"This world burns, mortal… and there is nothing you can do to stop it," the dragon stated as he pinned Tom to the ground with a single hand.
Even though they had once stood on equal footing, Tom hadn't eaten for more than five days, and spending his energy to protect the mortals had drained him to the brink of exhaustion.
"My other vessel has already disposed of that spawn from the Allen Family. You have no more hope," the dragon continued.
"Heh… guess I lasted longer than him. Can you imagine?" Tom smiled as blood dripped from his ruptured viscera, fresh fractures splitting open across his body.
"Hah… hahaha! You still smile, hm? Good. I don't like my toys to break easily…" The dragon drew in a deep breath. "Burn."
The scales along his throat ignited with a yellow glow as he unleashed a torrent of flames onto Tom's broken body, never once releasing his grip.
Tom's skin began to char. His flesh melted away. His bones dissolved beneath the inferno, yet he didn't scream. He simply stared at the dragon, that same smile fixed in place, even as half of his face burned away and his skull was laid bare.
His jaw twitched, moving as if to form words.
"Weakling."
That single word was enough.
The dragon roared in fury, drawing in power as he began to charge an even greater breath of flame.
SWOOSH
ROAR
That was when a laser shot struck the dragon's throat, forcing its way through the weakened scales.
Black blood oozed from the wound as the dragon released Tom and turned to see where the attack had come from.
The moment he did, the only thing he saw was a boy holding a shovel, before his left eye was struck.
ROAR
"No… don't…" Tom tried to raise his hand, attempting to warn him.
But T-3 knew this was his end. He looked at Tom one last time and nodded.
"I guess I won't be able to learn more about this Dracula guy, will I?" T-3 said as a sharp pain pierced his chest.
"You little ant…" the dragon roared as he drove his claw deeper into T-3's chest, lifting him into the air.
The shovel lodged in his eye was irritating at best, but it was nothing that wouldn't heal in moments. This final attempt was nothing more than a foolish mortal's struggle.
"But… I have no regrets serving angels like you," T-3 said as he raised his hand and pressed a button. "Goodbye, sir.
And that was when the dragon realized... how dangerous a mortal with no will to survive could be.
BOOM
A massive explosion tore through the dragon's eye socket as its brain detonated from within, bone fragments scattering in every direction. Black blood and charred flesh splattered across the battlefield.
"…I didn't expect that," a voice resounded from within the dissipating smoke.
"Well, I never liked having a head anyway," the demon continued, its draconic form now reshaping into something closer to its true nature. "You chose a good leader for these mortals. Pity he wasn't bright enough."
"No…" Tom murmured as his gaze fell upon the scattered remains of T-3.
"No. No. No. NO!" Tom snapped, his mind failing to process everything he had lost in this war.
All the effort he had poured into improving the lives of these people… all the hope he had brought them… he was now watching it burn away.
T-3 had died in vain. Ray hadn't shown up, even after all this time… Tom didn't even know if he was alive or dead anymore.
Was this really how it was supposed to end?
Had they been fighting an unwinnable war from the very beginning?
Well… why did questions even matter now?
…And yet, he couldn't stop himself from asking.
But sometimes... just sometimes... those questions are answered.
And questions born from the heart… build bridges to realms that cannot be reached by the body alone.
As Tom steadied himself… he could hear nothing. Everything had gone silent. The world around him froze in place… like a picture caught mid-moment.
"Raymond?" Tom called out, but he quickly realized this wasn't his doing.
The crescent moon peeked through the gaps in the clouds, its pale light washing over Tom's body. As the clouds parted further, a silver-horned deer descended gracefully from the sky, stepping upon invisible footholds in the air.
"Art…" Tom whispered, barely able to move his lips.
"Have you forgotten the lessons I taught you?" the deer asked, standing beside him as it lowered its head.
"Have these so-called emotions blinded you?" it continued.
"I…" Tom tried to reply, but he couldn't even gather his thoughts.
"You need to turn off your heart. This is not a place for repentance!" the deer shouted.
"But don't you see?!" Tom cried as he clawed himself up from the ground. "Everyone and everything we came here to save… is dead!"
"This world is burning! What hope do we have left?!" he shouted, blood flowing from his eyes in place of tears. "And yet I'm still alive! Why am I not dead instead of Raymond? Why did they have to die? Just… why?!"
"Because there is always hope as long as you are alive," the deer replied calmly. "Remember who you are, my friend… my dear champion."
"You are my finest hunter. The tide-turner. The bravest soul I have ever laid my eyes upon."
The deer pressed its hoof gently against Tom's head.
"So rise now, my friend."
"…"
Tom's vessel restored itself, returning to the state it had been in before the battle.
"…Rise while you can still save your friend," the deer said with a smile.
"Raymond is alive?!" Tom asked.
The deer nodded.
"…Then let's kill this demon."
"Hehe… go ahead," the deer replied as the frozen world snapped back into motion in an instant.
And just then, a massive tail swept in from his side, but Tom leapt over it.
"I don't understand how you regenerated this quickly… however, that won't change the outcome," the demon said as he turned toward Tom.
To his surprise, Tom was gone.
"Shoulder."
A whisper brushed past the demon's ear.
BANG
A shot tore through the demon's shoulder, forcing him backward.
"Playing hide-and-seek won't make you invincible!" the demon roared as he launched himself into the sky.
"Tail."
BANG
Another shot ripped through the demon's tailbone. His balance shattered, and he could only hover in place.
"SHOW YOURSELF!" the demon screamed as a violent tornado spiraled around him.
"Heart."
BANG
A bullet of ice fired from the sniper rifle, cutting through the turbulent wind currents. It liquefied mid-flight, pierced the demon's scales, tore through his heart, and burst out the other side.
CRASH
At last, the body slammed into the ground—useless now, the vessel no longer capable of housing the demon.
Black smoke immediately began leaking from the severed neck of the dragon's corpse.
"Finish it."
Tom finally emerged, standing nearly a kilometer away. He slid the sniper rifle into his utility belt and drew out a bow woven from wooden branches and living vines.
"Should've stayed dead the first time," Tom said as an arrow of ice formed in his grasp. He drew the vines back and released.
SWOOSH
The arrow flew so fast it shattered midair, piercing through the atmosphere, and then the smoke, absorbing it entirely before dissolving into the ground.
"Thank you… Artemis," Tom said, looking toward the silver-horned deer.
"If you want to properly thank me," Artemis replied as she turned away and began to fade. "Try not to lose yourself again, and next time… control that power without my help."