Xaiver’s eyes narrowed as he raised his sword, green mana swirling fiercely around him, and with a swift motion, brought it down toward Alexei’s neck.
As the blade descended, time seemed to slow for Alexei. He could feel the sharp edge nearing him, the end approaching. In those final moments, a thought surfaced, one that weighed heavier than all his wounds, heavier than any defeat.
‘I’m sorry, my Liege…’
‘In the end, I couldn’t fulfill my promise…’
A flash of sorrow appeared in his flame-blue eyes, but he remained calm, accepting his fate. Xaiver’s sword struck, cleaving through with ease, following trough Xaiver then plunged his sword through Alexei’s chest, shattering his core.
As Alexei’s skull fell and rolled some inches away, a heavy silence followed, his flame-blue eyes dimming as his last thought faded into the void.
Xaiver exhaled, his grip loosening on his own sword as he looked down at Alexei’s remains. “Well, that’s that…”
“Time to head back to the others.”
He was about to walk away, but then he paused to gaze into the distance, “I just hope the porters with the subspace talent made it. Carrying all this back without them would be a nightmare.”
Just as he turned to leave, something caught his eye: Alexei’s sword, lying in the rubble beside him. The memory of its edge slicing cleanly through his armor flashed in his mind.
Curiosity and a sense of opportunity took over. Xaiver walked over, bending down to pick it up. The moment his hand wrapped around the hilt, he felt the weight of the blade settle in his grip.
“Damn…”
“Heavier than I thought.” He hefted the sword, adjusting to its balance, a faint look of respect appearing in his gaze as he began to consider the weapon’s potential.
Xaiver examined the sword more closely, saying to himself, “This thing… it’s definitely made from dragon scales. But, unlike that cracked-up armor this monster had on his body, this is in almost pristine condition,” he noted, running his fingers along the hilt and edge, feeling the almost indestructible texture beneath his hand.
“Not that I’m a fan of heavy gear,” he said as he adjusted to the weight in his grip, “and I doubt any of the other team leaders would want to lug this around either. Wonder what it’d go for at auction… Dragon gear’s bound to fetch a fortune.”
Suddenly, a deafening BOOM echoed in the distance, snapping Xaiver out of his thoughts. His head whipped around to the source of the explosion-it was coming from the direction where the other guild members were battling the bone dragon. His eyes widened as he took in the rising plumes of dust and smoke.
“Crap!” he cursed, clutching the dragon-forged sword tightly. “I almost forgot about the rest of the team.” He clenched his jaw, already imagining Guildmaster Anya’s reaction to the casualties that happened under his leadership. “Damn it. She’s definitely not going to be happy about this.”
Without another thought, he turned and sprinted toward the explosion with a burst of speed that left cracks rippling through the earth….
Karl grinned, a look of excitement igniting in his eyes. “I can do it! Just give me a moment.” He planted his feet wide and hefted his massive hammer, its head glinting in the dim light.
“Here’s the plan: I’ll make a massive swing with my hammer towards you, but I won’t actually land the hit. Right before it loses momentum, you close in and leap off it, and that should send you flying straight toward the dragon’s core. You just need to aim true from there, Chase!”
Chase stared at Karl, both impressed and terrified by the reckless idea. “You really think you can get enough momentum?”
“Trust me. I can swing this thing hard enough to send a boulder flying. You just need to focus on jumping at the right moment. We’ll make this work.”
Derek nodded, his expression serious. “Just make sure you time it perfectly, Karl. We don’t want Chase to end up as dragon food.”
Mia stepped closer, as she spoke, “We’ll create a distraction. If we keep the undead busy, you can concentrate on the swing.”
Chase took a deep breath, steeling himself. “Alright, just make sure you don’t miss. I don’t want to be a projectile going anywhere but straight into that core.”
Karl laughed, the sound echoing against the backdrop of clashing steel and rattling bones. “No pressure, right? Let’s do this!”
As they rallied the others to create a diversion, Chase positioned himself behind Karl, ready to launch himself into the air. With the undead closing in, Mia and Derek went on the offensive, drawing the attention of the skeletal minions, allowing Karl to prepare for his powerful swing.
With a fierce battle cry, Karl swung his hammer with all his strength, the air whistling around him as the massive weapon swung towards Chase. Chase could feel the power coursing
through the air.
“Now!” Karl shouted.
Chase crouched low, timing his leap perfectly as he propelled himself to momentarily stand on the head of the hammer just before it lost its momentum.
Feeling his muscles tense under the weight, Karl didn’t stop and made the full swing.
The world seemed to slow as Chase was sent soaring through the air, the bone dragon’s core growing closer with each passing moment.
He focused intently on the target, intending to throw his attack on the crack that was already in the core.
‘Here goes nothing,’ Chase thought, reaching out as ice began building in his hand, the air around him growing colder.
As Chase swiftly approached the bone dragon, he could suddenly feel the intensity of its gaze locking onto him.
The massive creature’s eye sockets glowed as it noticed him, a glimmer in the flames sent a shiver down his spine.
‘Crap, it has noticed me.’
The air suddenly became tense as the dragon opened its maw. The sight of the dragon’s mouth widening seemed to freeze time for a heartbeat.
His teammates, witnessing the dragon’s actions, felt the weight of fear pressing down on them. Derek’s fists clenched, and Mia’s breath caught in her throat.
Then it happened: the dragon let out a deafening roar, a sound that shook the very ground beneath their feet.
In the next instant, brilliant blue flames erupted from its massive maw, engulfing the air in a blinding flash of heat and light.
Chase’s heart raced as he instinctively shifted to defend his life. He conjured a massive ice shield in front of him.
As the flames raged toward him, Chase could feel the searing intensity building up, almost scorching his back that was not even facing the flames, forcing him to encase himself in a protective ice cocoon in midair. He focused, pouring his mana into the shield, hoping to withstand the dragon’s inferno.
The flames were so intense it kept him airborne.
However, as the flames raged, he could feel his mana depleting rapidly. The ice cocoon shivered and cracked under the intensity of the heat, and he began to panic.
‘Damn it! This is bad… I’m using too much mana… I can’t keep this up.’
The world around him blurred, the roar of the dragon drowning out everything else as dizziness overtook him.