"S-Stefan... Get out of here... Please..."

The wind howled behind him and he regarded her pleas briskly. Behind them, countless Orcs, Goblins, and at least one Ogre lay dead in the snow and the blood that stained the white snow and dirty, grey dirt was covered quickly by the blizzard. A Dwarf's hammer lay shattered on the ground. Her body just beside it. Behind him, the cold body of a Druid whose poisoned body could not be healed by even his wife's most powerful spell lay still on her tender lap where his head had rested numerous times again and again. Its tail dripped with poison and its wings toppled the charred body that stood in front of it with its arms outstretched and perfectly captured the Pyromancer's final moments.

Blood. He spat a mouthful. Its poisoned tail he managed to dodge but not the powerful blow from it. Yellow eyes stared at him. Wariness. The damned lizard was wary of him. He could tell it easily by the way it moved its large body to maintain a distance from him. Blood fell from its wounds and its shattered wing hung limply at its side. It was weak. Weaker than when it first emerged from its slumber. But it was still capable of killing him. One wrong move and all that stands between Lily and the beast in front of them is Greenhair's dead body on her lap.

One wrong move.

"Move!"

A small shape tackled him to the ground. The Wyvern's jaw snapped.

It caught only air and it quickly turned towards Semilia and Riel. It roared as its head moved quickly towards the two. Semilia yanked Riel by her robe and dashed to the side while the Mage threw a [Fireball] at the Wyvern's face. It hissed. Not from the ball of flame—it barely scratched its tough scales—but at the impact. The cave shook and the Wyvern staggered backwards for a moment. He rushed for it while Sirius cast some Spells as he closed the distance as well. Fire, ice, and earth shot towards the creature.

Missed! The Wyvern's legs moved quickly it evaded the Spells easily while it blocked the rocks with its wing. Too late. He had closed the distance between them and his sword was already aimed towards its chest. But steel did not meet flesh. A flash of green from his right made him move his arms to block the green blur. Steel and scale met as the Wyvern whirled its body and its tail struck him like a thick whip. The force sent him back, but he was prepared for it and he used it to jump back from the Wyvern to rethink his attack.

"[Shadow Ste-"

Sirius twisted his body out of the way as the Wyvern stomped its feet in an attempt to crush him. Sirius audibly clicked his tongue and went back into the shadows. He quickly reappeared beside them.

"Shit. My arrows can take out its eyes and if I can get a clean shot into its mouth-"

"Do it. And aim for spots like its neck and underbelly. Riel, don't cast [Fireball] too much. Use [Light] or something with more power to blind it."

The two nodded while he changed the grip on his sword.

"Sirius. Aim for its legs."

"Okay."

That was all he said to the Goblin as he dashed forward. The Wyvern hissed and took a few steps back from them.

His feet moved quickly. It was a dance, taught to him through broken bones, hours of rigorous training, and years of practice. The Wyvern finally stopped its attempts to snap at him and finally readied its tail. Poison dripped from it. The foul poison smelled like a pungent and strong liquor. It whirled its tail towards him, its bony tip aimed straight for his abdomen. Shift. The soles of his shoes slid across the floor as he dodged the strike. His body tensed. Riel saw this and cast [Flash] while Semilia loosed two arrows at the Wyvern. Sirius appeared out of the shadows and stabbed at the creature's heel and ankle.

A screech pierced the air and the Wyvern stumbled a few steps backwards. Stefan drew his arms back in a stance meant for powerful thrusts. His right arm was in line with his shoulder and his body slightly tilted to the side. He blurred. The [Flash] made the Wyvern lose sight of its enemy, but it did not have to search for long. It opened its eyes to see Stefan in front of it. His eyes flared as he put the force of his body behind the sword's thrust. Scales shattered and cracked as its tip lodged itself into the Wyvern. It cried out in pain as it lashed out at Stefan with its jaws.

"[Swift Strikes]"

Stefan said as he pulled out his sword and took a deep breath through his mouth.

He moved fast. Like lightning, all of them glimpsed only flashes of his sword. But the Wyvern, despite its wound, matched him blow for blow. Some of his strikes dented the Wyvern's scaly armor but most of it bounced or glanced off due to the Wyvern's movements. Its tail lashed out as well. Poison sprayed the walls and its sharp end slashed and sliced and thrust at empty air and its wings kept Sirius at bay. It used the tough membrane of its wings to shield itself from arrows and Sirius' spells.

