Arthur launched himself into the air, blade arcing down in a brutal slash across the dragon's hide. He twisted mid-flight, spinning into another strike, but the beast's aura surged again.
The weight of its mana slammed him down like a hammer. Arthur's body buckled, bones straining as the pressure pinned him toward the earth. Blood slipped from his lip as he forced a bitter laugh, eyes snapping sideways.
Rin stood untouched in the same storm of power.
Arthur smirked through the pain. "I'm the target… not you. This energy only drags me down."
Shadows rippled across the battlefield, slithering into the dragon's blind spot. Reid and Ren burst forth.
"Good work, Arthur." Reid flashed a grin before vanishing into motion.
Ren vaulted high and drove his sword into the wound Arthur had left. Frost tore through the dragon's flesh from the inside out, its roar twisting in agony. Reid followed with a thunderous punch to its hind leg. Bone splintered, mana scattered into the air, and the beast crashed onto its side with an earth-shaking impact.
Ren scaled its spine, ice spreading from his strike, jagged crystals climbing higher. Reid leapt from scale to scale, hammering his fist down on the beast's skull. For a moment it seemed pinned.
Then the roar came.
Power erupted from within. A violent blast of force hurled both brothers clear, flinging them across the battlefield. The dragon whipped around, claws slashing with impossible speed.
Ren slid beneath the strike, his blade carving a deep line across the wing. Reid caught another claw head-on, muscles straining as he shoved it off course. He vaulted onto the arm, dropped down, and smashed another punch into its chest.
The dragon hissed, its body steaming. Wounds sealed before their eyes, frost melting away as heat poured from within.
Arthur dug his sword into the ground, dragging himself upright as the pressure of the aura thinned. His gaze lifted to the false moon still burning in the sky. His fingers clenched around the hilt, his voice steady despite the blood at his lips.
"Answer my call… Scathing Moon!"
He thrust his palm forward. The glowing orb hurtled down like a falling star.
It struck the dragon's torso in a detonation of black fire and radiant mana. The explosion lit the battlefield in blinding white, a storm of flame and light consuming everything in its path.
When the dust cleared, the beast lay broken. A crater smoked beneath its body, one side scorched raw and bleeding freely. Its head sagged toward the earth. A final, ragged roar echoed, weak and dying.
"Did… we win?" Reid staggered forward, a grin breaking across his bruised face.
Ren wiped the sweat streaming down his brow, eyes still locked on the smoldering ruin. "I think we just killed an ancient beast."
Arthur exhaled, his grip tightening on his sword. "No time to waste. We head underground, blow it up, and end this."
Reid crossed his arms and cast a sidelong glance at the group. "Explosives like these need someone with a good arm to throw them deep." He cleared his throat loudly, puffing his chest. "Me."
Lyra rolled her eyes with practiced precision. "He's right. Give the idiot the explosives."
Arthur pulled the charges from his bag and walked over. "I'm trusting you not to let them go off early."
Reid saluted with mock seriousness, grin tugging his lips. "Yes, sir." He tucked the bundle into his pack and patted it proudly. "Still wild how something so small can make such a big boom."
They began their trek through the ruins, stepping over jagged stone and shattered beams as they searched for the entrance.
Ren raised a brow. "You'd be surprised. In the old wars, spells covered whole battlefields. Entire landscapes erased. The cost was too great, so what you see now are smaller, sharper spells—still devastating."
Reid frowned, looking down at his hands. "Guess I wouldn't get that. I'm all fists. Beating things up is fun, sure, but… sometimes I wish I could control my mana."
Rin walked beside him, her steps light despite the ruined ground. She gave his shoulder a gentle pat, smiling softly. "Maybe it's because you have too much. If you could shape it, you'd be unstoppable. Way too overpowered."
Arthur slowed, eyes fixed ahead. "Here." He pointed at a mound of debris half-buried in ash. "The stairwell's beneath this. Help me clear it."
Reid cracked his knuckles with a grin. Together, they lifted slabs of stone and twisted metal until the hidden stairwell yawned open—a spiral cutting deep into shadow. The walls pulsed with veins and root-like tendrils that glimmered faintly in the dark.
Rin's voice wavered slightly. "Is it bad that I'm nervous already?"
Reid chuckled, hands on his hips. "Don't worry. If things get rough, just stand behind me. Sosuke would never forgive me if anything happened to you."
Lyra smacked the back of his head, making him wince. "Idiot. Keep shouting like that and every blight in here will line up to eat us." She crossed her arms. "And quit saying embarrassing things."
Reid rubbed his scalp, sheepish grin returning. "Sorry, sorry. Didn't think confidence was against the rules." He flinched as Lyra raised her hand again.
Elowen covered her mouth, laughter spilling out. "It must be nice, though. Having a sibling… especially a twin."
Arthur glanced her way, just for a moment too long.
Lyra scoffed, tossing her hair back. "Please. He's just been trying to steal my looks since birth."
"We don't even look alike!" Reid groaned, throwing his hands up. "We're not that kind of twins!"
A grin crept across Ren's face before he could stop it.
Lyra caught it from the corner of her eye. "What are you grinning at?"
"I'm not." Ren cleared his throat and fixed his gaze forward.
Rin slowed, peering into the dark spiral beneath them. "Sorry to cut in, but we're almost at the bottom."
