The dragon hovered in midair, its massive, slender wings kicking up violent gusts of wind as they beat.
This should have been an imposing stance, but hovering rashly in midair when facing an unknown opponent was, frankly, unwise.
With his eyes closed, the dragon had completely switched to thermal imaging mode; the entire forest was a cold palette of blue and green, while the giant serpent in the clearing stood out as a conspicuous yellow.
Frey had chosen his dragon form precisely to avoid the sensory disruption the creature could inflict through eye contact.
However, he had not expected such a massive serpent to be capable of launching itself entirely off the ground.
“Hiss!”
From its coiled state, the giant snake launched itself nearly twenty meters into the air in a single movement.
*This is bad,* Frey thought.
The Icelandic Blue-Ridge was a master of storms, gliding effortlessly through the air at high altitudes, but instantaneous acceleration and directional changes from a stationary state were not its strong suits.
The dragon let out an angry, startled shriek, its wings beating frantically in an attempt to gain altitude.
Too late!
The serpent’s body unfurled in midair, barreling toward him like a derailed train.
With no way to dodge, Frey could only tuck his neck low, a blinding light igniting deep within his throat.
A blast of scorching dragon fire slammed head-on into the charging serpent’s head.
But to Frey’s surprise, the giant snake did not recoil from the high heat.
Enduring a breath hot enough to melt steel, it charged brutally out of the flames, smelling of scorched flesh!
Frey veered aside with desperate effort, narrowly evading the two curved fangs.
Before he could even catch his breath, a sudden, searing pain nearly caused his mind to go blank.
He had forgotten—this bizarre serpent also had four cat-like claws!
Four hook-like claws dug savagely into the scales of Frey’s shoulders and underbelly.
Silvery-blue dragon scales shattered and flew through the air, leaving a trail of hot, silvery droplets of blood.
The dragon let out a furious roar, but the situation had already spun out of control.
Using those four claws as anchor points, the serpent’s powerful body coiled around Frey’s neck and chest like steel cables.
The two gargantuan beasts wrestled in midair, tangled into a massive, grotesque ball of flesh.
Frey felt the air being squeezed out of his chest inch by inch.
He couldn’t inhale enough air to form his dragon fire; his several attempts resulted only in pathetic puffs of black smoke.
*I have to risk it!*
A ruthless glint flashed in Frey’s eyes.
A dragon’s flight did not rely entirely on its wings; rather, its buoyancy was controlled by a magic core in its belly, with the wings used only to provide acceleration and steer.
What Frey did now was abruptly shut down his magic core, plunging straight down like a meteor toward the ground, dragging the greedy serpent with him!
The earth shuddered.
Nearby trees were snapped clean in half by the shockwave of the impact.
This suicidal landing forced the serpent to act as Frey’s cushion.
It was slammed so hard that its horrifying, giant maw gapped wide in a silent shriek of agony, and its crushing grip loosened for a split second from the violent impact.
Enduring the agonizing aches of a body near shattering, Frey seized this brief window.
Snapping his head back, his fangs, fueled by sheer rage, plunged deep into the snake’s neck, pinning it to the ground.
Yet, the creature’s cold, slimy body quickly tightened once more.
Frey felt as though the snake was trying to crush his bones, grind him into mincemeat, and squeeze him down into its swollen throat sac.
How he wished his Animagus form were a species like the Ukrainian Ironbelly, which possessed tank-like defenses and close-quarters combat prowess.
But down on the dark forest floor, pinned by a Phantasmal Python that excelled in ambushes and constriction, none of those advantages could be brought to bear.
This stifling helplessness drove him to the brink of madness.
His vision began to blur, and his red thermal view dissolved into a chaotic jumble of colors.
Summoning every ounce of willpower, Frey clamped down on the giant snake’s neck and refused to let go.
Rancid snake blood flooded his throat, making him gag, but he forced himself to swallow it down in gulps.
He didn’t dare release his bite—it was his only hope.
A wild, savage roar suddenly shattered the silence of the forest.
It was the voice of the Taowu.
Instantly, the crushing, monumental force squeezing Frey’s chest suddenly faltered.
Long Jiu sprang from some unknown corner, her agile form leaping down from the treetops.
Dodging the snake’s thrashing tail, she pinned her forepaws heavily onto the serpent’s head, which was still clamped in Frey’s jaws.
*Squelch!*
Without mercy, the Taowu’s dagger-like fangs stabbed straight into the snake’s dinner-plate-sized left eye.
Thrashing in excruciating pain, the giant snake released its grip on the dragon and whipped its body wildly against the dirt.
Freed from the bind, Frey threw open his maw, gasping greedily for air.
But he was no longer the mild-mannered boy.
At the precipice of life and death, the long-repressed dragon nature buried deep within his bloodline erupted completely.
His golden slit pupils narrowed into near-invisible threads.
