AN: Another chapter as an apology. Enjoy.
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Dark shadows bled from Gnathia's floating frame, hardening into dozens of razor-sharp obsidian blades hovering in the putrid air.
The realm's decay accelerated, the ground beneath them crumbling into fine ash as her dark energy tore through the fabric of the surrounding space.
"DIE!" she shrieked, her voice echoing like scraping metal.
With a brutal flick of her wrist, the volley of shadow blades launched, cutting through the sky with supersonic zips.
Lao Shi moved with the fluid grace of a warrior who was already used to these types of attacks.
He swept his staff in a wide arc, channeling a wall of condensed gale-force wind before them.
The dark blades collided with the wind shield, exploding into sparks of dark mist and thunderous booms. The sheer force pushed Lao Shi back a pace, his boots carving deep grooves into the dark sand.
"Fu, inform the council!" Lao Shi shouted, his voice steady despite the oppressive pressure radiating off the corrupted fairy. "Do it now!"
"Working on it, old man!" Fu Dog yelled back, frantically rummaging through his skin purse. He pulled out a glowing, runic orb and squeezed it.
A soft chime echoed, but the orb's glow flickered rapidly and died. "Damn it! Her dark barrier is jamming the signal! We're on our own!"
"Of course we are on our own!"
Lao Shi muttered in frustration as thrust his staff forward.
A massive hurricane dragon formed from blue wind energy spiraled off the tip, roaring as it lunged straight for Gnathia.
Gnathia didn't dodge.
Her carved, needle-toothed grin widened to a sickening angle.
She unleashed a shockwave of raw, blackened magic from her palm, meeting the wind dragon head-on.
The impact tore a massive crater into the earth between them, sending dark dust and debris flying in every direction.
Through the haze, Gnathia vanished.
"Behind you!" Fu Dog barked.
Fu snapped his fingers mid-air, casting a mystic ward just in time. A golden shield materialised behind Lao Shi a microsecond before Gnathia's dark-clawed hand slammed into it.
The ward cracked under her monstrous strength, but it bought Lao Shi enough time to spin around and deliver a bone-shattering strike from his staff straight into her ribs.
Gnathia was launched backward, tumbling across the dark sand before recovering mid-air, floating effortlessly like a twisted puppet on strings.
"AHAHAHAHA,"
She didn't cry out in pain; instead, she let out a piercing, hysterical laugh that vibrated through their bones.
"Is that all the great dragon master has?" she sneered, her teal skin stretching tightly over her jaw as her red-orange eyes flared. "Tathiana trusted you to protect this realm, yet here you stand, fighting a losing battle!"
"Speak her name again, witch, and I will tear that smile right off your face!" Lao Shi growled. He planted his staff into the ground, raising both hands as ancient dragon runes lit up along his arms.
The ambient energy in the decaying realm shifted dramatically.
Swirling currents of wind gathered above Gnathia, compressing into a massive vortex that trapped her within a localized hurricane.
The intense pressure squeezed inward, grinding against her dark aura.
Gnathia hissed in fury as the sharp wind currents slashed against her dark gothic dress, tearing through the fabric and leaving shallow gashes on her teal skin. "Annoying lizard!"
Seeing his window, Fu Dog stepped up, his hands darting into a rapid sequence of mystic signs. "Let's see how you handle a little holy thunder, tooth leech!"
"Mystic Art: Heavenly Snare!" Fu roared.
Four shimmering golden pillars burst from the ground surrounding Gnathia's wind vortex.
Golden chains shot out from the pillars, piercing through the swirling winds and binding her limbs tight.
Gnathia thrashed against the bindings, her dark blue-black hair wildly whipping around her face. The needle-like teeth gnashed together as dark blood dripped from her mouth. "Unchain me! I'll devour your soul, dog!"
"Hold her, Fu!" Lao Shi commanded.
The dragon master bounded forward, leaping high into the air.
He held his staff with both hands, channeling every ounce of his inner qi into the weapon.
The wood transformed into a burning pillar of white-hot wind energy, radiating a terrifying pressure that parted the dark clouds above.
"Where is the Tooth Fairy?" Lao Shi demanded one last time, dropping down like a falling star, his strike aimed directly at her chest.
Gnathia's red-orange eyes widened, not in fear, but in psychotic glee.
"She's already gone!" Gnathia howled into the wind. "Her light... it tasted so sweet!"
With a violent roar, Gnathia detonated her own aura. A massive wave of concentrated, rotting dark magic erupted outward, shattering Fu Dog's golden chains and blowing away the wind vortex in an instant.
The force of the dark explosion met Lao Shi's descending staff head-on.
A deafening shockwave shattered the surrounding landscape, sending a cloud of dark dust high into the sky.
Lao Shi was hurled back by the force of the collision, flipping through the air before landing heavily on his feet, skidding back several yards.
He used his staff to anchor himself, breathing heavily as a trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth.
Fu Dog was knocked off his feet, rolling across the dark sand before scrambling back up into a defensive posture. "Ayo, LAO? You alright?"
"I am fine," Lao Shi muttered, his eyes locked on the dispersing cloud of dark smoke. "Keep your guard up."
As the dust settled, Gnathia was still floating in the air. Her gothic dress was tattered, and dark blood dripped from a deep wound on her shoulder.
But her terrifying grin remained completely intact. The dark energy around her pulsed erratically, rotting the very air she breathed.
She reached up, wiping the dark blood from her shoulder with a sharp finger, and placed it on her tongue, licking it clean.
"You speak of my sister as if she were a saint," Gnathia purred, her haunting voice dropping to a low, predatory whisper. "She was weak. She gave her light away to little children, tooth by tooth, while I embraced the hunger. I swallowed her whole, Dragon. Her magic, her realm, her very life force... it all belongs to me now!"
Lao Shi's knuckles turned white as he gripped his staff. The dark implication of her words chilled him to the core, but his expression hardened into stone.
"You are a plague, Gnathia," Lao Shi said softly, his voice dripping with quiet rage. "And plagues are meant to be purged."
Gnathia threw her head back, her chaotic dark hair spreading like a shadowy mantle behind her as she let out a shriek that fractured the surrounding sky.
"TRY IT!"
Dark tendrils exploded from her body, plunging into the ground below.
The entire decayed realm groaned as the earth cracked open, releasing geysers of dark magic. Hundreds of shadow blades re-formed around her, twice as large and twice as lethal as before.
Fu Dog took a step beside Lao Shi, his hands glowing with golden mystic energy once more, his sharp eyes locked onto the nightmare hovering above them. "Looks like we're doing this the hard way again, old man."
"There is never an easy way in our line of work," Lao Shi replied coldly, bringing his staff back into a high guard. "Not against monsters like her."
Gnathia swooped down like a phantom of death, bringing the full weight of her corrupted realm with her.