The spear flew straight toward the dragon's eye.
Runic metal.
Dragon-killing steel.
Made for one purpose only.
---
Elsa moved before thought.
Heat exploded from her body.
The spear vaporized midair.
Not deflected.
Gone.
---
The shockwave tore through the clearing.
Hunters were thrown backward.
Trees snapped apart.
Fire surged wildly through the forest.
The wounded dragon roared.
Not in pain.
In fury.
---
"Formation!"
The hunters scrambled desperately.
Too late.
Fear had already broken discipline.
---
One hunter raised a chain launcher with shaking hands.
Another lit a runic spear.
A third pointed directly at Elsa.
"Kill the hybrid first!"
---
The dragon heard that word.
Hybrid.
Its rage deepened instantly.
Ancient hatred surfaced like wildfire.
---
**"They dare."**
The voice thundered through Elsa's mind.
Violent.
Overwhelming.
---
The dragon opened its jaws.
Fire gathered.
Bright enough to turn night into day.
---
"No!"
Elsa stepped forward immediately.
Between the hunters and the dragon.
The heat behind her was unbearable.
Enough to melt stone.
---
The hunters stared at her in disbelief.
"She's protecting us?"
---
The dragon's voice crashed into her mind again.
**"MOVE."**
---
"They'll die."
---
**"YES."**
The answer came without hesitation.
---
Elsa's chest tightened.
Not because the dragon was cruel.
Because it sounded reasonable.
---
"They hunted you."
The whisper inside her agreed immediately.
"They would've killed you both."
---
The dragon's flames intensified.
The forest screamed around them.
---
The old man watched silently from behind the shattered trees.
Not intervening.
Because this choice belonged to her.
---
Elsa stood her ground.
Even as the heat burned her skin.
"They're afraid."
---
The dragon's eyes narrowed.
**"And fear creates hunters."**
True.
Painfully true.
---
Behind Elsa, one of the younger hunters trembled violently.
Barely older than a boy.
His spear shook in his hands.
Terrified.
---
Not hateful.
Terrified.
---
That mattered.
---
Elsa remembered Edward standing before armed knights.
Bleeding.
Still choosing restraint.
---
"You promised."
---
The dragon's flames surged.
Final warning.
---
**"MOVE, CHILD."**
---
Elsa closed her eyes briefly.
Then—
She released her own power.
---
Golden fire erupted around her instantly.
Violent.
Immense.
Controlled.
---
The clearing exploded with pressure.
The dragon's flames collided against hers—
And stopped.
---
For one impossible moment—
Two infernos held against each other.
Dragon fire against dragon blood.
The forest shaking beneath both.
---
The hunters stared in horror.
Not understanding what they were witnessing.
---
Elsa gritted her teeth.
Holding back the dragon's flames felt like holding a mountain in place.
Pain tore through her arms.
Heat ripped across her skin.
---
The dragon's eyes widened slightly.
Not at her strength.
At her choice.
---
**"You defend them?"**
---
Elsa's voice shook under the pressure.
"They're stupid."
Flames cracked violently around her.
"They're cruel."
The ground split beneath her feet.
"They're afraid."
---
Her golden eyes sharpened.
"But they're still alive."
---
Silence.
Heavy.
Ancient.
---
Then the dragon did something unexpected.
The flames weakened.
Slightly.
---
The inferno collapsed outward harmlessly into the sky.
Exploding above the forest like a second sunset.
---
The hunters dropped to their knees.
Some crying.
Some praying.
Some simply frozen.
---
Elsa staggered slightly.
Breathing hard.
The heat around her unstable now.
---
The dragon lowered its massive head toward her again.
Studying.
Searching.
---
Then—
A memory surfaced in Elsa's mind suddenly.
Not hers.
The dragon's.
---
A woman with black horns smiling softly.
A human man laughing beside her.
Warmth.
Peace.
Love.
Then—
Blood.
Fire.
Screaming.
Dragon spears.
---
Elsa gasped sharply.
The vision vanished instantly.
---
The dragon's eyes dimmed slightly.
Pain resurfacing beneath the rage.
---
**"Your mother…"**
The voice weakened.
---
Elsa's chest tightened.
"She loved a human."
---
The dragon closed its eyes briefly.
Ancient grief filling the silence.
---
**"And humans killed her for it."**
---
The hunters behind Elsa remained frozen.
No one dared move now.
Not after witnessing that power.
---
Then one older hunter stepped forward slowly.
Against all logic.
Against all fear.
---
His voice trembled.
"…Why?"
---
Elsa looked back at him.
---
The hunter swallowed hard.
"You could've let us die."
---
True.
Completely true.
---
Elsa stared at him for a long moment.
Then answered quietly—
"Because he wouldn't have."
---
The words settled heavily over the clearing.
Even the dragon fell silent.
---
The old man closed his eyes briefly.
A faint sadness touching his expression.
Because Edward's kindness was still protecting people…
…even after death.
---
Suddenly—
The wounded dragon stumbled violently.
Its injured wing collapsed beneath it.
Blood spread rapidly across the burned earth.
---
Elsa turned immediately.
The dragon was weakening fast.
Too much blood lost.
Too many wounds.
---
The hunters noticed too.
Fear shifted instantly into calculation.
---
"She's dying…"
"If we strike now—"
---
Elsa's head snapped toward them instantly.
The heat around her surged again.
This time colder somehow.
More dangerous.
---
"No."
One word.
Absolute.
---
And for the first time—
The hunters obeyed immediately.