~ Chapter 18: A battle of Luck ~

Before us was a dragoness of incredible power, someone we couldn't even hope of winning against in a one on one battle. Actually, I doubted I could win even if I were to fight Kleo alone. The one thing I could be sort of grateful for was the fact that this Kataryna fellow had a nice body to look at, but ogling at the enemy's chest probably wasn't considered a priority right now.

With a gulp, I looked over at Seryanna. The dragoness took her stance, squinting her eyes at the enemy and had her sword ready to cut her down. The problem was that she was about five times lower in level than the others. Going by old RPG rules, there was absolutely no way in Hell or Heaven that we could defeat this sort of boss-type character.

What now? I thought.

“If you bow down to me, I promise you will be left alive… maybe.” Kataryna said with a cold look in her eyes.

“I will never bow down to the likes of you! A knight's loyalty is her life!” shouted Seryanna, pointing her sword at her.

Off goes the chance of begging for mercy… As if that ever helped anyone in this sort of situation. I thought while remembering the many movies and TV series with this sort of cliché conversation.

Technically, for me it was cliché, but this wasn't a movie, this was real life and for those two in front of me, those words were as serious as they could be, knowing full well they could even end up dead as a result of them. Basically, the silver-scaled dragoness declared her intention to fight the knight, while my redhead stated her loyalty was unshaken.

I gulped and then thought I wish Seryanna will come out alive from this battle! I want us to win! but then, I looked up at Kataryna and saw her switching her gaze towards me. A smirk appeared on her lips, and I felt a cold chill rushing down my back. I wish her next attack won't touch me or Seryanna! I shouted in my mind.

Just then she dropped on the ground, sending a powerful burst of Magic Energy below her. Immediately, a crack appeared under her feet and then spread out like lightning towards me. I barely reacted in time even with my speed. My body moved only a step forward and then two sharp earth spikes over three meters tall formed around me.

“Alkelios!” shouted Seryanna.

“Hiii!” I froze.

One or two millimeters were all that was needed for me to end up impaled by those deadly spikes. More so, I moved in such a way that I managed to avoid the one coming from under my feet and the one where I would have instinctively jumped to dodge.

“Hm? I missed?” Kataryna blinked surprised.

“I could have died…” I said and tried to move out of the way.

“Then please do.” the dragoness then said and dashed towards me.

Seryanna saw her move and also ran towards me in an attempt to intercept her, but the silver-scaled was faster. She was next to me in the blink of an eye.

I only saw her small smirk and calm, cold eyes before she kicked me so hard it sent me flying. It didn't even matter that I was between those two spikes, she shattered them like they were nothing.

In that moment, I couldn't even make a wish, everything happened so fast that all I saw was her expression, then the sky and ground began to spin very fast. My stomach lurched, and I nearly lost my meal, but then I came crashing into the ground, tumbling a few times before coming to a complete stop in a batch of hay.

“Ugh… It hurts…” I said as I felt the shock and pain spreading through my body.

My eyes were spinning, and I couldn't understand what exactly just happened, but I could hear sounds of clashing swords and thundering strikes somewhere far off in the distance.

I can't stay here… It hurts, but if I stay, I'll die… I will die… I thought as I tried to move from there.

My abdomen hurt, my chest too. Even breathing was hard at first, but then the pain slowly subsided. It was probably only the initial shock of the hit, but my instincts kept pushing me forward. If the me from before coming to this world was hit by that attack, it would have meant instant death.

I cursed a few times as I pulled myself out.

What luck to have a batch of hay here… but how? as I came out, I looked back.

It was the carriage of some poor fellow that broke down. The man was shivering and looked back at me.

“I just bring hay for the Khosinni the bandits have! They made me do it! I swear! Please don't kill me!” he begged.

