Michael ran forward with Bob and Evelyn just behind him. Bob stayed with Evelyn because Michael was missing a limb. If Bob tried to hang on to Michael, he would have a harder time balancing. And if Michael made another mistake, he could lose more than just a limb and Bob didn’t want that.
Michael ran ahead while Evelyn covered his back. If necessary, she can activate her gift to resist the Draco’s fiery breath but Michael couldn’t.
Evelyn stared at Michael’s left arm or the place where his left arm should be. She was shocked when Michael threw his arm toward the Draco but when he ran, she immediately ran with him.
Michael… why?
Evelyn was slower than Michael but her reflexes were fast enough. She could’ve grabbed the arm mid-air and run away with it.
She could have taken the arm and forced Michael to run away but she didn’t.
It was simple. Evelyn trusted Michael with her life, even if he sometimes did stupid and self-sacrificing actions.
When Michael threw his arm toward the Draco, Evelyn stopped herself from rushing forward and catching it. She trusted Michael’s judgment, even though it looked horrendously stupid from her point of view.
So stupid! Why!? Are?! You?! So?! Stupid?!?!
Evelyn blamed herself and she grips her hands tightly. If it wasn’t for her divine gift, blood would have started seeping out of her hands. This catches Michael’s attention. He paces himself and grabs her hand. He lightly rubs her palm with his thumb.
The two continue to run in silence.
Eventually, Michael pulls away and does his best to sign toward her.
+Are you okay?+
Evelyn almost screams but she manages to stop herself. She continues running. She knew that she couldn’t stop even if she wanted to. If she stopped, the Draco would quickly catch up, rendering Michael’s sacrifice moot.
But Michael’s worry about her made her unbelievably angry.
DIDN’T YOU JUST LOSE AN ARM?!?!
She was getting angry but she couldn’t let it show. Michael was already under an unbelievable amount of pressure. She couldn’t bear to add to that.
Michael looked forward but he knew what Evelyn was thinking. He signs toward her.
+I’ll be fine.+
Evelyn purses her lips. She was still annoyed.
“Why did you do that?”
They didn’t stop running. Michael had to adjust so that the spear hanging on his back wouldn’t fall. He turns to Evelyn and sees her tightly holding the steel knife. At least, they both had weapons that could harm the Draco.
Michael didn’t answer Evelyn’s question which made her even angrier but she quickly quashed that feeling. This was not the time to let her emotions get the better of her. She promises herself that she would protect Michael so this doesn’t happen again.
I can’t let this happen again. I need to make sure Michael doesn’t do something like that again.
Michael points upwards. Evelyn follows Michael’s hand and she starts to feel a bit hopeful.
They saw their home.
The three of them had an extremely long and stressful day. The sight of the beautiful waterfalls and the sturdy elevator almost drove Evelyn to tears.
It managed to reinforce the fact that despite their difficulties, they had a place to call home. After all of the carnage, maybe they’d be able to go home and enjoy a meal.
While Evelyn felt hopeful, Michael didn’t. He knew that their home was going to be the site of either the Draco’s death or their doom.
Michael planned for the former and hoped against the latter.
The three of them continue to follow the path back home.
The Draco continued to track them. It was quickly catching up. Michael knew that the Draco would easily find them. Its powerful senses empowered by its hatred ensured that Michael or Evelyn would never escape it unless either of them died.
Michael steels himself. He knew that the Draco would attack their home.
He might lose his home, the home that he’s spent a long time building.
Despite that, Michael was willing to sacrifice his home as long as they survive. He can rebuild his home but he can’t rebuild his family.
Michael resolves to risk everything and forges onward.
He knew that the end was coming.
For both him and the Draco.
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While its prey was running back to their home, the Draco was ecstatic. It has never felt this feeling before, the feeling of one’s soul rejoicing. Its soul screamed in joy. It was as if all of its exhaustion was gone.
Was it because it ate Michael’s arm? Or, was it something else?
The Draco didn’t know but it didn’t care. It felt the feeling when it devoured Michael’s arm so it will focus on that. Earlier, it was in a state of mindless anger and rage but now it felt calm and at peace. It was in a constant state of pleasure, one that it wanted to continue. To do that, it needed to hunt down Michael and devour him, preferably alive.
To feel that ecstasy again, the Draco needed to devour the entirety of his body. Not only did Michael’s flesh give it immense pleasure, the Draco somehow knew that Michael was the catalyst to its next evolution.
