"What a horrifying sight." Ash thought as the creature emerged. Ash stood alongside the others, who were also in awe of the enormity of the beast.
Wain couldn't bring himself to move his body as he watched the terrifying presence continue to enter their world. He couldn't recall the exact date of the last entry recorded of an Apocalypse entering the human realm. However, it has been roughly eighty years since humans have faced such a devastating encounter with the creatures of nightmares.
"I've heard legends and myths of the snake that devours the world... I wish it remained a myth."
They say its body is coiled around the earth, an endless one—"a fitting title," Wain thought. With no end in sight, the dragon pulled itself through the large cavity in the middle of the city, ripping its way out from within the earth. Adorning its large body were massive, jagged spikes facing away from its head. The brownish-gray spikes seemed to merge, creating a natural armor that covered its elongated body.
Opening its mouth once more, the giant dragon began to channel mana into its throat, preparing to unleash a devastating blast. A purple flame grew in the back of its esophagus, growing more violent as time passed, rising into the back of its mouth. Although they were far from Jormungandr, Wain felt as if he could see the sides of its mouth curled up. Wain whispered,
"It's smiling..."
It enjoyed the panic, the terror it caused within the small creatures fleeing from its presence. It felt satisfaction as the humans tried desperately to cling to life. The group could only watch as it pumped mana into the flame, causing it to overflow from its mouth.
"Here it comes." Wain thought as his body began to move on its own. He raced towards the giant creature alongside his fellow party members, who were all sprinting towards an opponent none of them believed they could win against.
"What do we even do? What's the plan? We are just running at it... We don't even know how to kill it... How do we stop it even? Can we? It'll just kill us... Oh Judex Divinum, we need a miracle, don't we? Shit... Is this how it ends? Is there an Angel who will answer our pleas?" Wain's mind raced wildly as he ran across the street.
Tears swelled in Wain's eyes, knowing this could be the last few moments of his life. "I can run? I can leave this place... I can take everyone away. Force them to all come with me... Shit! I can't do that."
It was a priest's job to protect everyone. If he fled, he would abandon all the civilians in the city. Every last one of them would be dead if he cowardly saved his own life.
Slamming its massive jaws shut, the dragon applied pressure to the flames and mana, rapidly condensing it all within its body. However, the flame did not extinguish but became refined into a beam of fire within the dragon's throat.
Soon, the force became uncontrollable within its body as the pressure built up. The pressure forced Jormungandr's jaws open in a sudden snap as if his jaws were pried apart, unleashing the beam of fire upon the right side of the city.
Wain will never forget this day after witnessing the fire expand as it traveled away from the monster's mouth. The purple flames consumed everything it came into contact with, and in the blink of an eye, the city was reduced to nothing but ash.
The only thing that remained from the buildings were large metal rods protruding from the ground, four for each corner of the buildings. The purple fire filled the streets, incinerating the unfortunate souls that ran from the monster's presence. Wain realized they were the fortunate ones. "A painless death," he muttered.
Those that escaped into the buildings or were already in them met a more gruesome end. Ripping through the structures easily, the flame cleaved the buildings in half on the outskirts of the mighty blast. If the building was tall enough to avoid total annihilation, it suffered a worse fate than the rest.
With nothing to support the tall buildings, they toppled over. Crashing onto the earth with a sickening boom from metal and rock smashing into each other, the buildings collapsed under the weight of the force. Clouds of dust and debris were sent flying as Jormungandr continued its rampage. The group could only pray to Judex Divinum that the giant dragon would run out of mana soon...
Those who survived fled in terror as they filled the streets like a sea. It became difficult to push through as thousands swarmed past, desperate to survive the nightmare unraveling before them. As they ran, chunks of metal and rock began to rain, and debris from the collapsing building fell. The group tried to save as many lives as possible, but it was still too much for them to handle.
Rose swung her large wrecking ball to intercept any descending objects, but with little room to move, it became challenging to help. Mel, however, managed to deal with most of the debris that fell in their proximity with her guns. Swapping the form to a shotgun, she blasted anything that approached the ground. If something managed to get past Mel, Ash did his best to clean up, slinging flaming slashes of mana into them, causing them to explode in the air.
Whatever remained of the falling debris turned to shrapnel that shot in all directions. The shards cut deep into the flesh of the civilians, while others broke bones from the impact of larger pieces. A woman screamed as a shard shot into her eye. Wain, only a few feet away, witnessed the events unfold as the sickening noise of it sinking into her skull echoed in his head.
"Agghhhhhh!"
She was still alive. Rushing to her side, he lifted her off the ground while she clutched her eye with both hands. Blood poured from the wound, spilling all over her arms and chest. Wain clutched the woman, trying to figure out a way to help.
"MEL, SHE NEEDS HEALED!"
"I'M A LITTLE BUSY!!!!"