The man was an Awakened draconian, his tail was coiled around his legs. Looking into his eyes, I could see only the gaze of a scared man. He was frightened by the battle and the sudden movement of the bandits. If they were under attack from the guards or the Lord of the region, then all who were found in this area would most likely not be seen with good eyes.

“Go…” I groaned and got up on my feet.

“YES!” the man scrambled away as fast as he could, leaving behind his carriage and everything else.

For him, his life was more important.

Looking towards the other side of the carriage, I saw an old Khosinni munching on some hay. I cut his reins and set him free. To be honest, I was just copying an old quest line I remembered. The character in the game said that if I let the horse stay like that, it would end up being killed by wolves or die of dehydration.

Well, in this world, it would be death by sheep… I thought and then looked down at my hands It hurts, but I have to get back in there… or… I looked at the Khosinni munching calmly on his meal.

There was an outcome that suited my wishes. By taking the horse, I could flee from this place and return to Brekkar, then we could form a stronger force and attack them, but… what would happen to Seryanna in the meantime?

Through my mind rushed all sort of thoughts, but among them was one that truly frightened me. Seryanna could end up losing the battle and die. Or worse... she could be captured then raped and tortured by these bandits.

I gulped. I couldn't let something like that happen to her, but if I returned, my life could be forfeited.

Closing my eyes, I clenched a fist and wondered what others in my situation would do. Most of my former friends would run away. Others would condition me, asking if I'm in any sort of stable relationship with the dragoness to say she's ‘worth' saving. If I were to ask my parents, they would probably wonder why I should care when she isn't even human.

That's right… she's not human, but… I looked back.

“CRAP!” I cursed and ran back into the fight.

I wish both me and Seryanna will win this! I wish we will win! I want us to win! I want to win! I don't want either me or her to die! I don't want us to be heavily injured! I started wishing all sort of selfish and unreasonable things, maybe just maybe, one of them would trigger the insane amount of Luck I had and result in a good outcome for both of us.

“Kleo… yes…” I then remembered her and thought I wish Kleo would wake up somehow and help us fight Kataryna! I don't want her to die in this battle! We need her help!

[Back in the caves, deep under the ground, where Kleo was being held. 3rd Person point of view]

 “Oi! Careful with that hammer! It has a loose head!” said one of the bandits.

Wearing a thin leather armor, he and another of his comrades were currently working on fixing the old door to the torture room next to the cells where they held the prisoners.

“This thing?” the dragon asked as he looked at it with squinting eyes. “Looks fine to me.” he shrugged and started to hit a nail on the door.

“Just be careful with it.”

“Yeah! Yeah! Huh?” the moment he tried to hit again, only the handle struck the nail.

The small metal head went flying back, through the small gap between the bars of the jail and hit Kleo right on the head. Normally, it should have killed her, but the goth girl was both an Awakened dragoness and someone with a large Magic Energy pool. It would take more than a rusty hammer head to cause any harm to her. Seryanna's chops were far more dangerous. Still, it had the effect of waking her up and giving her a small bump.

“IT HURTS!!!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

[Thraheray… Teraher… Kleo's point of view]

 “Achachacha!” I said while rubbing the bump on my head.

And I was dreaming so nicely about my prince charming who came to save me from the evil grandpa who didn't want to let go of me because I was too cute. Well, a girl can dream…

Where am I? I thought as I looked around.

The scent of rust and sweat immediately made me grab my nose. It gave off a worse stench than Seryanna did after an entire day of hard training in the heat of the sun. At least my sister had the delicious curves to make the stench worth it, plus the clinging clothes on her body, however, I wasn't at home.

Ah… I remember now! Some ugly looking fellow threw a bottle at my feet. It released a foul odder and then… then what happened? I tried to remember, but I just couldn't.

After that event, I couldn't remember a single thing, but looking at this stinky location, I had the feeling that I wasn't home anymore. A chill ran down my spine when I saw the two dragons looking back at me.

“Ah! She woke up!” said the one with a stick in his hand.

