Kai shook his head and forced a laugh at his tragic circumstances.

  “You cheating Lizard-bastard!”

  The Lizard-thing laughed back in halting hisses. Its severed arm lay on the floor, blood leaking from it in a thin stream.

  Alira’s calm voice only deepened Kai’s irritation. “It’s a Drakmar, not a lizard, of course it’ll grow its limbs back.”

  Kai gritted his teeth. Being corrected was annoying - but information on his enemy was priceless.

  “Didn’t you think that might’ve been useful to share earlier?”

  Alira shrugged. “Forgive me for assuming you were smart enough to understand the beast you’re hunting.”

  Kai took a deep breath. “Please enlighten me, my lady. What the hell is a Drakmar, and why does it look like the Lizard-thing from the books?”

  The liza—Drakmar glared at Kai and Rusk. It slashed at the thread-cage with its claws.

  The ethereal threads held firm, slicing through the Drakmar’s claws on impact. Rusk’s chest swelled as if he’d inhaled all the air in the Darklands. A smug smile lit his face.

  Kai’s heart slowed - they still had a chance.

  Alira stepped closer, positioning herself a short distance behind the Drakmar.

  “Drakmars are corrupted dragons. This one’s weak, but still dangerous enough to kill us. Regeneration, above-average intelligence, and devastating claws.” She shook her head as she observed the creature. “They’re a pain to deal with. Should I begin?”

  Kai sighed. “What about the deceptive roar? Can they all do that? And yes - begin. We don’t have all day.”

  An icy wind brushed Kai’s back.

  The temperature dropped, and a blue glow blanketed Alira. “No, they have different abilities. Some even breathe fire like real dragons.” She glanced at Kai. “And all you had to do was ask.”

  A shadow of a smile touched Alira’s lips. Dozens of ice daggers shimmered into being behind her. She extended her arm and pointed a finger at the Drakmar. The daggers shot toward the cheating bastard at incredible speed.

  The first volley hit the Drakmar like an Inner-Sector train. The creature slid toward the thread in front of it, eyes still locked on Kai and Rusk. It thrust its left claw forward to halt its advance.

  Its palm hit the threads first, then its claws hit the ground. The thread-cage shredded its forearm.

  Blood dripped and pooled on the ground. But the Drakmar stopped - its mutilated arm halting its advance.

  The daggers kept peppering the abomination’s back, dozens of icy blades jutting from its scales like a hedgehog’s spikes. But it didn’t budge an inch. The claws on its feet dug into the ground as its hissing laugh returned.

  As it retracted its arm and fresh flesh grew, Kai studied the cheating bastard.

  Small wounds dotted its body. Its missing yellow eye hadn’t returned. Was there a limit to its regeneration? Or was it saving soul essence? Kai knew who to ask.

  “Alira! What’s the limit on this thing’s regeneration?”

  She sounded slightly out of breath as she spoke over the cracking ice. “It can only regenerate limbs! But we can’t do enough damage to drain its essence. We need to decapitate it!”

  The news was neither good nor bad.

  They had to kill the Drakmar with one well-calculated blow. But it wasn’t about to sit patiently and let them take its head. It was already shrugging off Alira’s ineffective ice daggers.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  It sniffed the air, raised its right arm, and set a claw on one of the ethereal threads before it with careful focus. The Drakmar’s claw dragged the thread downward in a deliberate motion.

  The thread snapped. Time was running out.

  Kai turned to Rusk. His bare chest greeted the sun again, the ghillie-jacket gone. His trousers were halfway to becoming shorts.

  “How much longer?” Kai asked.

  “Not sure, I haven’t done this before - but it’ll work out!”

  Kai grimaced. If they didn’t hurry—

  Another thread snapped beneath the Drakmar’s despicable claw.

  The cage wouldn’t hold the bastard much longer. Kai’s heart raced.

  “Alira! Save your essence!”

  Alira ended her barrage of frozen daggers. The few blades hovering around her collided. The ice amalgamation soon took a familiar shape. Alira gripped her frozen sword and stepped toward the cage.

  If the Drakmar got out, they’d have to rely on Alira’s curse to buy them time. But that was wishful thinking. Alira wouldn’t survive a clash with the Drakmar’s vicious claws. Kai might escape with his remaining soul essence - but he wouldn’t get far.

