Across the battlefield, General Aerys was being rushed back toward the Norvoss command camp.
Blood continued to pour from the opened gaps in his armor, staining the horse's flank crimson. Every gallop sent another jolt of agony through his abdomen where Tai's revolver shots had torn into him.
His elite guards surrounded him from every side, escorting him back toward the massive defensive barrier protecting the Norvoss encampment.
One by one, the soldiers passed through the shimmering magical wall without issue.
Then the horse carrying Aerys reached it.
BZZZT!
The barrier flashed.
Instead of allowing him through, it violently rejected him.
The horse reared back in panic while Aerys was nearly thrown from the saddle.
"...What?!"
His escort froze.
The barrier... refused to recognize him.
One of the elite guards hurriedly searched Aerys' equipment before his expression changed.
"...General."
Aerys looked up weakly.
"...Your access device..."
His hand instinctively moved toward his belt.
Nothing.
His eyes widened.
Then everything clicked into place.
"...That damn wolf..."
Tai hadn't just wounded him.
He had stolen the very device that allowed authorized personnel to pass through the barrier.
---
Across the battlefield...
Tai stood near Mia's protective Abyss barrier while more Lumeris and Aegis soldiers rushed over to reinforce the area.
He casually looked down at the small enchanted device now hanging from his belt.
"...Handy."
After pocketing it, he opened the cylinder of one revolver.
Only one full cylinder remained.
"...Figures."
Most of his mana crystals had already been spent fighting on the front lines.
Then came the duel with Aerys.
He had burned through nearly everything.
Another mana-restraining cannon fired.
BOOOOM!
The beam slammed into Nythera's Abyss barrier...
...and ricocheted harmlessly away.
Tai watched it for a second before letting out a quiet sigh.
"Gotta make every shots counts"
He looked ahead.
Nearly thirty Norvoss soldiers were advancing to reinforce the cannon positions.
Tai rolled his shoulders.
Without a word—
He sprinted forward.
Lumeris and Aegis soldiers immediately charged alongside him.
Steel clashed against steel.
The battlefield erupted once more.
A mana-restraining beam swept across the ground.
Tai threw himself aside just in time.
Several soldiers beside him weren't so fortunate.
The pale beam struck them directly.
Instantly, their faces drained of color.
Their knees buckled
Weapons slipped from trembling hands.
One after another, they collapsed onto the dirt, too weak to continue fighting.
Tai didn't stop.
Using the stolen access device, he reached the Norvoss barrier.
The magical wall shimmered...
...then allowed him through without resistance.
The cannon crews froze.
"W-What?!"
"How did he get inside?!"
"Kill him!"
Seven guards rushed him at once.
Five never reached him.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Five bodies dropped almost simultaneously.
The remaining two charged with swords raised.
The first swung downward.
Tai sidestepped with effortless precision before driving a fist into the man's throat.
The guard dropped to his knees, clutching his neck and gasping for air.
The second attacked immediately.
His blade sliced through...
...empty air.
Tai had already moved.
Bang.
The guard collapsed face-first into the ground.
Silence fell around the cannon crews.
Tai slowly raised his revolver.
Then, with his free hand, he pointed toward another mana-restraining cannon in the distance.
His voice was calm.
"Aim that cannon."
The operators exchanged nervous glances.
Behind Tai, the guard he had struck in the throat managed to crawl toward a fallen crossbow.
With shaking hands, he fired.
Thunk!
The bolt flew toward Tai's head.
Without even looking...
Tai tilted his head slightly.
The bolt passed harmlessly beside his ear.
Bang.
The crawling soldier fell still.
Only then did Tai look back at the cannon operators.
His revolver never wavered.
"...Do I need to repeat myself?"
The crews visibly paled.
"N-No, sir!"
"We'll do it!"
They immediately began turning the massive cannon toward the direction Tai had indicated.
Near the center of the battlefield...
Ebruhan remained grounded.
His broken wing was healing rapidly under dragon regeneration, but not fast enough. Flying was still impossible.
The wyverns knew it.
They refused to give him even a moment to recover.
Dozens circled overhead while others stalked around him on the ground, searching for an opening.
Then they attacked.
A wyvern lunged first.
ROAR!
Ebruhan caught it by the throat.
