IT WAS THE ROAR OF A DRAGON
Miles north, below those dark looming clouds and throughout the mountain's steep footings and slopes, soldiers fought with might and wit. At the foot of the slopes, amid all the fighting, several Warriors, boys by the look of their young faces, of the Lightning Kingdom exchanged blows with several other Warriors of the same age who fought for North Star.
Each of them moved slowly and tiredly as they fought in waist-high snow, swinging their swords or halberds wildly at each other. A Warrior of the North Star attempted to Quickstep for a lunge but failed, falling into the snow. His enemy rushed, stomping over the snow to him in a clumsy march, stabbing the fallen body. A pathetic stab, so weak that it glanced off the armor.
A North Star Rogue appeared behind the stabbing Warrior and, without hesitation, drove his black dagger into the gap in his enemy's armor, deep into the neck. The Rogue turned toward the other Lightning Warriors and charged.
The fallen North Star Warrior climbed to his feet in time to witness the Rogue being impaled and lifted by a lance wielded by a slim Lancer armored in enchanted steel armor. An echoing shout came from the behind the North Star Warrior.
VOICE
Golem! Golem!
The North Star boys understood the call and desperately retreated through the snow. The fallen North Star warrior quickly turned to flee, but a sudden jolt shook him. Excruciating pain bellowed from out his throat in the form of a horrific wail. As he wailed, he looked down—a bloody bladed-lance piercing through him and his armor. His body was slightly lifted, and a bit of struggle wiggled down his legs as he grasped the lance. But it was all for naught as he eventually became still. Blood bubbled out his parted, chapped lips. A tear crystallized down his cheek. His face became free of emotion and pain as he witnessed three giant earth golems, their feet the size of a tiny home, emerging from the slope of the mountains.
The Lancer that impaled the young boy gazed up at the animated monsters through the vizor of his full helm before lifting the young North Sky Warrior and swinging his dead body off his weapon. He took a deep breath and emitted an aura of golden Willpower.
Emerging from the ravaging blizzard behind him, the Lancer was joined by several other Lancers, and together, they Quickstepped up the slope. They chipped chunks off the earth golems with thundering blows while attempting to impale any retreating Warriors.
To their surprise, despite being incredibly enormous, the golems were agile. A Lancer dealt a critical blow with an unknown skill, forming a gaping hole within the golem's midsection. The Lancer moved on, completely unaware of the golem reconstructing itself, attracting snow and soil from within the ground. The golem turned around and flattened the unexpecting Lancer under its jagged foot.
The leading Lancer searched through the white haze of snow and the clutter of soldiers spotting Conjurers standing huddled together. They were in deep concentration, high above the slope upon a steep cliff.
Using a skill, the Lancer leaped off the air as he charged upward toward them. As he was about to reach them, an Apagador appeared mid-air before him, catching him off guard.
He was fully cladded in (XXX) enchanted armor from neck to toe, revealing his wide grin and unkempt red and purple hair as he shouted,
APAGADOR
100 Dragons!
The Apagador swung his weapon, a five-foot studded (Physical Affinity) Steel Kanabo, Basic En Impact, into the Lancer's side. As he attacked, several dozen golden afterimages of his weapon repeated the swing, each causing a physical impact within the second.
The blow dented into the Lancer's armor and sent him bulleting into the ground in an explosion of snow. The Apagador landed with a controlled tumble into the snow. He laughed excitedly as the injured Lancer stood back up.
Blood leaked out from the Lancer's wounds. But he pushed through it and stood proudly. He glared at the Apagador's light red and yellow pattern face—the yellow running down the side of his red face—a face that suddenly split into a wide crazed grin as the Apagador noticed he was surrounded by three other Lancers. He continued grinning, rotated his shoulders, and brandishing his weapon—he was ready to dance.
And dance they did as they Quickstepped through the snow, exchanging blows and executing parries. The snow beneath their feet exploded with each of their steps and was unable to settle as they fought. As the Apagador battled, he noticed several young Warriors of Lightning chasing down one of his own, a young North Star Warrior, and edged towards them.
The Lancers quickly caught on and attempted to steer him away, but the Apagador was swift, effortlessly killing two Lightning Warriors with a single blow to their unenchanted helms. The Apagador bellowed in laughter. His blows were gruesome and relentless, obliterating the boys' skulls and helms completely, leaving nothing behind. The Apagador went for another, but suddenly, he was struck by a surging bolt of lightning that ripped into the soil, leaving him open for a direct lance to the face.
The lance struck the Apagador's face, but rather than piercing, it glanced off his skin as if to glance off metal and sent him flailing several meters back. The eyes of Lancer that struck him reflected sheer fear and confusion as the Apagador stood back up, revealing only a slight bruise on his cheek that healed instantly.
Taking the Lancers by surprise, a giant golem fist came crashing down on them while another golem emerged from beneath the Apagador. The Apagador pointed directly at the Aero Mages, who had struck him with the lightning spell—through the blizzard, down the slope, up the opposite curving slope, and up a mountainside.
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Upon that mountainside were pairs of Aero Mages and Psi's. The Psi's were in deep concentration but would periodically inform Aero Mages where to call down lightning.