Along his spine, the blue crystalline spikes began to glow, one by one from tail to head, emitting a terrifying blue light.
The surrounding air began to crackle and pop, and countless blue electric arcs danced across the dragon’s scales.
Sensing the build-up of some devastating power, the Taowu let out a whimper.
Without even sparing Frey a second glance, she tucked her tail and bolted for her life.
Frey wobbled as he flew into the air.
He felt as though some shackle within him had been shattered; his magic was swelling like never before, demanding release!
He looked down at the silver serpent writhing on the ground.
*Boom!*
A pillar of blue plasma erupted from his maw!
The instant the plasma struck the giant snake, its color-changing silver scales began to flash frantically like malfunctioning monitors, flickering on and off, displaying all sorts of irregular, mismatched colors.
As if pouring out all of his frustration and fury, Frey kept the blue beam washing over the earth until he felt his magic completely dry up.
The ground beneath the great serpent was melted into a sheet of glass.
When the last trace of blue light faded, Frey could no longer hold himself up.
His massive dragon body rapidly shrank and collapsed in midair, ultimately reverting to a blood-soaked human form.
Like a kite with its string cut, he plummeted headfirst toward the ground.
A split second before his consciousness faded completely, he felt a broad, furry back catch him.
It was Long Jiu.
Her movements were somewhat stiff.
The spot on her left forepaw where the snake had clawed her had turned a deathly gray.
Limping now, she took each step with a heavy stagger.
The little monkey scrambled out from the Taowu’s long fur.
Clinging tightly to Frey’s messy hair, it pointed anxiously toward the lake, squeaking frantically.
Long Jiu could sense that the massive life signature behind the stone wall had awakened.
Meanwhile, the giant snake, though paralyzed by the electricity, began to squirm again.
A thinner, smaller serpent was already wriggling out of its charred, shed skin.
When it first emerged, it was pink and flesh-toned, like a skinned rat, but it rapidly reverted to a silvery white in the open air.
Its newborn scales flashed with pixelated, mosaic-like patches of color as its single remaining eye stared resentfully at Long Jiu.
*(Damn it, run.)*
Without a second thought, Long Jiu hoisted Frey onto her back and bolted toward the lakeside camp.
At the camp.
Newt and Hermione had already packed all their gear back into their backpacks and launched the canoe into the water.
When a dark, blood-scented silhouette burst from the jungle, Hermione nearly burst into tears.
“Frey!”
Long Jiu rushed to them, her body twisting as she reverted to her human form.
She looked terrible: her left arm hung limply at her side, and the wound on her shoulder emitted a foul odor.
“What happened? What’s wrong with Frey? Did that dragon attack you?” Hermione rushed forward to support the unconscious Frey.
“There was a… Phantasmal Python hiding in the woods,” Long Jiu gasped.
“We were ambushed. The dragon and the python got locked in a vicious fight, so we seized the chance to slip away.”
Hermione drew her wand and pressed it to Long Jiu’s wound.
“Episkey!”
It had no effect; blood continued to seep from the ash-gray wound.
She tried an improved healing potion of Essence of Dittany and Horklump juice, but the effect was negligible.
“How can this be?”
Shaking, Hermione fed a Blood-Replenishing Potion to both Long Jiu and Frey to ensure they wouldn’t bleed to death.
Newt caught Long Jiu’s eye, exchanged a brief look, and nodded.
He quickly stepped forward, peeled back Frey’s eyelids, sniffed the wound on Long Jiu’s left arm, and then checked the wounds on Frey’s shoulders and abdomen.
Seeing that they, too, had begun to turn ash-gray, his face fell.
“Hermione, calm down! Frey has just gone into shock from magic exhaustion.”
The old man’s voice carried an unquestionable authority:
“But the real trouble is the toxin. The claws of a Phantasmal Python cause rapid necrosis. We must find a place to treat their wounds.”
The little monkey hopped onto Newt’s shoulder, pointed at its own completely gray leg, and then gestured frantically toward the island in the middle of the lake.
“Ah, a Mimic Pygmy Marmoset. Clever little fellow,” Newt said, looking at it.
“Are you saying there’s a cure over there? You want us to take you to the island?”
The little monkey nodded frantically, its eyes filled with desperation.
“Long Jiu, can you still move?” Newt turned to look at the resilient Eastern woman.
Gritting her teeth, Long Jiu pulled a strip of white cloth from her bag.
Using her teeth and her right hand, she bound her left arm tightly against her chest to prevent further injury from jarring movements.
“Yes,” she squeezed out, a fierce look in her eyes.
“The Scamander family’s wage is hard-earned. If I survive this, tell Frey I want a raise.”
“Tell him yourself when he wakes up. I’ll help paddle.”
Newt stood up stubbornly.
“I might not be able to use magic right now, but these old bones can still handle physical labor like rowing. Hermione, watch over Frey!”