With the lifeless body slung above his left shoulder and his heart drumming in his ears, Ethan jumped up in the air. He could see nothing, but he hoped to at least break through the canopy and away from his enemies until he regained his vision.

Ethan grit his teeth, and even though he couldn't see anything, he could picture Edwin's smirk, but he couldn't fight them blind. It was hard enough to go three against one, but with his eyes out of the equation, the situation went from somewhat risky to straight up suicidal. But no matter. As long as he could wait out the blindness, he would be fine, and he could go back on the offensive. Clearly, the blindness was poison or magic based and sooner or later, he believed his body would fight off but in the meantime, he couldn't just stay down and wait for them to get free shots at him.

And of course, he wasn't retreating without his loot. Especially when he might be getting something out of it.

He rose in the air with ease. The body wasn't heavy, and Ethan could feel the magic of the dagger pulse. He hoped it'd be something electric, like that attack he got hit with, and he could already picture himself turning such a spell against Edwin.

Just the thought made him want to go back down and rush at the man.

Patience…

Air whooshed about him as he quickly gained altitude, filling him with trepidation. He just had to get up high and wait. But before he could even reach the canopy, his head and wings hit something. A soft barrier. Ethan willed more mana in the wings and swung them harder, pushing with his right arm, but the barrier, which was made from tightly woven threads, only gave for a bit before it refused to yield any further.

Shit. A net?

Something whistled past his ear and sunk into the dead man's body with wet squelch, but Ethan only focused on his exit. His throat was dry, and the adrenaline was making his blood rush faster throughout his limbs and body. Making him frantic.

Maintaining altitude, Ethan summoned a powerful jet of fire with his right claws and sprayed above him. He was already thinking of the alternatives. How long could he last, down there? Surrounded by Edwin and his people?

The thought was worrying, but also exciting. And the more he thought about it, the more appealing it became. After all, wasn't he a juggernaut? Was he not supposed to eat his enemies' attacks and still triumph in the end?

Ethan shoved with the claws once more, only to be met with a burning hot net that made him wrench his hand back with a hiss. Even though the fire resistance of the Arcanum's title was active, the net still burned him.

He clicked his tongue then exhaled. I gave the reasonable plan a shot, he thought as he fell back down to the ground. Time to be a juggernaut.

Still, he felt vindicated, in a way. He had expected this little troupe to be still hiding some tricks, and they were. Now he just needed to outlast their assault. How hard could that be?

His scaly feet hit the ground hard, digging into the soft soil and without wasting any time, he threw the still pulsing body under him and wrapped the scaly wings around as he crouched. He slipped a hand under the wings and with a focused effort, summoned a torrent of fire that he swirled around.

Using the horns as a medium, he activated [Detect Life]. The pulse of magic spread about, and he braced when he sensed the odd feedback the spell gave him. It might be easier to use with sight, but he could feel them. One was coming at him fast, but two were taking their time.

He'd bet one of those was Edwin. The one running was probably the shadow woman.

Child of Flames should be able to help him weather her offense, and if things got rough, he could always use Scorching Ascendency for a serious stat boost, and—

A roar shook the cave, and Ethan almost burst out of his cocoon to run. There was a loud thump, followed by another, and then it all quieted down once more, and the only thing Ethan could hear were the sounds of his own heartbeats and the roaring fire swirling around his body.

The lord sounded a lot closer than Ethan expected. Only moments ago, it had been a few minutes of flight away. When had it made its way to them? He might not even have to last long if this little party was about to be interrupted.

His left claws continued shooting a smaller jet of flame over his chest and face. With a grimace, Etan opened an eye and let the fire slide over it, flinching, but same as with his skin and body, his own fire couldn't harm him, and it wasn't as the brightness could affect him either.

Oh?

He'd been spraying his own face with fire for barely a couple of seconds when he started to regain vision in his opened eyes. Maybe it was the fire, or maybe it was his own body fighting off the magic, but flecks of orange and white were beginning to cut through the darkness, and right as he opened his second eye and increased the fire spraying him in the face, something pierced through his wing and cracked into the side of his knees.

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Ethan groaned with pain and leaned on his other leg to relieve some of the weight on the impacted knee, but it wasn't over. In the next moment, something cold and slimy hit his left wing, then his right, and just like the net above them, the thread refused to burn and instead, they were growing hotter. They were burning him. That in itself was worrying, but then, the threads began pulling on him, trying to draw the wings away from his body, which only made Ethan think of one thing.

