mountain would have looked like a vast near-vacuum.

A few seconds later, air rushed back into the vacuum with a roar. The winds whipped the clouds into a frenzy.

Huh? I actually moved back five centimeters?!

A flicker of surprise crossed Doragon’s eyes. How could this tiny girl have such terrifying strength?

“Flame Emperor: Ordinance!”

But Alina showed no sign of stopping her attack. A hexagram appeared before her as fire mana gathered at a furious pace.

“Heh. I didn’t expect your magic to be this powerful too.”

Doragon gave a cold laugh. The Flame Emperor spells were the highest-tier attack magic in the fire element. Anyone capable of casting one was a mage of the Magister rank or higher.

“Go!”

Alina ignored Doragon and sent the fire mana hurtling toward her enemy. The frenzied flames tore forward, reducing everything in their path to ash.

“Not bad. Too bad it’s all for nothing if you can’t hit me.”

A voice, tinged with laziness, rang out. Unlike before, this voice was unmistakably feminine.

“Whoosh!”

The enormous Doragon vanished in an instant. As expected, Flame Emperor: Ordinance struck nothing but empty air and flew off into the distance.

“How is that possible?!”

Alina landed lightly and stared at the empty space before her, stunned for a moment.

“Your strength and your magic are both far beyond ordinary. And you’re so young. Who are you?”

Just then, that familiar voice rang out again. Alina hurriedly looked toward it and spotted a girl who seemed about sixteen or seventeen, standing on a rock not far away.

The girl had a figure every bit as perfect as Alina’s. Her beautiful lips and nose, along with a pair of eerie golden slit pupils, brought her beauty to its peak. Her smooth, dark-golden hair was captivating, and the dark-red horns on her head revealed her identity.

She stood there quietly, looking bewitchingly beautiful beneath the blood-red full moon.

“Doragon?”

Alina could hardly believe it. How had such a gigantic creature shrunk down to this size in so little time?

“If you don’t mind, I’d prefer you call me Lamia.”

The girl smiled as she spoke. Her beautiful face left Alina momentarily dazed.

“Lamia?”

“That’s right. It’s my real name.”

“Maintaining a body that enormous takes far too much magic inside this barrier. Your strength has piqued my interest. I haven’t fought anyone in countless years.”

Lamia hopped down from the rock and walked up to Alina with a soft laugh.

“From now on, I’m going to use my full strength. Do your best, okay? It’s been ages since I’ve had anyone to fight, and if you can defeat me, I might even submit to you.”

As she spoke, Lamia licked her lips and gave Alina an intensely seductive look. An ordinary person’s heart would have been racing at the sight.

But seeing this only made Alina more wary. She knew the earlier attack had been nothing more than a test. The real fight was about to begin.

“Here I come.”

“Heh. Bring it.”

As soon as Lamia finished speaking, she vanished. At the same time, Alina vanished too.

The battle had officially begun.