Such exhilarating news pushed the people forward with bolstering excitement. Finally, a Titan had fallen, and it was a joyous occasion to celebrate.
Not too far away, the screams of the Black Gryphon rung out in anger.
With wings spread as storms of black feather came crashing downwards towards both Don and Ginger.
Ginger wasn’t lucky to move out of the way fast enough as she was bombarded with the Black Gryphon’s feathers. Every time the feathers touched her, they exploded or cut deeply into her skin.
“Ginger!” Don called out.
Ginger was thrown back. She slid on the ground as she lay bloodied, heaving heavily as she spat out blood.
But before he could get close to her, he was stopped by an array of feathers.
The Black Gryphon screeched, he shot out another array of feathers. This time doused with darkness. Each cut would leave behind a bubbling boil that would make Ginger scream in pain.
Don was riled up by the Black Gryphon’s attack. He attacked relentlessly, pushing forward with pure anger at the harm that the Black Gryphon was causing.
Static electricity flared out of his gauntlets. Each lightning smashed and burnt anything that it would touch.
The Black Gryphon relentlessly attacked over and over again.
Don matched the Black Gryhpon’s blast of energy as he punched it aside. He jumped into the air as the electricity on his hand brightened up the surrounding like a star.
He punched straight at the Black Gryphon.
The Black Gryphon let out a powerful blast of energy at Don. Both collided.
A bright light spewed outwards like a lightning bolt. High-density energy continued to sizzle in the air, raising everyone’s hair.
Don continued to pour more and more energy into the electricity.
The Black Gryphon did not back down.
Finally, both forces' collision completely ricocheted outwards, throwing the Black Gryphon and Don back.
Don rolled a few feet away from Ginger. He groaned as his arm was broken and at an odd angle.
Ginger looked over, bloodied, but still had a fire in her eyes. She wasn’t going to go down from that fight. With weak arms, she slowly got up. Crawling her way towards Don. Even with a few broken ribs, she did not falter.
When Ginger finally arrived next to her, she sat down, reaching over to touch Don’s head.
Don couldn’t move as his eyes flickered.
Ginger leaned down, whispering in an ancient language.
Green energy started to drip out of Ginger’s body to the point where it was becoming brighter and brighter. The area around her blossom plants and flowers, surrounding her with her own safe little sanctuary. Her antlers started to blossom small flowers that decorated her head.
Ginger could breathe in much more calmly as her ribs were healing in place. The green energy traveled down towards her hand and down onto Don’s body. Finally, it traveled to his broken arm.
An ugly crack and a loud groan were heard from Don as his bones were put back in place. After that, even the bruises went back to their flawless state.
Beads of sweat started to stream down Ginger’s face.
Don’s breathing became softer, allowing him to take longer breaths. There was a soft air around him as Ginger watched him with a loving embrace.
The healing energy became stronger and stronger until finally, it dissipated.
Don's eyes fluttered. Opening his eyes, he gazed up. “Ginger?” Don spoke in a hoarse voice.
“Did you?”
Ginger nodded her head.
“Why, you shouldn’t have.” Don groaned. He pushed himself up. His hand rubbed his head a few times to help ease the ringing pain.
“It was the only way. You were too badly injured.”
“But it takes years off parts of your life,” Don grunted. “I could have fought one-handed.”
Ginger sighed. She raised up her hand and smacked him in the head. “I’m not going to die so easily, Don.” She gave him a stern gaze. Her hand rested on her stomach. “Our child will live to see the both of us at the end of this.”
With reassurance, Ginger reached over with her other hand and held it. She had grown up to be a gorgeous beast woman. There wasn’t a hint of childishness they had seen since the first time they had met.
Don looked down, embarrassed that he was showing his weakness.
“I care about you, Don," said Ginger. “We are heroes. We must be at full strength to win this war.” She slowly got up. She gave her hand for him to take.
Don at first was hesitant, but when Ginger motioned him to take her hand, he reached over. Ginger pulled him up.
“You are my family and home, Don.” Ginger said with a soft smile. “I won’t ever run away or leave you behind.” She said clearly to understand how much she cared about him.
“You’re right.” But, Don sighed, “you are my family and home as well.” He took a moment to take in the presence of Ginger before they broke apart.
Don stretched his arm to make sure that it was in working order. Green energy around his gauntlets started to flare to life, bringing with it a sparkle of its own. Smashing the two hands together, the energy spikes, blowing outwards with a frenzy of fire.
“It seems my arm is back in action.” Don looked up at her with a smirk. “Thanks, Ginger.”
Ginger gently nodded her head and replied. “As always.”
“Stay below. I’ll knock the chicken down for you.”
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Ginger smirked, understanding what he wanted to do.
Don burst off, heading straight into the forest. He jumped up onto the nearest tree, climbing up as high as he could. When he reached the top, he gazed off into the distance.
The Black Gryphon landed on the ground, where a group of large numbers of soldiers was. It thrashed, sliced, and even sent out a tremendous amount of power that decimated the army.
