The castle was engulfed in a unique tornado created by five dragons of different colors circling around it. In the center, a crimson-red dragon hovered over the ruined walls of the dungeon, while Heirloom stood on its back, grinning down at the princess who had trusted him to behave.
The wave timer had struck zero and sounded a battle cry that was audible from all around the capital city.
Dumbstruck, Ruby stared at Heirloom in disbelief. Her wide, brown eyes and open jaw remained unchanged through the large gust of wind surrounding her. As if all time had frozen for her, nothing around her seemed to steal her attention.
Ruby: [How?!]
She threw her head forward and took a step. The heavy winds blew her back to where she was and prevented her from stepping forward.
Ruby: [Why are– what are you doing?!]
Her voice didn’t reach the dragon tamer through the wind, but she continued to cry out.
Ruby: [Heirloom, you have to listen to me for once! They’ll kill you!]
Royal Knight Sophia: [It’s too late.]
A familiar voice replied, followed by the footsteps of two individuals.
RK Sophia: [It’s as Didus feared. He got his memories back, so there’s no saving him.]
Ruby turned to see Sophia and Ali walking towards her, covered in their pink gear. They stepped in front of Ruby as Sophia pulled out a lollipop.
Ruby: [We can’t kill him!]
Sophia slightly turned her head to glance at her helpless tears. With a sigh, she looked at Ali and waited for a response.
After receiving a nod, Sophia reached for the stick hanging out of her mouth and pulled it out of her mouth, mouthing a pop with her lips as the blue ball of sugar escaped her. As soon as Ruby laid eyes on the lollipop, she immediately began to feel lightheaded. Losing all balance on her feet and sense of reality, she fell forward to where Ali caught her.
RK Sophia dejectedly: [She doesn’t deserve this.]
Royal Knight Ali: [It’s our job to protect the kingdom.]
Ali moved Ruby’s unconscious body to his back, to where he began to carry her.
RK Ali: [It just so happens that her old friend is causing havoc.]
Sophia watched Ruby’s head as it was hanging over Ali’s shoulder. Her cheeks were red from the tears, yet her body was calm.
RK Sophia: [Take her back to Zack’s place. We can’t have her lying here for the sake of it.]
RK Ali: [On it.]
In that same instance, Ali disappeared into thin air and left Sophia with the spiraling dragons. She stuck her lollipop back into her mouth and reached out for her interface.
As soon as Ali reappeared, Sophia tossed him a mana potion and let out a groan.
RK Sophia: [If Didus expects me to take on the dragons, he’s got another thing coming for him.]
She crossed her arms.
RK Sophia: [I’m completely useless against these things.]
RK Ali: [These aren’t regular dragons. They’re one step away from being tamers.]
RK Sophia: [Tamers are no different from the creatures they command. Once a monster, always a monster.]
The dragons were flying circles around the castle when they let out a cry and started to pick up their pace. The winds grew at an intense rate, causing Sophia and Ali's uniforms to flow with the gust. Both of them firmly held their place and stared in awe. Meanwhile, Heirloom kept his eyes on the Royal Knights and waited for their next move.
Heirloom wasn't entirely sure what was happening around him. The constant influx of memories that he didn't know he had constantly flooded his mind, leaving him incapable of acting on his own. From the moment he broke out of the chains, he'd been following a voice inside his head.
Although Heirloom recognized the hot pink, black, and white uniforms worn by the two in front of him, he wasn't sure who they were. Suddenly, a strand of the girl's hair changed to purple as she smirked, surprising the tamer with devastating fear.
Heirloom frightened: [STOP HER!!]
With a point and cry, all of the surrounding dragons came to a halt and changed their directions towards the Royal Knights. Simultaneously all of the dragons took a large breath and exhaled large beams of flames.
Sophia nervously stood still, losing her smile as the fires approached. The corridor began to heat up from the flames that were surrounding it, and so did the Royal Knights.
RK Ali panicking: [We need to get out of here!]
He grabbed onto Sophia’s shoulder, then was quickly pushed aside by her hand.
RK Ali: [What are you doing?! We’ll die!]
RK Sophia: [Just wait.]
The flames traveled quickly through the air and burnt up anything that came near them.
RK Ali: [I’m not leaving you to die!]
Ali reached for Sophia’s shoulder again. Just before the flames could connect with the Royal Knights–
Paladin Zack: [HOLY WIND SIPHON!]
