We trotted through the snow, all of them battered and bruised from fighting the dragon. Duncan, Fector, and Fanna fell behind pace multiple times.
Every time we offered to help, the 3 would claim false to their injuries and continued as they winced in pain.
As we slowly followed the destruction off the road, we saw how badly the forest had been burned.
I just realized that the dragon fight had passed through the entire night, and Nobody has gotten any sleep at all.
The snow crunched beneath our boots, each step sinking deeper than the last. The cold bit my cheeks, but it was nothing compared to the numbness spreading through my chest.
Duncan stumbled again.
Rina reached out to steady him, but he brushed her off with a grunt, pretending the blood soaking through his armor wasn't there. Fector limped behind us, dragging his spear like it weighed a hundred pounds. Fanna kept her ruined arm pressed against her side, her breath fogging in short, painful bursts.
None of them should've been walking.
But all of them kept going.
The deeper we went, the worse the destruction became. Trees weren't just burned — they were melted, their trunks twisted into black, glassy spirals. The ground was cracked and cratered, still warm in places where the meteors had struck. The air smelled like ash and iron.
No birds. No insects. No footprints except the ones left by the dragon's claws.
The world felt… wrong.
I hugged my cloak tighter around myself, my fingers brushing the Amaryllis tucked safely inside. The petals were still intact. Still alive. Somehow.
A reminder. A promise. A prayer.
The sky was pale now, the first hints of dawn creeping over the horizon. I hadn't even noticed the night ending. The battle had swallowed it whole.
"How long…" I whispered, my voice barely audible. "How long were they fighting?"
Serina didn't look back. "Too long."
Her words hung in the frozen air.
We kept walking, and with every step, the silence grew heavier. We stepped into a clearing and saw why the carts stopped coming.
The clearing had flame embers that were still burning. Cannons that were destroyed. On the ground was ammunition of all sorts, along with dead horses. The swords propped up right with the black flames engulfing them as if a warning to those who continued the path of the abysmal dragon's destruction.
The area had multiple craters, most likely from the meteor spell.
Some bodies were being picked apart by wolves and scavengers who had braved the embers to pick off the dead.
"IS ANYONE ALIVE OUT THERE!?" Duncan announced, "Can ANYONE HEAR ME!?"
Serina paused, "Chief, I don't think anyone else…survived."
Duncan grumbled as blood poured out of his mouth, "We must continue…"
We passed through the clearing and climbed a steep hill; from there, we looked down in horror as Duncan stood at the top. Our eyes quickly scanned the vast valley below, which was lower than the mountain. Beyond the hill, the valley was filled with countless corpses and numerous guild banners fluttering in the wind.
Serina knelt in defeat as she saw that one of the flags had the BIG GUILD symbol, followed by her own GOLDEN VALKYRIE symbol with multiple charred corpses around it.
Serina's knees hit the snow with a soft thud, her spear slipping from her grasp and landing beside her. The golden phantom aura that had clung to her since the battle flickered once… then dimmed.
Her breath trembled.
"My sisters…" she whispered.
Duncan didn't speak. He stood at the crest of the hill, shoulders squared, blood dripping steadily from the corner of his mouth. The wind tugged at his tattered cloak as he stared down at the valley — at the banners, the bodies, the remnants of a force that had once been unstoppable.
Fector lowered his head. Fanna covered her mouth with her good hand. Rina pressed a trembling palm to her chest, whispering a prayer under her breath.
I couldn't move.
The valley stretched endlessly before us — a graveyard carved by fire and fury. The guild's banners fluttered weakly in the cold wind, their colors muted by ash. The Golden Valkyrie standard stood tallest among them, its pole cracked, fabric scorched, surrounded by the fallen who had died defending it.
Serina reached out, shaking, and touched the edge of the banner.
"They fought to the last," she said, voice barely audible. "They didn't run. They didn't break."
Duncan finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "They died as Valkyries."
Serina closed her eyes.
"No," she whispered. "They died because we weren't here."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
I clutched the Amaryllis tighter, my heart pounding painfully in my chest. Somewhere beyond this valley… beyond the banners… beyond the bodies…was the mountain. And whatever remains of Noobie, Kit, and Exile.
