“What’s the plan?” asked Avila.

“Priority one should be to free me from this light contraption,” said Seraphor. “I am the link they need to maintain this Altered Reality. It won’t be easy, and the only ones who can do this are light dragons.”

“We’ll begin as soon as possible,” said Ashaire, with Zenithia nodding.

“Some of us will be on the frontline,” said Keeshar. “Those of us with great capabilities of destruction will be at the front engaging the danger.”

“As a Daughter of the Eternal Frost, it is imperative that I take that role,” said Azureath.

“I will support her alongside Fenrir,” said Hans. “Ready, old boy?”

“Ready as I ever be,” said Fenrir.

“Guess I’m also the damage dealer, then,” said Richie. “We’ll also need a second line to protect our rear.”

“I’ll do it,” said Elyse. “My druidic magic might not as effective here, but I can manage.”

“Given that I draw my blade from Zen, I will do what it takes to protect her,” said Adeline.

“I’ll be the support, along with the Death Aspect,” said Ritik.

“Indeed, I will,” said Avila. “Now, what thing are they going to throw at us?”

Avila got her answer soon after as a giant, monstrous light dragon appeared from below them, with only its top body visible from the platform. Its roar was deep and guttural, befitting its size. It also had two pairs of translucent wings.

“Of course, the final boss’s going to be the big one,” commented Richie. “Well, then. Ready?”

Azureath and Hans nodded.

“Then let me begin by doing this!”

Richie extended his hand towards the others, giving them wind aura along with himself. Azureath could already feel the effect of the aura as she moved much faster, enabling her to dodge a slow, physical attack from the giant dragon.

However, it wasn’t finished. The giant light dragon’s claw dispersed into smaller winged beings vaguely resembling a spherical light dragon in a cartoonish way. At that point, they had no time to question why it looked cartoonish other than the malicious draconic expression painted on its face. Some reached beyond the frontline and seemed to try and latch onto them. Adeline tried to cut one with her light sword, but upon touch, the spherical light dragons instantly exploded in a bright flash of light.

It wasn’t a harmless flashbang, however. Avila’s protection saved her from critical injuries that could potentially incapacitate her. However, the superficial cuts caused by the slight delay reminded her not to be reckless.

But she couldn’t afford not to, especially when she saw the spherical light dragons landed near them and started growing more limbs in a grotesque way, greatly distorting their ‘cute’ appearance into monstrous abominations no longer resembling a dragon. Adeline made a stance with her sword held with both hands, intending to attack just as they attacked her.

She managed to cut one in half, causing it to spill out black, or dark blue, blood, over her fiery red fur. She repeatedly did this to several other, which no longer resemble light dragons. She was quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of it as Avila was being attacked relentlessly unable to give her ample protection.

That was before Ritik made his move by putting a magical barrier that stopped some of them from reaching Adeline while her back was turned. She promptly swinged her sword horizontally, bisecting the monsters held in the air.

It wasn’t the only thing that came out, however. Soon after, miniature pillar of lights appeared right behind the frontline fighters and in front of the backups and quickly forming into light dragons, or rather, light dragonborns. Unlike Ashaire, they seemed to be devoid of any personality, as Adeline noticed that their eyes were blank. They also had no reservations as they attacked the barrier with beams of light that quickly eroded the barrier and forcing Adeline to stay in defense. Avila’s own gravity-bending darkness helped the worst of the attacks.

Then, it was Elyse’s turn to shine when she engaged several of the dragonborns at once, showcasing her kick-based martial arts suited for a smaller and nimble being with cloven hooves. The satyr had never showed anything other than her forceful kick, though Adeline could tell Elyse did not need to if her kicks could throw a werewolf a couple of feet away.

Elyse was glad that she took martial arts lessons from the guards aside from her druidic lessons. She could go with weapons like her sisters and brothers, but she preferred to use her body as a weapon. It was just her preference, and he was so good at it.