The sky was a deep shade of red, and from above, a voice full of determination echoed in panic. Suddenly, the bright flames that surrounded the Royal Knights transformed into gas and vanished into thin air. Heirloom and Ali were taken aback and looked up to witness the spectacle. The wind Paladin descended towards Heirloom, who was falling, and landed with a thud beside the Royal Knights. His heavy silver armor was now adorned with pink and green highlights, the signature pink ‘L’ positioned at the center of his chest, and a shiny new helmet that covered his head. As he touched down, the white and pink cape attached to his suit fluttered in the wind before finally settling.
RK Sophia: [WHY DID YOU TAKE SO LONG?!]
Zack turned around and looked at them. Sophia's narrowed eyes and clenched teeth caught him off-guard, but he was so used to her short temper that he brushed it off.
Paladin Zack: [Good, you were unharmed.]
RK Sophia: [WE WOULD’VE BEEN FRIED TOAST IF YOU WAITED ANOTHER SECOND!]
RK Ali: [I would’ve taken us out of here, Sophia.]
RK Sophia: [This fool wanted a grand entrance before he entered the battle.]
She pressed a finger against the Leviere logo on Zack’s chest.
RK Sophia: [Where did you get this?]
Paladin Zack: [Now’s not the time to chit-chat. We’ve got a battle ahead of us.]
He tightened his grip on his hilt and allowed it to glow a silent green. With a turn, he narrowed his eyes and gave a mean glare at the person atop the crimson dragon.
Paladin Zack: [This shouldn’t be more difficult than Hydra.]
RK Ali: [Where are the soldiers?]
Paladin Zack: [Turns out there are other places being attacked that Didus didn’t tell us about.]
Sophia clenched her teeth.
Paladin Zack: [He sent the commanders and that foreign nation to fight them.]
RK Ali: [So these are our responsibility?]
Zack nodded.
RK Ali: [Well, that makes you our offense, and I’m the transportation.]
RK Sophia: [I’ll try helping out by reading Heirloom’s mind. Let me link up with you guys so I can communicate through telepathy.]
A pop-up appeared in front of the two’s interface that requested Sophia’s permission. They both accepted and got into the Kanzaki stance.
RK Sophia in their heads: [Good luck, you guys!]
RK Ali in their heads: [We don’t need it.]
Once he placed his hand on Zack’s shoulder, they vanished into thin air.
(Conversations between the boys and Sophia are telepathic from this point forward)
Reappearing beneath the clouds, they fell with the force of gravity towards the body of a cobalt dragon. Since Zack’s gravitational pull was greater, Ali held onto the cape to fall at a similar speed. Its back was covered in spikes similar to an ankylosaurus’, only with the giant spikes coming off of its head. Even its wings were covered and left no space for them to land.
RK Sophia: [What are you guys doing?!]
RK Ali: [We’re going to take them out from above!]
RK Sophia: [ARE YOU STUPID?!]
RK Ali: [Trust!]
He turned to Zack, who had his hand tightly gripped around his hilt and body moving down like an arrow. As the two built up their momentum, Ali reached for Zack’s shoulder.
A portal of white light appeared in front of them, which absorbed them faster than Sophia could keep up. They were spat out on the other side, above the blue dragon with Zack’s sword unsheathed and a trail of green light following them.
Paladin Zack: [AUUGH!!]
Like a knife through butter, they cut through the dragon without a hassle. They somehow managed to find a spot on its body where no armor was protecting it and no spikes to block them. From the ground, Sophia watched as two falling stars disappeared into the dragon, and reappeared muddier. As they continued to fall, Ali turned around and watched the body of the dragon cut in two, slowly separating it from its other half and falling with them.
The dragon itself wasn’t too large. Slightly bigger than Erma, though its structure was nothing compared to the Hydra.
RK Ali: [We did it!]
RK Sophia: [Stop your fall!]
Ali quickly turned around and noticed they weren’t far from the ground. In a panic, he teleported on the back of an emerald dragon and jumped for joy. As he celebrated, Sophia looked around as if something had been missing.
RK Ali: [We took one down! Four more to go!]
RK Sophia: [Where’s Zack?!]
Confused, Ali stared back at Sophia with wide eyes, when suddenly an explosion came from not too far from the castle. The two of them frighteningly jumped.
RK Sophia: [YOU IDIOT!!]
RK Ali: [I WAS SCARED!]
Paladin Zack: [I’m okay! Don’t worry about me.]
He stood up and dusted off any dirt that got on his armor.