But it couldn't deflect Riel's [Lightning Bolt] and her [Air Spear]. They were Medium Tier Spells, but they had firepower behind them. It inconvenienced the Wyvern and held it at bay, but it barely fazed it. It let out a roar as it reared up. Stefan jumped back and eyed Sirius, his amber eyes locked onto the creature's tail while he pulled a canteen of water. Stefan lifted his sword to block. But he misread the Wyvern's next move. It flapped its wings and for a brief moment, its leg disappeared.

Bang!

He felt his chestplate dent inward as he flew through the air. The air in his lungs was squeezed out of him as he crashed onto the floor with a loud thud and a faint crack. He wheezed. Blood dripped from his nose as he struggled to get himself up from the cold floor. A cough of blood made him look down. His arm was limp, his elbow jutted out and was clearly dislocated. A groan was all he could muster while the old man knelt beside him and pulled some herbs from his bag. He couldn't hear him, but his mouth moved. But... there was something off about him. He stared at the man while his vision slowly darkened. For a moment, he failed to determine what was so off about the old man.

His eyes...

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Stefan's fucking out!"

"I-I thought he took out a Wyvern all on his own!"

"Then what the fuck happened here?!"

Semilia and Riel shouted at one another while Sirius dashed from shadow to shadow.

He had no time to squabble on Stefan's past exploits. The winged thing loomed over them. Urrdakr, they call the foul things that spat poison with its tail and preyed on the many tribes of Goblins in the mountains and the forests. Two leg dragon is its literal translation. To others, he seemed capable of at least dodging and weaving between the Wyvern's rapid attacks. But he was absolutely terrified in truth. He shook his boot. Hard. He needed time to think and think hard! His heart raced as the Wyvern's tail whipped by him. A low growl made him twitch and jump back into the shadows but he left his now quaking boot behind.

A roar made him cover his ears and roll out of Semilia's shadow. He looked up to see the blue shape that wrapped around the Wyvern's left leg while it stomped around to shake it loose. Semilia cussed beside him and loosed three Enchanted Arrows. The Mage beside him stuck her staff into the ground and raised her arms forward, her palms pointed out at the large crystal ball at the tip of her staff. Magic coursed and her emerald eyes flashed. She smiled widely as the color of the orb turned a beautiful blue and began to shake.

"[Spray Water]!"

A Low-Tier Spell, but charged with mana, the Mage held her hat tight as the mana concentrated in her staff.

Then water. A trickle at first, then a stream. After a brief delay, a torrent shot out of the staff and like the name of the Spell, sprayed the Wyvern with cold water. It hissed loudly. She grinned and puffed out her modest chest. The Spell was not for the beast, but for the arrows that embedded themselves between the scales along its back. Frost immediately appeared along its body and the Wyvern roared and lashed its tail around. On its underside, the water was gobbled up by the growing ball of Slime and the poison it drank up from the Wyvern's tail was turned against its owner. The creature slowed, the Frost Arrows did their job. Miu wrapped herself around the shoulders of the creature where the wings and the body joined. She ate away at the scales, slowly but surely.

"Nice, Riel! Sirius! Do-"

He yanked the Low-Elf out of the way as a spray of venom splattered itself where Semilia was.

The Wyvern's body smashed against the walls of the cave. Its tail writhed about and sprayed its venom everywhere while it tried to unfurl its tangled wings. It took a step forward. Its eyes flared with anger and it opened its cavernous jaws to reveal two rows of sharp teeth. Its young flicked around as it let out a shrill hiss before it snapped at the Slime that wrapped around its chest. Miu shook as most of her body was snapped up by the Wyvern. Half of her body was torn away and she leapt off the Wyvern's body as it took another bite out of her. She went splat as the Wyvern stepped on her, then turned its gaze on the three adventurers.

No, four.

A bloody figure staggered forward, sword in hand. He shoved aside Sirius, his eyes clouded by rage and a desire to hack apart the thing that stood in front of him. Their eyes met. Black slits met with dark brown orbs that swirled with various emotions behind them. The creature hissed, then rapidly dashed towards them. He dashed as well, and the two met. Steel and claw clashed against one another and Stefan howled as he swung his sword in an upward arc. Blood spilled as a gash formed across the Wyvern's chest. It roared and slammed its massive leg against Stefan's chest, but the man had activated a Skill.

"[Iron Stance]"

He pushed back against the weight of the Wyvern. He gritted his teeth as the Wyvern snapped at him.

