The waves came and went, the first three having been defeated with relative ease. This is, however, the time in which most participants were defeated. Physical exhaustion was about to set in and Will exhaustion was also underway, but there was a far greater reason as to why the fourth wave was so troublesome.
A loud piercing screech rang out from beyond the metal gate, from within the shadows something was slammed repeatedly against it causing it to shake and even bend slightly.
Slowly the portcullis raised, eventually allowing what was barely contained within to be free at last.
Dark brown scales that were arrayed like a suit of natural armor, two long thick legs full of power, and two shorter ,but still thicker than Cyrus' entire waist length, arms front and center, all attached to a massive frame that was the size of an entire carriage...horses included.
Flicking its massive tale and narrowing its green reptilian eyes, it scanned the arena with one quick glance before locking onto its pathetic looking prey. Hunger was clear in its eyes; a hunger for flesh, a hunger for blood, and a hunger for all life itself.
"A drake" explained Cyrus who immediately began casting spell after spell, "specifically a land drake."
"Why is it called a land drake?" asked Imran.
"Because the normal ones can fly and are classified as a grade A threat in the Venator's guild... So, any ideas on how to kill the thing? Unless I can get under it, I doubt my sword will have much luck piercing its scales and it will take way too long to kill it with death essence."
There was silence for a single moment, all three watching the drake tense its hind legs in preparation to launch itself forward.
"Me and Imran can kill it, we just need time," revealed Minerva, "stall it and weaken it if you can, or at least tire it out. Lead it back towards us when I give the signal, and don't get caught up in the trap as well. Go."
Giving the orders for once, Minerva waved Cyrus away and went to prepare a spell so large that he could even detect it before it had fully formed.
'She is not the type to mess around so I suppose I could tr...trust her. Ugh, what a terrible feeling'
Taking off running, Cyrus was in the middle of using one coil to get closer when he heard what sounded like several of his explosive bottles going off.
Alas, that was no explosion but instead the sound of grotesque and all mighty muscle contracting and expanding in one rapid motion. The result was a ton of drake being launched towards Cyrus faster than even him activating both of his leg coils at once and jumping forward.
Before his mind could even process what was going on a force inside him spread outwards from within and activated the coils on his leg, allowing him to jump high in the air over the speeding mass of scaly flesh.
The drake was not about to let him get away as while he was in the air above it, a tail as thick as the beam of a house and as strong as steel came cracking through the air like a whip. It hurtled straight towards the now airborne and immobile Cyrus, who took his sword in both hands and activated his arm coils twice over each to generate enough force to try and soften the blow. With a strike of wrath he brought the edge of his blade onto the tail that was rapidly approaching him, leaving but a scratch on it, and getting knocked out of the air and to the side of the drake by the massive force that was just transferred into his body.
Crashing into the ground with a thud, followed by a sickening snap of bone, Cyrus managed to not pulverize his entire leg by using the counterforce from one of his leg coils again. A price still had to be paid for such advanced maneuvers though, as he now found his right ankle shattered.
Time slowed down as the dark half activated his own internal power, filling his head with an icy cool feeling that made his perception twice as precise and fast as usual.
'Running is not an option, I cannot heal my ankle in such a short amount of time, and I have no means of killing it. Inner pockets, nothing, hidden belt, nothing, storage...storage..yes that could work'
Unable to keep hold of his state for any longer, time began to flow normally once again with Cyrus transferring his weapon into his storage and pulling out his next weapon: a thick chain.
Using his only good leg he flipped himself into the air and sacrificed his bad leg, using the remaining coil amped up by a burst of pure life essence, to use the tail as a launch pad and land on the neck of the drake...at the cost of his lower leg bursting into a bloody mess.
Wrapping around its neck once over with lightning speed, Cyrus had managed to tie the chain around its neck and secure himself on its back.
'I remember the three Legionnaire brothers who were under Cato telling me about a type of gambling where people would ride wild animals and see how long they could stay on their back. Same thing here, except this is slightly more dangerous' thought Cyrus with amusement.
Wrapping the two ends of the chain around one of his hands, he brought out his sword with the other and looked for a way to pierce the scales between the drakes neck.
Finding a spot that looked somewhat doable, he began to slowly chisel through the thick scales and muscle to possibly do some real damage. But he soon found out that doing such a task while on the back of an angry thrashing massive beast was completely impossible, so he settled for reaching the muscle. Storing his weapon away once more, he dug his hand into the small incision he had made and opened his Mors domain wide. Trapping the essence in between his hand and the drake's body full of massive amounts of life force, the essence almost needed no fine control on his part for it rushed into the drake and slowly begin to consume everything it touched.
