"The report was out of date," I mutter.

Ko'Nabrul has a reddish-orange crystal on both of her foreheads. That means she has fire abilities on top of her high resiliency to harm and her two heads.

"Do you want to give this a try alone?" Colt whispers to me. "And if you can't handle it by yourself, I step in?"

He was probably asked to ask me to do it on my own first, to 'prove' that I can handle it by myself. Even if Lord Trenton and other sources verified what Thomas told me a few days ago about me being able to handled a twin-headed beast, I want to use this as a test for Colt.

A test of how much I can really trust him to watch my back. It's weird that he hit all the right notes for me to feel like he can be trusted, and that makes me suspicious.

There's also the fact that I'm still not sure I can take on a twin-headed beast like this, especially since it does have magic as well. Ko'Nabrul was dangerous before she gained fire magics.

"She has two heads, metal-infused scales, and fire magics," I say. "She's also over three hundred feet long and has too many eggs to avoid damaging. Ko'Nabrul will likely become more enraged when we damage them. We're attacking together."

"Okay," Colt says. "So you take one head and I take the other?"

"No," I answer. "We'll just get mixed up doing that. We also don't know each other's fighting style. I'll be offense, you be defense and healing. Also, she's spotted us."

"She has?" Colt asks. "She's looking at some of her eggs."

"The other head, Colt," I indicate the other head, which has turned and faced us.

"She can see us through the [Light Barrier]?"

Colt's life in the castle has been way too cushy. Naive boy. He even knows some of the possible methods, and I made sure to immediately rule them in as soon as I noticed Ko'Nabrul had spotted us.

"I don't think so," I say. "She could be sensing our Mana, or the magic in the [Light Barrier], or she's reading heat levels-"

"Doing what?"

"Some monsters can see heat levels," I tell him. "I fought one on Monday. The way to get around that is through fire magic. Overload everything with hotter heat and they can't see you. That was annoying to fight. I'd say she can at least do that because she has fire abilities."

"Oh," he says. "How do you want to do this?"

The prince is asking the boy from the slums how things should go. Why? Well, we'll see if he actually follows my plan, if he rejects it and proposes his own, or if he does something else.

"Use [Water Barrier]s to defend against her fire attacks," I say. "And [Air Barrier]s to defend against her physical attacks. Give them a diameter of seventeen feet. You can also shoot her attacks out of the air. Heal me if I need it, but I hope I won't. Don't block my spells with your barriers, wait the extra second for them to past through if I've already launched them. Also use an [Air Barrier] to our right."

"Why?"

"Cast it and tell me how you got such a high Level."

Colt casts the [Air Barrier] just in time to stop Ko'Nabrul's second head from charging into it, the giant head slamming into the barrier instead.

"I killed a bunch of strong monsters," he says as he expands his barrier to avoid Ko'Nabrul from going around it. "Why?"

"Because ya are utterly unobservant," I say. "I'm now amazed ya ain't dead yet."

Whoops, that was a little too blunt.

"Release the barrier," I say as Ko'Nabrul retracts her second head, and Colt's barrier disappears.

Ko'Nabrul sees that as an opportunity and attempts to strike again. Fortunately, Colt stops it with another [Air Barrier], and when she attempts to get around it, I have something waiting for her.

An [Air Spear] shoots forward, and Ko'Nabrul jerks her head out of the way. I'm annoyed that it didn't get her in the eye, but it still connects. There's a good chance she didn't think that letting it glance off her reddish-grey scales would have done anything. So far, she's probably only faced people and monsters weaker than her.

The blade of my [Air Spear] slices a small gouge into her side. Her Constitution isn't high enough to defend against me, but those scales still have iron in them and they're dense. So are her muscles. A denser object takes more effort to pierce – that's the reason why [Air Barrier] is so effective despite being air.

It's dense.

Still, my spell did better than I expected. Chilling the wind was a good idea. With a fire attunement and metal innate to her, I had a feeling that the cold might be effective. An [Ice Spear] might work, but it would probably break against her scales. Because of that, I used cold in the air spell. Air magic works against metal monsters according to my research, because metal magic is an advanced form of earth magic.

Ko'Nabrul's second head retreats a little as her scales shimmer, her first head spitting [Fireball]s at us. A [Water Barrier] forms between us, sizzling as the attacks strike it. While we're "focused" on that, her second head makes an attempt again, shooting forward with another strike. Colt is paying enough attention now to stop it with an [Air Barrier].

"Expand the [Air Barrier] to surround us!" I call out, and the barrier spreads around us as Ko'Nabrul attempts to work her way around it.

"She's putting a lot of pressure on it," Colt tells me. "I can barely maintain it-"

"Pressure release in three… two… one!"

