The humans on the ground screamed in confusion and horror as the skies darkened, a sickly green mist descending upon them like a vile shroud of death.
The poison wyverns descended upon them.
“Where in hell did these wyverns come from?” a man shouted in fear and confusion as he witnessed the mist from the wyverns’ maws practically melt the armor, flesh, and bone of a colleague.
His eyes widened in fear, and he frantically began to wave his sword in the air, as if it might discourage them from attacking him.
But, as anyone could guess… it was pointless.
His entire upper half, from the waist up, was soon ripped off by one of the wyverns. His body and skull were crushed in an instant as the creature crudely chewed and swallowed.
“Wyverns?!” another cried, his eyes wide.
“We weren’t told these creatures had flying beasts!”
More poison wyverns opened their jaws, clouds of corrosive mist spewing forth and rolling over the jungle like a wave.
Melting everything in their path.
Armor sizzled as the poison clung to the metal, eating away at it within moments.
Flesh bubbled and blackened, peeling away to reveal bone, which cracked and dissolved under the relentless stream of poisonous mist.
Screams of agony filled the air as men writhed, clutching at their melting bodies.
“My armor! It’s… it’s burning through!”
One man yelled, clawing at his chest plate as the acid seeped through, fusing molten steel to his blistering skin.
“Help me! My leg—oh God, my leg!” another screamed, his limb reduced to a twisted mess before dissolving into a puddle of flesh and blood as the poison ate through muscle and bone alike.
Some men tried to run, only to be pounced on by bone wyverns. The creatures tore into them with razor-sharp fangs, swallowing chunks of flesh in wet, gory gulps.
Blood sprayed everywhere as the beasts ripped men apart, their insides spilling onto the earth in steaming heaps.
“Fall back! Regroup!” a squad leader yelled, trying to rally the panicking men, but his command was cut short as a steel wyvern descended.
The metallic beast bristled, its body sprouting jagged spikes like a nightmarish porcupine. With a violent shake, it unleashed a barrage of razor-sharp projectiles.
The spikes rained down, piercing through armor, torsos, and limbs.
One man screamed as a spike drove through his chest, the force sending him sprawling backward, his heart impaled and spraying blood in sickening bursts.
Another stumbled, clutching his thigh where a spike had shredded muscle and shattered bone, leaving a grotesque, gaping wound.
“A healer! Healer, please!” he cried, but no help came.
The ground became a blood-soaked battlefield, human bodies twisted in unnatural shapes, pierced, melting, or scorched with soul fire.
In the carnage, Draven descended like a thunderstorm. In his humanoid combat form, his purple eyes glowed with fury, and his greatsword, Storm Cleaver, crackled with arcs of purple lightning.
“You dare defile our kin?” he roared, his voice like thunder.
“Your kind disgusts me!”
With a burst of speed, Draven tore through the battlefield. His first swing cleaved through three men at once, their bodies splitting apart in a spray of blood and entrails.
A man raised his rifle, but before he could aim, Draven was directly in front of him.
The greatsword swung down, severing the man’s arm and burying itself deep into his torso. The man’s mouth opened in a silent scream as his body was torn in half, his intestines spilling onto the ground like spilled ropes.
“Monsters! They’re monsters!” a man screamed, backing away as Draven advanced, his powerful eyes glowing from the visor of his helmet as if gazing at him from the abyss.
“You think yourselves hunters… apex predators?”
“You’re nothing but insects to be crushed.”
Another tried to crawl away, his legs shattered by the weight of a steel wyvern’s spike. He whimpered, dragging himself through the blood-soaked mud.
Draven strode toward him, his boots splashing through puddles of gore.
“Please… I—” the man stammered, but Draven’s boot came down with massive force, crushing his spine and bursting him outright like confetti.
The soldier let out a final, pitiful scream before silence consumed him.
Draven looked up, his greatsword slick with blood, and let out a growl of disgust.
“Not a single one of you deserves mercy,” he spat, raising his blade as the storm of wyverns continued their slaughter.
The forest was filled with screams and the stench of fear.