It started to move again, fantasizing about how it would eat Michael. It would start with his legs first, savoring the euphoria the Draco would feel. Once the high was gone, it would devour the remains.
Yes, that was perfect.
The Draco internally celebrated as it imagined all the ways it could enjoy Michael’s flesh. As it was about to move, the Draco suddenly remembers Evelyn. Its massive body shudders as it remembered that Evelyn was also like Michael, a human.
If it ate her, would it experience the same pleasure as devouring Michael?
This question assaulted the Draco’s mind.
Would it???
The idea of devouring both Evelyn and Michael turned the Draco insane with desire. For a fraction of a second, the Draco forgot about its recently massacred family. It desperately wanted to feel the ecstasy that its soul felt when it ate Michael’s arm.
With its soul spurred on by the feelings of ecstasy, the Draco roars. After gaining the ability to generate fire, the Draco was effectively an awakened creature. Awakened creatures have the ability to manipulate their souls to create miraculous effects. This is theoretically the final step of evolution. The Draco took a shortcut by awakening before its mind could have evolved to become intelligent. Despite its power, it was still an irrational creature driven by its primal desires.
The Draco growls to itself in amusement. It didn’t know where Michael and Evelyn were but it knew that they couldn’t have gone too far. It then grips the ground with its claws. It wasn’t confident that its body could survive an intense session of flying so it waited for a few minutes for some of its wounds to regenerate.
Lightly flapping its wings, the Draco internally celebrates as it realizes that Evelyn wasn’t able to deal incapacitating damage to its wings.
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Then it moved.
Infusing strength in its wings, the Draco pushed itself upwards and started to fly. The large trees that surrounded the Draco were preventing it from flying in a straight path. Opening its jaws, the Draco releases a plume of fire in front of itself, turning large evolved trees into ash and soot. The monstrous beast crashes through the burning foliage and darkened barks.
Within seconds, the Draco was in the skies. It reached a point that allowed it to survey the entirety of its territory, including a few other places that weren't a part of its domain.
Turning its eyes toward the direction that Michael and Evelyn ran off to, the Draco focuses on finding them.
When the Draco 1st evolved, its form drastically changed. It basically became an entirely new species that set it far and above its original kin. Other than its greater size and physical strength, the Draco gained the gift of flight. While its main evolution was its ability to fly, the logic behind the laws of Teremarae was almost always tight-knit. Unless it was a faulty evolution, the Draco’s body wouldn’t evolve to gain wings only for its other body parts to fail in keeping up. Similar to the birds of Earth, the Draco’s eyes evolved so that they could provide it with sharp images and great visual acuity.
This evolution allowed the Draco to clearly see at extremely long distances as long as it had a clear view. Fortunately for the Draco, the sky was the clearest it could be.
It scanned the gargantuan forest. Its domain was huge as it needed a large number of animals to sate its appetite. It expanded its territory to account for its lesser kin as well. In the process of looking for Michael and Evelyn, the Draco saw a multitude of creatures, ranging from the small three-tailed dogs, a delicacy for the Draco, to the large Ogari, a creature that’s almost a superspecies itself.
It continued to look for the two humans, ignoring its bleeding body. It ignored even the rarest and most delicious creatures that it usually hunted. It only wanted to find Michael and Evelyn.
Then it saw movement. The Draco quickly turns its eyes toward it and sees a river. The movement was expertly hidden but the Draco’s hungry soul and powerful senses knew that Michael and Evelyn were there.
It growled in amusement.
It continued to watch part of the forest, waiting for Michael and Evelyn to appear. And just like it predicted, the Draco sees Michael and Evelyn running toward a large waterfall.
Its maw salivated and it licked its teeth in excitement.
Then the Draco flew towards the river, roaring as it quickly descended upon its prey.
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Evelyn heard a powerful roar and turned around. She sees the Draco flying toward them.
“Michael! It saw us!”
Michael didn’t turn around. He knew that the Draco wouldn’t easily let them go. For the desperate beast, it wasn’t a matter of if but a matter of when.
He nodded to acknowledge Evelyn’s scream.
The two of them ran forward with everything they could muster.
Michael momentarily turns around and gestures toward Bob.
Evelyn quickly throws Bob towards Michael.
Michael catches Bob.
The best friends look at each other. Bob recognized Michael’s look and he prepares himself to be thrown.
