The streets of Haven had turned into a stampede with fear. The roar of the dragon overhead was deafening, a constant reminder of the death hovering above.
Alaric stood at the intersection near the market, his voice broke from shouting commands.
"To the Town Hall! Keep moving! Don't push!"
But there were too many people and not enough time. The shadow of the beast loomed large, and panic was causing a bottleneck.
"Alaric!"
Lucia appeared beside him, her white dress stark against the dust and her face was pale, but her violet eyes burned with the resolve of a Saintess.
"Go," she ordered, pointing toward the flashes of light where the knights were engaging the beast. "Do not worry about the townspeople. I will hold the line here."
"Lucia, it's an S-Rank…."
"Go!" she shouted, stepping in front of the crowd.
Alaric hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded. "Thank you."
He turned and sprinted toward the chaos.
Behind him, Lucia raised her hands high. The mana around her swelled, pure and blindingly bright. She chanted a spell that was a high-tier defensive incantation known only to the highest clergy.
"Creo Lux: Sovereign Sanctuary of Radiant Dominion."
A massive dome of golden light erupted from her position, expanding outward to encompass the evacuation route. It shimmered with divine energy, a physical wall that separated the innocent from the monster.
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Alaric ran as he burst into the open field near the new district and saw the Knight Order engaging the nightmare.
It was futile.
The knights were firing long-distance magic, fireballs, vacuum blades, ice spears but they couldn't even target the beast. The Sky Dragon moved with terrifying agility, its crimson body tearing through the air at speeds that created visible sonic booms.
The shockwaves alone were knocking knights off their feet. And when a stray fire ball did manage to strike, it simply fizzled out against the dragon’s hide.
Alaric came to a halt, a memory flashing in his mind. Duke Thorne’s armor.
The Duke’s famous black armor was forged from the scales of a Sky Dragon. It was legendary not just for its hardness, but for its absolute anti-magic properties.
"Stop wasting mana!" Alaric screamed, his voice amplified by magic. "Magic won't work! Its scales disperse it!"
The knights looked at him, despair etched on their faces. They could all feel it, the suffocating pressure of an S-Rank beast.
This wasn't a fight but rather a calamity. Usually, the Guild regulations required a party of two or three S-Rank Hunters to even attempt a subjugation of such a creature. S-Rank individuals were statistical anomalies, one in ten million. Without them, entire Knight Orders had been wiped out trying to scratch a beast of this caliber.
Ground-based opponents were helpless. Ballistae were too slow to track a supersonic target. The cannons were in Ironhold.
We have no way to hurt it, Alaric realized with dawning horror.
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The dragon banked sharply, crushing a row of newly built houses under the wind pressure of its wings. It hovered for a split second, its golden eyes locking onto the cluster of knights.
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Then, it took a deep breath.
Its throat glowed a vibrant, ominous blue. Mana gathered in its lungs.
Alaric knew what was coming.
"Scatter!" he roared.
He didn't run away. He ran forward.
The dragon unleashed its breath. It was a concentrated laser of superheated plasma.
Alaric slid into position directly in the beam's path. He raised his gloves, the magic circles flaring to life.
"Null Magic: Physical & Magical Barrier 20x!"
The beam struck.
CRACK
Alaric gritted his teeth, pouring his mana into the gloves, recreating the layers as fast as they were destroyed. The heat was unimaginable. Even behind the wall of force, Alaric felt his skin blistering. The air around him shimmered.
On the other side of the barrier, the beam washed over the ground. The cobblestones melted, turning the street into a river of molten glass and lava.
"Force it out!" Alaric screamed over the roar of the flame. "Bombard it! Make it turn!"
They couldn't kill it, but they could annoy it.
"All units!" Orban bellowed. "Focus fire on its right flank! Drive it to the mangroves!"
The knights unleashed a desperate barrage. Fire, wind, stone, everything they had. It did zero damage, but the sheer volume of flashing lights and explosions forced the dragon to flinch. It banked left, away from the city center, moving toward the desolate outskirts.
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Alaric watched the dragon retreat slightly, his arms trembling from the effort of the block. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement.
Kellan, Silan, and Jarik.
They were doing something insane.
Kellan grabbed Jarik by the leg. He roared, his muscles bulging as he activated body-strengthening. He began to spin, rotating Jarik like a human hammer.
"Creo Terra: Lightweight."
Kellan cast the spell on Jarik, reducing his mass.
"Creo Ventus: Wind Compression Cannon."
Silan slammed his staff into the ground behind them, creating a pressurized blast of air.
"Go!" Kellan screamed, releasing his grip.
Jarik shot into the sky.
He flew like an artillery shell, riding the wind cannon's thrust. The dragon, distracted by the bombardment from the other knights, didn't see the tiny human projectile rocketing toward its blind spot.
Alaric watched, absolutely astonished. They are actually doing it.
Jarik maneuvered in mid-air, flaring his cloak to adjust his trajectory. He was aiming for the tail.
As he closed the distance, Jarik’s eyes narrowed. He gripped his sword with both hands.
"Confirma: Overload."
He poured every ounce of his strength into his arms.
"Creo Terra: World Bind."
He cast the inverse of Lightweight on his own blade. Instantly, the sword became heavier than a boulder, carrying the kinetic energy of a falling mountain.
"HAAAA!"
Jarik swung downward as he collided with the dragon's massive tail.
CLANG!
The sound was like a church bell being struck by a giant.
The blade bit. It shattered the outer scale and cut into the tough skin beneath.
But it didn't sever the tail.
The muscle was too dense and the bone was hard. The sword wedged itself deep into the flesh... and got stuck.
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Jarik hung there, suspended thousands of feet in the air, gripping the hilt for dear life.
The dragon roared, feeling the sting of the mosquito. It twisted its neck, spotting the human clinging to its tail.
With a casual flick of its body, the dragon whipped its tail.
The force was immense. Jarik’s grip failed. He was thrown off, tumbling helplessly through the air.
Alaric was already moving. "Jarik!"
But the dragon wasn't done. It had been annoyed. Now, it was vindictive.
It turned its head toward the falling knight. Its throat glowed blue again.
"No!" Alaric screamed.
The dragon fired a beam of flame, a quick & precise burst aimed directly at Jarik in mid-air.
Jarik tried to move. He tried to twist his body. But the light was blinding, binding him in its intensity.
VWOOM.
The beam grazed him.
Alaric leaped, catching Jarik just moments before he hit the ground. They skidded through the mud, tumbling to a halt.
"Jarik! Jarik, stay with me!"
Alaric looked down at his friend, and his breath stopped.
Jarik was alive, but the cost had been paid.
His left side was in ruin. His left hand was gone, destroyed instantly by the plasma. The burn continued up his arm and had taken a chunk of his side and stomach with it. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
Jarik looked up at Alaric, his eyes wide with shock and horror, mouth opening in a silent scream.
Alaric stared at the devastation, the dragon’s roar echoed above them with a tone of mockery. Their ridiculous try to slay it has failed and now reality has set in.
