TS6 - Chapter 13

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"This would be a lot easier if you would just die," Mina said, staring dispassionately at Quetzalten, "probably a lot more pleasant for you as well. As much as possible, I'd like to avoid drawing this out, as we're on quite a tight timetable." 

Snarling, Quetzalten feinted as if she was going to dash to the right, but instead lunged towards Mina, only to find multiple Akiras blocking her with fireballs and sharp claws. Even as she lifted her arms to defend herself, a blast of cold air slammed into her wing, spinning her to the side and forcing her to quickly retreat as one of Akira's claws scraped across her ribs. 

Mina watched her calmly, the tip of her wand tracing a circle in the air. Above Quetzalten's head, stars began to appear, shooting down towards the dragonkin with thunderous force. No matter where Quetzalten dodged, the stars were already there, pummeling her with a horrifying accuracy. 

Though none of Mina's attacks were particularly strong, the terrifying thing about them was that none of them missed. Quetzalten, though in the condensation stage, relied on her evasive ability for defense, rather than on pure strength or endurance to block attacks, making Mina the worst possible matchup for her. No matter how Quetzalten dodged, Mina's attacks always seemed to be right there, and whenever Quetzalten tried to escape, she was met with Akira's fierce claws, as if Akira knew exactly where she was going to be at all times. Even worse, a growing sense of dread had been filling Quetzalten's heart, as Mina continued to stare at her from a distance. There was a strange darkness in Mina's gaze that sent off warning bells in Quetzalten's head. 

Screaming in frustration, Quetzalten went berserk, launching an attack at Mina. Six Akiras all jumped towards her to try and block, but Quetzalten didn't back down as she attempted to push through. Her aura condensed around her rapidly, sinking into her body and increasing her speed drastically as she prepared to clash with the six different Akiras. 

Yet at the last moment, all of them peeled away, shifting their directions as they retreated. Already moving too quickly to stop, and her mind flooded with rage, Quetzalten shot towards Mina as a faint smile appeared on Mina's otherwise emotionless face. 

"Arcane Fate Seal." 

As soon as the words left Mina's mouth, Quetzalten's body suddenly jerked, her limbs twisting as if she had lost control over them. Mina's body sagged as a tremendous amount of power escaped from her, but she still managed to snap her fingers, casting Blink to retreat as Quetzalten barreled into the place where she had stood. Taking a deep breath, Mina tried to straighten her body, only to fail and fall to one knee. Still, she thrust her dagger toward Quetzalten's back as she cast a second spell. 

"Frostbitten Demise." 

The effect was immediate as a horrifying cold erupted around the dragonkin, who was desperately trying to fight off the sense of weakness that invaded her limbs. Quetzalten had discovered too late that the tiny, almost insignificant attacks Mina had been pummeling her with each contained shards of energy that had embedded themselves in her body, slowly accumulating until they formed a sort of net all over her. 

Activated by Mina's Arcane Fate Seal spell, that net stripped control of her body from her mind, making it impossible for her to issue commands to her limbs. Even worse, the seal somehow separated her soul, leaving her feeling entirely helpless. Frost began climbing Quetzalten's limbs, just like it had on her right arm, bringing with it a piercing pain.

Quetzalten's soul shook. Although she couldn't speak because of the seal, she still had just enough control of her body to direct her death-filled glare at Mina. Across the camp, Moriphon was trying to fight his way through Thorn, while the Titan did his best to stop him. Thorn's body was already covered in dozens of cuts, and his armor had been reduced to shreds as he fought against Moriphon's sharp claws. Hundreds of dragon guards surrounded them at a wary distance, but every time any of them got too close, the power rolling off of Thorn and Moriphon's attacks would injure them, or worse, kill them outright. 

Around Quetzalten and Mina's fight, it was even worse, as the dozens of Akiras split into hundreds, tearing apart any of the dragon guards who got too close. Her body trembling, Mina slowly got to her feet, staring at the dragonkin collapsed on the ground in front of her. 

"It's time," Mina's words, barely whispered, still somehow managed to reach Thorn's ears, and he felt a fierce wind begin to blow. 

All around him, the dragonkin in the camp stilled as the wind picked up, breaking out into mad laughter. 

"All of you are dead," Moriphon said. 

