Garden Of The Abyss

"...What's the matter?"

"..."

Macheo was silent, only looking forward--though nothing peculiar could be seen by Aiko.

In the moment of reprieve, the high elf that conjured the barrier finally allowed it to dissipate, falling to his knees as he huffed, covered in sweat as maintaining such a high-level shield came with a heavy toll of stamina.

"Hongse! Fall back!"

Yelling out, Macheo's words seemed to conflict with the advantageous moment the group found for themselves.

What is he so scared of…? We have it pinned! Valerie thought.

Even as she thought this, assuring this reality with her own, two eyes, she couldn't shake the throbbing in her heart as she trusted the judgment of Macheo.

"...Hongse!"

Valerie followed the golden-haired young man's words with her own, requesting her demi-human companion to withdraw.

As the large panda demi-human began to turn back--it became clear where the Lucrauvian prince's words came from as the pinned dragon suddenly lashed out--lunging forward like an apex predator as it spread its jaw wide.

There was nothing any of them could do in that frozen moment; simply watching in sluggish time as the dragon drove forward, raking up the ivory grass as its open maw neared the crimson panda.

It was waiting...it knew the barrier would be deactivated if it pretended to be pinned down…! Macheo thought.

Snap. The hammer fell to the ground as Hongse seemed to resign to the fate breathing against his fur.

In a violent closure, Albus slammed its massive jaws shut that had no problem engulfing the fur-clad figure--unleashing a stomach-churning squelch that painfully resounded against the ears of the panda's frozen comrades.

Blood rained down as Albus rose back up to its hind legs, tearing its prey into two as Hongse's lower half was left on the ground while the dragon swallowed the rest in one gulp.

It was over as quick as it began; Hongse was devoured nearly whole as the dragon didn't seem to bear any expected wounds from the previous wounds--revealing once more the grim, daunting opponent standing before the group.

"Hongse…!"

Valerie finally regained her senses as she witnessed the brutality of the white-scaled dragon, though her immediate rush forward was halted by both Macheo and Aiko, holding her back by her arms.

"He'll be back! Pull yourself together!"

Macheo attempted to pull Valerie from her moment of error, but before the group could focus, the massive dragon spun around in an act of unforeseen agility, using its tail to sweep up a massive storm of dirt that pelted against them.

For such a simple action, it was one that came like a natural disaster to the beings overshadowed by the ancient dragon as the winds carried the cloud of sediment, swirling around the group from the singular movement of Albus.

"Crap...I can't see anything!"

Macheo complained, coughing as the dust entered his lungs. Blinded by the fog of dust, he could only listen and feel as a tremor signified Albus taking to the air, the massive shift in weight and pressure meaning only one thing: the dragon hovered above them.

"Fedrin!"

Taking leadership, the golden-haired prince turned his attention to the high elf, who nodded his hand before returning to his feet.

"Luft!"

Stomping the bottom of his staff against the ground, Fedrin's one word command swept away the intrusive veil of dust with a burst of wind, freeing the group from the abrasive smokescreen.

As suspected, Albus now hovered in the air, unreachable by normal means as its seraphic wings swung against the winds, generating a subtle storm as it pointed its blood-soaked maw towards those on the ground.

With its wings nearly grazing the sky of hanging, seraphic trees, Albus peered down with an ancient malice filling its azure eyes.

"Macheo! Give me a boost!"

Aiko shouted as she recognized what the dragon had planned, noticing that azure glint bubbling within its mouth.

For a moment, the young prince hesitated at such a request, peering up at the living, breathing cataclysm clad in pearlescent scales with doubt in his heart, but being on the receiving end of the girl's determined look--he accepted it with a nod, swiping his hand, "Go!"

It's not a question if she can or not; it's my duty as her comrade to trust that she can! Macheo thought.

The mystical launch pads unique to Macheo manifested perfectly into a pathway for the Akitein girl as she utilized her nimble nature to journey through the air untouched by normalcy; ascending rapidly as each new step manifested right beneath her agile soles.

It would be suicide to shoot straight for Albus; Macheo and Aiko knew that without having to exchange any sort of singal. As naturally as she breathed, the beige-haired, gauntlet-clad girl trusted each of her leaps to the prince's control.

During this ascension, Fedrin and Valerie both were still left frozen by the events transpiring before them.

"You two! Focus! Do whatever you can to support her!"

"..."

