I am presently at a quarter of my mana reserves. It has been about half an hour since I started powering the gate. The only reason that I have wasted so long is that I am waiting for the Aegis. They should already have been here. They can't make it here anymore.

  At least, I can't wait anymore. After all, I am going to need this mana for the fight now. A quarter of my mana is already pushing it. (My sword is at half its storage, by the way.) The dragon is also being oddly passive. It has completely stopped attacking us. I can't tell beyond that, though. The door of this place is covered with the runes that prevent my mana sense from penetrating the other side.

  Well, it is the same formations that are preventing the dragon from looking into the place. (The searcher is not exactly sure about the senses of a dragon, but she is sure that they have a sensitive mana sense.)

  Right now, I don't want the creature looking into the place for as long as possible. It might be able to guess what I plan to do if it could study the magic in the place. Then it won't be stepping into this place, even if we were to drag it in here.

  Well, powering those formations is another burden on my mana. Maybe that is why the creature has stopped attacking the door. It knows that I won't be able to hold out for long, maintaining this door. (That would mean the creature knows that I am powering the formations. Well, this is good since it will be underestimating me.)

  It could also have left the tunnel. It could be looking for another place to attack us. A less defended place that it can destroy sooner than the gate. After all, how long is it going to waste its time by attacking the door? If it were actually connected to its reservoir, this door would have lasted for days, if not for weeks.

  If the creature actually left the location that it is in, then we would have free access to the inner circle. Even if the creature somehow detects us in the inner circle, we will have left before the creature can reach us.

  That is why I am sure that the creature is standing on the other side, waiting patiently for us. Well, if I am honest, that is what I am counting on right now. The creature is just on the other side of the gate. If it doesn't charge into the room the moment that I stop the formations, then it is not likely to enter the place. Then all of my work here would be useless.

  Let's just say that I am laying a very obvious trap. That is part of the reason that I am delaying deactivating the formations for so long. After all, I am not actually sure if the creature falls for such an obvious trap. If it is smart enough it won't.

  I have been cursing John for his risky plan, but honestly speaking, I am taking a similar level of risk right now. Well, I have wasted enough time. Even now my body feels wired. Like I have drunk an entire litre of coffee. Even now, I can feel my head go through all the possibilities, seeing how exactly things can go wrong.

  Well, here I go about delaying things again. Well, as I have told you, I have already wasted enough time. Now is the time for me to enter into action. There is no more use in thinking.

  You would think that there would be some sign of me dropping the barrier on the door. After all, it has played such a vital role in our survival till now. Well, there is going to be no sign for us at least. The dragon will be detecting it soon.

  Once it does, though, the hope is that it will charge into the place. Even now, the other people of my group have begun to take their positions. You see, they are going to hide on either corner of the gate. (It is a bit of a tight fit, since the gate is so massive.)

  The moment that the dragon charges into the place, they are going to be running away. After all, the trap is of the variety that it will kill anybody who makes their way into the place.

  Only I have the survivability to ensure that I won't die. That is why it is my duty to ensure that the damn thing is triggered in the first place. Finally, the creature makes it move. Even as I am recording, the damn thing's claws are striking against the front gate of the door.

  This time, the creature finally damages the door. I can hear the stone give as the claws of the creature pass through the stone of the gate.

  Even as the door begins to break, I have begun to retreat. I have already begun to cycle the mana in my body, feeling it gets lighter. The sword is also on standby. The blood mana is going to flow into me the moment that the creature gets anywhere next to me.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The remaining members of my group are focused on hiding their mana. Right now, the more untraceable they are, the more beneficial it will be for me. After all, I need the creature focusing on me. The creature pokes its head into the room, even as I feel myself reach my peak performance. (I won't be maintaining this for long if the plan goes according to plan.)

  Even as the head appears, the door shatters with a massive thud. Whatever you have to say about the creature, you can certainly admit that it has a flair for the dramatic. There are many easier ways to enter the room.

