"Zenyph."
"Zenyph wake up."
"Please wake up Zenyph." pleaded the blue eyed girl with glasses.
Sounds of magic clashing against each other and eerie roars could be heard outside. The sound was getting louder and clearer with every passing second.
Alice kept shaking Zenyph, hoping to wake him up. She had already tried calling his name multiple times without success.
"Please Zenyph. I beg you wake up." cried Alice desperately.
Her voice sounded desperate.
She gripped his shoulders and shook him again violently.
"Zenyph please...." Her voice cracked in anguish as tears streamed down her face.
"This isn't real. It's not real." murmured Alice in denial as she hugged Zenyph tighter burying her head into his neck.
Zenyph woke up disoriented. His whole body felt sluggish. His vision blurred making it hard for him to see properly. A headache hammered away inside his skull. Every part of him ached horribly. His eyesight returned but the pain didn't fade. He wanted to scream. His lungs were burning.
Pain exploded throughout his system. Zenyph coughed uncontrollably until his lungs stopped functioning. His chest felt tight as he struggled to breathe. He could barely move.
His ears rang loudly making him wince slightly. His hearing was muffled as though he were underwater.
But it didn't stop him from recognizing Alice's sobbing. Her cries pierced his soul. He hated hearing her cry.
"You're awake!." Alice exclaimed excitedly as she embraced Zenyph tightly.
"Hurry, you have to leave! Leave and hide somewhere far away." cried Alice frantically.
"What's going on?" questioned Zenyph confusedly.
Alice shook her head vehemently and pointed towards the sound of the battle outside. "The named Abyssal followed us here. Asura's fighting it but we don't stand a chance against it. The nameless abyssals are surrounding this place. Please Zenyph leave us and run far away." begged Alice urgently.
"What why should I leav-"
From where the battle took place to the tree trunk he's currently resting behind, a thick trail of blood was left on the floor. In the middle of the trail there was a severed leg to be found. A short feminine leg lay there, severed at the knees.
Zenyph felt his blood turn cold, he hoped it wasn't what he thought it was. He slowly turned to look at the woman that's hugging him. Her blood stained black hair, her bloodied elbows and lastly the two things that weren't there.
Alice's legs.
That realization came crashing onto him like an avalanche. The sight of her missing legs drove his rationality away. He had just finished fighting and saving Asura's life now they're in danger again and Alice can't even run away.
"Alice what happened?"
"Don't worry I protected you." said the blue eyed lady with a weak smile.
Zenyph bit his tongue suppressing his anger and self hatred. He failed to protect her and he is the cause of Alice's current condition.
"How did this happen?" he asked gravely.
"Zenyph just run away, there no way to fight the named. Asura is buying you time. I think the abyssal will get tired and retreat but we will most likely not survive it." Alice insisted as she cupped his face with both her hands.
The dragon prince looked at the terrified expression on her face. His gaze dropped to the gaping holes below her waist. Zenyph felt his blood boil. He gritted his teeth while glaring at the girl.
"I am not leaving you and I'm not leaving Asura. Either we fight or we die." snarled Zenyph aggressively.
He raised his hand towards Alice's wound and called upon his chaos mana. The wound didn't close. The surrounding mana didn't listen to his command. His body was utterly exhausted from using chaos. Zenyph grunted before using water magic to at least stabilize Alice's condition. The transparent mana didn't turn into water. Her wounds still bled. He felt an immense pain in his chest. This couldn't happen. It's his fault Alice is hurt and the mana wouldn't answer him. It's all his fault.
A bitter smile spread across Alice's lips as she gazed lovingly at Zenyph. She felt honored that someone would care about her this much. Her mother blamed her for her father's drinking habit and abandoning his family while her classmates bullied her due to her being weak and human. Alice only ever had her older brother. Alice wondered whether if they had met earlier perhaps it would have been different.
She wished that Zenyph would abandon her. No matter how much she wanted it she knew it would never happen. It doesn't matter. Zenyph's well being is more important to her than her life.
"Thank you." said Alice quietly as tears flowed down her cheek. "But you should go. You can find Asura and escape this forest. Just leave me behind. You're the only one that can make it out alive."
"No I'll find Asura and we'll kill that monster. Then I'm coming back here and we're saving you. Okay? We're saving you Alice. Just stay awake for me." replied Zenyph decisively.
