The Frostfang Wyvern did not roar.
It screamed. A shrill, bone-splitting sound that reverberated through the Hollow's walls, shaking loose shards of ice that shattered like glass against the floor.
Ryujin staggered back, ears ringing.
Even through the bond, Nox's snarl was strained, and Crimson's flames flickered under the pressure.
This was not just an A-Rank beast.
This was a Lair Master fighting in its domain.
The Wyvern launched itself from the ledge in a single wingbeat, talons extended. Crimson met it first, B-Rank muscle and emberfire crashing against A-Rank might.
It was just a rank different, but it felt like the difference between heaven and earth at this moment.
The impact was a disaster.
BAM!
The Wyvern rolled through him, slamming Crimson bodily into a wall of ice with such force the cavern boomed like a drum. Frost webbed instantly over the Ember Drake's scales, locking him down.
Nox lunged in, C-Rank speed and agility flashing as he snapped at the Wyvern's flank.
His shadowflame caught the beast's hind leg, charring white scales to a dull gray. The Wyvern hissed, tail whipping like a steel cable as it struck Nox square in the chest and launched him against the ice.
Ryujin's heart clenched through the bond.
That tail strike had enough force to pulp a warhorse.
DING!
~----~
[Nox – HP: 54%]
[Crimson – HP: 71% - Movement impaired.]
~----~
The gulf in rank wasn't just obvious, it was lethal.
Ryujin sprinted toward Crimson first, hacking at the frost that sealed his drake in place. The Wyvern noticed instantly.
It leapt, wings battering the air hard enough to send Ryujin sliding across the slick floor. The spear in his hands almost tore free.
A massive shadow fell over him.
Instinct screamed.
He rolled just as talons like hooked scythes stabbed into the ice where his chest had been, cracks spiderwebbing outward.
"Nox!" "Nox!" Ryujin barked.
The Abyssal Drake roared; a lower, harsher sound than usual, and shadowflame engulfed the Wyvern's hindquarters, spreading like a curse.
The Wyvern flinched, wings flaring, buying Ryujin the heartbeat he needed to shatter the last frost binding Crimson.
Crimson burst free with a roar, ember-glow blazing hotter, steam boiling off his scales as he lunged at the Wyvern's wing joint.
The Wyvern snapped its head skyward, and the ceiling answered.
CRACK!
Icicles cracked and fell, but instead of striking the floor, they hung in the air, swirling around the beast in a deadly halo.
With a flick of its wings, the shards shot forward like a thousand spears.
Ryujin dove behind a shattered pillar of ice, but even so, a shard grazed his shoulder. Pain flared sharp and hot, warmth spilling down his arm before the cold bit it away.
Crimson shielded Ryujin's flank, wings wrapped partially around him as the storm shredded ice and stone.
Nox weaved and darted, but even his smaller frame couldn't avoid everything as fresh wounds scored across his neck and shoulders.
The Abyssal Drake snarled in pain and annoyance.
The Wyvern landed again, lowering its head, frost breath building in its throat. If it hit them full-on, this fight was over.
Ryujin's mind raced.
They couldn't overpower it. Not head-on. But domain advantage cut both ways. If he could crack the Hollow's control…
"Crimson, burn the ice floor! Nox, drive it toward the melt!"
Crimson obeyed instantly, emberflame streaming downward, hissing against the ice. Steam rose, turning the air thick and hazy. Nox flanked hard, snapping and retreating, baiting the Wyvern toward the weakened footing.
The beast resisted, wary, but Ryujin sprinted forward, deliberately closing the distance, offering himself as bait.
The Wyvern's eyes locked on him, hunger and fury blending into a killing glare.
It lunged.
Ryujin dove aside at the last instant.
The Wyvern's weight crashed onto the scorched ice, and it gave way, plunging one hind leg into the freezing water beneath.
The beast screeched, wings thrashing, throwing up sheets of ice water.
Nox struck first, shadowflame biting deep into the trapped leg. Crimson followed, slamming his bulk into the Wyvern's side with enough force to topple it further into the pool.
For a few desperate seconds, they had it.
But an A-Rank's strength wasn't so easily pinned.
With a roar that shook the Hollow, the Wyvern's wings blasted outward, sending all three opponents skidding away. The ice reformed instantly around its leg, sealing the wound in a sheath of frost.
Ryujin staggered to his feet, eyes dark, chest heaving, slight panic creeping into his carefully maintained composure.
Blood dripped from his temple now, and the bonds to both dragons thrummed with pain. They could keep fighting, but every second drained them faster.
The Wyvern crouched low, frost breath gathering again… brighter, more focused, far more harrowing cold and might hidden in its depths.
The next strike wouldn't just wound. It would kill.
Ryujin's grip tightened on his spear again.
This was the razor edge.
Either he found a way to end this now… or the Hollow would become their tomb.