With terrifying strength, he swung the beast like a giant club and smashed it into two charging wyverns.
BOOM!
Three massive bodies crashed across the battlefield.
Another wyvern dove from above.
Ebruhan twisted, slamming his tail into its ribs before snapping forward and clamping his jaws around another's neck.
CRACK!
Bones shattered.
Without releasing his grip, the Storm Dragon unleashed a point-blank mana blast.
Blue light erupted from his mouth.
BOOM!
The explosion hurled another wyvern backward in a spray of blood and scales.
A fifth beast charged.
Ebruhan planted one forepaw against its neck, pinning it helplessly to the ground.
Before he could finish it—
Four mana-restraining cannons fired simultaneously.
Four pale beams tore across the battlefield.
Ebruhan reacted instantly.
With a powerful shove, he dragged the trapped wyvern directly into their path.
The beams struck the unfortunate creature instead.
Its body immediately went limp as the mana-draining energy consumed its strength before Ebruhan tossed the weakened wyvern aside.
Then—
A brilliant flash erupted in the distance.
One of the mana-restraining cannons had suddenly turned...
...and fired directly at another cannon.
The protective barrier surrounding the second artillery piece flickered violently...
...before collapsing.
Ebruhan's eyes narrowed.
Phantom.
The wolf had done it.
Almost immediately, four blue mana bombs streaked across the battlefield.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The exposed cannon disappeared in a massive explosion.
Wood.
Steel.
Runes.
Everything was blasted into the air.
A small smile appeared beneath Ebruhan's fangs.
"Good work, Phantom..."
But there was no time to celebrate.
His wing still hadn't fully healed.
He needed to get airborne.
Now.
The wyverns attacked again.
Several rushed from the front while others descended from above, bathing the battlefield in streams of scorching fire.
Ebruhan raised a shimmering mana shield.
The flames crashed against it—
Then another mana-restraining beam struck.
CRACK!
The shield shattered instantly.
Before Ebruhan could recover—
Four wyverns slammed into him at once.
Their claws dug into his scales.
Their combined weight forced the massive dragon back to the ground.
He roared, struggling to throw them off.
Then another mana-restraining beam swept across the battlefield.
This time...
...it struck everything.
Ebruhan.
The wyverns pinning him.
Everyone caught within its path.
The wyverns immediately weakened, their grips loosening as the beam suppressed their mana.
But Ebruhan felt it too.
His mana flow...
...stopped.
Like iron chains had been wrapped around his very core once again.
Meanwhile , wyvern bodies trembled violently as their mana was suppressed, leaving both beasts and riders sprawled helplessly across the ground.
Ebruhan staggered.
His breathing grew heavier.
Mana no longer flowed freely through his body.
Every step felt as though invisible chains had been wrapped around his limbs.
"...Grrah..."
The Storm Dragon slowly rose to his feet.
His golden eyes locked onto the distant artillery line.
Then—
ROOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!
The roar echoed across the battlefield.
Another mana-restraining beam struck him head-on.
Blue light exploded against his scales.
This time...
He didn't stop.
He ran.
Each step shook the earth beneath him.
THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!
The artillery crews widened their eyes.
"He's charging!"
"Keep firing!"
More pale beams slammed into the dragon.
His body grew heavier with every hit...
...yet he kept running.
Then, from the opposite side of the battlefield—
BOOM!
A captured mana-restraining cannon fired.
Its beam slammed directly into the protective barrier surrounding the cannon Ebruhan was charging.
The magical shield flickered violently before shattering.
Ebruhan lowered his head.
His nine-meter body became a living battering ram.
CRAAAASH!!
The cannon never stood a chance.
Wood splintered.
Steel supports twisted apart.
The entire siege weapon flipped onto its side as Ebruhan's momentum carried straight through it.
The crews scattered in terror.
Another beam from Tai's captured cannon struck elsewhere.
A second artillery shield collapsed.
Without slowing down...
Ebruhan charged again.
Mana-restraining beams continued striking him from every direction yet, Ebruhan don't seem to slow down,
Soldiers rushed forward to stop him.
They were swept aside.
Some were crushed beneath his forepaws.
Others were simply hurled away by the shockwave created by the charging dragon.
Nothing could slow him.
Another cannon came into view.