Zenyph kissed Alice gently. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against his chest. Tears continued falling from Alice's eyes. They tasted salty as they hit his lips. He stroked her hair softly whispering sweet nothings into her ear.
Alice's body trembled as she buried her face into his chest. The warmth emanating from him comforted her greatly. She couldn't suppress her emotions anymore. The pent up feelings of guilt and shame overwhelmed her.
"Why?" Alice whimpered softly.
Without answering her, Zenyph walked up to the chaos that was occurring just past the trees.
With his water magic gone and chaos drained the dragon prince has only his fist. That isn't very useful in long range combat but at least it makes for great defense and offense.
Before exiting the safety of the woods Zenyph noticed his ring and the ring that belongs to Alice on the ground near his feet. Zenyph scooped them up and slipped his ring back. Spatial rings required mana for the user to open it. Even a baby dragon should have the required mana to open a spatial ring but his mana was completely drained.
He looked around and saw no signs of Asura or the abyssal. Both combatants seem to be moving quickly to another area. The abyssal shouldn't know that Zenyph and Alice are here. Again the sounds of mana colliding against each other became more apparent with each passing moment. It seemed as though Zenyph will have to travel east.
As soon as he exited the protection of the trees he saw Asura in her vampire form. She stood tall and proud surrounded by broken tree trunks with a dead abyssal nearby. It looked to be the remains of a werewolf that had been mauled to death by several hundred daggers. Its torso was mangled beyond recognition with large gashes on its abdomen and head. The stench of death permeated throughout the area. Asura had fought hard and suffered heavy damage in return.
"Asura!" Zenyph shouted as loudly as he could while running towards the injured vampire.
The black haired vampire princess whipped her head in his direction and looked at him surprised.
"Zenyph?!" asked Asura astonished. "Why are you here!? You're supposed to hide from the Abyssal until I dealt with it."
Zenyph grimaced ashamedly and gestured to Alice. "I couldn't leave Alice behind."
"And I'm not leaving you either." asserted Zenyph resolutely. "So you better hold on for me okay? We're going to get Alice fixed up and everything will be alright."
Asura stared blankly at Alice. Seeing her in that state she finally realized she forgot about the weak little girl. It felt wrong to treat someone who was once a friend this way but there was nothing else she could do. It's too late now.
"Did you kill it?" asked Zenyph as he looked at the werewolf corpse.
Asura shook her head negatively. "That's just a pawn. The Named is up there." said Asura pointing upwards.
Zenyph followed where she was pointing to a dragon abomination flying hundreds of meters above their heads. Its enormous wings flapped heavily as it descended towards them.
"Is that... a wyrm?" asked Zenyph dumbfoundedly.
Asura nodded affirmatively. "It's a Wyrm Abyssal. Probably at pink rank. Everytime I tried to move to Alice it attacked." explained Asura solemnly.
The dragon prince scowled irately. He felt frustration bubbling up inside him. If only he could use chaos magic or even water magic he would probably stand a chance against it. As he clenched his fist tightly cursing himself for being so weak.
A deep growl rumbled from the dragon's throat. Its reptilian eyes fixated solely on the duo below. It roared threateningly, letting loose a blast of dark fire from its maw.
Zenyph extended his right hand to the incoming flames and attempted to make a barrier to block them but it wouldn't come out. With all his power drained he's basically just a human. Powerless and weak.
He wasn't able to defend against it so instead he stepped in front of Asura to act as a meatshield for her. The fire was blocked by Asura's shield that was made of blood and dark magic.
"What do you think you're doing Zenyph!? You're too weak to defend against those flames you idiot!" shouted Asura furiously.
"It is a dragon's instinct to protect what is his no?" Zenyph tried making a joke.
Asura growled in annoyance before replying. "I don't need the help of a manaless suicidal buffoon. But there i-"
As if gravity multiplied, the wyrm instantly closed its wing and descended almost immediately. Standing in front of the vampire and dragon, its black flesh turned into liquid. The liquid then took on the form of a three meter humanoid wyrm. Two heads instead of one. Asymmetrical arms, two on one side and three on the other. Wings sprouted from its back while its eyes and mouths started to form all over its body. It smiled.