Alyx charged across the cathedral, aura trailing from her blade, her eyes fixed on the paladin captain. He blocked a sword swing of the demon with a thick metal shield.

The demon's lightning blade snapped back, darting around the other side. The captain's sword parried it wide, swinging down and across the demon's chest.

The two moved at incredible speeds, the Strength in their strikes obvious in the ringing of their clashes.

Copper Crescent Captain (lvl 40)

Demon of Blood and Lightning (lvl ???)

Alyx was only level 30. The level gap between her and the captain was huge. Assuming he didn't have any other bonuses, that was at least a 60 point difference in their raw stats. Likely more, given he was a tauran, not a human, and probably got more stats per level than she did.

And that assumed he didn't have bonuses for getting skills to the Gate, and at level 40, he must. Maybe all of them were. She'd heard that every skill at the Gate was like three more levels worth of stats.

He could have anywhere from 150% to 300% her total stats, depending on how many skills he had and other bonuses his goddess may have given him as her favored warrior.

As for the demon, Alyx had no idea how she stacked up against it. That it was keeping up with the captain while protecting Ahryn and handling the dragon and the scattered remaining paladins suggested it was at least as strong as the tauran.

Normally, Alyx wouldn't stand a chance.

But the circumstances were hardly ordinary.

The tauran swung at the demon. It was a sloppy strike, and the demon parried it easily, returning with a snappy stab at the paladin's exposed chest.

The tauran lifted his shield, trying—failing—to angle it into position.

The lightning blade slipped around it and sparked against the plate metal.

The tauran grunted as the impact force pushed him back a step. His whole body trembled.

Alyx raised an eyebrow. A man in the tauran's position should have better sword form than that, and with the Fortitude he must have, that strike shouldn't have phased him, but less taxed his body enough to make him tremble.

He was injured. Probably fatigued too.

It was subtle, but a snarling grimace accompanied his every movement. Blood stained his tunic and dripped down his armored legs.

And she'd built up a tidy sum of bonus stats in her fights to the cathedral.

[Total Temporary Stat change:

+ 15 Str

+ 5 Dex

+ 21 End]

Still not enough to close the raw gap between herself and the captain at the top of his form, but maybe enough to bridge it now, while he was tired, injured, and distracted.

Alyx charged a Heaven's Strike, feeding her Reverberating Blade her aura. The glow grew above her. It would not be an honorable attack, blindsiding the captain from nowhere, but honor was unnecessary when fighting the men who killed her mother.

She leapt forward, drawing her blade down his back. Her aura collided with his Fortitude reinforced armor. The two met with a screech of metal on metal. His plate armor flexed. She threw all her Strength into the strike. All her Will.

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His armor held.

The demon swung at him from the other side, his lightning blade slicing down his sword arm, lightning licking at the metal plates of his armor.

"Who are you?" The captain growled, wrenching his body around, his sword swinging for the demon while his shield knocked Alyx back.

Alyx leveled her sword at him. She announced her presence. "I am Alyx Aretios Veldor. Daughter of Aris Aretios Veldor. Granddaughter of the Duchess of Vaisom. Holder of the Major Blessing."

The dragon roared with her announcement, charging through the paladins behind her and barreling toward her.

The paladin captain groaned. "Great, another Veldor brat bragging about how she's mutilated her own soul."

"You will die by my hand," Alyx promised and rushed him.

Her sword snaked between his shield and sword, but deflected harmlessly over his plate armor. He slammed his shield into her sword and followed with a heavy sword blow. She caught it on her blade, redirecting the strike wide.

[Endless Assault: + 1 Str, + 1 End]

And then the dragon slammed into them. Claws swiped across paladin, swordswoman, and demon alike, scraping loudly against the paladin's armor, cutting through Alyx's, and leaving long gashes through the demon's flesh.

Alyx staggered away, her free hand pressing against her bleeding side.

The dragon was a sad sight. He was beaten and dirty. Blood ran in rivers over torn scales. His horns were chipped and flaking. His mane was ragged and matted.

