Chapter 17: Game of Death

The air cracked open with a deep, resonant pulse as Penim lifted his hand toward the broken sky. Energy coiled around his wrist like chains snapping loose, and with a subtle flick of his fingers, a portal tore itself into existence, its swirling darkness leaking cold, unnatural air into the ruined streets of Allatora. Penim gestured forward, and from the depths of that void, the Zagons began to emerge.

The first was an abomination of jagged limbs and twitching mandibles, a massive spider-like creature that skittered forth on eight serrated legs. From the base of its thick abdomen, three serpentine heads sprouted, each lined with rows of needle-sharp teeth that hissed and snapped at the air as they swayed. Its many yellow eyes burned with hunger as it scuttled toward the ruins. The second was a towering humanoid, its muscular frame rippling with grotesque power. Its skin was black and white, stretched thin over swollen muscle, and jagged bone spikes jutted out from its elbows and knees. Black wings, torn and leathery, spread wide behind it, sending gusts of dust into the air. Its claws were enormous, dragging trenches into the cracked stone as it moved forward. The last to emerge was a winged beast that resembled a wyvern. Its wings were lined with serrated spikes that gleamed like obsidian, and its massive claws raked across the ground as it let out a guttural, shrieking roar. Thick, dark smoke poured from its maw, its eyes burning with an unnatural yellow light. Penim’s expression remained neutral as he observed his creations march into Allatora. He extended his hand again, as if commanding an orchestra of death.

Penim (muttered): Time to see what you’re really made of.

Then, with a sudden burst of motion, Zan shot forward from the rooftop where he stood. His body blurred in a streak of corrosive mist and dark Intergy, moving so fast it was as if the world itself lagged behind his motion. In an instant, he was upon them. A wave of acid erupted from his outstretched hands, a boiling torrent of green that splattered the earth and sizzled through stone. But before it could touch any of them, Zarnem reacted. He drove his fist into the ground, summoning a wall of sand and broken rubble that surged upward like a tidal wave. The acid struck the barrier with a violent hiss, steam and smoke billowing into the air. The crew stood behind Zarnem’s shield, ready to engage in battle.

From a distant vantage point, Mayzen watched silently. He stood still, his eerie calm unbroken. His sharp eyes followed every movement as though he were studying pieces on a game board.

Mayzen (to Penim): So, you just sit here and watch the Zagons do its work?

Penim: Essentially. The point is to see if they break character. Whatever chaos they cause is up to them. I watch and see if I can come up with anything more creative.

Mayzen observes the creatures tearing down buildings.

Mayzen: Will you engage with Zarnem?

Penim: Here we go again. No, I won’t. Not until we get into Krutone.

Mayzen makes no reply or gestures, only watching the destruction unfold before him.

Distances away, Zan stepped through the dissolving mist, his figure coming into full view as he emerged from behind the veil of acid and smoke. His grin was sharp, stretched too wide across his face, eyes glinting with a wild, predatory hunger. The faint hiss of his corrosive aura filled the silence between them, drops of acid sizzling against the broken ground beneath his feet. The crew— Sen, Dain, Yerah, Makota, Shera, Ira, and Zarnem— stood still for a moment, each of them locking eyes on the menace before them. Elma took shield behind the crew.

Sen: It’s Zan!

Dain looked to Sen in shock.

Dain: That’s him!?

Zarnem: Get back everyone!

The crew snapped into motion the moment Zarnem barked the order. Sen and Dain shifted their weight forward, dark and light Intergy crackling faintly at Sen’s fingertips, and fire at Dain’s palms. Yerah moved, her stance steady, her eyes narrowing as she gauged Zan’s every movement. Ira planted herself at Zarnem’s flank, her posture low and ready, water swirling in her hands faintly along her arms. Makota and Shera wasted no time, breaking away from the formation and rushing to Elma’s side. Shera placed herself between the girl and the unfolding battle, while Makota’s hands flared with water Intergy, ready to shield them both at a moment’s notice. The air grew heavier as they braced themselves, the ground beneath them humming with the anticipation of an imminent clash. They could see the Zagons coming out of their portal from their distance.

Ira: Zagons again!

Zan: Hey, hey! Calm down! Let’s greet each other first!

Zarnem: Do not fucking take this man lightly!

Zan: Looks like you got a big group going, Zarnem! How’s it been since the last time you ran away?