As we slowly progressed through the valley, I saw many of the platinum adventurers and their loot that had dropped.
I slowly bowed my head as I passed by, along with Serina guarding the rear.
Then Duncan signals the group to stop. He senses danger, and he urges us to arm ourselves as he takes out his pistol from his hip.
"WHO'S there!?" Duncan shouted.
Then, from above the valley limped 4 platinum adventurers still trying to run, no armor, to rid themselves of the burning flames as they hopped and limped up to Duncan.
"Platinum enforcers! Where are the others!?" Duncan questions the first one as he looks back the way they came before he collapses.
"Duncan, we can't leave them here; the wolves will devour them!" Rina shouted as the winds picked up.
Duncan grunted. His men could still be fighting.
Serina then stood up proudly, "Duncan, retreat with your current force, and Missy and I here will head towards the mountain to see what we can find of your men."
Duncan grumbled but relaxed as he knew he was in no condition to fight should they encounter the dragon still alive.
"Please give them mercy should you find them, Valkyrie," Duncan acknowledged as he helped one of his soldiers up. "Retreat, Fector, Fanna, Rina, we'll fight another day."
Rina happily agreed while assisting the fallen soldier. Fector and Fanna would agree, tilting their heads in defeat.
Then one of the injured soldiers spouts, "The UNFALLEN, HE'S STILL FIGHTING!!"
My heart skipped a beat.
NOOBIE!?
The injured soldier clawed at Duncan's cloak, eyes wide with terror. "He's—he's still out there! The Unfallen—he didn't fall—he kept going—he kept—" His voice broke into a coughing fit, black soot spilling from his lips.
Duncan grabbed him by the shoulders. "Where!? Where did you see him!?"
The man pointed with a trembling hand toward the mountain's shadow. "Up there… higher… he was still swinging—still burning—still shouting—"
He collapsed again, Rina catching him before he hit the snow.
Serina's eyes snapped to mine.
My breath caught in my throat.
Noobie.
Still fighting. Still alive. Still alone. The world tilted.
Duncan staggered to his feet, fury and desperation burning through his exhaustion. "Serina! Missy! GO! If he's still fighting, he won't last long!"
Serina didn't hesitate. She grabbed her spear, phantom aura flickering back to life.
I clutched the Amaryllis to my chest. My legs moved before my mind did.
We ran. Up the hill. Toward the mountain. Toward the impossible. Toward him.
Then right there, perched on a cliff, a wing, with blood dark as the night still spilling out from it, severed from its owner.
We didn't waste any time; I drew my copper sword, ready for anything.
Noobie, please be okay. I prayed in the back of my mind.
Before we could say anything, a Large dark obsidian tail swung and hit a part of the cliff that fell off and separated Serina and me.
"Missy, let me find a way around!!" Serina shouted as a dragon's roar cut through the skies.
Followed by, "Grace TO ENDURE!!!!"
Gasp.
"GO GO GO!! I'll CATCH UP!!" Serina shouted as she tried climbing through the debris.
I didn't wait; I paced and sprinted faster than I ever had. I climbed, hopped, and propelled myself off the icicle walls. I came to another opening, with the top of the mountain shaped like a horn, leaving only half of the mountain.
Then there it was, the Abysmal Dragon with no wings, cornering Noobie, with Kit and Exiled unconscious, and him protecting them both.
The dragon would lunge towards Noobie with his mouth, trying to bite Noobie, but Noobie would deflect the blow with his shield. The dragon then uses his claw to disarm Noobie as his shield flies off towards me.
I picked up his shield and hurried in as the HUGE PURPLE LIFE BAR hovered on top of me. There was about a quarter left with an X0 on the side.
Then a dialogue box appears, "Abysmal dragon uses: Meteor claws."
The Abysmal dragon slashes up at Noobie, and it explodes flames onto him, knocking him down.
Then, as it brought down the last hit to finish him off, I parried the attack with his shield.
