Gren sank her teeth into Kondra’s shoulder, and Kondra sank her teeth into Gren’s shoulder in return. “Are you tired?” Kondra asked, her voice muffled.

“I’m just getting started,” Gren said, her mouth barely moving. She scratched at Kondra, and the two dragons rotated as their tails thrashed about, trying to wrap around the other’s body.

Kondra exhaled out two jets of steam from her nostrils. “I’m just getting started too,” she mumbled and pulled her neck back, attempting to rip a chunk of flesh off of Gren. Gren thrashed her head from side to side, biting and releasing Kondra’s shoulder repeatedly. Sparks flew as her teeth grinded against the holy dragon’s scales. Without warning, a huge force crashed into the both of them, and they were launched through the air—still entangled—and smashed into a wall.

Gren and Kondra grunted and relaxed their jaws, letting go of the other dragon. They climbed to their feet and made space by slapping each other away with their tails, their motions nearly identical. Their eyes narrowed at the third party, an ocean-blue dragon who was glaring at them with golden eyes.

“What are you doing?” Gren asked. “Why did you attack us?”

Kondra’s brow furrowed. “Vur?” She glanced at Gren. “What is Vur doing here?”

“You know him?” Gren asked and raised an eyebrow. “He came here with Grimmy. As for why he’s still here…, I’m not sure.”

“Apologize,” Vur said and snorted. “You attacked me while I was sleeping.”

Kondra cleared her throat and took a step to the side, distancing herself from Gren. “It was Gren’s fault. If you want someone to apologize to you, it should be her.”

Vur’s eyes shifted onto Gren. The cursed dragon furrowed her brow and looked at Kondra. The holy dragon was looking away with her neck stretched out, her head pointed at an angle towards the ceiling as if there was something interesting on the wall. Gren followed Kondra’s gaze, but there was nothing up there.

Vur cleared his throat and tapped his claw against the floor. “Well?” he asked and tilted his head. “Are you going to apologize?”

Gren frowned. She didn’t know why Kondra was behaving like such a wuss, but it didn’t matter. “I don’t appreciate being threatened in my own home by a guest,” she said. “Grimmy said you were Sera’s child?” Her eyes narrowed, and she took a step towards Vur. She roared. “To me, Sera is just a child!”

“Hey, Vur,” Tafel said from near the wall. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to fight with Grimmy’s mom.”

Vur snorted. “We don’t have to fight if she apologizes,” he said. “If she doesn’t apologize, then that means she attacked me on purpose. If she attacked me on purpose, then I have to retaliate. It’s part of the code.”

Gren raised an eyebrow. “You know the cursed dragons’ code?”

“Cursed dragons’ code?” Vur asked. He shook his head. “I know the dragons’ code of honor. Grimmy taught it to me.”

Gren chuckled. “Is that so?” she asked. “For you to deter Kondra from picking a fight, there’s no doubt you’re strong.” Her eyes flickered. “However, I’m not going to apologize!” She took in a deep breath, and her chest and stomach expanded like a balloon. The next moment, she exhaled out a breath of black flames.

Vur snorted, and white light leaked out of the gaps between his teeth. He roared, and a beam of white light shot out of his mouth, colliding with the black flames. For a brief moment, the flames and the laser beam pressed against each other, neither of them budging; however, that moment didn’t last very long. The black flames evaporated as the white beam of light grew thicker and thicker.

Gren’s eyes widened, and she shifted to the side, dodging the laser. Contrary to her expectations, the laser didn’t stop. It grew even larger as Vur swiveled his head, following Gren’s movements. Gren ran to the side, avoiding the laser as it swept through the room, leaving a trail of molten rock on the palace walls. “Kondra!” Gren shouted and leapt while flapping her wings, avoiding Vur’s laser by going over it. “You taught him your purifying laser!?” She dove downwards, avoiding the beam once again as it swept over her head.

“I didn’t teach him,” Kondra said and sighed. “I hit him with it, and he learned it right away.”

Gren’s eye twitched. Was that something a dragon could do? She avoided Vur’s laser once more, and she slapped her paw against the ground. Her eyes darkened until they looked like dull black marbles, and a black circle appeared in the air above her head. Five bumps protruded from the circle, and a red hand extended out of it, the darkness falling away like water. The hand was connected to an arm which was also red. A thick manacle made of gold metal was attached to the arm’s wrist, and a golden chain extended from it into the black circle. Glowing white runes covered the arm, and Kondra recognized a few of them as sealing spells. The arm reached out until its elbow was exposed, and its palm blocked the ray of white light.

Vur narrowed his eyes and stretched his neck further, increasing the intensity of the laser beam. However, it didn’t seem to do anything, so Vur stopped and frowned. “What’s that?” he asked.

“A sealed evil,” Gren said. She slapped her paw against the ground again, and the hand spread its fingers. It curled its middle finger and pressed its thumb against it, pointing the other three fingers at Vur. There was a sound akin to thunder as the hand flicked its finger, shooting a shockwave at Vur. It struck him, and he exploded.

“Holy smokes!” Emile shouted. “Vur died again!”

Susan slapped Emile’s head with her wing. “That’s Mom’s technique, stupid.”

Flames appeared behind Gren, and Vur’s body materialized with his front paws outstretched. He grabbed Gren’s tail before she could react and braced himself with his hindlegs. With a grunt, Vur swung Gren like a baseball bat, slamming her into the wall. The black light in Gren’s eyes disappeared, and the black circle with the arm faded away. Vur heaved, and he swung Gren the other way, slamming her into the wall once again. She curled her body and lunged at Vur, but another pair of legs sprouted out of Vur’s sides and blocked her from grabbing him.

“What the—?” Question marks floated above Gren’s head before she was promptly slammed into the ground. Vur stared Gren in the eyes without responding. He lifted her above his head once more and grunted as he braced himself.

“I’m sorry!” Gren shouted. “I’m sorry, okay!? Put me down, please!”

Vur snorted and released Gren, dropping her onto the ground with a thump. He nodded and sat on his haunches. “Don’t let it happen again.”

Gren’s expression darkened. She glared at Kondra. No wonder why the aggressive holy dragon didn’t want to fight Vur. “You could’ve warned me about his six legs.”

Kondra blinked. “I didn’t know he had them though….”