Dagon hunched over, holding onto Sephtis's spine. The pain of his arm combined with the exhaustion from the spells he'd casted for the trap had all depleted him entirely of energy. He felt like he was going to pass out, but, as he began to drift, he shook himself, doing everything he could to stay conscious.
*Are you alright?* Sephtis asked.
*I am fine, just tired.* Dagon responded, turning his eyes to the huge King Drake.
*We don't have time to rest.* Sephtis growled, *I am going to Shift to you. I want you to use that energy to keep yourself going. No casting spells. This is a two versus one, me and Gena should be able to defeat him with no issue, so I want you to hop off.*
*Hop off?! Why?!*
*Because this might be a bit much, and I don't want you to be hurt as collateral damage. You have no part in this fight, so I want you to go and hide, you are in no shape to join. You'll only hold me back.*
Dagon felt a tinge of irritation, but he knew Sephtis was right. He didn't have the strength in him to cast even a small spell. Even if Sephtis were to Shift to him, using the magic from the Shift takes a lot of mental and physical energy that can exhaust you fast if you are not careful. This means even if you have boundless amounts of stored magic, you wouldn't have the strength for a single spell.
Dagon unclipped himself from the saddle and, as Sephtis knelt low, he hopped down from the dragon's back.
*Be careful.* Dagon spoke, placing his hand on Sephtis's side.
Sephtis gave a slight growl. *I'll be fine. Don't worry, it's just a Drake. It is of no issue*
Dagon gave one last look at Sephtis, then turned away and sprinted towards the rocks, going around them out of the King Drake's range of sight.
— — —
"Why do you suppose this one is so large compared to others?" Sephtis asked.
"No clue. It's likely it is due to black magic. Otherwise I'd have no clue as to why." Gena responded as the massive beast best it's spiked fists against the earth.
"Alright.. I'll go straight you attack from above." Sephtis growled, then dug his talons into the ice and burst forward. His wings were tucked and he held his head low as he sprinted forward.
Barash let out a guttural roar, then raised one of its talons into the air. Each of the four talons on its massive fists were half as long as Sephtis's tail and ended in sharp points, the lower sides of them being serrated.
Barash was about to crash its talons down on Sephtis, but Gena exploded through the air above, crashing into its limb. She dug her claws into it and sprayed flames across the bronze scales of the creature as she pushed the limb back. The popping sound of the drake's arm being removed from its socket came as it was twisted back at an odd angle.
Sephtis leapt from the ground at the drake's chest, plunging his talons into it's flesh. He then sprayed acid into the wound and the click of his fangs came, lighting the substance aflame.
Barash let out an agonized howl, then thundered down onto all fours, slamming Sephtis down below it and throwing Gena across the tundra snow.
The King Drake then lifted its working arm into the air, then brought it down on Sephtis, it's talons skewering the dragon through the stomach, resulting in an agonized roar that echoed across the rocks.
— — —
Dagon heard Sephtis's roar from the other side of the jagged rocks. He felt a sharp pain fly through his body from his stomach as though he'd been stabbed through.
*The hell…?* he cursed, hunching over and coughing. *Sephtis… I have to go back..*
He turned to go back around the rocks, but then he heard the clicking sound of something from above. He spun, seeing a Drake watching him with predator eyes from atop the rocks. It appeared to be wounded, bleeding from several wounds, and it had a limp.
*I thought all the drakes were dead..? It must have survived the trap somehow..*
The Drake hissed, then leapt down at him from above. Dagon rolled aside as the creature skidded past him, snapping at his heels as he ran in the opposite direction. He had no weapons and he did not have the energy to defend himself with magic. All he could do was run and hope it would not catch him. He hoped that the drake's wounds would slow it down enough that it would not be able to chase, but he was mistaken.
The Drake dashed at him at full sprint. Dagon tried to make a sharp turn, trying to juke the creature, but he felt sharp, jagged talons rake across his back, red blood spilling across the snow as he stumbled and fell.
Dagon turned, landing on his back as the Drake flew on top of him. He used is legs and arm to try and keep the beast back, using all his strength and energy to try and push it off of him, but it was too heavy. It began to claw at and tear the flesh of his legs and arm.
He could feel nothing but the pain of his wounds combined with exhaustion at that moment. He was almost to the point of just giving up. He didn't have the energy to keep going… and everything hurt so much.. he just wanted it to stop…
The drake backed up before it's jaws came down on Dagon's leg, crushing and tearing the flesh before it dragged him towards the rocks and shook its head violently. It then spun, throwing Dagon through the air and slamming hard into the rocks.
Dagon felt dizzy. Everything was beginning to fade out, and as he felt the drake bite down on his leg again and begin throwing and thrashing him about, he began to lose all sense of feeling. He began to fade, everything turning to black…
He just wanted the pain to end..