Noah

  I snuck, creeped, slithered and stalked, walking into the foreboding maw like I had shit my pants, careful not to leak too much. It wasn’t far from the truth. Even here the tiny specks burning and burnt continued to fall, appearing out of nowhere. My weight shifted to one foot while the other moved forward, ever forward, so slowly, without a sound. The cave loomed large and the bend continued first one way then another. Snaking like the creature within. Why was there a dragon? It felt like a cruel joke, a ploy, a plot. An idea born of fear, of the unknown, now made real. And we were going to kill it. ‘Somehow’, as Gabriel liked to say.

  We were much the same, and yet not. He fought, for survival, for need and now for the company. As did we all. But he was not always like this, so he claimed… A second long turn revealed nothing beyond it but more once molten stone. The ground waved, higher here and lower ahead, and then the same again. There was nothing to track, neither prints nor markings, yet I could tell the dragon stood here to melt the rest, by the unevenness alone.

  No, he was not like me. Had I been born in the old times, I would have been a warrior, a raider, a man to sing songs of, ballads of battles and overwrought descriptions of duels. Honors won and wives widowed. It was lucky I never had to fight for my life, or the mats and rings would never have satisfied again. This new world, it was a kind of home for me. A place which housed my drive, my desire, and my bloodlust.

  Here we fought, here we killed and here we cowered, for there were dragons about - but not anymore, no, no, soon no more. It was maddening, so fast yet to go so slowly. Perhaps we were the same after all. I should ask him, for I knew my loved ones were dead. Bah, why have more children? So late, so many, so foolish. My little sisters and brother could not have survived without me. And I could not find them regardless. Instead I found myself, and in their memory I hate. All of these creatures, these monsters and giants, they deserve nothing but to be slain. And so I am now a slayer, of beasts, of aberrations, of men and women.

  The last had been unexpected. Even in the games, my focused rage continued. Why? A wise man might ask. Why not? A fool might answer. It felt right, and it had been right. These aliens were not distant cousins who shared our fate, no, no. They were invaders. Here now, fighting our people, for our land, for no fucking reason. They do not help or collaborate, they skirmish and pillage and war in all but name. No, no, they are equally guilty. So I must tell myself, to sleep at night, once a week, if even that. Better to embrace the thrill and the vengeance instead. A dangerous thought, for the next twist showed me the truth of things.

  Only the miracle of speed saved me, already alerted in between the beam passing through the shallow barrier but before colliding with the wall opposite, and me with it. From nothing to full speed, I ran across the curving wall, avoiding the initial beam. It followed a chevron shape and almost caught me, had [Torque] not stopped me without pause, redirecting all momentum and instantly reorienting the direction of my sprint.

  A crash echoed through the tunnel, the beast emerging from its hidden nook. Yet the turns now served as cover while the curves ensured a clear path across wall, roof and floor. And so it fell behind. But it was coming, oh yes, it was coming. I heard every step tear stone, I felt the heat of reaching flames and most of all, my bloodlust boiled.

  The corridor took on an orange sheen as even a great gout of fire failed to catch me. The last turn forced me to lengthen my exit, leaving me upside down on the ceiling, ever running, level again soon after. In an odd moment of tranquility, of nearing escape, of having played my first part, I noticed the oddly spaced ashen pattern of footsteps my careful sneaking had left behind. Haha. I smiled upon reaching open terrain. “Here it comes!”

  Carlos

  Noah blurred out of the entrance and made an impossible turn at a right angle, only to immediately stop after clearing the opening. Everything hinged on this moment. The timing had to be perfect. My timing had to be perfect. There would be no second chances, nor did I need them. Every second stretched, as if my mind reeled from the immediacy, unwilling to let a single thought go unnoticed. Physical speed had been an excellent choice. It gave me time to think, and it was all I needed. The sequence tattoos were revolting, covering my entire body in them especially so. And still I loved them, for they were useful.

  I watched, body now unmarred, from slightly behind the upper lip of the cave mouth as the Greatbeast entered view, together with Jill, Elias, and Cleo. Kwame and Kim were further off to my sides, spreading out our formation.

  A forward claw passed the invisible line. Not yet. I stood up straight.

