Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
Guys, I have a request. I'm short on my college sem fees, and if you could donate, that would help me immensely!
paypal.me/Un1que01
I will gift everyone who donates a membership to my patreon equivalent to their donation. I will appreciate your help!
******
Perhaps dying beneath that green light would have been the better choice.
But fate does not turn back. As dozens of muffled clashes rang out—iron fists colliding with black steel—the ones who had only just turned to flee fell stiffly to the ground. Each body hit the black iron floor with a sharp metallic thud.
Without having strengthened his defenses, Harry's right fist throbbed from the strain of delivering dozens of full-force blows. A faint trail of blood dripped from his knuckles. Some of the skin had split open, but within moments, the wounds began to heal on their own, leaving behind only a few traces of still-fresh blood—no sign of scarring.
Aside from the old man, now huddled in a corner like a forgotten relic, only Harry remained. Tom, who had previously transformed into black mist and hovered in mid-air, had vanished without a trace.
He hadn't fled—and even if he'd wanted to, escape was impossible. Though the magical wards laid here had been reactivated earlier, they couldn't break through the anti-Apparition spell Harry had cast. After all, the original function of the magical formation wasn't designed to counter teleportation. While it could barely function like a Disruption Curse, its effectiveness was limited. Against ordinary magic, it might have succeeded, but the spell it needed to break was not one that common wizards used.
Yet Tom's form had unmistakably disappeared. His mist-like body seemed to slip into the cracks of the massive black iron armor behind him. Whether it was the ordinary black iron suits or this towering behemoth known as the Black Emperor, the predecessor who built them hadn't placed any "usage restrictions" on these creations. They were, after all, intended to be toys for his amusement. Due to certain limitations, however, these armors couldn't be taken away—otherwise, the Ministry of Magic would have long since emptied the place, relocating everything to a territory of their own for study and safekeeping.
Now, a faint glow—imperceptible to the naked eye—flickered across the once-dormant Black Emperor. The light matched the dark vortex that swirled within the City of Black Iron. Unlike the smaller black iron armors, the Black Emperor still retained a portion of its "energy"—a true power source capable of driving its movements. Unlike the lesser suits, the Black Emperor required a far more advanced energy source to function; ordinary magic simply wouldn't do.
Now ignited, the Black Emperor stood wreathed in a thin layer of black flames. Tom had been here for over a year, and he had long since fully digested the secrets hidden in this deepest chamber. Months ago, he had already mastered the research results. Whenever he found the time, he would assume an assigned identity to participate personally—silently, secretly reaching out to touch and tinker with the treasures stored here.
Ironically, despite being the last to arrive, Tom was the one who understood the black iron armors best. Even the lead scholar in charge of the research might not match his grasp of their nature.
Whether as Voldemort or as Tom, he shared one consistent trait: he never placed full trust in others. He relied on himself, especially in matters of great importance. He disliked entrusting tasks to others unless he was forced to by someone or something he deeply feared. After all, a man in pursuit of immortality would not take unnecessary risks.
The massive black iron giant did not roar—for if it could, the moment of its awakening would surely have been marked by a thunderous bellow. Yet as Harry stared at the now-living giant before him, he felt no fear, no tension. Instead, he brimmed with eager anticipation.
Big is strong! Big is beautiful!
That crude kind of aesthetic lives in many hearts, and Harry was no exception—he liked things big.
The ebony wand was already holstered, and the tiny figure standing before the giant's feet suddenly swelled and transformed in the blink of an eye!
An adult Thunderstorm Dragon typically stretches no more than seventy-seven feet—about twenty-three meters. Even fully extended, it wouldn't be able to reach the Black Emperor's knee. But now, having transformed into a dragon, Harry no longer appeared small and insignificant as he had before.
From a tiny sesame seed, he had transformed into a small bean, yet it seemed he couldn't escape the inevitable fate of being crushed under this giant's foot.
Needing time to familiarize himself with controlling the Black Emperor, Tom gave Harry a moment to adjust his form.
[Diiv Dragon]
[Zah Limit]
[Gaar Liberation]
As the dragon's roar unleashed these three awakening magic words without restraint, the thunderous lightning scattered like waves from the elongated body of the Thunderstorm Dragon!
As the lightning surged and formed a roiling current, this slender form began to expand geometrically!
At this moment, Harry, whose physical transformation was still incomplete, couldn't easily bear the enhancements provided by the awakening magic. The excruciating pain that coursed through his body made him howl in agony. Just then, the colossal black giant stirred.
The once-idle hands that hung by its sides were now raised high, fingers spread wide, before thrusting forward, as though it intended to grab the serpent-like body before it and rip it apart with brutal force!
In response, a long tail, crackling with blinding lightning, lashed out!
A brilliant arc of light flashed across the air, vanishing slowly after several seconds, the tail swipe moving so swiftly it created a sonic boom that reverberated through the vast underground space, like a furious thunder dragon howling at the sky. The violent thunderclap of its power resonated through the air.
Scales shattered, sending sparks of silver-blue blood flying, as the relatively fragile dragon form couldn't even fully withstand the force of its own strike.
The Black Emperor, struck across the waist, was sent soaring into the air, its feet lifting off the ground. The blow sent it flying nearly a hundred meters before it landed heavily, leaving a massive, deep dent in the solid black iron floor.
For a giant over four hundred meters tall, a hundred-meter distance was nothing more than a slip on the floor—an accidental stumble.
Tom had suffered a significant defeat at Harry's hands. Twice, he had been shoved down and pummeled by Harry's relentless punches to the head. While Harry couldn't match Voldemort in magic at the time, those two beatings were a reality. After arriving here, Tom had worked hard to overcome the lingering effects of that defeat. Gradually getting the hang of the controls, he instinctively applied the techniques he had recently practiced to dispel his fears.
"Nice job with the self-defense, Tom!"
However, in dragon form, Harry couldn't speak human language and only let out a roar. Tom's response was a brutal, dog-like lunge. While Voldemort hadn't studied too many combat spells, Tom had learned a variety of chaotic fighting moves from a skilled combat wizard in the department.
"Ugly or not, it doesn't matter as long as it works in a real fight."
That was the motto his 'combat teacher' always repeated. Perhaps because those moves were so ungainly, Tom soon lost interest in continuing his training. He didn't quite quit, but he definitely didn't see it through to the end.
But just as his teacher had said, whether pretty or ugly didn't matter—what counted was effectiveness in battle.
Tom, having taken a thunderous tail strike head-on, grabbed the slippery dragon tail. The Black Emperor's tightly clenched hands nearly crushed the dragon's scales as a dragon, nearly as tall as the Black Emperor, was swung in a half-circle, its body stretched taut before being flung to the ground with tremendous force!
"Boom—!"
The sudden surge of lightning caused a violent eruption, splashing molten iron several dozen meters high, the plasma-melted metal scattering like fireworks.
---
(End of Chapter)