“Do you really think they can do it?” Roethus asked, glasses reflecting the fair-haired man before him.

“I do,” Benvolio replied, staring up at the ceiling of the spacious room. “Do you think I would have sent them out there alone if I didn’t?”

The lord of the city stretched out on a golden throne, slippered feet kicking at the piles of priceless artifacts arranged around them. Roethus suppressed a wince at his lord’s actions. He’d personally supervised the delivery of those objects, gloved servants careful not to damage the ancient relics as they drew them from velvet-lined chests and cases.

“I am not nearly so confident,” Roethus said. “Diana is not as dependable as her record suggests, her disappearance included.”

“Quiet,” Benvolio replied. “I have said it will be so, you only have to believe.”

“Yes, my lord.” Roethus bowed in the direction of Benvolio’s throne before straightening to his full height once more. “Now, about the arena… plans are progressing smoothly, but the council still harbours their concerns about the reward.”

“The council?” Benvolio asked, turning to smile at the master of the guild. “Do you not share these… concerns?”

“I do,” Roethus replied. “If an outsider-”

“Your worries are baseless,” Benvolio said, slumping down across the arms of the throne once more. Sunlight streamed through the tower’s stained glass windows, the iridescent glow highlighting the lord’s hauntingly beautiful face as it twisted into an expression of annoyance. Much to Roethus’ chagrin, many of Benvolio’s servants secretly liked to whisper about the lord’s startling femininity and surprisingly small stature.

“Leave,” Benvolio said. “Don’t come back with empty hands, or I’ll have your glasses.”

“Yes, my lord,” Roethus replied, bowing again before he turned to leave the room.

“Wait,” Benvolio said, reaching towards the guild master with an outstretched hand. “Actually, I’ve changed my mind, I want them after all. Here, I’ll trade you.”

Reaching down into the stack of ancient treasures below him, the lord of the city picked up an intricately carved statue of solid gold, an imperial seal of some long-lost human civilisation. Roethus handed his glasses to the city’s smaller ruler with a sigh, receiving the artifact in return.

“Okay,” Benvolio said, reaching up to set the spectacles in place with a smile. “Now leave. I’m looking forward to what your next gift to me will be.”

…

Christoph’s breath burst from his lungs as the dragon slammed into him, the scaled jaws smashing him aside as he struggled to dodge the massive creature’s attacks. Rising to his feet once more, he scowled up at his levitating companion. This beast was far more than he could handle alone. The leviathan continued its series of attacks, ignoring the human’s futile retaliations. Batting him back and forth across the glass with its foreclaws, the dragon snapped its jaws as it looked down at him. Christoph knew full well what was happening, feeling his strength leave him at the realization. The gigantic beast was playing with him, toying with its latest prize, this new and interesting being it had discovered.

Leaning down, the creature scooped him up in its jaws, bouncing him around a couple of times until he was properly draped along its tongue. Swinging out with his sword, he dug the blade into the dragon’s mouth as it tilted its head back to swallow him whole, crystal teeth closing around him before his sword pierced into the dragon’s gums. Could he really drain the beast before he was shredded into nothing more than large chunks of meat? The dragon opened its mouth, flinging him across the island before he could absorb any of its mana, blood splashing from his wounds as he splattered down onto the glass. Instead of following him across the platform, the dragon hunched down, seeming to increase in size before opening its jaws wide. Christoph’s heart dropped as he realized what was coming, turning away as the dragon’s breath raced across the glass towards him. If he could get to the sand in time, then he might be able to-

He hadn’t even risen all the way to his feet before the dragon’s breath rolled over him like a wave, heat slamming into him until it had soaked into his very bones. Rolling over the glass, he came to rest on his stomach, blood pooling as the dragon stamped its gargantuan feet in triumph. Blood? Rising up onto his knees, Christoph looked down at his hands, watching the ruined flesh become whole once more. Laughing over at the monster, he rose to his feet as his wounds sealed themselves closed. Fire? No, all of the World Serpent’s creations were unique. Perhaps if it had spat a deadly storm of sand, it would have been a danger, but as it was…

“That was careless of you,” Christoph said. “A pure magic attack, was it?”

Readying his sword, he grinned up at the leviathan as it blinked in confusion, feeling the energy coursing through his body. The dragon opened its maw again, a beam of blinding light scouring the island clean. Christoph emerged laughing as the illumination faded, his tattered cloak floating from his shoulders as he closed in on the beast.

“You should have channeled that mana through one of the elements!” he said, sword slashing out to sever one of the dragon’s forelimbs at the wrist. “It would have made it harder for me to absorb.”

Stumbling backwards, the dragon’s stump slid across the glass as it reared back from its attacker. Christoph leapt forwards after the creature, striking out at its wounded leg as it collapsed. Roaring in anger, the dragon squirmed about but was unable to properly position itself for a counter-attack, its severed leg pawing uselessly at the air. Whirling around, Christoph dealt a flurry of blows to the beast’s neck, his crystal sword growing longer and heavier as he poured his excess mana into the blade. Stifling a giddy laugh, he danced under the leviathan, cutting and slashing everything he could reach with his blade. Never in his life had he felt such power before!

