Garden Of The Abyss

"...Another one is coming! Get ready…!"

Macheo shouted out as he strained his throat so that his words could reach the ears of his comrades in the wake of the enormous dragon's next assault.

The once immaculate fields of seraphic white were razed by azure flames that ate away at its beauty, rising in a mystical smoke that clouded the domain in the dominance of the four-winged beast.

After combining their efforts multiple times already just to halt its mighty breaths, each of them were left exhausted. As painful as new breaths came to be drawn, they could only stand as the shadow of their impending battle loomed over them.

Like a great mountain it stood over them, existing in the ivory pasture like a malevolent force of nature as its immaculate scales of iridescent white glittered in the light like a ferocious divinity punishing them. Despite their efforts thus far, not a single blemish disgraced the sturdy, white scales of the dragon.

Rearing its horned head back as the black skin of its inner  maw was shown, releasing a dense, blue flame, the pressure of its malicious intent could be felt, bubbling and rising.

"Get behind me!"

Standing between the rest of the group and the colossal, malicious creature, the crimson-furred panda held his hammer in front of him like a shield, allowing it to expand in size to accommodate.

"Hongse! Your arms are going to tear off if you block another one…!"

Valerie uttered, but her battered state didn't convince her fellow demi-human as he firmly stood his ground. It would be hypocrisy to decline her comrade's bravery; she herself withstood the impact of the dragon's immensely powerful breath. After such an attack, her breathing became rugged, the protective scales that covered her vital areas began to crack and bleed as did her orifices.

It's not just raw power, something is different about this dragon...it can't be, right? He was supposed to have fallen eras ago, Valerie thought.

As tall as Hongse stood, however, the breaths of the great dragon that quaked the soil beneath their feet challenged Hongse's resolve as his grip quivered around his trusty hammer.

"It's fine! If I get killed, I'll come right back over! It's fine!"

Hongse assured not only his draconic companion, but himself as he swallowed his fears down like a dry biscuit.

"Allow me to be of assistance."

Standing beside the crimson panda who towered over himself, the high elf stood as his breaths came unevenly and shallow. His robes had been torn and burned, his skin facing the same assault--fortunately to a lesser degree as he raised his staff high.

"Licht: Sanctity of Man!"

Launching the blessed spell, Fedrin's command bolstered their defenses with a multi-layered shield of light that rotated clockwise, ringing with a morning chime as its radiance extended forth.

Culminating its next mystical breath, the great white dragon unleashed another grandiose assault of condensed, azure heat that crashed against the barrier that was reinforced by Hongse' strength, bolstering himself against the back of the radiant shield.

Gathering himself as he took to a knee, momentarily succumbing to his exhaustion, Macheo turned to Aiko, who helped him stand back up, "Aiko...have you noticed something weird about this?"

"What do you mean?"

"The moment this dragon confronted us...I felt weakened; the same type of feeling of not eating for a day after training, or experiencing some sort of sickness…Everything feels diminished...my strength, speed, mana--everything."

As Macheo explained this, he gripped the sable coat he wore, sweating as the exhaustion engulfed his body further, stumbling a bit as the beige-haired girl caught him. Helping him stand, Aiko stopped for a moment, placing her gauntlet-clad hand over her abdomen as if thinking to herself before nodding.

"I...I think I know what you mean...I feel it too."

"Pipe it. I know who we're dealing with."

Valerie suddenly injected herself between the two, letting out a tiresome sigh as her crimson locks hung unkempt over her shoulders.

"You know? You didn't think to tell us that?"

Raising his eyebrow with a bit of attitude to his expression, Macheo asked sharply as the wounds inflicted on his body felt cheapened by the potential reluctance of information.

"Shut up! I just figured it out."

"Spit it out then, already. You know just as much as I do...we don't have the time for daydreaming."

Macheo's words rang true as the draconic knight felt silent for a moment, holding onto the handle of her unique lance as she held it against the ground to support herself. Her vertical, magenta irises honed on the near dragon before she spoke.

"...I'm the descendant of the Great Red Dragon, Fugoch. It existed in a kingdom that losts its name alongside another--the Great White Dragon, Albus. In Vesta, there are two main noble houses of draconic people, the first being mine, "Draig", that follows Fugoch, and the other being "Albus", that instead falls under the history of Albus."

