To most of the soldiers, it was as though an angel had descended upon them.

Yennefer’s silver hair was glowing in the sun, her golden staff held high with unparalleled grace.

But even as she had defended them, she was not invincible. A drop of sweat glided down her cheek. She had obviously been strained by that attack.

"Brave Heart." She whispered as though it were a song, and suddenly all the knights and mages that had been on the floor, terrified, shot up to their feet, filled with renewed vigour.

Even the grand marshal could feel the effects of the spell.

Her colder companion, the one with fiery red hair stepped forward. Her eyes which were normally green were now a fierce gold, as though touched by divinity, and each step carried more weight than they should have.

"Please step back, Marshal." She said calmly, and then her aura flared.

All around her, vortexes of light appeared in the air, and out of them came hundreds of arrows, so many projectiles that put even their ballistics to shame.

Meanwhile, Warren was observing everything calmly by the side. ’So these are the elven lord’s people?’ He thought.

Although he doubted that any of them could defeat him in a duel, he could not help but be in awe of their abilities.

If they were this good, then how much of a monster would their master be?

***

VWOOOSH!

The arrows of light cut through the sky with a loud whistle, racing towards the dragon’s colossal form. It flew higher, rushing back into the sky, but the arrows followed it, Artie controlling them from where she stood.

Some arrows scratched its scales, creating sparks but failing to do any significant damage, but a number of them pierced through, drawing blood.

The dragon let out a high pitched, blood curdling screech. They had made it angry.

Fire balls appeared in the air around it, and then just as Artie launched her next barrage, the dragon launched its own.

Both of them met each other, flashing in the sky just before exploding.

"Lady Yen, wizard Artie, Sir Ash. Please permit my selfish request, but can you handle things here?" Reginald asked. "We will meet the dragon in the sky."

They nodded. "Do what you must Marshal." Ash said, drawing his sword. There is little I can do in the sky, but if the dragon ever comes close, I’ll defend this place with my life."

Reginald nodded, and then he suddenly blasted into the sky, a ghust of wind propelling him upward.

His brother flew by his side, dark wings had surged from his back and were fluttering to keep him afloat. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Like old days, eh?" Warren gave a rare smirk.

Reginald sighed. "Lile old days, brother."

Clang!

Once they approached, Reginald swung his blade, catching the dragon’s terrible claws.

He was launched back from the force behind its attack, but before the dragon could capitalize on it, shadow spikes created a separation between them, courtesy of Warren.

The dragon tore the shadows apart with its claws, snarling at both of them. The heat behind it was so much that Reginald felt his skin burn...

And then the fire came—!

Swoosh!

Reginald’s eyes widened as he created a wall of wind, but to his surprise, a shield surrounded him and his brother, the fire rushing harmlessly past them.

He glanced down to see Yen looking at them from far below. ’She can cast from this far away?’

Golden arrows as well as a wave of ballistic projectiles rushed through the skies. Reginald and his brother placed their feet together, then launched themselves away from the attack path, the projectiles crashing into the dragon with a bang!

The dragon shook its head, dazed by the blast, but when it opened its eyes, Reginald and Warren were at both its sides.

Swish!

Blood streaked through the air as both their attacks met the beast, digging into its thick scales.

’Yes! Finally some real damage!’ Reginal thought. "Go for the wings brother, let’s send this beast out of the sky—"

Before he could complete his sentence, Reginald suddenly felt a wave of heat. Instinctively, he raised his arms, shielding himself with wind, just as lava exploded outwards, right out of the dragon’s scales!

He and his brother were blown back by the attack, the magma melting his skin.

"Argh!" Reginald stifled a scream as excruciating pain filled his arm. He hurriedly shook off the fire, but just as he was trying to reorient himself, the dragon’s tail lashed out at him, launching him down from above.

It felt as though his ribs had been compressed, his lungs were screaming, and so was every part of his body.

Reginald barely had time to protect himself, but luckily for him, he was once again saved by Yen’s shield. She managed to break his fall, right before he crashed into the hard concrete floor.

"You bastard!" Warren screamed, losing his composure. The shadows around him got thicker, his mana jutting out of him like spikes.

