Lydia clenched her fists, her confidence fluttering despite the plan they had put in place to stop Jormungandr's breath. Watching the serpent barrel through buildings as if they were nothing more than paper walls sent a fresh wave of doubt crashing over her. "Shit… Wain, is this really going to work?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Wain opened his mouth to answer, but instead of words, a wet, gurgling cough erupted from his throat. Blood splattered down his chest, staining his robes in crimson. "WAIN!" Lydia gasped. "What's wrong?!" She reached forward, but Wain swatted her attempt to aid him. "Nothing! Focus!" he barked, wiping his mouth. "I just… pushed myself too hard."
Lydia bit her lip, glancing back at the monstrous serpent thundering after them. No matter what they threw at Jormungandr, he kept coming, unstoppable, eternal. She had thought gouging out his eye was a major victory, a turning point in their battle. But seeing it fully restored as though the wound had never existed crushed the last fragile strands of hope she had clung to.
How much longer could we keep this up? Holy mana was running low, and without an Arch Knight, their chances of survival were slipping away with every second. The distress signal was sent ages ago… Where the hell are they? Lydia thought grimly.
She smacked the Tyrannosaurus rex's back, urging it to move faster, but it wouldn't be enough. Not against this. A flash of violet light bloomed far down the street. Lydia's heart clenched. "Wain! Prepare yourself!" Jormungandr's throat swelled as he gathered mana, the glow of purple fire intensifying within his maw. The flames flickered with an eerie, unnatural beauty, mesmerizing in their terrible power. To think something so stunning could bring such destruction...
The serpent's jaws slammed shut with a crack, locking the fire inside. Lydia's eyes widened. "He's pressurizing!" she yelled, launching to her feet. Without hesitation, she threw her arm skyward, holy mana crackling through her veins. Golden lightning arched across her skin, illuminating her outstretched hand before erupting into the sky. The beacon of divine energy split the night, roaring its existence into the heavens.
Jormungandr's eye twitched. He hesitated. Lydia barely had time to process it, but the serpent slowed his charge, watching her with wary intelligence. He wasn't a mindless beast. He knew this wasn't meaningless. To halt his momentum, Jormungandr slammed his bulk against a nearby building, dragging his armored hide through glass and steel. Then, he stopped, coiling in place like a king surveying his subjects.
A deep, guttural laugh echoed through the air, vibrating through Lydia's bones. This was nothing to him. Their escape was futile. He would simply unleash his breath and incinerate the entire city block. Within her mind, his voice slithered through like a whisper of doom. "It is time to end this, human. Thy end is here." Jormungandr's massive jaws began to part.
Lydia's pulse pounded in her ears. "Now, Mel…" she breathed. Wain's head snapped toward her in alarm, his eyes widening in realization. "Don't be late." Before the flames could escape Jormungandr's maw, a deafening explosion tore through the air.
A holy missile struck the serpent's eye with precision, erupting in a flash of divine fire. Jormungandr recoiled, his head jerking sideways just enough to redirect the beam of fire. Instead of obliterating them, the violet blaze surged past to their right, carving a path through the ruins. The sheer heat seared Wain's skin even at a distance, forcing him to turn away. Lydia cheered, throwing a fist in the air in triumph. "We did it! We stopped his attack!"
Jormungandr howled in agony, his once-pristine eye socket now an empty void of scorched flesh. It was a wound he could not immediately heal. Across the battlefield, perched atop a ruined skyscraper, Mel adjusted the massive missile launcher strapped to her shoulder. The weapon was monstrous, its bulky silver frame supporting seven more holy rockets, lined up and ready to fire. Bracing against the recoil, Mel knelt, shutting one eye as she aimed directly at the fresh wound in Jormungandr's skull.
A wicked grin spread across her face. "Eat this, you damn snake." She pulled the trigger. One by one, the rockets ignited, streaking across the night like falling stars. Amber fire burst from the launcher's barrel as each missile surged toward its target. Within seconds, they struck true, colliding against the gaping wound with devastating force. Explosions rippled across the serpent's face, each blast carving deeper, tearing through flesh and bone alike.
