(Third POV)
The monster prowled the empty city, its heavy gurgles echoing through the streets, each breath carrying the nauseating stench of decay. A lone guardian, it had no purpose but to watch over this forsaken place, to defend the core that birthed the structures surrounding it. Its claws scraped against the stone pavement as it wandered, sharp eyes sweeping over the deserted roads and vacant buildings.
Then, suddenly, the world darkened.
The artificial night sky, once littered with countless glowing specks, dimmed as thick, swirling clouds spread across it like ink in water. The creature froze, lifting its grotesque head. A deep rumble left its throat, uncertainty creeping into its instincts. It sniffed the air, its long, jagged teeth grinding against each other as it grew restless. Soon after, it started pouring down on the beast, obstructing its senses.
And then, right around the corner of the street ahead of it—movement. Figures darted through the shadows. The monster snarled, its massive frame shifting as it prepared to charge. But the figures didn't run in fear. No, they moved with purpose, deliberately staying just within sight before disappearing around corners.
A trap?
The beast knew it was being lured, but its nature did not allow it to ignore such provocation. So, with a clamorous growl, it gave chase.
It thundered through the streets, each step shaking the ground beneath it. The figures ahead weaved between alleyways, drawing it deeper, deeper still, until the towering buildings around them grew taller and denser. The creature didn't realize where it had been led until it stopped in the center of a ruined plaza, surrounded by the highest structures in the city.
Then, from far away—a voice.
Perched atop a distant rooftop, far from the monster's reach, Roxy chanted, her staff raised toward the heavens. Power swirled around her, crackling in the air. The thick clouds above churned violently, light flickering within their depths as she reached the final words of her incantation.
"[Lightning]!"
A blinding spear of light split the sky.
The bolt struck the monster's back with a deafening explosion, engulfing it in an arc of pure destruction. The beast let out a twisted shriek as the force crushed it into the ground, the sheer impact splitting the pavement beneath it.
The towering buildings, tempered by the intruders, could no longer hold. The shockwave from the lightning strike tore through their bases, and one by one, they collapsed inward.
Massive pillars of stone, steel, and rubble crashed down upon the beast, swallowing it beneath an avalanche of destruction. Dust choked the air, debris rolling across the streets as the city itself seemed to groan from the devastation.
As a final touch, the incantation was spoken once more, landing on the beast as it was buried in debry.
"[Lightning]!!!"
The blade of thunder struck, throwing out more dust, its power just as impackable as the first.
For a long moment, nothing stirred.
Watching from a distance, the group remained tense, gripping their weapons as the dust slowly settled. Had it worked? Had they buried it for good?
Then, a low, wet gurgle slithered through the silence.
A sickening hiss followed, and suddenly, the rubble shifted. A horrific stench—thick, acidic, and wrong—flooded the air.
Something melted from beneath the wreckage. The debris that had buried the monster sizzled, liquefying as an oozing, bile-colored substance ate away at it. Then—ignition.
A violent purple flame burst to life, spreading across the ruins like wildfire. The corrupted fire devoured everything it touched, and its unnatural glow cast monstrous shadows along the ruined street.
The beast pulled itself from the rubble, its eyes glowing with unyielding fury. Its roar shattered the stillness, shaking the city's very foundations as its body was wreathed in toxic flames, revealing its unnatural, morphed body.
Like the mythology of the hellhound guarding the underworld's gates, the beast presented three heads from its neck. But instead of canine heads, it bore three different Black Dragon heads.
The body those three Black Dragon heads shared was long and stout, covered in scales blending into the darkness perfectly. Three pairs of legs held it, the front pair being muscular wings that no longer functioned for flight.
It wasn't like anything this world had ever seen. It was much larger than most dragons, more horrific than any beast, an abomination to nature.
From the tip of its spiked tail, a stream of purple energy coursed through it until it reached the neck of all three heads, purple flames erupting around them like collars as all three mouths started to suck in air.
In unison, they let out a mighty, ear-bursting roar that sent out chains of explosions on the entire city, breaking one structure after another.
The trap had failed, leaving the beast with barely a scar to see. The real battle was only just beginning.
***
(Paul POV)
This was not how it was supposed to go.
The plan had been simple: lure the monster into the tallest part of the city, trap it in the center, and crush it under a controlled collapse. We knew brute force wouldn't be enough, not against something like that, so we had to rely on terrain and magic to do the job for us.
