As Lucius, Isolde, and their companions fled, the battle against the dragon grew increasingly brutal, especially for those beginning to falter.
From a distance, Erika fired her rifle, channeling every ounce of mana she could muster to shatter the dragon's scales. She darted from structure to structure, evading the beast's gaze… or preventing it from destroying more than it already had.
The dragon unleashed a lightning bolt at the ground. The explosion rocked the battlefield, sending several guards flying. Floiyo was hurled by the blast, crashing into Erika before slamming into a wall.
"Agh!" Erika groaned, catching her in her arms. "Lady Floiyo, are you okay?" she asked, breathless.
Floiyo staggered to her feet, trembling.
"Yes… I'm fine. Can you distract it while I prepare a spell?" she asked, standing with effort.
Her arm was bleeding, her skin so pale she looked on the verge of collapse.
"I can… but only for a few seconds," Erika replied, rising again.
"Seven will do."
Erika shot toward the dragon like a bolt of lightning. She drew her sword and drove it into the beast's neck. The dragon roared, thrashing furiously, crushing structures around it. Erika gripped the blade tightly, then tore off a scale with her free hand, using it as a hold to climb its back.
The dragon spread its wings. Its neck glowed with lightning, and a roar echoed across the field. Clouds swirled in the sky, drawing down bolts that surged into its maw.
A gust of wind forced Erika to lose her grip. She was dragged toward the tail but managed to cling to a scale. Reinforcing her body with mana, she hardened herself and began climbing again, hands clenched, muscles trembling.
A brilliant blue light illuminated the field from the left. Floiyo was ready, her hands raised to the sky.
"This should at least weaken it," she said, slamming her arms down.
From the heavens, a bolt descended like divine judgment, striking the dragon's head full force.
The thunder was deafening. Erika was flung off, her body crashing into a wall.
The dragon roared in pain, unleashing the stored power in its mouth. A whirlwind of lightning erupted, spinning furiously, dragging debris, guards, and lifeless bodies in its wake.
Rain began to fall violently, accompanied by hail.
Then, a bullet sliced through the air, piercing the vortex. Upon hitting a lightning bolt, it exploded with tremendous force. The shockwave obliterated everything nearby.
It was Leo's shot, the king, who had been silently preparing for a precise strike. The explosion sent him and Alicia, whom he held, crashing into a wall.
"Alicia, my daughter, are you okay?" he asked, holding her tightly.
"Y-yes…" Alicia murmured, dazed.
"Damn it…" Leo stood, still carrying her. He spotted a staggering guard and ran to him. "Please, take her far from here. Protect her."
"But, sire… you…"
"It doesn't matter. They need me here until Master Elias arrives."
The guard nodded, taking Alicia, who barely reacted, still clinging to the image of her father. Moments later, she fainted in his arms.
"I'll protect her with my life," the guard vowed, running in the opposite direction of the chaos.
Leo turned, scanning the rubble.
"Erika! Lady Floiyo!" he shouted, desperate.
In the distance, some debris shifted. He ran toward it, digging with his hands until Floiyo's bloodied, panting form emerged.
"Lady Floiyo…" Leo murmured, helping her up.
"I'm fine… I can heal myself. But Erika… she was too close to the explosion's core," Floiyo said, coughing with difficulty.
Leo searched every direction for any sign of Erika. He left Floiyo and ran, calling her name.
Then, the dragon's growl rumbled behind him. Leo froze, turning slowly. The beast was still standing, unsteady but recovering.
It shook its head and charged, roaring. Leo stood firm, enduring the pressure. Then the gust stopped.
And Erika appeared. Bleeding, exhausted, barely standing.
Two shadows descended from the sky: Frederic and Elias.
Floiyo approached, already healed. Elias knelt beside Erika, who began healing herself… and Elias.
Frederic drew his sword, infusing it with mana. The blade glowed.
"This reminds me of the battle ten years ago…" Frederic muttered, aiming at the dragon's eye, as if already signing its death warrant. "Just missing that idiot Reginald."