“Relax, she's inside, and we're out here.” the other shrugged. “Hey, you! Give us the hammer head or else!” he smirked.

I blinked surprised and when I looked down, I saw the said piece of metal there. I picked it up with my right hand and rubbed the bump on my head with my left hand.

This thing… I thought and then glared back at the two of them. They were the ones who did this to me!

“HERE!” I shouted and then tossed it right at the head of the one holding the stick.

“Huh! Ack!”

It was a direct hit, and he was out cold!

“Hmph! That should teach you to throw junk at me!” I said with my chin up and hands on my hips.

“Oi! Are you alright?” his friend went over to help the other idiot.

But I'm in a jail, ain't I? I thought while looking around again.

There was a chain on my left ankle and a couple of enchants around the place to stop certain magic users. Dumb and dumber over there wouldn't be able to get out of this place, but I had a few tricks up my sleeve.

“You wench! When I get in there, I'll beat you up for this! I'll show you!” he threatened me as he grabbed the keys and went to the door.

This guy was clearly an idiot, so I grinned to myself.

Nah, they probably just think that I'm a useless, helpless little girl. Huhuhu! I thought right before I started to gather Magic Energy in the palms of my hands.

Once he took a step inside my cell, I opened my mouth and took a deep breath in.

“What's this?” the man asked when he felt the air around us suddenly changing from warm to cold.

“Fiends of the Underworld, ghouls of darkness, and spirits of the Abyss! Hear my calls and come forth from the shadows around me! Answer my commands and submit to my will, fiends of darkness!” I chanted.

“What?” the man was confused, but he felt something was wrong and carefully stepped back.

The door closed behind him, trapping him in here with me. I licked my lips and continued to fuel the darkness around me with Magic Energy.

“No! Let me out!” he screamed while shaking the bars of the door.

The key didn't work at all. This man… was mine.

“Fiends of darkness… Reaper of Blood, I command thee! Kill this mortal before me! End his miserable life!”

“As you command… mistress…” the dark, cold voice of my servant echoed over the walls of this cell.

“What? Reaper of Blood? No! Please! I beg you! AAAH!”

His screams flowed just like his red blood, drop after drop as my servant ripped him apart. What he saw were only claws of darkness as they pulled on him, cut his flesh, and poured over him a bucket of maddening pain. It was delicious, but I had to behave. I couldn't rip his soul out or sister and grandpa would be mad at me.

I stopped the attack just in time and left the poor bastard swallowing his own blood with mere moments left to live. If the Reaper of Blood took his life with the last blow, he would also take his soul.

Something went flying in front of my eyes. Looking to my left, I saw an arrow stuck in the wall. If it hit me, it would have killed me. I was saved only thanks to a drop of luck.

That was close… I thought then glared at the dumbfounded dragon guard who tried to reload his crossbow.

“How could I have missed! I'm the best with this thing!” he complained, but I cared not for his words.

“Fetch.” I pointed at him.

The Reaper of Blood swooped through the shadows and snatched the weapon out of the dragon's hands.

“What the?” he said a bit confused.

They couldn't see the Reaper of Blood. No one could… It was my little pet, after all.

“Kill.” I ordered, and the Reaper obeyed.

His fate was similar to that of the other man before me. The shadows opened the door, and I calmly walked out of the cell. Those enchantments inside were useless against my summoning magic. True, I was very bad at sword fighting, but when it came to a magic battle, I was undefeated. Even sister acknowledged me!

Well, it was about time to get out of this place… in a very subtle and bloody way. Tehehe!

[Seryanna's point of view]

 The moment I saw Alkelios being tossed off like that, my heart simply stopped.

Is he… is he dead? I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth No! I looked towards my enemy, glaring at her I refuse to believe he's dead, not someone with his unreasonable amount of Luck!

My first attack on the wench was dodged with ease, but what surprised me was the anger with which I struck.

