As we all basked in each others warmth, creating a group hug in the back of the large, charred and destroyed room, I had forgotten to check for a system notification, overcome with relief that we had made it out alive.
My muscles were aching, my joints hurt, my head was killing me...
Hah... That was a hard fight...
Thinking that, I opened up the system, only for my eyes to go wide as I realized...
There was NO notification.
Which meant...
Pulling myself free from the group hug, I stared at the 'corpse' of Lord Pele, wondering just how he was still alive.
"Kat?"
Jahi stepped beside me, frowning as she looked between me and Lord Pele.
"What's wrong?"
Biting my lip, I wondered how to explain that I hadn't received any notification that he was dead...
"I don't think... that he's dead..."
Jahi stared at me, before staring at the charred corpse.
"Why do you think that?"
Hearing the slight disbelief in her voice, I bit my lip again, before saying "Intuition..?"
Please believe me...
Sighing, she raised her ornate blade, gazing at the corpse before saying "Well, let's go make sure he's dead then."
I nodded, resummoning my Water Cloak as we approached, my dagger coated in ice.
Anput and Leone followed behind us, staring warily at the corpse.
Gradually approaching the giant body of Lord Pele, I frowned as...
Nothing happened.
No pulsing heartbeat that started randomly.
No convulsing or shaking inside the corpse.
No groaning or wheezing...
Just...
Nothing.
Which made me extremely confused.
Where was the notification?
'Is he dead or not?'
[You didn't get a notification, so no, he is not dead.]
Getting double confirmation from the system, I narrowed my eyes at the corpse.
Stabbing her sword into the mans skull, Jahi said "See? Dead."
Twisting her blade for good measure, she withdrew the sword and flicked the blood, brain matter, and skull fragments from the blade, before staring at me with worry.
Sighing, she grabbed my hand, making me drop the mana clock, pulling me towards the door.
"Come on, we need-"
"You should trust your dog, brat."
We all froze, before turning around.
The corpse started cracking, the bones breaking and twisting as they molded themselves into something...
Else.
His flesh 'melted' away, moving around like liquid as it reshaped itself to fit this new skeleton, the scales sinking into the red flesh, turning his body into something armored.
What stood before us appeared humanoid; it stood on two legs, sported four muscular arms, and had a head crowned with small spikes.
Sprouting from its back was a pair of large, leathery wings and a long, sharp tail, all a deep crimson.
Before the man had been dull looking; he had a face that blended in with the crowd, the only thing that stood out. besides his giant lizard body, was his dark red skin, which was a little rarer than other colors.
Now, however, what stood before us was a regal, handsome man, his abs chiseled and arms rippling with muscle.
Standing on taloned feet, he spread his wings, smirking to himself.
Two ruby eyes turned towards us, and he grinned as he flexed his arms, before cracking his neck.
"I must say, I never thought that ritual had something so amazing hidden inside it..."
Even his voice was improved; it dripped with confidence, the deep, melodic sound washing over us.
"Well, it matters not; I think with such an improved body..."
His body flickered, before appearing in front of Leone, a sneer on his lips as he growled "I'll kill all of you!"
Slamming his fist into her gut, we all watched as Leone was sent flying, crashing through the wall.
"Leone!"
Shouting her name, I was about to run to her side when Lord Pele appeared beside me, still sneering.
Feeling one of his fists rippling through the air towards me, I swayed to the side, only to cough as another landed on my ribs, sending me skidding back a few steps.
"Damn dog. You were the most annoying of all!"
Appearing before me again, he started punching his four fists out, making me grunt in pain as I tried to desperately block each one.
Some landed, some didn't but...
Feeling a crack on my ribs again, I coughed out a bit of blood, making me frown.
Taking shaky breaths, I watched as Jahi and Leone swung their blades down towards his back, only for two swords to appear in his top hands, blocking the blows.
Grinning at me, I gasped as he landed a heavy punch in my gut, sending me flying again.
Rolling on the floor, I coughed out some more blood, my breathing haggard as I felt something sharp poke my lung with every breath I took.
He had turned to face Jahi and Anput, summoning another two swords as he pushed them back, making the two women grunt as they exerted all their remaining strenght.
Placing a hand over my ribs again, I gasped as my healing magic reknit the cracked and broken bones, setting my ribcage back into its normal spot.
It hurt like hell, having your bones knit themselves back together, and my vision blurred under the pain.
However, I stood back up, wiping the warm blood from my lips as I scooped up my dagger.
That damn freak was trying to hurt Jahi...
Gritting my teeth, I pushed more mana from my core, coating my body in a thin layer of water again, before rushing towards Lord Pele's back.
Trying to keep my steps as quiet as possible, I stabbed my ice dagger under his wing, making the man grunt in pain, only to backhand me away.
Spinning in the air a few times, I landed shakily on my feet, still gripping my dagger.
"Damnit..."
Groaning, he pushed the other two away, a small red flame appearing on his wound, healing it.
"I am going to enjoy breaking you..."
Turning towards me, he glared at me, his eyes filled with rage.
Flapping his wings a few times, Lord Pele lifted his body into the air, throwing two of his blades towards Jahi and Anput, who had to block the spinning blades.
With his two free hands he started weaving together various runes, a large, complicated ritual circle appearing around him.
Raising my left hand, I shot water arrows towards him, hoping to disrupt his sequence.
However, he just smirked at me as his two blades flickered out, intercepting the arrows and blocking them.
"Is that all, dog?"
Growling in frustration, I tried to summon ice arrows next, only for a wave of exhaustion to flood my body, making me stumble to the side.
Biting my lip, I instead pushed my mana into the cloak, wanting to try and raise my defenses against... whatever spell he threw my way.
"KAT!"
Jahi screamed my name, desperately trying to ward off the levitating blade that was clashing against her sword.
Her golden eyes were glowing with worry, making me smile towards her.
Laughing, Lord Pele peered over his shoulder, jeering "Your dog dies today, Demon... and you'll watch as I tear her limb from limb!"
Turning back to me, he continued laughing as he finished his spell, a red light flaring from it.
"Behold! [Muspelheim]!"
The circle started spinning, gradually gaining speed before it shot out large flaming rocks, which flew towards me.
Dodging them, I rolled around the floor, trying to avoid the broken floorboards, roaring flames, and meteorites that hurtled towards me.
It took a lot of effort, but I managed to roll, jump, and run away from the storm of fire, making Lord Pele frown.
Clicking his tongue, he flickered again, appearing before me and cackling as his swords slammed down.
Using my dagger to parry them, I rolled to the side, only to grunt as one of his swords nicked my cheek, a long, thin line running from my cheekbone to my chin.
"Just accept your fate, dog! You die here!"
The ritual circle was still rotating in the sky, and Jahi and Anput were still desperately trying to move past the levitating blades, staring at me with anxiety and anger, wanting nothing more than to rush to my side.
Smiling at the two women, I tried as hard as I could to block Lord Pele's blows, to avoid the meteorites that slammed into the floor around me, and to combat my exhaustion, trying to push myself as best I could, to survive this fight.
However, the more he battered his swords into my dagger, the more my limbs grew numb, the gentler the smile I gave the two women, making them shout my name in panic.
"Are you ready to die now, dog?"
I glared at him, spitting in his face before launching myself towards hims, pouring my remaining energy into this last, final blow.
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Thank you everyone for last month; I believe this finished around 85th overall with golden tickets, and around 150 with Powerstones!
Also, thank you Freefire41 for the yet another Dragon, as well as everyone else with the Massage Chairs, Capsules, and Colas! And thank you all for using your golden tickets on my novel!
I look forwards to continue writing this for a long time to come!
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