57 Chapter Fifty-Seven
The boss warg roared as it ran forward. Its voice echoed through the room and pressed against the walls and floors like a jackhammer- shaking the very ground itself. Edward stumbled for a moment before he managed to bring himself back to his feet. He didn't even look at the other part of the battle, as he was fully confident in his friend's success.
Instead, he focused entirely on the enemy in front of him. As the boss monster dashed to Edward, he used his pyrokinesis to thrust himself high into the air. Within moments, he was at the same altitude as his dragon. As the battle began, Ikarus flew forward and tucked his wings to grant himself more speed. His platinum body turned into a blur- not even Edward could see him. As Ikarus reached the boss, he suddenly extended his wings and unleashed a fierce dragon breath.
The dragon's breath hit the boss in the spine, damaging it slightly. Then, before Ikarus could even assess the success of his attack, he quickly turned midair and flapped his wings to gain more distance from the boss.
For a good reason, too, because the boss quickly turned to Ikarus as soon as he turned. As the boss opened his mouth, a similar attack was directed toward Ikarus. However, instead of a column made out of flames, the boss's attack was filled with ice.
"Shit, it can use magic?" Edward sighed. He was thankful the boss was weak to fire. Otherwise, Ikarus wouldn't have been able to damage it. Edward flew toward the boss. Then, just as he was about to reach it, Edward extinguished the thrust below his feet and let his body fall back into the influence of gravity. However, this was only for a moment. As his body became free from the thruster's pressure, he quickly lifted his leg and swung it toward the boss. His entire body turned at once- causing his leg to swing even wider than he meant it to.
A massive whip of flames emerged from his feet- attacking the boss head-on. The whip of flames struck the boss's head. The boss roared, then opened his mouth and attacked Edward. Edward was too slow to dodge the boss's magical attack, so he could only watch as the column of ice struck against his leather armor.
Unfortunately, he wasn't wearing the Winter Warg armor the group had looted from the chest earlier, so he took the full brunt of the boss's attack. As the column of ice made its way directly through Edward's armor, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. His body was forced away from the boss, his limbs acting as limp balloons with the transfer of inertia.
As Edward flew through the air, a notification popped up before him.
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Armor durability has reached 0. You no longer have any defense.
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The boss has attacked a weak spot! You have taken 180 damage!
135 / 315 HP
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'I'll die if I get hit again,' Edward thought to himself as he used his thrusters to bring his flying body to a halt. He quickly charged back at the boss again, hoping to put himself back in the fight.
While he was gone, Ikarus attacked the boss in his place. The young dragon used the same tactic- tucking his wings to gain more speed- before attacking the boss with a quick dragon's breath. The attack landed, thankfully, which damaged the boss even more. However, although the boss was beginning to look very injured, it wasn't dead yet. As Ikarus turned to back away from the boss, the large warg unleashed another ice breath. This time, however, the boss caught on to Ikarus's tactic and readjusted its aim.
The ice breath slammed against one of Ikarus's wings- destroying it completely. Ikarus began to fall back to the ground, but his remaining wings worked overtime to keep him in the air. Unfortunately, with a wing lost to the boss's attack, Ikarus was now much slower than before. The boss ran forward, taking advantage of Ikarus's weakness, and fired another icy breath at the dragon. Ikarus couldn't react in time.
"Ikarus, no!" Edward shouted as he watched the boss unleash its attack. The column of ice struck Ikarus once more, cutting another wing off. Ikarus began to fall from the air, his body growing limp and lifeless. The world seemed to become silent as Edward gazed upon his falling companion.
Then, like a storm, the notification appeared before Edward.
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Your soul companion has been killed
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"Ikarus?" Edward whispered in shock. He gazed upon the battle, frozen in fear. Had Ikarus just died?
Before Ikarus's body could even hit the ground, it exploded in particles of light akin to a supernova. A few scales dropped to the ground, but nothing else remained of Ikarus's once platinum form. Edward's eyes were glued to the explosion of light.
"Ikarus?" Edward pleaded. He flew to the ground, then crouched down and turned to look at one of the platinum scales decorating the ground in front of him. The boss looked at Edward, a smile on its face. However, it didn't attack. Edward crouched down and picked up one of the scales. As he held it, the scale began to shine.
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Your soul companion requests to be reinforced
Avenge him to bring him back to the mortal plane
Kill the boss before you
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'He's still alive!' Edward realized as he dropped the scale to the ground. The scale clattered against the ground before bouncing a few times. Edward turned to look at the boss before him.
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The Boss, in defeating one of your party allies, has partially healed
400 / 500 HP
Do not let him kill once more!
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Edward looked up from the ground and gazed upon the boss standing before him. The boss's chin was upturned, like it was gazing at Edward in contempt. It didn't attack- it didn't even more- but instead gazed at Edward with an evil smile.
Edward felt a fire grow within him as he saw the boss's expression. He stood up, his brow furrowing, as the flame grew brighter and hotter. Edward lowered his stance and lifted his arms. As his eyes focused on the boss- and only the boss- the fire within him quickly spread to the rest of his body. He felt it reach the ends of his toes and his fingers- igniting his skin like charcoal.
The flames took a physical manifestation as his skin and clothes became ignited with the flames of rage. However, Edward felt no pain from these flames- nor did his clothes burn into ashes. The flames strengthened him, instead. The power of a dozen dragons empowered his blood, giving him a sense of strength he had never experienced before.
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The Ancient Dragon, [UNLEARNED NAME], has seen the love you hold for your soul companion. You have completed the first step in earning his favor.
He has assigned to you a challenge.
Defeat the boss and recover your soul companion to acquire his first gift.
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