They left me.

The thought bounced around my numb brain like a bullet, each ricochet sending off another shock of disbelief and dismay.

They really left me behind. Left me in the middle of a dragon death match. Left me in a destitute city. That was after they left me in a building ruin. After they left me locked in a room full of monsters.

Slowly, the numb ringing faded from my ears, reminding me of the situation I was stuck in. I didn't have time to sit there like an abandoned marionette. I needed to find shelter. If I survived the dragon grudge match, I'd figure out another plan. But for now, it was time to focus on step one.

All the time that I spent helplessly on the ground had one advantage. Regen had healed eight percent of my health. It wasn't a big deal in the full scheme of things, but it was enough that I could run in a straight line. The uneven ground shook with every move the dragons made, but I was steady enough to stay upright as I retreated to the city. None of the buildings could withstand the battle, but it was better than laying there in the open. Frankly, there wasn't a 'best option' in the choices – the whole situation was shitty – I was just trying to pick the one that didn't suck the most.

A roar pierced the air behind me, getting louder at an alarming rate. I dove for the ground for the second time and looked over my shoulder to see the leviathan shooting through the air right over my head. It smashed in the front line of buildings, taking out most of the ruined houses and shops before it rolled to a stop.

I gaped at the carnage left in its wake. God, five minutes later and I would have been inside one of those buildings. I needed to go somewhere else. Should I cross the river? Maybe the fight will stay on this side of the city. Desperate, I ran towards the water.

The leviathan rolled to its feet. Blood and grime smeared its beautiful scales from the chunks of skin it was missing and a finned horn was cracked. One of the great webbed feathers on the back of its head was bitten in half and dripping blood as it dangled limply. Although the leviathan was breathing heavily and obviously exhausted, a heavy growl rumbled as it glared at the unknown dragon with venomous hate.

Suddenly, the river rose up like a tidal wave. The leviathan roared and jumped into the air, flying thirty feet above the ground right at the unknown. The tidal wave rushed forward, curling until the leviathan, crushing anything and everything that wasn't already destroyed. The water dragon's golden eyes widened with murderous intent. Suddenly, the water wave bunched. Two spear shaped geysers erupted out, so fast the unknown couldn't react before they impaled it in the chest.

The unknown wailed and thrashed. It used its long neck to bash into the water geysers, breaking the water stream. It twisted around, and whipped its long tail at the quickly approaching leviathan.

I, however, was too distracted to see what happened after. All I heard was a grueling collision of meat on meat and two dragons roaring. When the leviathan summoned the tidal wave, most of the water followed the monster into battle. The rest flooded out in every direction. My direction.

I skidded to a stop halfway to the river and gaped in horror as a four foot tall wall of water rushed at me. Oh shit! I turned and sprinted north with everything I had, trying to run around the wave. Move faster, I commanded my weary legs. Go faster! As scared as I was, my mind was calm and focused in trying to solve the problem. The leviathan's earlier landing had taken out most of the closest buildings, leaving only one standing – a long L shaped factory. It could block the water, if I got there in time.

The tidal wave swept towards me at a terrifying speed, twisting and turning, a mix of clean and muddy water.

I whipped around the corner of the building just as the first trickle teased the sides of my boots. Desperately, I looked around and saw a metal staircase leading to the top of the building. If I didn't develop PTSD of stairs by the end of this trip, it would be a miracle. No, simply living through this trip would be a miracle. Regardless of my grudge, I bolted for the stairs and climbed up them as fast as I could.

The water hit the factory with enough force to shake it. It rushed around the corner, digging out dry dirt until it reached the thick concrete slab. Then it washed the soil out from under it. I gripped the trembling, rusted staircase as the entire building slid several feet back. As fast as the water came, it left, leaving only a trickle behind – and a crooked factory surrounded by bunches of mud.

I breathed a sigh of relief, then winced when a horribly pained roar pierced the air. I couldn't see over the factory's roof, so I didn't know which monster got hurt badly. But the ground didn't stop rumbling – the fight was still going on. Which meant that I was still in danger.

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Gingerly, I climbed down the metal steps, carefully listening to what was happening on the other side of the factory – mostly to make sure it wasn't getting closer. I need to move farther into the city. The past events already showed that the first rows of buildings weren't a good enough line of defense, considering that they were crushed or almost washed away.

While keeping an eye for any more things flying my way, I darted into the city, trying to put as many obstacles between me and the dragons as possible.

Behind me, the death match continued. An enormous hole gaped open in the leviathan's torso – obviously the cause of the painful roar I heard earlier. But it wasn't in a disadvantage. No, at the current time, it wrapped thick bands of water around the unknown's round body, pinning it to the ground. The leviathan's body arched in the air with its jaws clamped around the unknown's neck, trying to rip the unknown's head right off.

