Snap! Crackle! Pop!
The Double-Headed Raven King didn't even bother with an incantation. A mere flick of its fan, and the sky tore open. A web of black lightning fell, a cage of pure annihilation with Marcus at its center.
The Pet Egg was right there, almost in his grasp. Then the lightning hit. His world went black. Just like that, he was dead.
'You have got to be kidding me.' A one-shot kill. Not even a boss move, just a casual flick of the wrist.
He'd braced for a brutal fight, but this? To see a Knight with his defenses and health pool get erased by what amounted to a minor spell… it was downright humiliating.
"Ding! Stonehaven, your Ring of Resurrection has revived you. Status fully restored. You have three seconds of invulnerability."
'Now we're talking.'
As Marcus's vision cleared, a golden aura flared around him. The Raven King's lightning crackled and hissed against the shield, a sudden storm beating uselessly against a solid roof.
First second: He lunged, his fingers closing around the cool, smooth surface of the Pet Egg.
Second second: He triggered "Run for Your Life."
Third second: His Town Portal Scroll flared to life.
Light enveloped him.
Fourth second: The golden shield vanished just as he solidified, the familiar sights and sounds of Dragon's Peak Citadel's main plaza crashing in around him.
"Heh."
Then, a disbelieving chuckle.
Then, a full-bellied, roaring laugh that drew stares from every corner of the crowded plaza. He didn't care.
"Seriously, dude? It's a pet egg. You're gonna bust a blood vessel," a nearby player muttered, his voice dripping with envy.
"Wow, you got one! That's amazing! Can I see?" a woman with wide, earnest eyes asked, looking at him with genuine admiration.
"Ugh, of course someone else gets a pet. I'm forever alone with my stupid wolf pup," another player grumbled to no one in particular.
"Hey, man. If it's a high-tier drop, name your price. I'm serious," said a guy whose gear practically screamed "trust fund," already rushing over.
"Total junk, not worth your time," Marcus lied smoothly.
He didn't even glance at the stats. He just shoved the egg into his inventory, shouldered his way through the growing crowd, and got the hell out of there.
"Ding! Global Alert! The Dark Arch-Sorcerer, Double-Headed Raven King, one of the Eight Guardians of the Demon Lord, has had the egg of the ultimate divine beast, the 'Dark Violet Sky Dragon,' stolen. He is now mobilizing his forces and is en route to Dragon's Peak Citadel to reclaim it. All players in the vicinity of Dragon's Peak Citadel are advised to return to the city immediately or log out to avoid being slain. Dragon's Peak Citadel is now entering a Level Two defense state. Teleportation gates to other cities are now closed. Players in other cities must remain where they are."
The message repeated twice more, each word detonating across the world of Dominion like a shockwave. The player base was reeling.
"Get inside the walls, now! Dying to a Super Boss is a week's worth of XP down the drain!" a voice of reason shouted over the growing panic.
"Crap, crap, crap! I didn't restock my Town Portal Scrolls! Someone, please, I'll pay you back!" a frantic player cried.
"No scroll? Just log out! Don't be an idiot!"
"Screw that, I'm staying. This is history in the making!"
"Babe, my good boots! They're in your bag! Hurry!" yelled one half of a couple who had been caught completely off guard.
"LFG! LFG for the world boss! Form up, people! It's loot pinata time!" an adrenaline-junkie warrior bellowed, rallying a group.
"Are you for real? I was just about to teleport to Dragon's Peak! This is so unfair!" a player in a distant city lamented, practically pulling his hair out.
In an instant, Dragon's Peak Citadel became the center of the universe. The fact that the system itself had issued a triple warning meant this was on a whole other level.
The Dark Arch-Sorcerer... the 'Dark Violet Sky Dragon'... The pieces clicked into place in Marcus's mind after the announcement faded.
'No way. It can't be.'
He ducked into a quiet alley, pulled the egg from his inventory, and examined it properly.
Pet Egg of the Divine Beast 'Dark Violet Sky Dragon': A Divine Beast-class pet, one of the six great beasts that serve the Demon Lord. The egg was slated to hatch in one year, but after absorbing a surplus of energy from the Elven tribe, it has entered a dormant state. Hatching time: 30 years. Hatching can be accelerated by the application of a treasure possessing a powerful dark attribute, which will help the Dark Violet Sky Dragon assimilate the excess energy.
The egg in his hand was the real deal.
"I have a divine beast pet!" The excitement was a physical rush, but it curdled as he read the rest. Thirty years? Or some dark treasure? Talk about a tease. He was stuck with another legendary paperweight.
And the Raven King was coming for it. The memory of that effortless, casual kill sent a cold dread pooling in his stomach.
'Oh, man. Please don't farm me back to level one.'
"The Raven King! He's in the sky! Everyone, to the walls!"
Hearing the shouts from the main thoroughfare, Marcus stashed the egg away and bolted for the city ramparts. He had to see this for himself.
He had no idea what kind of hell he'd just unleashed.
"Stone! Over here! Come to see the show?"
He turned to see SoulSync waving him down.
"Yeah, couldn't miss it," Marcus replied, falling into step with him.
"Wonder what poor bastard pissed that off. C'mon, my guild saved us a spot."
Without SoulSync's connections, they never would have made it through the press of bodies on the wall. The ramparts were a solid mass of players.
To the south, a vast, churning black cloud was advancing on the city. It crackled with malevolent energy, and the land beneath it was scoured bare, leaving a trail of smoldering earth.
'Just great.'
Seeing the sheer, overwhelming power on display, Marcus's anxiety spiked. This was so much worse than he'd imagined.
The Dark Arch-Sorcerer, Double-Headed Raven King, was a maelstrom of fury, humiliation, and regret. The buzzing in its skull had long since drowned out reason, and it was now hurtling toward Dragon's Peak Citadel, driven blindly by the fading scent of the stolen egg.
To get it back, the Raven King would burn the world. Consequences be damned.
His plan had been so simple, so elegant. He'd learned the location of the "Glacier Blue Crystal Sword," the mythic blade the warrior Andreas used to slay the Red Dragon. And with the Dark Violet Sky Dragon nearing its hatching cycle, the timing was perfect. He went to Red River Village for the sword, and as a bonus, planned to use the dragon egg's power to pry open the Elven Gate and plunder the legendary artifacts within the Elven Canyon.
Among the Demon Lord's six divine beasts; the Hellfire Dragon, the Hell's Cerberus, the Netherworld Phoenix, the Dark Demon Wolf King, and the Dark Icefire Wraith, the Dark Violet Sky Dragon was undisputed. Unmatched in the air or on the ground, at range or in close combat. Only its unique energy signature could safely absorb and channel the volatile energy of the Elven Gate. Any other creature would have been vaporized.
It had taken every ounce of his influence to borrow the Demon Clan's one and only Dark Violet Sky Dragon egg from Chief Magus. Success would have not only opened the gate but supercharged the hatchling's power, potentially raising it to rival the Golden Saint Dragon itself.
It was to be his masterpiece.
Now, it was his ruin. The gate remained sealed, the sword was forgotten, and the egg was gone. How could he possibly return to the Demon Clan and explain this to Chief Magus?
The Raven King knew the clock was ticking. He had thirty minutes, maybe less, before the egg's scent faded completely. If he lost the trail, the thief would get away with it. And the day the Demon Lord awakened from his slumber would be the day of the Raven King's execution.