A dense cloud of smoke engulfed Jormungandr's skull, obscuring the full extent of the damage. But then—Boom. The beast collapsed. His titanic form slammed into the earth, shaking the battlefield. Mel leaped to the edge of her vantage point, peering down at the fallen serpent sprawled across the ruined streets. Even in defeat, his body stretched endlessly, his sheer size dwarfing the ruins of the city beneath him. Jormungandr was not just a monster. He was a force of nature. A being that, if left unchecked, could swallow the world whole.
The smoke began to clear, revealing the grotesque aftermath of Mel's assault. Nearly half of Jormungandr's face had been torn away by the holy missiles. Bone gleamed beneath the tattered remnants of flesh, charred and barely clinging to his massive skull. His brain, split in half, burned beyond recognition and was exposed to the open air.
Mel exhaled sharply, staring in awe. It has to be dead…Riding atop the Tyrannosaurus rex, Wain tugged the reins, slowing the beast's pace. Lydia, still breathless from the chaos, turned back toward Mel's vantage point. The reality of what they had just witnessed struck her like a thunderbolt. "Mel killed an Apocalypse!" The words sounded unreal even as they left Lydia's lips. Disbelief morphed into sheer exhilaration, and she threw her arms up in a victorious cheer.
"You did it, Mel! You beautiful woman you!" Laughing, she grabbed Wain's shoulders, shaking him in excitement. His exhausted chuckle joined hers as the tension of battle gave way to a flood of relief. Wain let out a deep breath and slumped forward against the saddle. "I can't believe we did it… Praise God for His help." Lydia watched him, the weight of exhaustion finally showing on his face as he finally laxed. She gave him a reassuring pat on the back as they guided the dinosaur toward Mel's position.
Mel stood at the edge of the ruined building, staring down at Jormungandr's fallen form. Lydia opened her mouth to call out, but Mel had frozen in place. Mel's body tensed, her expression twisting into one of sheer horror. Then, in the blink of an eye, she whirled and vanished into the building's depths, diving for cover. Lydia's blood ran cold. What was she looking at?
Slowly, her gaze shifted back to Jormungandr. A bone-chilling hiss tore through the silence. Lydia's heart stopped as the massive serpent moved. Despite half of its skull missing, despite the devastation wrought upon its body. It moved. It should have been dead. It had to be dead. And yet, it struck toward Mel's building with terrifying speed as if the injury had only enraged it further.
Blood gushed from its mangled face, dripping in thick pools onto the street below. Its exposed jaw stretched open wide, revealing the charred remnants of flesh hanging limply from its fangs. A nauseating stench of scorched, rotting meat filled the air, making Lydia gag. No… no, no, no… With a sickening crash, Jormungandr's head slammed into the building.
Its immense body plowed straight through, shattering steel and concrete as if they were nothing more than brittle parchment. In an instant, the entire structure gave way, collapsing into a heap of dust and rubble. Mel was gone. Lydia's breath caught in her throat. She whispered a prayer, but her heart clenched with the bitter knowledge that survival was nearly impossible.
The dust cloud swallowed the street, thick and suffocating. Panic set in. "GO!" Wain barked, snapping the reins. The T-rex pivoted, muscles flexing as it bolted in the opposite direction. Lydia clung to him, her mind screaming at her to turn back. "We have to go back! Mel might be alive!" she shouted, her voice hoarse with desperation.
Wain shook his head violently. "We can't! He's coming back!" He pointed toward a half-destroyed restaurant up ahead. "From the left, up by that building!" Lydia whipped her head around, scanning the wreckage. "What? How do you know—" Before she could finish, the restaurant exploded outward. Jormungandr burst forth, and debris and twisted metal were sent in showers in all directions as he emerged from the ruins. His grotesque, half-destroyed face locked onto them like prey.
Chunks of steel and shattered concrete rained down in a deadly storm. Lydia barely had time to react. Channeling mana into her fists, she lashed out, golden lightning streaking from her hands to shatter the incoming debris. She struck rock after rock, deflecting the deadly shrapnel. But one piece slipped through. A jagged shard of metal tore through the air and struck Wain square in the back.