The unknown's mouth opened and closed, its black eyes wide. Its tail whipped up and smashed against the water cage, breaking the wet chains. Then its heavy body dropped to the ground and rolled like a ball.

The leviathan was jerked right out of the sky but was reluctant to let go of the unknown's neck – and that stubbornness put it in danger. The water dragon's long body was twisted around the unknown's girth and flattened with every jerky roll. The unknown flailed its head about, smashing the leviathan's own head between it and ground repeatedly.

Finally, the leviathan couldn't hold on any longer. It let go of the unknown's neck and tried to regain control of the struggle, but it couldn't. The unknown stopped rolling, laying right on the long blue body, and using its hefty weight to pin the leviathan under it.

Both monsters were bleeding profusely. The gaping hole in the leviathan's torso looked worse than ever, smearing blood all over the blue-green scales. There were also numerous cuts, clusters of missing scales and two broken horns. Half of its feathery webbed plume were broken at odd angles and flapping limply as the leviathan moved. Honestly, the water dragon was more red than blue right now.

The unknown wasn't much better. The two holes punctured in its chest gushed with each of its heavy breaths and so much blood was leaking around the cut over its eye, I wouldn't be surprised if it was blind on that side. Dozens of long gashes crisscrossed over its rounded back, some new ones catching on the skin of older cuts and tearing them more. The unknown was also missing the tip of its tail.

Both dragons were on their last legs.

I paused, gaping. A part of me felt sad to see the leviathan die. Even though it was scary, it was also so beautiful. Not to mention, it was a natural being – not a mashup of monsters that looked like an art project gone wrong.

Hunters today had a hard enough time with the current monsters, and these unknowns were so dangerous. Earth already had its native animal population wiped out by invading monsters, it would suck if that happened again with a more aggressive type. Could the Hunters handle it? The Hunters were getting weaker with every generation. If the monsters were getting stronger, the outcome was obvious. If even the current monsters couldn't handle it, what hope did humanity have?

The unknown arched its head high, beaked jaws open and ready to lunge down and snap the leviathan's neck in half.

The leviathan opened its mouth wide, as if it was ready to bite back. The scattered water across the ground suddenly rose up. It collected into a faintly glowing orb that floated in the water dragon's bloody teeth, slowly growing larger.

My eyes widened. The magic attack looked like a Bubble.

The unknown's head lunged down. Simultaneously, a geyser of water erupted from the dragon's bubble, aiming right into the unknown's open maw.

My lips parted in surprise. I'd done the exact same thing before!

But the leviathan's water attack was a lot stronger than anything I could do. The stream of water hit the unknown with enough to force the monster's attack stopped mid-move and even elevated the bulky body slightly. The unknown tried to close its mouth, but it couldn't overpower the water that forced its jaws open.

The leviathan used this chance to slip out from under the unknown. It grabbed the unknown's neck with its front paws and dug its claws deep into the elastic flesh, ripping and tearing with a vengeance. The unknown was powerless to fight back. The force of the water attack kept the unknown's mouth open, slicing through the softer flesh inside. With nowhere else to go, the water ricocheted off, dyed red with blood and flinging out pieces of papillae. As soon as the water hit the ground, it rose up and rejoined the attack, magically leaving the blood behind.

The unknown kicked its legs and thrashed its body, swinging its tail back and forth, but it couldn't free its head from the leviathan's grip. Suddenly, water gushed out of the holes the leviathan's claws dug – the water attack cut that far down the unknown's neck.

With a shudder, the unknown went limp.

The leviathan, with a powerful jerk, ripped the rest of the unknown's neck open, leaving the head dangling by only its vertebrae and a sliver of skin.

The leviathan stepped away, breathing heavily and wobbling dangerously. It roared at the unknown's corpse, the sound full of rage but there wasn't any aura in it – the water dragon was simply too injured. Snarling, it flung its tail out and smacked the unknown's head until it broke clean off.

I covered my mouth, shocked at the brutal death. Yes, all deaths were brutal, but it was my first time seeing a monster actively mutilate another to this extent. Dragons were intelligent creatures. What deep enmity did these two have for each other?

The leviathan turned and started limping towards the river, leaving the unknown carcass behind. It flicked its tail and rose into the air, but only got twenty feet up. With a groan, it fell to the ground. Mud flung everywhere, mixing with the blood that splattered the ground and water dragon. But the leviathan didn't move. It just laid there, eyes closed and limp.

Was it dead?

*****