Without his left arm, Michael could focus all of his strength on his right side. Still running, Michael uses his momentum to increase his force. He raises his right arm with Bob in hand and throws him toward the elevator.
Bob was used to Michael’s way of fighting so he doesn’t panic as he forcefully flies through the air.
He flies with immense force but he uses momentum to reach the elevator. He reaches the rope holding the elevator and swings around it to reduce his momentum.
Once he stops spinning, he quickly removes the elevator’s lock and starts to raise it upward.
Seeing Bob going up with the elevator, Evelyn shouts.
“Wait! What is he doing?!”
Without looking back, Michael signs with his remaining hand.
+We’ll jump.+
“What?! Wouldn’t we be sitting ducks??! The Draco can just breathe fire on the elevator!”
+No choice. Just follow me.+
“WHAT?!?!”
Evelyn looked at Michael incredulously.
Before she could continue to protest, Michael jumps up and safely lands on the elevator.
He quickly drops down on his body and puts forward his remaining for Evelyn to reach.
Evelyn sees Michael’s extended arm.
She takes it, climbs the elevator, and quickly stands up.
The elevator continues to go up as Bob uses all of his strength so the elevator can quickly reach the top. Evelyn helps raise the elevator. Unfortunately, even with Evelyn, the elevator still moved at a snail’s pace. Looking upward, Evelyn sees the Draco get closer to them.
“Now what?!?!?!”
Michael looks at the elevator. They were still far from the top and they could already see the Draco closing the gap between them.
“Michael!”
Evelyn calls for Michael’s attention and he looks at her. She extends her arm toward him.
“Spear! Now!”
Without hesitation, Michael throws the spear toward her.
“Use this for now.”
Evelyn throws her steel knife toward Michael just as she catches the spear.
Michael frowns.
We need to reach the top. We have to. We still have weapons and materials there that we can use.
Michael continued to raise the elevator but the Draco was getting nearer.
As the Draco approaches, Michael realizes that the elevator was only halfway to the top.
Michael tightly gripped the dagger in his hand. Evelyn's knuckles turned white as she tightened her squeeze on the spear.
Bob was doing everything in his power to move them upwards. His small arms were burning but he didn’t stop.
The elevator moved fast enough but with the Draco so near, it was painfully slow.
The Draco roars.
“Michael! IT’S HERE!”
Michael grits his teeth and prepares himself. If the Draco charged them, he was prepared to jump and face it head-on. As long as Evelyn and Bob survived, Michael was ready to face the Draco in melee combat.
But the Draco had a different plan. Diving closer to its prey, the Draco opened its mouth, preparing to release a plume of fire. Michael prepared himself. He would go in and stab its remaining eye but after the Draco gained the ability to regenerate, Michael knew that there was a possibility that the other eye which Evelyn blinded had regenerated and could see again.
But if Michael managed to blind both eyes, it would take a while to regenerate. Once its sight was gone, their chances of surviving were significantly higher.
Here it comes.
The Draco was close and Michael was about to jump but Evelyn moved first.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Screaming to remove all the fear and hesitation in her heart, Evelyn leaps forward with the spear in her hands.
Michael wanted to grab her but he only had one hand and it was holding a steel knife. He wanted to throw it to the side to grab her but his rational side screamed at him. He kept his grip on the steel blade.
Using all of her strength coupled with the momentum of jumping off the elevator, Evelyn aims the spear towards the Draco.
The Draco, blinded by its desire for man-flesh, charges Evelyn with fire in its mouth.
Michael was about to jump forward but Bob manages to grab his hair before he could gain any momentum.
Evelyn collides with the Draco’s charge. The two clash with spear and claw and fire and grit.
The flying beast roars in pain as Evelyn pierces its chest with the steel spear.
Evelyn activated her gift mid-air, allowing her to weather the storm of claws, fire, and teeth. Using the Draco’s teeth which were digging into her skin, she drives the spear deeper into the Draco’s chest.
The pain causes the Draco to lose focus on its wings. The two of them fall.
Michael tries to jump again but Bob harshly hits his head. The little monkey signs toward him.
+Get up! Help there!+
Michael nodded. He knew that he was being emotional again. Looking down from the edge of the elevator, Michael grips the steel knife and throws it towards the Draco.
Bob cheers for Evelyn as the elevator finally reaches the top.
Locking the elevator in place, Michael runs towards their home’s storage area.
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Evelyn and the Draco continued to fall.