  A joint, some hybrid of knee and elbow, followed. Not yet. I stretched one arm out to the side.

  The neck passed, so close. Not yet. I stretched my other arm out to the other side.

  A second limb joined the first, bringing both of them and the neck across. Now. I clapped my hands together.

  Ten thousand energy worth of binds tightened together. They snapped shut like a garrote, pulling forelimbs to neck and already straining and tearing apart when Kim added a manacle of barriers to my efforts. Together, they held.

  I dared not look up or across the valley, in fear of missing the impacts. My judgment proved sound, when a humongous blade descended in a flash. Oddly enough, the trailing red line caught my attention more than anything. A teardrop of crimson, attached to a madman.

  Gabriel

  Ignore this, asshole.

  Noah bolting out signaled the end of my awkward upside down hanging from floating swords. The enchanted greatsword appeared in my outstretched hand. Dual sub-processes activated - a full bar of regeneration per second and a full bar of launches per second. An instant of free fall turned into a kamikaze crash dive as wrench after wrench threatened to tear my wrist, elbow and shoulder apart. The ground closed rapidly, as if dropping myself from a push up rather than half a kilometer or so. My grip nearly slipped as a dozen fully powered white, wide strips of cloth combined with a barrier shackle caught Redhead like a wild animal just as it began spreading its wings wide. It felt like I would hit the ground any moment.

  The air didn’t rush, it whistled. My heart calmed, yet sheer incandescent excitement electrified every fiber of my being. Trajectories adjusted constantly, my control skill providing the slightest changes. The fucker stilled for a moment. I couldn’t believe it, nor did I intend to miss my shot. All thoughts of landing went out the window. I made one last miniscule adjustment and then added a final batch of launches along with a mental trigger for the enchantment. While an already two meter blade transformed into twenty, a coin shattered and dissipated into dust. Man sized cracks threw shafts of light every which way just as I let go.

  At the same time, a white beam of light rapidly traced along the ground. It settled on where the wing connected to spine, on the opposite side of my strike. Everything happened in slow motion. The tip touched the shoulder. It sank in, deeper and deeper, spraying scaled chips and dark smoky blood with every centimeter. Yes! Already the wing was severed, yet the big fucking sword hit something hard and deflected off at a minor angle, causing Redhead to stagger for an instant. Yet Breathless held his shot long enough to correct for it.

  A beamed bundle of dark blue lightning appeared out of nowhere, drawing a direct connection between the railgun and Redhead. Something white passed within it, almost invisible. The other wing connector burst apart. Pieces of sinewy flesh and shrapnel drew an instant splatter pattern across the overgrown snake’s spine when it jerked and suddenly ripped all of its restraints while our trio of melee’s jumped unto its back. Before they could land, a massive barbed spear passed right beside me and then I hit the ground.

  At least my arms were crossed to absorb the impact. Spikes of pain travelled through my body, leaving me unsure whether spamming mending worked or not. My consciousness flittered while every bone and joint in my body creaked and cracked. Only my inner ear felt fine, since I could sense the split second of float from bouncing off the ground. Without a full set of boosters, my part would probably be over. The second thump sobered me up.

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  Even then, it took a moment to regain my bearings and get up. Just as my vision ceased swimming, Noah shoulder-checked me and nearly paid for it with his life when an orange yellow laser lanced right where I’d been standing. An instant of awe at the exploding superheated dirt was replaced by reality kicking me in the nuts. Fight.

  Twenty launches sent me diagonally upward, ready for a smaller scale repeat of my last attack. Redhead lost interest immediately, giving me a chance to take stock while I waited for a second to pass.

  It was almost funny, not what one might expect from a bout of dragon slaying. Noah dashed in fits, each ending with an enchanted needle thrown, always aimed at the eyes. His spear hung from the base of its neck and Jill’s body language betrayed her chopping at its claws, toes and lower ankle as merely a distraction, her true hopes clearly fixed on hammering the spear through or maybe ripping it out.

  My time came and a magic sword powered by ninety launches streaked towards the base of Redheads neck. It bounced off. What the fuck? Why can’t I hurt it anymore? It does look bigger than before. Two seconds then. As if prepared for the eventuality, armor plates masquerading as scales rearranged themselves, covering the gaps introduced by our combined double tap.

