Chapter 20
The monster whipped its scaly tail toward the group in a violent assault. It threw all of them back, and they all smashed into the side of the mountain. They hit the snow-covered rock and fell to the ground. After a few moments, they began climbing to their feet, one by one. All of them had been surprised by the mere sight of such a monster, but now, its speed and power were almost unbelievable.
Their adversary was an enormous, scaly reptile which stood on four legs. Each of its legs grew higher than the entire height of a risastor. Even more concerning were the deadly claws it stood on, each one was clearly an instrument of death. After the monster attacked the group, it let out a scream that seemed to be partly a roar and partly a hiss.
As Lux stood to his feet, he tried to recall the information he had learned about this animal. He was sure he had heard of it or seen something about it, but it had been too long ago. Not only that, but he was under the distinct impression that things like this no longer existed.
"Ignis!" He called out. "You must venture forward without us. You must complete the mission!"
After yelling out his order, Lux rushed the monster to attack its legs. His goal was to weaken the defensive scales around the bottom so they could disable its ability to move.
Ignis glanced toward the reptile, then back at Lux. He was hesitant to leave his leader and his family to fight something so dangerous without him. However, he always trusted Lux' judgment, and even more so in the midst of a battle.
"On your command, Tempestas!" Ignis sprinted away from the battle in order to accomplish their long-awaited goal.
The monster, having caught onto Lux' plan, was in the process of trying to crush him to death. Its giant foot was directly above his head and pushing down with all its might. He was holding onto the claw and attempting to push back against the enormous foe.
Lux heard Ignis' response and laughed the little that he could. "I am not Tempestas just yet," He said, straining with every bit of strength he had.
Just as he thought he would be crushed, a blast cut into the side of the reptile's enormous leg. It weakened enough for Lux to throw it off him. He looked up to see Telu hovering on a pillar of water and smiling down at him.
He tried to catch his breath, "I thought you must be around here somewhere."
Telu giggled at the mess he had gotten himself into. Even though he was always so calm and calculated, for whatever reason, he was still so reckless and got himself into the worst predicaments.
She shot upward using the water to propel herself, and she stopped when she finally reached the top of the monster. She hovered gracefully over the unbelievably lengthy back of the enormous reptile. She began rotating her right hand in a circle, then soon her left hand as well. In the area in front of her hands, two water drills began to form. She moved her hands faster and faster, the drills were spinning violently. At once, she shot them down, and they collided with the monster's back.
It was forced to drop lower as a result of the impact from Telu's attack. As it dropped, Luna was waiting patiently below its head. When it got close enough, her hands glowed in a dark purple light, and she used her dark compulsion. She forced the monster's giant head down toward her. She compelled it to drop lower than its legs could withstand. The reptile's body dropped to the ground.
Solis stood below its neck as it came nearer to the ground. As it came down, he launched himself upward, and removed the giant, two handed sword from his back. It pulsed with destructive power. He thrust the sword into the bottom of its throat, it penetrated the thick scales, and a powerful blast of energy emanated from the sword.
As Solis was still forcing the monster's head upward, Lux had shot into the air above it. He clasped both of his hands together above his head. An aura of lightning surrounded them, and he slammed them into the back of the reptile's head. As Lux' hands connected with its scales, a lightning bolt shot from the sky and struck the same area. The monster's head was forced down even farther onto Solis' blade.
The warriors pulled back and watched the giant reptilian monstrosity fall to the ground. It laid quietly on the ground, motionless. The group waited to see if it was going to recover, but it seemed as though the legendary beast was thoroughly defeated.
"That was quite an unexpected challenge," Lux sighed. "I apologize to everyone for this, I truly did not believe such a being still existed on Atlas."
Solis laughed and placed his sword back in its sheathe, "It is quite alright, I think it was a decent warm-up for what surely lies ahead."
"I wonder if it means our journey will result in an unfortunate ending," Luna said.
Telu nudged her, "No Luna, you must not think in such a way."
"Well, whether we are unfortunate or not," Lux said, "I believe Ignis will not be easily defeated on his quest. Actually, I rather pity the poor soul who attempts to get in his way."
It seemed Lux was not the only one who thought so, the others nodded in agreement. A faint look of horror passed over their faces as they imagined someone trying to do just that.
"Now, Thaddaeus...," Lux started as he looked around. "Where is he? He was here when the battle started. Where has he gone?"
The others shrugged. "I was focusing on the battle too much," Solis said. He looked at the others. "It seems we all were, Lux. I am unsure as to where he could even go by himself. Do you think he was taken?"
"I do not think there would be any value in abducting someone such as Thaddaeus,"
Luna said coldly.
"Luna is correct, he poses no threat to them," Lux said with a confused look on his face. He stared at the ground in thought, his fingers touching his chin.
"I saw where the rascal wandered off to!" A voice called out from behind them.
They turned to see a figure emerging from the darkness of the cave. No one recognized the man. He walked over to them at a leisurely pace, his hands resting in his pockets.
"I saw him run after your over-sized friend when your fight started."
"I apologize, sir," Lux said. "I do not recognize your face. Who are you, and how did you get out here?"
"Who am I? That's offensive. I would think you would recognize me. I'm the one you've been looking for, I'm the Alpha."