Never in my life had I hit with such fury and the amount of power I released was amazing, but all I could think about was Alkelios' safety.

Please be alive… please. I thought and clenched the hilt of my sword.

Taking a deep breath, I cleared my mind and focus on this battle. A single mistake against an opponent of her level could mean death. When I attacked, the dragoness simply jumped back a few meters and smirked back at me. I gave chase and attacked her again.

“You are quite good, I'm impressed!” she said and dodged with ease one of my ground shattering strikes.

“[One thousand strikes]. “ I cast the spell and infused my sword with Magic Energy.

Invisible tips were then launched at her, hammering her body, but she simply guarded herself with her metal gauntlets and took the beating as if it was nothing. The dragoness didn't even unsheathed her sword laying at her hip. She was toying with me!

I let out a low growl and cast [Boost] on myself, raising my strength and speed by twofold. She was not getting off so easily. I dashed at her, and again… she dodged. The ground under me caught my attention, and I pulled my upper body to the left a bit, two spikes were summoned, stabbing only my afterimage.

“I missed… again. Strange.” the dragoness squinted her eyes as if she couldn't believe it.

Normally, I would have been hit by that, but luck was on my side, or rather… Alkelios. He was probably still alive, or so I hoped. Still, even if he was blessed by the gods, only a true miracle could save him and me from this monster.

Ignoring her words, I attacked again, this time, I charged a lightning spell in my left hand and released it through my sword as soon as I was about to strike. As expected, Kataryna dodged, but the lightning was released and struck her.

“Ugh!” she groaned and jumped farther back. “A tricky little one, aren't you?” she asked with a smirk.

I didn't listen to her and rushed over, this time, preparing another sword attack.

“Blades of my soul, hear me and strike with me. Change into my weapon and claim the life of my enemy! This, I command you! [Soul Swords]!” I chanted and released the Magic Energy.

Two white swords appeared to my left and right, mimicking the movements of my own. I was going to attack her with this, but I feared it wasn't going to be enough. If I was a bit more powerful in terms of magic, maybe I could launch more powerful attacks, but for now, even this was quite stretching my limits.

“Hou? That's quite an exceptional skill you have there!” the dragoness said as she dodged one of my attacks.

The blades cut through the air, but none seemed to touch her. It was a weird dance of steel and magic, which I felt like I was loosing. For every step I took, she already had a way to counter it. I never fought an enemy of such a terrifying strength in my entire life. It sent shivers down my spine just thinking about what she could do if she was seriously going at it to kill me. For now, she was just playing with me… Actually, she didn't hold even one single speck of killing intent towards me. It was quite strange and at the same time terrifying.

Throughout my life, I had met many dragons who crossed swords with me, and in all those battles, I learned to sense and feel the killing intent of those who aimed for my life. It was like a tingling sensation at the back of my heart, a small needle that sunk in and sent a shiver of terror, warning me of approaching death. The stronger I was, the weaker this felling became but even in the case of the weakest among the weak, I could feel the killing intent coming from them.

This dragoness didn't wish to kill me, but her actions and words proved otherwise. One mistake from my side could end with my death, nonetheless, I knew a stronger opponent when I saw him or her. All of her attacks were dodged and avoided at the last moment. They were lucky saves as one would call them.

“You and that boy are strange dragons. Even when I use more power than you could hope to fight against, you still survive. How?” Kataryna asked, but I didn't answer.

“Help me!”

“AAA!”

“Somebody stop her! NOOO!”

Suddenly, the cries of the bandits came from the cave. It distracted Kataryna for a moment, and I was able to land a strike. The sword touched her armor, but she stopped it with two fingers before it could sink into her flesh. The left magic sword was stopped in a similar fashion, while the right one was caught between her teeth. It was a ridiculous save that could only be pulled by someone of incredible skill.

How could this be? I asked myself as I looked in horror at my blade. I can't push through!

