A Legendary Battle (5)

Whoosh!

Just as Punk's spell designed specifically to destroy the gray crystal, Collapsing Separation Decomposition, appeared before Aimoda's eyes, a slender, nearly imperceptible blood-red thread suddenly shot toward Punk with lightning speed. The other end of that spider-silk-thin energy thread was connected directly to the Legendary Red Dragon's left claw!

Clearly, Punk's initial guess had been entirely correct. Every word of surrender Aimoda had spoken had merely been a delaying tactic. The cunning red dragon had already been secretly preparing to forcibly seize the crystal the moment Punk took out the gray crystal.

Just as Punk could never have believed that Aimoda would truly compromise, the half-mad but not foolish dragon could never have believed that Punk would honestly return the crystal.

But... how could a prepared Punk possibly let his enemy have its way?

"You want the crystal? Keep dreaming!"

Almost at the exact moment Aimoda struck, Punk, who had been secretly guarding against his enemy all along, reacted at top speed. The crimson thread fired by the Legendary Red Dragon was about to touch the gray crystal, yet not a hint of emotion stirred on Punk's face. He even had the leisure to calmly mock Aimoda Flameclaw:

"An Innate Spell? Or some special ability? If this little trick is all you have, then I am terribly disappointed, Mr. Aimoda!"

Still calmly slamming the Collapsing Separation Decomposition in his hand onto the gray crystal, Punk simultaneously activated the Legendary Level Spell imbued in the Ruby Necklace at precisely the right moment:

Legendary Level Abjuration Spell—Flash!

The Ruby Necklace—the magical item he had once snatched from Ovakain—was not an exceptional piece of Legendary Equipment. In fact, at the Legendary level, for a caster like Punk, who could make a simple Flash spell perform countless tricks by himself, one extra Flash