Zarnem snarled and slammed his foot into the ground, sending a massive chunk of earth hurtling toward Zan with devastating force. The jagged mass of stone and debris crashed into his head with a thunderous impact, shattering into fragments. Zan made no effort to dodge. Instead, his head melted into a cascading flow of acid, the rock dissolving instantly on contact. For a moment, his skull was nothing but a seething puddle of corrosive liquid, hissing and eating through the earth where he stood. Then, as if rewinding time, his form reassembled itself, grinning with unnerving ease. His chin still dripped with acid, the fumes rising around him in wisps. He rolled his shoulders as if shaking off dust, his gaze gleaming with savage amusement.

Makota: What the hell?

Shera: He comes back just like that?

Ira: I didn’t know he can recover that fast!

Zan: Attacking me without warning is not fair you know!

Zarnem readied himself to attack again.

Zan: By the way, hi Sen! It’s been some time since we last saw each other!

Sen tightened his fist with a frown, his dark Intergy becoming thicker.

Zan: That’s the look I like to see! Last time, you were such a pussy after I killed Aetrem and Lilan. Now, you have the confident face I’m used to seeing!

Dain: Used to seeing? You know him like that?

Sen shook his head.

Sen: I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about.

Zan: Anyways, today I’m really only after Zarnem. Not the rest of you clowns. You see, last time he and I were just getting started on our very first fight! Then he ran off like the coward he always was, just like Penim mentioned he would.

Zarnem: Where is Penim!?

Zan: Penim? He’s here actually!

For a moment, Zarnem’s composure cracked, the hard lines of his face tightening, his gaze darkening as Penim’s name hung heavy in the air.

Zan: But he’s not interested in you right now. I am!

Ira (to Zarnem): We really need to do something about those Zagons.

Zan: Oh, you can have them. I want to see how the great son of Zash does at his full power.

Zan looks to Elma hiding behind Makota and Shera.

Zan: Let’s play again, shall we, little Zashy! You can be the good guy today! I’ll be the bad guy. Show your crew what a hero you are by seeing how many Allatorians you can save!

Zan’s grin twisted into something uglier as he inhaled sharply through his nose, the sound wet and deliberate. The crew tensed as he reared his head back slightly, then with casual precision, he spit. A thin stream of acid arced through the air with unnatural speed, landing squarely and straight through Elma’s forehead. There was a sickening sizzle, followed by a faint puff of smoke as her skin melted away on contact. She didn’t even have time to scream. Her body went limp, crumpling behind Makota and Shera as the acid bored clean through her skull. The stench of burning flesh filled the air. Zan licked his teeth, smiling wider.

Shera: Elma!

Makota: Shit!

Zan: Got one already! Come on little Zashy!

Zan ran off to kill more as Zarnem chased him immediately.

Ira: We gotta stop those Zagons now! Split up into two groups! I’m going to need all water users. Yerah, Makota, can you come with me?

Makota and Shera looked at each other with concern. They had never been split apart before. Shera nodded at Makota.

Ira: Shera, assist Sen and Dain in any way you can!

Shera (nodding): Got it!

Ira: Go!

Ira’s team broke off without hesitation, veering to the east where the Zagons were already tearing through the ruins. Ira moved swiftly, Yerah and Makota close behind, their footsteps pounding over cracked stone and debris. Water gathered at their fingertips, ready to be unleashed. At the same time, Sen, Dain, and Shera bolted in the opposite direction, heading toward the heart of the destruction. The two groups split, each racing toward their own fight in the chaos of Allatora.

Dain (running): You think it’s safe to let Zarnem go after Zan like that?

Sen (running): Zan could’ve killed us before.

Shera (running): Both of you?

Sen: And he didn’t. I’m almost positive Zan isn’t trying to kill Zarnem. He’s pushing buttons for whatever the hell reason.

Dain: Damn.

Sen: In the meantime, let’s try to—

The ground quaked violently beneath them as the massive humanoid hybrid Zagon slammed down from above, landing hard enough to send cracks spiderwebbing through the broken stone. Its black and white flesh gleamed in the dim light, muscles rippling with grotesque strength as it straightened to its full, towering height. Bone spikes jutted sharply from its elbows and knees, and its leathery wings flared wide, kicking up clouds of dust. It let out a low, guttural snarl, its burning yellow eyes locking onto them with predatory focus as thick claws dug into the earth, ready to strike.

On the opposite end of the ruined street, Ira, Makota, and Yerah advanced quickly through the wreckage, weaving past collapsed buildings and shattered stone, but their momentum was stopped as a massive shadow shifted above them. The spider hybrid crept over the crumbling walls with unsettling speed, its eight jagged legs scraping deep gouges into the stone as it descended. Its three snake-like heads hissed in unison, their fanged maws dripping with thick venom that sizzled where it landed. The creature’s many yellow eyes locked onto them, glinting with an eerie intelligence as it poised itself to strike, its legs flexing in anticipation of the hunt.