"We can't blame him," Floiyo replied, picking up a shotgun from the ground. "He's got the kids of the two most powerful. Plus, his nephew and the son of the Niflheimr mountain hunter are with him."
"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Elias asked, approaching Leo with a furrowed brow.
"I'm fine," Leo replied firmly. "And no need to call me 'Your Majesty' right now. I'm just another warrior defending the kingdom. Like old times."
Elias smiled nostalgically, though his expression turned serious instantly.
"And the princess?"
"I sent her away with a guard."
"I see…"
"So…" Erika said, standing beside Elias as she loaded her rifle. "What's the plan?"
"The scales are too tough for bullets. But I see some are torn off, so I assume that's your work, dear," Elias said with a crooked smile. "All we can do is fight it hand-to-hand."
"You want to fistfight that thing?" Frederic snapped, incredulous.
"Got a better plan?"
Frederic clicked his tongue, resigned.
"Fine. Just try not to break your hand."
The dragon roared with fury. It had fully recovered.
"Time to end this damn beast," Elias declared.
He charged straight at the monster, striking one of its legs, destabilizing it. Erika seized the moment to fire at its chest, splintering a scale. Frederic descended with his sword, slicing a leg with brutal speed. Floiyo, using magic, hurled rocks at the dragon's face, while Leo joined Elias, hammering the legs with raw strength.
"If we make it fall, we can pierce its heart more easily!" Elias shouted.
Frederic leaped, landing on the dragon's back. With near-invisible speed, he made multiple cuts, blood gushing in torrents. The dragon roared, raised its wings, and spun violently, kicking Leo and Elias, sending them flying.
Then it unleashed lightning. Erika and Floiyo were hit full force, collapsing. But Frederic clung on, slashing relentlessly.
Then the dragon did something unexpected.
It roared with deafening force and shot upward vertically. At a certain height, it flipped and dove, aiming to crash with its back.
"Frederic!" Elias shouted, launching upward.
He focused all his strength into a single blow, striking the dragon's back, halting its fall momentarily. But the dragon pressed with its wings, pushing violently. Elias resisted but began to falter.
Frederic jumped off in time. Elias darted to the dragon's snout, pushing it downward to accelerate the fall.
Floiyo summoned a lightning bolt that altered its trajectory. Erika leaped, punching the dragon's stomach. Leo, with all his might, hurled a massive rock at one wing, unbalancing it. Frederic tensed his muscles, throwing his sword like a spear, piercing the other wing.
Elias struck the dragon's nose with fury. Erika mirrored him from below. The dragon began to plummet.
But in a final roar, lightning lashed from the sky like whips, striking Erika and Elias, hurling them away.
Frederic ran to retrieve his sword. Leo threw another rock, and Floiyo began channeling a spell. One hand to the sky, the other on her chest, she closed her eyes. The rain intensified. In the clouds, lightning writhed like golden serpents.
Floiyo slammed her hand down. A barrage of lightning crashed onto the dragon, slamming it to the ground. But it retaliated: it roared, summoning its own bolt, focusing it into a single point and firing it at the ground.
The explosion was catastrophic. A gust swept everything away. Elias anchored himself with his sword. Erika did the same. But the others were flung back.
"Hand-to-hand it is…" Elias muttered, charging at the dragon. His fist smashed into its face, forcing it back.
Erika charged too, grabbing a fallen sword, leaping, and plunging it into one of the dragon's eyes. The beast roared, seizing Elias in its jaws and taking flight.
Elias gripped with both hands, fighting to avoid being swallowed. The dragon flew furiously, crashing into structures, diving violently.
Suddenly, Erika fell from the sky like a meteor, striking the dragon's back and forcing an even sharper descent.
"Let him go, you bastard!" Erika screamed, landing more blows.
The dragon howled, accelerating. It began spinning on its axis as it flew across the kingdom, creating a vortex from head to tail.
Erika clung with all her being. The spin was so violent it swept up debris, fire, and lightning. The dragon opened its jaws wider, trapping Elias between its fangs. He fought to keep the jaws apart as the beast tried to crush him.