The pull of gravity affected both creatures but Evelyn held on. With the spear embedded into the Draco, it was the only thing that Evelyn could hold onto. The Draco, on the other hand, continued to strike Evelyn with its claws and teeth but found that even its most vicious attacks couldn’t pierce her defense.
A savage glint appears in the Draco’s eyes.
Evelyn was ecstatic when her gamble paid off. She didn’t expect the Draco to suddenly focus on her which allowed her to protect Michael.
Suddenly, she was thrown off the spear. She feels a dull pain emanate from her back. Looking for the source of the attack, Evelyn sees the Draco’s tail move like a whip.
Tail!
The Draco’s tail snaps forward, striking Evelyn. Cautious of the tail, Evelyn raises her arms to cover her face. She successfully blocks the strike but she feels a tingling sensation in her arms.
They continued to fall.
The Draco moves its tail again, preparing to strike Evelyn down. As she prepares to brace herself, Evelyn sees a glint in her peripheral vision.
Michael!
As the Draco’s tail moves to strike her, Evelyn maneuvers her body and uses the force delivered to her arm to move upward. She quickly changes her stance to grab the knife.
The Draco falls past her, creating a small gap between them.
Folding her arms close to herself, Evelyn starts to accelerate. She sees the falling Draco about to snap its tail toward her but she uses her faster movement and dodges to the side.
She manages to close the gap between her and the Draco. Once she reaches the falling beast, she holds onto the spear and uses it as leverage. She then stabs its body with her steel knife.
The Draco roars in pain as Evelyn starts stabbing its body multiple times, creating new wounds. The Draco tries to angle its tail to strike Evelyn but she held onto the spear which was embedded in its chest.
Once the Draco manages to get an angle, it strikes Evelyn causing her to lose her grip on the spear but as if gifted with unlimited stamina, Evelyn forcefully grabs the spear to prevent herself from falling off. She then continues the bloody assault.
Her body continued to resist the Draco’s unbelievably powerful and flexible tail but she started to feel the damage build up inside as if the walls erected by her divine gift were being slowly shattered. The Draco knew that its claws and teeth were unable to penetrate her gift so it recklessly used its tail.
Weathering another bone-shattering strike from the Draco’s tail, Evelyn decided that she needed to get rid of it.
Continuing her assault on the Draco’s body, Evelyn waited for the next strike.
Then she heard the snap again.
Quickly turning around, Evelyn swings the steel dagger with all of her strength.
The tail and the dagger connect causing sparks to fly as the two strong objects collide.
Evelyn’s arm felt numb but due to her gift, she managed to hold on to the dagger.
Unfortunately for the Draco, its tail was spurting blood.
It screams in pain and grabs Evelyn with its claws. Desperate to inflict an incapacitating injury to Evelyn, the Draco uses all of its strength, only to find that it couldn’t crush her.
Evelyn tried to escape but the Draco’s strength was far beyond even Michael’s full-powered grip. She sees the Draco open its mouth.
Fire starts to build up within the Draco’s maw.
With her gift active, Evelyn knew she could withstand the Draco’s fire but could she survive a constant stream of fire?
She didn’t want to find out. Evelyn tried to pry herself out but the Draco was too strong.
The monstrous beast relished seeing Evelyn futilely struggle. That was its mistake.
The two of them feel an immensely powerful shock rock their bodies as the Draco strikes the ground at terminal velocity
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Michael rushes towards their storage area.
Opening the closed doors, Michael orders Bob to open the drug cabinet.
Bob jumps off his shoulder and immediately follows Michael’s order. Michael rushes to a safely hidden storage chest. Michael moves the chests around as he looks for one of his final resorts. He quickly found it.
Michael looked at the small chest which had the active and sleeping psion stone.
When the Draco evolved to be able to breathe fire, he remembered these mysterious objects. The log explained what they could do but Michael never tried it due to the associated risks.
Michael had no choice. He also knew that the Draco’s ability to breathe fire is similar to the psion stone’s powers, albeit on a more specific scale.
He takes both psion stones. One as the conduit and the other as a battery.
Running out of the storage room, Michael rushes towards the elevator.
Not even halfway, Michael hears the flap of powerful wings.
Oh no.
He then sees the Draco fly past the waterfall and above him. It quickly turns downward and lands behind him.
Michael quickly turns around with both psion stones in his right hand.
Tsk.
He grits his teeth as he sees Evelyn getting chewed on by the Draco’s powerful jaws.