Horton's nerve had shattered like cheap glass. Without a shred of hesitation, he bolted, disappearing into the ink-stained alleyways without a backward glance. Cat Girl Mimi scoffed, her form blurring into an emerald streak, dancing around Holy Evil in a dizzying circle. The dragon, powerful and deadly, was fast, but Mimi's feline speed was on another level. She'd dart in, raking claws or landing a stinging blow on his flank or tail before vanishing like smoke, always staying just out of reach. The attacks did little damage, but they stoked Holy Evil's fury into an uncontrollable inferno. He roared, forgetting the others, forgetting the danger, focused solely on crushing this infuriating pest. Mimi smirked inwardly. Her mission was simple: keep the monstrous dragon occupied until Horton returned with reinforcements.
Meanwhile, creeping through the shadows from the alley's opposite end, came one of Horton's smarter thugs. He'd circled wide, scaled a crumbling brick wall, and now slithered towards Dunce's unprotected back. Dunce was divided, one eye on the chaotic fight, the other desperately marshaling his internal energy to purge the potent toxin coursing through his veins. He sensed nothing. Girln Shi and Girln Li were locked in a grim battle just holding their ground against the lingering Cold Frostbone poison, their movements sluggish. The Elf Maiden simply stared in numb shock at the two colossal dragons dominating the narrow space. The Little Bonedrake lumbered, powerful but lacking its leader's cunning, mechanically swatting at the surviving thugs while keeping an eye on Holy Evil chasing Mimi. The assassin reached striking distance. Five meters. Then three. Dunce remained oblivious. The assassin raised a serrated dagger, poised for the killing thrust towards the artery in Dunce's neck. Not a sound betrayed him.
Air whistled. Cold steel flashed in Dunce's peripheral vision. He spun, fear jolting through him, but mid-detox, his body wouldn't obey. He saw the blade, impossibly close, aimed death straight at his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut. *This is it. We had a chance with the dragons… but it ends here.*
The blade never struck.
A pale blur dropped from above like a striking hawk. It slammed into the assassin with bone-cracking force. A slim dagger flashed, punching through the thug's throat. Momentum carried the dying man forward; his own blade tip stopped less than a foot from Dunce's neck. The chill steel's promise kissed Dunce's skin. Blood sprayed, soaking Dunce's already crimson robe even darker. Dunce looked up into the face of his savior. His breath caught. "You?" It was Frostbone, the enigmatic woman he'd met barely twenty-four hours ago in the gambling pits of the Profiteer's Den.
Frostbone's face was its usual impassive mask, but a flicker of relief warmed her usually icy eyes. She fumbled in her pocket, pulling out three small, dark pills. "Quick. Take one. Antidote."
Dunce stared, then, seeing the urgency in Frostbone's gaze, grabbed them. He swallowed one without question. Trust surged through him, stronger than the poison. Instantly, a warmth bloomed in his dantian, guided by his Surge Qi. It spread, a welcome tide pushing back the bone-numbing Cold Frostbone. The lethal chill began to recede. "Thank you," he breathed, genuine gratitude thick in his voice.
A ghost of a smile touched Frostbone's lips. Dunce's implicit trust warmed a place she'd thought long frozen. "Help your friends. Then get out of Shadowcross City. Horton won't stop. Only outside the city walls are you safe."
Dunce nodded. He shoved the remaining pills into Girln Shi and Girln Li's mouths. The Elf Maiden fluttered near him. "You... you okay?"
"No time," Dunce snapped, shaking his head. Rockforce surged back into his battered body, fueled by Frostbone's timely intervention. He shot her one last, intense look, memorizing her face in that heartbeat of respite. Then, he exploded upwards, a human missile aimed at Cat Girl Mimi, still tangling with Holy Evil.
Holy Evil was furious. Mimi was smoke, impossible to pin down. A claw-swipe here, a mocking flick of her tail there, always just out of reach, stoking his rage to blinding levels. Mimi poured her focus into the dragon, confident the others were still crippled, poisoned. She just needed to hold until Horton arrived with the cavalry. Suddenly, an oppressive weight slammed down on her senses. She twisted, eyes widening in disbelief. A shimmering net of solidified yellow energy, dense as bedrock, descended upon her. Holy Evil lunged simultaneously, wings flaring, cutting off her escape routes. Panic, cold and unfamiliar, seized her. She screamed, unleashing every ounce of latent power. Emerald light exploded around her fists as she threw herself backwards at the energy net, a desperate gamble.
