"Round two, you damn lizard!"

  Naro's shout had barely left his mouth when the Shade halted mid-charge.

  The sudden stop was violent enough that the air it had displaced continued rushing forward for a moment after the creature itself had gone still. Dust rolled across the torn plains while the massive draconic form hovered low above the battlefield, its amber eyes shifting slowly between the three figures standing before it.

  Naro felt the weight of that gaze linger on him longer than the others.

  Then it moved.

  Astor stood several paces away with one hand still resting against the ground, the shattered remains of his earlier stone constructs scattered around him like broken armor. Khiel had descended moments earlier after clearing the wolves in the south, his orbiting blades tightening into controlled rings around his body as he watched the creature carefully.

  The Shade took them in one by one.

  It tilted its head slightly, the motion slow and deliberate, as if committing each of them to memory before deciding what to do next.

  The big thing in metal could move the earth as it wished, but was useless if the Shade took flight. But taking flight would mean exposing itself to the things the other small wretches fired against the pack it gained and also the one who could wield so many troublesome sticks was a problem in the air too.

  The "kin" with the glowing stick was also something to watch out for, it's the one that actually manages to harm it.

  Naro frowned. 'What the hell is it doing?! I can't feel its intent!'

  A voice came out of the device in his ear, which he instantly recognized as Rami. "We're done with the wolves in the north, I'll be assisting you guys with canon fire soon! Agir and Yidra are still busy, so I'll have to send some troops toward them, sadly. Commander Rami over!"

  He smiled, 'Oh so that's her title, now huh?'

  "What did she say?" Khiel asked.

  "We're getting reinforcements soon," Naro replied, shifting his stance, "dealing with this thing's gonna be much easier."

  'Easier doesn't mean it's gonna be easy, though.'

  The creature moved again but instead of rushing at them again it...changed?

  Bone shifted beneath the scales with a heavy cracking sound as the vast membranes folded inward. The long wing joints bent forward and thickened, the structure reshaping itself until the limbs looked less like wings and more like enormous arms tipped with hooked talons.

  The Shade lowered its body closer to the ground as it finished the transformation, trading the wide aerial posture for something tighter and far more agile.

  Naro stared at it for a moment.

  "What in the Five Hells..."

  Khiel didn't take his eyes off the monster.

  "Looks like it figured out what we're trying to do," he said flatly.

  Soaring Blades smirked "Who cares though."

  Before the Shade could fully settle into its new stance, Khiel struck.

  The blades circling him snapped outward all at once, dozens of spell-infused weapons shot across the battlefield in streaks of silver light. Khiel followed them a heartbeat later, his body dropping from the air as the storm of steel closed in on the transforming creature.

  Several blades struck before the Shade could react.

  Steel bit between scales, and the spells embedded in the weapons ignited instantly.

  Explosions flashed across the creature's flank as fire and lightning burst outward from the detonating blades. The Shade roared and twisted violently, one of its newly reshaped limbs swiping through the air in an attempt to clear the barrage.

  Astor moved the moment the creature reacted and drove his hand into the ground.

  "Wrap around it!"

  The Stone erupted upward around the Shade in towering shapes that resembled enormous arms rising from the earth itself. The constructs wrapped around the creature's torso and limbs, jagged plates of rock locking together as they forced its movements to slow.

  The monster struggled immediately, muscles straining against the restraints.

  Astor glanced toward Naro.

  The Slayer was already moving.

  The Dash tore him forward in a violent burst of speed that cracked the ground beneath his feet. The surge carried him straight into the creature's reach, and the subtle push from the skill's secondary effect gave him just enough momentum to continue the attack without losing rhythm.

  His sword struck first, the molten blade carving a burning arc across the Shade's chest that scattered sparks through the night air.

  Then he dashed again.

  The second cut landed from the opposite side, the heated edge ringing sharply as it scraped across the dark scales that felt harder than forged steel.

  Naro kept pressing.

  Each Dash shifted his position just enough to avoid the creature's struggling limbs while opening another angle for the next strike. The blade flashed again and again as he carved across its torso in quick succession.

  "Hold still!" he barked.