  No - in truth, if the Drakmar broke free, they would all die here.

  The Drakmar’s claws sliced through another thread. It was one thread away from tearing an opening in the cage. The narrow path would cleave its limbs and strip away flesh, but the bastard would survive.

  Kai and his companions wouldn’t.

  The arrogant abomination continued its hissing laughter as it focused on another thread.

  Kai glanced at Rusk. His thin but muscular frame revealed itself in all its glory. His shorts were gone, though he wore boxers to preserve a shred of dignity.

  But how much dignity could Rusk really preserve walking around like that?

  Regardless, Rusk’s lack of clothing was a good sign here. Kai grabbed his bare shoulder. He didn’t have to ask - Rusk’s voice burst with ill-contained excitement: “Ready!”

  Kai and Rusk vanished. Four teleports. When they reappeared, they were thirty-three feet above the cage, falling fast. Long, invisible threads trailed from Rusk’s arms, racing to knot themselves into the thread-cage.

  The thread-cage contracted.

  The cage’s cubic shape stretched into a narrow tower of threads. The ethereal threads shredded the Drakmar. A fountain of blood surged into the air like the hand of a drowning man begging for help.

  The dark-red blood swam through the air, twisting and turning until it flowed into Kai’s suit. He had no time to think - they were falling fast. Neither Rusk nor Kai could afford an injury - or loss of mobility - in this trial.

  A fall from this height would break a few bones at least.

  Kai focused his power - the space between them duo and the ground shrank. They landed with a soft thud, safe and sound. Well, Kai’s legs were already hurting from earlier - and now his knees were complaining.

  But having no broken bones was cause for celebration.

  Tiny, unidentifiable chunks of Drakmar littered the area. Rusk’s threads circled him, weaving into something more appropriate. Light footsteps reached Kai’s ears; he turned toward Alira.

  Her steps were slow, her breathing uneven. Kai’s body felt more exhausted than she appeared, his essence almost entirely drained. His limbs were heavy, his body begging for rest. Rusk was as energetic as ever, but he couldn’t have much soul essence left after that performance.

  They needed to recover.

  But before that, it was time to share their haul.

  “Rusk…you ready to split the points?”

  Rusk had already woven his trousers back into existence, covering his nether regions. The threads circling him were already shifting into a white shirt. “Sure, no problem.”

  Rusk grabbed Kai’s forearm and transferred his share of the points from the special target.

  As agreed beforehand, Kai took forty of the one-hundred points for coming up with the plan and playing the bait.

  They checked their points:

  - Kai = 62 points

  - Rusk = 56 points

  - Alira = 37 points

  Kai couldn’t stop the smug grin spreading across his face.

  Both Alira and Rusk stared at him.

  “What?”

  Rusk didn’t hesitate. “How did your suit do that blood thing?”

  Kai answered honestly, for once. “I don’t know.”

  Rusk frowned. “You sure? I want my threads to drink blood too…”

  “I’m sure…”

  Alira narrowed her eyes.

  Kai could almost taste her suspicion. Would he have to deal with her? It would be such a hassle - and he didn’t want to.

  The three of them had faced death together and come out the other side. Alira and Rusk were powerful allies - but Kai wasn’t naive.

  At least he knew how to beat her Curse - the fight with the Drakmar had fed him a feast of information.

  Alira squatted down and began collecting meat chunks and shattered Darkshards. She placed them into separate cylindrical steel containers. Kai looked, but said nothing. He retrieved his blood-covered sword beside a spattering of meat chunks Alira ignored.

  His eyes widened with greed as he surveyed the absurd amount of Darkshards blanketing the floor. More than he’d ever seen in one place.

  A death economy.

  Rusk wasn’t as tactful. “Collecting dinner?”

  Alira glanced up at Rusk with her usual chilling glare - and nodded.

  “Drakmar meat has many benefits if prepared correctly. It also sells for a good amount of Darkshards.”

  Kai was thankful for the knowledge, but he couldn’t hold back his disgust. The thought of eating that disgusting, murderous Lizard-thing made him nostalgic for the bland flavour of nutrient paste.

  Before he could voice his superior opinion, a strange but familiar feeling rushed through his body.

  He wasted no time grabbing Alira and Rusk. The trio vanished.

  They stood in the courtyard with four entrances. A message surfaced in his mind.

  [You are the Target]

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