Paladin Zack: [We can’t use the same plan as last time. These dragons aren’t stupid.]
RK Ali: [What do you mean? There was no way they could’ve reacted to that.]
Paladin Zack: [That was a Bismuth. A slow but tough dragon type. Everything else will know what we’re doing before we can get close.]
RK Ali: [There’s no way that–]
A thunderous clap roared from the ground beneath them and stopped in front of the dragon Ali was standing on.
Zack quickly jumped to the sky and drew his blade at the neck of the dragon. As he struck downward, a sudden force shot at him and sent him flying to the castle walls. His collision dented the tough metal-like material and knocked him unconscious. Sophia and Ali stood perplexed as they couldn’t believe their eyes. The protector of the kingdom was shut down from one attack.
RK Sophia: [ZACK!!!]
Paladin Zack mumbling: [I’ll be okay. The damned thing almost killed me.]
With what little strength he miraculously had, he pulled a Max Heal potion from his inventory and simmered it all over his body.
Paladin Zack: [We have to be more careful and think things through.]
RK Ali sorrowfully: [Sorry for doubting you.]
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
RK Sophia: [It isn’t your fault.]
Paladin Zack: [Sophia.]
She turned back to him.
Paladin Zack: [What’s the news on Heirloom’s thoughts?]
RK Sophia: [He’s been baffled this entire time. My guess is that he’s still recovering his memories.]
Paladin Zack: [Any chance you can read the crimson dragon’s thoughts?]
Sophia lowered her gaze.
Paladin Zack: [I just thought that because she isn’t a complete dragon, nor a tamer, you can somehow tap into her human brain?]
RK Sophia: [I’m not sure. I’d have to get close to make an unsolicited link to be 100%.]
RK Ali: [Sneaking up on them isn’t possible, so how are we supposed to hold you there for a few minutes??]
Paladin Zack: [Ali, you’ve been standing on a dragon for well over a few minutes now.]
Confused, Ali looked down and saw the emerald green scales beneath his feet.
Paladin Zack: [Sneaking up on them is possible, as long as it’s instant and in a spot they can’t see from.]
As Ali perched atop the dragon, his eyes scanned the group of dragons below him. Noticing that the emerald dragon was perched highest among them, he took note of the precarious formation they were arranged in. The dragons were stacked on top of each other, with the yellow dragon at the very bottom and the silver dragon perched above it. Ali couldn't help but wonder how they managed to maintain their balance in this formation.
His attention was drawn to the fact that the only dragon that had been above the silver dragon was now missing. This observation sparked an idea in Ali's mind – perhaps he could use this to his advantage in some way. As he pondered this, he couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation for what was to come.
RK Ali: [That’s it! I have a plan!]
Paladin Zack: [Let’s hear it.]
RK Ali: [The dragons are stacked in a way that one could easily defend the other, but that’s only from top to bottom! The bottom dragons can’t see above them, so they are relying on Erma to spread the information.]
Paladin Zack fascinated: [They’re like matryoshka dolls.]
RK Sophia: [I’m not sure what those are, but if you think it’ll work, I’m down to give it a shot!]
Ali opened three bottles of blue potions and drank them quickly.
RK Sophia: [How many of those have you had?]
RK Ali: [Can you fight, Zack?]
His ignoring Sophia’s question didn’t seem to faze her.
Paladin Zack: [Yeah.]
He tilted his blade forward with a firm grip on its hilt. He held it so that he could see his own reflection through it's battered metal.
Paladin Zack: [Let’s do it.]
Ali instantly teleported to Zack and then teleported back to the back of the dragon with Zack by his side. Sophia noticed Erma subtly looking around for the location of the two and called it out as the two planted themselves on the dragons.
RK Ali: [So the plan does work!]
Paladin Zack: [We’ve got to hurry up or they’ll notice.]
RK Sophia: [How do you plan on taking this down?]
Paladin Zack: [An emerald dragon specializes in wind. I’ll have to use fire if I want to take it down in one shot.]
RK Ali: [Then what are you waiting for?!]
Paladin Zack: [Sadly, fire is the one element I have no control over… but you do.]
RK Ali: [My fire isn’t developed enough to take on a dragon.]
Paladin Zack: [I know it isn’t, but–]
Zack looked down at his Swordbreaker.
Paladin Zack: [Faith told me about something one time that I haven't been able to get out of my head. “If in an opposing state of mind, abilities can be merged between two.”]