  Our pure mages desperately tried to stay behind it, surrounded by decoys. Both concentrated their base abilities into the smallest surface area possible. Kwame directed a marble sized non-elemental orb towards a smaller scale, blowing it off and exposing flesh. Kim exploited the vulnerability with a wire thin stab from a pointy barrier, digging into the monstrosity. A prepared slash from above the cave slammed into the back of the dragons head just as the blackened surroundings took on an orange glow. Their window closed again.

  C’mon, pull it off.

  Elias and Cleo worked together on my hopes. She wedged daggers underneath natural armor with all her might. Elias jammed his shield in while pulling with his hooked hatchet, bulging veins clearly visible despite the chaos. Its tail swiped at Kwame when he halted for a mere instant to gush a small stream of acid into another temporary wound. Strips of binder cloth erupted.

  One half anchored the tail to the ground, the other half pulled at Kwame while layers of barriers sprang up, a new one forming for each one broken. It still wasn’t enough, but a final strip formed between Jill and Kwame. She tugged and turned a sure kill into a grazing hit. Kwame’s arm dangled, yet he snarled and returned to the fight immediately.

  Finally!

  Elias nearly fell off as the scale wrenched loose and I locked on immediately. A double bar combined with a weak spot did the fucking trick at least, sinking in out of sight. Unfortunately, it also caught Redhead’s attention, judging by the roar.

  Its neck looped, turned, its jaws opened wide and my shieldsword blinked into existence, soundtracked by shattering glass and shafts of light. The beam struck, pressing into the shield like a high pressure hose and me along with it. I felt the heat and in a moment of dissociation, unable to do anything, decided upon keeping an extra shieldsword at HQ for long term crafting since those brought into battle rarely made it out. Then the force stopped. Hey, still alive, sweet.

  Taking the hit pushed me into overdrive. The adrenaline rushed, it heightened my senses, focused my awareness and ravaged my inhibitions. Everything blended together into the whirlwind of the thrill. Why wait for an opening when there’s one ready-made?

  Zigzagging deca-launches brought me within a stone’s throw of its face. It jiggled annoyingly due to constant clawing at Jill, shaking at riders and attempts at pulverization by tail. One eye tracked me during the approach. Noah noticed and barraged it constantly. When Redhead chomped at me, all thoughts of the others faded away. Another coin disintegrated as an overcharged physical blade stung into the roof of its mouth while a simultaneous self-launch with the second third of my energy bar deftly avoided becoming a snack, until, predictably, the jaws opened again and the last third narrowly allowed me to dodge incineration.

  In the instant before it had unleashed the attack, I saw many individual beams converge from its dragonsteel teeth to form the true ray. The meaning thereof was forever lost when a coin breaking almost rang the bell for another round. Tactical consideration replaced offensive impulse, somehow, and an extra second passed before my return to the fray, only possible because Jill managed to hammer the embedded spear, driving it through like a human bolt gun. It bellowed a wave of fire in response.

  Amidst rushing flames, above a field of ash and cinder where severed wings on the ground mirrored the emblem guarding my heart, I felt alive. Even as sanity threatened to slip in idle seconds, my mind wandered. Does it feel this too, I wonder? Show me, can you truly live? Show me, can you die?

  I interrupted Redheads preparations by appearing in front of its face. Before it could do anything, four magic swords, each powered by a third of a bar, lined the back of its maw, spaced in a horizontal line in hopes of hitting the spine. The final third of a bar got me away, angled towards the ground. A burning in my veins, at the edge of a rate-limit, hampered my run but it didn’t matter. Everyone snatched the opportunity to pile onto the neck.

  Small stretches of cloth tore at the wound on both sides, trying to keep it open, widen it even. Acid jetted in an endless flow from one side, while Jill rammed and wiggled with the pike end of her weapon. Before anyone else could join in, Redhead sidestepped into a purposeful tumble, sending ash and soot in a puffing cloud while we spaced ourselves in a semicircle.