Mel continued to fire at falling debris, needing every little bit of focus she could muster. It was the most taxing game of duck hunt she had ever experienced. She had practiced hitting fast objects and targets thousands of times to train her skills. Yet, she was still unprepared for the amount easily tossed through the sky.
"I'LL HELP!"
Kane rushed to her side, emerging from the crowd. He clasped his hands to her face and began to pour mana into the woman's body.
"I NEED TIME TO FOCUS!"
Kane yelled as the chaos grew louder around them. Wain nodded, but the woman grabbed his arm as he tried to stand.
"I'M OKAY! LET ME GO! I NEED TO RUN! GET OFF ME!"
"YOU'RE BADLY INJURED!"
"IT'S BETTER TO BE BADLY INJURED THAN DEAD! AGHH! LET ME GO!"
Fighting off the help from Wain and Kane, the woman managed to free herself from their grasp due to their shock. Before they could stop her, she rushed into the sea of humanity, disappearing like a leaf in a raging river. Wain was speechless, but he knew she was right. To stay here meant only death. Even if she was healed, if she could not escape the city, all of it was pointless.
Although they saved those around them, those who were too far ahead or behind suffered a fate they wished upon no one. The metal crashed into the crowds, piercing through people, and sunk into the ground beneath from the force.
Then came the rocks, flying down from the sky like meteorites shooting through the air. They punched into the earth, crushing everything in their path. Screams of agony erupted from the crowd as bodies were flattened under the large boulders tumbling across the streets.
Despite how close the group was to the cathedral, only a few hundred feet away, every foot felt like it stretched into a mile, and each passing second turned into hours as the storm of destruction raged on.
The chaos disguised the fact that the monster's head was no longer at the cathedral. "When did the breath stop?" Wain asked himself as he searched for the head of Jormungandr. Starting with the cavity from which its body entered, Wain watched as the body traveled to the left. It was moving through the city now.
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However, he could not see exactly where it was headed. The remaining buildings blocked his vision of the creature, but occasionally, he caught a glimpse of a portion of its large body. This terrified him even more than the breath did. "Was it devouring the people in the streets now?"
To their horror, the largest building in the city began to fall. A skyscraper reaching farther than any other in the city reached up as if it touched the sky. Falling from the heavens, the tower split in half as it toppled to its side. Mel prayed it would at least slow him down as it slammed into the top of Jormungandr's body.
The thunderous noise of it exploding upon impact was unsettling. "Just how many died in a matter of seconds?" Mel asked herself. Echoing through the city, the noise rang like a bell in their ears as if a fight just ended, a fight they were losing... Then, in an instant, a wave of clouds of dust rolled across the city, consuming everything for miles. Mel could no longer see her comrades beside her in the heavy cloud but prayed they were still alive within it.
Knowing the buildings were filled with people made the circumstances worse for Ash. He felt useless at this moment as the dragon slaughtered the living beneath it without a care. The cloud of dust around them dispersed like a curtain, revealing the chaos it hid on the other side. The sky began to fill with black smoke, blotting out the setting sun as buildings began to burn from raging fires created by the chaos.
What little light the sun provided as it set ceased to exist under the blanket of despair left in the air above. To Wain, it felt like it was a symbol from Jormungandr, declaring that the light of the heavens would not save them from his wrath.
The only light left came from the fires that broke out throughout the city from the chaos. Inside the burning buildings, the flames devoured everyone trapped inside as they grew violently with every minute that passed. Rose tried to extinguish as much as possible while continuing her pursuit towards the cavity.
Throwing her wrecking ball toward the fires, she slammed it into the ground, releasing a rising black wave from its core that shot up to the side of the buildings. Upon reaching the climax of its explosive force into the sky, the black wave came crashing down onto the fire. The group felt relieved as some fires extinguished, but others raged on as if the water did nothing.
However, they could do nothing about it as they sprinted towards Jormungandr. He was the priority. Wain cried out,
"We need to save them!"
Rose answered.
"If we stop even for a moment, it could mean thousands more die. We can't save them all, Wain..."
If they didn't stop him, nothing mattered... Leaving so many to die left them all with unbearable guilt. "How could they possibly be victorious against such a monster? What was the point if they could not save the lives of those they swore to protect?" Wain was losing confidence in their abilities.
Doubt began to creep through the group of priests, causing their morale to drop significantly. Rose tried to raise the group's morale, showing determination to defeat the large dragon, but the fiery will in her eyes betrayed the lack of confidence lingering underneath.
Jormungandr was starting to win the battle before it even began.
"What do we do now?"
Wain asked as they reached the cavity from which Jormungandr's body emerged. They were finally there... Standing only a few feet away from the entrance, they all realized the magnitude of the serpent. From a distance, he was huge, but up close... it was even more monstrous. The large creature was the size of a four-story building in both width and height.
Searching the area, Rose had hoped a few priests remained from the cathedral, but the corpses littering the ground covered in rubble quickly extinguished the flame of hope in her heart. Most of them were killed by the dragon's entrance, which destroyed the cathedral. "Where were the others? There surely had to be some alive, but where were they? Did they flee and abandon the people they swore an oath to Judex Divinum to protect?"
