Chapter 281: Citadel

As the horde of Shades surged toward me, I braced myself for the coming battle. I called upon my mastery of Water magic and the elements and summoned a torrential downpour to meet them. The Shades hissed and shrieked as the water fell like spears and sizzled against their dark forms, but they pushed forward relentlessly.

Not one to back down, I followed up with a burst of earth magic, raising up pillars of stone to crush the oncoming enemies. Taking advantage of their confusion, I then quickly swooped in with a swift claw strike, sending one particularly large Shade that looked like a mixture of an oversized ant, flying into another. The two of them collided and burst into a plume of ash.

The Shades were relentless, however, and soon closed in on me once again with their large numbers. I focused on the elements and they readily responded to my call, summoning an immense wave of water that washed over them like a tidal wave, washing away their dark essence and leaving them writhing and screaming in agony.

'They are weak?' I inwardly mumbled but still remained vigilant. The current Shades seemed to be hurt even by my simple elemental attacks. Did that mean the ones that attacked our plane were different? Stronger? I wondered, but those were questions for another time. If anything, It was good for me that they were weak.

I opened my mouth and summoned a second blast of dragon breath, instantly incinerating another wave of attackers, and not giving them time to do anything. The citadel behind started to collapse right after, followed by various roars and screams of rage.

I answered back with a roar of my own, momentarily freezing my attackers, which gave me a few more seconds to launch another wave of attacks, culling their numbers once more. It was then that I noticed a group of creatures that looked different from the rest.

They were more humanoid and wielded weapons, making them more dangerous. I could sense their intentions to flank me, so I became more vigilant. I waited for the right time before I hurriedly channeled my cosmic mana creating a link between me and the stars and used it to teleport behind them, appearing right behind one of the taller shades. I wasted no time and obliterated it beneath my claws before the others could even react, its body turned into a puff of dark smoke under my attack.

However, the other Shades were quick to respond, attacking me with lightning-fast movements, their bodies turned into a blur, with each aiming for my eyes. Their speed caught me off guard, but my quick reflexes saved me as I tilted my head just in time, causing their attacks to only scratch my scales. I growled, annoyed that I had let my guard down.

Still now was not the time to get incensed, I quickly regained my composure and focused on the task at hand, using my tail as a whip to counterattack. Two managed to evade, while the last one was instantly turned into a puff of dark smoke.

I didn't forget about the others, though, and reached to the earth's elements causing the ground beneath them to quake and throwing them off balance just as they retreated.

Taking advantage of their disorientation, I used my cosmic mana as my link was still there, to once again to teleport behind them, unleashing a barrage of claw and tail strikes. One by one, the Shades fell beneath my attacks until there were none left standing.

A roar of triumph escaped my mouth, as I turned my head to glare at the remaining monsters. Their numbers were small, as they now hesitated to attack me.

"If you aren't going to come, then I will!"

With a mighty flap of my wings, I launched myself into the air and soared over the Shades, causing them to scatter in fear. A smirk made its way across my face at the sight, after my onslaught, the Shade numbers seemed limited, I noted, but before I could relish in the satisfaction, my excitement was cut short as I heard the sound of reinforcements arriving.

Another massive horde of Shades emerged from beneath the rubble of the citadel, their numbers so vast that they caused the ground itself to move and shake. My brows frowned as I could feel their malevolent energy pulsing through the air, and I knew that this would be a battle like no other.

"Sure, send more! Come!" I roared, my aura surging with renewed determination. I flew down towards the horde, another wave of water magic covered the sky by my side as it washed over the monsters crumbling the front line of the Shades, and knocking them back effectively buying me some time. I landed among them, using my earth magic to create tremors that destabilized their footing and made it easier for me to take them down before I followed with earth spears from all sides. It didn't matter where I attacked, a Shade would fall.

Ice spears, water bullets, earth spears, I used everything at my disposal as I wreaked mayhem through their ranks. Often times I would use the earth's elements causing the ground itself to open and swallow hordes of the Shade bastards.

But even with all that, their large numbers were not so easily defeated. They rallied quickly, and soon I found myself surrounded on all sides. I gritted my teeth, knowing that I couldn't afford to lose focus for even a second.

I gathered my cosmic mana once more, reaffirming my link to the stars, and continued to teleport across the battlefield. I attacked with ferocity, my massive figure cutting through their ranks like a hot knife through butter.

The battle raged on, and I lost count of how long it has been. But it seemed like the Shades would never stop coming. Still, I refused to give up, if anything, my excitement only grew the longer I fought. My mind grew abnormally clear, and I soon found myself in a bizarre trance of sorts, my body moved almost as if on autopilot. Claws, tail, teeth, magic, I used everything — And in the end, I emerged victorious, panting heavily but triumphant.

As the last of the Shades fell beneath my claws, I roared in triumph, a blast of dragon breath exploding from my mouth and destroying the last signs of the citadel and illuminating the now darkened battlefield.

"Well, that was fun," I muttered, before taking to the sky once more to resume my journey.