Roxy was the key to it all—her [Lightning] spell, enhanced by her staff and rings, would strike the creature down, destabilizing the surrounding buildings we had tempered with. When the monster's environment injures it enough, we would swoop in and take it out.
And it should have worked, even just a little.
But as I stood there, eyes locked onto the thing rising from the rubble, I felt a cold chill run down my spine.
It emerged from the ruined remains of the collapsed buildings, its once grotesque form now unrecognizable—twisted into something far worse. Three monstrous Black Dragon heads adorned its long, serpentine body. Each bore a different, horrifying visage, their eyes gleaming with a maddening hunger.
The middle head was the most terrifying—larger than the others, its jet-black horn giving it a regal, almost dignified look. The left bore a stretched, flattened snout, its bottom front fangs protruding upward grotesquely. And the right... the right had an unsettling, manic grin from its long, almost triangular face, its bulging eyes twitching in every direction.
Then, the ground rumbled.
A thick, purple glow slithered along its massive tail, surging up its necks like a burning chain. Flames erupted around its heads, forming fiery collars, pulling with raw, concentrated power. I could feel it—an overwhelming force pressing down on me, as if the air itself had turned to stone.
And then it inhaled.
All three heads took in deep, guttural breaths, their chests expanding unnaturally.
"MOVE!" I shouted, but the words barely left my mouth before the explosion hit.
With a deafening, unified roar, the beast released a shockwave that tore through the city. Everything within its range crumbled—buildings, streets, even the very air seemed to vibrate from the force. The explosion sent massive chunks of debris flying in every direction, reducing entire blocks to dust.
I barely managed to throw myself behind a fallen stone pillar, gritting my teeth as the shockwave blasted past. The sheer force rattled my bones, and my ears rang painfully.
Our trap had done nothing. We needed a new plan.
The beast wasn't just alive—it was stronger than before.
I gritted my teeth, forcing myself up from behind the stone pillar. Dust still clouded the air, and chunks of rubble continued to fall, but my focus was locked on the abomination before us.
To my side, Ghislaine had already moved into a defensive stance, both hands gripping her sword. Her sharp eyes flicked between the three heads, analyzing, calculating. Roxy was further back, panting heavily from her spell, sweat beading on her forehead. Even with all her magic-enhancing equipment, the sheer power of a King-class spell took a toll.
I turned to the others. "We can't take it head-on. That thing tanked a direct hit from a King-class spell and came out looking even more ominous."
Elinalise, crouching behind another piece of cover, huffed. "You got any bright ideas then?"
I didn't. Or at least, nothing that would guarantee we'd get out of this alive.
The monster moved. Its colossal body slithered forward, scales scraping against the broken streets. The purple flames still flickered around its heads, but now they condensed, focusing into molten energy swirling in its throats.
I knew that look.
"BREATH ATTACK!" I roared.
Everyone moved.
A second later, a violent torrent of violet fire erupted from all three mouths, consuming everything in its path. The street where we had stood moments ago turned into an inferno, the corrupted flames melting stone and metal alike.
Ghislaine grabbed Roxy, pulling her away before the fire could reach her. Elinalise vaulted over broken debris, moving with inhuman agility to avoid the burning wave. I dove behind a shattered carriage, the heat licking at my back as I barely avoided incineration.
The flames raged for what felt like an eternity before finally dying down. When I peeked out from cover, the battlefield had changed.
Half the city was gone.
The street was a molten wasteland, buildings had melted into twisted slag, and anything remotely flammable had been reduced to ash.
Thank god we let Zenith stay with Rudy and the bracelet with the Light Spirit. If she had been caught in the fire, we would have lost one of our most vital members.
Speaking of members, where were Ruijerd and Eris?
I pushed myself up, steadying my stance as the heat of the monster's flames still lingered in the air. My eyes darted across the battlefield, searching for Ruijerd and Eris.
Then I spotted them.
Across the ruined expanse of the city, they had already engaged the beast, weaving between the broken remnants of buildings as they evaded its relentless attacks. Ruijerd moved with practiced efficiency, his spear striking out with precision as he leapt across the shifting battlefield. Eris, with her usual reckless intensity, darted between the monster's massive limbs, her sword flashing in the dim, violet glow of the corrupted flames.