Don quickly darted from one tree to the next, heading straight towards the Black Gryphon.
Instinctively, the Black Gryphon turned his head toward Don’s direction. Then, in a rage, the monster shot out a blast of dark energy that spanned all over the area, killing everyone in its vicinity in an instant.
Another blast of energy blast towards Don. He raised up his hand to block the incoming attack. Instead, the energy beam bounced off his gauntlets, allowing him to move forward.
He sent out a lasso of energy, wrapping itself around Gryphon’s wing.
With a tug, the Gryphon fluttered, trying to take it off, but failed.
Don grabbed with both hands, slowly but surely pulling the Black Gryphon in. His feet were dug into the ground as he wounded the energy rope with his arm. Every struggle, every pull, the Black Gryphon tried to escape, but he couldn’t.
With every strength that he could muster, he pulled downwards.
The Black Gryphon fell as dust and dirt exploded outwards with a thundering crash.
Don quickly ran over and dove into the plum of dust. Even though he could not see, he still pushed forward where he thought the Black Gryphon was. He could sense it as the hum of his gauntlets was getting excited that the Black Gryphon was near.
A powerful gust of wind exploded outwards, pushing back the dirt, debris, and smoke.
Don held his hand and leaned forward not to get blown away.
The Black Gryphon screeched angrily that it was harmed. It lunged towards Don, who leaned backward, barely missing its beak. With this chance, Don grabbed ahold of the Black Gryphon’s beak, clamping down with both arms. Both Don and the Gryphon thrashed around as Don tried to get the upper hand.
With a pump of its wing, the Gryphon lifted both of them into the air.
Don was trying his best not to fall and, at the same time, get the Black Gryphon under control, but the struggle between them took a large chunk of his breath. It took a significant amount of strength to keep the Black Gryphon in a headlock.
Suddenly, from behind, the Phoenix swooped in from above, knocking Don off the Black Gryphon.
Don fell from the sky.
Don flipped around, summoning a large amount of magic from his hand. He aimed it toward the ground, softening his descent. He landed without any injuries.
Khor came running over as his armor jostled on him. For a dwarf, he was quite nimble. But, on the other hand, he was covered head to toe to the point where only the slits of his eyes and mouth could be seen.
“You alright, kid?” Khor spoke with a gruff voice. He was slightly winded.
“Yea, I didn’t expect the Phoenix to come over.”
“I have been chasing that damn chicken all over the battlefield,” Khor grumbled. “That damn chicken won’t stay in one place for me to land a hit.”
“Well, I can assist. If we tag teams on these two monsters, one-by-one, I’m sure we can knock both of them out of the sky.”
“What idea do you have, kid?”
“Well, first off, I’m not a kid,” Don grumbled.
“You look like a kid to me.”
“Well, I’m already in my prime.”
“Doesn’t matter; all humans are kids in my eyes. I’m already past three hundred years old.” Khor replied. “I’m expected to live another two hundred years if I don’t die in this battle.”
“We won’t die,” Don replied back. “We got a family to go back to.”
Khor thought it over. He slowly nodded. “You are right. I was getting tired of chasing this chicken that I had forgotten for a brief moment.”
Don shook his head. “We should hurry.” He gazed up.
Both the Phoenix and the Black Gryphon were circling not too far away, causing destruction and mayhem in its wake.
The ground was burning black with fire, and even scattered dead bodies were still on fire as they burned through the very metal.
Ginger summoned up a large amount of magical energy to assist them from below. She concentrated on keeping the magic fluctuated and intact as the words spilled out of her mouth.
“They’ll decimate our army,” Don mumbled.
“What do you have in mind?” Khor asked.
“We’ll play it by ear," said Don.
Khor grunted, “That sounds like a terrible plan. If you can help me get that chicken out of the sky, I can do the rest.”
Don nodded. He yelled over toward Ginger, “Ginger! I need help getting up there again!” He pointed up into the sky.
“I’m on it!” Ginger replied. The magic she was casting around her glowed brightly. Then, a sudden powerful swell of energy escaped, heading straight towards the Black Gryphon and the Phoenix. They were little energy birds that sped through the air like bullets, heading straight towards them.
A few birds detached themselves from the swarm as two-headed straight toward Don and Khor.
The two birds turned bigger as they approached them until finally, it slowed down just enough for both Don and Khor to hop on.
The moment they grabbed on, the birds jetted upwards, heading straight towards two legendary monsters that were causing trouble.
Khor was blue in the face. “Isn’t there a better way?” He wasn’t a big fan of flying as he held on tightly for his dear life.
“What else do you have in mind?” Don asked. They sharply turned to the right in midair, causing Don to jolt. He almost lost his grip.
“Just not this crazy ride.”
Both birds split in different directions. One went to the Black Gryphon and the other to the Phoenix.
