Chapter 466: Chapter 463: Corrupted Dragon 

Chapter 463: Corrupted Dragon 

 

  Kassian Ashe and his soldiers huffed in exhaustion as they ran away from the burning docks. A pair of soldiers carried Loh, their arms wrapped around one of her shoulders each. The centaurs they had rode in had either died or scattered away. Whatever loyalty they thought the beastman had for them seemed now a fool’s belief.

  Loh couldn’t blame them. Rarely did a slave ever sacrifice themselves for their masters. She briefly wondered if Maximus would have stayed had he been here. She wasn’t certain. When she thought of Rhian she knew the centaur would have charged into any battle for Stryg, though those two didn’t share a master and slave relationship. Rhian was Stryg’s family, his tribe, and he’d die before letting anyone collar Rhian.

  Thoughts of family kept rattling in Loh’s mind while the soldiers ran. She could do nothing but hold on as best she could. The road between the city docks and the ebon walls of Hollow Shade had never seemed so far.

  Loh looked back at the pillars of smoke rising from the docks. She bit her lip in grim defeat. What could she ever say to Cornelius’ family? Had he been married? Did he have children? She didn’t know. A fresh pang of guilt stabbed at her chest. She wished she had made an effort to know him.

  The azure dragon suddenly burst from a pillar of smoke. Zavinti’s head turned to their direction and she roared and made a beeline towards them.

  “Dragon!” Loh called out panickedly.

  “Run!” Kassian yelled.

  The soldiers ignored the pain building up in their muscles and ran with all their might. They were only halfway to the city gates and the dragon was catching up fast. 

  “We won’t make it!” a soldier yelled.

  The two soldiers carrying Loh glanced at each other and nodded. “Lord Ashe, take Lady Noir!”

  Kassian turned to them as they ran and frowned in realization. “No… Gods dammit!” He grabbed Loh and threw her onto his back.

  “For House AAAASSHHE!” the soldiers shouted in unison, then split from Kassian and Loh. Instead of running towards the Northern Gate, the soldiers ran off the road and into the grasslands, perpendicular to Kassian.

  “What are they doing!?” Loh cried out.

  “Buying us time,” Kassian said grimly and looked back at the gate. “Hold on.” He grabbed her legs tight and dashed towards the city.

  Loh wrapped her arms around his shoulders and clenched her jaw, trying her best to not scream in pain as her broken leg jostled with each step Kassian ran.

  The dragon turned away from the road and flew straight at the soldiers. As she closed in on them, the men and women stopped running and began firing their bows and hurling their spears at the enormous beast. The arrows bounced off the ancient scales harmlessly.

  Caligo looked at the helpless struggle with disinterest. “Kill them.”

  Zavinti opened her jaws wide. Her rib cage swelled and a column of prismatic flames exploded from her mouth and engulfed the soldiers. Their cries of pain ended in a split second as the flames consumed their flesh. Charred husks and melted steel collapsed in a black smoking heap.

  “Only two more rats,” Caligo said calmly. “Wait…” he narrowed his ever-changing eyes and spotted Loh. He smiled. “It seems a Noir has wandered outside her precious city.”

  Zavinti craned her long neck towards her rider questioningly.

  “Kill them,” Caligo said without hesitation.

  The dragon roared and beat her wings twice as fast. The elder dragon swam through the air and swooped down at the small running pair. Her ribcage swelled and the mana in her lungs ignited.

  Kassian looked up as the dragon’s shadow enveloped them.

  “Aegis, now!” Loh yelled.

  The two mages channeled Black mana into their hands. Their shadows darkened and intermingled with one another, forming a swirling ebon shield above them. Zavinti opened her jaws wide and breathed dragonflame. The prismatic fire splashed over the Shadow Aegis and melted the black threads. The Aegis collapsed in a storm of fire.

  Loh and Kassian shared a final glance and closed their eyes in acceptance. As the prismatic flames fell upon them, Holo appeared in an orange burst of sparks. She grabbed them and flickered away in the blink of an eye.

  The trio appeared several dozen meters away in another burst of sparks. Loh and Kassian gasped and the latter collapsed to his knees, in a coughing fit. The after-effects of the Flicker spell assaulted all their senses in a bout of vertigo.

  “Get up, you two, we still have several more stops. I can’t Flicker us back to the wall in one go.”

  Loh glanced up in confusion. “Holo…?”

  Kassian looked up at the stranger bewilderedly. “Who are you? How did you—?” 

  “Even if it was just me it’s still too much mass to carry at once,” Holo continued without breaking a beat. 

  In the distance, the dragon flew in a circle, wondering where they had gone. Her head suddenly snapped in their direction and she growled.

  Loh and Kassian turned around and paled in terror.

  Holo winked at the duo, “Don’t worry, dragons are way too large to Flicker any meaningful distance. It won’t be able to catch up to us unless we just sit around here like idiots. So, if you don’t want to die a horrible fiery death I suggest you two don’t let go of me this time.”

  “Right… Thank you,” Loh said weakly.

  Kassian glanced between the two women and nodded uncertainly. “If you say so, Miss, um, Holo, was it?”

  The dragon bellowed in a powerful roar that echoed through the sky. Holo looked up at the sound and she frowned in disbelief. “It can’t be… Zavinti?” 

  The dragon’s pale blue wings opened wide. Flecks of orange light streamed through the wings’ veins.

