Chapter 193: Game
"Did you find it?" Ava asked nervously, watching Averis sit cross-legged with her eyes closed and brows furrowed.
Sweat glistened on Averis’s forehead like polished glass, yet her focus never wavered.
She knew how much it was required for her to be focused on her spell. One single mistake and she would be completely disconnected with her Lord.
Averis couldn’t let that happen, not when he was surrounded by so many dangerous beings.
They were inside the mansion—but Averis’s mind was far away, searching for something not in this realm.
When her Lord departed for the elven territory with that man, Averis knew following them would be pointless. The Dragon was far too sharp to be deceived.
That was why, rather than risking things, before they left, Averis had handed her Lord a small vial of her own blood.
It was part of a technique she had only recently developed—and still hadn’t perfected.
By clotting her blood, she could shape it into a small worm that obeyed her will. Through it, she could share vision—an organic, living spy.
She knew there was a whole lot of potential still there but right now, even a worm would do.
Now, through the worm, she could faintly glimpse the situation within the elven realm.
But there was one problem—speed.
The worm was tiny, slow, and fragile. All Averis could do was wait patiently as it crawled forward.
"Did you find—"
"Don’t disturb me," Averis snapped, her tone sharp enough to make Ava flinch and step back.
Quintessa stood quietly in the corner, her hands clasped, worry plain on her face.
As Ava moved a little farther from Averis, who sat motionless on the bed, Quintessa spoke up softly, "What’s the situation? Is Hades safe?"
Ava’s ears drooped. "We haven’t learned anything since he crossed the realms."
Seeing panic flash in Quintessa’s eyes, Ava quickly added, "But you have to—"
She froze mid-sentence as a voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
It was her mother’s voice.
[Ava?! Where are you?! Why can’t I connect with you?]
Lunar magic usually allowed blood-bound kin to communicate easily across great distances. But this time, perhaps due to stress, Ava hadn’t even noticed her mother trying to reach her earlier.
[Where are you? And the young master?]
Ava sighed, then replied mentally,
[There’s a big problem, Mother.]
[I know. But have you found any entry point into the realm?]
Ava blinked, startled that her mother already knew what was happening. Her eyes drifted to Averis, still lost in deep concentration, before she responded,
[No, not yet. But I believe Averis can find one. However... there’s a Dragon King inside the dome.]
For a moment, silence filled her head. Then her mother’s calm, resolute voice came through again:
[Don’t concern yourself with that, Ava. The moment the barrier is lifted, I want you to reach the young master as soon as possible. Remember your dream... and never forget your role.]
Ava’s eyes hardened, a determined flame lighting within them.
[I won’t. Thank you, Mama.]
....
**DOOOM**
The impact shook the ground. Hades groaned as his body slammed into the wall, cracks spreading behind him like a spider’s web. His ribs throbbed with pain, his lips dripping blood.
Was there ever a chance of defeating the Dragon King?
No. Not a single one.
But even so—he had achieved what he came for.
"You are nowhere near as strong as your mother," came a calm, steady voice from above. "And definitely not worthy to be called the Chaos Heir."
Hades lifted his head, panting, his vision hazy. Up on a thick branch sat Xelrath, the Dragon King, poised and composed, his golden eyes glowing faintly through the shadowed canopy.
"At least," Hades rasped, pushing himself up, brushing the dust off his torn clothes, "I saved the person I wanted to."
A faint smirk tugged at his lips—bloodied but proud.
Xelrath exhaled, the sound deep and rumbling, like a growl buried under restraint. "I’ll give you that, boy. You baited me well... bringing up something from long ago. Something I thought wouldn’t affect me."
His tone darkened, and his claws dug lightly into the bark beneath him. "You stirred an emotion I cannot easily control."
For a brief moment earlier, Hades had seen it—the flicker of rage, the split-second loss of composure in the Dragon King’s eyes. A reaction not born of pride, but of something deeper.
Inside Xelrath rested a fragment of the Death God, a piece of divine fury that had answered to Hades’s words before the king himself could suppress it.
But that fleeting lapse was gone now.
