63-64

As we all basked in each others warmth, creating a group hug in the back of the large, charred and destroyed room, I had forgotten to check for a system notification, overcome with relief that we had made it out alive.

My muscles were aching, my joints hurt, my head was killing me…

Hah… That was a hard fight…

Thinking that, I opened up the system, only for my eyes to go wide as I realized…

There was NO notification.

Which meant…

Pulling myself free from the group hug, I stared at the 'corpse' of Lord Pele, wondering just how he was still alive.

"Kat?"

Jahi stepped beside me, frowning as she looked between me and Lord Pele.

"What's wrong?"

Biting my lip, I wondered how to explain that I hadn't received any notification that he was dead…

"I don't think… that he's dead…"

Jahi stared at me, before staring at the charred corpse.

"Why do you think that?"

Hearing the slight disbelief in her voice, I bit my lip again, before saying "Intuition..?"

Please believe me…

Sighing, she raised her ornate blade, gazing at the corpse before saying "Well, let's go make sure he's dead then."

I nodded, resummoning my Water Cloak as we approached, my dagger coated in ice.

Anput and Leone followed behind us, staring warily at the corpse.

Gradually approaching the giant body of Lord Pele, I frowned as…

Nothing happened.

No pulsing heartbeat that started randomly.

No convulsing or shaking inside the corpse.

No groaning or wheezing…

Just…

Nothing.

Which made me extremely confused.

Where was the notification?

'Is he dead or not?'

[You didn't get a notification, so no, he is not dead.]

Getting double confirmation from the system, I narrowed my eyes at the corpse.

Stabbing her sword into the mans skull, Jahi said "See? Dead."

Twisting her blade for good measure, she withdrew the sword and flicked the blood, brain matter, and skull fragments from the blade, before staring at me with worry.

Sighing, she grabbed my hand, making me drop the mana clock, pulling me towards the door.

i𝓷𝗻𝐫𝔢𝓪𝑑.c𝒐m

"Come on, we need-"

"You should trust your dog, brat."

We all froze, before turning around.

The corpse started cracking, the bones breaking and twisting as they molded themselves into something…

Else.

His flesh 'melted' away, moving around like liquid as it reshaped itself to fit this new skeleton, the scales sinking into the red flesh, turning his body into something armored.

What stood before us appeared humanoid; it stood on two legs, sported four muscular arms, and had a head crowned with small spikes.

Sprouting from its back was a pair of large, leathery wings and a long, sharp tail, all a deep crimson.

Before the man had been dull looking; he had a face that blended in with the crowd, the only thing that stood out. besides his giant lizard body, was his dark red skin, which was a little rarer than other colors.

Now, however, what stood before us was a regal, handsome man, his abs chiseled and arms rippling with muscle.

Standing on taloned feet, he spread his wings, smirking to himself.

Two ruby eyes turned towards us, and he grinned as he flexed his arms, before cracking his neck.

"I must say, I never thought that ritual had something so amazing hidden inside it…"

Even his voice was improved; it dripped with confidence, the deep, melodic sound washing over us.

"Well, it matters not; I think with such an improved body…"

His body flickered, before appearing in front of Leone, a sneer on his lips as he growled "I'll kill all of you!"

Slamming his fist into her gut, we all watched as Leone was sent flying, crashing through the wall.

"Leone!"

Shouting her name, I was about to run to her side when Lord Pele appeared beside me, still sneering.

Feeling one of his fists rippling through the air towards me, I swayed to the side, only to cough as another landed on my ribs, sending me skidding back a few steps.

"Damn dog. You were the most annoying of all!"

Appearing before me again, he started punching his four fists out, making me grunt in pain as I tried to desperately block each one.

Some landed, some didn't but…

Feeling a crack on my ribs again, I coughed out a bit of blood, making me frown.

Taking shaky breaths, I watched as Jahi and Leone swung their blades down towards his back, only for two swords to appear in his top hands, blocking the blows.