Wain choked, his body lurching forward as blood spattered from the wound. His grip tightened on the reins, teeth clenched against the pain. Lydia's heart lurched. "Wain!" Wain groaned through clenched teeth, his body rigid with pain as he fought to stay upright. Blood soaked the back of his shirt, the deep wound near his spine searing like fire. He refused to let it slow him down. Not now. Not with that monster behind us. Lydia dropped down beside him, her hands pressing against his back, warmth radiating from her palms as she channeled mana into his flesh. The golden glow of her magic pulsed, knitting together torn muscle, but it was slow.
She wrapped herself around him, shielding his body with her own as debris rained from the collapsing buildings. Metal shards and jagged rock struck her back, her ribs, her arms. She clenched her jaw against the pain, but when a massive slab of concrete slammed into her lower back, a gasp escaped her lips. Wain struggled beneath her. He could feel the tension in her frame, the way her body flinched with every impact. He shoved against her, voice raw with desperation.
"Let go! I'll be fine! Protect yourself, Lydia—" Wain pleaded. She let out a breathless laugh, even as fresh pain rippled through her. "I've endured worse. Try getting jumped by older kids in an orphanage. This is nothing." She tried to pull her lips into a smile. Through the storm of falling rubble, the Tyrannosaurus rex pressed forward, its powerful legs propelling it through the crumbling city. It wasn't until a colossal chunk of concrete struck the side of its skull that it stumbled.
Wain's breath hitched. For a moment, the great beast staggered. Its stride broke, a tremor running through its muscular frame. But then, with an earth-shaking roar, it powered forward, shaking off the blow as if refusing to acknowledge it. Wain let out a breathless chuckle, then shouted in exhilaration. "Come on, you beautiful beast! Keep going!"
But behind them, the nightmare was far from over. Jormungandr continued. The great serpent tore after them, his massive form weaving through the ruins with terrifying speed. His roars reverberated through the city, no longer filled with amusement but with sheer abhorrence for those it chased. He had been playing with them before, entertained by their feeble resistance. But the pain they had inflicted upon him, the wound that marred his once-flawless flesh, was unforgivable.
For a creature of his stature and power to be scarred by mere humans was an insult beyond comprehension. Pride burned hot in his chest, fueling his fury. His remaining eye gleamed with malice as he surged forward, tearing through buildings. Blood dripped from his exposed skull, mixing with saliva as it splattered onto the streets below. His flesh, peeled back from the explosion, flapped grotesquely in the wind, giving him the appearance of some undead abomination.
Lydia swallowed back a wave of nausea. He may have appeared like the mindless dead. But there was nothing mindless about him. His rage was sharp, calculated, and alive. Slamming into buildings with no regard, Jormungandr didn't slow, didn't hesitate. The entire city quaked under his pursuit, dust and debris swallowing the streets in a black cloud of despair. Wain's heart pounded as he yanked the reins, urging the T-rex into a sharp turn down a narrow alley.
The dinosaur's powerful legs adjusted with ease, rounding the corner in an instant. Wain expected the serpent to be lost, carried onward by its heavy body. Then, Lydia's voice rang out, shrill with panic. "He's still after us!" An ear shattering explosion of metal screeching as it was torn into shreds rang out from behind them. Jormungandr broke through the remains of a crumbling building, his enormous form colliding with the pillars of steel.
Lydia cursed under her breath as she watched Jormungandr's flesh begin to knit itself back together. The torn, flapping skin stretched taut over the serpent's exposed muscle, reattaching itself to the bone as if time were reversing. His snarling lips reformed, peeling back to reveal rows upon rows of jagged teeth, thousands of them, serrated and gleaming.
Snakes were already unsettling enough with their venomous fangs, but Jormungandr? He was something else entirely. His maw wasn't just a weapon; it was a saw designed to shred and consume everything in its path. If he caught them, there would be no mercy. No quick death. Only suffering, drawn out by his unrelenting rage.
Wain's palms were slick with sweat as the monster closed in. Just two more blocks. That was all the distance between them and Rose's position. The last desperate hope of springing their trap. But their chances dwindled with every breath, every footfall. Desperate, Wain urged the T-rex forward, trying to coax just a little more speed, a little more strength from the creature.
But the magic that gave it form was failing. The herb of creation, the source of its existence, had long since burned away. Without its sustaining energy, the great beast was fading. Smoke unraveled from its limbs, dispersing with each pounding stride. Wain could feel it thinning beneath him, the body growing weightless, its form breaking apart like sand slipping through his fingers.