Cuts slash out across Ko'Nabrul, all along her length, even in the areas not near us. Many of her eggs are destroyed as well. The beast shrieks in pain and fury, both heads pulling back and wiggling around. I snap, and more cuts slice out across her.

"What are you doing?" Colt asks. "How are you doing that from in here?"

"I sent the spells out before you surrounded us with the [Air Barrier]," I tell him. "Four [Air Razor Bomb]s."

"Four whats?"

"A variation," I snap again, triggering another. "On the [Air Bomb] and the [Wind Bomb]. It creates blades of compressed air that shoot in all directions."

I finally bothered learning [Wind Bomb] while I was training during the storm yesterday. It wasn't too hard since I already knew everything that went into it, so learning and improving it wasn't hard. The reason I hadn't learned the spell before was because [Wind Bomb] basically just creates a massive gale when it triggers.

While working on it, I wondered if I could mix the two together. There's a spell called [Air Slash] that I haven't learned that's just a blade of compressed air. Rather than learning it like I probably should have, I instead decided to make a bomb that was a mix of the other two and used blades of compressed air.

The experiment worked. [Air Razor Bomb] sends out blades of compressed air when triggered. That wasn't the full effect I was going for, I was hoping it would be accompanied by a gale instead. Maybe that'll be an experiment for next time.

"I'm not feeling it against my barrier," Colt says as he releases his [Water Barrier]. "I'm weaker than you, I'm sure of it. I'm only Level 68, but Thomas said that was sufficient for Ko'Nabrul."

"It is," I say. "Her main difficulty is how dense she is. Combined with her Constitution, it takes more effort to pierce through. As for your barrier, don't worry about it."

Colt is more than 100 Magic behind me. If my spell hit his barrier, even one blade, it would cut through it like nothing. It's taking me a lot of effort to keep them from hitting it. A lot of effort.

I snap again, and a fourth one triggers. There's a fifth one, but I didn't tell Colt just in case. Some monsters have proven themselves to be intelligent, and I don't know if Ko'Nabrul heard me and registered it while we were talking. Just in case, I want the fifth one to be a secret.

"The barrier will keep me from attacking again," I tell Colt. "She's distracted from the injuries right now."

Colt cancels his spell, the green-tinted [Air Barrier] vanishing. I immediately send out several [Air Spear]s at the double-headed snake, and two of them connect, managing to pierce up to a foot into the beast. That's still not enough, but it's good enough for now.

As for my other two spears, Ko'Nabrul shifts enough that one just glances off of her, barely scraping her, while the other is grabbed by her second head. Its jaw snaps shut, breaking my spear as the first head spits [Fireball]s at us again.

"All around!" I call out as Colt summons a [Water Barrier] once more.

Colt responds immediately, just in time to stop the [Fireball]s spat by Ko'Nabrul's second head as well as the ones from the first head. I send more [Air Spear]s through the [Water Barrier]. As soon as they pass through, Ko'Nabrul charges us with both heads.

Immediately, Colt summons an [Air Barrier] all the way around us. Both heads slam into it, and when she attempts to break through, it begins to crack.

"Nope," I snap.

The final [Air Razor Bomb] triggers. Ko'Nubral waited until I had five spells still active before attacking, which suggested she was keeping track of that stuff. She's wounded again by the spell, and Colt gives me a startled look.

"Release the barrier, count to two, then cast it again in three… two… one!"

Colt listens, and Ko'Nabrul tries to breach through in the moment it's gone but doesn't make it fast enough. The triggered [Air Razor Bomb] as she struck probably helped with that some. I sent three more of them out while the barrier was gone, along with two other spells.

Ko'Nabrul slithers away for a few seconds, then begins surrounding us, overlapping a little as she does. She's decided to make it more difficult for my spell to hit her. Before, most of her body was before me, and I was able to cast the spell low enough to hit a lot of her. With her in a circle over forty feet across, she's spread out enough that I'd have to trigger the spell above the barrier dome in order to hurt her.

At the same time, she's also keeping both of her heads separated.

"Max," Colt says. "That attack looks different."

He's facing a different direction from me, which suggests that she's doing the same attack at both. That, or she's using two separate, new attacks. The first head, which I'm facing at the moment, has opened its maw while facing us, fire swirling inside of it.

If I'm right, she's planning on unleashing some sort of [Flamethrower]-like breath at us, possibly to try and overload the barrier from two sides. Even if Colt switches to a [Water Barrier], she might be capable enough to evaporate it and reach us. Even if he had both active, he might lose against both breaths, overwhelmed. She's not more powerful than him when it comes to Magic, but she's close enough to cause damage.

