Seth’s lightning bounced off Yuki’s body like she was made of rubber. One strike of her claws made a shockwave that sliced through half the dungeon. Her tails attacked like they had a mind of their own and her wings created tornadoes with every single flap.

“Do you happen to need help?” asked Alastar hoping he would refuse. The mage was struggling to collect samples before the two destroyed them.

“Nope,” said Seth while throwing a ball of earth so compressed its atoms were crying under the strain. “A hero’s duel is no place for his vassals.”

“Wasn’t blondy the current hero?” asked Yuki while smashing the earth ball with her skull.

“There’s only room for one hero in this world,” corrected the pixie.

“And you want to be it? How cute!”

Seth’s arm twitched like he was having a stroke. With a mad grin, he pulled out every bit of mana remaining inside his core before hurlling a van sized fireball towards the Queen.

“Really?” Yuki smirked. Then, like a vacuum cleaner on steroids, she took a breath so deep she sucked half the air in the dungeon along with Seth’s fireball. A moment later, she released it all in the form of a dragon breath which set the entire room ablaze.

More than a minute later, when the flames finally subsided, Momo was almost choking Seth in fear while Alastar was crying over charred boss corpses.

“You think I’m pissed at Bratley over some squabble?” said the so called Spider Queen while horns grew from her forehead. “I’m his only living descendant, yet the bastard couldn’t even be bothered to send me a card.”

“What/who did he have sex with?” asked Alastar while taking out his book to take notes.

“Half the continent,” Yuki sighed. “Why do you think the infant mortality rate is so high in this country?” For a second, her eyes looked like a demon’s.

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“Wait a minute,” she said towards Seth. “Is that why you’re after him? To outshine the hero by killing the big, bad dragon?”

The warrior ignored her while siphoning mana out of Momo. The squirrel's fur turned white and he almost fell asleep in his master’s arms.

“Round two,” said Seth while cracking his neck.

“I have a proposal,” Yuki stopped him. “Bratly’s an asshole and the blonde guy is an idiot. But, they’re both stronger than you. Even in a thousand years, I doubt you’ll beat either of them.

So, how about you bring Bratly here? I’ll deal with him. You can then claim the victory and become the dragon slaying hero everyone reveres.”

Seth’s eyes went wide and his mouth slightly opened. “You think so little of me,” he muttered like a child disappointed in his mother.

Yuki raised an eyebrow. She then raised her hands to block a wind blade heading her way. With a swipe of her tail she countered, and once again, the two were engaged in a fiery duel.

“What are you talking about?” the Spider Queen asked. When she got no response, she turned her head towards Alastar. “What is he talking about?”

“You know so little of him,” the mage shook his head. Yuki then turned towards Momo but the squirrel was shaking his head too.

“What the hell? Pixie, explain!” she said after punching Seth into a wall. While wiping the blood from his lips, the warrior gave her a defying glance.

“You know nothing John, I mean Spider Queen.”

He stood up.

“Yes, that’s why I’m asking.”

“What’s the point in explaining to she who cannot understand?”

“Try me,” Yuki said through gritted teeth. Her tails were growing by the second and the mana coming out of her body was making it hard to breathe.

“There’s no use,” Seth shook his head gravely. “We’ll just have to fight.”

Despite the overwhelming mana pressure and her multiple displays of broken power, the pixie was still walking towards her. His pace was slow, his feet wobbly, yet like an un-killable zombie, he pressed on.

‘Something’s wrong,’ Yuki realized. ‘No opponent in my 1000 years of existence has ever emanated such… pressure. Is this a second wind?' she wondered. 'Will he finally show me his full strength?'

Seth's pace was slow but steady. His arms were dangling but his eyes held the confidence of an immortal.

'Maybe he is the hero. Maybe that blonde guy was full of crap. Maybe…’

The Spider Queen felt a tug on her wing. Momo was signing her to bend down so he could whisper something.

“What?” she complied reluctantly. “...Huh?” the more she heard, the more her expression changed: first to surprise, then to anger, and then to utter disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”