"Come on, buddy!" He ran his fingers against its hide. "COME ON! KEEP GOING! PLEASE!" His voice cracked with desperation as he gripped the saddle, as if his sheer willpower could keep the dinosaur whole for just a few more seconds. Lydia watched him anxiously, knowing that when the beast collapsed, so would their last chance at escape. And then it happened.
As the T-rex thundered into an intersection, a powerful gust of wind tore through the street. The smoke that shaped its body scattered in an instant, dissolving into the air like mist at dawn. Wain gasped. One moment, he was riding a living, breathing titan. The next, he was plummeting through the air, falling like an angel from the heavens.
Before he could hit the ground, Lydia moved. She lunged, catching him midair, twisting her body to shield him. Her legs absorbed the initial shock, but instead of buckling, she dropped into a roll, letting their momentum carry them forward. She cradled Wain against her chest, twisting and shifting her weight to soften the fall. The two tumbled across the ground in a blur of dust and motion before Lydia sprang back onto her feet, Wain still in her arms.
"That was rather graceful," he wheezed, wincing through the pain. "You do that often?" Lydia let out a breathless laugh. "Hah! Now is not the time, Wain!" But there was nowhere left to run. They sprinted, pushing every ounce of strength into their final steps, but Jormungandr was already upon them. The ground trembled beneath his approach, his massive form blotting out the dim light of the ruined city. His maw stretched wide, an abyss of writhing, gnashing teeth, a pit of blackness that seemed to lead straight to the underworld itself. Wain slowed. "It's been fun, Lydia..." Lydia didn't stop running, but she looked back. "Yeah, buddy," she murmured, her voice strangely light. "It sure has..." She turned fully then, deciding to face her end with open eyes.
At least it wasn't in some nameless skirmish. They had fought an Apocalypse, a creature not seen in hundreds of years. Maybe someone would write about them. Lydia, the Paladin who fought to the last breath against the Apocalypse. The thought made her laugh, dry, bitter, but real. This isn't such a bad way to go.
Lydia stared into the abyss of his throat, a black void that seemed to swallow all light. If hell had an entrance, she was looking at it. Hopelessness clawed at her chest, an eerie certainty settling in. Perhaps this was fate. Perhaps her afterlife had already been decided. The belly of the serpent would be her tomb. But then—A flicker of movement at the edge of Wain's vision. Something massive, burning with white fire, arced through the sky.
"A sphere?" he muttered. His mind struggled to piece it together. "Wait… a metal sphere? White fire?" It was no ordinary weapon. It wasn't Rose's holy ball and chain. It was too large. His eyes traced the thick steel chains trailing behind it, realization dawning. This had been ripped straight from a crane. A wrecking ball. But instead of rust and grime, it burned, coated in ethereal white flames. Lydia held her breath. "Reinforcements?"
The ball struck with a sickening crack, punching through Jormungandr's skull like a hammer through glass. For a split second, everything seemed to freeze. Then the shockwave hit. The air rippled, warping and crackling with the force, as the white fire burst from the steel in a torrent of blinding light.
The air thickened with the stench of burning flesh as a bloody mist rained down from the sky, a grotesque shower of gore. Chunks of meat and torn flesh scattered across the street, splattering onto the pavement. The jagged remnants of Jormungandr's skull caved in, the bones crumbling away as the white fire seared through every fiber, erasing all that remained. The serpent's head, once a symbol of terror, was now nothing more than a twisted, molten ruin, a charred mass consumed by a white-hot sun. And then… silence. The world held its breath.
Lydia stared at the motionless serpent, her mouth slightly agape. "Can you pinch me?" she whispered. Wain wiped blood from his cheek, exhaling shakily. "Why would I do that? I told you he'd be back." Lydia's brow furrowed. "This can't be real... wait—who would be back?" Wain didn't need to turn around to know. There was only one person reckless enough, insane enough, to pull off something like this. "Only that crazy Ogre could accomplish such a feat with such stupid antics."
Lydia whipped her head toward the source of the attack. A figure stood at the mouth of the street, arms outstretched, a cocky grin plastered across his face. "Asura," she breathed. Trailing behind him was Mel, battered and sluggish, but alive. "Miss me?" Asura called. Lydia didn't hesitate. She sprinted toward him, throwing her arms around his frame. "God, I could kiss you right now," she laughed. "Please do." He insisted, embracing her back.
