After being saved, Aurora had retreated behind the line of villagers. They were holding their ground for now, mostly thanks to her father's battle skills and leadership.
But it wasn't going to last.
A few villagers had already collapsed from their wounds… and some may never rise again.
Aurora frowned and looked away from the scene, forcing herself not to stare at the growing number of bodies.
"Where's Ryn?" she thought, heart pounding.
She'd seen him leave the main line as the captain attacked him, but they had moved far from the main clash.
From her spot behind the front line, she scanned the battlefield, searching.
Then, near the edge of the forest, she spotted Ryn, and the captain locked in combat.
They were too far to make out clearly, but one thing was obvious: Ryn was on the back foot.
"He's… losing?"
The hope she'd been clinging to cracked.
"He seemed unstoppable when he saved me…" she whispered.
"I-I have to do something."
A wave of determination hit her, but doubt surged right behind it.
"But what can I even do? I couldn't even hurt a normal soldier…"
Her fists clenched. She felt helpless.
And yet, she took a step.
Then another and another.
Until she was running across the field, her boots thudding against the dirt, her eyes never leaving the distant figures.
As she drew closer, she saw Ryn unleash a stream of fire, and the captain's flames clash with it, erupting into a violent inferno.
Aurora faltered at the sight. The heat from here was enough to sting her face.
But she didn't stop.
Then, through the blaze, she saw Ryn being slashed again and again in a flurry of searing strikes.
She felt a wave of fear. "Please… just hang in there, Ryn."
Then the captain delivered a brutal kick sending him flying and he fell to his knees, seemingly defeated.
The captain stepped forward, sword raised for the final blow.
"No…"
Aurora raised her wand.
She didn't know what spell to cast. She didn't have anything close to a plan.
But something inside her screamed, "just do something!"
A fireball gathered at her wand's tip, brighter and larger than anything she'd ever produced.
"Please work," she said. "Just do something useful, anything!"
Then she fired, straight at the captain's raised blade.
The blade was half drenched in blood, half still gleaming while it hovered above me like death itself.
I stared up at it, heart hammering, barely breathing.
A pulse of new information still echoed in my head.
Another ability. One I hadn't known about until now.
But it didn't matter.
"It's too late…" I thought.
The captain grinned and swung.
Then, PANG!
A blast struck the sword mid-swing, knocking it just off course.
The blade missed my head by a whisker, slicing into the ground beside me.
Smoke curled from the edge.
My eyes widened. "Was that… a fireball?"
I turned my head.
And saw her.
Aurora, wand raised, breath heavy, eyes locked on us.
She had saved me.
She attacked the captain, even though everything seemed hopeless.
And somehow… it worked. She hadn't given up.
A spark lit inside me. "I have to keep fighting."
The captain turned toward her, irritation flickering across his face.
"Looks like I'll have to take care of you first," he muttered, his voice dripping with, murderous intent.
His bloodlust now shifted, it was aimed at her.
And in that moment, fury erupted inside me.
I had already been pushed to my limits, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
My self-restraint had already been stripped away, and I nearly went blind with rage, after hearing his threat.
"I'm going to kill you," I thought, the words more a promise than a threat.
My body trembled, not from pain, but from rage.
A deep vicious growl rose from my throat.
Then, light flickered around me.
I stood. The pain that had driven me to my knees moments ago evaporated like mist.
The pale gray patterns across my body flared and illumined, pulsing with a now violet glow.
Arcs of raw electricity surged across my limbs, crackling wildly, scorching the ground at my feet.
As he stepped towards her, one raging thought, shot through my mind, "Don't you dare touch her!"
I roared, louder than I ever had.
The sound echoed through the battlefield like thunder, turning heads of even the soldiers and villagers.
The captain's eyes whipped back to me.
And this time… there was no look of smug condescension in them.
Instead, there was only the first flicker of fear.
"Y-you can still stand?" the captain stammered.
He tried to steady his voice. "Well… it's not a problem. I'll just cut you down again."