The dragon began to thrash at the glass, rising up on its stump to slash out with its claws and snap its jaws with a deafening chomp. Dashing around, Christoph hacked at the dragon’s tail. Even if the beast itself escaped, the tail alone would be a prize if he could cut it from the body! The giant reptile spun around faster than he had expected, and he barely managed to raise his sword before the oversized talons of its remaining forelimb caught him in the chest. Sliding backwards across the platform, Christoph glanced up to confirm Diana’s position before resuming his assault. Still just sitting there! In that case, he would secure this victory alone.

The dragon watched him cautiously from across the glass, turning its head sideways as its eye locked onto his panting form. The sail on its back shuddered in time with the swaying of its tail, and Christoph grinned as he returned the dragon’s stare. It might not bleed, but the creature knew the danger it was in all the same. In the middle of the island, the dragon’s severed limb twitched before falling still. Large enough to close around Christoph’s entire body, the clawed hand probably held more mana than the esteemed Guardian of the Forest had amassed in its entire being. Still, he had his eyes set on a much larger prize than that.

Steam rose from Christoph’s body as he sprinted towards his target, deflecting the dragon’s swiping attack and dodging under its jaws as they descended to scrape against the glass behind him. Leaping to his feet, he cleaved into the leviathan’s hind leg, his weapon catching in the stony flesh before it could sever the limb. Wrenching the crystal blade free, Christoph backed away from the beast’s savage rampage, retreating across the island as it lashed out at him. This time, the dragon did follow him back, limping onward as it alternated strikes with its teeth and claws, battering at him with its closed jaws and even lunging at him with its stump leg and tail. The blows came too quickly and covered too much distance for Christoph to avoid them all, and he gritted his teeth as the beast knocked him back around the platform.

“Is that all you have?” Christoph asked, taking a stance as the dragon paused its onslaught of attacks. Reaching down, he drew a large gemstone from his pocket, the sunlight shining brilliantly through the crystal’s many facets. “Are you ready?” he asked, throwing the gem into the air. “Here I come.”

The crystal arced up towards the dragon as Christoph charged in underneath it, the massive beast narrowing its eyes as they approached. Shifting its body sideways, the dragon reared up to level a slash at them, a strike that would cleave through both Christoph and his gemstone. Before the dragon could act, however, the first-sized crystal exploded with an ear-splitting crack, mana bursting free to splash out over the area in blinding brilliance.

Christoph grinned as the dragon flinched downwards, dashing around the beast’s head to strike at its neck once more, his crystal blade shearing through the leviathan’s scales and into the flesh below. The dragon twisted around to return his attacks, but it was too late – Christoph darted after the beast as it moved, blow after blow slicing through the dragon’s stone-like body. The monster rose up on its legs to escape his assault, but it hadn’t taken a single step towards the sand before he cut through its back leg from the other side, the heavier limb falling to the glass as the dragon collapsed bodily onto the platform. Christoph’s sword continued to rise and fall as the creature struggled to crawl away, the crystal blade flashing in the sunlight until the leviathan had long since fallen still.

Falling back onto the glass himself, Christoph leant his head back against the smooth surface of the island, shoulders heaving as he gasped for breath. Sitting up, he looked over at the dragon he had slain, a triumphant smile spreading over his face. Scrambling to his feet, he slumped up against the scaled corpse, shortening his sword into a knife as he carved a chunk from the dragon’s rocky carcass. The monster wouldn’t eat itself, after all.

…

Diana blinked awake, looking around herself as she sat up. Darkness surrounded her, and she lit a small fire to illuminate her surroundings, thankful that so much of her mana had already returned. She’d wasted most of her energy holding off the dragon’s attack, and creating the island must have drained her reserves. She was simply thankful that her automatic defenses had kept her safe from danger. It was still too soon to be relying on her other methods… Had Christoph defeated the beast, then?

“Oh, are you finally awake?” Christoph asked, re-absorbing his sword. “Good. Here, put up a barrier so I can go to sleep already.”

“Did it escape?” Diana asked. Looking around, the surface of the glass platform seemed to be clear, patches of sand visible on the smooth surface of the island. The skimmer was set down nearby, and she felt the familiar padding of the blankets underneath her.

“What?” Christoph frowned down at her, raising an eyebrow at her question. “No way,” he said. “I ate it.”

“You what?” Diana asked. He’d eaten it?

“Yeah,” Christoph said, shrugging his shoulders. “I didn’t think I’d be able to, but I guess I don’t really store the mana in my stomach, so…”

“You ate the whole thing?!” The elven woman threw her blankets away, clambering to her feet to place her hands on Christoph’s shoulders.

“Ah, yeah,” he said. “Well, you did say that I could have the whole thing, so…”

“No no no,” she replied. His body was hot under her hands, and she pulled away, thumping on the chest with a fist. “Think! How are we supposed to prove we killed it if you went and ate the whole thing before I even woke up?”

“I’m sure we’ll manage,” Christoph replied, swaying on his feet. “Now, about that barrier?”

“Christoph?” Diana leaned forwards, waving a hand in front of his face as he blinked. Stepping forwards, she caught her companion as he fell to his knees, heat rising from his body in a nearly visible wave. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t think so,” he said, falling sideways onto the glass. “The barrier?”

Diana swore under her breath, snapping a hand out to erect her usual wards over their campsite. Had he really eaten an entire dragon while she had been recovering? Was that even possible? Christoph rolled onto his back, pressing himself against the cool glass as his eyes lost focus, and Diana reached a hand out towards him. Gathering her mana, she lifted him into the air as he began to thrash, shards of bone falling to the glass below her as his latest meal slowly carved its way into both his body and soul.