Grinning at me, I gasped as he landed a heavy punch in my gut, sending me flying again.

Rolling on the floor, I coughed out some more blood, my breathing haggard as I felt something sharp poke my lung with every breath I took.

He had turned to face Jahi and Anput, summoning another two swords as he pushed them back, making the two women grunt as they exerted all their remaining strenght.

Placing a hand over my ribs again, I gasped as my healing magic reknit the cracked and broken bones, setting my ribcage back into its normal spot.

It hurt like hell, having your bones knit themselves back together, and my vision blurred under the pain.

However, I stood back up, wiping the warm blood from my lips as I scooped up my dagger.

That damn freak was trying to hurt Jahi…

Gritting my teeth, I pushed more mana from my core, coating my body in a thin layer of water again, before rushing towards Lord Pele's back.

Trying to keep my steps as quiet as possible, I stabbed my ice dagger under his wing, making the man grunt in pain, only to backhand me away.

Spinning in the air a few times, I landed shakily on my feet, still gripping my dagger.

"Damnit…"

Groaning, he pushed the other two away, a small red flame appearing on his wound, healing it.

"I am going to enjoy breaking you…"

Turning towards me, he glared at me, his eyes filled with rage.

Flapping his wings a few times, Lord Pele lifted his body into the air, throwing two of his blades towards Jahi and Anput, who had to block the spinning blades.

With his two free hands he started weaving together various runes, a large, complicated ritual circle appearing around him.

Raising my left hand, I shot water arrows towards him, hoping to disrupt his sequence.

However, he just smirked at me as his two blades flickered out, intercepting the arrows and blocking them.

"Is that all, dog?"

Growling in frustration, I tried to summon ice arrows next, only for a wave of exhaustion to flood my body, making me stumble to the side.

Biting my lip, I instead pushed my mana into the cloak, wanting to try and raise my defenses against… whatever spell he threw my way.

"KAT!"

Jahi screamed my name, desperately trying to ward off the levitating blade that was clashing against her sword.

Her golden eyes were glowing with worry, making me smile towards her.

Laughing, Lord Pele peered over his shoulder, jeering "Your dog dies today, Demon… and you'll watch as I tear her limb from limb!"

Turning back to me, he continued laughing as he finished his spell, a red light flaring from it.

"Behold! [Muspelheim]!"

The circle started spinning, gradually gaining speed before it shot out large flaming rocks, which flew towards me.

Dodging them, I rolled around the floor, trying to avoid the broken floorboards, roaring flames, and meteorites that hurtled towards me.

It took a lot of effort, but I managed to roll, jump, and run away from the storm of fire, making Lord Pele frown.

Clicking his tongue, he flickered again, appearing before me and cackling as his swords slammed down.

Using my dagger to parry them, I rolled to the side, only to grunt as one of his swords nicked my cheek, a long, thin line running from my cheekbone to my chin.

"Just accept your fate, dog! You die here!"

The ritual circle was still rotating in the sky, and Jahi and Anput were still desperately trying to move past the levitating blades, staring at me with anxiety and anger, wanting nothing more than to rush to my side.

Smiling at the two women, I tried as hard as I could to block Lord Pele's blows, to avoid the meteorites that slammed into the floor around me, and to combat my exhaustion, trying to push myself as best I could, to survive this fight.

However, the more he battered his swords into my dagger, the more my limbs grew numb, the gentler the smile I gave the two women, making them shout my name in panic.

"Are you ready to die now, dog?"

I glared at him, spitting in his face before launching myself towards hims, pouring my remaining energy into this last, final blow.

—

Thank you everyone for last month; I believe this finished around 85th overall with golden tickets, and around 150 with Powerstones!

Also, thank you Freefire41 for the yet another Dragon, as well as everyone else with the Massage Chairs, Capsules, and Colas! And thank you all for using your golden tickets on my novel!