Makota: What a disgusting sight!

Ira: Stay close! Assist one another and combine our abilities!

Yerah: Understood!

Further away, Zarnem surged forward atop a massive slab of earth, the ground beneath him breaking apart as he propelled the stone platform through the shattered streets like a speeding battering ram. Dust and debris trailed in his wake, his sharp gaze fixed on the figure ahead. Zan darted through the ruins with blinding speed, his form flickering in and out of liquid acid, leaving scorched, smoking footprints in his path. No matter how fast Zarnem pushed the earth beneath him, Zan stayed just ahead taunting, weaving, and dodging with reckless ease. Zarnem pressed on, his hands clenched tight, channeling raw Intergy into the jagged rock beneath him, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Zan: Shouldn’t you be faster? I get that you toss rocks and shit, but from the stories I was told, Zash was quite the fast man!

Zarnem fired stone spikes at Zan, but every single one missed.

Zan: Damn, and your aim is shitty…

Zan blurred past a cluster of fleeing citizens, a flick of his fingers releasing thin streams of acid that sliced through the air and seared into their throats, silencing their screams in an instant. Zarnem’s jaw clenched as he pushed his speed harder, but he was too late, their bodies already collapsed in smoldering heaps behind Zan’s path.

Zan: Come on little hero! Zash would’ve stopped me by now!

Zarnem: Fuck you! You never knew my father!

Zan’s arms morphed into a wide, twisting net of liquefied acid, which he swept through the crowd as he ran, dissolving flesh and bone with grotesque ease. Zarnem hurled a wave of sand forward in a desperate attempt to shield the civilians, but it was too late. The acid cut through them before the barrier could rise.

Zan: You’re going to have to do better, my dude!

Zarnem: Quit running you pussy!

Zan: You’re supposed to stop me, silly!

Zan weaved through the chaos with terrifying precision, each movement claiming another life before Zarnem could react. He darted past a mother clutching her child, flicking a single droplet of acid onto her face; she didn’t even have time to scream before her skull caved in. Zarnem hurled a pillar of stone toward him, but Zan slipped beneath it, dragging his clawed fingers across the spine of an elderly man, who crumpled lifelessly to the ground. A young boy tried to run, but Zan’s foot lashed out, kicking him through the chest with a spray of acid that hollowed him from the inside out. Zarnem summoned a wall of earth to block Zan’s path, but Zan simply leapt over it and grabbed a bystander mid-air, liquefying the poor soul’s head in his grip before landing without slowing down. Each time Zarnem struck, Zan was faster, crueler, always one step ahead, leaving him to witness the carnage helplessly.

Zarnem: Fight me you monster!!!

Zan: I’ve been knowing that!

Zarnem: Fight me!

Zan skidded to a sudden stop atop the crumbling wall, acid dripping from his hands as he peered down at the terrified crowd below. Dozens of people huddled together in the narrow alleyway, their bodies pressed tightly against one another as they whispered desperate prayers to Yeshma, their trembling voices barely rising above the distant chaos. Some wept openly, others clutched their loved ones, all of them blind to the predator watching them from above. Zan tilted his head, a slow, twisted grin spreading across his face as if savoring the moment. Just then, Zarnem landed hard on the rooftop nearby, a wave of earth and sand crashing down beside him, ready to strike.

Zarnem: Leave them alone!

Zan: Sure, if you can kill me!

Zarnem didn’t hesitate. He thrust his hand toward the stone beneath his feet, pulling a long, jagged spear from its surface. The weapon formed in an instant, dense with compacted earth and sharpened to a deadly point. With a grunt of effort, he hurled it toward Zan with devastating force, the spear slicing through the air like a missile. It struck Zan square in the chest before he could react, exploding his body into a burst of corrosive acid. Zarnem realized what had just happened. The liquefied remains of Zan’s body rained down in thick, sizzling droplets. The acid poured like a grotesque storm over the huddled crowd below. Cries of terror instantly turned to screams of agony as the burning liquid seared through flesh and bone. People scrambled in a desperate attempt to flee, but there was nowhere to go in the dead-end alley. Zarnem’s heart dropped as he watched them writhe and collapse, the stench of burning skin choking the air. His fists clenched in rage, but he could already hear the sound of Zan reforming, laughing.

Zan: That was a good on little Zashy! You already forgot I liquefy when I’m hit! Now look at the damage you caused! Your kill count is higher than mine! Hahaha. You might be better that me at killing! Your father would be so proud of you, I’m sure!

The screams from the civilians stopped as they had died, all except one man trying to crawl away.

Zan: You missed one, little Zashy!