  The Shade answered with another furious roar.

  Naro drove forward one last time.

  The final Dash carried him directly beneath the creature's ribcage.

  "Storm Strike."

  The thrust came fast and straight.

  Runes flared along the Sky-Fell Sword as the skill extended the sword's edge. The heated edge punched into the creature's abdomen with a burst of light, driving deep enough that black blood sprayed across the ground.

  The Shade convulsed, its body snapping violently against the restraints.

  Then the draconic being lashed out.

  One of its newly formed limbs tore free of Astor's stone grip and swept across the battlefield with brutal force.

  Khiel saw it coming and tried to pull away, but the claw still caught him across the side and sent him skidding across the plains in a spray of dirt and broken stone.

  Naro twisted out of the way of the next strike and landed hard several meters away, and deactivated the Molten Sword to spare some Authority energy.

  "Khiel!"

  Soaring Blades pushed himself onto one knee, his blood darkening the side of his coat where the blow had torn through armor.

  Naro reached for his belt without thinking.

  A short dagger slid free.

  The weapon's surface was covered in the tight rune patterns Agir had spent days engraving before the battle.

  "Hey!" Naro called, drawing Khiel's attention.

  Then he threw it.

  The dagger struck directly into the wounded area before Khiel could react.

  "WHAT ARE YOU-"

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  The rune activated instantly.

  Blue light burst from the blade as the stored Authority discharged into Khiel's body, sealing torn muscle and forcing his disrupted mana circuits back into alignment. The glow faded almost as quickly as it had appeared, leaving only the empty hilt lodged in the cloth.

  Khiel blinked.

  "...Agir's toys?" he asked.

  "Yeah!" Naro said with a sharp nod.

  Khiel pulled the useless handle free and tossed it aside.

  "Tell him it worked."

  Behind them the Shade pulled itself upright again, the wound in its abdomen was already closing.

  Then the creature looked at Naro, it cast a gaze full of malice before inhaling slowly.

  The sound was deep and heavy, almost like the ground itself was breathing.

  "ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR"

  Naro felt something brush against his mind like a cold current pushing against a sealed door.

  "What the hell..."

  He felt the creature's intent, it was calling to something it believed was inside him.

  Nothing answered, however. Naro was not a Dusk-creature nor corrupted by that matter. He inherited Paro's corrupted Authority but that did not make him a monster.

  Not yet at least.

  The pressure faded and the Shade stared at him, its expression shifting slightly in a way that almost resembled confusion. If it had eyebrows, it would've raised one right now.

  Naro grimaced and stared at it back.

  They had a staring contest for a few seconds...

  Until Astor broke it.

  The ground exploded upward beneath the Shade's head as a pillar of stone slammed directly into its jaw. The impact snapped the creature's head back while jagged spikes erupted around its feet, driving into the ground and locking its talons in place.

  Astor dusted his gauntlet lightly and smiled.

  "You two done staring at each other? Rami's gonna get jealous if she hears about it."

  Naro blinked once and shook himself back into motion. "Shut up!"

  The Shade's attention snapped back to him, as thin lines across its body began to glow.

  Purple light spread along the creature's scales like veins igniting beneath the surface as it opened its maw.

  Energy gathered in its throat.

  Naro froze for half a second. 'What the hell is tha-'

  The blast came in a heartbeat later.

  A torrent of violet fire tore across the battlefield where he had been standing.

  Naro vanished in a burst of Dash just before the attack struck.

  The beam carved across the plains for several seconds before finally fading, leaving behind a long trench of molten rock glowing in the darkness.

  Naro reappeared dozens of meters away, then stared at the destruction with widened eyes.

  The ground where he had been a moment earlier was simply gone.

  He tightened his grip on the sword. 'What the hell was I thinking?'

  The knight grit his teeth. 'Why was I acting like this was some kind of game?'

  Naro could've died right there, had he not dodged at the right moment. He did take the creature seriously, but so far he had quite the easy going attitude against it.

  His expression went blank. 'No more,' a familiar crimson fire danced in his eyes.

  Rami's voice came from the communicator. "I'm on the South rampart with some troops, Agir's with me so I can fight for a while."

