Ascending the massive and ancient stone staircase, a smaller group consisting of Slade, the two kids, and their dragons finally reached the end of their trip. Slade, constantly reminding the kids not to get too close and to allow their dragons to assist Ane, could only let out a sigh as he saw the kids not even remotely scared.
The giant door opened for them as the many others who had arrived also climbed the stairs behind them. Instead of the interior of a castle as they had expected from the exterior, what was inside shocked them.
A massive plateau of which their adversary stood at the center. The sky was a tumultuous canvas of dark clouds, swirling around a central point where the sun fought bravely to shine through.
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“That’s… Our opponent?” Aella questioned, her words delayed causing Slade to think she was nervous at the massive site.
‘Even if her dragon is strong enough to deal with two minibosses. Such a sight wouldn’t be easy for her to handle.’ He thought to himself.
Little did Slade know, his assumption couldn’t be further from the truth as Aella failed to hide her massive smile. Just the thought of going against this threat who somehow managed to dwarf even Aetherion.
Standing at the forefront with her two fox tails swishing behind her with a life of their own, neither of her current companions could tell what her exact mood was. It wasn’t just her, though. Stormy readied himself as he radiated fierce energy, sparks of electricity flying across his body.
‘With its size… The eyes or legs will need to be taken out first.’ Aella mused inwardly, licking her lips.
The giant roared, a sound that echoed off the mountains, causing a shower of small stones to fall around them. Aetherion, towering yet still smaller than the giant, growled in response, his massive body tense and ready as he challenged the bipedal monster’s authority.
Ane as well, constantly flew around the group to make sure the Giant couldn’t make a move, his presence feeling the most dangerous of everyone present to the giant.
“Seraphina. The legs. Can Aetherion do it?” She questioned, the other little girl nodding happily.
“Of course! Aetherion is the best!”
“Papa… I’m sorry in advance.”
“Wait, wha-”
Taking a final deep breath as the wind coalesced around her fingertips, Aella dashed forward before her father could finish talking. As she ran, she flicked her wrist, causing the wind to carry her ethereal sword with her.
Without any form of warming, the giant moved, its massive club swinging down towards Aella with the force of a meteor. Aella dodged gracefully, propelled by a sudden gust of wind as she and Stormy split up.
The club smashed into the ground carrying enough force to send a shockwave that cracked the earth. With a small chuckle reflecting her anticipation, Aella shot herself at the eye of the giant. The sword struck true, but it was like a needle against the stone.
The giant barely flinched, swiping at Aella with a massive hand. She evaded narrowly, twisting in the air with the support of her newly formed second tail. As she landed, she gestured sharply, with her fan reappearing, sending a powerful gust of wind to stagger the giant.
“Even if you’re a little fast for your size, you’ll never hit me!” Aella taunted, laughing at the plight of this supposed boss monster.
Stormy, seizing the opportunity his partner created, unleashed a stream of water, enhanced with electrical energy, towards the giant. The water struck, and for a moment, the giant’s movements faltered as the electricity managed to pierce into and course through its body.
At the same time, Stormy grew a few centimeters in length as [Wrath] had begun to activate for both him and Aella. Continuing with the pressure, Aetherion, urged on by Seraphina, lunged forward, his massive jaws snapping at the giant’s ankles. The giant roared in pain and anger, trying to shake off the dragon, but Aetherion held on, his claws digging deep.
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All this while, Slade, who was unable to join the fight himself, could only look in shock at the maneuvers his daughter was pulling off. Although he couldn’t do anything, Ane, together with Aella, struck at the Giant at the giant, the Wyrm’s attacks easily dealing more than Aella, Stormy, and Aetherion combined as the Giant was forced several steps back.
The giant, enraged, began to swing its club wildly, each blow a deadly threat that could crush any of them if they got caught under it. Aella, amused by the unexpected speed of the giant, danced around it, her movements like a blur. Unfortunately, that was her undoing.
A mix of the unexpected speed from the giant and her increased speed made her lose control for just a moment. That single moment was all the giant needed to hit her with his massive club.
Less than a millisecond before the club made contact with Aella, however, a tiny hurricane engulfed her, negating much of the damage before she got sent flying.
The smoke hiding her body, Slade screamed, “AELLA!” running towards her only to hear maniacal cries that some might consider laughs as Aella dashed out of the smoke, blood flowing from her entire body and eyes blazing with a crimson glow as her aura flared further.
“WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” She shouted out, glancing at the system panel which she had opened to keep track of her health and Mana.
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To think that one attack in which she had managed to mitigate most of the damage still managed to deal over 18,000 damage to her! She didn’t care, though. The thought of her getting hit by any attack being the end of her run made the effects of [Wrath] immediately triple her stats.
From her second Tail, which she hadn’t had a chance to adjust to her newly acquired skill in [Wrath], Aella was on cloud nine. The world seemed to slow around her as her manic vocalizations echoed throughout the arena.
Each member of the strike force attacked the Boss ferociously, and it didn’t take long to realize that the giant stood less of a chance than either of his Miniboss generals. Aella, with what little of her sanity remained in her crazed state, clearly noticed this as she leaped back. “We need something big to finish this!” She shouted out.
Seraphina nodded. “Aetherion!” she called her dragon.
On her command, Aetherion released his grip and backed away, his body heaving with effort as both he and Stormy charged up powerful attacks from their mouths before unleashing a unison breath attack which boomed through the air as it struck the giant’s chest.
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Only activating its skill now, not realizing that it was too late, Aella charged forward with a final, powerful gale; she propelled herself toward the same spot that the dragons had hit, contested by the now glowing massive club of the giant.
Without faltering, Aella continued forward, with Ane coming up from behind to strike the club away, being sent mutually away.
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“DIE YOU OVERSIZED INFANT!” Aella shouted with glee, her sword piercing into the giant’s chest, seemingly getting stuck at the tip until Aella gave it one more push, using the last of her Mana to send the sword straight through his chest, piercing his heart and coming out the other end.
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Falling with a satisfied smile, Aella could barely hear the shouts of everyone present. The battle just now had been so intense that the numerous other Dragon Tamers who had reached the Boss Arena couldn’t even enter the fray.
“Aella! Aella! Are you okay?!” Slade shouted out, Ane catching his daughter and bringing her to.
Looking at her father faintly, Aella, with what little stamina she had left, gave him a thumbs-up.
“I-I did good, right? Papa?” She smiled innocently.
Aella had yet to sober up from the adrenaline rush, but she no longer had the strength to maintain her manic smile. The fact that she was even still awake was a small miracle in itself, her willpower being the only thing allowing her to retain her consciousness.
Slade let out a massive sigh of relief before nodding. “Yeah, you did great.”
He was overwhelmed with too many emotions. His daughter’s attitude wasn’t even on his mind.