It was futile. Dunce's solidified Surge Qi constructs were leagues beyond her mere muscle-powered Qi strike. For the first time, hatred burned white-hot in Dunce's heart – hatred for her betrayal, for the wound she'd inflicted, but most of all, hatred for how she'd weaponized his own trusting nature. The emerald light met the yellow net. **BOOM!** Mimi shrieked, hurled backwards by the concussive force, straight into Holy Evil's waiting claws. The enraged dragon slammed her down with all his wrath. Little Bone-jarring force crushed her defensive aura. She hit the filthy cobblestones like a sack of wet sand, a spray of crimson erupting from her lips. If her feline physiology weren't unnaturally resilient, that blow would have ended her. Dunce was on her instantly. A blade of condensed yellow Qi materialized in his hand, its edge resting against Mimi's throat, humming with deadly power. She froze, eyes wide with animal terror. Any movement meant death.
Holy Evil rumbled happily, leaving the trapped cat-girl to his brother. He spun, charging towards his skeletal minion. With Holy Evil in the air and the Little Bonedrake on the ground, their brutal synergy was devastating. The remaining thugs were dispatched with terrifying speed, reduced to screams and splintered bone.
Dunce pressed the Qi blade closer, fury warring with the deep ache of betrayal in his chest. "Why?" His voice was low, dangerous. "Why deceive me? *Why?*" The sting of his own goodness used against him burned sharper than any physical wound.
The immediate battle was over. Girln Shi and Girln Li, pale but steadier after the antidote, joined Dunce and Frostbone. Holy Evil and the Little Bonedrake circled protectively. Girln Shi spat on the ground near Mimi. "End her, Dunce. That viper nearly killed us all."
The Qi blade bit deeper. Mimi whimpered, tears streaking the dust on her face. "Please, no! They made me! Horton... no, the master behind him... if I didn't help, my death would be slow... hideous! Spare me, I beg you!" Her voice cracked, raw with fear. Her vulnerable beauty, the green eyes brimming with tears, the trembling body – it was a potent plea. Dunce felt the rage momentarily soften.
Frostbone stepped close to Dunce, her voice cutting like winter wind. "She's lying. She's no pawn. She's not one of Horton's regulars. I've never seen her before. She's pure malice. *Finish it.*"
Dunce gritted his teeth. "Who pulls your strings? The *truth*."
Mimi gulped air, tears genuine in their terror. "I... I was princess of the Felinian Clan... captured... tortured... They put shackles on my soul! I had to obey! I don't know who they are... only the leader... they call him... the Supreme One! Please! I won't... I'll be good!"
Her plea was cut off. A sound froze their blood – a rhythmic, thunderous, approaching *BOOM*. Not chaotic fighting. Not running feet. The measured, terrifying cadence of disciplined boots hitting pavement in unison. Dozens? Hundreds? *Thousands.*
Frostbone went ashen. "Horton's reinforcements! The City Guard... maybe worse! We need to go! *Now!*"
The synchronized stomp of armored legions hit like a physical blow. Dunce's focus shattered. The pressure holding the Qi blade slipped. Cat Girl Mimi saw it – the flicker of distraction. Her despair vanished, replaced by feral cunning. Like mercury, she slithered sideways, impossibly fast, escaping the blade's deadly embrace. She blurred upwards, a savage whirlwind, her poisoned claws aimed straight for Dunce's eyes. Her speed was death incarnate.
Dunce threw himself backward, Qi blade instinctively rising to parry. But Mimi, fueled by the primal scream of survival, moved faster than thought. The blade was too slow; the claws were already at his face. Dunce braced for tearing agony. A shadow flashed. Not Mimi's.
Frostbone.
She launched herself upwards, throwing herself bodily between Dunce and the killing strike. A sickening *crunch* and a spray of red. Mimi's claws sank deep into Frostbone's upper chest. The assassin stiffened in surprise, then wrenched her hand free without a second's hesitation. Green light flared around her as she twisted, leaping for the nearest rooftops just as a blast of grey dragonfire scorched the spot she'd vacated. She vanished into the maze of Shadowcross City.