  I finally will myself to look at the creature's eye. Even as I stare into its eye, I can feel a fear rise in my heart. Even as this fear hovers around me like a ghost of a thought, I stare into its eyes.

  Even as I look at it, something tells me that the creature is angry. It has always been used to make creatures cower in front of it. It has never seen a person like me who is able to look at it with such cold eyes. Well, I have a sinking suspicion that I am the reason that the creature has not left its position. After all, a creature like that must have a great deal of pride.

  There is no use thinking about it. After all, right now I have only one task, and the creature targeting me will make it significantly easier. We don't stop staring at each other as the creature finally takes a step into the place. I wonder for a second if it has noted the presence of the others. Thankfully, it keeps its eyes trained on me.

  Looking into its eye, I can see that the creature is looking at me with rage in its eyes. It is not enough for me to prevent it from studying the place as well. The room that we are in can be considered to be a large space. It is large enough that the dragon will be able to fit in it. It certainly won't be able to fight here, though. Let's just say the creature is large enough that it will barely be able to move in the place.

  It has come to the same conclusion as me on that front. Now, the question is whether the dragon is prideful enough that it will ignore this. I will have won half the battle if it does enter the place. That is why I stare at the creature, hoping against all odds that it will enter the place. That it finds enough challenge in my eyes that its ego is triggered. This triggered ego is big enough that it will ignore looking for traps.

  Well, I guess I could have put Anthony in my place. The man is infuriating enough that the dragon would have entered this place to gobble him up in an instant. The problem with that is that Anthony doesn't even have a fraction of my survivability. The man would have certainly died.

  Now, I am not going to claim that the man's death will bother me. The man has pissed me off too much for that to be the case. Still, I am the leader of this mission. I can't exactly plan to kill somebody now. By the way, while I have been blathering, the dragon seems to have decided that the room is safe.

  I have to urge myself from looking above as I activate the trap. There is no need to give the dragon any more clues than it already has. All it needs to do is look up, which I don't want it to do yet. That is why I just put my sword in front of me, as I get into a stance.

  It is a defensive stance that will allow me to retreat quickly. (I am not an idiot to try and fight the creature.) I just need to hold against it for five minutes. By that time, the trap will be fully prepared, and the creature will be dead.

  At least that is what was supposed to happen. It's mostly instinct that I jump back as the creature's claws whistle right next to my face. I can feel the sting as warm blood flows from the cuts on my face.

  Blood mana flows into me as the cuts stitch themselves. The creature is fully in the room, by the way, and the rest of my group has already disappeared through the door.

  The creature stops as it studies me again. I don't know what it is trying to do, but it gives me a moment to think. If it had kept up its barrage, I would have been in a worse position. Well, I realise what it is doing as a mixture of fire mana and death mana gathers in its mouth. It wants to throw dragonfire at me.

  I can see that it is calculating my location even as it gathers its mana. I completely stop myself from moving. Right now, being hasty will tip the creature off about where I plan to go. Then it will adjust its direction based on that.

  The only way that I can catch it off guard is after it activates its spell. That is why I take on a defensive stance, as if I am about to block its attack. At the same time, I am secretly concentrating my vital mana in my feet. The spell will be complete by the time it detects it.

  Finally, the dragonfire takes shape as the creature throws it at me. Even as the flames leave the creature, I charge at it, feeling the dragonfire's heat.

  Even as I slide under the creature's chest, my sword flashes, hitting it in its spine. The force of the strike should have been enough to break the creature's spine. It just sparks against the spine. Even as the sword strikes it, the creature screams with a scream that stops me in my path. Even as I feel myself paralysed, I realise that the creatures scream couldn't have been heard. It is a thing of the soul.

  This realisation doesn't help me, though, as I stand there paralysed. I can't do anything, even as the dragon falls on me, completely restricting my movement. The only reason that I am alive now is that the creature is only bone. There are gaps large enough to hold me in this creature.

  It is still enough to trap me, though, as the trap finally activates. A massive fireball erupts from the roof of this building as the roof collapses. The pieces of the ceiling collapse against the creature, and the world blacks out on me.