Sophia slid down one side of the dragon-turtle’s shell, jabbing her frost venom dagger into a crack while Veronica took aim with her crossbow. The king’s tail came whipping around the moment that Sophia’s weapon stung its flesh. But she had learned from her summons’ demise and was waiting for the blow.
She leapt out of the way at the last possible moment, as the beast’s whiplike appendage collided with its shell, a few feet away from where the great black spear protruded. The tip came crashing down with the power of a battering ram, widening the fractures beneath the force of the strike.
It must have hurt like hell, because the giant reptile let out an unearthly screech. It began bucking and writhing but couldn’t dislodge its agile assailants. When it stopped to catch its breath, Sophia stung it twice more in succession, injecting the final drops of venom from her dagger to goad the beast into a frenzy.
The king issued a furious roar. It extended its neck and then reached toward its back, ready to end Sophia’s life between its hulking jaws. But that was not what happened. Because the reaction was exactly what the women had been hoping for. The angle offered Veronica a perfect line of fire and she had already set up the shot.
Before the beast struck, she fired four bolts back-to-back, each missile glowing with a sickly green light. The first shot deflected off the beast’s thick scales, but the rest hit the gouge that Nick had carved in a remarkable display of precision, bolts sinking into flesh and then discharging their acid.
The king shrieked as solvent began flooding its veins, softening its scales as the acid ate away at the bonds holding the tissue together. The fresh infusion of pain was the final straw, taking the beast past the edge of madness and beyond, overcome with mindless fury.
Veronica held onto the great spear to keep her balance, while Sophia leapt to the ground. The king hadn’t noticed V yet, since she had attacked from range. She crouched behind the shaft to stay out of sight, waiting for a chance to follow up.
It went charging for Sophia in a red flash, but before it could reach her, Devin was there. He covered her with his shield while smacking the beast with his axe to draw its attention. “Close your eyes,” he yelled, then unleashed his flashfire pulse.
There was an intense flare of heat as a dome of flame expanded from his location, stopping just short of Veronica’s position. The fire didn’t seem to hurt the king, but it served to momentarily blind it, letting Sophia and Devin fall back and open some distance between them.
The dragon-turtle reared back reflexively, stretching its neck out of its shell while preparing to lunge, offering the opening that Veronica was waiting for. She timed her leap and then sprang like a cat, wicked sets of bone claws protruding from the back of her hands.
Before the king knew she was there, she took aim for the patch of scales she had weakened with her acid and struck, working the claws into its neck, then letting her momentum do the rest.
Thanks to her acid infusion, her weapons bit deep. The bone blades parted scale and sliced into the tissue beneath, injecting the poison created by her ability. Blood began pouring out of the wounds in great, pulsing sprays, as her anticoagulant went to work. Crimson vitae rained down, splattering into the beast’s eyes, and obstructing its vision.
Nick’s spirit rose when he saw how effective V’s move had been. If we can hit that spot again, we might actually be able to kill it. While the king was distracted, Veronica darted beyond the reach of its claws, ducking behind Devin’s shield to stand beside Sophia.
Blinded by blood and maddened by pain, the beast spun to face where Devin, Veronica, and Sophia stood. But its movements were slower than before. The powerful predator was finally reaching the end of its reserves.
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Nick felt a flash of optimism as he ducked beneath a wild swing of its tail, which died only three seconds later, when he realized that flames were flickering in front of the king’s beak.
“It’s going to breathe fire,” he cried out. “Run!”
But it was already too late.
The river king inhaled, its breath rattling in lungs that were half-filled with blood. A ball of ruby flame shimmered into existence in front of its mouth a bare second later.
Nick knew from experience that it would finish charging its ability within a matter of moments, then unleash a killer cone of flame upon his friends.
“Breath attack incoming,” Kenji cried out. “Disperse and dodge!” Everyone spread out and began scrambling for cover, as the beast’s flames grew more intense, shifting from cherry red to electric orange.
In the heart of that dark moment, Nick knew that they were in trouble. There wasn’t anything substantial enough to hide behind and there wasn’t enough time to run out of range.
Unless he did something now, some of his friends were going to die. But Nick wasn’t about to let that happen.
Heart hammering in his chest, he began running straight for the river king, drawing his wand free from its sheath. As Nick sprinted toward the fierce and rising flames, Devin fell into place at his side. The athletic man had come to the same conclusion and was here to help.
By now, the heat was so intense that it scorched Nick's face. He could feel his hair burning as he ran toward the roaring conflagration. Within a fleeting handful of heartbeats, the beast would let loose a lethal jet of flame. He had to close the distance before that happened.
“Nick, here!” Devin called out while tossing his shield low along the ground. Nick dove, catching the shield and riding it across the muddy soil, sliding below the burning sphere and then rolling to cover himself with the sheet of blue metal.
By now, the ball of roiling blaze had changed color, shifting from red, to orange, to blinding white.
Half a heartbeat before the river king let loose its fury in a torrent of living flame, Nick took aim with his wand and fired two shots back-to-back, targeting the bottom of the beast’s scaley head.
Blam, blam! The reverberation of the wand echoed across the open air, powered by Nick’s trait and the points in magic he had gained while crossing the bog. The blasts sent the beast’s head whipping up, just as it released its ability. A pillar of raging flame shot over a hundred feet into the air, lighting up the side of the tower.
The heat was incredible. It would have seared Nick’s lungs had he been foolish enough to breathe. It would have snuffed his life like a candle if it wasn’t for Devin’s shield. He darted away to open some distance and then looked over his shoulder, overcome with horror when he realized that the king’s head was coming back down. That its flaming breath hadn’t finished firing.
It seemed that despite his best efforts, his friends were going to die after all. That was when he saw Devin running straight toward the beast, trailing smoke as bits of his clothing were consumed.
Before the dragon turtle’s head came all the way down. Devin was there. He reached up and caught the creature below its jaw, straining to keep its breath from reaching the ground. In that moment, Nick was terrified for his friend.
If the heat was this intense from behind the shield, how could Devin hope to survive?
That was when Nick remembered the man’s flame resistance ability. He prayed that it would be enough, although his heart was darkened by doubt.
By now, Devin’s hair was scorched, and his face was covered in char and blisters. Incredibly, he endured, overpowering the immense creature long enough for its breath attack to expire.
Muscles corded with strain, shaking and screaming his defiance, he fought the beast to a standstill until the last lick winked out.
The instant it did, the river king struck, lashing out with one foot. Devin saw it coming at the last possible moment, raising his weapon to keep its claws from gutting him like a fish.
The impact was incredible, sending the armored man flying through the air like a toy soldier kicked by an angry child.
The enraged beast turned its head, ready to end the life of the being who had dared defy it. Its jaws spread wide, darting down to rend Devin asunder.
Half a second before the blow landed, two of Nick’s mana darts caught it straight in the face, sinking into both of its eyes. Although the spell was less effective against giant opponents, the double headshot must have really fucking hurt.
Because instead of biting Devin in half like a fish stick, the river king jerked back like it had been struck by lightning, convulsing as Nick’s magic surged into its brain.
Before the beast could recover, Kenji and Sophia were there. While Veronica laid down covering fire, Sophia grabbed Devin and dragged him beyond the reach of the maddened beast, while Kenji helped Nick back onto his feet.
“Now while it’s disabled,” Kenji yelled above the king’s roar. “We need to end this while we still can.”