Valerie stared at the reddened portion of the once untainted grass; the spot in which her companion fell.

On the other hand, the high elf had no issue standing once more--unmoved by the gravity of the situation as he was ready for battle.

"Wasser: Pulse!"

Fedrin pointed his staff at the dragon hanging far above his head as he released the incantation, sending a circular pillar of water launching against Albus' underbelly as the air hissed at the sudden birth of aqua.

Landing a direct hit, the water caused the dragon's body to sway slightly in the air, but left no marks to be seen on its immutable hide. Though, to the elven man who launched the magecraft, something else seemed off about it to him.

Why did it slow down like that as it neared the dragon? It seemed almost like something was pushing back against it. Was my spell improper…? Did I launch it too rashly? Fedrin thought.

"Get the hell up!"

Grabbing the woman by the collar of her platinum, crimson-streaked breastplate, Macheo ordered as he brought the draconic knight to her feet despite their difference in size.

"I don't care how dire things look! There is no damn point in laying down and letting this place walk all over us!"

Even as he spoke so passionately with conviction, he guided the beige-haired girl upwards without having to watch her movements.

Journeying along the pathway specifically set for her, Aiko hopped from spot-to-spot in the air, nearing the dragon as it built up another destructive breath.

Still, despite the pressing situation, Valerie was stagnant; it was this unmoving nature that brought Macheo's face closer to hers as his words became more visceral.

"If there's one thing I can't tolerate, it's someone that gives in to despair when a comrade falls! You're angry, aren't you? Furious with that dragon?! Doesn't it make your blood boil to see what it did to your friend?!"

Finally, the sharp words from the young prince brought the draconic woman's gaze up as her fiery, narrowed eyes met with his own.

"...You bet I'm pissed."

"Then get up and fight."

Macheo said calmly as he watched Valerie rise back to her feet; holding herself upright, she somewhat dwarfed the young man as her large winds made the difference in size seem even larger.

As she stepped past him with her silver, dragon-sigil cape flowing behind her, Valerie stopped for a moment as she looked up at Albus, watching the girl who was far younger and inexperienced than herself fight fearlessly.

"Thanks, Macheo. I wasn't thinking straight."

"Damn straight you weren't. The Valerie I know would be trying to blast a hole right through that thing right now."

Macheo scoffed quietly to himself as he raised his gaze, watching as the now small figure of Aiko rapidly scaled the manifested platforms.

Abrasively, Valerie launched from the ground with a powerful kick, carried by her wings as the liftoff caused the wind to pelt against the Lucrauvian prince's back. Without a word spoken, Macheo could understand what she was doing; the hot-blooded nature of the draconic woman manifested in the flames coiling her form.

With her natural ability to fly, amplified by her flaming boost, she met with the pearly dragon before even Aiko.

"I've had enough of your repugnant breath!"

Launching herself against its lower jaw like a projectile, Valerie's impact managed to slam Albus' mouth shut before it could launch its breath towards the ground.

"...Let him have it, Aiko!"

Valerie yelled out, keeping her hands pressed against the dragon's jaw in a straining effort to keep it shut.

A window opened itself for Aiko as she didn't waste any time ascending the mystical platforms--quickly reaching the hovering dragon as she manifested spectral armor around her gauntlets.

Bringing herself close to it, the aura that naturally clung to the massive dragon's form was dread-inducing; there was a difference to the magical pressure it possessed in comparison to anything she had faced before. It was as dense as a swamp as deep as the boundless sea, exhibiting a merciless cold, and a destructive heat that shifted the air around it into a sickening domain made to cull the weak.

It was as the flipping her body into a powerful slam of her light-coiled gauntlet that she truly felt this miasmic aura in full-effect.

...What is this? I suddenly feel so sick…! Aiko thought.

The impact she put all of her being into felt as if she only gently pressed her fist against the dragon's broad side. Nonetheless, she didn't waste the chance given to her as she continued throwing her fists at the white scales covering the beast's side.

"Gh…!"

From her side, Valerie grunted as her hold on Albus' jaw was completely overpowered by the dragon, being pushed back as she kept herself afloat with a flap her wings.

"What the hell…?"

My body feels weird...what's with this guy? Valerie thought.

"Wait, girl! Watch out!"

Valerie yelled out at the small figure present at the dragon's side--though Aiko continued her flurry of attacks while standing on one of Macheo's platforms.