"What is that!?" Thomas gasped as Chadman's aura dragon loomed over the battlefield and stared down at Lucina. The Azure Hawks were fighting their way through the first line of spearmen when Lucina's fire tornado and Chadman's dragon seemed to put a trance over the battle which caused all the combatants to stop fighting and forced them to bear witness to the confrontation between the Hellhounds and Heavenly Dragon knights.

"Saint Chadman," Richard muttered under his breath. He had heard of the legendary Saint of Lady Muz from prisoners of war he captured but this was his first time seeing the power a Saint of the Bloodied Sister wielded. An overwhelming pressure suffocated the battlefield as the dragon's thundering roar shook their very bones. "What's go- Prince Terence!?" Richard's thoughts were interrupted as Terence veered his horse and started riding toward the hole in the first line the Hellhounds had made.

"…Damn it!" Terence spat as he rode. While he was weary of Lucina, she was also their best bet at winning this war so he couldn't let her, a Magister, face Chadman since she would be at a clear disadvantage against the Aurister. They were on the cusp of victory so he couldn't allow her to fall. He rounded the corner of the stone spike wall that Elise had made to keep the hole open and kicked his horse into a fast gallop. "Don't you dare die, Hellhound!"

***

"…Hmm," I hummed to myself as I stared up at the aura dragon. It was certainly an imposing sight since dragons have been extinct for hundreds of years so to see such a lifelike rendition of one would probably have shaken most people. But, we're Hellhounds.

"Do you think we can harvest it?" Carl asked while his grip tightened around his axe, proving my point.

"It's made of aura, it will disappear once the Saint dies," Peter brought reason to Carl's bullshit.

"But it looks pretty solid, and can't powerful Auristers solidify their aura?" Carl justified. "Since he's a Saint that must mean he's powerful, so who says we can't harvest it for materials?"

"If we can kill him and it remains, I'll let you try," I decided to humor Carl since it would do us good to be in high spirits. "First, we need to-"

"Hear me, defenders of Peltaira!" Chadman's annoyingly loud voice interrupted me and drew my attention with another one of his indulgent speeches. "You are to stand back!" Oh? I looked around and saw Peltaira's troops back further away from us. "I do not wish for your lives to be snuffed out by such reckless hate! The Heavenly Dragon sect shall personally deal with the Hellhounds!"

"..." So, he has a bleeding heart for his troops…I can use that.

"None may interfere with this duel between orders; only those of the Hellhounds or the Heavenly Dragons may participate! Is that satisfactory for you, Hellhound of the West?" Chadman addressed me with a composed voice but his eyes were clearly filled with anger at the loss of his six knights. This is probably a way for him to try and focus me on only his order and allow the rest of Peltaira's troops some breathing room.

"That sounds fine. We will abide by that rule," I lied. This man is far too obsessed with appearing honorable in war even though all that matters is who's left standing. "Hellhounds, dismount!"

"You would give up your mounted advantage?" Chadman asked while watching my knights get off their horses. "Do you now insult me and my order, Hellhound?"

"Yes." The best thing to do is rile him up so that he stops critically thinking. "We do not need our horses to beat you. Carl?" I motioned with my hand to the members of the Heavenly Dragons. "Lead the men in dealing with them. Peter? Test how far you've grown against the Saint."

"Tch, Peter gets to have all the fun," Carl spat but didn't go against my order and he motioned for the other Hellhounds to follow him.

"It takes an Aurister to match an Aurister Saint," Peter replied dryly but I caught a hint of pride in his tone at being allowed to go against Chadman. "Will you be alright?" he asked and turned back to me.

"I'm completely useless in this duel," I lied to further throw Chadman off my intentions so that he would hopefully start to ignore me and I gave a shrug. "I'll be here drinking in peace since I'm still thirsty." I pulled another magic potion off my belt and started to drink it.

"As you say, Commander." Peter understood my intentions and readied himself.

"…Very well." Chadman was doing a good job hiding how he felt about my insult and I saw him get into a martial arts stance as he faced Peter. "We shall show you the folly of your actions and shallowness of your thought. Deal with them, Heavenly Dragons!"

