Turning his gaze to Draven, Alister commanded, “The humans here are under my protection… ensure no harm comes to them, Draven.”
Draven’s purple eyes widened slightly in shock. “Me? My lord, why must I… why not another?”
“Because you’re the best at protecting others,” Alister replied bluntly, his eyes narrowing with a warm smile.
Draven looked disappointed, mumbling in a low tone, “I wish to fight by your side, my lord… Not babysit some humans.”
Alister’s gaze softened for a moment. “You’ll fight when the time comes. For now, trust in my judgment.”
As Draven bowed his head in acceptance, Alister turned back to the group. “I’m going ahead. I’ll deal with the boss monster myself. You all can clean up the rest.”
Before anyone could respond, Anzo’s figure began to glow faintly, his mana surging outward. Without a word, he lifted off the ground, propelled by his telekinesis talent. Hovering in the air with a smug grin, he said, “I don’t need protection, Alister. And as for the boss monster…” He pointed at himself confidently. “That’s mine.”
Axel groaned, his palm meeting his face. “Here we go…”
Blitz smirked, flipping a dagger in her hand. “Guess we’re watching a contest now.”
Cinder’s fiery voice rang out. “Are you trying to steal our lord’s prey, human?” she yelled, her tone sharp. Her crimson eyes flared with intensity as she took a step forward, glaring daggers at him.
Mar’Garet, who already seemed on the brink of exploding, clenched her fists tightly, her aura flaring dangerously. Her black armor gleamed ominously as a rift tore open beside her.
Reaching in, she pulled out her spear, its edge shimmering with her crimson mana. She pointed it directly at Anzo, her voice low and intense. “Disregard my lord’s orders again, and I’ll reduce you to nothing.”
Anzo froze, his smugness vanishing as he stammered. “W-wait, I didn’t mean-”
“Enough,” Alister interrupted. His gaze shifted from Cinder to Mar’Garet. “Calm yourselves. There’s no need for this.”
Mar’Garet reluctantly lowered her spear, though her glare lingered on Anzo, while Cinder crossed her arms, huffing but stepping back.
Alister then turned his piercing gaze to Anzo. “So,” he said with a faint smirk, “you want to defeat the boss monster, do you?”
Anzo, still shaken, straightened himself and nodded hesitantly. “Y-yeah,” he stammered, his voice lacking its usual confidence as he glanced nervously at Mar’Garet and Cinder.
Alister’s smirk widened slightly. “You can,” he said evenly, “but only if you’re the first one to get there.”
Anzo blinked, confused. “What? What do you mean?”
Before he could ask further, Alister’s scales began to ripple across his arm, forming a black gauntlet. He raised it slightly, the air around him distorting with his mana. His yellow eyes locked on Anzo’s.
Anzo couldn’t resist asking, “What’s up with the claws and scales? You turning into or something?”
Alister smiled, “I can use the abilities of my summons, perks of being SSS.”
“That aside, I’ll see you there.”
monster
Anzo stood there, stunned, before a competitive grin appeared on his face. “Oh, it’s on!”
Blitz snickered, nudging Axel. “Guess the race is on.”
Axel groaned, shaking his head. “I swear, every time we go on a mission, someone has to make it a competition.”
“Even back with team leader Ren.”
Anzo looked down at Alister as he hovered above, grinning as he was about to make a remark. “I’d love to see how you would-”
Before he could finish, the ground rumbled, and a massive steel-skinned wyvern gleaming metallic scales stepped forward, lowering its head respectfully before Alister.
Alister leapt onto its head, steadying himself as the beast let out a powerful roar.
With a mighty beat of its wings, the wyvern surged into the sky, a burst of speed and force propelling it high above the battlefield, instantly leaving Anzo far behind.
Anzo whirled around and stared in shock, his mouth hanging open. “The hell? How is that even possible? Hey! That’s cheating!”
He shouted, pointing at Alister as he pushed himself forward with his telekinesis, struggling to keep up.
High above, Alister stood on the wyvern’s head, his hair whipping wildly in the wind as he glanced back at Anzo with an amused smile.
“Since when is a Summoner not expected to rely on their summon?”
The wyvern’s powerful wings beat the wind with amazing force, each stroke pushing them farther and faster through the skies. The sheer force of the gusts generated by its wings made it impossible for Anzo to close the gap, no matter how hard he tried.
“Ugh! You may be ahead, but don’t think for a moment that it’s over!” Anzo yelled to Alister, gritting his teeth as he strained to push harder.
Despite his best efforts, the distance only grew wider, the wyvern’s speed was unmatched.
Far in the distance, Alister’s dragon eyes looked far ahead toward the boss monster’s location, what appeared to be a massive ruined Colosseum. His smirk widened slightly. “You’ll have to do better than that if you want to win, Anzo,” he said to him over his shoulder as he and the wyvern soared effortlessly toward their goal.
Anzo felt a vein throb on the side of his forehead as he yelled, “Dammmmmn it!”
Alister and Anzo soared high above the battlefield, the wind whipping through the air as they glided effortlessly.
Meanwhile, back on the ground…
“I feel like burning that human alive,” Cinder mumbled, her crimson eyes narrowing with irritation as she watched the retreating form of Anzo.
Mar’Garet shared Cinder’s dissatisfaction. “I don’t like how insolent he is. Makes me feel like
slicing him up.”
Cinder shot a glance at her. “He will pay for his insolence… but not today.”
Terra, standing tall and calm despite the bubbling chaos around them, called out to Cinder, “Since our lord has gone on his hunt, you are in charge. Perform your duties.”
Cinder’s eyes flicked to Terra, a brief moment of acknowledgment passing between them. She then looked to the others, her gaze hardening as she surveyed the wyverns already in the air, tearing through Naga after Naga, their savage attacks leaving trails of blood and smoke in
their wake.
She redirected her gaze to the group. “I’m sure I don’t need to explain what we need to do,
no?”
Terra smiled, then said, “You’re right. Let’s proceed.”
Cinder’s intense gaze shifted to Axel and the other humans, her eyes narrowing slightly as she addressed them, her tone cold.
“Humans…”
“…do not disappoint my lord.” Her words made the air feel heavy, making it feel more like a
threat than a suggestion.
Axel and Blitz exchanged smirks, unfazed by Cinder’s intensity. Together, they responded,
“Yes, ma’am.”
Cinder nodded once, her expression softening, though only slightly. “Alright then.” She raised her hand, and tiny balls of flame began to hover around her, swirling.
With a flex of her fingers, the flames grew in size, a deep red flame crest appeared on her forehead, glowing brightly, and her eyes shone with the intensity of the fire she controlled. Sand began to swirl around Terra, forming patterns as her crest flared on the back of her
hands.
Draven reached out with his right hand, the lighting crest on the back of his palm flashing to life. His fingers curled, and a sword emerged from a rift in space, he pulled it with a burst of speed, causing a gust of wind, crackling with violent electricity as he tightened his grip. Alzuring stood with his bow in hand, his eyes gleaming with battle lust as he spoke, “I believe we should make quick work of all the monsters, so we can rush over to watch the young lord’s
match.”