Julius jolted awake, gasping for air—his breathing intense and rapid.
His eyes darted around in panic. Right in front of him stood Serena, leaning slightly forward, her hands resting casually on her hips as she looked down at him with a smirk. Beside him sat Saya, completely unharmed and calm.
Julius's hand rushed to his stomach… but there was no wound.
"Huh? Where did my wound go?"
"Healed," Serena replied simply.
"Healed? But... you're an archer."
"Yeah, but I can fire arrows of any element. I used healing-element arrows on both of you."
"Saya, are you okay?"
"Yes, Master," Saya replied with a gentle, reassuring smile.
"So you can work as a healer too?"
"Not exactly. I can only fire three arrows of a single element at once. After that, there's a five-minute cooldown. Plus, it uses up my mana. Right now, I've got only one healing arrow left."
"Ah, got it."
"By the way, what the hell happened to you two?" Serena asked.
"We need to stop them. If they enrage her, the entire Marcus Valley and the surrounding area could be destroyed."
"Her?" Serena raised an eyebrow.
"You'll understand once you meet her."
"Ugh... but how do we get past this barrier?"
Serena gave a confident grin.
"Oh, don't worry. Here, take this."
Three Aunguru masks appeared in her hand out of nowhere.
"Huh? How did you get those?"
"Well, after I got separated from my mercenary party, I raided an Aunguru tribe base looking for food. I found these masks there and kept them. Figured they'd be useful someday."
"You're a lifesaver, Serena!"
Serena smiled sweetly while Saya's face puffed up in jealousy. She snatched the mask from Serena's hand with a pout.
"Aww, babe... are you jealous?" Serena teased with a wink.
Saya didn't respond, simply turned her face away. Julius chuckled nervously.
The three of them put on the Aunguru masks and stepped through the barrier.
"We need to move fast."
"If you'd like, I can use a speed arrow to boost our movement."
"Hmm... let's save that. Might come in handy later."
"Okay, Master!"
The trio picked up their pace, dashing through the forest to catch up with Wilhelm's group.
Suddenly—
ROARRRR!!!
A deafening roar echoed through the air, followed by powerful shockwaves that pushed all three of them backward. The sound finally faded.
"Oh no… they've reached her."
Serena looked alarmed.
"Master… by any chance… is she really that one?"
"Yes."
Saya looked confused.
"What is 'that'?"
"You'll understand when you see her, Saya," Julius replied.
"No time—Serena, use the speed arrows!"
"Okay, but it'll take one minute to kick in… and it's gonna hurt during that minute."
"We can handle it. Right, Saya?"
Saya smiled brightly.
"Yes, Master."
Serena fired three arrows—one at Julius, one at Saya, and one at herself.
"Aghhh!!"
Julius grunted in pain, wincing.
"Told you it'd hurt," Serena said with a teasing smirk.
"Don't talk to Master like that," Saya scolded.
"He's my master too, babe. Don't worry—I'll share him with you."
Saya's face puffed up again in frustration.
"Let's argue later. I think the arrows are kicking in—move!"
Meanwhile, Wilhelm and his group stood before the massive beast the others had mentioned.
Wilhelm's right hand extended forward, aimed directly at the creature's face.
"If you're not going to hand over that ring… then we'll just kill you and take it ourselves."
He conjured a massive icicle spear in front of his palm.
"We're close," Julius whispered to Saya and Serena.
"I can see light ahead."
They were moving through a dark, dense forest where barely any light broke through. But ahead lay an open field, glowing faintly.
"Goodbye. It was nice meeting you," Wilhelm said calmly to the beast—and launched the icicle spear.
The massive ice weapon raced toward the wounded creature's face. The beast was too injured to dodge.
But then—
CRASH!
Something collided with the spear mid-air and shattered it into pieces.
Wilhelm's eyes went wide in shock. He turned to his right—Julius, Serena, and Saya stood there, masks on, facing him.
"Yo, Wilhelm," Julius called out.
"Mr. Koruto?! You're still alive? And who's this archer? She wasn't with you before…"
Right before them stood her—the dragon—wounded but still magnificent.
Saya's eyes widened in awe.
"I didn't expect her to be a dragon... and such a beautiful one at that."
She was speechless.
Dragons were known as fierce, angry, and fearsome beings. But this one… this one was different. Her red and brown scales shimmered under the light, each glint telling a story. Her eyes were crimson—like blood—but full of pain. She was massive, bulky, majestic. Her wings? Big enough to blanket three Marcus Valleys in a single stretch.
But she was heavily wounded. She couldn't move.
Julius stepped forward, fists clenched.
"Saya, Serena… no matter what, we have to save that dragon."
Both girls nodded firmly without hesitation.
"But this isn't going to be easy," Julius added, his gaze fixed on the enemies above.
"There are six of them… and only three of us. We'll have to take on two at a time."
The girls, in perfect sync, said together—
"Don't worry, Master. We'll handle them."
Julius smiled.
Just then, the man who had once pierced Julius with his sword stepped forward again. He was ready to strike—sword gleaming, eyes cold.
Wilhelm and the rest of his group hovered in the sky, like executioners awaiting command.
The swordsman darted toward Julius, blade aimed to finish what he'd started—but this time, Saya moved in front of her master. Her black katana drawn, her expression icy with rage.
Their swords clashed—sparks flying—and in an instant, Saya overpowered him, sending him flying backward with sheer force.
He crashed into one of his female allies midair, but she managed to catch him before he hit the ground.
Meanwhile, Wilhelm unleashed a barrage of icicle spikes at Julius and Serena.
But Julius was ready.
He spun his hands with precision, launching dozens of small wind blades—each sharp enough to pierce, yet small enough to conserve mana. The flurry of wind tore through the spikes, shattering them midair with perfect efficiency.
He took a few confident steps forward.
"You see, Wilhelm... this time, we're going to kill all of you."
The three of them stood ready, side by side—unshaken.
Saya, silent and deadly, katana drawn and eyes colder than ice.
Julius, confident and composed, wind magic swirling at his fingertips.
Serena, smirking with her bow drawn, that glint of danger in her golden eyes.
The real battle… was about to begin.