CHAPTER 3: Dragon's Fury
Cogan and his teammate—the second attacker—launched forward at the massive dragon. It saw them coming and didn't hesitate.
"ROOOOAAAAARRRRRRRR!"
The dragon launched one of its huge hands forward. As the claw came down, Cogan instinctively vaulted out of the path. The other attacker, however, stopped dead. His eyes flared, glowing, and he raised his shield. A golden, oval barrier instantly manifested before him.
The dragon's colossal hand slammed into the barrier, releasing a powerful shockwave that shuddered through the earth around them. The dust settled, revealing the golden shield with multiple cracks spider webbing across its surface, the dragon's great hand pressed against it. The attacker was visibly straining, barely holding his ground against the immense pressure.
His cracked shield was a ticking clock—it was only a matter of moments before it failed completely.
Suddenly, Cogan reappeared, leaping in with his greatsword raised high. With a powerful, desperate swing, he struck the dragon's wrist.
THUG!
A loud, jarring sound erupted on impact, and the dragon let out a pained roar, momentarily pulling back its limb. Cogan landed in front of his teammate.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice tight.
"I'll be fine," the teammate replied, breathing hard.
"Good, because it's not over yet."
The dragon drew its hand back, and Cogan's eyes widened in stark shock: no damage. Not even a scratch marred the scaly hide. It roared again, a deafening sound, and opened its jaws wide. Cogan and the others knew exactly what came next.
"Now!" Cogan bellowed.
The two mages, positioned safely behind, began to chant a spell in unison:
"Lords of the heavens, we beseech thee! Bring our enemy burning torture, for they shall see the power of your might!" They stretched out their staffs, and a shimmering incantation circle appeared before each one.
The two circles rushed together, combining into a single, much larger ring of arcane power.
"Divine Flame!" they yelled.
A fireball of tremendous size shot from the circle, striking the dragon directly in the face. The impact stopped its fiery breath cold, saving Cogan and his teammate from being burned to a crisp.
GROWL... GROWL...
The dragon shook its head and slowly, deliberately, turned its gaze toward the mages. A shiver of fright went down their spines, but they held their positions. Despite their mounting panic, they focused on their main goal.
"Divine Flame!" they yelled again, and a fresh burst of crimson fire surged out of the combined circle with renewed force.
The dragon opened its mouth and, with a deep, rumbling breath, a torrent of purple flame burst forth. Both flames clashed instantly, attempting to extinguish one another.
Where the two fires met, the air grew hotter and hotter, raising the ambient temperature to unbearable levels. The mages fought to hold their ground, but they were no match for the raw, ancient power of the dragon's breath.
The purple flame began to steadily overtake the red. As the mages' power wavered, the flames weakened. The purple inferno crept closer and closer—they couldn't hold out much longer.
Just as the purple flame was about to engulf them, the golden barrier from the attacker appeared, completely surrounding the mages.
The dragon poured every last bit of its power into its fiery attack; the very trees behind the barrier began to scorch and slowly disintegrate into ash.
"Cogan!" the shield attacker yelled, his voice strained as he struggled to maintain his energy around the mages.
Cogan charged toward the dragon. He was surprisingly fast for a greatsword user, the blade of his weapon suddenly shining pure white.
The dragon saw him coming and began to flap its huge wings, lifting into the air and moving backward while keeping its fiery breath pinned on the barrier. Cogan leaped high into the air, the dragon's head now right beneath him.
"Impact..." He swung his sword down with all his might.
"CRASH!" he screamed.
But with one powerful flap of its wing, the dragon narrowly flew out of range. Cogan's blade struck the ground. The impact sent a massive tremor through the earth and released a shockwave that actually pushed the dragon backward through the air.
The mages didn't waste the opportunity. They raised their staffs and stretched them out toward the stunned dragon from a distance.
"Leafage!" the female mage yelled.
A gush of wind gathered around her staff before it glowed green and shot forward toward the dragon.
"Emperor!" the male mage yelled.
A powerful blast of fire burst out of his staff and shot forward as well, targeting the beast