"I'LL KILL YOU, IF YOU DARE TO TOUCH HIM!!" I roared.
The dragon didn't halt as it brought its full weight onto me, and I rolled out of the way.
Noobie, reaching out his hand as it was charred with flames, casts, "UNFALLEN KING'S RIGHT HAND!!" he passes out.
A knight like Noobie phantomized next to me. The only exception was this one, which had a full feather frill and full banner and wore fully plated armor, and it had its own health bar: "UNFALLEN RIGHT HAND."
I charged alongside the phantom knight, its teal banner whipping violently in the burning wind as it met the dragon's lunge head‑on. The clash shook the entire mountaintop, steel and obsidian grinding together with a sound like the world splitting open.
I darted to the side, aiming for the exposed neck.
My copper sword struck true—and shattered instantly. The blade snapped like glass, fragments scattering across the ice as the dragon's scales barely even scratched. The recoil jolted up my arm, numbing my fingers.
The dragon flailed its neck in fury.
The impact hit me like a battering ram. I flew across the ground, tumoring through snow and ash until my back slammed against a jagged rock. The breath tore from my lungs. My vision blurred.
I forced myself up—and froze.
Right next to me, half‑buried in the snow, lay Mist Edge.
Noobie's sword.
Still shimmering. Still breathing mist. Still alive.
The relic hummed softly, as if recognizing me, as if waiting.
The dragon roared behind me, the phantom knight bracing its shield against another Meteor Claw strike. Teal sparks exploded across the battlefield as the phantom held the line, its banner snapping defiantly in the storm of black flame.
Noobie lay unconscious only a few feet away, burned, broken, unmoving.
Kit and Exiled lay behind him, still breathing but barely.
And Mist Edge—Mist Edge waited.
The mist curled around the hilt like a beckoning hand.
A relic that chose its master. A relic that had never accepted anyone but him. A relic that had been forged by a king.
My fingers trembled as I reached toward it.
The dragon's shadow fell over me.
The phantom knight roared silently and charged again.
And Mist Edge pulsed once—as if answering a call, I didn't know I had made.
Serina finally entered the arena; she quickly bolted forward, stabbing the dragon in the chest as the Phantom knight distracted the dragon.
Serina, seeing the blade, calls out to me, "QUICKLY!! USE THE MIST EDGE!!!" as she struggles to hold and brace her weapon from the dragon's flailing.
Then, as I grasped the Mist edge.
For Serina, another BIG HEALTHBAR appeared below the dragons' 1/8 health left.
This health bar was red and not purple, but it read "Boss Girl".
Serina was astonished, "Mm-Missy, you are?"
I-I don't know what I am.
I was just a girl who wanted to save the person who had saved me from before.
The dragon lunged at me, and I closed my eyes as I stuck it on the side of its jaws that I had sidestepped. I dragged the blade all the way to the tail, as its blood erupted in night mercury that poured out from its body as the dragon fell down to the ground. Lifeless.
Serina and I looked at each other, then at the phantom knight.
The knight then saluted and evaporated into the air.
Serina gasped, "The Right hand…one of the best fighters…"
Serina smiled, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, but I wouldn't fight a raid boss by myself." Serina goes to pick up Exiled and Kit, pulls out two teleportation talismans, and hands me one.
Serina jokes, "I believe that one is yours." She giggles as she points to Noobie, who teleports out first.
I lightly chuckle as I sheathed Mist Edge into my sheath, as I helped up Noobie onto my shoulder and prepared to activate the teleportation talisman.
You idiot…I seriously hate you now…
"Wait…" Noobie weakly stuttered as he took out another talisman from his bag and handed it to me before he passed out fully.
I stared at the talisman as it did its own thing: it basically cleansed the area around it of its dark, corrupted flames and stored the dragon's decaying body within it.
I didn't question the talisman's logic; if it works, don't question it. I teleported us out of there, to where? I didn't have a clue, but we ended up back at the Guild Tavern with Kit and Exiled already being tended by the Guild receptionist. While Serina came back outside to help me take Noobie inside.
I really hate this life…but maybe I'll get used to it later…