"Yes, Saint!" the nineteen surviving Heavenly Dragons spoke in unison, leaped down from the stone spikes they stood on, and charged us.

"Rip them apart, Hellhounds!" I shouted.

"Got it!" they responded and followed Carl to meet the Heavenly Dragons. Even though they were wearing only robes, the Heavenly Dragons all were powerful Auristers who were using the technique to wear their aura like armor tougher than steel.

"Die, Hellhounds!" one of them shouted and thrust their sword through the stomach of one of my knights, not even the knight's armor could stop the aura-infused blade. Judging by their cocky smile, they figured this would be a cakewalk since very few of the Hellhounds were Auristers. "Just like your hubris, you-!?!" When they tried to retrieve their sword from the man's gut, the impaled Hellhound knight grabbed the arm of the Heavenly Dragon with a grip so tight they couldn't shake them off. Despite calling us overconfident and arrogant, the Heavenly Dragons seem to be forgetting something very important; the numbers advantage. "What are yo-!?" While there were nineteen remaining Heavenly Dragon knights, there were seventy-three remaining Hellhounds. The Heavenly Dragon knight tried again to pull their arm away only to be attacked by a second Hellhound knight whose mace deflected off their aura. "Filthy Hellho-!?!" A third knight attacked from the rear with a sword that was also deflected. A fourth started frantically slamming their shield into the Heavenly Dragon in a series of continuous blows that the others copied and they all started hammering their weapons against the enemy's aura armor. And finally, a fifth dropped their weapon and grappled the Heavenly Dragon knight's free arm leaving them open to Carl who taught our enemy the other important thing they seemed to have forgotten; even if their aura is as strong as steel, steel eventually breaks.

"Die!" Carl yelled and brought his axe down on the Heavenly Dragon knight's left shoulder with enough force to shatter the aura armor and cleave through their collar bone, down their ribcage, and stopping in their stomach leaving the corpse nearly bisected.

"What is this!?" Chadman exclaimed as he watched my Hellhounds throw themselves against his Heavenly Dragons with reckless abandon. "That man isn't even an Aurister!"

"You see, Saint," I decided to humor him after finishing the current potion, "While solidifying your aura to use as armor is certainly a powerful technique it comes with a major flaw; it wraps around the whole Aurister as a single piece." I smiled as understanding dawned on Chadman's face. "If a piece of conventional armor breaks under duress then you are still left with the remaining pieces of plate, but if armor made from aura 'breaks' then you lose all protection. And since you Peltairans love to fill your ranks with Auristers, we Hellhounds have had more than enough practice to perfect killing Auristers!" I laughed as the Heavenly Dragons were being swarmed and cut down by my knights even if we were also quickly losing numbers. For every Hellhound they managed to kill another three would take their place in the swarm and keep up the assault until the Heavenly Dragon's aura collapsed and they were torn apart since all they were left with was flimsy cloth robes. "Death by a thousand cuts, to put it simply," I laughed before drinking another magic potion.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Is that how you justify throwing away the lives of your men?"

"Most of my men don't even have a home to return to, Saint," I corrected. "Killing as many of you as we can is our purpose; making it back is a bonus."

"Mere hounds think themselves worthy of killing the dragon!?" Chadman yelled and he charged a group of Hellhound knights with his fist raised to strike. "Perish!"

"I'm your opponent!" Peter intercepted Chadman's charge and blocked the strike with his great sword.

"Move!" Chadman's dragon descended onto the battlefield, snaked behind him, and fused itself with his fist in the strike against Peter's blade.

"NGH!" Peter's knees threatened to buckle but did not break and he held firm as his feet dug into the dirt from the immense pressure of stopping Chadman's blow. His great sword exploded in blue flames as he poured all his aura into countering Chadman's strike. Jets of blue fire and waves of black and white aura erupted from the point of impact as both Auristers refused to relent.

"Oh? You hold yourself well against my strike," Chadman complimented Peter as he broke off the clash by sending Peter skidding away, and he surrounded himself with his black-and-white aura. "But dragons were the originators of aura; Lady Muz's chosen teachers for humanity! Do not think a mere hound can match such sovereign authority!" The aura dragon materialized behind Chadman and followed his fist as he charged Peter.