His eyes were the worst. There was no intelligence behind them, just fearful rage. A need to cut down everything and anything around him. The curse of a feral dragon.

The captain blocked another claw with his huge sword and returned the strike in turn. It cut through dull scales, drawing blood.

Blood covered the dragon's legs and sides. A gash ran along his neck. His wings were tattered. Cuts, old and new alike, bled without stop.

Her heart ached at the sight of him.

But he didn't stop his attack, biting at the tauran and demon, his jaws gnashing at whatever he could reach. The paladin and demon jumped apart to avoid them.

The dragon turned on her, jaws snapping at her.

She jumped out of the way, his breath hot against her skin. His teeth missed her by a hand.

[Endless Assault: + 1 End]

He swung his head, his horns sweeping past her like blades. The longer, unbroken of the two scraped against her armor, bone and metal grinding together, while the broken tip missed her entirely.

She stared as he pulled back, something about that tugging at a memory.

She had to be wrong.

There were a hundred reasons for a feral dragon's horn to be broken.

Abuse. Neglect. Self-mutilation.

And yet.

She couldn't look away from his horns.

Dimly, she noticed a pair of paladins beside her. She blocked a swing without looking. Her blade sliced through the second, blood spraying around her.

But her mind was years in the past. She was a small child, her system unlocked only the year before. She was in the wilderness with her mother. Her mother and Kelstor, her mother's dragon.

She'd wandered too far away.

Alone, she'd encountered a growling beast with horns and claws. It pounced. She screamed and ran. Plants swatted at her face. She stumbled over uneven ground. Panic and time blurred the chase.

Until he jumped from the bushes with a roar. Kelstor.

His scales had shone with the crimson color of her mother's aura. His claws dug into the beast's side, blood welling much the same color.

The beast grappled back, their horns clashing, the two rolling through the brush.

There was a snap. A roar of pain. And then the whimper of life slipping away.

Kelstor climbed away from his kill, rends in his scales, tears in his wings, and the tip of his right horn missing.

Broken in exactly the same manner as the dragon before her.

But that was impossible.

Kelstor was dead. That's what they'd told her.

He'd died alongside her mother. At the hands of the Copper Crescent.

He was dead.

And yet.

She searched the dragon's face. The ridges were so familiar, despite the gaunt cheeks and hanging skin. The turn of his eyes were so right, despite the madness within them.

That was Kelstor.

It could only be him. How could she mistake him for another? Even in this state. Even after all this time.

How could he be here? How could he be alive?

There was only one answer.

The Copper Crescent had taken him. They'd held him.

For nine years.

They'd held him in a state worse than death.

They'd left him feral.

Her hand clenched tighter around her sword's handle as she cut through another paladin.

[Endless Assault: + 1 Str, + 1 End]

She bolted at the paladin captain, another Heaven's Strike building on her blade. It slammed into his shield, her aura cutting through the metal. He twisted the shield under her. Her blade came away with a corner of the shield.

She wound back to slice again.

Kelstor's tail swiped across the flight. It knocked the demon to the floor, whipping into the captain and slamming across Alyx's back, knocking the air from her.

She gasped, staggering forward.

The captain swung at her. A lightning blade flew through the air and struck the captain's sword. He flinched as the electricity bolted down his arm.

He flinched just long enough for Alyx to catch her breath and pull her sword back into position. She deflected his attack.

Another lightning blade zipped over her shoulder, slamming into the captain's chest.

At the same time, Ahryn pointed at the tauran. A bolt of support magic burst from his hand and collided with the tauran.

Kelstor swiped at her. She deflected his claws with her sword. They slid across one another, her blade drawing a new line of blood across his palm. Her heart twisted at the sight.

In his madness, he didn't recognize her. He couldn't tell she was an ally. That she wished he could be safe.

That hurt more than any of her wounds.

[Endless Assault: + 1 Str, + 1 End]

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