Gusts of wind raged around him as the Wyvern desperately flapped its wings. He held it back, and was even able to push it back a few feet, but Stefan could not be everywhere at once. Its tail whipped at him, but he did not budge. Instead, the Wyvern hissed and shout out its tail towards the Goblin that cast [Ice Shard] at it from a distance. Stefan yelled and strained, but he could not stop its tail. The tip of the tail moved too fast, even if he was able to dodge, it would still hit him and that was all it took for the Wyvern's poison to quickly paralyze him and eventually kill him. Still, he tried his best to dodge.

"I've seen enough."

A deep voice echoed across the cave.

Suddenly, Sirius was pulled aside as the tail shot forwards still with a blinding speed. The old hand that clutched his arm was strong. So strong in fact that he felt pain from it. He looked up. The old man had a serious expression and his eyes shone with a sapphire hue that blazed. The Wyvern roared as its tail struck the old man. If the old man hadn't pulled him to the side, the tip would've gone through his head. Instead, it pierced the old man's chest as-

Wait. His eyes widened as the tip of the tail stopped short of the old man's chest. Further up the tail, a clawed hand gripped at it tightly that scales cracked and shattered and flesh tore. Silence. A moment of heavy silence set into the cave. For a moment, that is. Then, the Wyvern howled in fury as Stefan rolled to side while the Wyvern flapped its wings and struggled to free itself from the old man's grasp. All four of them stared at him. His hair now a beautiful shade of silver with streaks of gold. For a moment, they were in awe and at the same time in a state of confusion as they stared at the man. Then, all of them felt it.

From the glowworms to the starbugs, to the three adventurers and the Wyvern itself, it filled them. An overwhelming sense of dread. It crushed them with its weight and choked them with its maddeningly suffocating presence. And the intense aura of might came from him. It oozed from him. It made even the Wyvern's eyes wide with fear and panic as it screamed and roared and writhed to free itself from him. But the old man simply regarded the Wyvern with a look. A disgusted look. The same kind of look a King would give to a worm that found itself along his path in the gardens. They were all insects to the old man in their midst.

"You are nothing. A pale imitation of greatness that lacks what makes our kind great. A wild beast, you are. A lesser Dragon. A prototype discarded by our Gods. A thing no better than a wild and savage beast. To even have that form disgraces the name of my kind. Your scales are weak, your frame is weak, and your wings are like tattered robes."

The Wyvern roared and kicked the old man's face. The attack didn't faze him. It didn't even make his head move back or wobble, it just made him scowl.

"Not worthy of even a single letter of our great tongue. You lack thought and you lack presence. But most of all, you lack the thing that makes us... us. You lack the breath of Dragons. So... Let me show you what makes a Dragon and what makes animals like you, you."

The old man's mouth creaked open, and from it, a faint light slowly emerged from his throat.

The Wyvern screeched, but it didn't finish it. Blue flame shot out of the old man's mouth in a bright streak of light that cut through the air with a high pitched sound. The flames immediately engulfed the Wyvern. It writhed in pain and agony, but its death throes were drowned out by the flame's roar. Heat scorched and cracked the walls of the cave. It was hot enough that the four adventurers crawled away from the old man as the heat made it unbearable to stand close to him. The wings of the Wyvern tried to snuff out the fire, but it only fanned the flames and made it burn hotter. They crumbled and quickly turned into ash, even the bones. The flames ate the body quickly, and it only took the old man a minute to burn most of the Wyvern's body to black ash and even the ashes were burned away in the intense flame. The Wyvern's head fell but the charred skull didn't even hit the floor. The flames slowly died down as what remained of the Wyvern's tail was thrown to the side. It splattered against the hard rock while the old man eyed the blackened spot on the floor with disdain.

He snarled at it. Snarled with his sharp teeth and looked on with his serpen- No. With his Draconic eyes that brimmed with ancient wisdom and great power. They watched as his shape grew, not just in stature but in presence. His clothes changed and turned into fine garments that not even Kings are worthy to wear. A flowing robe enhanced his slender yet toned physique. And his long hair flowed like a waterfall down his back and... wings. A tail was also present, a golden-scaled tail that glimmered like fine gold. The old man turned towards them and his face wore the marks of his age well and he looked more like a Sage than King yet he could definitely pass as both.

"To think that you four bear Merithain's mission..."

He planted his face in his hand.

"I expect no less from that fool of a Mage!"