Zan casually extended a single finger toward the crawling man, his grin never fading. A thin, precise stream of acid shot forth in an instant, punching clean through the back of the man’s skull and out his forehead, leaving a smoking hole as his body collapsed in silence.

Zarnem: Damn it, Zan! Face me and stop killing these innocent people!

Zan (grinning): Hey, man. You got a better K/D than me! I guess you really are from Krutone!

Zarnem: What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Zan: You tell me!

Zan’s grin widened as he turned and bolted once more, his body a blur of corrosive mist and speed. Zarnem cursed under his breath and gave chase, but he was always a second too slow. As Zan streaked through a narrow street, he passed a mother clutching her child to her chest. With a casual flick of his wrist, a blade of acid arced out and sliced clean through them both, leaving nothing but scorched remains collapsing into the dirt. Zarnem hurled a boulder in retaliation, but Zan had already vanished into the next alley. There, he found two wounded men limping toward a crumbling shelter. Zan spat a glob of acid between them, the explosion dissolving flesh and bone in an instant. Zarnem leapt forward, slamming a barrier of stone between Zan and his next victims, but it was too late again. Zan had reappeared at a well where a group of frightened children huddled behind its stone base. Without mercy, he reached out, his hands extending like whips, dragging two of them screaming into his acidic grasp. Their cries were brief, silenced as they melted away. Zarnem roared in frustration, summoning more sand and stone, but the damage was already done.

Zan stopped all of a sudden. Zarnem wanted to strike but hesitated, unsure if this was another one of Zan’s traps.

Zan: I’m done.

Zarnem stood in shock, stones levitating by his side, ready to strike.

Zan turns around.

Zan: Yeah, you heard me. I’m done.

Zarnem: The hell are you planning?

Zan: Nothing. You’re boring.

Zarnem fired the stones running through Zan. Zan’s body liquefied and immediately regenerated.

Zan: I really did have higher expectations from you. I thought you’d actually stop me, but you ended up just helping me kill more… And I don’t need your help. That’s insulting.

Zarnem: What?

Zan: Me? The almighty? The godly Zan? Needing help to kill?

Zarnem began to brew a sandstorm.

Zan: Just stop.

Zarnem lowered his sand.

Zan: I’m not interested in you anymore.

Zarnem stood frozen, unsure what to do.

Zan (shouting up): Hey, Penim! I don’t give a shit about your boyfriend anymore! He’s yours!

Zarnem looked up, and there he was, Penim watching from above on a tall building.

Zarnem: Penim!

Penim jumped down and gently landed, using gravity to adjust his fall.

Zarnem: So, you two really are working together!

Penim: Did you think I was lying?

Zarnem gritted his teeth.

Zan: Seriously, Penim. What’s your obsession with this loser? Yeah, I get it, son of Zash. But he’s nothing special. Probably got his mother’s shit genes instead or something.

Zarnem: Fuck you!

Zan: He’s got a temper too… with nothing to back it up.

Zarnem: Penim… Why do you talk about my father to this fucker?

Penim: Oh no, not me!

Zarnem: Then how!? How does he know about Zash?

Penim: We have our ways.

Zarnem dropped to his knees, his breath ragged. The earth beneath him cracked under the weight of his fall, fine grains of sand slipping through his fingers as he clenched his fists. His eyes, once sharp and calculating, now stared at the ground, unfocused.

Zarnem: Please Penim. Stop this chaos… The Zagons… with Zan… the war…

Zan: What the hell can Penim do about it?

Zarnem’s head snapped up, his face twisting in confusion. His lips parted, but no words came.

Zarnem: What?

Zan: Oh yeah!!! Hahahahahaha! This shit is funny!!!

Zan threw his head back in an eruption of laughter, his entire body convulsing with amusement. The acidic mist that always hung around him thickened, curling at his feet like smoke from a smoldering battlefield. He paced in lazy circles, his boots splashing through pools of melted stone and bone, leaving footprints that sizzled in his wake.

Zarnem stayed frozen, his mind racing to make sense of anything.

Zarnem: What’s… going on?

Zan (pointing at Penim): I forgot he thinks that you started the Zagon outbreak! Hahahahaha!

Zarnem’s lips moved soundlessly at first, before his voice returned in a strained whisper.

Zarnem: Wait… what?...

Penim stood a few paces away, arms folded over his chest. His expression was unreadable, but his head tilted slightly, like he was watching an experiment play out exactly as predicted.

Penim: I’m really honored you think I’m responsible for all of this.

Zarnem’s brows furrowed. His fists clenched again at his sides, dirt grinding into his palms.

