“Why are you running?" Grea calls out from behind me.

“We’ll miss the fun if we don’t get there quickly!” I shout; the castle in my sights.

The dismembered guts and bodies block the storm drains, allowing the oozing fluids to pool the streets. We avoid stepping on the humans’ and monsters’ corpses, but that does little to prevent the unsightly blood from splashing onto our legs.

What if someone else kills the dragon?

“Hey, you there! Stop!” soldiers shout at us. “The monsters are dead, no need to run any longer! We’ll escort you to the shelters where you will be safe!”

We run faster, ignoring the soldiers, and luckily, they do not pursue us.

We make it up the hill, to the castle. Broken and discarded weapons are unceremoniously scattered on the ground. Besides them, are equally broken humans. Undiscernible knights lay stamped flat like pancakes drizzled with thin, red syrup. It appears that their armor caved inward due to a tremendous pressure, leaving the humans inside to be squashed together with what was supposed to protect them.

The overall structure of the castle is lightly damaged, despite the many crumbling walls. However, the monster that caused the destruction is nowhere in sight. The only indication of where it might be is from the gaping hole in the wall that opens up the castle’s interior.

“Hello?” I call as I peek inside.

Revealed is a brightly lit room lined with grandiose décor, now open to the eyes of the public. From shiny, sitting suits of armor to elaborate paintings, this royal residence has it all; truly fit for a King. My eyes widen at how amazingly rich this place is.

“Mmmmhhhhhh…” a low grumble answers my call. A scaly neck twists and comes into view from the double doors at the end of the lavish hallway. Longer, and longer it stretches until its head can properly stare down at us. Those ancient, golden eyes burn with a mystical red hue; similar to a holy light protecting a vessel. With flared nostrils, the dragon pulls back its lips and snaps its teeth at us.

I motion my hand to my hip, where a sheath is attached, holding my knife. The knife is no longer concealed in my pocket for easy access now that fighting is my life. 

The monster raises and puffs out its chest, awhile rearing its arms back.

No … It wouldn’t!

In one motion, the wings on its back flap up, and …

*Woossshhhhhh*

I drop my hands to the ground and dig into the red carpet.

“AHHhhh..h….h…!” Grea’s voice dwindles the further she is blown out of the castle.

“Grea!” I yell, turning back to see she is not by my side anymore. Maybe, it's for the better that she's not here. I mean she was a big help yesterday, but I need to do this alone. I do hope she’s okay, though.

“It’s a shame you weren’t sent flying; that would have been a lenient death,” a masked woman joins us from the double doors.

“Who are you? Do I have to kill you too?” I say easily.

“Oh ho! What a brat like you, kill me? But enough with this chatter, we have better things to deal with than talking with y-”

“What does dragon meat taste like?” I grin, challenging her.

“Hm?” she smiles, but a dark look enters her face, slowly becoming more menacing as she processes my remark. “Had I known you would become such a bother, Fergy dearest would have crushed you from the start before you could open that impudent mouth of yours.”

“Who?”

The dragon nuzzles its face to her.

“Darling, did you think I called you?” she rubs its nose with a gentle hand. “We can go to our special place when we're done here. Okay?"

I walk with the tippy toes of my feet towards the two of them, hoping I could slit her throat before they notice. Alas, it fails.

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“I can see you, rat. I applaud your persistence to inject yourself into our business. But, that was one time too many. Go join that knight over there, and die,” she glares at me.

I freeze from being caught by her; my stealth antics unraveled like a Hamlet’s act. I look around to see who she was referring to, and there in the middle of the room is a lone knight. Streams of blood leak out of his white armor to no end. He stands, unmoving, with both his hands gripping the sword’s handle; the tip of the glowing blue blade piercing the polished floor.

If it weren’t for his weapon, he would have already collapsed onto the ground like empty suits of armor. The only indication that he is still alive is from his heavy breathing, which is muffled by his stained-red helmet.

What a trooper. Even I don't think I have that kind of resolve to even stand in his condition. I silently salute him while pulling out my knife.

“What is that? A child’s toy?” the masked lady sneers at me. “Even that knight’s blade couldn’t hurt my Fergy.”