  "What do you guys need?"

  Naro put one claw of his left arm on the communicator's rune. "Give me everything," he said with a cold emotionless tone.

  The Slayer continued, "Khiel and Astor will attack from a distance while I deal with that thing at melee, in the meantime, hit it with everything you got until its regeneration slows down."

  "What? That's reckless! You're putting yourself at risk of friendly fir-"

  "I don't care. That thing's too powerful for us to not go all out," Naro cut in.

  For a moment, the comms were silent "...How many daggers do you have left?"

  "Five."

  He heard her sigh in the comms. "Try to not break its spine, I need it for something."

  Naro raised an eyebrow, then answered, "...Will try."

  The Slayer stared at the Shade's amber eyes. 'Going for the brain and eyes is the decisive way to kill it, but it knows that. I'll wear it down and find an opening.'

  He turned toward his allies. "Khiel, Astor, move back, and provide me with ranged support! Don't try to match my movements, and just attack it!"

  Astor tried to walk up to him to protest the change of tactics, but Khiel stopped him by putting one of his blades in front of him.

  "Don't try it. When he's in that state, it's best to let him be." He said with a sharp voice.

  Earth-shifter groaned "But-!"

  "It's okay Astor," Naro said with a hint of warmth in his voice.

  The knight in front of him looked back at him with a faint smile. "This is my 'intent'."

  Astor winced.

  Naro dashed at the Shade once again, "Heat up."

  The Shade moved first, lunging forward with frightening speed for something its size, its claws tearing trenches through the earth as it closed the distance.

  Naro vanished as the Dash ripped him sideways in a violent blur of motion just as the talons slammed down where he had stood, the ground shattering beneath the impact.

  He reappeared behind the creature and struck, the molten blade carving a blazing arc across its flank before he dashed again and vanished before the Shade could retaliate.

  Another flash followed.

  Another cut.

  Naro never stayed in one place long enough for the creature to track him. He moved like a skipping spark across dry grass, each Dash sequences placing him somewhere new:

  Above the creature, beneath it, behind it, sometimes attacking, sometimes doing nothing at all.

  "What is this..." Astor muttered.

  "That's just how he fights 'normally'." Khiel said in a flat tone.

  Indeed, the Slayer's movements seemed erratic to others, even to Khiel. But he knew well that it wasn't brainless.

  The Dash burst forward again, but instead of striking Naro simply slid past the creature's shoulder and vanished once more before reappearing above it to attack, the blade scraping across its scales as sparks scattered through the night air.

  The Shade twisted violently, its claws snapping upward in retaliation, but Naro had already disappeared.

  Another Dash carried him to a new angle, where his blade flashed across the creature's back before he vanished yet again.

  Astor realized what his aim was and activated the rune of the communicator. "Ready your spells!"

  Soaring Blades lifted his hand slightly.

  Khiel's blades snapped outward once more, streaking across the plains in silver lines as they aimed for the creature's exposed joints, while the ramparts behind them thundered and cannons roared.

  Projectiles of offensive spells tore through the night sky as Rami and the magi opened fire again.

  The Shade reacted instantly, its wings — now twisted into arm-like limbs — snapped upward as it twisted away from the incoming barrage. Khiel's blades tore past its side, several embedding themselves into the ground where it had stood moments earlier.

  A cannon blast struck next, the explosion erupting against the creature's scales and forcing it to stagger sideways.

  Naro appeared exactly where it moved, the Dash carrying him straight into the opening as his sword flashed upward and the molten edge cut deep across the Shade's shoulder before he vanished again.

  The creature roared in fury.

  Another cannon blast screamed down from the ramparts, and the Shade twisted away from it.

  But Naro was already there.

  "Storm Strike." 'Diagonal slash.'

  The sword extended and cut into the creature's ribs, spraying black blood across the ground.

  The Shade lashed out wildly, claws tearing through the air, but Naro dashed backward just in time as the talons missed him by a hair.

  Astor moved next.

  Stone erupted from the earth beneath the creature's hind legs, jagged spikes rising upward to trap its footing. The Shade tore one limb free instantly, but the momentary hesitation was enough.