"…!" Peter matched Chadman's fist with a horizontal sword strike that Chadman blocked with his punch. Thanks to his aura technique, Chadman's fist was completely unharmed from blocking the great sword. Their auras exploded against each other as Chadman continued to block and deflect Peter's strikes while Peter put everything he had into just trying to land a proper hit against Chadman. Did Chadman forget he was originally angry that my knights were cutting down his in favor of testing Peter? Maybe he was a battle pervert. If he wanted to test Peter's mettle then that's fine, so long as he continues to ignore me and lets me drink more potions.

"Your name was Peter, was it not?" Chadman asked as he batted away another of Peter's strikes. "Though we are enemies, allow me to acknowledge your strength. Had you been born in Peltaira, I would have done all I could to bring you into the Heavenly Dragons. But alas," he said and brought his fist back for a proper attack, "I shall not offer the same fortune to my enemies! Now, di-!?" A hint of movement caught Chadman's eyes and he diverted his fist to a palm strike that blocked a longsword attack aimed at his neck. "Who dares interfere!?" Aura as dark as night descended upon Chadman like the maw of a starved beast.

"You fall this day, Saint!" Terence cried out as he assaulted Chadman with his aura that warped around his sword. I was wondering what he was doing riding toward us and it turns out he was trying to assassinate Chadman. Was stealing credit some kind of quirk in the Arlexton bloodline? I drank another magic potion. "Fall!" Terence bounced his blade off Chadman's palm, spun to the right, and thrust his sword in an attempt to stab the Saint's stomach. "Tch!?" But Terence's sword, even when infused with his black aura, bounced off Chadman's aura armor.

"HA!" An explosion of black and white aura erupted from Chadman sending both Peter and Terence flying back as the aura dragon reemerged and loomed over the battlefield. Chadman straightened himself up to glare at Terence and chastised the prince, "Panther of Urldrusk, you interfere in matters you have no right in!" He turned to me and spoke, "You sully yourself by allowing an outsider into our duel, Hellhound of the West!"

"Actually…" Let's stoke his anger some more. "Prince Terence has been without official retinue for quite some time. I cannot allow one of my kingdom's princes to be left alone in a war so as the acting commander of the Hellhound knight order I appoint His Highness Prince Terence Arlexton as a temporary member of the Hellhounds," I announced and gave Chadman an innocent smile.

"Those who bend the rules are doomed to be broken by them!" Chadman tried to give more sage advice but I ignored him and drank another magic potion. I was starting to feel queasy with how many potions I had already drank but I needed more. The dragon swooped down and fused with Chadman as he charged me and I threw my sword in front of me. "You have breathed long enough! I shall cleanse the world of your evil once and for-!?!"

"S-Saint!?!" Chadman's fist instantly stopped as it was about to impact the chest of a Peltairan swordsman who I yanked with my gravity magic to the sword that I threw between us; just like I thought he would.

"Hellhound of the West…" Chadman sounded very mad and his eyes were burning with hate. "You dare use human shields!?" I smiled innocently at him in response. "I demand an answer, Hel-!?!"

"Woah!?!" Altering the gravity magic, I sent the swordsman flying toward Chadman.

"What are yo-OH!?" When Chadman tried to safely catch the swordsman, he was hit in the back by a different Peltairan swordsman. Two Peltairans were now stuck to Chadman; one to his front and one to his back. "…This is-?"

"Impossible?" I finished his question and gave him the answer he sought, "Normally you'd be right, if I was using you as the point of gravity then it would instantly fail since you're immune to magic attacks while your aura is active. But, Saint, what if you're not the target of the attack? What if I set their points of gravity to each other and you just happen to be in between them?"

"!?!" Chadman's face flashed with panic but it was too late to stop me. Thanks to all the magic potions I drank earlier my magic reserves were overflowing and I could execute my plan on how to deal with the Saint if Peter wasn't strong enough to kill him on his own; even with Terence's help it was safer to go with this plan.

"W-W-What's going-!?!" We were surrounded by Peltaira's forces which meant I had plenty of bodies to choose from to bury Chadman! I threw my arms out to the side and began altering the gravity of multiple Peltairan's cuirasses so that they would fly toward and begin covering Chadman who couldn't break free unless he used his aura and attacked the point of my magic; his fellow Peltairans. It was a cruel strategy but it seems to be working since he isn't breaking free and I don't have the time or patience to 'honorably' deal with a Saint.