He unleashed a flurry of blows, shadows dancing with fire as they painted a canvas in the sky, but one mistake was all it took for him to be sent down to the floor.

And with the brothers gone, the dragon turned its sights to the mosquitos that had been stinging it throughout the battle.

This time, it did go for the shield. It slashed towards them, and the world was parted with a rush of flames.

The battlements were sliced apart, sending dozens of soldiers falling from the sky.

Yennefer had no choice but to dismiss her shield as she floated above the ground, managing to stop a lot of people from sustaining terrible injuries.

Artie on the other hand managed to land without any major injury. But after so many attacks, she was now running low on mana, the spell... it had been far more draining than she had expected.

And then just as she were rising from the rubble—

BANG!

The dragon descended, its claws digging into the stone.

It stared right at Artie, its large eyes gleaming with inhuman intelligence, the heat around it so strong that Artie felt her skin sting.

This close, she forgot to breathe, move, or even think.

’What is wrong with me? Why can’t I move?!’ This was not regular fear, it took a second for her to realise what it actually was...

Bloodlust, one so powerful that it overwhelmed her senses.

The dragon opened its jaws and screeched so loudly that Artie lost her hearing. It raised its claws, ready to crush her to mush, when it suddenly paused.

It... hesitated?

"Get away from her!" Ash screamed, rushing towards the dragon like a mad man, but in the face of such a terrifying beast, his efforts were put to waste.

Bang!

He blocked the first strike, his muscles tensing, teeth gritted as he pushed his sword against the dragon’s tail. With much effort, he defected it, his sword digging into its scales.

"Arghhhh!" His mana flared, his hair floating in the wind as he activated [r

Rage].

But the dragon answers with infernal flames, heat so great that Ash’s shield of mana was overwhelmed.

The dragon’s tail came crashing into him, he held for a few seconds, just before his steaming body was sent flying right into a nearby building.

"Ash!" Artie cried out.

VWOOOSH!

Ariel soared above them, sending waves of wind crashing into the dragon’s thick back, only to do zero damage.

Artie managed to pull out her sword, taking in a sharp breath as she rushed at the monster.

"You will die for this!!"

The dragon shoved her to the side as though she was not worth its time. But when Artie saw what it was after, a cold chill ran down her spine.

Yennefer was pulling one of the knights out of the debris when the dragon blew a gust of hot steam on her back.

"No, Yen, get away!!" Artie got up, sending arrows of light flying in the dragon’s direction.

But she was far too late...

Just as Yennefer turned around, her eyes went wide, as she was face to face with the massive beast—

The dragon opened its massive maw, its razor-like tear gleaming in the sunlight...

Chump!

Artie could not bear to look, as her friend was swallowed whole.

A thick, depressing atmosphere immediately descend upon the battlefield, an utter feeling of hopelessness that could not be quantified.

The knights were staring up at the dragon, afraid to even breathe. Ash was unconcious, Ariel was not strong enough to do any real damage...

The grand marshal was staring at the dragon, his eyes wide in shock. Yennefer had saved them countless times today, and yet out of everyone, she had been the first person to die.

How cruel could fate be?

’I must avenge her death.’ He thought, forcing his shaking body to rise.

"Stand up, Stand up! Stand up!!!" He screamed, his muscles sending warning signals to his brain. At the end of the day, he fell sideways, unable to do anything but watch.

Artie was on her knees, wiping the tears that were rolling out of her eyes.

"Eliron... where are you?"

A dragon, it was just too much. Even a Grand mage would fail in a one on one confrontation.

A large shadow was suddenly cast over her, and when she looked up, her eyes widened.

Eliron was standing next to her, but he looked very different than she remembered. It was as though the mana around him clinged tighter, embracing him like he was their own.

And standing next to him was Tsukiko, only that she was far larger, even taller than Eliron.

Nine tails that looked as though they were made of blue fire, were waving behind her massive form, a thick, violent mana surging around her body as she bared her fangs at the dragon.

Eliron stared down at Artie, wiping the tears off her cheeks. "Where is Yen?"

When she did not answer, a suffocating atmosphere descended, one that caused even the dragon to take a step back...