Somewhere close to the epicenter of the Academy Final exam forest field…
In a massive artificial forest clearing littered with dead beasts and mages…
A sweat bead slides down Dom's temple as he finds himself face-to-face with a large lizard-like magical beast with its entire body from each of its four legs to its head covered by a shiny black armor like scale which had been stained with blood.
Meanwhile, all the beast could see was shrouds of colored mana in the shape of humans. Once it sees that the purple and blue mana shrouds intensified in power, it lets out a deafening shriek before raising its fore-limb and quickly slamming it down on them. The impact, easily crushing the ground with a loud explosion of debris.
It continues to stare at the dust cloud beneath it before turning its eyes to the side where Dom was on a knee several feet away with Sam still in his arms.
"Dom." Sam mumbled once he sees the cut made on Dom's right shoulder.
Dom clicks his tongue at his wound which had already began to stain his damaged shirt with blood before looking at the beast which walks towards them.
"Can you walk?" Dom asked as he releases Sam who tries to stand but ends up stumbling to the ground. "Hey." Dom said as he quickly turns to help Sam.
"Dominic!" Dae, who was completely unharmed, shouted out from the opposite side while Sam gasps once he finds the beast now directly behind Dom.
Before he could even speak out, Dom shoves him aside before turning to guard against the beast's tail swing. He reinforces his arms with mana.
But the force of the beast's swing was too strong as the resulting impact pushes his arms against his chest, causing Dom to cough up some blood before being instantly flung across the clearing.
His body tears through every obstacle before meeting with the trees on the other end of the clearing where he continues to rip through the forest until a loud crash was heard several hundred meters away in the deep forest.
"Dom." Sam grumbled before flinching once he finds the beast now staring directly at him. "No." He mumbled in horror, wetting his pants as the beast raises its fore limb, its fingers producing long sharp claws that soars towards the paralyzed Sam… just as a streak of purple lightning snatches Sam out of the beast's destructive path.
It shrieks out in frustration before turning back to Dae who skids back into the clearing with Sam already hidden in the bushes. "Now what?" Dae mumbled to himself as he glances at the path of destruction left by Dom's body.
He thought before turning back to the beast which moves towards him menacingly.
Dae places his hands on his sword handles while a nervous sweat slides down his temple.
The beast suddenly charges forward, its speed strangely fast for a monster this size but Dae manages to leap out of the way just in time. He flips to his feet a couple meters away with his blades already drawn.
With a grunt, Dae dashes forward and the beast raises its claws to strike. With a shriek, it strikes, its claws ripping through the air with a blur. "You're fast…" Dae mumbled as the claws approach his body… but he leaps into the air, evading it at the last second. "…but I'm faster."
The beast looks up, its eyes widening as it swings its other claw which Dae dodges again with a spin before running along its extended limb towards its head.
"Form 15: Lightning Coffin!" Dae shouted as he surges forward and swings his blades in sophisticated but mesmerizing slashes that instantly moves across the beast's body with an echoing thunderclap from his movements.
He lands on the ground some meters behind it but instead of ripping apart, the beast was completely unharmed as it turns to Dae whose purple eyes were widened as he finds his swords vibrating.
"Hard." He grumbled before narrowly evading another claw slash that decimates a large rock behind him. Dae rolls to the side, glances at the shallow slash on his arm before gritting his teeth as he runs towards it again.
It attacks again but Dae delivers a faster counter… only for his attack to fail again. With his facial expression filled with desperation and frustration, Dae continues to attack the beast with different rapid strikes and forms but after 2 whole minutes, he leaps back to a safe distance.
His swords still vibrate, with its edges already chipped while he pants heavily. "What is that thing made of?" Dae asked as the beast charges towards him, still completely unharmed.
Dae dodges again but takes a slash to the back of his right leg which begins to bleed out, staining his trousers and causing him to stumble before rolling to a hard stop a safe distance away. He grunts as he forces himself up, his leg now twitching with pain.
Dae quickly gets up to find the beast dashing towards him again.
Dae barely manages to stop himself and stumbles to a knee.
"I could just run on my own and get help… but I doubt he would approve." He slowly stands and the beast widens its eyes once it sees Dae's mana shroud intensify even more.
Dae grits his teeth as he places his two swords together, pointing their tips to the ground and begins to infuse them with his lightning magic. The beast charges at him in an attempt to kill him first but Dae evades its attack again, while his mana continues to swell.
As he did, the familiar image of the old man crosses his mind which distorts as another image of the same old man now bleeding out on the ground filled his mind, causing Dae to grit his teeth.
"I can't die here." Dae grumbled as he skids to a stop, pointing his charged swords at the beast.