Quickly, Don used this opportunity. He jumped into the air as the magic in his hand flared. He reached out, grabbing one of the Black Gryphon’s wings; with all his strength, a sickening sound of bone cracking could be heard as he ripped it apart. The Gryphon screeched, spiraling downwards as it tried to keep afloat.
Ginger bolted forward, readying herself underneath Gryphon’s fall.
“Ginger!” Don shouted.
“I’m on it!” Ginger yelled back with just as much excitement. Her hands and trails of energy lit up lines around her face, body, and antler. Her eyes glowed powerfully green.
A vast magical circle started to form underneath her. Her hair flew upwards.
“Don! Shield!” A swell of power blossomed outwards, giving with it a swing of its own power.
Don listened to Ginger. He kicked the Black Gryphon off his body and quickly followed with a green shield that protected him like an eggshell.
With a blast, green vine-like magical energy shot out from the ground. It headed straight upwards as it twisted together to create a spearhead.
In seconds, both the vine and the Black Gryphon collided. It pierced through the Black Gryphon’s chest.
Not even a second later, Don was right behind the Black Gryphon. His fist was burning with green fire. With a downward punch, the energy smashed into the Black Gryphon. The power decimated into Black Gryphon in seconds, causing its body to blow up into smithereens as its existence was obliterated.
Plants shot out from the ground and straight up into the air from the ashes.
Don grabbed hold of the vine, twirling downwards as he landed.
Ginger ran over, excited. She jumped onto the Don, hugging him hard. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.
Pulse dissipated into small lights as it traveled into the air and zipped towards Berry.
The Black Gryphon was dead.
Not too far away was Stryd, fumbled as he half jumped and fell. He landed straight onto the Phoenix's back. The Phoenix sharply turned to the right.
Khor held on to the phoenix feathers. Even though the Phoenix was burning, Khor did not catch on fire. Instead, the Bone Crusher sucked in a constant stream of energy from the Phoenix, protecting him from harm.
They flew a bit further with great difficulties before Khor could do something. Finally, he could get his turning stomach under control, allowing him to raise up his Bone Crusher, smacking it once against the phoenix head. This temporary trauma caused the Phoenix to shake, taking it off course.
“You stupid chicken!” Khor yelled over and over again. Hitting him every chance he got even though the damage done to the Phoenix was a lot, it distracted and stunned the Phoenix from time to time, allowing them to get lower and lower to the ground.
Khor did not give up. He wanted to get the Phoenix back, but he also knew that he would eventually fall if he kept on flying on top of the Phoenix. He pulled himself together. Without remorse, he fought back.
Both of them started an airborne slugfest. The Phoenix used its beaks to stab him while Khor was yelling at the Phoenix, punching and swinging his hammer.
It became a point where Khor could put all of his strength into his Bone Crusher, smashing it once into the Phoenix skull.
The Phoenix wavered, tilting its wings to the side.
Khor had to scramble and hold on for his dear life, wishing he was on the ground. He didn’t know how his ancestors dealt with the Phoenix when they were land creatures who weren’t fans of heights.
They crashed into the ground together like a burning comet.
Khor was thrown off as he rolled on the ground.
With a cough, he slowly got up. He was glad that he was on the ground, but the pain from the fall rocked his brain.
Each step he took brought a sense of heaviness. Finally, he walked on over, heading straight toward the Black Phoenix.
He had one job: to kill the Phoenix.
When he arrived in front of the Phoenix, he raised his hammer. Blue magic swirled on the hammer, creating a sharp point. Then, with a vicious slam into the Phoenix wings, he spiked the wings into the ground, making it impossible for the Phoenix to escape without tearing off its wings.
The Phoenix screeched angrily, thrashing, trying to get away.
A blast of fire erupted from its mouth; fire sprayed out, hitting every living thing as it could as it devoured the plants and trees.
Khor did not stop. He dug in deeper into the ground, balancing himself as he swung his Bone Crusher.
The next swing smashed into the side of the Phoenix's body and again as he rotated his body, giving him momentum that he needed.
“You’re not going anywhere!” Khor roared.
With a squawk, the Phoenix kept spraying fire onto the Khor.
Khor raised his Bone Crusher, negating the fire that would have devoured him whole.
The Phoenix eventually stopped blowing fire.
Khor took this chance, a blue fire blazed from his hammer, and he smashed into the phoenix body. At that moment, a blast of blue fire completely devoured the Phoenix in flames. The Phoenix struggled, trying to escape, but the nail keeping him in place didn’t allow him to escape.
Khor stood watching over. He sighed as he leaned on his weapon. As he watched, the Phoenix burned in the fires of the flames that he had sent out.
It didn’t take long for the flames to devour the Phoenix, leaving behind with it but nothing but ashes.
Bone crusher shinned and shimmered, turning into a white ball of light. Then, it flew away towards Berry, leaving Khor alone.
Khor stood over the ashes, pounding his chest. Then, with a scream, he roared. “To honor the Dwarven Kingdom!”
The dwarves who watched the whole battle scene stepped forward. They were awed by Khors power as they raised up their armor and cheered with him.