My other plan isn't good unless she closes her mouths. The risk of destroying Colt's barriers is too high if I don't do that. I send the two remaining [Air Razor Bomb]s at her heads, and she ignores them even as they burst. I've already figured out by now that she's probably sensing heat itself since she doesn't seem to react to my invisible spells until they've triggered. I had to match my invisible bombs to the temperature of the air in order to avoid her noticing it.

I don't bother making the spells fully invisible, just until they're triggered. It's easier that way, and Ko'Nabrul doesn't really have the ability to dodge all of the violet-tinted blades of compressed air, anyway.

Ko'Nabrul doesn't stop her attacks, the flames swelling.

"Colt, release and recast after the count of two in three… two… one!"

Colt does as I instructed, and a trio of [Water Bomb]s shoot out. One flies toward each head while the third soars straight up. A green-tinted [Air Barrier] forms around us once more.

Our enemy still doesn't stop her attacks, and the swelling of the flames in her mouths speeds up… then flames burst out. Just as I expected, they were [Flamethrower]-like breaths. Either she finished preparing or she rushed it to counter what she probably thought were just orbs of water meant to douse her spell.

Her fire breaths meet my spells, and the two [Water Bomb]s trigger. Water bursts out everywhere, pushing back the fire breaths for a few moments, dousing it until the water has been entirely evaporated, steam filling the air.

I raise my left hand up and pull it down, and the third [Water Bomb] slams down onto the barrier, bursting. This one has a more 'focused' direction, all of its water splashing onto the barrier, flowing down it. With a small twist of my left hand, I use [Freeze Water] on it. That's another spell I learned yesterday, a Tier II spell that, well, freezes water.

All of the water that's splashed down onto the barrier freezes immediately. The fire breath meets it and takes some extra time to pass through, evaporating the ice after a few seconds.

"My barrier is-" Colt begins. "Never mind, she stopped."

"She can only sustain the breath for a limited time," I say. "Probably for as long as she has a breath. That one lasted thirty-four seconds, so we can assume that's around her limit. Considering how much effort it took her to get through my water, she'd probably go through yours even faster. Let's avoid having her do that with both mouths again. Release, two, recast."

Colt cancels his [Air Barrier], and after the count of two, recasts it.

"I can't see anything," he says.

Of course he can't, the air is filled with steam. Steam is hot. Very hot. There's too much of this heat, so hopefully, she won't notice the much colder spells I sent out. The cold [Air Spear]s definitely did more damage than the non-cold ones.

The new wave of attacks are even colder. So cold, in fact, that I can detect frost on them as they cool the steam they come into contact with.

I send two of the new [Air Razor Bomb]s at where Ko'Nabrul's heads were, though I'm sure she's moved them already. The third one is sent to a spot where she'd overlapped herself some, but without her heads.

Then I trigger all three of them.

Shrieks sound out, and a few moments later, something slams into the barrier. An [Air Spear] immediately redirects and slams into the second head – the one which attacked us – as Colt jumps back, the barrier wavering a little. My spell manages to travel about a foot and a half into the head before she retreats back into the fog.

"Release, two, recast."

Colt complies, and Ko'Nabrul attempts to strike again, with her first head this time. The barrier is up again in time to stop it, and the moment Ko'Nabrul closes her first head's mouth after it strikes and cracks the barrier, I trigger the spell I sent into it.

Rather than an [Air Razor Bomb], this was just an [Air Bomb]. The burst of compressed air blasts the jaw of Ko'Nabrul's first head, and I hear the second one screaming. This one thrashes around. That wasn't enough to kill her, but definitely did severe damage to this end.

"Tch!"

"Seriously?" Colt asks. "You do that to her, and you click your tongue!"

"Release on three!"

"What?"

"One!"

"Why?"

"Two!"

"Max, what are -"

"Three!"

Colt releases the barrier despite his questions, and I leap forward, then jump up, kicking the underside of her jaw on her first head. It snaps shut again as I land back within the barrier range.

"Recast!"

Colt complies just in time for the [Air Bomb] I dropped into her mouth goes off. This one finishes off that head, the damage from the first blast having already damaged it quite well. It's still moving around, but it's more limp. The second head is controlling that part of the body and this one can't fight anymore, no more spells coming from it.

"There we go."

"Did you really just kick it in the head?" Colt asks.

"It was the only way I was gonna get her jaw shut again that soon," I say. "I's glad I managed the landing, I's failed during all my practices so far."

Landing on my face or ass wouldn't have bothered me, though. This is a fight and I knew Colt would have his barrier back up again, anyway. He's followed all of my directions without hesitation so far. That doesn't necessarily mean he would have recast it, but I think he's proven himself rather well.