RK Ali: [You’re going to trust something you heard from a sorceress?]
Paladin Zack: [She has no reason to lie, but there’s a chance she could be wrong.]
RK Sophia: [Combining your abilities is one of those skills exclusive to fairies and people capable of using a universally forbidden magic. The current law doesn’t allow anyone else to do it.]
Paladin Zack silently: [Is that so…]
The emerald dragon cried into the sky and began to soar down towards Erma. The two on the dragon's back lost balance as it picked up its pace, but quickly found their ground.
RK Ali: [What’s going on?!]
RK Sophia: [They noticed you! Their all changing formation!]
Ali and Zack looked over the dragon. To their surprise, the three other dragons had moved to the same level and began circling around Erma. The last dragon to reach the bottom was the dragon they currently were standing on, and by the pace it was moving, they had several seconds to make their move.
Paladin Zack: [We need to act quickly!]
RK Ali: [What am I supposed to do?!]
Paladin Zack: [Shoot me with your fire!]
RK Ali: [Sophia already told us, that won’t work! All it’ll do is damage you!]
Paladin Zack: [Trust me!]
They were quickly reaching the hoard of dragons beneath them.
Palazin Zack: [Hurry!]
Zack raised his blade above his head and twisted the hilt. A quick burst of wind blew around him and an invisible force circulated around his blade.
Paladin Zack: [ALI!!!]
RK Ali: [But–]
RK Sophia: [YOU DON’T HAVE TIME!]
A small ball of orange flames appeared above Ali’s palm, so tiny that it couldn’t light a campfire if it tried, let alone a cigarette. With a hurl, the flames floated towards the light winds surrounding the paladin.
Before the flames could reach the Paladin, a sudden bolt of yellow energy shot at the two standing on the emerald dragon, and with a thunderclap, they flew in the other direction. Within an instant, they crashed into the walls of a nearby building and fell to the ground.
RK Sophia: [ALI! ZACK!]
She received a notification that they both left her party and panicked. A dragon covered in yellow scales and several bolt-shaped scars, screeched into the air while thunderous booms played with every flap of its short wings. Among the chaos, the dragon clad in blue somehow was resurrected and flying amongst the dragons. Its scales faded in tone and its eyes were as dark as the night sky. It appeared to have been reanimated by the purple dragon.
Being disconnected from the party, the two spoke out loud to one another.
Paladin Zack: [Damn! What is that?]
RK Ali: [I… don’t know…]
Ali struggled to get up due to the massive bruise he received during the collision. The armor plate around his knee dented inward and punctured through his skin. Zack slowly turned to him.
RK Ali: [My best guess is that it’s a lightning attack.]
Paladin Zack: [Another one of those and we’re done.]
RK Ali chuckling: [And you said it’ll be easier than Hydra.]
Paladin Zack: [We’ll have to go at this strategically from now on. Attacking head-on won’t work anymore.]
RK Ali: [And how exactly do we do that?]
Paladin Zack: [I was hoping you would know.]
The two silently looked at each other for a moment in the chaos. Their silence was quickly broken by a sudden pop-up that appeared to the right of their peripherals stating that Sophia was requesting permission.
As soon as they accepted, they received major headaches from the shouting woman on the other side.
RK Sophia: [WHAT THE HELL!]
The two of them rested their palms against their heads and winced. Her voice echoed in their heads.
RK Sophia: [I THOUGHT YOU GUYS DIED!]
RK Ali: [Calm down, it’s not that easy to kill me.]
Paladin Zack: [We’re fine! There’s no need to yell!]
Sophia pressed her teeth together.
Paladin Zack: [We need a new strategy to get you on Erma. Since you can’t fight, the least you can do is help with the planning.]
RK Sophia: [The dragons changed their positioning, so attacking the one at the top isn’t viable anymore. Our best bet is to attack Erma head-on.]
Paladin Zack: [I figured someone with your mind would know better than to attack without a plan.] Sophia replied with a chuckle.
RK Sophia: [Oh, I have a plan.]
She grinned and made all of her hair turn purple. Fading in from where her hair parted, it quickly made its way to the bottom of her long hair.
RK Sophia: [Zack, you need to cover me for a bit.]
Paladin Zack grinning: [I’m liking the confidence.]
Zack pulled his blade out from the rubble and gripped the hilt with all his might.
Paladin Zack: [Leave that to me!]
Ali quickly teleported by Sophia’s side and looked over the horizon as the dragons fell to the floor.
