A sharp crack resonated as the ruin of the dragon's mangled leg visibly re-knitted itself, bone flowing back into alignment with impossible fluidity. As this occurred, the arrows buried in its musculature were ejected forcefully, the deep punctures vanishing beneath rapidly sealing flesh. A quiet exhalation escaped the Master, not quite surprise, more a grim acceptance of the absurd. "What the..."
Before reality could settle, the gargantuan shape became a streak of motion, materializing behind them almost instantly. Twin maws flared, one pulsing with starless black, the other with feverish crimson, both already gathering destructive energies. The initial discharge erupted—a pair of incandescent spheres. The team broke formation, reflexes screaming, the explosions scouring the stone where they'd been microseconds before. Another blast, lethally aimed, burned air towards Sye. She vaulted clear, the passing heat aggressively kissing the ends of her hair. Simultaneously, from her blind spot, the immense tail swept low, a horizon-wide scythe. Sye reacted with breathtaking aerial grace, twisting inverted mid-leap, the thick scales passing harmlessly beneath her airborne form. Upside down, she nocked and fired, her arrow finding the beast's sternum just before she landed, light as falling silk.
The tail's momentum carried it onward, targeting Kin. He met the threat with sheer nerve, timing his jump not away, but onto the hurtling mass. Sword descending, he plunged the blade deep for purchase "I've already seen it once!" He rode it for a bare instant, then vaulted off, dragging the steel sideways in his wake, carving a deep channel along the appendage. A strangled, furious roar answered the insult.
Tiren seized the fractional opening, accelerating towards the dragon's chest. While still closing, he cast his spear with javelin-like force, the point punching through scale into the dense muscle beneath. His leap timed perfectly with the spear's impact; airborne, he delivered a driving kick squarely to the weapon's shaft, ramming it even deeper. A violent, full-throated bellow tore from both dragon heads. Tiren hit the ground, already retreating to rejoin the others.
Yet, the injuries... simply ceased to exist. Sye's arrow rattled onto the flagstones. Tiren's spear joined it, expelled by flesh remade. The channel Kin had gouged smoothed over, leaving unmarked scales. Within moments, the dragon stood as if untouched, an embodiment of their struggle's apparent futility. The unwanted truth solidified: conventional assault was meaningless against this two-headed regenerator.
"It regenerates itself in seconds..." The Master observed, his voice low, shaken with calculation.
Tiren's reply was terse, as he recalls his spear from the dungeon's floor with an invisible tether. "Something pulled from a nightmare."
As if summoned by the word, the twin heads inclined. The crimson power flowed into the abyssal dark, coalescing into a terrifying, unstable maelstrom. They unleashed it—not as projectiles, but as a ground-hugging, rolling wave of annihilation, a tide of fused shadow and flame scouring the breadth of the immense chamber.
The team vaulted in perfect unison soaring above the churning destruction. The dragon, however, mirrored their ascent, launching skyward with shocking agility. Mid-air, it lashed its tail brutally scythed downwards, aimed directly at the Master. He crossed his arms just in time, the strike slamming into him with a sound like a mountain cracking open. The blow tore him from the air, driving him earthward.
"Master!" Kin yelled into the sudden chaos.
The tail struck the dungeon floor, obscuring the impact zone in a thick shroud of pulverized rock and dust. As the debris began to settle, the staggering image resolved: the Master, on his feet, stance unbroken, arms still locked, bearing the monstrous weight of the colossal limb. His mace dematerializing in his hand.
His body trembled—every muscle locking, swelling with coiled strain. His breath hitched. A low, grinding sound escaped his throat as his arms flexed like drawn cables, veins bulging with effort.
Then—it broke.A detonation of radiant force erupted from his frame, golden aura tearing free like fire through dry leaves. It surged outward in ragged pulses, outlining his body in raw, untamed energy. The air warped, the ground shuddered, and dust lifted in spiraling columns, held by the shift in gravity.
