Chapter 255 – The Final Roar of Victory
Katherine Evenhart:
It had been some time since the dark cloud dome dissipated, but its absence only deepened my unease. The spell being undone could mean something terrible had happened to Nathan, and the possibility gripped my heart with relentless anxiety. Every fiber of my being longed to know if he was safe, but there was no time to give in to despair. The battle raged on, and I had to stay focused.
The war was nearing its end. The enemy, once numerous and threatening, had been reduced to scattered groups cornered by our soldiers and maids. Their forces were dwindling rapidly, casualties piling up like a mountain of despair on the battlefield. My spell played a crucial role in this outcome, converting enemy soldiers to our side. They fought with a fanatical devotion, ignoring even mortal wounds as they took down anyone who dared oppose us. Each movement was a grim declaration of loyalty, driven by the magic I had cast.
Victory was within our grasp. Even with the reinforcements that arrived after the dome fell, most were destroyed by my creation: my gigantic plant "daughter”. She had begun her incubation process, growing terrifyingly as she fed on enemy soldiers. Her form became more menacing with each passing moment, turning the battlefield into her grotesque nursery. Every scream of terror seemed like a melody to her evolution.
Despite the progress, my thoughts were elsewhere. My heart was with Nathan, wherever he was. I silently prayed for his safety.
"ROOOAR!"
The roar of the colossal brown dog echoed across the field, just as immense as my Soul Golem. The two creatures collided violently, the impact reverberating through the ground. The beast tried to sink its teeth into my scorpion, while my golem struck back with its deadly stinger. The opposing creature, however, bolstered its defenses with a natural armor of wind, becoming an almost impenetrable barrier.
"I'm almost there!" Margie shouted, sliding gracefully around the monster and firing precise ice blasts in search of a weak spot.
"AAARGH!" My golem roared as the dog bit into it. But it didn’t falter. With precise aim, it drove its stinger into the beast's flank, piercing through the wind armor and sinking into flesh.
"Yes!" I shouted, determination surging through me. "Release the venom!"
The golem's tail began to inject its lethal poison into the creature. The dog howled in pain, its movements growing erratic as it struggled to shake off the stinger.
The dog is massive, but the venom will take effect eventually; we just need to keep piercing and poisoning it.
"Keep going, girl! Kill it!" I yelled with all the determination I could muster, and my giant scorpion roared in response. It drove its stinger even deeper into the monster while its claws fought to keep the dog’s jaws at bay, locked in a brutal clash.
"I have to help..." I muttered, adrenaline surging through my veins. Without hesitation, I ran along the carapace of my golem and leapt into the air, channeling my power.
"Plant Art: Forest of Demeter!" I shouted, activating the territory spell Nathan and I had developed together. The ground around us pulsed with a glowing green light as giant, grotesque trees erupted from the earth, arming nature itself for war.
"Fury of the Vines!" I invoked the spell linked to the territory. Thick, powerful vines rose, wrapping around the beast's body and constraining its rage.
Landing with agility, I sprinted toward Margie, who was already preparing her next attack.
"Attack, girl!" I commanded the scorpion, and it obeyed with deadly precision, driving its stinger directly into the dog's eye.
"AAARRRGH!" The creature's agonized roar echoed across the battlefield, but its resilience seemed endless. Even wounded, the monster thrashed violently.
"Katie! Dodge!" Margie shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos. Without a second thought, I leapt aside, narrowly avoiding the beast's frenzied charge. While airborne, I summoned vines to propel me to safety, escaping by a hair's breadth.
As my feet hit the ground, my determination intensified.
I conjured a spell, and a series of sharp, massive cactus thorns erupted from the ground, piercing the monster's paws. The beast howled in pain, its body trembling from the impact. Blood poured from its pierced eye, but driven by blind rage, it charged forward.
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In a desperate move, the dog clamped its jaws around my golem's tail, its powerful bite severing the limb with brutal force.
"No!" I screamed as the horrifying scene unfolded. The scorpion's tail, its most lethal weapon, had been torn away.
The scorpion roared in pain but didn’t falter. Even without its tail, it fought ferociously, its claws tearing into the beast's body as I desperately searched for a solution. The battlefield was pure chaos, but hesitation wasn’t an option. If my golem fell, victory would slip through our grasp.
"Attack with everything, girl!" I commanded firmly. My creature, loyal to my order, clamped its slender claw deep into the giant dog's flank while launching bursts of algae bombs. The explosions coated the monster in a viscous liquid, further restricting its movements.
I staggered to my feet, my vision blurred from the adrenaline. Margie was beside me, spinning her chain with deadly precision. Each strike landed with brutal force, drawing pained howls from the monstrous dog.
