The dragon opened its mouth, the glow in its throat swelling until the air itself seemed to buckle.

Andreas twisted his weight and quickly drove an uppercut into its jaw. The impact snapped the maw shut just as the light burst free.

The beam ripped through the creature’s teeth and through its hand, scorching bone and flesh alike. It lanced into the night sky, the pillar of raw destruction tearing rooftops to shreds. Lightning protrusions whipped outward with every pulse, spearing into the surrounding streets and reducing stone and steel to slag. The district shook as if the heavens themselves were collapsing.

Andreas fell, his body thrown from the monster’s grip. He hit the ground hard, rolled across the broken street, and came to a halt against shattered stone.

A guttural grunt tore from him as he pulled off his armor. It cracked, then burst into shards of ash and mist that dissolved into the night air. His right arm lay twisted at his side, skin seared, the stench of burned flesh rising. Third-degree burns marred him from wrist to elbow, fingers curled and useless.

He dragged in a ragged breath, chest rattling, vision swimming. Every nerve screamed agony. Yet even when bleeding and burned, he forced a bitter grin and glared at the fierce dragon, its jaw charred and loose.

The dragon turned toward him, its faceless head twitching as smoke hissed from its jaw. The blast had missed its target. Andreas had paid the price instead.

The creature lurched, its loose jaw dangling grotesquely as smoke poured from the cracks. It did not finish Andreas. Seeing Andreas as a pest who will surely die in his condition, it shoved past him, its massive body filling the narrow street as it charged after Amelia and Julian.

Stone scraped against its body scraped between buildings, wings tearing and folding awkwardly against walls that collapsed under the pressure. It crushed cobblestones into powder, the street quaking beneath its weight. Its faceless head swiveled, locking on the fleeing figures, its hunger greater than its pain.

Andreas spat blood into the dirt and forced himself upright. His ruined arm trembled uselessly at his side, but he clenched his teeth until they threatened to crack.

I have never known pain like this, is this the sensation of severe burns? Heh.

Andreas let out a quiet chuckle.

This is crazy. It hasn’t been a week yet, and I’m already throwing hands with eldritch horrors.

As he stood up, his left hand clung to the hilt of weapon. Ash and mist coiled from his shattered armor, congealing, lengthening, until a long-bladed naginata shimmered into existence, its edge gleaming with pale light.

He staggered forward, then while forcing his burnt hand to hold the naginata, he lunged, spearhead driving for the monster’s flank.

Steel rang a few feet away from the bloated dragon.

A sudden shadow blurred from above. Andreas’s instincts screamed, and he whirled, bringing the spear up just in time to catch the descending strike of Katanari. The clash reverberated through his body, pain flaring anew in his ruined arm as he braced against the pressure. Sparks flew as their weapons ground together, the sound sharp against the monstrous groaning of stone behind them.

Andreas snarled, blood dripping from his chin. “You son of a bitch.”

Amelia dragged Julian around another corner, their breaths ragged in the smoke-choked air. The relics clattered in his arms. They weaved through broken alleys and fractured streets, trying to circle back toward where Andreas had fallen.

Amelia and Julian wore heavy expressions, fearing that Andreas had died from the blast of blue light, and lamenting how impractical it was to risk the artifacts just to see if their possibly dead brother and friend was alive or not.

“Shit!” she snapped, her voice cracking with desperation. “If we run straight in, we’ll only get killed. We have to stop this and just run away somewhere else. Andreas doesn’t seem to be the type of person to die so easily.... So.”

Her words died as a shadow stretched across the cobblestones.

Julian froze, eyes wide, the relics humming louder. Slowly, he tilted his head upward.

The dragon-like being loomed above them. Its bloated mass pressed against the rooftops, talons sinking into tiles and beams as if they were parchment. Each step shattered houses, its faceless head twitching as it balanced unnaturally, wings tearing wider with every sway, scraping against stone chimneys and timber frames.

It moved like a nightmare colossus, crawling across the roofs, its body filling the skyline. Smoke hissed from its split jaw, and with each exhale, sparks crackled, drifting down like falling stars.

Amelia clamped her hand over Julian’s arm, pulling him back into the shadows of a collapsed archway.

The faceless head swiveled, twitching violently, and for an instant its weight stilled, crushing rooftops flat as its attention fixed on the two below.

Julian’s grip on the relics tightened until his knuckles blanched.

Sorry, brother, I got you killed for nothing, huh? I really shouldn’t have listened to Master Yuan Yun.

Amelia’s fingers tightened on Julian’s arm. Cold sweat ran down her temple.

Julian swallowed hard, the relics throbbing in his grasp as if they sensed the monster’s hunger. His mind raced, weighing every option, every terrifying possibility. Andreas was out there somewhere, likely broken and bleeding, but still alive, he hoped.

I’m going to mention... “I’ll do it,” Julian said, his voice tight, stammering. I will give the artifacts… whatever it wants, whatever it calls being an avatar…”

Amelia froze, eyes wide. “What? Julian, no! You can’t...”

He shook his head, cutting her off. “Listen! I can’t let it hurt Andreas. Not him. Not now. But... and my sister,” he gestured at her; “Andreas, Mother and Clara, my darling sister, they have to be freed from whatever deal this thing we have with this thing.”

Amelia blinked, heart hammering. “You... No, not like this, do you really think your family would be happy with this?”

Julian turned to look at the bloated dragon above them, waiting for its response since it must have heard them speak.

The dragon-like being tilted its faceless head, its jaw already healed, shadows pooling around its massive form. A low, guttural rumble echoed through the rooftops. Julian felt its attention settle, calculating, measuring the weight of his words.

Amelia exhaled shakily, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth. “Julian… you’re really doing this?”

Julian nodded, the relics vibrating in his arms. “For my family, I will do anything.”

Smoke curled from the dragon’s split jaw as it shifted its enormous bulk, looming closer to the siblings. Its shadow engulfed the street below, wings scraping and tearing at the rooftops like living blades.

Julian swallowed, readying the artifacts. “Here goes nothing…”

Amelia let go of his hand and spoke her complaints to herself. This isn’t how things were supposed to happen, right?

The monster leaned lower, its attention fully on Julian now, the city quaking with each careful step. For the first time, a flicker of calculation crossed its faceless visage, as if it could sense the bargain being struck.

Julian’s chest tightened, but he held the relics firmly. “Just so you know I’m not doing this for free, first make sure that my brother is well, and then erase whatever deal that bound my family to you, then we have a deal.”

“Very well, Mr. Stahl.” The faceless god agreed in a deep rumbling voice.

Julian made the biggest smile he could Master to hide his fear and disgust after hearing the creature’s voice.

“I’ll allow you to run to your brother, see for yourself if this path is still worth pursuing.”

Julian ran with all his might, followed by Amelia.

The bloated god watched them as they ran and muttered, “Foolish!”