SCREEEEEEEEEEEHHH!
The creature howled, its scream piercing the air like a blade.
Then, in a sudden blur of motion, it bent its knees slightly and vanished from sight—destroying the ground beneath where it had stood just seconds ago.
BOOOOM!
SWISHHH!
Its speed was terrifying. In the blink of an eye, it appeared in front of Sylveraine, its long, claw-like hand slicing through the air, aiming straight for her head.
But even though the creature was fast—and terrifying in form—it was still fundamentally weak compared to them. Any one of them could defeat it easily. The only problem was that they couldn't touch it.
They still didn't know whether physical contact, even through a weapon, would allow whatever killed the others to spread to them as well. That uncertainty alone rendered physical attacks—and weapons—completely off the table.
Which meant that Sylveraine, Seralyne, Nyx, and Yurashi were all effectively sidelined unless they used long-range abilities. Skills like dragon breath or their other attacks that wouldn't leave a lingering connection between them and the target.
But those required the creature to be still for at least a few seconds. And that... was not easy. Not when they couldn't risk even grazing its skin.
However, with Aerisyl's elemental powers—especially her command over wind—they had a plan. She would pin the creature in one place, hold it still long enough for Seralyne to unleash her dragon breath and erase it completely.
Having already decided on this, Aerisyl raised her hand into the air, her crimson-red hair whipping violently in the wind as the air gathered around her.
SWISHHHHHH!
The creature—towering at ten feet tall—was suddenly blasted backwards like a lifeless doll, tossed through the air by a crushing force of wind.
It flipped and twisted mid-air, but landed cleanly on its feet, steadying itself as though it weighed nothing.
"Wow, that was impressive," Yurashi commented from the side, eyebrows raised.
"That was nothing," Aerisyl replied humbly, a small smile on her lips. "I haven't even used my full power yet."
"Hurry up, Aerisyl—hold him up in the air," Seralyne snapped, clearly annoyed. She hadn't come here to waste her time fighting some weird creature. She came for otherworldly warriors—real combat. This was just a cleanup now.
"Okay, just a second," Aerisyl responded. She extended her hand forward, then pulled it back.
SWISHHHH.
SWISHHHH.
A wall of high-pressure air slammed into the creature's front, followed immediately by another blast from behind. The opposing forces locked the creature in place like an invisible wall.
SCREEHHHHYYYYYY!!
It screamed in pain, the pressure from both sides crushing its chest inward. Its spine creaked, on the verge of breaking.
But it didn't stop moving.
It twisted, thrashed, and tried everything it could to escape.
Aerisyl didn't flinch. She raised her hand again and sliced it through the air—up, then down.
WHOOOOOSH!
A massive wind column burst from beneath the creature, launching it into the air. Then came a crushing downdraft from above, smashing it into stillness mid-air.
Pinned in place from all sides, the creature now floated midair—trapped like a fly in amber. It writhed and struggled, flailing like a cockroach caught under glass.
But, it refused to give up.
"Okay, Seralyne, it's ready!" Aerisyl called out, still holding her hands up to maintain the vortex.
"Good," Seralyne said as she stepped forward.
Golden scales began to appear across her skin—starting from the sides of her eyes, spreading down her neck, arms, and chest. Her entire body shimmered as the transformation completed. Two enormous golden horns emerged from her skull, glowing under the sunlight like polished gold.
Her height surged, growing from six feet to nearly nine.
"Haaa...," Seralyne took a deep breath, sharp, overgrown fangs visible through her slightly parted lips.
SWISHHH.
The air around her whipped violently, swirling like a cyclone.
SWUSH. SWISH.
Then she opened her mouth.
Inside, a small orb of golden energy began to form. It spun slowly at first, then faster, and faster—glowing brighter with each revolution.
The sky began to darken.
Loose rubble and debris lifted off the ground, caught in the charged atmosphere.
After three full seconds, the orb had grown to the size of a basketball. And then—
BOOOOOMMMMMM!!
She released her breath.
The ground quaked under the force of the blast.
SWISHHHHHHHH!
"SCREEHHH—!!" The creature screamed in raw, primal terror.
Its scream was abruptly cut off as the golden breath consumed it whole, disintegrating its body on contact. It had no time to run, no chance to resist. It vanished in an instant.
But the breath didn't stop.
It continued upward, slicing through the sky like a beam of destruction. Whatever stood in its path would've been obliterated—if anything could have survived the shockwave to begin with.
The beam finally disappeared into the atmosphere, soaring out of sight.
Not even dust remained of the creature.
It was erased—completely.
Like it had never even existed.
Haaa... Seralyne exhaled, her smirk returning. "I guess that's enough to release my anger for wasting my precious time," she muttered, slowly reverting to her human form.
"I doubt that," Yurashi chimed in from the side. "With your anger issues, even a thousand dragon breaths wouldn't be enough."
"YOU lil b***h!" Seralyne snapped immediately, storming toward her to teach her a lesson—but Sylveraine appeared between them like a wall.
"You two, stop!" she snapped. "Have you forgotten the crack? We still need to deal with that."
"Tch." Seralyne snorted, but she backed off.
"Oops, my bad. But what I said was—"
Suddenly, two hands clamped down over Yurashi's mouth.
"Shut up, you idiot! Do you want to get beaten to death by her?" Aerisyl hissed, silencing her.
Yurashi twisted free, pouting as she rubbed her face. "But I can't resist it. She's just so easy to ragebait," she said, like it wasn't even her fault.