However, his words were hollow and forced confidence cracked at the edges.
But before he could do anything, I had already crouched low, muscles coiled and claws sunken into the dirt.
Then, in one explosive burst, I launched forward.
Small arcs of purple lightning sparked behind me, flickering across the ground where my feet had just been.
He barely had time to react.
I raised my claw, and as he instinctively lifted his sword to block, but I shot to his right side and as I ran by him, I delivered a deep slash into his shoulder.
As I looked back, I saw the captain clutching his shoulder, blood dripping between his fingers.
His face twisted with fury. Then a wild flame flared in his palm.
Then without a word, he pressed it against his wound.
The smell of burning flesh hit the air as he cauterized it. He gritted his teeth and didn't flinch, as smoke curled from the wound.
The entire time, his eyes had stayed locked on me.
And then it hit me, the captain was waiting.
He hadn't charged in or countered. Instead, he was holding his ground, eyes locked on me, waiting for me to make the next move.
I'd forced him onto the defensive.
"Well, I shouldn't keep him waiting," I thought, lowering myself and surging forward.
As I dashed, electricity built inside me, coiling tight like a storm waiting to break. Static danced up my throat and snapped along my scales.
The captain raised his sword, his expression unreadable. There was no more smugness. No fear. Just cold, focused concentration on the fight in front of him.
Then, with multiple quick slashes, he unleashed three flaming arcs in rapid succession, each roaring toward me at slightly different angles.
Adrenaline surged. My vision tunneled in on the incoming inferno.
First arc-left. I twisted sharply, the flame scraping past me, close enough to singe my scales.
Second-right. I dropped low, but the heat licked my back, searing through the edge of my wings. I clenched my teeth.
The third arc raced forward. But I didn't attempt to dodge.
I threw my right arm back and gathered all the energy I could into my claws.
Then-I struck.
Electricity crackled through my arm as my claws met fire midair. Purple sparks exploded outward, splitting the arc down the center.
The fire collapsed in on itself-neutralized-and I burst through the smoke and heat.
Now I was in range.
I spun, channeling the energy down my spine to my tail. The glowing pattern lit up with a surge of bright violet.
The air snapped.
Then-CRACK!
My tail whipped through the air and carved across the captain's stomach, slicing through fabric and flesh.
He stumbled backward, grunting from the force of the blow. Blood stained the front of his coat-but he didn't fall.
It hurt him. Badly.
But I knew it wasn't enough to take him out.
The captain staggered back, clutching his stomach where my tail had torn into him.
He growled under his breath and raised his sword again-his grip tight, knuckles white with pain and fury.
"Okay... time to end this," I thought, lowering myself for the charge.
My claws dug deep into the dirt-then I launched forward, the ground tearing behind me in a burst of speed.
I could see it. The end. One more blow, and this fight was over.
But instead of bracing or blocking, the captain shakily smirked.
His expression was tight and focused… but there was something else in his eyes.
Desperation? No, he was definitely planning something.
He twisted his grip and flipped the sword upside down.
Then, just before I reached him, the flames around his blade surged-brighter, hotter, and wilder.
And with one violent motion, he drove it into the ground.
The surrounding area exploded with fire.
It erupted around him like a volcanic pillar, forcing me to skid to a halt. I raised my arms as a wall of heat slammed into me, scorching the air.
I stumbled back, teeth clenched as sparks lashed across my scales.
It was hotter than anything he'd used before, and hotter than any breath of my own fire.
The flames wrapped around him like armor. Not flickering. Not fading.
As he stood at the center of the inferno, the flames swirled up and around him like a tornado of pure fire.
"What's wrong?" he called through the blaze, his voice warped by heat distortion. "Too hot for you now?"
His mocking grin returned.
I narrowed my eyes, breathing hard. There was no way I could charge through those flames. That would be suicide.
The fire rose in thick walls-at least ten feet wide and fifteen feet high.
"But that's fine," I thought. "He can't keep this up forever."
That's when I heard his voice again-light, taunting.
