Meanwhile…
The battle raged on as the remaining Nagas lunged forward, their hissing cries echoing in the misty air. Lila swung her glowing blue sword, parrying the strikes of a particularly fierce Naga. Her heart raced as she dodged its blows, but her body quivered under the mounting pressure.
The Naga snarled and lashed out with its tail, striking Lila square in the side. She cried out as the force sent her flying backward, landing hard in the mud. Her sword fell from her grasp, splattering into the muck beside her.
The Naga advanced, its jagged trident raised high for the finishing blow. Lila’s breath hitched as she flinched, her hands rising instinctively to shield herself.
SCHLUNK!
The sound of steel piercing flesh echoed loudly. Lila opened her eyes to see the Naga’s body go rigid, a sword protruding from its abdomen. The creature gurgled, its trident slipping from its claws before the sword was suddenly pulled out, green blood splattering her face as the Naga collapsed lifelessly into the mud.
Standing behind it was Draven, his blade crackling faintly with residual lightning. He looked down at her, his expression unreadable.
“We’re done here,” Draven said flatly. A rift appeared, and he plunged his sword into it. “Follow the others. Let’s go meet up with my lord.”
Lila blinked, still catching her breath. “You mean… Alister?” she asked softly.
Draven gave her a curt nod before vanishing in a blur of motion, leaving only the faint crackle of electricity in his wake.
Lila sat up slowly, her gaze falling to the Naga’s corpse before her. Her hands trembled as she retrieved her sword, staring at its bloodied blade. Four. That was the number of monsters she had managed to kill in the entire raid… far fewer than anyone else.
The weight of inadequacy pressed on her as she stood. “Is this all I can manage?” she whispered to herself, her grip tightening on her weapon as her thoughts trailed off.
“Lila!” Beatrice’s voice broke through her thoughts. She stood a few paces ahead, her hammer resting on her shoulder as she looked back. “Come on, we’re regrouping!”
Lila snapped out of her thoughts, nodding quickly. “I’m coming!” she called back, jogging to catch up with the others.
As they moved forward, Lila stole one last glance at the fallen Naga. A small feeling of resolve welled up inside her. ‘Next time, I won’t need someone to save me.’
The battlefield was filled with scorched earth and churned mud, littered with the remains of the fallen Nagas. The heat was intense as Cinder unleashed another torrent of flame from her palm, her flames engulfing the last writhing serpent in a searing inferno.
The creature’s agonized hisses were drowned out by the roar of the fire as it burned to ash, leaving only charred fragments behind.
Standing a few paces away, Terra moved gracefully, her fingers curling as she summoned massive pillars of hardened sand spikes from the ground. The earth shook under her control, and jagged spikes shot upward, impaling the final remnants of the enemy forces that dared to crawl forward. The ground settled with a heavy THUD as the last Naga fell silent.
“We’re done here,” Terra said, brushing a streak of mud from her cheek as she looked around the battlefield.
Cinder stepped forward, closing her hand as she extinguished the flames dancing around her palm. “About time,” she said, casting a glance toward Terra.
“Now we can finally catch up with our lord.”
Terra nodded, “Agreed. The others might already be there by now.”
With that, the two of them began to make their way to the Colosseum as well.
Mar’Garet strolled leisurely through the dense mist, a haunting melody humming from her lips as her boots crushed the damp, uneven ground beneath her.
Her blood-red spear rested casually across her shoulder, swaying slightly with each step. The crumbled remnants of the Colosseum stood ahead.
She paused briefly, her crimson eyes narrowing as she took in the sight. The Colosseum looked worse than she’d imagined… its stone pillars lay fractured, debris littering the ground like discarded bones.
“Hmm,” she mused, tilting her head. “This is certainly quite the mess. As expected of my lord.”
As she stepped closer, the distant sound of battle reached her ears… clashes of steel, roars, and the occasional boom of an explosive strike.
Her smirk widened.
“My lord must still be playing with his prey. He had a habit of always doing that back then,” she smiled, her voice filled with amusement.
Just as she reached the outer ring of the Colosseum, a sudden yell reached her ears.
“Hey, look out!”
It was Anzo’s voice, sounding strained as it echoed loudly.
Mar’Garet’s dragon pupils instantly focused, her thoughts racing in those split seconds. ‘Is my lord in danger?’
She didn’t hesitate. In the next instant, she leaped over the rubble blocking her view and landed in the poisoned muddy earth where the Hydra’s previous poison breaths had landed, but she wasn’t the least bit affected.
Her eyes instantly landed on the scene before her: the poison breath of the Hydra was headed directly for her lord, who stood atop the creature’s underbelly as it was flipped on its back.
Her thoughts raced further. ‘He isn’t in his combat form, so his scales are not covering his entire body… His skin could melt under such a corrosive attack!’
She gritted her teeth. ‘How dare you,’ she thought, referring to the Hydra. She was about to leap in and save her lord from what she believed to be a fatal fate, but then her eyes caught something that brought back sweet memories.
Alister stood there, watching as the poison torrent approached him, but he seemed calm… too calm. And then he smiled, an action that jolted Mar’ Garet’s memories.
Suddenly she smiled as well, her cheeks flushed, revealing her sharp teeth as her breath became a bit steamy. ‘He’s making that face like he used to… Whever he was having fun.’ she tilted her head to the left, then placed her hand on her face.
‘He’s so charming, it gets me excited!’