Erika stood firm, using magic. Raising one hand, channeling all her strength, mana, and energy, she lifted an enormous rock… or rather, an entire structure. She leaped, hurling it with brutal force at the dragon, forcing it to crash.
The dragon's body skidded across the ground at high speed, carving trenches in its wake. Elias turned his head to the right, looking for a chance to break free. But what he saw froze him. Time slowed.
Isolde stood motionless in his field of vision. Lucius was trying to help her. Reginald fought alongside Gareth and Leonard.
Something had happened.
Elias snapped back, forcing the dragon's jaws open. He leaped free as the dragon continued skidding… until it stopped.
But just before—while Lucius and Isolde ran—something else occurred.
A group of hooded figures blocked their path.
"Damn it," Reginald muttered, halting abruptly. "You can fight, right?"
"Yes," Lucius replied, stopping beside him.
The figures said nothing. They simply attacked.
Lucius leaped back. Isolde, swift, struck one hooded figure in the stomach. Reginald charged two at once, delivering merciless blows. Gareth and Leonard were intercepted by four others.
"What the hell do they want from us?" Gareth growled, dodging a flurry of strikes.
Lucius countered the enemy before him, grabbing their arm and slamming them to the ground. Isolde followed with a punch straight to their face.
Reginald grabbed the heads of his two opponents and smashed them together.
"We'd better keep moving," he said, panting. "It's possible—"
He didn't finish. More figures appeared suddenly, armed with swords. One tried to slash Lucius, but Isolde pulled him back just in time.
Lucius drew his weapon and fired at the attacker's leg, missing. The distraction worked: Isolde seized the moment and struck the figure's face with full force.
Leonard raised his crossbow and fired, hitting one hooded figure in the arm. Gareth hurled a rock that smashed into another's head.
But more kept coming. Faster. Two lunged at Lucius and Isolde, swinging consecutive slashes the twins barely dodged. They were exhausted. Isolde still had mana and Syrix, but Lucius didn't.
The enemies' swords struck a log as the twins dodged in unison. Seizing the moment, they countered, knocking out their attackers.
Leonard tackled another figure, downing them with one blow. But they kept coming. More and more. Until thunder rumbled in the distance.
"We have to go now!" Reginald shouted, unleashing a magical wave that sent nearby enemies flying. Lucius and Isolde began to run, their legs barely responding.
Gareth used earth magic, raising a wall to block the path. Leonard positioned himself beside Reginald, crossbow ready to stop anyone who dared approach.
But the figures leaped over, charging straight at Lucius and Isolde.
Lucius reacted instantly, pushing Isolde aside and dodging a slash. But another enemy appeared behind him. The sword descended.
Isolde reacted.
Time froze in her mind.
The sword, Lucius's back, her shotgun. She had mana. She had to act.
Without thinking, she raised her weapon and fired.
The roar of the shot echoed. The enemy's head exploded into pieces.
Blood splattered across both twins' faces. Isolde froze.
Reginald turned. Leonard and Gareth too. Everyone stood still.
"W-what… did I do?" Isolde whispered, motionless, staring at the mangled body before her.
"We have to go," Lucius said, nervous, trying to pull her away before her gaze locked onto the horror.
"I… Lucy… I…"
"Issy, we have to go. You had no choice. Don't let guilt consume you."
The wind began to howl furiously. In the distance, everything was swept away by the dragon's massive body. But Isolde remained frozen.
She knelt, her bloodstained hands raised. She stared at them. Began to tremble.
Reginald approached. The remaining figures tried to attack, but he repelled them with a magical strike.
"Lucius, we need to move," Reginald said, glancing at the corpse.
"But Issy…" Lucius whispered, trembling, searching for the right words.
"I'll handle her. In this state… she can't keep going."
Reginald lifted her in his arms. Isolde said nothing. She was lost in an internal sea.
Lucius, too, was lost.
Lost in his thoughts. Thinking of how to save his sister from the weight of a trauma they could no longer avoid.