With the threat of Crescent vanquished, Fate could finally sigh in relief. The priestess was replenishing Vez’ vigor using her spells, while the latter rested on the grass. Suddenly, a portal opened. A man wearing a dark robe stepped out of it.
“Cain.” Truth stopped her treatment of Vez and walked closer to the dark magician. “Crescent stole the World Serpent. So, the fight against the guardian is going to be hard.”
“Oh, about that.” Cain summoned a scroll to his hand. “The Arcane scroll is going to solve that problem.”
“Oh, a summoning type! Nice one, Cain.” Fate jumped on Cain’s back and scratched his head. Her chest rubbed dangerously against Cain’s back, making the latter uncomfortable.
“Stop it, Fate.” Cain tried to squirm out of Fate’s hold, but there was no escaping. In the end, he sighed and gave up.
“Oh, what type of summoning are we talking about?” asked Vez, his complexion much improved.
“An arcane dragon,” responded Cain still weighed down by Fate who was still straddling his back.
“Oh, a legendary rank beast? That’s rare!” Fate slid off Cain’s back and hopped around him to get a closer look at the scroll. “Let me see, let me see. It’s been a while since one dropped for us.”
Cain’s shoulders dropped in disappointment. “Can you be a little more serious? This is still a final, you know?”
In response to Cain’s comment, Fate waved her hands off, uninterested. “Who cares? It’s just a regional. Let’s have some fun! Now, gimmie that scroll!”
Cain sighed and said, “Here, take it.” He lobbed the scroll for Fate to catch. The moment she caught it, she looked at the words inscribed in gold on its sides.
While Fate was playing around with her new toy, Cain slipped away in case she remembered and decided to cling onto him again.
He made his way towards the shade of a tree, on which Rev rested. Truth, on the other hand, struck a conversation with Fate to divert her.
Both Cain and Rev stayed silent for a few seconds before Cain struck up the conversation.
“So, how was your first fight against a Tier-VI?”
Rev stayed silent for a few seconds before responding. “It was hard, overwhelmingly so.” He paused for a second as if to think about his next words. “But it was nothing compared to fighting you and Shesmu.”
Cain chuckled in response. “Oh, you think so? Crescent was pretty strong, you know?”
Rev didn’t respond. His eyes were solemn, hiding behind them a thousand emotions.
Seeing Rev act this way, Cain couldn’t help but sigh and say, “What’s going on, what’s on your mind?”
Rev stayed silent for a few seconds before blurting out in an almost inaudible whisper, “Does Shesmu know yet?”
Cain didn’t respond.
“Does he still believe the lie that you’re retiring of your own will?”
Cain again didn’t respond.
With Cain unresponding, Rev joined him in his silence. He had already said his piece.
“You know, Rev… some things are just better not known.”
Hearing his response, Rev’s lips tightened in anger.
“But he will know. Whether it be now or later, he will know.”
“Yes, he will. And he would probably feel sad, terrible even. But he will move on, everyone will move on.”
Rev didn’t have the time to respond, as both he and Cain sensed a spatial fluctuation. Turning around, they saw a man clad in a black cloak flickering into existence.
Shesmu walked over the grassy field towards the rest of the group. Everyone stopped chattering and directed their attention to their leader.
“Crescent is dead. Let’s go finish this up before their team respawns. We have five minutes.”
Hearing Shesmu’s command, Rev could only sigh and look at Cain worriedly. However, there was no longer any time to spend talking, they had finals to win. In resonance, they all teleported from the grassy field and appeared in front of an immense gate made of dark honey wood which was decorated with golden metal runes. Cain stepped up and pushed the door open.
The gates opened with a creak, and a cloud of dust billowed out from the air pressure. Light seeped out from the crack of the open door. The darkness gave way to a new world, a green and beautiful one.
A flight of doves escaped through the open door, while Cain and his teammates entered this new dimension. Immense white clouds decorated the blue sky. Green grass covered the lands, and from afar, a river flowed. They were on a ridge rising above this valley, a place where the sky was within one’s arms reach.
* * *
Shesmu stepped to Cain. “The floor is yours, Cain. I can’t do much against the boss, so we’ll be relying on you.”
Cain nodded at Shesmu. His eyes turned serious as he scanned the edge of the valley.
A sharp cry from the depths unknown forced everyone to cover their ears. From below, a white reptilian limb rose and slammed on the grassy ground. Many luminous yellow eyes opened, and seven monstrous heads emerged.