"I think I heard a story like that when I was a kid. Fugoch betrayed their kingdom and defeated Albus, and the fall of the Great White Dragon led to the downfall of their kingdom, right?"

Macheo chipped in as Valerie told this, popping his dislocated shoulder back into place as the joints of his wooden arm clicked.

"That's what I believed too...but from what I'm seeing right now, it looks like we were wrong. I can feel it in my blood just looking at it; the blood of Fugoch boils at the sight of it...that's Albus."

It was as she muttered the true name of the white, pearlescent dragon that the holy barrier began to give in to the ferocious power of the beast's destructive breath.

"...Hongse, get back! I can't hold it much longer!"

Fedrin shouted as he held his hands out to stabilize his defensive magecraft, but the towering panda stood strong, reinforcing the barrier with his own mana and strength.

"Listen to him, Hongse! Acting like a hero isn't going to let us win!"

Valerie shouted, getting her fur-clad companion to turn back to look at her, though the look in his eyes quelled any hope of listening to her words.

"All of you--prepare a counterattack!"

"Huh…?!"

"It's our only chance! I'll stop its attack, so hit it with everything you've got!"

The panda demi-human shouted out as he hulked his body up, standing in such a way that he fully utilized his size.

"I heard you; loud and clear."

Macheo said in a whisper as he lifted his head; his golden locks had become unkempt, meddled with his own blood as he raised his flesh-bound hand forward.

Gathering bountiful magical energy, his sable mantle and cape fluttered as the vibrant azure contrasted the gold and crimson etching on his dark, leather garments.

"Macheo? You can't be for real…?"

Valerie looked at the young man, who didn't reject the wishes of the crimson-furred demi-human--granting them to completion with unmoving resolve embedded in his royal irises.

"What kind of king would tarnish the bravery of a warrior? No...it's much more simple than that, isn't it? What right do we have, as his friends and comrades, to neglect his selfless will? Stand, Valerie, and honor the bravery of your companion."

With Macheo's words spoken from a place of eloquence and honor, his kingly soul brought the wills of the comrades, fettered by fear, together, unshaking them from plagued thoughts as they stood together.

I understand your hesitance, Valerie. Even if we know we'll be returned to life, the fear of death etched into our bodies never fades. That's the curse of Purgatory. Even so...we must look past death itself then and fight on, Macheo thought.

"Achelous: Gluttonous Tide!"

Spawning around him, Macheo manifested a spiral of awoken waters that guided towards the dragon in front of him, expanding far enough to surround the great creature in an enclosed domain of lively aqua.

"Come on, you damn dragon woman!"

Macheo shouted as he struggled to control the rampant magecraft, keeping the vicious, slashing limbs of evershifting water from reaching his comrades standing near him.

"Don't call me that…! Fine!"

Gathering her resolve, the crimson-haired demi-human took to the sky as her wings guided her, hovering above the battlefield as she held her lance pointing directly up, the same as her curved horns did.

"Kojin: Re-War!"

Appearing above the back of the white dragon as it continued to press its azure destruction against the crumbling barrier, multiple, mystical gateways carrying a crimson hue manifested.

Like a hail straight out of Hell, fireballs cascaded down from the fiery gateways, crashing down atop Albus' back with resounding explosions that stretched out their volatile grace.

In a unison that swept against the natural order of elements, Valerie's flames pelted the white dragon while the whirlpool prison wrapped itself against the beast's form, squeezing and lashing at it.

"Your water...it isn't evaporating?"

Valerie asked with a raised eyebrow as she looked at the combination attack unfolding against Albus. On the contrary to what the crimson-haired woman believed would be the case, the water didn't conflict in the slightest with the bursting flames it fought alongside--instead exhibiting a heat of its own.

"In case you've forgotten, my water borrows heat--it doesn't get swept up by it!"

Macheo yelled out as he trapped the steaming water against Albus' body, holding the dragon still as the hail of flames continued to barrage its back.

At last, an impact was made; the continuous barrage caused the azure destruction to halt from Albus' maw as the dragon faltered, losing its footing as it gave into the rain of fire attacking it.

"Yes! Now's our chance!"

Valerie's eyes glistened at the ray of hope awarded to them; now having an opportunity to utilize her close-quarters abilities, the young, beige-haired girl attempted to rush forward, but was stopped by Macheo.