I take her discouragement with a grain of salt, allowing my knife to exercise the judgment on that. With a burst of speed, I immediately reach below the monster's stomach. I bend my knees, preparing for the jump as I find my target: the bare, yellow underbelly. 

*Chink* *Bam!*

My head collides into the monster from jumping too high, “Ow!” I drop the knife and instantly reach to hold my scalp from the pain, as I crash down onto the floor. 

Did I hurt it? I glance up at its stomach and to my dread, the dragon is left unscathed. Then, what was the clanking noise I heard?

I catch sight of the now bent knife lying a foot away from me. Well, fuck. Where do I get another blade?

I quickly scour the room to see if there is anything I can use. The knight’s sword! I scramble up and race towards the still-standing knight. 

*THUD* A giant foot hovers over me before slamming down.

The dragon digs its heel into the floor for good measure; its claws scraping the carpet in a half-moon shape. It hums contently, pleased with itself.

“Finally, we can continue with the mission,” the lady sighs, but then laughs uncontrollably. She turns her attention to the knight, “There’s only you left. Every single one of the soldiers you lead, are now dead because of you.”

The knight stays silent, but fresh blood flows from the mouth of his helmet.

“I can see a little more potential in you, but it’s too late. Had you trained yourself, instead of training those incompetent fools who will never amount to anything, you could have been strong like me,” she lifts her chest with her arms.

She continues, “And because I am strong, I can stand alongside my equally capable partner without fear of anything. Fergy-dearest isn’t like the monsters I brought to this city. Those monsters are as trashy as your soldiers. Pathetic and disposable garbage that will happily die for me because they are weak-minded fools,” she continues to laugh in glee. “Isn’t that right, sweetie?” she touches Fergy's cheek with a gentle palm.

It closes its eyes and purrs from her compliments.

--- --- ---

[Knight’s POV]

I wearily blink at the cruel scene before me. My home; the land I swore to protect, was easily torn apart even with all our combined effort to stop them. As I was wrestling the dragon, I could hear the cries of the citizens down below calling for help; each cry becoming weaker the longer I stayed to battle, but I couldn’t leave to help them because of my position. Right now, I can’t hear a single cry. I can only hope the guards down at the walls did everything they could to protect every single one of them.

I make a bitter smile, allowing the pooled blood in my mouth to drip down my chin. The guards are doing everything they can, and what about me? The enemy of the kingdom is still there, right before my eyes. Now, move body!

“!” A blur of a silhouette appears in front of me. I tense, forcing the feeling of the sword to return to me.

I stop when I realize it wasn’t the enemy trying to finish me off. Instead, it’s that silver-haired lass who came to challenge the dragon. The young woman motions her index finger to her mouth and winks at me. I do nothing as she grasps her hand to mine. Then she disappears, taking my weapon with her.

I couldn’t detect her at all. I steady my legs to balance myself and adjust my helmet with shaky hands. The sword is in your hands now, newcomer. Let me trust you, whoever you are.

. .

. . .

*GuRK*

“HWWWAAA!!” the dragon rages while scratching its face. A stream of blood bursts from its golden eye.

“What?! What’s wrong Fergy?!” the masked woman frantically shrills out.

There, on top of the dragon’s head perches the silver-haired. I believe she pierced the slight opening between its closed eyelid. What a clever girl. She pulls the sword out of the colossus while cheering, “Ha ha, I got this one in the b- WOAH!”

The dragon takes flight and torpedoes through the hole in the wall with the girl in tow. It then accelerates vertically hundreds of feet in the air in a matter of seconds.

With nothing but the weapon in her hand, she loses balance and falls headfirst off the winged creature's head.

“Tatenfall!” Wind slices through the gaps in my armor, shredding my already opened skin as I shoot myself through the sky. My teeth grits due to the boundless pain running through my relaxing veins and tiring body. But I will not stop here!

“I have you,” I murmur as I catch the silver-haired lass in my arms.

Her eyes widen as she did a double-take at me and the ground. “How the fuck can you fly?! I want to do that too. Teach me!”

I visibly wince at her crude language, “The enemies are still alive. If you will, join me in this battle.”

“Only if you teach me how to fly,” her eyes twinkle in excitement.

“It’s a deal,” I smile behind my helmet as we slowly descend to the ground.