She grinned, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead, once, twice, over and over in sheer relief. The absurdity of it all sent another laugh bubbling from her lips. Moments ago, she'd been ready to die. Now? Now, she was laughing. Mel managed a weak smile, propping herself against a pole."You're alive!" Lydia rushed to her next, pulling her into a tight hug.
Mel groaned, her ribs shifting painfully. "Stooopppp—it hurts!" She pushed Lydia away. "Sorry!" Lydia adjusted, carefully lifting Mel into a princess carry before channeling mana into her battered body. A soft warmth spread through Mel's limbs, easing the worst of her pain. Her eyelids fluttered, exhaustion overtaking her.
"We should move," Asura declared, his gaze locked onto Jormungandr's corpse. The dragon's massive form trembled, a low, bone-rattling shudder that sent a ripple through the ground beneath them. The building that had once been crushed under Jormungandr's weight creaked, its structure groaning as if it too, feared the serpent's lingering wrath. Lydia's breath hitched, her heart racing as her eyes darted to the dragon's motionless form and then back to Asura. "He's still alive?!"
The question barely left her lips when the ground shook again, a tremor that seemed to come straight from the heart of the beast. The silence that followed felt fragile, broken only by the sound of distant rubble shifting and the deafening pulse of their own pounding hearts. "Oh, you have no idea," Asura muttered. "Damn wiggly worm finds his way out of everything."
The curse from Uriel ignited, sending white flames licking across Asura's tongue. He spat flames like liquid, his face contorting in irritation as he wiped his mouth. Wain couldn't help but laugh. "I see you got Uriel's curse and holy mana now." Asura wiped his lips, eyes flicking to Wain. "How'd you know?" Wain tapped his back with a weak chuckle. "Same way I knew you'd show up." He patted Asura's shoulder. "Thanks for coming back."
Asura smirked. "No problem. Though next time, tell me where the hell the cup is. Could've been here sooner." Wain shook his head. "Nah. Any sooner or later, and we were dead." Asura watched his friend closely, searching for a lapse in confidence. Yet, Wain's eyes blazed with determination. Without warning, Asura slung him over his shoulder like a sack of grain. "Before you start whining—you're hurt. We need to move." His gaze flicked to Lydia. "You take Mel. I've got Wain."
They broke into a sprint, feet pounding against the pavement as they tore down the street, leaving the fallen dragon behind. But Asura knew better. Jormungandr wouldn't stay down for long. He'd faced Apocalypses before, and even now, with the beast's skull reduced to ruin, survival was in its nature. "We're close!" Lydia called, eyes locking onto their destination. "It's right up ahead!"
"We need to trap him," Asura said, his eyes fixed ahead. "Get his head stuck somewhere and sever it." Lydia swallowed hard, her breath ragged as she kept pace. "Sever it? How do we do that?" Asura didn't miss a beat, his voice maddeningly casual. "I, personally, was just going to try to explode his head with a big enough bomb of mana. But if you come up with a better idea, let me know."
"Uh…" Lydia exchanged a look with Wain. "I have no ideas. Let's try your plan." Her words were laced with concern, doubting the thought of even trapping such a beast. "How do we get him stuck?" She asked. Asura flashed a wild grin. "IMPROVISE!"
Warmth spread through Wain as he clung to Asura's back, the mana flowing into him like a gentle current. Confusion furrowed his brow as he glanced down at the Ogre's arms. From the top of Asura's hand up to his shoulder, a series of white runes now shimmered faintly on his dark skin. They looked like tattoos, but unlike anything Wain had seen before, they were flashes of fluorescent ink pulsing with the flow of mana. The runes were undeniably holy, yet their meaning eluded him, as if they were an ancient form, a predecessor to the runes they used now.
Wain's body relaxed as he felt the soothing touch of the ogre's mana enveloping him. "You know how to use holy mana like this?" he asked, curiosity sharpened by the sensation. Asura shrugged, a nonchalant grin spreading across his face. "Uriel somehow dumped the knowledge into my brain. Oh, and he also gave me some pretty rad tattoos."