A titanic creature flew from underground. A beautiful, white dragon with seven heads opened its wings and soared into the skies. Each head had differently colored hair. From red to violet, the gamut of colors spanned the full spectrum of a rainbow. On its chest, a multicolored crystal was embedded. Five HP bars appeared above the beast, while its name was displayed in full golden.
The Seven-Headed Hydragon Of Virtue
Shesmu unsheathed his sword and stepped to the fore. “I’ll take the aggro in this fight. Rev, focus on disarming. Truth, heal me. Fate, Vez, ascension ritual Cain.”
“Understood,” Everyone responded.
The holy dragon dived with its seven heads towards Shesmu. It summoned a gale with its wings and roared in a display of its full might.
Yellow lightning coursed along the dragon’s right arm as it raised its clawed limb. They glinted with a dangerous light. Shesmu coated his sword with a green aura, and jumped towards the dragon, ready for the impending impact.
The clash of claw and steel reverberated. The red-colored head of this dragon looked directly at Shesmu with a cold reptilian glare, before opening its mouth. A torrent of blazing flames gushed out, forcing Shesmu to break the stalemate and guard against its scorching fire. Meanwhile, the yellow pate looked at Shesmu from above, before gathering light in its open mouth. The head turned down to bear down on Shesmu, its mouth wide open and a ball of lightning forming in its mouth’s epicenter.
Shesmu braced for impact, but suddenly, the rampaging lightning was no more. It dissipated in the blink of an eye. A shadow flashed from behind the dragon’s yellow head, but Shesmu paid the movement no heed. He dashed towards the beast of virtue’s open chest and struck the rainbow-colored crystal. Its lively colors dimmed and grayed.
The seven heads screeched in pain, while the main body swayed. The HP bars above the Boss shone in red, and the top bar decreased by a quarter. However, Shesmu didn’t stop his barrage. He kept slashing at the dragon’s body, leaving wound after wound. The monster’s HP kept decreasing until it reopened its eyes.
Shesmu backed out, exiting the Boss’ range of attack. The Holy dragon of virtue raised its heads and cried out. Colors returned to its crystal and pulsated throughout the beast’s whole body. It took off with a flick of its wings and soared into the sky.
Realizing what the Boss was about to do, Shesmu glanced at Cain. He was sitting, eyes closed and legs crossed in the middle of a blood-red magic circle, while Fate and Vez skirted the edges. They fed their power into the circle only for it to be absorbed by Cain.
Damn, they’re not done yet. Shesmu glanced back at the dragon with all its seven mouths open, gathering energy in all of them. No choice, I need to tank this one.
Magic circles started appearing in front of the beast’s open mouths, their colors matched that of their parent heads. Six magical circles finally appeared before each mouth, gathering unimaginable power inside each spell. Flames blazed, rocks formed, Thunder roared, the wind turned into tornadoes and water into jet torrents, plasma balls emerged and purple poison fog gushed out.
Shesmu witnessed this agglomeration of elemental power. His whole body glowed a dark hue while black magical circles materialized below him. His brown eyes turned dark, and a white pentagram emerged from its depth. He whispered, “State Zero.”
And nothing happened. No green aura, no monochronic world, no flying magical circles. Even the dark aura that was surrounding his body was no more. Shesmu stood on the grassy ground, gazing up at the beast high in the sky preparing this armageddon of raging elements within its open jaws.
The dragon roared with might. Its seven heads launched spells of every color. Lightning rumbled, flames blazed, meteorites fell, and all kinds of other spells made their way towards Shesmu. He stayed silent, motionless.
The man kept tracking the spells as they drew closer. For a moment, he was entranced by their beauty. However, it was but a fleeting thought before they melted into nothingness.
Rocks decomposed, and jets of water turned into glassy static droplets before disappearing into thin air and giant hurricanes softened to a gentle breeze. The fire whiffed out of existence and so did the lightning dissipate. The balls of plasma quickly followed suit while the purple poison fog thinned out leaving only a light purple faint haze in its wake.
“Cancel State.”
Shesmu’s eyes returned to their normal brown color. Black magical circles appeared below him before shattering and disappearing once more. His eyes darted back to where Cain was. The latter was clad in a dark orange aura. He opened his eyes and walked out of the blood-red. Fate and Vez stopped channeling their energy into the circle. They sat down on their butts, dizzy and lightheaded from the whole ordeal.
“Here, the scroll.”
Even though Fate was tired, she still found the strength to throw the summoning scroll at Cain. He caught it with one hand before inspecting it. The golden letters on its side were written in a strange language. Cain whispered, “Arcane Dragon of the First Flame.”