Ebruhan slammed into it.
BOOOOOM!!
The second artillery piece rolled across the battlefield like a child's toy.
From the Norvoss command position...
Selene watched the destruction through her brass spyglass.
A faint smile crossed her face.
"So..."
"How long do you intend to last, Ebruhan?"
---
Inside the Norvoss medical tent...
Healing magic continued pouring into Aerys' wounded abdomen.
Then...
Another explosion echoed outside.
Aerys turned toward the tent entrance.
Just in time to see another mana-restraining cannon overturned by the charging Storm Dragon.
His jaw tightened.
Without another word, he stood.
The healers immediately rushed toward him.
"General!"
"You aren't finished healing!"
"If you move now, your wounds will reopen!"
Aerys ignored every warning.
He reached for his battle axe.
The familiar weight settled into his hand then,he stepped outside, mounted his waiting warhorse in one smooth motion, and pulled on the reins.
Behind him, the healers shouted desperately.
"GENERAL!"
"Please!"
"You'll tear your wounds open!"
Aerys glanced toward the battlefield.
His voice was calm.
Resolute.
"I'm going to fix my own mistake."
The horse surged forward.
Galloping straight toward the front lines.
From afar, Selene noticed him riding out.
She simply watched in silence.
She understood Aerys well enough to know...
Once he had chosen his objective...
Not even she could stop him.
After destroying four mana-restraining cannons, Ebruhan charged toward another.
His massive body thundered across the earth.
Then—
Six wyverns descended from the sky.
"ROOOAAARRR!!"
They crashed into him from every direction.
One slammed into his shoulders.
Another sinked its claws on his back.
A third crashed into his injured wing.
The remaining three piled on immediately afterward, forcing Ebruhan onto ground.
The ground fractured beneath the combined weight.
"GRAAAAH!!"
Ebruhan twisted violently, hurling one wyvern away with brute strength before biting another across the neck.
Crunch!
The creature screamed.
But there were simply too many.
"Hold him!"
Norvoss soldiers rushed forward.
Heavy enchanted chains flew through the air.
They wrapped around his forelegs.
Around his hind legs.
Across his neck.
Dozens of soldiers pulled with everything they had.
The dragon lurched forward anyway.
His claws crushed several soldiers beneath him.
Others were sent flying by the sheer force of his movements.
Yet every fallen soldier was replaced by two more.
They kept coming.
Again.
And again.
A wyvern clamped its jaws around Ebruhan's neck.
Dyrot bit into the same damaged wing that had only recently begun healing.
Crack.
Pain exploded through his body.
"ROOOOOAAARRRR!!"
His roar echoed across the battlefield.
At Far away...
Tai glanced toward the struggling dragon.
His expression darkened.
He immediately pointed toward the battlefield.
"Aim the cannon over there!"
The captured Norvoss crew hurried to rotate the massive weapon.
"Yes, sir!"
The cannon slowly turned.
Just as it finished aligning—
Tai's wolf ears suddenly twitched.
Without hesitation, he looked upward.
A shadow descended from the sky.
Aerys.
The general had abandoned his horse completely.
Both hands gripped a massive battle axe as he fell from above like a meteor.
"Die!!"
Tai's revolver snapped upward on instinct.
Click.
...
Empty.
Tai titled his head
"Fuck"
There wasn't even time to reload.
The axe came crashing down.
BOOOOM!!
Tai threw himself sideways at the last possible instant.
The axe blade smashed into the earth where he had been standing only a heartbeat earlier.
Tai slid several feet before regaining his footing.
Across from him...
Aerys slowly wrenched the axe free from the ground
His armor was still damaged from their previous duel.
Blood seeped from the gaps.
He leveled the axe directly at the wolf.
"I've had enough of you."
Tai stared for a second.
Then a small grin spread across his face.
He calmly holstered the empty revolver.
"Funny"
His hand reached behind his back.
With a smooth motion, he drew the black steel hatchet.
The emerald orb embedded in its handle shimmered faintly.
He rolled his shoulders.
Spun the weapon once.
Then settled into a attack stance.
"I was just about to say the same thing."
Around them...
Cannon crews instinctively backed away.
Even the sounds of battle seemed to fade for a moment.
Everyone understood.
The real fight...
Was about to begin.