Arthur nodded. "And I can feel something waiting down there. Quiet from here on."
Their voices faded as the group descended. The deeper they went, the more the stone was overtaken. Veins crawled like rivers through the walls, pulsing faintly with greenish light. Strange moss clung to every crack, releasing a dim glow that painted their steps in sickly hues.
At last, the stairwell ended on a flat landing. Before them loomed a massive door, its stone skin half-consumed by living growths. Moss and luminous plants webbed across the surface, the patterns faintly pulsing like a heartbeat.
Arthur raised his hand, and together they pushed it open.
The door groaned, releasing a stale breath of air. What waited beyond was no ordinary chamber. The walls curved unnaturally, as if the stone had grown like flesh. Veins spread through every surface, carrying light that shimmered in rhythm. The ground itself seemed to shift underfoot, pliant like hardened sinew, while vines stretched from the ceiling like ribs.
It wasn't alive, but it looked as though it wanted to be.
Reid dug into his pouch and drew out the explosives with a flourish. He held them forward, his grin already in place. "The mana charge, my good sirs."
Ren and Arthur stepped up together, palms pressing against the surface of the weapon. Faint streams of light bled from their fingers into the casing until it pulsed faintly, alive with energy.
"They won't detonate immediately. A few minutes' delay, then we move," Arthur explained, his voice clipped. "Now throw."
Reid twirled the charge once in his hand before setting his stance. "Don't tell me twice." His arm whipped forward with surprising precision, launching the glowing device deep into one of the dark, gaping tunnels. The sound of it hitting stone echoed away. Reid dusted off his palms, smirk curling across his face. "A perfect pitch. A display of my unmatched intellect, no doubt."
The air around them suddenly warped, heat and pressure pressing against their skin. A jagged streak split open across the space before them, forming a portal that bled light into the cavern.
From the rift stepped a tall man in uniform. Commander Virgil tipped off his cap, letting his dark hair spill across his shoulders. A cigarette glowed faintly at the corner of his mouth, the smoke curling lazily as though the chaos of the place had no hold on him. "Good job, Starborn," he said evenly. "Now that you've found the nest, we'll handle the rest."
Another figure followed, his presence heavier. Short, blood red hair, wild and unkempt, caught the dim light, and rough stubble shadowed his jaw. But it was the cold weight in his eyes that stole the air from the cavern. Julian Veiss stood behind Virgil, surveying the chamber like a hunter scenting blood.
Arthur froze. His chest tightened as though bound in chains, his heartbeat hammering against his ribs.
Get it together. Not now. Not in front of him.
He swallowed hard, jaw tightening to stop the trembling breath that threatened to escape. Elowen slipped closer, her fingers brushing his wrist, anchoring him. The faint pressure steadied his lungs, though his gaze refused to leave the man who had once shaped his life.
Virgil exhaled smoke into the stale air. "Julian and I are far better equipped to deal with whatever generals remain here. You've played your part. Save your strength for another battle, instead of wasting it on certain death."
"Bullshit!" Reid snapped, his voice cracking through the cavern. His fists clenched as he stepped forward, veins pushing against his skin. "We bled for this! We fought that damned beast while you were nowhere to be found!"
"Reid!" Lyra's voice cut sharp. She seized his shoulder, trying to drag him back.
But Reid shoved her hand away, his glare molten. "No! I'm not walking away, not after everything we've done. If destroying this core and killing Julius is what ends the war, then I'll gamble my life for it!"
Virgil's gaze darkened, his jaw tight as smoke rolled from his lips. "Careful, boy. You are treading on thin ground." The weight of his authority pressed like a wall. "It is not your choice to make. All of you—return to camp."
Silence followed, no one moving.
His voice dropped colder. "Do you intend to disobey a direct order? Your very titles can be stripped away for this."
Arthur's shoulders squared. His voice carried firm despite the tremor in his chest. "I won't. This is our fight. We were the ones who pushed this far, not you."
Julian's voice cracked like a whip. "Arthur!" His boots echoed as he strode forward, towering above his son. At six-four, his shadow fell long, eclipsing Arthur's smaller frame. "What did I drill into you, if not respect for power? You dare forget?"
Arthur's throat bobbed with a hard swallow, but his glare held steady. His brow furrowed, breath sharp through his nose. "You don't control me anymore. Whatever strength I have, I'll use it for my path, not yours."
Julian's eyes narrowed, their sharp weight cutting deep, but the defiance in Arthur's gaze didn't break. A quiet scoff left Julian's lips as he stepped back. "Then let the boy get himself killed. Commander, we press on."
Virgil pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing smoke into the air. "Aurelius gave strict orders. Their safety matters more than your pride."
A twitch ran across Julian's jaw. "Then I'll make it happen myself."
Reid's grin returned, sharp and mocking. "I'd hold that thought if I were you."
Julian's glare snapped toward him, irritation sparking. "Why—"
The ground trembled with a thunderous roar. A deafening explosion ripped through the tunnels, flames racing across stone and swallowing shadows whole. The cavern walls quaked, cracks spreading as dust and smoke flooded the chamber. The air filled with screams that echoed from unseen corridors as the environment collapsed inward.
Virgil's cigarette fell from his lips, crushed beneath his boot. His face hardened. "What the hell…"