Where is she?

Ethan cast another pulse of [Detect Life], but only two nearby forms could be detected. One was connected to the threads, and the second pointed at him before another projectile of metal smacked into the side of his head.

The shadow woman couldn't be detected. Did she go somewhere? Or did she have someting to hide from his detecting magic? Of his three opponents, the woman was the most dangerous, especially if she could blind him again.

He grit his teeth, ignoring the burning pain from the overheated threads still tugging at him, and focused on trying to hear or sense the woman, so he felt it when there was a pulse of magic somewhere behind him.

Ethan began twisting to shoot an [Arc of Force] behind, only for another hard projectile to pierce through the wings once more before embedding itself on his scales, right against his hip-bone.

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath spittle flying while the smell of burnt clothes and earth filled his nostrils.

Ethan's mental finger was right on Scorching Ascendency's trigger. He was ready to boost his stats, even if he still felt it might be a waste considering how long it might take it to recharge. He just needed to last a little longer. They weren't doing much damage to him, and the flecks in his vision were slowly but surely becoming blobs of orange and white. Barely useful, but better than nothing.

He ignored the pain and tried to sense when the woman would come, spell ready. But it was as if she knew he was waiting for her.

So he would bait her in.

Something crunched to his left, and Ethan swivelled and shot a fireball in the sound's general direction. There was a loud bang, followed by a shower of upturned soil, but he was still waiting, breathing hard as he resisted the threads pulling on his wings. Another cast of [Detect Life] spread about, still not showing her, and thankfully, it seemed Edwin had to choose between mana-stealing or durability, or Ethan would have been in deep trouble.

Unless he's tricking me and he's holding that in reserve.

There was another loud thud, closer, and Ethan felt his insides twist as the monstrous lord approached them, and right then, he heard a rustle. Just behind him.

Ethan twisted and let the threads pull him away as he jumped back and shot the [Arc of Force] behind him. But he heard no impact.

Shit.

As soon as he realized he'd missed her, Ethan said fuck it and triggered Scorching Ascendancy. Hoarding the skill wasn't worth a potential stab in the throat or the heart.

Knees dragging against the soft soil, Ethan dismissed his wings, losing Edwin's grip on him as he ignited the air about him. A hot, burning wave of energy ignited out of his chest and instantly spread down his limbs, and Ethan felt the power imbue his flesh and scales, like a forge being lit up. His muscles filled with vigor while the fog in his sight was burnt away, and his flames flared hotter and stronger right as something sharp and cold slipped between his shoulder-blades.

Ethan shouted in pain and whirled with his claws, barely missing his target as he heard a curse right as the shadow disappeared.

Without wasting any second, he flung an [Arc of Force] at the man in suite and a fireball at Edwin while he tried to sense the damage. The wall of force tore through air, whipping dust and fire in its wake as the man barely dodge in time as the spell cracked into a mushroom tree and caved in its mushy trunk. A few yards to the left, the fireball detonated with a blast Ethan could feel in his bones, lighting up the clearing and the cave's ceiling.

Gingerly moving his shoulder, Ethan didn't think the dagger managed to get too deep in and as he peered around for the woman as another thump shook the ground under them.

And another bullet-like projectile plinked on the side of his head, but Ethan didn't pay it any mind. The man in suit couldn't hurt him when his stats were normal. He wouldn't manage to put a scratch on his scole with Scorching Ascendency running through his veins.

The well of strength continued to pour into his body, and now that Ethan could see, he took stock of his opponents. The man that had been shooting at him was as pale as a ghost, while all trace of mirth had been wiped away from Edwin's face and a second later, she the shadow woman appeared at his side, still panting, hair smoking.

She was not having a good time.

I don't know how long this boost will last, but I need to take her out of the fight.

Ethan glanced behind at the smoking corpse behind him, and saw a bright piece of purple, shining like a star against the sea of dark browns and grays. With a lunge, he picked it up just in time as a mushroom tree toppled a dozen or so yards away, and a giant, moss covered monitor stepped in. It growled in its throat, a sound that made Ethan's insides vibrate, eyes shining with a sickly green light, and the gaze of the lord fell on him.

Then it roared, and Ethan thought that maybe all the fire spells were a bit of a trigger to a being that loved swamps and moss.

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