Mimi was gone. The figure who had intercepted her crumpled, collapsing back into Dunce's arms. Blood cascaded from the awful wound in her chest, saturating her pale clothes. Frostbone... Frostbone had taken the blow meant for him. *Again.* Dunce's world burned white. "BING! *NOOO!*" His roar ripped through the night, raw and primal with grief and rage.
The tide of soldiers arrived. Hundreds deep, bristling with steel. Girln Shi and Girln Li, eyes bloodshot with fury born of their own near-misses and betrayal, drew weapons, facing the encircling horde like cornered wolves.
Dunce clutched Frostbone tighter. Surging Qi flooded her, sealing ruptured vessels, slowing the catastrophic blood flow. But the wound was massive, lungs likely pierced, life-force slipping away like water through fingers. He poured everything he had into her, a desperate river of healing energy. Frostbone's face was horrifyingly pale, translucent. Yet, her eyes held no frost, only a fragile warmth as she looked up at him. A faint smile touched her lips. "Stop... Save your strength... Take me... away from this foul city... Please... I don't want... to die... here..."
The surrounding soldiers recoiled, facing two monstrous dragons and a figure radiating primal fury. Arrows nocked, spears leveled, but no one dared charge first.
Dunce drowned in self-loathing. If he'd been decisive... if he'd mastered healing magic like the legends... But he was helpless, watching her light dim. "Hold on," he choked out. He gently laid Frostbone prone on the Little Bonedrake's broad, bony back. He leaped onto Holy Evil's neck. "Brother Holy Evil! Our escape... it's on you!"
Holy Evil's thoughts projected into Dunce's mind, strained. "*Brother... get on my Little Little BoneBrood... his frame carries more... his strength holds deeper... I break the front... he bears you out...*"
Dunce nodded. He vaulted down onto the Little Bonedrake's neck. Girln Shi scooped up the Elf Maiden, and the brothers landed heavily behind them. "Hold tight!" Dunce yelled. The Little Bonedrake surged forward, its heavy footfalls shaking the ground. Fear gripped the soldiers near the edges, weakening their resolve as the skeletal juggernaut charged.
Holy Evil launched into the air, opening its maw. A torrent of death-grey flame poured down onto the densest part of the approaching army. A hundred soldiers vanished instantly, consumed. The Little Bonedrake bellowed, charging in the dragon's wake, its colossal frame shrugging off arrows and glancing blows from spear-points. The sheer crush of bodies slowed it, but the narrow streets limited the attackers. Heavily armored shock troopers became Holy Evil's priority targets; its lethal breath incinerated pockets of resistance. Elsewhere, arcane energy flickered – battlemages, rare but dangerous in Shadowcross, gathered. Bolts of concussive force, blasts of fire, shards of ice flew. A dozen mages in concert were a devastating threat. Dunce poured his waning strength into a shimmering dome of yellow Qi, protecting the riders on the Little Bonedrake's back. Protecting Frostbone. Sweat poured down his face. His energy reserves were bleeding dry; only the regenerative nature of Surge Qi kept him standing.
Girln Shi and Girln Li could offer little help. The Elf Maiden managed a faint emerald glow, a barrier of nature's energy reinforcing Dunce's, but it was hopeless against the onslaught. Holy Evil was flagging. Its breath weapon was finite, its prior battles already costly. Now, it conserved energy, relying on scales, claws, and a battering tail to carve a path, its majestic grey hide streaked crimson with soldier blood. Dunce noticed something strange about the Little Bonedrake. As soldiers died, shrieking around them, the skeleton seemed to *shudder*. An eerie purple light began to replace the sickly green in its eye sockets. Its bones creaked. Its blows landed with renewed, terrifying force.
Holy Evil descended into berserk fury. Its claws rained gore, its tail swept soldiers off their feet. Bodies piled high. Over a thousand lay dead or dying. But the tide kept coming. Mage-fire scorched its hide, ice shards cracked against its scales, arrows peppered the air like dark rain. The pressure on Dunce's shield became crushing. Holy Evil halted abruptly. Its golden eyes locked with Dunce's. It reared up onto its hind legs, wings flared to their full, majestic span. A clear, resonant roar shattered the night, deeper, older than anything heard before. The seven golden horns running from its forehead down its spine began to pulse with intense light. Holy Evil began to chant. Not words, but primordial resonances, sounds that vibrated deep in the bones of every living thing, resonating with fear and awe. The Little Bonedrake stumbled backward, its skeletal frame literally quaking, its purple eyes wide with primal terror.
