On the Verge Again

{Alden's POV...}

"Huh?" I gasped. "Where am I?"

I blinked, waking up as if I was in a trance. I looked around and noticed that half of my vision is gone.

Other than that, I see countless bodies littered across fields riddled with craters and scorched parcels of land and fallen trees in Dystoark.

And then, something comes up to my throat.

"Kaaargh! Keeegh!" I hacked out blood from my mouth. And then the system goes haywire.

[Danger! Regeneration has been exhausted! Find a safe place to recover!]

[Warning! Two of your arms has been severed!]

[Danger! Your organs has been severely damaged!]

[Warning! Magic reserves depleted!]

[Tyrant Spirit, Bloodlust, Berserker, Oni Berserk, Maddening Tyrant Aura, Roar of Maddening Destruction deactivated.]

Many more messages flood my mind and yet I am very tired. I wanted to sleep, but with my wounds like this, I'll never wake up again. I must let them know.

"System...call Andre and Ashley." I said.

[Acknowledged, sending transmission...]

[Connected.]

["Alden, what's good? We're in a middle of fighting the Novodos Twins!"] Andre said through the transmission.

"Guys, I'm done here...wrap it up..." I said.

["You sound tired, Alden, did you--"] Ashley said and I have to cut her off.

"Just wrap it up." I said.

[Transmission ended.]

I stood up so I could just walk away, even if I was unsteady, but suddenly I fell flat on my face.

I assumed that I tripped on something and the system alerted me.

[Your left leg is severed and is hanging.]

I looked back to see that the system is right, my leg is barely hanging by a thread.

I crawled instead. I began crawling, using my right leg to push myself. But by doing so, I spit out blood from my mouth.

Then I tumbled down into a crater, tumbling around rock, dirt, and loose patches of grass.

I stopped tumbling and stared into the night sky. I wheezed, struggling to breathe as the wounds I have suffered would've killed me 10 times over.

I laid there in hopes to regain my strength. But the bleeding won't stop, so I press down on my wounds just to slow it down.

"Zala." I called out to her.

*Bzzt!*

[Insufficient magic.]

"Mirtis." I said.

*Bzzt!*

[Mirtis cannot be summoned due to the Holy Ward skill.]

"Damn...that means Miura, Espada, and Islero are blocked off as well." I thought. I have no choice but to wait for them and hope they reach me quickly.

{Meanwhile...in Andre's POV...}

I received Alden's message saying that we need to wrap it up, he sounded worn out coming from his tone of voice and his moment to take a breath.

Then, we see the twins' faces suddenly twist from horror. Those who are connected to the hero and the hero dies, they suffer a terrible debuff.

"This feeling...he died!?" Michael gasped.

"Impossible...! Even our Ultimate Skills couldn't scratch him!" Michelle yelled.

After we made them use a lot of their Blood Arts, it's time to go on our offensive.

[Tyrant Spirit activated.]

Purple auras bursts from our bodies, strengthening us. Michael and Michelle soon became more aggressive.

"Fine then! We'll become heroes in his place!" Michael declared and extends his left hand forward.

*Wrooooh....*

Black mist emerges, extends its murky tendrils and began to twist and ravel into each other into a black spiral.

It then rises upward towards Michael's hand and reveals itself as a large lance, much larger than my Desolation.

It's black and has blue stripes splitting across the lance in four sections, within the blue stripes, it has white crystalline accents resembling snowflakes.

*RUMBBLEEE...!!!*

Green chains bursts forth from the earth and surrounds Michelle. She extends her hand out and the chains stop and points at Ashley.

I summoned my Sanguine Desolation and get into my stance by putting my right foot forward and my left leg backwards and bent down. I also put my wings out.

"Desolation, drink my blood!" I commanded.

[Weapon command received.]

*Stab!*

The lance in my hand shot spikes into my hand and it begins glowing red, I then also infuse it with my Tyrant Aura as well.

*Swooooo...!!*

Ashley sucks in the air rapidly. For any other race like humans or orcs, their lungs would be full of air, but for dragons, it's much bigger.

*Zoom!*

*Shing!* *Shing!* *Shing!* *Shing!* *Shing!* *Shing!*

Six icicle blades manifests themselves near Michael and the spiral of my lance became bigger and the color of it has turned purple.

Michael dashed forward and the icicles followed suit.

Michelle swings her hand to the side and the green chains roared towards Ashley. The green chains spiral at her and tower over Ashley in her human form.

But Ashley is no human...she is a dragon.

*VWOO-BWOOOOM!!!*

Ashley fires a purple eye-searing beam of plasma from her mouth, the dark environment soon became brighter than the sun itself.

*KRRZOOM!!!!*

The plasma breath and the spiral of chains collided, emitting purple and green lightning. The different colored lightnings danced around the battlefield and superheated flames scorches whatever it touches.

"Urgh!! What is that light!?" Michael shields his eyes with his arm, clearly distracted. But for me, I have my Sanguine Obstruction to block the light.

Michael veered off-course, veering his lance off the left of me. The icicles launched at me, in random directions. Knowing that one of them would freeze me solid if it were to hit me or Ashley.

But that skill ends if Michael's Blood Core is taken from his body and absorbed.

*SPLURCH!!*

I stabbed Michael in the chest area, removing the Blood Core from his chest cavity.

"GUUUAACK!!" Michael heaved blood from his mouth. I flipped my body over his head and grabbed his Blood Core.

"Impossible! How can my Chains of Gaia lose to a mere breath!?" Michelle shouted. "Even the Elder Dragons fear it!"

Michelle puts her hands outward to bring out more power of the green chains to push back Ashley's breath, but the green chains are glowing red from the intense heat.

*Gwo-VOOOOOOM!!*

Ashley's Plasma Breath bore through the chains and she is met with the same searing light that blinded Michael. The Chains of Gaia subsequently shatters and fades away like dust.

*Fsssh...*

Ashley's breath finally ended and staggers to her knees. Thick smoke billows out from her mouth as breathing plasma generates extreme amounts of heat, hotter than dragons that breath fire or lightning combined.

Michelle is now left without a head and her neck was charred and cauterized shut. However, that is not the end.

For in the game, the only way to kill the twins, their Blood Cores must be either destroyed or absorbed within a 30 second time frame. After the 30 seconds pass, they revive with half of their health and they'll be much more aggressive.

However, that can only activate if either one of the twins' Blood Cores is removed.

If both is removed, they cannot recover. Which is why I held Michael's Blood Core, but the veins are still connected.

However, deep down...I don't know if that'll hold up still, even after all this time. I looked at Ashley and she noticed my gaze. We nodded in unison, knowing that killing the twins at the same time is better.

Ashley dashed to Michelle's headless corpse and drives her hand into her chest.

*Splurch!*

*SPLURCK!*

Ashley and I rips out their Blood Cores simultaneously and she gave Michelle's Blood Core to me.

"Ack...! Michelle...." Michael gagged for the last time and crumbled to ashes along with his twin sister.

*Swoooh...!*

I immediately began absorbing the Blood Cores and power began surging inside me like a tsunami crashing down.

"Such power! I can feel my power growing rapidly!" I exclaimed.

"Don't evolve yet. We have to meet Alden first." Ashley said. She then transformed into her Dragon form and turned her tail to me.

"You're right, we gotta regroup first." I said. "But I gotta get these Sanguine Weapons first."

I grabbed the two Sanguine Weapons Explosion and Deconstruction. The two weapons soon became a part of me as well.

"Okay, let's go." I said.

Ashley flapped her wings and began her flight above the trees. She then rushed through the sky to find our friend separated from us.