RK Ali: [What’s the plan, Soph?]
RK Sophia: [Once the dragons land, I need you to teleport me onto the Bismuth’s back.]
The dragons created a four-point protective square around Erma, with the Bismuth up front.
RK Ali: [I don’t like the sound of that.]
RK Sophia: [Trust me. This’ll be epic!]
Paladin Zack: [We have no other choice, Ali. Let’s get this done before they do any more damage.]
RK Ali: [Fine.]
RK Sophia: [On my mark.]
Once the dragons landed and created a gust of wind that ferociously blew against their clothes, Sophia smiled and shouted.
RK Sophia: [Go!]
Faster than Ali could rest his palm on Sophia’s shoulder, Zack moved at the speed of sound in front of the dragons, hopping from the debris around them with insults. He quickly caught the attention of the dragons and threw out several wind siphons.
Ali and Sophia suddenly appeared on the spiked beast holding hands. Pulling on his hand, Sophia charged towards Erma with a massive grin on her face. Ali on the other hand was chugging down health and mana potions until he maxed out.
The emerald dragon noticed their small bodies running across the jagged body of the Bismoth and quickly took action. Charging up a flame from its throat, it leaned back and shot out a large ball of orange light.
RK Sophia: [Zack!]
Paladin Zack: [On it!]
Instantly, Zack appeared in front of the two with his sword acting as a shield. The ball of fire pushed against his sword and suddenly evaporated.
Paladin Zack: [Keep going!]
Zack bravely leaped towards the emerald dragon, with his sword in hand, and with one swift movement, he slashed the dragon's eye open. The colossal beast stumbled back, letting out a deafening roar, as Zack fearlessly plunged into its gaping mouth.
Meanwhile, Ali and Sophia had managed to navigate their way to the end of the Bismoth's tail. With the dragon's body writhing beneath them, they leaped into the air with all their might. Suddenly, a shimmering portal materialized before them, and in the blink of an eye, they found themselves transported to the back of the emerald dragon.
As they landed on the slimy scales, Ali and Sophia struggled to maintain their balance, but their courage and determination kept them from falling. They quickly regained their footing.
RK Sophia: [Lightning dragon has noticed us!]
The smaller of the five dragons sat at the back of the formation and noticed them.
RK Ali: [That one’s bad news! Its attacks are too fast!]
RK Sophia: [You’re faster! When it charges up, teleport to its back.]
Ali and Sophia made their way, cautiously following the yellow dragon's path. Their eyes remained fixed on the creature as they traversed the emerald dragon's back.
Meanwhile, Zack leaped onto the back of the Bismoth, and as he looked on, he noticed the electrical energy gathering within the yellow dragon's neck. Trying to counteract this, he attempted to cast a wind siphon, but the purple dragon obstructed his movements.
Suddenly, the lightning dragon surged forward with incredible speed, unleashing a powerful white and yellow charge from its mouth..
RK Sophia: [N-]
Before she could finish, she found herself on the back of the lightning dragon’s head as it was shooting the beam at the emerald dragon. Within the blink of an eye, the beam shot through the emerald dragon and into the ground like nothing stood in its way.
RK Sophia: [Nice! Next one!]
Paladin Zack: [I have to take out the necromancer! Hold on for a moment!]
As Zack jumped towards the purple dragon, Sophia looked around.
RK Sophia: [I’ll put this one to sleep.]
She knelt down and reached out to touch the top of its head, her long purple hair trailing behind her like a shimmering veil. As her fingers made contact with the dragon's scales, she closed her eyes and concentrated. It was as if she was injecting the beast with some kind of magic, for the purple in her hair began to pulse and glow with an otherworldly energy. Slowly but surely, the dragon's breathing became steadier and its eyes opened wider. However, as soon as the purple in Sophia's hair returned to its original state, the dragon's strength seemed to leave it all at once. It struggled to stay aloft, but its wings could no longer hold it up. Acting quickly, Ali teleported the both of them to the back of Erma.
Upon landing on the back of the boss dragon, Ali looked around. All the surrounding dragons had fallen. Zack completed taking out the necromancer with relative ease and joined them. They stopped using the telepathy call to communicate.
RK Ali: [This is it.]
He looked towards Heirloom’s hardly conscious body.
Paladin Zack: [Are we killing him?]
RK Sophia: [Ruby would be really pissed with us if we do,]
She started taking steps forward.
RK Sophia: [but we have no other choice. He serves too much of a hazard.]