With a quick motion, he opened the scroll. Blinding light radiated from it, forcing Cain to protect his eyes with his hand. He slowly opened it only to be greeted by a gargantuan beast. Fangs sharper than the most treacherous daggers, reptilian yellow eyes that pierce the soul, and a snout that breaths whiffs of fire three meters long.
The dark brown dragon was laying down, but it still towered over everything in sight besides its kin. The dark beast regarded Cain and said, “Thou which hath summoned me shalt receive the august essence of mine august being. The nectar of dreams is the poisoned well of the fool, may wisdom guide thy path to the original truth.”
The dark dragon raised its taloned foreleg gently and showed him his index claw. Cain fist-bumped the dragon’s claw before the latter turned ethereal. The beast decomposed into countless red particles. They gathered around Cain like moths on a bonfire before merging with the latter’s deep red aura. Energy flared around Cain becoming a torrent of red light that pierced the heavens. He stood motionless, amidst the flame-like aura. Jumping far above, he rose high enough to see eye to eye with the dragon of virtue. The aura that connected Cain to the clouds compressed and became a ball surrounding him. It contorted in various forms before breaking out, appearing as a ghost of a dragon.
Cain stood inside the dragon of flame, controlling its every movement. He flew to the holy beast in a flash, claws clashing with opposing talons and horns colliding. The flame dragon gathered fire in its mouth, it breathed hell upon its opponent. Cain followed up with a slash to the dragon's chest.
The beast staggered backward, screeching in pain. However, Cain did not stop. He kept clawing away at his opponent while breathing fire upon it. The holy dragon's HP decreased until the first bar emptied.
The holy beast opened its eye. Light shone from underneath, as it began to repel Cain. It soared into the sky with a mighty cry.
Looking at the situation from afar, Shesmu panicked. "Everyone, run!"
Cain flew into the sky, while Shesmu teleported to Fate and Vez. He seized each one-handedly and dashed away, towing them.
Magical circles winked into existence everywhere across the field. They were golden, and they emitted an intense light. This sharp glow became a pillar of light that speared into the sky. Everywhere the eye could see was soon covered in that light.
Shesmu and his team fled with all their might. Fate turned to see the source of the commotion only for her jaw to drop. Humanoid creatures with wings flew out from the magical circles and soared high into the sky.
“You-you're joking! Are all of these… angels?!”
Shesmu grabbed Fate’s arm in a vise-like grip before teleporting away. Rev turned to watch the spectacle of a thousand angels rising from the ground before following suit.
A moment later, Shesmu, Fate, and Vez materialized above the clouds, Rev followed them shortly. Shesmu floated midair while carrying Fate and Vez.
“Leader, can you use Float on us?”
Understanding their discomfort, Shesmu nodded and said, “Sure.” He proceeded to invoke the spell in the depths of his mind and a transparent aura enveloped both subjects.
“Yahoo!” Once Fate regained control of her body, she flipped around in the air like a clown and laughed loudly.
“Goddamnit, Fate. Can’t you be calm for like, one second?”
Fate calmed down and sat cross-legged in the air beside Shesmu.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It’s just that this is the most boring part of this whole situation, though. We’re just gonna sit here, spectator mode, while Cain gets all the limelight!” She pouted.
Shesmu was unamused by Fate’s outcry. “Yeah, can you tell me who lost the Serpent to the enemy team again? I forgot.”
She was frightened by Shesmu’s sudden shift of tone. His cold tone gave her shivers.
“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t be angry, Leader. We didn’t know he had already achieved Tier-VI, else we would have burst it way earlier.”
“Haha, well, it’s not a problem this fight went like this.” Spoken in an attempt to smooth things over, Vez butted in. “Thanks to that mishap, the world will see the first arcane transformation of a Tier-VI mage.”
“Ohh, that’s hype! Leader, you and Cain always go questing together, has he ever shown you his arcane transformation?”
Shesmu gave Fate a questioning look. “No, he didn’t. Also, what the heck do you think arcane scrolls are? Candies you can buy at a shop?”
Shesmu’s series of sarcastic questions made Fate chuckle nervously. “Though I do have an idea of what it might be,” he continued, easing the tension, “and if his arcane transformation is anything like mine, it’s gonna go through six stages. Each one is fundamentally stronger than the last. Since it’s the Arcane of Fire, I’m guessing that its color would change at every stage.”
“Shesmu, can you please use your Orb of True Vision? I can’t use mine.” Vez’s reminder spurred Shesmu into action. He summoned a white orb and activated it with his mind. A holographic screen appeared in front of it to show Cain facing the Boss.
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