Next to one of the Aero Mages, a Psi gasped in fear,
PSI
He can see us?
The giant earth golem that formed under the Apagador allowed him into its hand and launched him through the air up toward the Aero Mages and Psi's. The Apagador's grin widened as he soared. His teeth clenched, nearly grinding enamel off each other as the blistering snow pelted his face. But his excitement faded as another challenger appeared.
Another Lancer was diving down to him, and the Apagador noticed this one was much stronger—noted by his enchanted lance, shield, and the determination in his eyes glowing a golden hue through his visor.
Their weapons clashed, sending forth a shockwave that parted the blizzard momentarily, and the Apagador, losing his momentum, fell back to the ground with a devious smirk.
The Lancer somersaulted and kicked off the air just as a sudden object beamed through the sky above him—crashing into the side of a faraway mountain in an eruption of snow and debris.
The Lancer kicked off the air and went after it to inspect—his eyes widened upon approach,
LANCER
Your Highness!
A heavenly armored gent stood within the cloud of snow and debris. He was cladded in gold puri plating. His gauntlets and sabatons ended in sharp onyx puri claws. He wore no helm, revealing his slick back hair and yellow and white skin. His silver and black striped pupils glowed a golden flare of anger.
KING OF LIGHTNING
Do not worry about me.
His voice resonated throughout the mountains as he held out his hand to telekinetically retrieve his dropped Celestial: Vel's Javelin.
KING OF LIGHTNING
Focus on keeping those imbeciles silent and unmoving.
Faster than he had fallen, he leaped into the sky and through the thick storm clouds.
As he lost momentum, he kicked off the air, gaining more speed than before while the shadow of a winged creature swam through the sky, hidden in the clouds.
KING OF LIGHTNING
Do not play coy with me, lizard!
The King jetted after it, and as he gave chase, the clouds formed into icicle spears in an attempt to him. The King evaded with ease and then prepared himself mid-air momentarily before letting out a beam of lightning from the tip of his Celestial Javelin.
The beam struck the creature, parting the clouds and snow, revealing a blue and silver-scaled sky dragon. It was a thin and elongated beast with numerous aged wounds—a lost eye, a lost forelimb, a severed tail, a missing left wing that seemed to have been forcibly ripped off, and dozens of deep old cuts.
The dragon whipped around in the air, releasing its immense magical pressure that had no effect on the King, but the many soldiers, miles below, including Apagadors, Rogues, and Lancers, were pressed to the ground by the pressure. All but one helmless Apagador, his red hair whipping widely in the mana energy and a fearless grin upon his face.
The sound of shattering glass caught his attention. He Stashed his (Physical Affinity) Steel Kanabo, Basic En Impact, and materialized a Scryer. His smile faded at the sight of a feminine bronze face staring back at him through the Scryer. His mouth moved unhappily before he Stashed the Scryer and ambled off through the snow.
Back within the air, the dragon eyed the King and spoke, its harmonious voice emitting from within it,
DRAGON
Fledgling. Do you not know your attacks are in vain? They have no effect on me.
KING OF LIGHTNING
Yet you flee from me.
DRAGON
I merely defend what I must protect. You are no threat.
The King clenched his jaws and squinted.
DRAGON
Begone.
The clouds around the King converged upon him in the form of lightning, but they all missed as the King was now directly in front of the dragon. The pupils of the dragon contracted. Fear struck its core as it saw a disturbing premonition.
The king's eyes and body flared a deep golden hue as he readied his Celestial Javelin,
KING OF LIGHTNING
Tachyon—
And the moment the king uttered those words, the future was embedded. No matter how vertical and horizontal the dragon looked into the future, it was unable to avoid it.
It was as if time nearly came to a stop as a gapping hole began to eat away the center of the dragon's remaining wing.
KING OF LIGHTNING
Lance!
The dragon's body began to fade as it Blinked, a form of a quick, short, distant teleportation skill. But the King's attack was moving faster than time, ripping through the dragon's wings before a singularity of golden energy centered the vacuous hole—seemingly eating away at the dragon's flesh. The dragon's Blink was finally completed, and it vanished—reappearing meters to the left. Time resumed, and within a fraction of a second, the singularity of golden energy expanded into a golden sphere before flattening out into a beam, with one half flowing against time back into the King's javelin while the half fired off through the empty air.
The dragon roared in pain and released more mana pressure, forcing the clouds and snow to part and evaporate. Visible mana seeped from within its scales and centered around the gaping wound within its wing. The hole in its wing healed instantly—crusting inward as mana surrounded it.
The dragon's eyes darkened, its pupils contracted further, and its jaws unhinged, letting out a deafening roar of a dozen voices—
DRAGON
You dare tamper with time!
—and expelled a beam of condensed lightning so mighty, every weak or ill-armored Warrior, Rogue, Apagador, and Lancer dozens of miles below evaporated into dust. The snow upon the mountains and in the air sizzled into steam, and the air became a wave of sparkling electricity. Despite the dragon's efforts, it missed again, for the King Blinked and reappeared with his weapon ready for another attack.
KING OF LIGHTNING
Am I a threat now?