"Water Art: Great Tsunami!" Margie cried, summoning a colossal wave. The water surged forward like an unstoppable wall, swallowing the brown monster entirely. Before the beast could react, Margie raised her hand and shouted, "Freeze!" The wave transformed into a frozen prison, encapsulating the monster in an immense crystalline mass.
"Now, Katie! Attack!" Margie yelled, urgency ringing in her voice.
"Go, girl!" I commanded again. My scorpion seized the opportunity, launching a brutal assault. Its claws tore into the icy surface, piercing the trapped monster while its immense strength crushed the frozen structure, leaving no room for escape.
I didn’t hesitate. Once more, I cast my spell, reinforcing the prison with thick, pulsating vines that coiled around the monster, squeezing tighter with each passing moment. The combination of ice and plants seemed to choke the life out of the beast, its struggles growing weaker by the second.
"We're doing it!" Margie exclaimed, her voice brimming with hope and determination. She unleashed more blasts of ice, further solidifying the prison. The dog fought back, but its strength was clearly waning.
Then, a colossal roar shattered the air.
"ROOOOAAAAR!"
In a desperate act, the monster unleashed a devastating explosion of wind. The impact threw us like ragdolls, obliterating trees, vines, and the ice that held it captive.
I felt my body tossed through the air like a leaf in a storm. Branches, trees, and vines broke my fall before I crashed to the ground with a deafening thud. Pain radiated through every inch of me, leaving me breathless and my vision spinning.
"Damn it..." I muttered, spitting blood onto my trembling hands. "Pretty sure I broke a few things..." Every breath felt like a knife tearing through my lungs. Even so, I forced myself to move, groaning with each agonizing motion.
In the distance, the brown beast spewed wind bombs at my Soul Golem, which fought valiantly to hold its ground. I felt the weight of its remaining eye fix on me, its fury palpable.
It knew.
It knew that as long as I lived, my golem would too. And now, it was coming to kill me.
"Katie!" Margie's voice cut through the chaos as she unleashed desperate barrages of ice to halt the creature's advance.
The giant dog surged forward with terrifying speed, crushing trees and vines as though they were paper. Gathering what little strength I had left, I tried to command the forest to slow it down. "Attack!" I screamed, as trees rose like living spears. But it was useless. The monster cloaked itself in a shield of wind, tearing through everything with brutal force.
Each step brought it closer, its overwhelming presence crushing my resolve. Pain, fear, and regret all disappeared, consumed by a single thought: Nathan.
The beast was coming to kill me. I closed my eyes, bracing for the worst, when a scorching gust of wind swept over me, forcing them open.
"ROOOOOOOAR!"
A deafening roar tore through the air, and just as the monster leapt to crush me, a colossal flame descended from the heavens. The impact was catastrophic, a wave of heat and force that sent the beast hurtling backward, its body crashing into the ground with a brutal thud.
The sunlight vanished, blocked by an enormous shadow that engulfed the battlefield. Struggling, I lifted my head and saw my savior.
"Cylla!" I whispered, relief flooding through me as I recognized the towering red dragon. She soared majestically above me, her scales glowing like living embers. Her wings stretched wide, casting an imposing shadow over the battlefield, while her blazing eyes locked onto the creature that had dared to threaten me.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAR!"
Cylla's roar reverberated across the field, shaking the ground beneath us. For a moment, the chaos paused. The deafening sound echoed through the air, causing weapons to clatter to the ground and freezing soldiers, friend and foe alike, in their tracks. Their faces were masks of sheer terror.
Some warriors collapsed to their knees, unable to endure Cylla's overwhelming presence. Others dropped their weapons entirely, surrendering to their primal instinct to survive. The red dragon was an unstoppable force, a vision none dared to challenge.
Cylla landed with a thunderous impact, her wings spreading wide like a protective barrier in front of me. Each movement created gusts of wind that sent debris scattering across the field, amplifying her aura of absolute dominance. Beneath her immense shadow, I felt safe.
Margie sprinted forward, summoning an icy pillar beneath her feet to launch herself atop Cylla’s head. From her vantage point, she used her wind magic to amplify her voice, projecting it like an unyielding command across the battlefield.
“Kneel or die!” Margie’s voice cut through the air like a blade.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAR!" Cylla answered with another earth-shaking roar, and as if to solidify the threat, she unleashed a torrent of fire into the sky, painting it in fiery shades of orange and red.
The effect was immediate. The battlefield, once a cacophony of chaos and screams, fell into an oppressive silence. One by one, soldiers dropped to their knees, abandoning their weapons, their faces etched with despair. Those who hesitated quickly followed, unable to withstand the terrifying sight of the dragon and the crushing power that emanated from her.