  Holo’s eyes widened in fear, “She wouldn’t… Oh shit!”

  The dragon’s silhouette disappeared and appeared above them in a giant explosion of orange sparks, creating a small shockwave, sending Holo and the others crashing into the side of the road.

  The azure dragon’s rib cage swelled once more and her mouth opened wide. Prismatic flames rose from the back of her throat. Holo swiftly rolled on the grass, grabbed Loh and Kassian, and Flickered away.

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  Zavinti Flickered after them and breathed dragonflame on them. Holo took a deep breath and Flickered again and again. Zavinti followed right behind her, each time sending a small shockwave that sent them crashing onto the ground. Loh and Kassian were barely staying conscious, from the blasts and the assault on their senses.

  Loh’s ears rang from the blasts and her eyes were blinded by the constant searing flashes of orange light.

  The sixth dragon Flicker was larger than the rest. Loh’s grip slipped and she went flying away, crashing into the grass in a tumble. Her broken leg drove needles of pain over her body and her mind swam into unconsciousness.

   Zavinti ignored the others and shot dragonflame at Loh. Holo cursed under her breath and Flickered above Loh’s body. Orange mana surged into Holo’s hands and azure flames flared outwards, meeting the prismatic flames in a storm of fire. The azure flames overtook the dragonflame and tried to devour the Zavinti. A transparent yellow orb wrapped around the dragon and the azure flames splashed away harmlessly in a cloud of smoke.

  Using the distraction, Holo pulled Loh up by the collar and Flickered back to Kassian. “Grab on!”

  Kassian didn’t need any more convincing. He grabbed Holo’s wrist and they Flickered again. Holo turned around, catching her breath. “She’s not following…!”

  Zavinti narrowed her eyes and opened her wings wide. A massive grey ring formed around her, swirling with power and growing by the second.

  A chill ran down Kassian’s spine. He could feel the sheer ocean of mana swelling in the air, radiating from Zavinti. The dragon’s aura was already terrifying, but now it exploded with power, it was suffocating. He gripped Holo’s wrist tight. “What’s happening?!”

  “A dragon god has gotten serious…” Holo muttered bleakly.

  “What? We need to go!”

  “That’s a Halo spell. With that size, the blast radius would be… We can’t dodge it.” Holo glanced at the wall in the distance. They were too far. 

  “What do you mean!? Just teleport us away!”

  “She’s waiting for that. I can’t Flicker consecutively, there is a slight delay, which increases the more I use it. The moment I Flicker away, she’ll shoot the Halo ring at us.”

  “Then destroy that ring with your flames!” Kassian said desperately.

  “Did you not just see her Radiant Shield? My flames did nothing.”

  “Then what do we do? Just sit here!?” Kassian said panickedly.

  Holo narrowed her eyes. “He won’t give us the chance…”

  Caligo raised his arms from above the dragon’s back. A stream of colossal boulders ripped out of the ground and rotated towards the trio.

  Holo stepped forward and slowly raised her outstretched hand to the sky. She narrowed her eyes in defiance and roared with exertion.

  The hair on Kassian’s arms stood on end and his body stiffened. Holo’s aura, always faint and almost unfelt, suddenly erupted in an explosion of power.

  The sky shrieked and a white pillar of lightning slammed down from the heavens unto Zavinti. The dragon summoned its Radiant Shield, but the yellow orb shattered under the pillar’s power. Zavinti bellowed in pain and her body disappeared in the thundering pillar’s light. The lightning, a sheer column of destruction, burned a 10-meter-wide hole into the ground.

  Kassian stared in stunned awe. 

  “That won’t stop them for long!” Holo grabbed him and Loh and flickered away. 

  As the white lightning faded, the silhouette of Zavinti emerged from the burning crate. Her ancient scales were seared and several were outright charred. Caligo was nowhere to be seen.

  Holo Flickered one last time and reached the top of the wall in a burst of orange sparks. She dropped Loh and Kassian, then spun around and came face to face with the Monster in the Dark. Caligo floated above the wall, looking at her from a few dozen paces away. His face was covered by an avian skull, but Holo knew he was smiling.

  The wall’s guards shouted in surprise and jumped back.

  “Fire!” Octavia shouted.

  The soldiers rallied at the sound of their Bulwark Commander’s voice and fired their arrows and spells at Caligo. The arrows’ trajectories bent around him and the spells fizzled away before they reached him. 

  “I’m impressed, Holo,” Caligo said calmly. “You’ve grown stronger, but I wonder how much more strength can you spare before you fall?”

  Holo glared at him. “So long as my city stands, so shall I… Unildyr.”

  “I see you’ve been busy studying.” Caligo cocked his head to the side, “But not enough it seems. You still see so little.”

  “What did you do to Zavinti?” Holo snapped.

  Caligo glanced at the setting sun. “If you wish to save what you can of your city I will meet you in the valley at dusk for parley. Bring three of your people for negotiations, I shall do the same.”

  “...I trust you’ll keep your word?” Holo asked.

  Caligo inclined his head. “Always.” He turned away and flew back to Zavinti.

  Holo watched them fly to the western hills. As soon as they disappeared Holo fell to one knee and leaned on the battlement for support.

  “Oh my gods…” Kassian mumbled fearfully.

  Holo looked up. From the western horizon, thousands of soldiers began to pour over the hills.

 

 

 

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