The middle head of the beast lurched forward, its throat bulging grotesquely before spewing a thick, acidic spit toward Ruijerd. He barely managed to dodge, twisting his body mid-air before landing atop a fallen slab of stone. The acidic bile sizzled where he had stood just moments before, melting through the debris like boiling oil on ice.
I scanned the fight, heart pounding. Where's Eris?
Then—I saw her.
A crimson blur weaving through the wreckage like a shadow in motion. She leapt from one fallen pillar to another, boots skidding against loose rubble, before launching herself onto the beast's spine. Her sword slashed out mid-air, embedding into a ridge between its scales—giving her just enough leverage to push forward. With a final burst of speed, she sprinted up its back, her blade scraping against its armored hide with each step.
The monster had no time to react.
With a feral shout, Eris drove her sword deep into the left head's eye.
The beast's agonized shriek tore through the ruins. Its head jerked wildly, its jaws snapping at the air as it writhed in pain. Below, its winged arms slammed into the ground, claws digging deep—either to steady itself or to prepare for another attack.
And then—the right head lunged.
Its maw gaped open, spewing forth a thick, snot-like glob of vile liquid—aimed directly at Eris.
I opened my mouth to shout, but Roxy was faster.
"[Water Cannon]!"
A high-pressure jet of water surged through the air, colliding with the monster's attack just before it could reach Eris. The sheer force of the spell sent the vile liquid splattering backward, dispersing it into the wind. Eris leapt off the beast's head just in time, flipping mid-air before landing on a nearby pile of debris.
Good. She's safe.
Ruijerd seized the opening. The beast reeled back from its failed attack, its massive middle head thrown off-balance. In a flash of motion, Ruijerd lunged—his spear glinting like a shard of light as it cut through the smoke and rubble, aimed unerringly for the exposed throat.
But then—the monster moved.
Not like a beast driven by instinct, but like a fighter. Calculating. Anticipating.
Its sinuous body twisted with a sickening, almost boneless motion. The thick neck snapped sideways at an impossible angle, faster than I thought something that size could move. And where vulnerable flesh should have been, Ruijerd's spear struck a massive, obsidian-black horn.
The sound was awful—a deep, metallic crack that echoed like a hammer against stone. A visible ripple of force exploded from the impact, warping the air itself. Ruijerd staggered, the shock running up his arms, almost tearing the weapon from his grip.
My gut turned to ice.
But then, as the beast slithered back, something else caught my eye—the wound Eris had dealt to its left head.
It was gone.
Where her sword had plunged deep into its eye just moments ago, there was now only flawless, gleaming black scale. No blood, no scar, no weakness. As if it had never been struck.
"What the hell..." I breathed.
And then it clicked.
The lightning strikes. The crushing rubble. The collapsing buildings. It wasn't just its sheer toughness that had let it survive.
It could heal.
"It's regenerating," I muttered, horror creeping into my voice.
Ghislaine, still in a guarded stance nearby, flicked her sharp gaze toward me. "What?"
"That's how it survived Roxy's [Lightning]... it's not just durable—it's fixing itself. Faster than we can hurt it."
Even as I spoke, I could see it happening—the scorch marks on its hide from Roxy's spells fading, broken scales knitting themselves back together, even Ruijerd's powerful blow leaving no lasting mark.
This wasn't a battle of attrition anymore. Every hit we landed meant nothing if we couldn't kill it instantly.
The middle head's eyes locked onto us again, its lips curling into something that might have been a grin.
It wasn't just reacting. It was getting cocky.
I gritted my teeth, feeling the weight of our situation settle like lead in my stomach.
Our trap had failed. Our strongest magic had failed. And now even the few wounds we managed to land were already gone.
God dammit, Rudy. Why are you making it so hard for us to save you?
"It's getting smarter," I whispered again, more to myself than anyone else, and in that moment, the awful, sinking certainty returned—this wasn't a monster.
It was a predator. One that learned. One that couldn't die. At least, not like this.
"Paul, let's go!" Ghislaine's voice snapped me out of it.
I didn't need to be told twice. I unsheathed my short sword with my left hand, the blade feeling pitifully small against something like that.
But there wasn't time for hesitation. Not anymore.
On to fight this beast further.
///