The Dragon King’s gaze sharpened, his aura heavy once again.
Xelrath had regained control.
The Dragon King sighed. "Well played. Now let’s play a different game." He raised a finger and a black, flame-streaked orb burst toward the sky.
Hades flinched—then froze. The orb wasn’t aimed at him.
Xelrath’s voice was cold as he explained, "On that orb is written your mate’s name—Beatrice’s daughter. In two minutes it will strike her house. When it lands, she dies."
Hades’s blood ran cold. He sprang up and sprinted for the house.
A spear sliced the air and pinned his feet to the ground.
*SHWOONK.*
He twisted his body just in time, the shaft whistling past. When he looked up, the dragon that had escorted him to Torseque stood between him and the doorway—an immovable wall of scales and muscle.
Xelrath appeared beside the dragon, calm and cruel. "You think this will be easy? Defeat him first if you want to save her. And don’t—" his voice dropped, "—don’t warn her or tell her to flee. Try that, and I will personally split her head from her shoulders."
Hades ground his teeth. A cruel game. Toys for the king to play with.
He clenched his fists and spat, "If you want me to tear that bulk down, fine. I’ll make him regret every pound of muscle."
Hades lunged first—his fist a blur, shattering the sound barrier as it cut through the wind. Dolton met it head-on, his forearm clashing with Hades’s knuckles, the impact splitting the earth beneath them.
BOOOOM!
Rocks and dust blasted outward. Dolton grinned, his teeth gleaming like fangs. Before the echo faded, his knee rammed into Hades’s gut, folding him halfway.
THUD!
Hades barely caught his breath before Dolton’s elbow came crashing down. He twisted his body, the strike grazing past his cheek, slicing through air like a blade.
Hades retaliated—one, two, three punches in rapid succession. Each strike exploded with shockwaves, each fast enough to crush stone. But Dolton moved with monstrous speed—blocking, parrying, sliding backward with his feet carving trenches in the dirt.
Dolton’s hand lunged forward like a beast’s claw, seizing Hades by the throat.
**CRASH!**
The ground split open beneath the impact, ripples racing through the dirt.
Gritting his teeth, Hades drove his fist into Dolton’s gut—then his claws burst forth.
**SQUELCH!**
The blades of bone tore through flesh, hot blood splattering across Dolton’s stomach. Both Dolton and Xelrath’s eyes widened—but only for a heartbeat.
"Hmph." Dolton’s grin returned. With a flex of his arm, he yanked his hand free and hurled Hades aside like a rag doll.
The world spun—then *blink!*
Hades reappeared mid-air above Dolton, his form flickering into place through **<Featherless Flight>**.
For a single heartbeat, their eyes locked—one blazing with fury, the other with feral thrill.
Then they struck.
Their fists met halfway.
**DOOOOOOM!**
The collision split the air, a blinding shockwave flattening the trees around them. The ground caved inward, stones shot skyward like bullets.
Hades was thrown back, boots carving trenches as he skidded across the shattered earth—his knuckles trembling from the impact, blood dripping between his fingers.
Dolton hadn’t moved an inch. Only his grin grew wider.
Hades was breathing heavily.
There was no doubt that this dragon was a strong Duke-ranked dragon...no, maybe above that.
However, there was no doubt that Dolton was way stronger and more experienced than Hades.
’I need to change the strategy...’ He focused on what had landed.
His stomach was piercable with his claws, however, that wound did no damage to the monster.
He has strong arms and his reaction speed is insane. Going head on means Hades would be bleeding and gasping once again.
He can’t do that. He needs to be smart about it or Peri would be in danger.
"Tick-tock-tick." Suddenly, Xelrath voiced out, "You are running out of time, Chaos Heir. If you want to save your mate, you have to kill this man before you, otherwise both you and your wife would die today."
Hades gritted his teeth...if only he wasn’t short on time.
However, ’I need to keep my mind cool or this would turn out disastrous.’
He took a deep breath and while releasing it, he glared at the huge man before him.
"Alright, come at me."
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A/N:- Thanks for reading. I have not been well these days, so once I recover, I will try uploading two Chapters daily. Please leave a review.