  Khiel's blades struck again, two detonating against its side while another pierced through the membrane of one twisted wing.

  The Shade roared, yet its eyes never left Naro.

  The Slayer stood several meters away with his sword lowered slightly as heat shimmered around the glowing blade.

  He understood now.

  Every time the creature dodged a spell...

  Every time it twisted away from Khiel's blades...

  Every time it broke Astor's restraints...

  ...it moved exactly where he would have moved.

  If Naro was in his normal state, he would've grinned at that. The only thing on his mind however, was killing that wretched thing.

  Suddenly, the Shade stopped dodging.

  Its head turned away from Naro slowly.

  And turned its gaze toward toward the distant silhouette of Almati's south rampart.

  His eyes widened and the crimson fire in his eyes dimmed, "No..."

  The purple lines across the creature's body ignited again.

  "Ah," Astor muttered, his voice tightening. 'That's bad.'

  The Shade inhaled, the ground itself seeming to tremble as energy gathered deep in its throat.

  Naro dashed at the draconic being, trying to interrupt the attack it was going to unleash upon the city, to its inhabitants, to...Rami.

  But he was too slow. Uncaring of his strides, the dragon fired.

  A massive torrent of violet flame erupted from its jaws, the beam streaking across the battlefield toward the distant ramparts of Almati.

  "ASTOR!" Khiel shouted.

  The earth answered immediately.

  The ground between the city and the blast erupted upward as Astor forced a wall of stone into existence, layers of rock stacking upon one another in a desperate barrier just as the beam slammed into it.

  He tried reinforcing the ground with as much Authority as he could...but the impact was still catastrophic

  The first layer shattered instantly.

  The second lasted only a moment longer.

  Astor clenched his teeth as more stone surged upward, trying to weaken the blast before it reached the city, but the beam tore through everything.

  By the time it finally reached the ramparts its power had weakened, but not enough.

  The impact exploded across the walls in a storm of fire and shattered stone.

  Naro felt his stomach drop.

  "Rami-!"

  The communicator crackled.

  "...We're fine," her voice came through, slightly distorted. "The outer wall took the hit! Our cannons are still operational."

  Naro exhaled slowly, then looked at the shade with gritted teeth.

  He shot forward like a launched arrow.

  The Shade had just finished firing when the Slayer arrived, the molten sword rising as the runes along its edge flared.

  "STORM STRIKE!"

  The thrust drove forward with as much force he could put, the blade punching through scale and deep into the creature's chest.

  The Shade screamed.

  Black blood erupted across the battlefield as Naro twisted the blade and ripped it free.

  Using the stagger it brought to it, he continued cutting across the Shade's chest. Again, and again, and again, and again.

  The draconic being brought a claw down to Naro's chest, tearing amror and flesh alike.

  But despite the almost fatal wound, he still cut two times before dashing away several meters while deactivating the Molten Sword.

  "Khuergh-!" Naro coughed up blood, then took one healing dagger from his belt and thrust it directly on his chest. "ARRRRRGHHHHHHHH"

  The sharp pain was soothed by the blue light that emanated from the small blade and reattached the tissue and bone, leaving only big a scar across his chest.

  'Four left.'

  Naro looked back toward the Shade in a tired expression.

  The creature stared at him back, seemingly exhausted too. It's regeneration had slowed down by quite a bit from the relentless assault and had multiple scorched scars across it's body.

  He smiled faintly 'An eye for an eye, huh.'

  Naro's Authority-energy pool was almost fully depleted. He couldn't use the Molten Sword for a long time, or else he wouldn't have enough to reinforce his physical specs.

  Naro assumed the Shade had the same problem, it probably cost a lot to fire those violet blasts, and the last one was pretty big.

  The stark difference between them however, was that the Shade was alone.

  While Naro wasn't.

  "Hey, I don't hear your wolf pack howling," the Slayer shouted. "Guess one of my allies took care of all of em'!"

  The Shade replied with a low growl, turning its head toward the city, only to find its troops dead.

  "Eyes on me, fatty."

  The Shade turned its head at the sound of the voice only to meet blackened steel in front of one of its eyes.