He moved.
With a roar "Ahhh!" ripping from the depths of his lungs, he adjusted—muscles knotting, grip shifting from overhand to underhand, anchoring the dragon's tail across his shoulder. And then the storm broke. He spun. Hoisting the dragon's tail, and hurled the two-headed behemoth sending it flying end over end across the vast space, colliding with the distant dungeon wall in a thunderous explosion of stone. Rubble rained down, burying it.
For a brief moment the dungeon stood still. The rubble covering the dragon slightly glowed inexorably. Subsequently, a sudden movement underneath the pile of rocks started to shift. The dragon rose, shaking off tons of debris like dust motes. And as it regained its footing, every strain, every impact mark, the deep gashes spread across its body—all healed. Perfect. Whole.
Across the expanse, the Master finally allowed himself a heavier breath, the first visible cost of his incredible feat. "We must," he stated, voice tight with effort, "...must do something about its healing."
Tiren nodded, face grim. "Yeah..."
"I have a plan," Kin declared, his words slicing the taut silence. Every gaze instantly fixed upon him. Understanding sparked across their features moments later. They surged forward – Kin and Sye driving straight at the dragon's core, while the Master and Tiren fanned out, aiming to envelop its mountain-like frame.
Sye, quick as thought, sent arrows arcing high as she closed, shafts descending onto the creature's scaled back. As they struck, Tiren engaged its flank, his spearpoint flashing, puncturing the thick hide again and again with focused savagery. From the opposite side, the Master's mace materialized, striking the beast's flank like a metronome of destruction, each blow landing with bone-jarring weight. The dragon's twin screams grew shriller, threaded with undeniable torment.
Near the heads, Sye drew her blade – a fluid whisper of steel leaving leather – and began scoring deep lines across the vulnerable underbelly. Kin advanced beside her, sword high, but a tell-tale distortion on the floor warned him – the outline of a descending limb. He flung himself clear as the gigantic foot impacted. This evasion granted the Master his moment; he pivoted, his mace striking the targeted leg joint with pulverizing force. The sound was wet with blood. The dragon faltered. Tiren simultaneously lunged, his spear carving through the muscle of the other rear leg. Unbalanced, broken, the vast dragon toppled, its twin maws smashing face-first into the hard-packed dungeon floor. The team closed in, weapons poised. About to strike. But then...
A blinding pulse emanated from beneath the pinned heads. Before a final blow could land, the light detonated. A shockwave of incandescent fury blasted outwards, launching the dragon's bulk skyward with unthinkable propulsion. It bellowed, wings unfurling against the upward trajectory, the severe injuries already knitting closed with that unnatural celerity.
Below, the team fought for footing, lungs burning, the sudden counterstroke momentarily overwhelming them. Yet, resilience held. Their grips tightened, weariness plain on their faces, but determination smoldering within their postures. "Sye!" The Master's voice shouted through the aftermath, tight but unwavering.
She responded instantly, bow drawn, pulling back and aiming at the ascending leviathan. "Power Move: Hundred Fold Arrow!" She loosed the arrow as an array of a hundred phantom shafts materialized around it, points of condensed light. The volley ascended striking the dragon and visibly disrupting its flight, sending it tumbling back towards the earth.
Tiren and the Master sprinted to intercept its fall. Kin, however, stood motionless. His focus shifted inward, a whirlwind of thought. "Now... I have to do it now..." Arms lifting, he drew in a deep breath. The external world dimmed, sounds receding. An embryonic power, white and volatile, began to seep into his surroundings, distorting the air like rising vapor. Thump-thump His heartbeat, a heavy drum against the silence. Thump-thump. The influence expanded, a ripple washing outwards. Thump... Perceived time dilated... yet, through the internal quiet, Kin felt something else. An alien ripple of power brushed past from above. A figure flew into view. Kin's focus snapped outward. "Senen..."