I look forwards to continue writing this for a long time to come!

Glaring at the red skinned draconic man, I spat in his face before launching myself forwards, pouring my remaining energy into this last, final blow of mine.

He continued to smirk at me, ignoring me spitting on him.

Spreading his arms open, he smirked as he invited me to attack him, a disdainful look in his eye as he watched me approach.

Pushing the last of my mana onto my blade, I screamed as I stabbed forwards, my dagger-

My eyes went wide as it shattered, a thick, red plate appearing in front of the ice coated steel tip.

"Was that all, dog? Was that your final, pitiful attempt?"

Sneering at me, one of his hands shot forwards, wrapping around my throat.

"If so, that was incredibly pathetic. Remember, fire beats ice."

Rolling his eyes at me, he tightened his grasp on my throat, slowly crushing my windpipe.

Slamming my fists against his scaled body, I desperately tried to target any weak spots, aiming for his face.

However, he simply stretched his arm out further, still sneering at me.

"KAT!"

Hearing Jahi's shout, he glanced over his shoulder, grinning at the enraged Demoness, before saying "Are you angry? Angry that someone is touching your pitiful dog without your permission? Well, I hate to break it to you, but rabid dogs need to be put down…"

Turning back to me, his grin widened, revealing rows of sharp, gleaming fangs as he continued speaking.

"I'll do it for you; in fact, you should be thanking me, Demon. I'm doing this for you, after all…"

Raising another hand, a dark crimson ritual circle flared to life in his palm, and he started to slowly inch it closer to my face.

Kicking and scratching at him, I felt my vision blurring from the lack of oxygen.

Was this really it..?

I got to live for what, almost two years..?

𝓲𝘯𝓷r𝖊𝑎𝘥.𝘤𝒐m

Would I find myself back in that endless, black void?

Panic coursed through my system at that thought; I didn't want to go back!

"Resistance is futile, dog… You die here. To me…"

His grin widened, and the edge of my vision grew dark, making the panic and fear run rampant in my body.

My hearing was locked to the blood rushing through my body, and I could barely make out the screams of Jahi as she desperately used spell after spell to try and move past the sentient sword.

Looking towards her, I focused the entirety of my being on her…

In my two lives I've never felt anything like this…

I loved Kyoka, sure, but…

My heart was in pieces seeing Jahi's face wrenched in agony, her golden eyes streaming tears as she stared at me, her voice cracking as she cried out my name.

I knew that if I did return to that void, the eternity I spent floating around would be focused on her, and her alone…

Would she have loved me for as long as we both lived, like she promised?

Would we have had children together, and watched them grow up and have children of their own?

Would they take after her, or me?

What about Anput and Leone?

Would they be able to comfort Jahi for the next decade, century, millennia?

Or would Jahi push them away, isolating herself from love?

I hope not…

I hope she could move on from me…

Smiling at her, I felt tears drip from my eyes, further blurring my vision.

I'd miss her, so, so much…

It wasn't the void that scared me; it was being alone, without her…

Without the woman who so effortlessly carved her way into my heart, claiming me as her own.

Her warmth, her scent, her love…

I needed it.

And yet…

Feeling Lord Pele's claws sink into my neck, I realized that I would be without her…

All alone…

Again.

Even if, somehow, someway, I was given another life…

I don't think I could truly live it.

I needed her now; almost as much as I needed oxygen to live.

Was that… wrong? Bad?

Probably…

Devoting my entire being to her, living FOR her…

But…

I wanted to devote every ounce of my body to her; for her…

Looking towards the red skinned man in front of me, I tried to redouble my efforts to break free, but I had been starved of air so long now that my body refused to act, doing little more than weakly hitting his scaled body.

His flaring palm was almost on my face, and I felt the heat radiating from it, already searing and singing the hairs from my flesh.

"Did you know burning is among some of the most painful ways to die?"