However, being cut off from the outside world meant that she had almost no nature energy to draw from, meaning that all she could rely on was her own martial arts prowess. Good thing she learned more unorthodox techniques ever since she resolved her kingdom’s crisis. She showed it to her astonished comrades by utilizing acrobatics as part of her kicks, along with a powerful dropkick that threw three dragonborns off the platform. She kept her body close to the ground and spin her legs to trip her opponents. The others looked at her as if she was dancing gracefully, though they could not focus on the satyr as they were still engaging more and more enemies.

The efforts of every one rested on the hope that they could finally end the invasion and go home, which was something Zenithia wanted as she increased the pace of removing the light beams that kept Seraphor suspended. Ashaire noticed her increased pace.

“Hey, calm down, love,” he said. “Don’t you care for your own brother’s well-being?”

“I’m okay, Ashy,” said Seraphor. “I can tell Zeni’s excited to see her friends doing well.”

“Why wouldn’t I? Never in my whole existence do I ever met such rowdy and such unlikeliest bunch of people with a diverse background,” said Zenithia as she pulled out another beam. “The werewolves from another continent, a satyr princess with devastating kicks, a raptor man with brutal sawblade, a kobold mage, a dragonborn from another world, a dragon with the blood of gods, and finally…A part of Death herself. It’s so strange that I don’t get human allies, but that only makes it even more interesting.”

“Now that you said it, you’re right,” said Ashaire. “There’s no human in the group at all. Well, unless you count the werewolves as part human, part wolf, though they have been in their werewolf form for as long as I know.”

“And who among them is a part of death herself, anyway?”

Remembering that Seraphor never knew Avila’s true identity, she simply chuckled and said, “Why don’t we get you out first and we’ll talk about it?”

But before they could do that, all three sensed an attack coming. Zenithia and Ashaire dodged the attack, but unfortunately, Seraphor could not move. A pillar of light, intense enough to instantly vaporize non-light dragon form, hit Seraphor from above. The light dragon roared in pain, which quickly turned to anguished, pained roar as the light intensified.

“I thought Sera’s the link to this reality! Are they trying to kill him?” said Zenithia.

Ashaire gasped as he realized what the Altered Reality was intended to be. Without hesitating, he countered the strong light pillar with his own full-powered beam, which could only filter it, but not enough to stop it.

“Zeni, get Sera out!” he exclaimed. “C’mon!”

Zenithia knew Ashaire wasn’t usually the one who looked desperate, but he did, and that did not mean a good thing. The female light dragon looked at her brother’s tortured body and, unable to bear seeing him suffering after countless years of being prepared as the core of a new Source, gritted her teeth, and jumped into the light beam, hoping that she could bear the intense light.

She underestimated the light’s intensity. Even after Ashaire had reduced it, it was still painful and searing hot to the point she grunted in pain. She relied heavily on her pain tolerance to slowly get to the final pieces of the rods keeping Seraphor in place. She managed to slowly pull out one out of the final four, but it took most of her strength. Even worse, it wasn’t the least of her problems.

As she continued to help Seraphor, Ashaire tried to warn Zenithia, but he was a bit too late. Zenithia wasn’t able to sense the coming attack due to the intense light pillar that also acted like a screen. She was unable to dodge when a fast-moving light beam from within the darkness pierced her side and created a big, gaping hole. She gasped, trying to process the pain, but then fell of Seraphor and to the platform, bleeding profusely. Ashaire rushed to her aid.

“Your efforts are commendable,” said a booming voice. “But I am barely starting.”

Without warning, the platform underneath everyone abruptly disappeared, plunging them into the darkness. Everyone quickly found a way to fly, either with the help of wind magic, a different, but smaller, light platform, or simply because they were capable of flight. However, they had no time for respite.

The giant light dragon accosting them started its attack and it intensified. They needed to find a way to fight back in their handicapped situation, and fast.

Or else they would lose their reality.