RK Ali: [She claims he’s one of the lost, doesn’t she? Who knows what would happen if he dies here?]
RK Sophia: [One of them or not, he’s too dangerous to be left alive.]
As Erma began to move forward, her body appeared to be enveloped in a luminous, white light, as if she were undergoing a metamorphosis. In no time, she transformed into a smaller figure, leaving Zack with no choice but to quickly grab hold of her and Heirloom before the transformation could complete. Together, the three of them soared high into the sky, watching in awe as Erma took on her dragon-tamer form, with Heirloom firmly clasped in her arms. As they descended, they could see the black-haired dragon standing defiantly before them. Despite being significantly smaller than the three, she held her ground with an unwavering sense of strength and determination.
Erma defeatedly: [I won’t let you kill him.]
The red strand of her hair rested on Heirloom’s left leg.
RK Sophia: [We have no other choice.]
Paladin Zack: [If he really is one of the lost, there’s no way I can comply with that.]
Surprised, Sophia widened her eyes and turned to Zack.
The paladin walked in front of her and towards the cowering dragon.
RK Sophia: [Don’t be an idiot, Zack! It’s our only option!]
Paladin Zack: [This guy has a life outside this world. I may not know him, but that doesn’t warrant me taking his life.]
RK Sophia: [Zack-!]
Paladin Zack: [It’s my job to protect the kingdom, so I’ll make the decision on what we do with him.]
Zack bent down in front of Erma and patted her head while clad in armor.
RK Ali: [Are you sure you’re making the best decision?]
Paladin Zack: [We aren’t sure what happens to people that die in this world. I’m not sure about you, but I’d rather not tell his parents that I let him die in another world.]
???: [There's another way.]
A feminine voice suddenly called out in Zack’s mind. It had a soft, almost demonic nature to it that creeped him out the moment he heard it. Unlike Sophia or Ali’s voices, this played on a plain in his mind deeper than theirs could reach.
As he blinked, he appeared in an area with no walls or ceiling. A clear blue sky with a shining yellow sun. Zack was unsurprised to have appeared here, almost as if he knew where this was. With a sigh he turned around and looked at a feminine version of himself in light chainmail and white clothing.
Zack: [Now isn’t a good time.]
???: [You’re not happy to see me? It’s almost been a month since we last spoke. I missed you.]
Zack: [I’ve been following our contract, so why are you calling me here?]
???: [Is it illegal to want to see the boy of my dreams?]
Zack rolled his eyes and she laughed sadistically.
???: [In all seriousness, there’s another way you could save the boy without letting him die.]
Zack: [I’m not doing some sort of crazy shit.]
??? giggling: [Don’t worry about it. It’s perfectly safe for both parties.]
She licked her lips with a smug grin.
Zack: [Take me back. I’m not taking your offer.]
???: [Are you sure? You remember what I did to save your life, don’t you?]
Zack: [For that, I’m eternally grateful, and owe you my life… but this is another person we’re talking about. Everything I’ve learned about you only suggests that you’re evil.]
???: [You’re going to take the words of a few books over your savior?]
Zack: [I don’t want to burden him too. Were my friends not enough?]
???: [Fine, then. I’ll leave this decision up to you.]
She curtseyed with a hand out.
Zack: [Wait!]
The girl looked at him.
Zack: [Next time you call me here, give me a warning.]
The girl laughed and faded away. As soon as she disappeared, Zack returned to the world without a second passing.
Zack looked into Erma’s teared-up eyes, then to the boy resting in her arms.
Paladin Zack: [If I let you guys go, do you promise never to return to the north-east kingdoms?]
Erma’s eyes widened as he looked at Zack’s.
RK Sophia: [What are you saying?!]
Zack shut his eyes and sighed.
Paladin Zack: [They’re strong enough to survive on their own. As long as they are off of North-eastern turf, there’s no harm no foul.]
He reopened his eyes.
Paladin Zack: [So, what do you say?]
Erma shaking: [Th… thank you.]
Zack nodded and released her. Erma’s wings sprouted from her back, and she rose from the ground with a single flap. She flew off into the horizon with Heirloom, and the three watched her disappear into the rising moon.
After everything that had happened, the day came to an end and so did the second wave. Leaving the surroundings of the castle a mess, and the carcasses of large dragons lying about, Zack sat back with a sigh of relief. The second wave proved difficult for the paladin and his team, so much so that he contemplated how he would fare against the upcoming battles.