novelraw Chapter 106
Chapter 106
The vast Wood Elf tribe was swiftly encircled. A wall of crimson flame, hundreds of yards high, erupted around them, caging them in. The fire didn't ignite the surrounding foliage, but the heat it radiated was immense and suffocating.
Sweat trickled down green skin. The young Wood Elf maiden scanned her surroundings. Many of her people had already collapsed, slumping to the ground from the sheer heat. The tribe's mages frantically summoned barriers of water, but their power was limited. They could only shield the youngest children, leaving the rest to endure the unbearable temperature.
This can't go on, the young elf thought, her jaw tightening. The longer we wait, the more of my people will die.
She tilted her head back, her eyes fixed on the figure in the sky. He looked like a mere red wyrmling, his scales wreathed in matching red flames. But this is wrong, she realized. No normal wyrmling could possess this much terrifying mana.
Her gaze flickered to her people, who were struggling to hold on. She grit her teeth. There was no time to hesitate.
She channeled green mana into the sigil on her right wrist. It flared with a bright, emerald light.
A screeching roar echoed from the canopy above. Two griffins, nearly identical in size, burst from their nest high in the treetop. With a gust of wind, one of the massive beasts landed before the young elf.
"Tharion," she said, her voice urgent. "We have to stop that red wyrmling. For your children... and for my people."
The griffin bobbed its head and immediately lowered its body. The maiden understood. She bent her athletic, slender legs and sprang, landing gracefully on the griffin's back.
"Let's go, Tharion!"
A powerful roar answered her. The griffin spread its massive black wings, and with a single powerful beat, its four talons left the ground, launching them toward the sky.
Below, the Wood Elves looked up, a desperate hope filling their eyes. Two five-star griffins, they prayed, surely they can defeat that evil red dragon!
Back in the griffin nest at the center of the great tree, a heavy, scaled eyelid lifted, revealing a pink nictitating membrane that retracted.
Azure didn't know why the two adult griffins had suddenly left together, but it was her chance. Her body was paralyzed, but her head could still move.
Her blue head turned to the left, its vertical pupils fixing on a clutch of griffin eggs, moments from hatching. A cruel smirk spread across her maw.
My body might be paralyzed, but my head still works, she thought. They wanted to feed me to their hatchlings?
Two purple rings materialized in front of her blue snout. Lightning gathered between them, coalescing into a two-yard-long spear of white energy, crackling with violet arcs.
Spear of Judgment! she commanded internally.
The spear shot forward in a streak of white light.
Crack!
It instantly pierced one of the large, reddish eggs. Viscous red yolk splattered everywhere.
A high-pitched keen came from the broken shell as the nearly-formed griffin whelp inside wailed. Listening to the sound, Azure's blue pupils dilated slightly.
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What a lovely, beautiful sound. A cruel smile touched her snout. I think I'm starting to understand why Aiden enjoys the screams of his prey so much.
The wailing stopped after just a few seconds. The hatchling stopped struggling. It was dead.
Such a short song.
Her blue eyes turned to the other eggs. Three remaining.
Well, the concert can continue for a little while longer.
Two blue rings began to form, and lightning crackled between them. A new spear was taking shape.
Aiden's red eyes stared into the inferno he had created. His maw split into a grin. Time to die, you tree-hugging trash!
He raised one claw, slowly curling his talons into a fist.
In perfect sync, the massive wall of fire surrounding the Wood Elf tribe began to contract, closing in on them.
The wind died. The encroaching flames froze in place.
Without warning, a figure materialized directly in front of Aiden's snout.
Her graceful form was clad in woven emerald leaves, and hair the color of new spring grass flowed like silk. Fair skin, delicate features, and long, pointed ears revealed her identity. A palpable, rich aura of life energy radiated from her, so potent it was almost visible. It confirmed who—and what—she was.
The air filled with the scent of wildflowers. Not bad, Aiden thought, his gaze hardening as he looked at the kneeling elven figure. I could just eat her whole.
His jaws unconsciously drifted open.
"Great Ninth Crown, you—"
CHOMP.
Aiden's jaws snapped shut.
He chewed.
Dragons don't have time for monologues, he thought, especially when the origin essence meter is running.
He swallowed.
Hmm. Even for just an avatar, she tasted amazing. Sweet, like flower nectar. And so juicy. Not bad. Not bad at all.
He glanced at the purple sigil in his vision—his HUD. Just as he'd hoped, the bar had refilled by about a quarter.
Reality snapped back. The wind resumed its flow, and the flames...
Aiden relaxed his claw. The wall of fire stopped contracting, but it didn't disappear.
Since your goddess was so... accommodating, I'll let you tree-hugging trash off the hook. This time.
The wall of fire held its position, a crimson prison. He'd spared them, but he hadn't let them go. Not until he found Azure, anyway.
His red eyes glared at the flames.
You better pray, you pieces of trash. Pray my wretched sister is still alive. Because if she's not... griffin-stewed-elf sounds like a pretty good recipe.
SCREEE!
A screeching roar suddenly erupted from within the circle of fire.
Aiden turned his head. That sound... it's those damn griffins.
SCREEE!
Two massive shapes burst through the flames. Aiden's red eyes narrowed.
Lion's body, black wings, eagle's head... and a serpentine tail? No mistake, they were griffins. Two of them? Whatever. It makes no difference.
The Wood Elf maiden on the lead griffin's back immediately gave a command. "Tharion, hit that red dragon with a magic attack—now!" Her right hand, clutching the beast's golden mane, glowed green as she poured her mana into its sigil.
Empowered by its contractor, the griffin opened its beak. Five magical rings materialized in front of it, and flames began to gather.
So stupid.
Before the griffin could even launch its attack, Aiden seized control of its spell. The five rings instantly shattered. The fire element they had gathered twisted, reforming in an instant into five razor-sharp blades of fire, which immediately slashed back at the griffin's own head.
It happened without warning.
The griffin's head tumbled through the air, its ruby-like eyes wide with confusion.
Tharion wasn't the only one. The Wood Elf maiden felt a moment of vertigo, a strange, floating sensation. She, too, was confused, right up until the moment she saw her own body, still seated on the griffin's neck, from above. Her head was flying too.
The second griffin saw its mate and rider die instantly. Its eyes flashed with terror.
That terror immediately became its own confusion as the five fire blades, having finished their first task, whipped through the air and decapitated it as well.
Tendrils of fire extracted two magic crystals, each the size of a large basin, from the falling corpses and delivered them to Aiden.
His red eyes studied the crystals as he watched the bodies plummet to the forest floor.
Stupid. Trying to use fire against me.
Chomp.
He opened his jaws and bit one of the crystals in half.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
He began to chew.
He relaxed his other claw. The towering wall of fire around the Wood Elf tribe vanished. The crimson flames wreathing his own body died down, and the purple sigil in his vision stopped its descent.
Still half full. Nice. This whole fight ended up costing me nothing. Zero-cost clear.
A whoosh of air came from his right.
Aiden turned his head.
A white wyrmling was hovering in the air. She didn't say anything, but her bright, crystalline eyes were locked onto the remaining magic crystal. A steady stream of drool dripped from her white snout.