"N-N-No! No! No!!!"

"What is this!?!"

"S-Save me!!!"

"Saint Chadman!!! Please!?!" More men continued to fly through the air as I grabbed more and more people to bury the Saint. Once one of them was buried, I let them go from my magic so I could refocus my magic on additional Peltairans. He hesitated too long and it was now too late for him to break my magic since none of the people directly touching him were being influenced by my magic meaning he would need to use his aura and cut his way through his still-living troops.

"!!!" The aura dragon materialized and roared in anguish, but it was still there which meant Chadman hadn't been crushed to death yet, but he also refused to strike his comrades. Was he willing to let himself die before being forced to 'dishonorably' kill his allies?

"…Stubborn bastard," I cursed under my breath. My head started pounding as the dragon continued to roar. "Will you shut up!?" Using the sword I threw earlier, I cast wind magic to send it flying into the air, thrust my right hand into the air aimed at the sword, and altered the gravity of the pile of people to the sword so they would fly up and begin condensing in the air around the sword. I had to crush him from all angles so he couldn't escape. I had to crush him so this throbbing in my head would stop! "Be quiet!"

"…Commander?" I couldn't see his face but Peter sounded both astonished and afraid. I needed more bodies to add to the pile so I started altering the gravity of Peltairan corpses to send as well as their living troops. My once overflowing magic reserves now burned and were rapidly depleting to the point I could only continue doing this for a few more seconds before I was completely burnt out and would suffer magic exhaustion.

"!!!" The dragon gave a pained cry as I intensified the gravity of the ball of bodies whose screams of pain from being compacted mixed with the dragon's. But it still screamed. The dragon still lived.

"Shut up!" My head felt like it was going to split open and I could feel the blood vessels in my eyes bursting! "Shut up! Shut up! Shut the fuck up and die!" Blood began trickling out of my ears and nose as my body recoiled from how rapidly my magic was draining.

"More~!" The fake Olivia materialized in front of me and was floating in the air just under the ball. "More, Lucina~!" No, she wasn't floating, she was standing on a mountain of thorns that was bursting out of my chest; my soul's garden of briars.

"!?!" More bodies flew into the ball and were crushed. Geysers of blood exploded out of the ball because of how much pressure it was under only for the blood to circle back around and return as if the ball was creating its own gravitational pull. The sound it was making was impossible to forget: it was like the crinkling and dissolving of bone mixed with the sizzling of blood against molten metal and accented by the wails of the damned. There must be something wrong with my eyes since I couldn't see the ball of bodies clearly anymore as a weird heat haze was warping my vision and it looked like the ball was starting to glow.

"More~! Kill the Saint and end this war~!" But the dragon was still there.

"!?!" The dragon kept roaring.

"Commander!?!" My head was splitting open.

"Save…us!?!" I want to go home.

"Lucina!?!" I…

"I want to see Olivia."

***

A sound that would later be described as a mix of shattering glass and fracturing ice demanded the world into silence. There was not a hint of wind to blow through the grass, an animal to cry out for attention, or even a demon to roar and cause chaos as the world would not allow anything to disturb this moment. Floating above Toldrin's wall for all to see, both within and without the city, was a massive 'hole' in the sky itself. The hole was a horizontally elongated rhombus shape with its corners slightly rounded and its edges made of cracks as if it was a hole punched into a pane of glass that refused to fully shatter. Beyond the hole was a sight that captivated, intrigued, and frightened those gathered to see it as it was an impossible sight; beyond the hole in the sky was Gorinville, the capital of Urldrusk. Those closest to the hole could see the citizens of Gorinville going about their lives even though the hole looked like it was also high above the capital's streets. And obstructing the hole, at its very center, was the ball of corpses that Lucina had created using her gravity magic. The ball wasn't a perfect sphere and appeared lumpy with odd 'growths' sticking off it. In the official reports written by survivors of the battle: the hole and ball looked like a massive eye whose pupil was an unknowable obelisk.