The wind carried a pleasant smell, almost as if Thorn had stepped into a field of wildflowers, but hidden behind the sweetness was the sickly scent of rot, and once Thorn noticed it, it grew until it was all he could smell. The stench strengthened as the wind picked up even faster, swirling toward Quetzalten, who still lay collapsed on the ground. 

"Let's hope this works," Mina muttered, as she slowly lifted her hand and deployed her bracelet. 

With a bright ringing sound, the bracelet separated, its bands spinning through the air to form a field around Mina and Quetzalten, freezing the wind in its place. There was a shudder, as if something had just slammed into the air, and the bracelet's pleasant ring transformed into an anguished screech. 

The air above Quetzalten bulged, twisting as if something was trying to break through, yet Thorn's device held strong. Ice continued to creep up Quetzalten's scales, transforming her into a frost-covered sculpture, though that didn't stop the fierce struggle in the air above her head. It was impossible to see what was attempting to break through, but Mina could feel a deep sense of fear radiating through her. 

Moriphon seemed to realize that something was wrong, as he suddenly let out a loud shout and charged towards Thorn, intending to batter straight through him. He was met with Thorn's halberd, but rather than block the vicious strike, Moriphon simply dodged to the side, sacrificing one of his arms to buy himself the time to get past Thorn. 

Thorn's eyes narrowed as his blade ripped through Moriphon's scales and the flesh and bone beneath. Even as the dragonkin's arm flopped to the ground, Moriphon attacked the artifact Mina had deployed, clearly intending to break its spatial seal. 

By this time, Quetzalten was on her last breath, her body nearly completely frozen, as her spirit struggled in vain. She had activated her greatest trump card, summoning her master's presence to the battlefield. Yet just before her master had broken through, Mina had sealed the space, making it impossible for her master to arrive. Now, as her life force faded, Moriphon slashed at the artifact, desperately trying to crush it. Instead, his hand hit nothing but air as Mina commanded it to close. 

With a loud ding, the artifact retreated, reassembling on her wrist even as Moriphon stumbled, his attack hitting nothing but air. Above Quetzalten's frozen form, the air tore as a serpentine head poked through, eyes blazing. Deep green scales that shimmered with a rainbow hue covered the wide head, and six twisting horns rose from the dragon's skull. Yet even as its head emerged, raking across the battlefield with a clear sense of disdain, a tremor seemed to run through it. Still halfway trapped, the dragon could barely muster any defense as Thorn appeared next to it, his halberd raised high. 

In a brief moment, countless things seemed to happen all at once. The dragon's disdainful expression deepened as Thorn's halberd hung over its neck. Thorn took a step forward, his body suddenly seeming to overlap, first a hundred times, and then a thousand. It was as if, with every slight movement of his body, another Thorn appeared, merging into him, as he condensed all of his power into this single strike. 

The look of disdain on the dragon's face froze, replaced by a flicker of fear mixed with a tremendous amount of anger. Thorn's halberd started to fall, even as the dragon's neck twisted in vain to try and retreat. Yet just before Thorn's strike made contact, the world stuttered and Thorn's blow halted, hanging just above the head of a now familiar masked figure. 

Nearby, Mina suddenly gasped, a deep cough racking her chest as blood trickled from her nose. The dragon let out a loud hiss, its eyes fixed on the Arbiter, without any regard for Thorn, who stood right beyond. For a moment, the Arbiter didn't say anything, but the entire battlefield hung in silence. 

"LEAVE." 

The green dragon let out a low hiss, clearly displeased with the curt word the Arbiter had uttered. 

"You show favoritism," the dragon said after a moment. "The Emperor will not approve." 

"I DO NO SUCH THING," the Arbiter replied, his voice booming across the mountain range. "IF YOU BREAK THE LAWS OF THE ENDLESS BATTLEFIELD, YOU PAY THE COST. WAR HAS NOT BEEN DECLARED, SO BEINGS OF YOUR STRENGTH CANNOT STEP FOOT ONTO THE BATTLEFIELD." 

Twisting, the dragon suddenly shrank, becoming much smaller as it slipped through the fractured space, appearing in front of the Arbiter. Though it looked like the dragon was there, hovering in the air in front of the Arbiter, Thorn could tell that it wasn't actually the dragon himself, but rather a sort of projection, almost like a mental construct. Considering that the Arbiter didn't immediately crush it, Thorn could only assume that this wasn't against the rules. 

"Will you permit me to take my people," the dragon asked, a flash of fury sliding across its face as it caught sight of Quetzalten and Moriphon, both badly wounded. 