  An arc flashed green and a full bar pierced the neck-hole, jammed within now. As the bastard got up, I noticed its knee was fine. Too bad, but I’d argue this one is worse. I took a step forward when a slap hit me so hard it nearly knocked my teeth out.

  I turned to see Jill’s eyes bore into me, covered by her full helmet. “You’re losing it. Keep your shit together,” she said.

  Redhead seemed content to wait us out, keeping low to the ground and backing off, slowly.

  “We are winning,” Elias said, “It is running out of replacements; the left front foot is heavily damaged, the neck is hurt, as is the back and middle of the right rib. The tail is slower as well. The scales were much weaker there.”

  “What’s the plan?” Kwame asked, hurt but holding on, sweat beading across his face, dripping from his nose and chin.

  “Focus fire on the front foot, it is the easiest to target, but keep a reserve. On my signal, we switch to the right rib instead, use everything there.”

  “Full charge?” I asked.

  “No, it does not seem necessary. The attrition favors us. Now go!”

  Noah ran off to grab his spear. Carlos snapped his fingers and binds sprang shut around Redheads mouth. Jill veered off after fainting for the neck, Cleo and Elias in tow. A deca flew me within meters of an eye. A materialized sword at point blank range forced a rapid blink, quick enough to avoid blinding, but I was already gone, racing downwards. My arrival coincided with the aftermath of Jill’s massive swing. She cleaved through a good chunk and both my looted quality 100 swords entered the wound, penetrating to the hilt.

  This time crashing into the burnt ground barely fazed me. Elias arrived first, chopping with his hatchet, lodging it in, and then hammering it with his shield as the cherry on top before ripping it out. Cleo switched to a two-handed grip. A hop and a stab resulted in a long cut, pulled along by her full armored weight and retained momentum. No one else got a chance when Kim stole the severing blow with half a dozen slices, arriving in rapid succession – half of them wasted. The Greatbeast staggered again, enough of a window for me to close and retrieve the weapons, nostalgically passing underneath its belly.

  “Switch!” Yeah, no shit.

  A jump ended in a twisting turn, facing me against the exposed weakness Kwame and Kim had built together, already slightly hollowed out. Sadistic mania awakened when my outstretched arm spawned a sword and fired it deep into the body, towards the tail end. Another crossed the path of the first, shot off towards the front. Both reached so far as to exit my control range. Then Noah’s pitch arrived, again driving deep. Carlos pulled it tight against the ground but stopped when Elias came in to kick it away.

  Jill followed right behind, actually holding his hand. She tossed him towards the rearing beast. He hooked his hatchet against a scale and shoved his arm in up to the shoulder. “Bind me,” he yelled.

  Oh, yeah, that’s game. Carlos did as he was told while the rest of us ran interference, basically just annoying Redhead, constantly pelting its eyes and threatening the wounded neck. Pieces degraded near its midsection, entire scales fell off like rotting teeth. Streams and gushes of steaming liquid followed them. It mixed with the ash into an oily, tarred, disgusting puddle of viscera. The dragon lifted a claw and gave up on it right away.

  It staggered, first to one knee, then another and a third and fourth, even resting on the stump. The head hung lower and lower. The infestation scattered and spread. Crystals drained, shatters rang, entire chunks rotted off while we took attacks of opportunity on the neck and stub. Jill sliced open the throat. I embedded swords in every wound. Carlos binds threaded and stole pounds of flesh. Kwame leaned on Kim, smiling brightly. Noah put a needle in its eye. Cleo had disappeared, now the reason became clear when the tail fell off.

  Finally the fucker collapsed.

  Instead of cheering, my brows furrowed. The corpse was oddly noisy. Full of fleshy movements and something like winding cord…? I was close, and thinking ‘condense’ did nothing. I tried to open my interface, but the warning remained.

  Oh crap. For once, I’d like things to go well.

  My suspicions were confirmed when lasers put on a lightshow, from the inside out, cutting open a path along the spine. We all stared, dumbstruck.

  A faceless, sleek, reddish catlike predator double the size of a full-grown daggerclaw emerged lazily. It had I don’t know how many whipping tails, all capped by what I had mistaken for teeth. In keeping with the longstanding tradition of ruining my fucking day, it was entirely composed of dragonsteel as well.

  You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.