This started a process of the thickness and purity of the essence growing as it consumed the life force, was trapped in a small place, and was being enhanced personally by Cyrus.
'Eventually it will die from this, bu-' thought Cyrus, when his fears he could not even think through occured.
The drake was not a stupid animal by any means, it could tell that whatever was being done to it would eventually lead to its doom. So it did what any other beast would do in such a situation, and cease its futile bucks and leaps. Instead it elected to use a much more direct approach, rolling onto the ground and attempting to crush the ant on its back.
All Cyrus felt was a sudden change in vertigo as his body was set on the fast track to be crushed underneath a ton of drake. Having expected such a maneuver by his opponent, he was already ready and waited and simply grabbed both ends of the chain and kicked sideways off the drake to wrap around its neck.
What followed was akin to constantly walking on top of a large ball as it rolled onwards, except instead of a tame inanimate object it was instead an angry, frothing, and raging monstrosity.
It did not help that Cyrus also had to dodge the lashes of the whip like tail from time to time as well, eventually being lashed on his back with such force that he felt multiple ribs break.
From the view of those spectating, they saw the horrific yet infinitely entertaining sight of a man appearing to wrestle with a massive beast. While also constantly dodging its attacks, healing himself, and thrusting his hand into a spot on its neck for reason. The phrase: Dancing on the edge of a knife was an understatement for the ordeal that he was undergoing.
The spectacle was amazing and awe inducing, such a venue would have no doubt sold out if done commercially.
But for the one who was doing all the work, it was anything but enjoyable.
Respite came quickly though, in the form of Minerva shouting and waving a cloth in the air to get Cyrus' attention.
More than happy to be off that wild ride, Cyrus let go of his chain and used the momentum of the next trash to launch himself towards his allies.
"Jump over the rock!" yelled Imran as Cyrus prepared himself to run with a shattered leg.
Understanding the gist of what they had prepared immediately, Cyrus redid the coil in his left leg and activated three charges at once to launch himself vertically across the ground and next to his two allies.
Only having one leg made his landing somewhat tricky, resulting in him using his two arms to shield his face as he slid across the ground.
Coughing up dirt and dust, Cyrus rolled onto his back and looked at his two completely unharmed allies with clear annoyance on his face.
"Fuck you two" spat Cyrus as he began to heal his wounds, draining his body of Will like a leaky barrel.
The two just laughed awkwardly, with Imran speaking up for the both of them, "Ah, well...we didn't expect you to...you know, do that. Couldn't you have done the stalling in a slightly less insane manner?"
Dropping his head back onto the ground out of exhaustion Cyrus explained, "The situation called for it, I never had a chance to take that fight on my own terms. Now focus on the enemy behind you."
Ending his curt explanation with a lazy wave of his hand, which sent waves of pain throughout it but his pulp like leg was sending far more intense pain, he watched as his two allies turned their attention towards the approaching beast.
The land drake was moving far slower than it ever had before and was unable to muster enough energy to use the same opening move it had at the start, clearly displaying that Cyrus' efforts were not completely useless.
Yet it was still a massive hulking monstrosity that would be difficult to kill whilst remaining unscathed. Imran and Minerva, however, were not planning to use their weapons to do the deed for each had such weapons stowed away.
Standing with their arms crossed they stood still, watching the land drake slowly approach them with hot fury spewing forth from its eyes. It saw the pitiable ant that had so desperately tried to kill it bleeding on the ground, and two more ants standing in front of it.
One ant, two ants, three ants, it mattered not to the drake for they were all the same in the end. With only the smallest echoes of intellect left inside its infected mind, the drake continued its advance straight toward its soon to be meal.
All the way until it reached the 'rock' that Imran had pointed out which was actually no more than a small clump of dirt.
Stepping onto the ground near the rock, its weight seemed to cause the ground to collapse as it fell downwards into the ground. Looking as if Mundus itself had decided to swallow the three student's enemy for them, the drake fell into a massive pit that was erected by Imran.
Cyrus did not see what happened to the drake but from its blaring dying scream that quickly lost its volume until it sputtered completely out of existence, it was clear that the two's plan had succeeded.
Considering what Minerva had contributed to the trap, Cyrus asked, "Giant ice spike?"
To which Minerva in affirmation, "Giant ice spike."
Thus, the fourth trial had been overcome.