The Arbiter seemed to consider for a moment before nodding. 

“YES.”

"Very well, then we shall take our leave." 

Waving one of its claws, the dragon somehow picked up Moriphon, drawing him over. The same didn't work for Quetzalten, however, whose body was frozen in place. Staring down at the seemingly dead dragonkin, the dragon's eyes narrowed and slowly moved towards Mina, only to find Thorn had stepped in his way. 

This was the first time that the dragon had really gotten a good look at Thorn, and now his eyes widened as any anger he may have directed at Mina was now firmly fixed on the titan in front of him. This was the first time since Angoril that Thorn had faced a dragon, and he was unsurprised to find that the feeling of suppression that the dragon in front of him gave off was the same as what he had felt facing Cherserrorth and the others. 

"Dragonslayer," the green dragon hissed, "How dare you show your face before me?"

Though the Arbiter didn't move, Thorn felt as if the mysterious figure's attention solidified, almost forming a wall between him and the green dragon. He wasn't the only one who noticed it, as the dragon withdrew some of its hostility, clearly not wanting to anger the Arbiter. 

"What is your name?" 

"Thorn." 

"Well, Thorn, you are either exceptionally confident or unbelievably foolish to have appeared in front of me. I am Maserek, the Hunter. I had heard that a new dragon slayer had emerged, but to encounter you myself is beyond good fortune. Tell me, what is it that gives you such courage?" 

"The fact that what I've once done I can do again," Thorn replied, his voice calm. "As I would have, had I not been stopped." 

His gaze hard, Thorn slowly turned his head to stare at the Arbiter. 

"Ha! You think that blow would have done anything to me?" Maserek sneered. "You live in a world of delusion, but don't worry, you'll get your chance to test your blade against my scales, because I'm going to come and find you, and when I find you, you will experience a world of suffering beyond anything you have ever experienced." 

Without waiting for Thorn's response, Maserek flexed his wings, and a faint figure that looked like Quetzalten was pulled from the frozen body below him. Without a word, Maserek, Moriphon, and Quetzalten's pale spirit all vanished, leaving Thorn facing the Arbiter. 

This marked the third time Thorn had seen the Arbiter, and in each other case, the situation had turned out in Thorn's favor. Yet now, he couldn't help but feel frustrated. He knew better than anyone that his blow wouldn't have killed Maserek, the hunter. Dragons were simply too tough to be felled so simply. Furthermore, dragon souls were immortal, so even if he had managed to destroy the dragon's body, the fight wouldn't have ended there. 

But dragons were also cowardly, and in the future that Mina saw, Thorn's strike had managed to wound Maserek, causing the dragon to retreat. What was odd was that she had never mentioned anything about the Arbiter's arrival, and from her reaction, it was clear that she had suffered some sort of backlash, as fate had twisted from her grasp. That alone was enough to give Thorn a sour taste in his mouth and now, as he stared at the mysterious figure, his grip tightened on his halberd. 

"Why did you stop me?" he asked, his voice low. 

The Arbiter slowly turned to face him, his expression completely hidden by the mask that covered his face. His stare carried a deep pressure, causing the air around Thorn to seize. Yet the Arbiter didn't say anything. As if able to sense the danger, Akira suddenly arrived next to Thorn, hundreds of bodies merging into one, as she glared at the masked man. 

The three of them stood as if frozen for almost half a minute before the Arbiter suddenly moved. He vanished from where he stood and reappeared in front of Akira, crouching down to bring himself to her level. In his hand, a crispy wafer drizzled with some sort of sweet frosting. Shocked into inaction, Thorn could only watch as Akira's expression brightened, and she took the sweet treat from the Arbiter's hand. 

Standing up, the Arbiter brushed off his fingers, gave Thorn a short nod, and vanished, as if he was never there. Suppressing his desire to scream, Thorn swallowed his frustration and turned to make sure Mina was okay. The dragonkin army that surrounded them maintained a healthy distance as Thorn picked Mina up and teleported back to the city, where Governor Orson and the Ascendants were all waiting for him. 

"Their leaders are gone," Thorn said. "Now would be a great time to attack." 

Though it was clear that the Governor and the Ascendants all wanted to talk about what had just happened, Thorn didn't give them a chance, and a moment later, he and Akira and Mina were standing in his room. Akira, looking slightly guilty, hid her treat behind her back and avoided Thorn's gaze.