137 Chapter 137: Summoner vs. Dragon (2/2)
The second golden arrow hurtled toward the Hellfire Drake, singing a beautiful melody as its sleek, shiny shaft homed in onto the dragon. A lovely melodious hum suffused the mountaintop before it collided with the Hellfire Drake, disappearing in an explosion that seemed to play out a musical chorus rather than roar thunderously in destruction.
”What the hell was that?” Troy was gaping at me. ”A singing arrow? Now I've heard everything.”
”Lyra is originally a harp,” I reminded him, but since he was a genius he should already possess that knowledge. ”So Vega is the manifestation of the song that Orpheus played, which moved Hades to allow him to bring his wife Eurydice back to the living world. It does bonus damage against undead creatures, but…oh well. Pity the Hellfire Drake is not an undead or the battle would long be over.”
As if in reply to my lecture, a crimson tail whipped out of the inferno and struck me from my right. I was sent flying across the air once again before smashing into the ground and creating a tiny crater. Groaning in pain, I tried to roll to my feet, but the dragon swatted at me with its claws.
”Richie!” Troy hollered as he leaped forward, punching the dragon in the face. Kureha joined him, her sword flashing down in a silver blur as she cut a swathe of blood through its flank. As the dragon swiped at them, forcing them to retreat, my Black Tortoise tackled it in the gut, pushing it further away from me.
”Thanks,” I told all three of them as I stood up unsteadily.
The dragon was presently quite a horrifying sight to behold. Under the combined attacks from me, Troy and Kureha, it had been hurt grievously. Rivers of blood were streaming from everywhere on its body and several of the crimson scales had been slashed open to reveal the raw muscle beneath. Troy's fists, Kureha's sword and my double Vega attack had succeeded in dealing terrible, terrible damage to the poor Hellfire Drake. With my friends now engaging it in combat, I dismissed Lyra, not wanting to get them caught up in its explosive area of effect.
”Time for a change in strategy,” I muttered tiredly. I was a summoner, after all, and I had finally gotten all the time I needed to summon a bunch of soul beasts. ”Leo Minor!”
Dozens of lions materialized in thin air and pounced on the wounded dragon. The Hellfire Drake thrashed about in rage, dislodging a few of the lions before stomping on them. However, its attention had been distracted away from Troy and Kureha, who continued to deal devastating attacks from the side while the dragon struggled with the bigger threats.
But that wasn't the biggest threat.
”White Tiger!” I hollered. The gigantic Celestial Guardian descended from the heavens, with lightning brewing around him. Thunderous bolts struck the shrieking Hellfire Drake, electrocuting and burning it with gratifying effect. Realizing the danger, both Troy and Kureha quickly leaped back, avoiding the deadly web of electricity that now surrounded and wrapped around the screeching Hellfire Drake.
They didn't have to. Troy's earth magic would allow him to ground the electricity, rendering him immune to it. As for Kureha, her sword acted as a lightning rod, conducting the electricity away from her, and her insulated hilt protecting her from the intense currents.
Whatever the case, they could take care of themselves. I was already summoning yet another Constellation spirit, the leader of the pack of Leo Minor that were tearing away at the Hellfire Drake's crimson scales.
”Leo, Regulus!”
Leo materialized next to me and unleashed the golden zenith of starlight right into the massive underbelly of the dragon. At the same instant, White Tiger released another colossal bolt of lightning at the same spot. The double combo blew the dragon off the mountaintop and literally sent it soaring into the sky.
”Cetus!” I yelled, knowing that the Hellfire Drake wouldn't die from that combo attack.
The massive azure whale materialized in the heavens, soaring through them as he would through the sea. He left a trail of ice behind him as he charged at the helpless Hellfire Drake, slamming into it and freezing it completely. The massive block of ice encasing the Hellfire Drake crashed back down to earth before shattering.
The dragon burst out of the broken ice and crater, bellowing as it sent deadly ice shards raining across the mountaintop. One of the icicles embedded itself in the ground just centimeters away from my foot, causing me to jump.
”Hey!” Troy complained as he faced a similar ordeal. ”Watch it!”
In contrast, Kureha was calmly slashing the icicles out of the air with graceful arcs of her sword. Following her example, I drew both Gan Jiang and Mo Ye.
”All right, guys! Last stretch! Let's finish the dragon off!”
”I'm with you on that!” Troy grinned and dashed toward the Hellfire Drake, with Kureha hot on his heels. I was last, as usual. Unlike these warrior-mages who specialized in close physical combat, I wasn't as fast, fit or strong. I was a summoner, after all.
And as a summoner, my soul beasts were my weapons.
”Monoceros!”
A white unicorn appeared beside me, his hooves already pounding the ground as he galloped toward the crimson enemy. Impaling the dragon with his pristine, silver horn, Monoceros twisted it deeper and incited an intense screech of agony from the Hellfire Drake. It brought its claws up to slash the unicorn, but Troy punched it in the solar plexus, knocking it back. White Tiger pounced on it, tearing into its back with his lightning claws and slightly paralyzing it with the intense electricity that wreathed his attacks. The pack of Leo Minor continued to harass the dragon, biting and hanging onto its arms and hindering its movements. Cetus descended and trapped the Hellfire Drake's wings in ice, preventing it from taking flight.
Kureha slashed into the dragon beside White Tiger, her blade alternating with his lightning claws. Not to be outdone, I also sprang in and swung both of my swords. While Troy pummeled the dragon from below, I attacked from above, hopping from limb to limb, up onto the body, while leaving a trail of bloody gashes in my wake. Flipping and cartwheeling up, I twisted around and used one of its swiping claws as a platform to launch myself toward its writhing neck before it could swat me away. I narrowly avoided the spikes and instead stabbed its flesh with my two swords while hoisting myself up to its head. I danced along its spine in a deadly whirlwind of double slashing blades, spinning and twirling my way upward. Once I reached its head, I stabbed both swords into its skull.
”Where did you learn that swordsmanship from?” Kureha demanded, somewhere nearby as she too left a series of bloody scars in her path.
”My dad,” I replied shortly as I struggled to hang onto the Hellfire Drake's swinging head. Despite striking through the thick bone and into its brain, I was still unable to kill it. Just what was this bastard made of?!
”OI!” Troy hollered from below. ”Watch out! It's gonna blow!”
I reacted a moment too late, even as Kureha and Troy were already withdrawing. The dragon's body glowed crimson for a moment before it unleashed its deadly shockwave. I was taken by surprise and thrown off the head before crashing heavily onto the ground. I felt the wind knocked out of me as blood spurted from my mouth. My Constellation spirits were similarly too slow and they were all blasted away and sent sprawling in all directions before disappearing. Even my two venerable Celestial Guardians. The ice on the dragon's wings were completely shattered to pieces. Groaning, I tried to crawl to my feet, but a massive claw stomped on me, pinning me to the ground.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Troy and Kureha sprinting forward to assist, but I knew they wouldn't make it in time. I fought with my dual swords, slashing the heavy, scaly feet, but to no avail.
The dragon snarled at me, bringing its ugly face down to glower. Crimson flames ignited along its spikes and its eyes glowed crimson once more as its jaws open to spit fire at pointblank range. I could only watch helplessly as the crimson flames spark to life within its maw.
”Fuck you,” I spat at the Hellfire Drake. However, my spit vaporized immediately just from the sheer heat alone.
The superheated crimson flames washed over me, engulfing me in a world of pain that ended in darkness.