Terra stood tall amidst the chaos, her cold blue gaze fixed on the struggling humans futilely wielding their powers.
They charged forward with flames, lightning, and steel, their every effort a desperate grasp against an inevitability they couldn’t escape.
Terra stretched out her hands, and massive hands of earth rose as she extended her will, crushing them beneath.
Their cries were silenced as the ground beneath them shifted, twisting into jagged spikes that impaled them in place.
One young man, desperate to make a final stand, pulled a dragon kin child to his side and pointed a trembling finger at Terra.
“If you attack, I’ll kill her!” the man threatened, his voice shaking with rage and fear.
Terra’s lips curled into a cold smile. “Kill her?” she said softly, her voice like a distant whisper through the storm.
“I must admit… until now I had only ever read tales of how pathetic a race humanity was. But to see it firsthand after encountering so many remarkable humans… Well, I must say I’m surprised. But I guess, just like every race, individuals are independent with their values, and often at times there are individuals who aren’t deserving of existence.”
“And unfortunately, it seems as though you are one of them.”
Terra gazed at him intensely, as if she were peering into his soul.
The man trembled, his hand shaking as tears streamed down his face. “No… please, stop!” he pleaded.
“Stop?” Terra repeated, her voice sharp. “There is no stopping this. You brought this upon yourselves.”
Without another word, she raised her hand again, her will tightening around the man’s chest until his breath hitched and his vision darkened. The next instant, the man was flung into the air, crashing into a nearby tree with a sickening thud.
A massive iron spike erupted from the ground behind another man, impaling him through the back. His body was flung forward, crashing into his allies like a broken ragdoll. His screams echoed briefly before silence claimed him, his lifeblood pouring into the earth.
Terra moved forward slowly, her eyes fixed on a small group of dragon kin watching from the sidelines. She extended her hand, her voice soft as she spoke. “Are you all alright?”
A child, no older than ten, stepped forward, clutching a smaller hand tightly. His gaze was wide with awe. “Are… are you a dragon too?” he asked hesitantly, his voice trembling. “Like the ones from the legends? The ones who led our people?”
Terra’s lips curved into a gentle smile. “Indeed,” she said, her voice smooth and calming. “I am part of those ancient legends.”
The child’s eyes shone with wonder, his small frame steadying as his faith in her grew. “Will you lead us too? Like they did?”
Terra’s gaze softened further. “In my own way, little one,” she assured him. “But first, I must go clean up the remaining humans here.”
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On the other side of the battlefield, panic gripped the remnants of another group. A man frantically called his team leader over a communication device, his voice trembling.
“This isn’t what he told us! There are wyverns here—what are they doing here?”
The team leader responded. “Stop rambling like an idiot and take what you’ve obtained. Then get out of there.”
But the man’s panic only deepened. “Do you think if I could do that, I’d be calling you?” he snapped, his voice trembling.
The words were barely out of his mouth when, in the next instant, a massive steel wyvern lunged forward, its spike-driven tail impaling the man. His screams were cut short as the iron spike pierced through his chest and into the ground. His body was lifted, then thrown away.
The team leader, witnessing the horror, clenched his fist tightly around the device, his knuckles turning white. “No response… no response…” he muttered, his voice hoarse with dread.
“Fuck!” he yelled aloud, his voice breaking. His heart pounded as he scrambled to find some kind of shelter. He sought refuge behind a dense bush, his gray hair plastered against his forehead, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
Suddenly, a voice echoed through the chaos, calm and commanding. “You step forward and offer what you know unto the young lord.”
The team leader froze, his breath caught in his throat. Slowly, he turned toward the voice, his eyes widening as a massive silver dragon loomed above him. Its scales shimmered in the light, casting a silver glow that seemed to eclipse everything around it.
“How… how did something this massive get so close without a sound?” he wondered aloud, his voice trembling in awe and fear.
“How is that even possible?”
The dragon, Yu’Keto, gazed down at him. Its voice rumbled deeply. “The young lord seeks answers, so I demand you step forward to provide them.”