Soldiers trying to rush the dragon were slammed back by an invisible force field radiating three meters from its body. The chant grew louder, a sound older than cities. The light from the horns intensified, bathing Holy Evil in blinding radiance. It bent its mighty neck, tail raised high, the seven horns pointing skyward. Power coalesced. Seven lances of pure golden energy shot from the horns into the midnight sky, converging thirty meters above in a single, blinding point of impossible density. The energy screamed; it vibrated the very stones. Blood seeped from between Holy Evil's scales; the titanic force within was tearing it apart. Raw, ancient power poured into the vortex above.
Mage-spells thrown at it were sucked into the growing maelstrom like moths to a flame, feeding it. The gathered battlemages gaped, their arcane knowledge useless against this ancient terror. The soldiers recoiled in mass terror, a wave stepping back, their discipline broken. Dunce screamed into the link. "*Holy Evil! What are you DOING?!*" The dragon's thoughts were silent, consumed by its chant.
It straightened. The horns ceased shining. Above, hung a three-meter sphere of distilled, swirling golden annihilation. Holy Evil slowly raised one massive foreclaw. Its ancient, alien gaze swept the tiny humans surrounding it. Scorn, deep and eternal, radiated from its golden orbs. It roared one final, earth-shattering syllable. The sphere erupted.
**Dragon King's Secret Art: GOLDEN DEVOURER**
Light. Blinding, obliterating light. Not holy. Not sacred. Pure destruction. A silent, expanding wave of incandescent gold swallowed the night. From Holy Evil's epicenter, every building, every street lamp, every barrel, every soldier, every mage within a hundred meters – simply ceased to exist. They didn't burn. They didn't shatter. They *dissolved* into shimmering motes before vanishing utterly. Fifty meters out became the edge of annihilation. Beyond that, for hundreds of square blocks, the golden radiance simply touched buildings and men... and unmade them. Dunce flowed like wax before evaporating into nothingness. Streets vanished as if they'd never been laid. The roar was replaced by a deafening *silence* of pure absence. The defenders of Shadowcross City, its corrupt guard, Horton's mercenaries – sixty percent of the city's military might – gone in the blink of a silent, golden eye.
The light faded after a minute. It revealed a desolate plain of fused glass and ash where a bustling city slum had stood seconds before. Silence pressed down, broken only by ragged breathing. Holy Evil slumped, exhausted beyond measure. Its thoughts brushed Dunce's weakly. "*Brother... recall me... to the... Blood... Must... sleep... Long... help... impossible... Be... safe...*" Dunce choked back a sob, chanting the words to the Dragon's Blood Amulet. Golden light shimmered, pulling Holy Evil back within. The dragon's sacrifice was colossal. Its gambit worked. For miles around, no enemies remained. Only distant screams rose from the shattered outskirts of the city. Dunce cradled Frostbone. "The West Gate!" he yelled. "NOW!"
The Little Bonedrake, still trembling in primal fear, needed a moment to obey. With a shuddering cry, it surged forward, its heavy steps shaking the ash beneath them, reaching speeds impossible just minutes before. Shocked, scattered sentries near the unscathed outer districts fired arrows that clattered harmlessly off bone. The massive western gate loomed, barred and sealed. Arrows rained on the approach. Dunce commanded the Little Bonedrake to halt just outside arrow range. Gently, agonizingly, he laid Frostbone on its broad back. Fury and grief fueled him. He summoned his Black Iron Bow. Drawing deep on the dregs of his Surge Qi – less than twenty percent remained – he formed a shaft of humming yellow power. He strained, muscles screaming, drawing the massive bowstring to his ear. "EVERYTHING THAT BLOCKS ME... BE UNDONE!" The bowstring thrummed. The yellow arrow vanished.
