The harbor was a graveyard of twisted metal and blue cinders. Neweland, the Hydro Arcon, arrived at the scene just as the sound of a crushing blow echoed across the water. He stopped, his white hair whipping in the wind, as he saw the impossible: Lapis and Techyon were losing.
Lapis was pinned against a shattered tanker, his goggles cracked and his divine mana flickering. Rax loomed over him, his bone-purple claws glowing with executioner's light.
"You bastard!" Rax's voice was a tectonic rumble as he turned his massive head toward the Arcon. "Why did you betray us, Neweland? You were supposed to be serving the Monarch of Destruction. You should be kneeling to him, not playing king to these pathetic humans!"
Neweland's blue eyes turned as cold as a frozen ocean. The water around his feet began to swirl in a violent, high-pressure vortex. "Serve him? How could I ever serve a monster who slaughtered my wife in front of our daughter?"
In the chaos, Alya sprinted past the guards, her eyes landing on a broken figure in the rubble. It was Techyon. He was completely covered in blood, his golden aura extinguished.
"Techyon!" she screamed, falling to her knees beside him. She didn't hesitate. She placed her hands over his chest, her palms glowing with a shimmering, crystalline light.
"Pure Water Healing!" The cool, restorative mana began to wash away the grime and blood, closing the deep gashes left by Rax's tail.
Seeing the Arcon's arrival and the recovery of the boy, Rax snarled. He knew he couldn't finish them all at once while Neweland was in a state of "Grief-Fueled Rage." With a massive beat of his bone-armored wings, the dragon took to the sky, leaving a trail of blue fire behind him.
"This isn't over, traitor!" Rax roared as he disappeared into the clouds.
Neweland watched him go, then turned to his elite guards, his voice shaking with suppressed emotion. "Take both of them—Techyon and the Honoured boy—to the palace infirmary immediately. If a single drop more of their blood is spilled, I will hold you all responsible."
As Rax beat his massive wings to escape into the clouds, he didn't notice the tiny, shimmering glints of light caught in his blue fire. A swarm of Pink Butterflies—Elisa's Fairy Defense —had latched onto the bone-purple gaps in his armor.
They weren't exploding yet. They were pulsing softly, acting as beacons. No matter how far Rax flies, the "Vanguard of the Forgers" knows exactly where his lair is