Zarnem: But you told me…

Penim’s gaze flicked to Zan, who was still grinning ear to ear, then back to Zarnem without an ounce of pity.

Penim: I didn’t say shit. You assumed, and I ran with it.

Zan’s cackle cut through the thick air again, sharp and cruel.

Zan: You seriously think Penim is that cool?

Penim rolled his neck, sighing through his nose in a display of mild annoyance.

Penim: Shut the hell up.

But Zan wasn’t finished. He slapped his leg with one hand, almost doubled over with laughter.

Zan: Hahahah! That’s true comedy!

Zarnem’s breathing quickened. His pulse roared in his ears, but his body refused to move. His sandstorm that moments ago bristled at his fingertips had settled to nothing more than a lazy drift of dust around his knees.

Zarnem: How could this be?

Zan’s laughter snapped off as though it had been cut with a blade. His grin vanished. His face hollowed, replaced by something far worse. Coldness. Pure, deliberate malice. His eyes, rimmed with a faint glow of acidic energy, bored into Zarnem.

Zan (to Zarnem): You’re truly so pathetic. You know that right? It’s really embarrassing.

He took a step forward.

Zan: You’ve made so many irreversible decisions without full details. That’s why you have so many mistakes… and you do it all in the name to give yourself glory, to be a hero.

Zarnem’s face tightened, but it wasn’t anger anymore. It was something closer to shame or fear. His arms slowly lowered, his weapons of stone and sand crumbling quietly at his sides. His mouth moved, but his voice was hollow when it came. Zan’s head tilted slightly, his gaze never leaving Zarnem’s.

Zan: It’s so sad… your attempt to be worth anything.

The wind howled between the broken buildings of Allatora, carrying the screams of dying civilians and the distant rumble of Zagons laying waste to the land. But in that moment, the noise faded behind Zan’s words.

Ira, Makota, and Yerah moved with ruthless precision through the crumbling streets of Allatora, their Intergy weaving together in a deadly dance. Viper Zagons lunged from the shadows, their elongated jaws snapping inches from flesh, only to be sliced down by Makota’s sweeping torrents of water, his wind Intergy propelling the blades with hurricane force. Yerah followed close behind, spears of ice forming at her fingertips and launching with pinpoint accuracy, impaling Saber Zagons mid-pounce and freezing them solid before they could land a blow. Ira anchored their formation, her control flawless as she redirected incoming Aeris Zagons with surging walls of water, dousing their wind-born strikes and healing the shallow cuts her team sustained without losing a step. Together, they carved a relentless path through the lesser Zagons, bodies of the fallen littering their wake in steaming heaps of cracked chitin and dark ichor. But as they reached the clearing at the heart of the ruins, the ground trembled beneath them, and their pace slowed as the massive spider-like hybrid emerged from the gloom, its eight serrated legs scraping deep gouges into the stone as its three viper heads swayed in unison, yellow eyes glinting with predatory hunger.

Ira: Stay close! There’s no point in taking different angles!

One viper head snapped down at them, but they dodged in sync just in time.

Ira: It has sights in all directions with its three heads, and the base has many eyes! Attacking on different sides would be pointless.

Makota: So, we’ll go in as a unit?

Ira: We’ll use each other’s waters to power through it. Is that clear?

Yerah: Got it.

The three moved as one, surging forward in perfect sync, their waters intertwining into a spiraling torrent aimed at the hybrid’s center mass. But as they closed the distance, one of the viper heads reared back and unleashed a torrent of searing flame, forcing them to break formation and scatter behind crumbling stone for cover. Almost immediately, another head struck, spitting a crackling bolt of lightning that arced through the air, exploding the ground near Ira’s feet and sending a shockwave through the earth. Yerah retaliated, launching jagged shards of ice at the creature’s legs, but the projectiles shattered harmlessly against its armored exoskeleton. Makota swept his arms wide, summoning a blast of slicing wind that staggered the beast for a breath, but the third head responded in kind, spewing a violent jet of pressurized water that slammed into him, nearly knocking him off his feet. From beneath the hybrid’s massive frame, its spider mouth split open, ejecting a swarm of razor-thin needles in all directions, forcing the trio into defensive stances, weaving barriers of water to deflect the deadly projectiles. Despite their coordinated assaults and expert control, every attack seemed to glance off the creature’s thick carapace or be countered by its relentless elemental fury. The hybrid was not only powerful, it was intelligent, adapting swiftly to each of their moves, forcing them back with a brutal combination of overwhelming strength and cunning precision.

Ira: Three elements and whatever hell it’s spitting at us. The most dangerous to us is lightning.

Makota: We have to kill that head first.

Yerah: How to close the distance?