Grinning sadistically at me, Lord Pele left his hand an inch from my face, about to say something else.

However, before he could speak he screamed, his palm exploding, small fragments of bone scraping my cheek.

Releasing me, I fell to the ground, coughing as I tried to breath.

"It is… would you like to experience it?"

A familiar voice entered my ears, and I turned my head weakly to the side, trying to focus my eyes.

"Fire isn't something you can just… play around with. It needs to be respected; revered. It is a force of nature, and it IS the most destructive magic known to us mortals. It can wipe out countries, reform the world as we know it…"

Someone approached us, and I gasped slightly as I saw Leone, but…

Red.

Two small horns sprouted from her forehead, and her skin had a sheen of crimson radiating off it.

Her long, ashen hair sparked, and her crimson eyes burned brightly in the dark room.

"And it is something that can easily turn you to ash…"

Raising her hand, we all had to cover our eyes as a giant pillar of flames consumed Lord Pele, the draconic man screaming in agony as he slammed against the wall of the pillar.

Keeping her arm outstretched, Leone slowly clenched her fist, reducing the size of the pillar, closing it in on the man.

His screams were unintelligible, and he continued to beat on the almost solid wall, his skin shriveling as the extreme heat eventually evaporated his blood, turning the man into a mummy.

However, Leone wasn't done, keeping the pillar alight on his corpse, the flames greedily licking at his now black skin and turning it to ash, even melting the bones.

[Draconic Humanoid – Lord Pele – has been killed (assist)! 102,782 xp]

[Achievement Unlocked! Improbable Victory]

[Improbable Victory: Won against something 10x stronger than yourself/party! Congratulations!

Reward: 10 Stat Points, 3 Skill Points, Skill [Hunter (Novice)]]

[[Hunter (Novice)]: Increases damage against larger enemies]

[Skill: [Growth (Apprentice)] -> [Growth (Adept)]]

[[Growth (Adept)]: Increases Quest XP by 75%, and Combat XP by 75%]

Hearing the various dings going off in my system, each one made my head pound.

'Please… off… deal with… later…'

[Understood… and good job, Kat…]

Blinking a few times, I eventually reduced my headache from 'Gigantic metallic hammer slamming into your skull from every direction' to 'Large metallic hammer slamming into your skull from every direction'…

Improvements, I guess…

My vision still swam, and I could feel tingling from the various pricks on my throat and the gash on my cheek.

Leone stumbled over to me, her features returning to normal as she paled considerably, before collapsing beside me.

Feeling her weakly take my hand, we both smiled at each other, before the darkness claimed us, plunging us into unconsciousness.

~~~

Jahi PoV

The floating sword before me clattered to the ground, and I rushed forwards instantly, towards the collapsed figures of Kat and Leone.

Anput was beside me, her olive skin covered in cuts and gashes, however she still had fluid movements, making me relieved.

At least one of them came out relatively unscathed…

Shaking my head, I crouched beside the two unconscious women, not knowing what to do.

My mana reserves were to depleted for any significant healing magic, and unlock them I wasn't that proficient in healing anyways…

On top of that, I didn't know enough about treating wounds to know if I could move them right now…

What do I do..?

Seeing Kat's fair skin paler than normal, paired with the dark bruise over her throat and cut on her cheek filled me with rage.

However, it wasn't directed at Lord Pele, but at myself.

I should've been stronger…

I should've protected them both from this…

Slamming my fist into the floor beside me, I growled in agony…

This was my fault…

Biting my cheek hard enough to draw blood, my eyes widened as I thought of something.

Leone is a vampire, and blood…

"Anput, wrist."

Light mana would kill her currently; she may use fire, but light is just… that much more dangerous for her kind.

Anput nodded, placing her wrist over Leone's bluish lips.

Frowning, I gently cut a shallow line into Anput's wrist, letting her blood drip into Leone's mouth.

Come on…