“Crap!”
Clutching his neck with one arm and exerting a crushing grip on his leg with her claw-like appendage, the valkyrie descended toward the ground with an unmistakable intent—to smash Dream’s skull into the earth.
“I messed up!”
Quickly coming back to his senses, Dream vigorously shook off the dizziness from the valkyrie abrupt aerial maneuver and quickly devised a course of action. As the valkyrie descended to the ground, aiming to drive his head into the earth headfirst, what happened next no doubt defied her expectations. Instead of the expected thud or crack, the sound that echoed was that of a splash.
“Huh?”
With a startled reaction, the valkyrie lifted Dream's head from the mud that he had turned the ground into, thus averting the grim fate she intended for him.
Just moments before his head was due to meet the ground, Dream cast [aquamorphism], effectively transforming the ground his head was going to splash against the solid ground.
While the sensation of having his head abruptly submerged was to Dream an utterly unpleasant experience, it was undeniably a far preferable outcome to having his head slammed into the ground.
“This ability... it's the same as those creatures… I see… it was true then,” the Valkyrie mumbled.
In an attempt to break free, he struggled against the valkyrie's grasp. However, his efforts were swiftly quelled as she murmured, “Since just like them you can do that, let's see if you're nearly as good as they are,” before flapping her wings.
Rather than ascending to the skies, this time the valkyrie maintained a horizontal flight path, dragging Dream's face along the ground. Realizing what she was about to pull off, Dream, who had his face pressed into the earth, poured more of his A.P reserves into maintaining his [aquamorphism] active.
She pressed his face into the muddy ground that his aquamorphism had transformed, and began to drag his upper body across the terrain. “Let's see how long you can endure this!” she shouted with triumphant exuberance. Submerged in the mud, Dream struggled to catch her words amidst the muffled chaos.
As the pressure on the back of his neck and the grasp on his leg intensified, Dream realized he had to halt this situation. However, just as he made that determination, the valkyrie abruptly increased the force of her grip. Amidst the muffled sounds of being dragged through the mud, he heard her laughter resonating with exhilaration. The fiery emotions in his heart surged, fueled by her taunting amusement. “This woman!” He resolved to put an end to this with unwavering determination.
Dispelling all hesitation and reservations, Dream conjured his prana out, readying himself to unleash his electro-elementalis. Yet, as he amassed the electricity, he felt the valkyrie abruptly halt her dragging motion.
She let go of his neck but retained her grip on his leg before soaring upward. They ascended to a great height, dozens of meters above the ground, before she released him altogether, to distance herself from Dream whom she was expected to see unleash an electro-elementalis attack—attack that the latter in a critical moment of self-restraint did not unleash as he felt like he’ll most likely just miss his target.
As Dream plummeted under his own weight, the valkyrie, seeing that Dream did not unleash anything, swooped back down, intent on closing in once more, her form growing closer with each passing second. It was then, as the valkyrie approached that Dream spotted something beyond her.
Seeing in it an opportunity—a hope for “victory,” Dream, in a swift motion, summoned his electro-elementalis once more. However, he knew he wouldn't be able to conjure it in time before her assault. In a simultaneous move, he conjured a barrage of ten spear-like projectiles, hurling them toward her. She deftly evaded them with the finesse of her wings, but this diversion allowed Dream the moments he needed to invoke the perfect mantra for the situation.
[ Electro ]
Apprentice
Thunderspear Lvl.7
76
As she descended upon the plummeting Dream, he braced himself. Upon flying through his desired trajectory, through gritted teeth, Dream roared as he unleashed the power of his lightning-infused spear with the aid of [Electrokinetic Resonance].
The [Thunderspear] soared through the air, heading straight for the valkyrie. Yet once more, she demonstrated her exceptional aerial mastery, maneuvering to avoid the attack with remarkable ease. A cunning smile spread across her face as she employed her wings to bridge the gap between them once more.
However, the valkyrie astoundingly evaded his attack once more, dancing nimbly around the projectile.
With another flap of her wings, she closed in, executing a forceful stomp that sent Dream hurtling to the ground with a pained shout.
Name
H.P
P.P
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Level
Dream
42▼/90▼
45/2086
27▲/438▲
30.7▲
27▲/570
17
His landing was agonizing, and he felt something snap upon impact.
Choosing not to rely on his reserves of arcane this time considering how little there was left, Dream instead coated his back with a thick layer of Odo to cushion his fall. Needless to say the impact was still excruciating, and he screamed out in pain as blood and saliva were expelled from his mouth. His vision blurred with agony, but still amidst the hazy sight, he distinctively saw the valkyrie descend upon him, her weight crashing onto his chest, breaking several of his bones in the process.
Name
H.P
P.P
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Level
Dream
42▼/90▼
45/2086
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27▲/438▲
30.7▲
27▲/570
17
Gasping for air, he felt an excruciating pressure on his throat as the valkyrie pressed her leg against it.