She tried to blame them but honestly could not bring herself to do so. If she lacked the blessing the Angels provided her, would she stay? Would she stay and fight a pointless battle with an obvious ending? It could have been possible if they had Lydia and Asura, but even with them and an Arch Knight, it looked like too big of a mountain to overcome.
They needed a miracle from God to accomplish such a feat.
Mel and Rose were the first to strike at the body. Desperate to stop its entrance, Mel slammed her two pistols together, and in a bright burst of holy amber fire, a minigun was created. She clenched her hands tightly onto its handles, praying for it to work as she unleashed a barrage of bullets into its side.
At the same time, Rose swung her wrecking ball with all the strength she could muster. Releasing it on the final swing, she cast the ball with all her might, slamming it into the side of the behemoth.
Neither the wrecking ball nor the bullets managed even to chip the large dragon's armor. However, Mel remained hopeful as she swapped her minigun for a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Channeling all her mana into the missile within, she was determined to hurt the creature to get its attention.
Right before she pulled the trigger, shouting erupted as two figures appeared on Jormgunadr's side. Hanging onto a spike, both Lydia and Asura emerged from the depths. Asura roared with excitement.
"NOW THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE AN ENTRANCE HAHAHAHAH!"
"They were alive!" Relief swept over the group, and they were filled with hope for a moment that felt like an eternity. Jumping down from the large creature, the two landed right before the group, bracing themselves for the landing. After rising to their feet and seeing the smile plastered on Asura's face Mel for the first time, had the uncontrollable urge to hug the moronic ogre. Before she could, though, Lydia declared,
"No time to explain. Here is the plan. We need to get its attention-"
"You have my audience, priests..."
A thunderous, deep voice that shook the ground beneath them spoke out as a building exploded from behind them. Clouds of dust spilled out into the street like a crashing wave in the sea. For a moment, they saw nothing but darkness. Then, it emerged. Its large purple eye, the size of a car, glowed vividly in the night. Glaring at them like a beacon of malevolence, the group became paralyzed with fear.
Excreting from its body was a thick fog of quotidian mana that swirled all around in the air, bathing them in the acidic mana and burning their skin. The large pupil constricted, shrinking in size as it focused on a particular person. Turning her head to see who it was glaring at Lydia, she found the gaze rested on Asura, who stood defiantly.
"We meet again, danger noodle!"
Without opening its mouth, Jormungandr spoke once again. Its voice boomed with authority, and an ancient accent Wain could not recognize. The words felt as if they were rammed into their minds, causing massive headaches to erupt, and each word echoed ten times.
"To speak with such confidence after falling so far, Asura."
"Could not have fallen farther than you, old friend. You are looking a little rough. Get your ass whooped by the big momma?"
Opening its monstrous jaws, Jormungandr unleashed an ear-piercing hiss. Gripping his skull, Wain could only gasp in agony as his head felt like it began to split apart. Mel, Ash, Kane, and Wain all fell to their knees as their ears began to bleed. The sharp and relentless noise shook the souls hearing the deafening scream. The only two who managed to stand firm were Asura and Lydia. Putting a finger in his ear, Asura closed his eyes, wincing as the hiss rang out. Lydia covered her ears with an unfazed expression.
"You done crying 'cause you're a sore loser? I was guessing, but you really got spanked by the king, didn't you?"
"Malachi has revealed to me that you adore a human child... I will relish the sight of your despair as I devour her before you."
Lydia watched as Asura clenched his jaw, and he began to flex every muscle in his body. Asura's blood began to boil at the mention of Lily. Asura knew Jormungandr would do whatever it took to get his way, even if it meant devouring innocent lives. A dragon's cruelty knows no bounds. If it means they can achieve greater heights, they would even devour their own children. The thought disgusted Asura.
"I'll fucking kill you... Ha... Hahaha... Hahahhhaha."
Asura began to laugh hysterically. His eyes became erratic, darting around as the madness began to creep in. Like embers buried under layers of memories, a darkness resurfaced within Asura's heart. "Was this the feeling of betrayal? When have I been betrayed?" Asura thought as a rancid and metallic taste filled his mouth. An ancient, long-forgotten rage was free within him, ready to consume what sanity he had left.
"Focus! We need you..."
"This is the end, Asura. For you, for your friends, and for the humans you sacrificed so much for. A worthy end to such a failure. An end to the so-called Great King. The day has come for the mother of dragons to return. And so will her rage and hatred against man and the shadows. The end of all."
Raising his massive head, Jormungandr rose into the sky as it lifted a portion of its body. The buildings around began to shake as the spikes dug into the sides and tore through the structures easily. Looming far above the group, Jormungandr opened its monstrous jaws. In the back of his throat, a purple flame ignited as mana began to compress once again. The purple flame made Wain's face flush as he realized what would happen next.