Maintaining rhythm and beat, Bone's pace picks up. Where he is walking from that takes him so long to arrive makes no sense. Then, his walking crescendo surrounds us. Roxi curses as she tries to worm her body free of the massive bone hand holding her in place. The intense life mana once threatening to destroy Cru and me is now entirely focused on freeing Roxi.

As I prepare for a retaliation attack, I spare a glance over at the goblin, who is healing and buffing himself with a crude wave of life mana. A counterattack from Roxi doesn't come. Floating like an angel of death, Bones descends from the sky with his dragon wings stretching out. Before I question his antics, the dungeon boss delivers two firm slaps to the trapped dryad.

"Let go of Fury," Bones says while the ring of his last slap still rings in the air. Roxi's face shows no hint of the slaps that would have broken jaws of weaker individuals. Even my jaw feels a bit uncomfortable, and I find myself rolling it to make sure it functions properly. Roxi's lips part for a smile matching the intensity of the grinning skeleton directly opposing her.

"You are all so weak and pathetic."

"Says the dryad a snap away from death."

"Says the demon that will haunt your world, bringing plague, war, and death until you all crumble at your knees and beg for mercy."

Ambient hues of Roxi's golden energy corrode into the bone fist. Fragments of her prison break, allowing violent rays to shine out. The light rays corrode on contact, causing the ground beneath us to destabilize, and the stonework of the academy is deteriorating from the outside. When life beams hit the glass dome, they are reflected back, causing more damage to the surrounding area. Bones is forced into the sky to avoid taking a hit. Cru covers us with another barrier strong enough to endure the attack.

Flying above the dryad, Bones positions himself in front of the academy, summons massive dragon-scale shields to block the beams, and sends more death mana to his fist, strengthening his grip on Roxi. Wrapped in Cru's pocket of protection, the energetic mana of life and the dull, hungry energy of death mana battle all around us. Flashes of gold ignite and flash bright, only to be snuffed out in a pale gray blanket.

Sporadic pops of energy where the two sages clash fill the night. Though Bones has the upper hand in the fight, the dryad is relentless in her attacks. The destabilized ground begins sprouting life, creating a small army of tree golems. Cru and I move as a duo inside his protection to cut down the new threat. However, each killed golem blooms into two more. We change our strategy to no longer eradicate the fighting plants, only to debilitate them.

Vines from the golems shoot upwards, trying to catch the flying skeleton. Bones dodges them easily until he miscalculates and flies directly into a waiting vine. When one vine grips him, a dozen more follow and pull the skeleton back to the ground.

Death collects around Bones as he fights free of the chains anchoring him. Axes form in his four hands, and he begins chopping his way free. With each cut, death is sent into a vine. When the mana reaches the vine's host, the life golem is changed into one of death. More and more golems are turned, and Bones can once again focus on Roxi, who is now held in a thick ball of dragon scales.

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"Give us Fury back." Roxi laughs at Bones' demand.

"He is mine. This land is mine." The dryad manages to say despite her blissful laughter impeding her words.

"Fine. Then we will kill you and be done with this." There is no anger in Bones' voice. The statement is cold and matter-of-fact. He looks as calm as can be even while fighting back Roxi's oppressive life mana. I'm not going to give him all the credit for his calmness. He's a skeleton — managing emotions is a built-in setting.

Laughing intensifies from Roxi and Bones. It's starting to get weird. Life and death mana is warring all around us, and the two sages trying to kill each other are giggling. Cru looks more confused than I do. Sure, I employed the laughing strategy myself not long before Bones arrived. But it was different then.

"You fools can't kill me. I have all the power here." Intense waves of earth energy emit from Roxi. It feels like we are ramping up for phase fifteen of this fight. Luckily, we are all saved from another round of life and death when the intoxicating calmness of shadow surrounds us. Darkness flashes, and we are lulled into a realm of shadow.

Inside shadow, life and death subside. The minions fighting the war of their masters fall to the ground. Cru's protective barrier withers and the shell surrounding Roxi is no more. Before Roxi can move, she is seized upon by the calm mana in the realm and held in place. The power in this realm is intoxicating.

"You have no power here," Gene says as her body melds from the shadow. Despite the bags under her eyes, the queen looks sharp and deadly. Roxi can no longer laugh and, for the first time, shows fear in her demeanor. "So I see you've sensed the difference in my shadow realm."

"You connected it with Shadow Realm. That's not possible."

"You are quick. I always respected you for that. However, you have overstepped. Let go of the tree and release Fury." Gene is as calm as the shadow surrounding us. Her power is on a level I've never seen from her.

"And release my power? Do you think I am a fool? The moment I give up the Golden Mana Tree, you will kill me."

"I will kill you either way."

"And once again, sentence your people to be homeless." Roxi's laughter returns. "We both know that will never happen. You whored yourself out for this land once already. Just admit defeat already, and we can be done with this. You will find that life isn't so bad under my rule."

"You think I care about this land?" Gene gives a wicked smile. Shadow mana spikes and I've never felt so comfortable with the prospect of dying as I do now looking at Gene radiating with power.

"This land can burn. We do not need it." Roxi pales under the weight of Gene's words.

"You will be hunted and driven from kingdom to kingdom. Your people will be vagabonds and wither in power until you all are no more. You need this land, and you need my protection."

"We are no longer the prey," Gene's smile parts enough for her sharp teeth to flash. We are the hunters. It does not matter where we go. Our home is where we choose it to be. This is your last chance. Relinquish your power or perish."

"You are good, Genevieve, but I do not believe your lies even if you believe them yourself." Life mana trinkles around Roxi. "Now, let me —" her words die on her lips as Bones drives a sword through her chest.