The last thing Duke Blas expected, given that tutor Odelline had said they’d be expecting a dragon, and an adolescent one at that, was a giant snake. As frustrated as he was with the woman, and as panicked as she clearly was, no one would have mistaken the two. This was a basilisk, and a king type too, by the size of it. He had never heard of one with two heads, but dual-headed beasts were known to be more dangerous.

The scales of such a beast would be incredibly tough, difficult to pierce, but a good crafting material once harvested. There was no way Alister could have survived even a single attack from such a beast. Worry wracked his gut as they flew. He didn’t want this. He should have been more firm with Alister. He was trying to give him more room with everything going on, but then this wouldn’t have happened. Perhaps Alliana was right.

Gods above… how would he face his wife if… Blas shook his head firmly, patting the back of Salvator, “We’ll worry later. Are you ready for a fight, old friend?” The wyvern gave a soft, low-pitched trill in response. He hadn’t had a decent fight in years. As much as Blas hated warfare, Salvator had other feelings. He loved the hunt.

“I’ve got eyes on Alister!” Ode shouted telepathically. The words lifted a world of weight off the father’s shoulders. He gave the order to get the creature’s attention, and Salvator gave a fearsomely loud rumble from his red-feathered throat. The dome that the duke was in amidst the multi-barreled rotating cannons was protected from sound, but even so it sent a rattle through his frame.

The guns wouldn’t do much damage against such a creature, but he could distract its attention away from Alister. Hopefully, the knights would be able to draw its attention afterward, though, because the odds of him being able to do much with the snake’s full attention was unlikely. Other, lesser basilisks he’d seen were deceptively quick, and they only had one head. The Duke focused on the gun facing the beast and fired. Stone spikes the size you’d use to stake a large tent exploded all over the basilisk’s scales.

“I’ve got Alister!” Ode mentally reported in earnest after a few tense moments of dodging and waiting, explaining as well what Alister seemed to know of the beast, useful information to stay safe. It was a strange example of its species. Good. Time to lay off and let his knights do their work. He relayed the information Ode did to his knights.

“Get him out of here! Head back to the town!” Blas ordered. He needed to figure out what best to do with this thing without worrying about his son. He sent a similar order to Marble, just in case she changed her mind - the cat was an unpredictable creature even for him, but it was the best hope in the situation.

Things weren’t going nearly as smoothly as he hoped, however. Even without firing or doing anything aggressive, only one of the heads paid attention to the knights. Both heads were fast, so fast that it was impossible to get off a decent shot of acid without probably missing and frying some innocent animal or one of his knights. Once, the Duke even saw a bolt of lightning fly right beside his dome, barely missing dear Salvator’s wing.

Damn! A knight went down… fuck. The horse was toast, but he hoped the man managed to stay alive through the fall somehow. Their armor had good enchantments, so maybe. He’d need healing at the least, for sure.

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But for now, it didn’t matter. Both he and the horse were out of the fight, and while it hurt his soul to turn them into numbers in his head, there was no other choice. There were now fifteen assets on the field, counting himself. All he could do was get as many of them home as possible.

God of War: Tessen and Goddess of Nature: Inyet are Watching

The golden text box that appeared in the corner of his view didn’t surprise him. He had heard that message many times before in his finer moments of combat when much was on the line. Still, it had been years since last he saw that box.

They couldn’t afford to fail. He was certain this thing had killed the dragon, as they’d never allow such a beast into their territory without a fight or without seeking help. He was ready to slay or banish it for abducting his son… but that didn’t seem to be the whole picture. Another thing that ached him. The winged creature had come here in its infancy, its parents having been killed by a rival. He let it live here because he naively struck a deal with it, but he couldn’t bear to send it elsewhere. He was the Beastmaster of Mare, it was his responsibility to help. If they failed, the dragon wouldn’t be the only casualty, however.

Next to nothing would be left standing, until the capital brought troops down. The border would be at threat. His family would be at threat. Why’d it have to be something like this? Damned… poor damned dragon… damn kid.

A stray thought occurred to the Duke. What if the dragon was trying to help unlock Alister’s system with one of the summoning stones native to the area? He ran out trying to get the stupid thing unlocked, after all. In theory, they should never produce anything that would be outside of what one could normally handle. If Odelline got in the way, she wouldn’t be safe, but it was unlikely that the young dragon would intentionally hurt his child if he could smell the relation. But right now it didn’t matter. It was too late, and the only thing that mattered was that it was here now.

It didn’t matter that it meant that his son had a mana pool that could rival such a creature… Not until they were back at home. Then there would be many questions.

Movement caught his eye as Salvator knocked a spray of poison out of the air with the concussive force of his roar after failing to get far enough away to dodge its arc. Was that…?

Odelline. This damned brat…! He’d heard she was brash and arrogant, but so much so as to reject a direct order!? What was WRONG with her?!

“What the fuck are you doing here Ode? Leave!”

There was a moment of intimidated silence as the white and blue shape zipped at great speed toward the snake.

“I am sorry, your grace, but I can’t do that. You are having trouble, and if you fail my brother is going to die. I have placed Alister far away. I can’t hurt this beast… but I can distract one of its heads to the ground,” she said.

She was right, of course, but the anger burning in his chest wouldn’t accept it. If she wouldn’t listen, Marble would have to, “Marble! Retrieve Alister and go back! Immediately!” There was no verbal response from the cat itself… but the sense of stubborn, protective willpower came through loud and clear.

They weren’t going anywhere, damn them.

Very well. If they were going to do as they said, a new plan would be formed… as if the present one was working. The beast was faster than expected.

“Damn you fools. Fine. Force its attention. Target the eyes.”