Ira: We kill the base first!

The three surged forward again, this time tightening their formation, their combined streams of water twisting together into a high-pressure spiral aimed low at the creature’s legs. As they advanced, the viper heads lashed out furiously, flames scorched the ground in sweeping arcs, lightning cracked like whips toward their feet, and jets of water slammed into their shields with crushing force. Ira took the lead, weaving a thick wall of water that absorbed the brunt of the incoming fire, while Yerah flanked to the side, her ice molding instantly around the water to create sharpened spears that she hurled with surgical precision at the spider’s joints. Makota followed through by whipping powerful gusts of wind beneath their spiraling water torrent, compressing its force into a razor-sharp drill that carved deep into one of the beast’s front legs. The exoskeleton cracked with a sickening crunch before splitting, sending dark ichor spraying as the leg buckled. The hybrid screeched in fury, the heads snapping wildly, but before it could retaliate, Ira and Makota combined another surge. Makota’s wind accelerating Ira’s dense columns of water into a hammering strike that smashed through a second leg, snapping it clean at the joint. The creature stumbled, momentarily off balance, but the relentless attacks from its three heads forced them back again, its elemental fury doubling in its rage. Still, the damage was done. The hybrid now stood on six legs, its movement just a fraction slower, its footing less stable.

Yerah: Let’s keep cutting down it’s legs!

They pressed the attack, relentless in their assault as they aimed for the remaining legs, water and wind tearing through the air with devastating force. Yerah’s ice-coated streams sharpened their cutting edge, and together they managed to sever another limb, sending the hybrid staggering once more, its footing growing more precarious. But the beast’s fury intensified; one of the snake heads, its yellow eyes flashing with malice, lunged down with vicious speed. Ira raised a shield of water to block it, but the head broke through with sheer force. Ira quickly moved away, but its large fangs grazed into her shoulder and sending her crashing to the ground with a cry of pain.

Yerah: Ira!

Blood mixed with the water swirling around them, and for a heartbeat, everything seemed to slow. Makota’s eyes snapped to Ira, and without hesitation, he channeled every ounce of power he had. His wind Intergy surged, accelerating his water blade into a screaming arc. He leapt forward, slicing clean through the thick neck of the lightning head in a single, precise strike. Brown ichor sprayed violently as the severed head thudded to the ground, its lifeless jaws still twitching. The hybrid shrieked in fury and pain, reeling from the loss, but Makota had no time to celebrate. He dropped low beside Ira, bracing himself for the next attack as Yerah moved to cover them, ice gathering rapidly at her fingertips.

Makota: Shit! Ira!

Ira: I’m good! I’m good!

Ira quickly released Intergy into her wounded shoulder, healing herself quickly. The hybrid, enraged by the loss of its head, lunged once more, its remaining viper heads snapping toward Ira with blinding speed, fangs bared and venom dripping. But Ira, already surging with renewed strength from her healing, twisted aside at the last moment, the creature’s jaws missing her by inches. Makota was there instantly, his wind Intergy blasting them both clear of the strike, and as they landed, he and Ira moved in seamless unison. Ira unleashed a concentrated torrent of high-pressure water at one of the beast’s legs, while Makota drove a spiraling lance of wind-infused water into another. Both limbs gave way under the combined assault, snapping with wet, splintering cracks as brown ichor sprayed across the ground. The hybrid shrieked again, its massive form swaying violently as it teetered on its last three legs. Struggling to stay upright, it finally crumpled, collapsing into the shattered earth with a thunderous crash, its balance gone and movement halted, leaving it vulnerable and exposed. The three managed to group once again.

Yerah: Ira! Are you good?

Ira: Yeah. I can heal myself rather quickly.

Makota: We managed to take out the lightning head early luckily.

Ira: And it doesn’t seem like it can walk anymore.

As the massive spider body lay heaving and motionless, the two remaining viper heads thrashed violently, their long necks coiling and snapping in a frenzy. Without warning, they turned on their own body, jaws clamping down with brutal force. Fangs sank deep into the thick carapace, tearing through chitin and muscle, rending the spider base apart in a savage, instinctual fury. The sound of bones cracking and flesh ripping echoed through the ruins as the heads tore themselves free, severing entirely from the dying hybrid.

Makota: Holy!!!

The two severed heads twisted toward Ira, Makota, and Yerah with terrifying speed, dragging themselves across the broken ground, their movements serpentine and relentless. One head reared back and unleashed a torrent of scorching fire, the flames roaring toward them in a searing wave, while the other spewed a violent blast of pressurized water, tearing through the air like a battering ram. The combined assault forced the trio to scatter.