The Little Bonedrake flinched, sensing the apocalyptic power unleashed by its master's master. Dunce's aim was imprecise, but the gate was huge. The arrow struck the thick wood just left of the center.
**BOOOM!**
A three-meter-wide hole vaporized through the reinforced wood and iron. The gatehouse trembled violently. "BREAK THROUGH!" Dunce roared. The Little Bonedrake charged forward, kicking up a vortex of ash and debris. The defenders on the wall, already shattered by the Golden Devourer, stared dumbfounded. Before they could rally, the undead juggernaut reached the gate. The hole was too small. Purple fire suddenly blazed in the Little Bonedrake's eyes. It opened its massive jaw. A jet of strange, dark amethyst flame spewed forth – its new power, acquired through countless reaped souls: **Soulfire.** The strange fire washed over the shattered gate, melting the remaining wood and iron like butter under a blowtorch, widening the breach into a gaping maw. With a triumphant howl that echoed in the sudden, wider silence beyond the walls, the Little Bonedrake plunged through the gate, carrying its passengers out of the hellscape of Shadowcross City, leaving the chaos far behind. It ran until the smoke disappeared, until the frantic pursuit they expected never materialized, finally slowing amidst the sanctuary of a forest glade miles away.
Dunce recalled the Little Bonedrake. The immense skeletal form vanished back to its plane. He gathered Frostbone's cooling body, laying her gently on the soft moss. His own meridians felt like molten lead, his power almost depleted.
Girln Shi slumped against a tree, his voice hoarse with exhaustion and awe. "Today... I saw how small we stand before... *that* kind of power. Without your dragons... without Frostbone..." He trailed off, the unsaid horror hanging heavy.
Tears carved tracks through the ash and blood on Dunce's face. He cradled Frostbone, feeling her life flickering, fading. "If only Mystic Moon were here... Frostbone, please hold on..." He had no strength left to heal her. Her skin grew colder by the second.
The Elf Maiden approached quietly. She placed a gentle hand on Dunce's shoulder, her touch radiating calm. "Let me try," she offered softly. "Please?"
Dunce looked up, desperation warring with fragile hope. "Can you save her? Please! Try!"
She nodded, her eyes serene pools in the moonlit forest. "No need to beg. You are friend to the Queen. You freed me. I owe you a debt of life. Even if not... I would try." Her expression sobered. "But her wounds... I fear it's beyond my power. Still, I will try. You need to rest. Your body is exhausted. If you collapse... there is no chance for any of us. Trust me. While you recover... I will hold her to this world." In truth, Shadowcross lay in ruins, consumed by panic and the task of counting an unimaginable death toll. Pursuit was the last thing on anyone's mind.
The Elf Maiden's calm assurance reached him. He nodded, sinking to the mossy ground, closing his eyes, diving inward to reclaim every scrap of vital energy. Girln Shi and Girln Li took positions nearby, weapons ready, eyes scanning the gloom back towards the burning city, resolve hardening their tired faces.
"Rest," the Elf Maiden told them. "You were both poisoned."
Girln Shi shook his head grimly. "No. We stand guard while Dunce heals. Protect him while he is vulnerable. Help Frostbone." The weight of his earlier mistake – his misplaced confidence that almost doomed them all – pressed down on him, silent but heavy.
The Elf Maiden nodded. She knelt beside Frostbone, carefully loosening the makeshift bandages. The wound was monstrous, bone fragments visible in the gaping tear. She extended her index finger, whispering soft, rhythmic syllables. A point of pure, soothing emerald light blossomed on her fingertip. She guided it towards the ruinous injury in Frostbone's chest. The light pulsed, sinking into the torn flesh. The Elf Maiden closed her eyes, her senses merging with the flows of natural energy. Her breath caught. The damage was catastrophic – clavicle, shoulder blade, ribs – shattered beyond repair, beyond any magic she knew. She sighed softly, a sound of profound sorrow. Raising her hands above Frostbone's still form, she began to chant, her voice blending with the forest whispers: "Great Spirit of Life Rockforce... lend me the breath of the world... mend this wounded spirit..." A soft, powerful green glow enveloped her, flowing gently into Frostbone's broken body, fighting to keep the fragile spark alive against the crushing tide of darkness. It was a battle against inevitability, waged with every ounce of nature's dwindling grace.