Image was everything in magic, so Maven put a great deal of thought into how she would strengthen her dragon. Following her instincts, she imagined the dragon wrapped in a set of impenetrable armor. Not only did she wrap the dragon with an indestructible defense, but she also embedded a complex mix of magical formulae within to significantly increase its power.

*ROAR*

With Maven’s elegant dragon now sporting a sleek new set of spiked armor, its strength and intimidation factor rose through the roof. Imagination colored by decades of exposure to Transformers movies and mecha anime, the armor which the beast was clad in possessed a distinctly futuristic and mechanical aura.

“Wow!! Maven, that’s so cool!” Kannon squealed in excitement. “I want a set of armor like! Can you give me one? Please? Please?!”

Face palming for the dozenth time in the last hour, Maven did her best to ignore Kannon’s antics. Forget the airhead goddess, it was time to finish the battle with the cute young Apostle.

“You’re going to have to answer my questions, kid, whether you like it or not.” Maven said she stared at the boy, confident that the newly empowered dragon would be able to wrap things up.

“Hehe, I’m not that easy to catch,” the boy replied in a tone of false bravado, the cold sweat beading on his brow giving away his true feelings.

“You’re not getting away!” Maven said while urging the dragon forward. It was time to take the newly empowered dragon for a test drive.

With a great leap, the dragon crossed the dozens of meters separating it from the boy in the blink of an eye. With her knowledge of Earth, Maven had managed to embed hundreds of tiny rocket engines throughout the armor. These tiny holes were designed to eject mana particles at high speeds in the opposite direction, all in order to improve maneuverability and speed.

Shocked by the massive boost to the dragon’s agility, the boy barely had the opportunity to widen his eyes in surprise before he was already captured - grasped tightly within the dragon’s large claws.

“Let me go!” The Apostle shouted as he attempted to worm his way out of the dragon’s grip.

“Not happening, little boy.” Maven said coldly, quite tired of dealing with him.

At her command, the dragon grabbed the whip in its jaws before ripping it from the boy’s hand with irresistible strength. The apostle could do little to stop it, as his arms remained pinned tightly in place.

“Now……You’ve got explaining to do. Who exactly do you work for? Why are you after Ela? What do I have to do with any of this?” Maven asked calmly.

The boy went silent after this, doing his very best to reach for the whip or cast another spell. Unfortunately for him, it was rather difficult to cast spells when distracted by a dragon squeezing you half to death.

“Why did you attack us?” Ela shouted from beneath the shield. “How could you possibly do something so horrible?”

Hearing Ela’s passionate questioning, the Apostle’s face gradually shifted into an odd little smile. “Horrible? Could you really consider what my subordinate did that horrible to begin with?”

“How could you say something like that??” Ela asked, brimming with righteous anger. “You killed my friends!”

“Hehe, such a sheltered little princess, aren’t you? Clearly, you don’t understand the way the world works.” The boy said with a cruel grin, rapidly regaining his confidence.

“Should you really be looking so arrogant, boy?” Henna asked curiously, not wanting Kannon to be the only contributor. “You’re trapped, out-manned, and outgunned…… This is really the time you should start spilling your guts.”

“Oh, am I really trapped?” The boy said playfully from within the dragon’s claws. “Or, was I perhaps……”

The Apostle’s voice faded into thin air, blinking out of existence as he teleported his way out of the dragon’s claw.

“……Just playing along?” The boy said triumphantly, quite pleased that he had managed to pull one over on Maven and company.

“That’s not fair!!” Kannon shouted, throwing a little tantrum in mid-air as everyone else just stared, dumbfounded, at the sudden turn of events.

“I must say,” The boy said arrogantly, “You’ve disappointed me, Saintess…… You gave me far too much time. You really need to be more decisive. If you had killed me or bound me more tightly, then I wouldn’t have been able to do this.”

Irritated by his words, Maven said, “What do you mean by this?”

Not even deigning to reply, the boy just began to smile wide as he extended both hands. With space magic rippling in each hand, an unknown spell detonated with a bright purple flash.

Once the light cleared, the boy could be seen holding two people by the collar: Ela and the tattooed man.

“NO!” Amara’s heartbroken voice could be heard from within the shield.

“Your spellcraft is so sloppy, Saintess. Perhaps you should work on that, for the next time we meet.” The boy said as a large rift opened in the space behind him.

“There won’t be a next time!” Maven shouted as she urged the dragon forward, trying to stop him from going through that portal.

Unfortunately, the dragon was just a hair too slow this time. All three disappeared through the rift, which snapped shut behind them. Ultimately, the dragon’s slammed into the dirt, having caught nothing but air.

Ela was nowhere to be seen.