If he wanted, he could have only protected himself while I fought. He also could have attacked if he wanted to, but he hasn't. That's why I trusted him to protect me even if I failed the landing.

"Now for the last head," I direct my attention to it.

The beast has used some fire magics to evaporate the steam-fog that's filled the air, clearing the area a bit more. I think she's also used the movement of her body to help with that.

When she moves in close for another strike, I direct an [Air Bomb] at her. This one's invisible, but she still avoids it, turning her head and circling around us before striking at the barrier from another spot. I guess she learned the trick from me killing her first head and assumed I'd give it another try.

I trigger my remaining [Air Razor Bomb]s out there, since they were all visible due to me not putting in the extra effort because of the steam. Ko'Nabrul screeches a bit more, then starts spitting more [Fireball]s at us.

"I don't think that's going to work again," Colt says as a [Water Barrier] forms over the [Air Barrier]. "And I'm not sure if there's another way to keep hitting her. She seems really angry."

"She's pissed all right," I track her as she moves and attacks.

Ko'Nabrul is focusing on spitting [Fireball]s at us, lunging at us, and using her dead head as a weapon to strike the barrier. She's also tightening her circle around us, it's only thirty feet now instead of forty feet. Through this, she's continued circling, shrinking it little by little without us noticing. Or she did most of the shrinking while the steam-fog was up.

There's a pretty good chance she's planning on trying to crush the barrier. It would be pretty effective, too. Her raw strength is enough that she can damage Colt's barrier with enough force, and constriction would definitely work. It would take her maybe thirty seconds to a minute to succeed.

"Max, what are we going to-"

"Release, two, recast with a [Water Barrier] as well, two, release, two, recast with a [Shadow Barrier] as well, five, release, two, recast with four extra-thick layers. Now!"

Colt complies, and in the first break without a barrier protecting us, I send out five [Fireball]s. They explode right after Colt restores his barrier, and when he releases it, I throw out five [Light Bomb]s. During the second break, I throw up an air spell I had only in theory so far. As I cast and launched the other spells, I worked on creating this one. The five seconds in the last break was enough for me to finish casting it.

[Air King's Bomb] Learned! [King of Air] Earned!

This spell triggers while twenty feet above Colt's barriers, and it works better than I expected. Way better.

A deafening boom fills the air as blades and spikes of compressed air shoot out in all directions, a massive gale whipping up with the center of the bomb as its own center, the wind pushing out in all directions, continuing to blow outward through the duration of the spell.

There's not one wave of the blast and of the blades and spikes of compressed air, not two, but three total waves of the attack.

Colt's barrier is hammered hard, and I can tell by the concentration on his face that he's doing his best to keep them from breaking under the strain. He still fails, and I conjure a pair of [Air Barrier]s to stop the blades and spikes of compressed air that make it through.

Ko'Nabrul was dead before the third wave finished.

+389% Experience! You gained four Levels!

"There we go!" I grin at Colt. "That was fun!"

"You didn't need my help at all," he tells me. "You did all the work."

"How much Experience did you get?" I ask.

"Uh," he hesitates for a few moments. "I got +627% Experience. It bumped me up to Level 74. That was a lot more than I expected."

Even though he 'gained' more Experience than me, I actually gained the most. I was already Level 74 and am now Level 78. Between the two of us, I definitely did the most work, so it makes sense I gained a ton more Experience than he did.

"Colt," I say. "I did all of the offensive work. You handled the defense. Had I needed to defend and dodge, this would have taken me a lot longer. I also might not have managed to use [Air King's Bomb]. Your defense allowed me to focus solely on offense, which allowed the fight to end faster."

That's all entirely true. Without Colt assisting me, I could not have defeated Ko'Nabrul this easily. In fact, I'm still certain that I would have failed against her on my own due to how strong she is.

This time, though, I don't think I was lied to. She was definitely stronger than estimated, especially considering she had crystals and the element of fire at her command. I probably could have defeated her on my own if she didn't have those crystals and additional element.

As she was just now, however, I definitely would have lost. I don't think I could have kept up an offense while still defending myself. Not this time, anyway. Her two heads and additional power and magic all made her much more difficult.

Which makes me glad that I took Colt with me for this fight. His presence definitely enabled our victory.

"O-oh," Colt says, then looks at Ko'Nabrul's remains. "That was… one powerful attack."

"A Tier VI spell," I nod. "It's my only one. Thanks for the assistance, Colt. Now to figure out how we're getting such a massive beast back to town. Think you can make an [Air Barrier] big enough and sturdy enough to support it?"