"Oh? Gonna wait me out?" he called. "I guess you don't care about the villagers then."
My heart clenched.
In the chaos, I'd almost forgotten about, the battle was still raging behind me.
I turned and looked toward the village.
The clash of steel rang out.
Cries of pain echoed through the field.
The villagers were being pushed back, step by step. Their weapons were becoming worn. And their strength was fading.
They wouldn't hold much longer.
I looked back at the captain, still standing inside that blazing wall like a demon bathed in fire.
I scowled angrily; this coward was trying to make me choose between killing him or going to assist the village before it was too late.
Then my mind began to race frantically. I started searching for an answer. Could I try and breach the fire wall? No. That would be suicide.
The heat alone would melt my scales before I even got close.
I gritted my teeth, stress bubbling in my chest like a volcano. I had to do something. I had to make a choice, right now before I ran out of time.
"Damn it..." I thought as I clenched claws. "If only I could get over the wall of flames..."
I could probably jump ten feet up with my own strength, but that wouldn't cut it, the flames were at least fifteen feet tall.
I frantically scanned my surroundings. Then my eyes locked on the tree line, about fifty feet to the right. One tree stood taller and thicker than the others. Its trunk was wide, its limbs sturdy.
I gulped. I had a crazy idea. Maybe it was even suicidal… but it might work.
And it was all I could think of.
I turned while using presence suppression and sprinted toward the tree.
The captain noticed, "Oh? Running away already?" he called mockingly, the flames around him roaring louder in response.
But I ignored him and quickly left his view as neither of us could see very far through the fire.
I reached the base of the tree; then I drove my claws deep into its bark as I began to climb.
The trunk creaked slightly as I pulled myself onto a thick side-branch that extended outward like a launching point.
I stood tall, swaying slightly in the wind. I could see the battlefield from here and I saw the villagers struggling, I had to do this.
Then I took a deep shaky, breath. This would be my only chance, if I missed, it would probably be the end of me.
I spread my wings, they became taut, tense and trembled slightly. They were still undeveloped, but that didn't matter right now.
I crouched low, my claws ripped up the tree bark as I took three quick steps.
Then I jumped.
I shot forward, higher and farther than I ever had before. The air tore past me, wind caught my wings like sails. I glided, shakily, toward the roaring inferno.
The heat shimmered in the air like a mirage. The flames twisted and danced violently, like a living wall of fire.
My heart pounded. I was also losing altitude every second.
My not fully developed wings struggled as I tried to hold elevation.
Too low! "I'm not going to make it!"
I pulled my legs in tight, craned my neck upward trying not to get burned.
FWOOM.
I shot over the top by inches. The fire brushed underneath me, searing just enough to sting.
But I had made it over the wall.
I folded my wings in tight and dove down-headfirst-straight for him.
The captain looked up, stunned. "W-what?! How did you-"
He tried to raise his sword to block. I saw it move like slow motion.
My jaw opened wide, fangs glowing with flickering sparks. Electricity crackled across my teeth.
Then-CRACK.
My jaws slammed shut over his blade.
Cold steel snapped like a twig, fragments exploding into the air.
His eyes went wide. I saw the flash of panic flicker in his face.
I didn't give him a chance to recover. My claw ignited with raw lightning, every muscle in my body tensing.
I released the anger that had been boiling up inside me and struck.
Then-THUMP.
My claw slammed forward and plunged into his chest.
Blood erupted. The captain let out a strangled gasp. I had pierced clean through him, my claws bursting out the other side.
He coughed violently, and the flames surrounding us vanished in an instant.
I pulled my claw free.
He staggered, then dropped to his knees. He tilted his head back; face contorted in a mixture of pain and disbelief.
"You... really killed me," he wheezed.
Then his face twisted into a hateful sneer. "You have no idea what you've just done. You'll be hunted for this, then torn apart. Do you really think this is strength?"
He coughed again. Blood poured freely now.
"You have no idea what real power looks like, you're just a monster."
Then the life vanished from his eyes and his body fell to the ground motionless.