Ira: It’s so fast!

Yerah: Faster than a normal viper!

The two viper heads seemed to move with a shared, ruthless intelligence, their remaining instincts honing in on Ira as their primary target. Without hesitation, they lunged in tandem, one spewing a blistering stream of fire while the other unleashed a crushing blast of water, forcing Ira to dodge with desperate speed. But they anticipated her movements, circling around her with frightening coordination, snapping their jaws and striking in perfect rhythm. Each time she blocked one attack with a wall of water, the other came from a different angle, their relentless assault driving her back step by step. Their fangs struck at the edges of her defenses, scorching her skin with heat and battering her shield with concussive force, as if they both knew to take out the healer, and the fight would be theirs.

Makota: They’re teaming up!

Both heads lunged at Ira with deadly precision, their attacks perfectly timed. As one unleashed a torrent of scorching flames, Ira instinctively raised a wall of water to shield herself, but the second head reacted instantly, blasting its own surge of water that slammed into her barrier with crushing force. The impact scattered her defense, leaving her exposed just as the flames washed over her. The searing heat scorched across her side, burning through her Intergy and biting into her flesh, forcing a pained cry from her lips as she stumbled back. Before the heads could strike again, Makota and Yerah, seeing her peril from a distance, surged forward with everything they had, their Intergy flaring bright as they closed the distance in an instant, ready to intercept and protect Ira before the vipers could finish her off.

Makota: Ira!

Ira: They know to get me first!

Yerah: They can think!?

Makota: I didn’t know they were intelligent.

The two viper heads struck again with brutal speed, their fangs flashing as streams of fire and water tore through the air toward Ira. Without thinking, Makota lunged in, scooping Ira up with one arm just as the ground where she stood erupted in flame. He pushed his wind Intergy hard beneath his feet, propelling them both away in a rush of speed as the attacks slammed into the space they had just vacated. Yerah, without hesitation, stepped in to cover their retreat, hurling a barrage of razor-sharp ice spears at the advancing heads. She moved with fierce precision, weaving between the snapping jaws and elemental blasts, her frozen strikes battering them back just enough to keep them at bay. The vipers hissed and coiled, relentless, but Yerah held her ground, buying Makota and Ira seconds to regroup.

Ira (looking at her burned skin): I don’t have much Intergy to keep healing.

Makota: Damn it. Stay here while I go out—

Yerah’s was launched back, her body slamming into a wall.

Makota gritted his teeth and shot forward, wind whipping violently around him as he closed the gap between himself and the two viper heads. He drove twin streams of water like spears toward their snapping jaws, only for the serpents to weave around his attacks with unsettling speed. One head lashed out, forcing him to twist away as its fangs grazed his side, scorching his skin with residual heat. The other struck low, spitting a torrent of water that hammered into his defenses, nearly knocking him off balance. Makota retaliated with sweeping arcs of wind, slicing through the air with desperate precision, but each strike barely grazed their thick scales, leaving shallow cuts that healed almost instantly. He moved relentlessly, his water and wind weaving together in complex patterns to parry their attacks and strike where he could, but it was clear he was being overwhelmed.

Makota (thinking): Damn it. These heads are harder to deal with now that they aren’t tied to the insect. How are we supposed—

The two heads struck, one lunging low while the other snapped down from above, their movements perfectly synchronized. Makota barely managed to twist his body aside, feeling the searing heat of flame scorch past his shoulder as the other head’s crushing jaws grazed the air inches from his leg. He hit the ground hard, rolling to regain his footing just as another blast of water smashed into the spot where he’d landed a moment before, sending shards of stone flying in every direction.

As the two heads refocused, ready to lunge again, a sudden surge of water crashed over the water snake, forcing its head down with the sheer weight of the torrent. Ira stood firm behind it, her hands trembling but steady as she drove the wave with everything she had left. In the same instant, Yerah appeared from the side, her hands outstretched, freezing the rushing water in a heartbeat. A thick layer of ice encased the serpent's neck, locking it in place as it thrashed violently, unable to break free. Makota’s eyes widened at the opening, and without hesitation, he channeled his wind Intergy beneath his feet, launching himself high into the air.

Makota (thinking): Perfect!