The beast turns to him and in that moment, safely in the bushes… Sam's eyes widen once he sees what Dae was doing. "No… Don't." He mumbled; his body too weak to shout it out.
"Viper's bolt!" Dae shouted as the purple electricity coating the blades suddenly shoots forward as a projectile that quickly transforms into a snake-like shape with its fangs aimed at the beast.
The attack instantly collides with the beast, releasing a bright blinding purple light along with the deafening sound of thunder… but instead of taking damage, it was as if the spell was being absorbed into the beast's armor… until it suddenly and harmlessly disappears.
Dae's eyes widen as his own spell suddenly re-emerges from the beast's armor now twice as big and fast.
The spell instantly hits Dae who screams out in pain as the spell rips through his body before destroying everything in its path behind him. Once the spell fades away, Dae was still standing but it was clear how much damage he'd taken.
His body was producing steam with his clothes mostly burnt off displaying his skin which was now slightly darker than normal. His aura shroud was gone with some sparks of electricity still visible on his body and behind him, there was now a large, long deep steaming trench reaching up the trees.
Dae thought before sensing the beast charging at him. He tries to move away but his still body just twitches in response, allowing the beast to smash its head directly into Dae's front torso.
The impact knocks the wind out of his lungs with blood being spewed out from his opened mouth while he whistles lifelessly through the air. He promptly smashes into a tree with an impact that leaves him engraved in its thick bark which cracks along the entire tree's length.
A brief moment later, Dae's body slips out of the carved bark and falls front first to the ground with a heavy thud. He grunts in pain as he tries to move, his entire body still twitching and screaming in pain.
Dae thought before coughing up some blood to the ground and breathing heavily.
A sudden shadow covers his body, and he barely manages to look up, some blood dripping down the left of his face to find the Reflezard looming over him.
The Reflezard raises its long tail which was extremely sharp at its tip with its shiny black armor reflecting some light rays at him.
"No. Not…like this." Dae grumbled in pain, eyes watering as he desperate tries to move but his body continues to deny his wishes. Finally, it thrusts its tail forward and Dae's eyes widen.
His life instantly flashes before his eyes, once again showing images of the old man again. At the end of it, Dae grits his teeth and closes his eyes.
But instead of a stab, a gust of wind and dust suddenly smashes into his face instead along with the sound of someone groaning. Slowly, Dae opens his eyes… only to find someone holding the beast's tail in front of him.
The Reflezard shrieks out as it tries to push the figure down, causing the ground beneath his feet to crumble while Dae's eyes widen in recognition.
"D-Dominic?" Dae asked, his mind both shocked and a little relieved to see his partner in front of him.
Even with the blood dripping down his temple and some bruises on his forearms where the beast hit him earlier, Dom grits his bloodied teeth as he competes with the Reflezard's strength.
"What do you think you're doing to my partner?" Dom grumbled and the Reflezard shrieks as if to answer.
Dae stares at Dom in astonishment before glaring at him. "Forget it, Dominic! The Reflezard's an A class! You can't beat it!"
"Shut up!" Dom shouted back, leaving Dae speechless. "So what? It killed my friends." Dom trembles with anger as the Reflezard lets out another shriek, pushing its sharp tail closer until the very tip pierces Dom's gut with blood already beginning to stain his shirt.
"Don't be stupid! Run!" Dae added but Dom gives him a pained smirk.
"You're the one being stupid." Dae's eyes widen again as he senses Dom's mana intensify with power. The Reflezard notices this too and pushes its tail harder. The tip moves a little deeper, drawing more blood but this doesn't bother Dom as his grip on the beast's tail tighten.
"If I run to save myself now, how the hell am I supposed to become the greatest knight?!" Once he shouted that, his grip tightens to the point that the Reflezard's tail armor begins to crack and crumble.
The Reflezard shrieks as it now tries to move away but Dom refuses to let it go. He groans loudly as he continues to squeeze the tail, his feet slowly sliding forward as the beast desperately pulls away before letting out a battle cry as he finally crushes the tail's armor.
Fragments of the broken armor fly into the air while his hands instantly crush the tail itself with the beast's flesh and black blood being spilled out.
The Reflezard lets out a high-pitched shriek of pain as it finally pulls back to a safe distance. Dae stares in shock at the injured beast before turning to Dom who rips off damaged his shirt, revealing his bleeding wounds and bruises before clenching his fists with fiery determination in his eyes.
He takes in a deep breath while assuming a low stance. "Bring it on you fucking bastard!" Dom shouted at the top of his lungs and the Reflezard glanced at its bleeding tail before shrieking at Dom.