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Class
???
89/98
751▼/1829
364
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.56
Through the haze of his suffering, Dream barely managed to hear her words, “So, do you yield?” Her grip was relentless, and Dream's vision swam as he struggled to respond amidst the intense pain.
“You think you've… you’ve won?” Dream's voice sounded strained through his words, punctuated by a cough that brought forth blood.
“Huh?”
“You think you’ve defeated me?”
"That's what it looks like," she retorted.
It was then that Dream burst into laughter—a wild, maniacal laughter that rang out louder than he'd ever expressed. The laughter was so fervent that it forced blood from his lips, staining the ground beneath him. Amidst the crazed amusement, he managed to say, “You might just be right. Congratulations, you've defeated me. Truly, it's a shame. You've carved out a special place in my heart,” he added with a chilling undertone. “You're the one person I would gladly have given everything to tear apart with my own two hands."
She responded with a sneer, “As if I would allow that to happen.”
Dream's laughter persisted, the madness growing stronger.
“I don't think that's for you to decide."
"Whose decision is it then? Yours?”
“No. Theirs!” Dream declared, his laughter intermingling with his words.
At that moment, the valkyrie's attention shifted above them. What had been concealed behind Dream's laughter now revealed itself—shrieks were coming from a flock of Skyshriekers descending upon them from the skies.
“You bastard…. Well done but you think you can take me down using them?" In that moment, the valkyrie smiled and violently reached for Dream's leg before flying up to meet the descending Skyshriekers, “I’m sure they’ll be more excited by a younger flesh than mine,” she maddeningly remarked.
From her maddened laughter, it was clear that the woman intended to offer Dream as prey to the Skyshriekers. Dream would not allow that to happen.
He swiftly turned his arm made of Odo into a blade, using it to free himself from the valkyrie's grasp on his leg. Noticing his desperate move, the valkyrie, lacking words, couldn’t help but utter, “you little bastard,... to think you’d cut your own leg!”
“I’ll just grow another one,” Dream seethed through gritted teeth as he continued to fall.
“I admire your courage and resolution, but don’t think I’m simply going to let you off so easily,” she declared, lunging to grab onto Dream once again.
In that moment, as she reached for him, Dream first cast,
[ Electro ]
Apprentice
Flash Lvl.▲
10
—before comboing the blinding opening with a lesser version of [Unrelenting Surge]. He didn't even have enough prana to cast the full mantra, yet the difference between the two versions was minimal due to the short distance between them. The valkyrie was sent flying upward, while Dream, who was without footing, was sent hurtling toward the ground, where he landed heavily in a heavy thud.
“Crap! My back.”
Name
H.P
P.P
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Level
Dream
11▼/90
1/2086
27▼/438▲
30.7▲
27▼/570
17
“You little—” the valkyrie was about to curse, but her words were cut off as razor-sharp claws buried themselves into her shoulder. It was the claws of a Skyshrieker.
In that moment, the valkyrie's expression shifted instantly. She tried to break free from the grip of the bird-like creature, but her struggles only attracted more Skyshriekers. One after another, they descended upon her, tearing into her flesh as she screamed in agony.
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Class
???
71▼/98
751▼/1829
364
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.56
***
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Class
???
53▼/98
713▼/1829
364
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.56
***
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Class
???
21▼/98
713▼/1829
364
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.56
***
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Class
???
0▼/98
713▼/1829
364
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.56
He watched as the Skyshriekers tore the valkyrie apart, her blood and chunks of flesh falling from the sky like gruesome rain. The valkyrie's HP reaching 0 prompted Dream to heave a sigh of relief, a sigh soon followed by an agonizing pain that felt like fire coursing through all the vessels of his body. Dream's entire body ached, and he was beyond exhausted.
Yet despite his weakened state, Dream, who was no longer able to even move a muscle, but was nonetheless conscious, managed to summon a layer of Odo around himself, enveloping his body entirely.
Skill: [ Aspect ]
Aquamorphism
[Morphogenesis]
27
He then liquefied the ground beneath him, creating a mud into which his golden cocoon sank under its own weight.
He hoped that the Skyshriekers and the other valkyries, who he knew were approaching from the golden thread's fluctuation, would overlook his presence.
If luck was on his side, they would believe that upon reaching the scene, he had escaped and moved on. If it's not, they’ll dig him out of the ground.
In either case, Dream knew he was in no condition to fight or flee. All he could do was rest and leave all of this to luck.
This is the second time I'm being pushed to the brink, forced to rely on this trick. I hate this... I absolutely hate this.
It's beyond infuriating, but in my current state, there's nothing else I can do... However, if I manage to survive this, I swear to myself that I will never allow this to happen again…ever again…
Exhaustion washed over him, and he realized he had never felt so sleepy in his life. Closing his eyes, he succumbed to his weariness and drifted into a deep slumber.