As he hung at the peak of his ascent, he gathered his strength and formed a condensed beam of cutting water at his hands, refining it into a razor-sharp lance. With a sharp breath, he hurled it downward, the beam screaming through the air like a falling blade aimed straight for the trapped viper’s exposed neck. As Makota’s cutting beam of water plunged downward, Yerah’s hands moved swiftly, encasing the spear in a thick layer of ice before it struck. The frozen lance gleamed for an instant, and as it drove into the viper’s neck, Yerah unleashed her power fully. The ice spear erupted in a sudden explosion of jagged spikes, bursting outward in every direction. Shards of ice punched through the serpent’s thick scales and into its flesh, piercing its head and neck at brutal angles. The viper convulsed violently, its yellow eyes flashing wide before dulling as the icy spikes shredded through muscle and bone. Frozen blood and ichor sprayed from the wounds as the head finally collapsed, locked in a prison of ice, unmoving.

The remaining fire viper reared back, its body coiling tight like a spring ready to snap. Flames began to build in its throat, glowing brighter and hotter with each passing second. Its entire head ignited, veins of molten Intergy pulsing along its neck like magma-filled cracks in stone. The air thickened, heat warping the space around it as the creature’s body trembled in a final, desperate fury.

Ira (wide-eyed): It's going to blow!

Makota’s eyes snapped to Ira, realizing she was still struggling to stand, her wounds slowing her down. Without thinking, he launched himself toward her, wind blasting from his feet.

Makota: Yerah! Move!

Yerah was already in motion, propelling herself with a burst of water, riding the slick current across the scorched ground toward Ira. Together, they reached her in an instant. Makota grabbed Ira’s good arm and yanked her toward him. Yerah wrapped her arms around Ira from the other side, and with synchronized movements, they dragged her behind the closest slab of shattered stone.

Makota (gritting his teeth): Brace!

In the same moment, they both raised towering walls of water, reinforced by Makota’s wind weaving through the currents, creating spiraling shields that churned violently like living barriers. The fire viper’s entire head split open in a blinding burst of flame, its body detonating with a deafening roar. The explosion ripped through the ruins of Allatora, a wave of searing heat and molten debris engulfing everything in its path. Zagons nearby were incinerated instantly, their bodies disintegrating in flashes of light and ash. Citizens too slow to escape vanished in the firestorm, their screams swallowed by the roar of destruction. Makota and Yerah’s water barriers hissed violently as the flames slammed into them, steam erupting in thick clouds, but they held firm, teeth gritted, muscles straining against the force. Ira pressed herself low between them, one hand glowing faintly as she tried to heal what little she could while shielding her head.

The ground quaked beneath them as the shockwave thundered past, throwing rubble and scorched debris like shrapnel. Their shields rippled and warped under the intense pressure, but they didn’t break. For what felt like an eternity, the fiery maelstrom raged. Then, slowly, the heat faded. Steam drifted around them as Makota and Yerah finally lowered their arms, water splashing to the cracked stone below. Ira let out a shaky breath, her hand still pressed against her burned side.

Makota (breathing heavy): …We’re alive.

Yerah (quietly): Barely.

Ira (softly): But we’re alive…

The three of them huddled behind the scorched remains of a collapsed wall, their bodies soaked from the protective water barriers and streaked with ash. Ira slumped heavily between Makota and Yerah, her breaths ragged and uneven as she clutched at her burned shoulder. Her skin was pale beneath the grime, sweat beading along her brow as her eyelids fluttered, fighting to stay open. Makota kept a steady arm around her, feeling the weight of her body leaning more heavily against him with each passing second. Yerah knelt close on Ira’s other side, one hand steady on Ira’s knee, her expression tight with worry as she glanced at Makota. Ira’s chest rose and fell in shallow gasps, and despite her efforts to stay conscious, it was clear she was on the verge of passing out.

Yerah: Ira!

Ira: I need to stop. I need to breathe.

Makota: Stay with us, Ira. We’re not losing you too!

Ira (faintly smiling): I’m not going anywhere. These are just burns. I need to cool down. I just can’t heal right now… Intergy is low…

Yerah immediately raised her hands, focusing her Intergy as a soft, cold mist began to swirl around them. The temperature dropped, and the air cooled, easing the heat radiating from Ira’s burned skin. Thin tendrils of frost formed along the stones beside them, the chilled air offering Ira some relief as her breathing steadied, if only slightly. Beside her, Makota hovered his hands gently over Ira, channeling his energy into the wounds. His technique was rough and unrefined, but he pushed through, willing the Intergy to mend what it could, sealing the worst of the damage while glancing at her pale face, determined not to let her slip away.

Ira (slowed breathing): You both were great out there…

Makota gave a faint, tired chuckle, his hands still steady over her. Yerah managed a small smile, though her eyes stayed sharp, watching Ira closely as the chilled air swirled between them. For a brief moment, the chaos and destruction around them seemed distant, replaced by the quiet bond they shared in the aftermath of survival. But as the smoke cleared and the sounds of distant battle drifted back into focus, all three knew this fight wasn’t over.