It was like trying to cut a mountain made out of steel, using only a kitchen knife. The enchanted sword of a knight could not even scratch this dragoness. A shiver of fear went down my spine as I couldn't believe my own eyes.

“Now aren't you fun?” she asked, and I looked up at her.

Clenching hard, the magic sword between her teeth shattered. The other was met with the same fate, but she spared the real one.

“Now… how should I strip you?” she licked the tip of her lips.

“What?” I looked at her horrified.

She's a monster! I thought.

“Hands off my sister! [Death Curse of the Poisonous Snake]!” Kleo shouted.

A purple mist-formed snake shot at Kataryna. Seeing it, she pushed me back, sending me flying a few meters before I landed on my feet. My sister's spell latched onto her left arm and coiled around it.

Normally, her arm should have melted just from the touch of it, but using a burst of magic, she kept it at bay. Our bodies didn't have any protection against curses or attacks, but by creating a Magic Energy Armor between us and the spell, we could survive a direct hit. That thing, however, couldn't be trained or learned, it just appeared naturally as our bodies grew stronger, but by focusing magic in one place or over the entire body, one could reflect or stop certain Magic Attacks.

“A necromancer?” she asked surprised, but I doubted she hadn't heard of my sister by now.

“Sister dear, are you alright?” Kleo asked me.

I nodded and then focused some Magic Energy into my sword. Jumping back, I slashed the air and released it. A small tornado formed and went towards the dragoness.

“Ugh!” she squinted her eyes at me.

“[Ice Tornado]!” I shouted and released another wave of energy as the water in the air gathered around the tornado and cooled down into small needles.

As soon as they formed, they were sent flying at Kataryna.

But it still wasn't enough…

[Alkelios' point of view]

 The silver-scaled dragoness threw me quite the distance away! I had to run for quite a bit until I returned to the battlefield. What I saw there was a scene ripped right out of a game or an anime. Kleo and Seryanna were focusing their spells on Kataryna, who was currently in the middle of a violent tornado, bombarded with ice needles, and had a weird purple snake coiled around her left hand. By the look on her face, I could tell she was struggling a bit, but while Kleo and Seryanna clearly showed their killing intent, she remained calm and clean. It was quite surprising to say the least. The dragoness could end up captured or even dead like this, but still held no ill intention towards us.

I gulped and then looked down at my hand.

Kleo is pouring her Magic Energy into that snake, and Seryanna is casting the ice storm. Should I use that? I thought, but the answer was as clear as day.

Pointing my hand at the silver-scaled dragoness, I shouted: “[Lightning Chicken!]”

“Lightning what?” Kataryna was confused it seemed.

“This is not the time to order a soup!” complained Kleo.

“Alkelios… you're alive! Thank the gods! Now run away!” shouted Seryanna at me.

Well, I couldn't turn back because that spell was activated, and it was sucking the Magic Energy out of me.

Thunder and lightning cracked the sky as something formed in front of me. It was hot. This much I could tell, but I didn't know what it was… I never saw anything like this before.

“Ugh…” I groaned and fell on one knee.

It was tiring, but it was still sucking the energy out of me.

What the hell is this? I thought as I tried hard to keep focus.

“Oho? This is interesting!” Kataryna said with a smirk.

“How strong is this woman?” complained Kleo when she saw that her snake didn't do much.

I had no idea what it was, but it was able to keep a level 1294 in place. If the dragoness didn't believe it was her strongest card, she might not have used it. The same was for Seryanna, that meant that I only had to summon one more attack to push Kataryna back.

Come on! Where's the phoenix? I complained in my mind, and I feared for a moment that I picked a dud skill.

All of a sudden a fire tornado formed in front of me, creating a powerful shockwave that sent everything but me flying backwards. The heat was infernal, burning the trees around, while the ground turned black from its touch. The fury of the flames was incredible, yet they didn't harm me.

From inside the tornado, a pair of red, crystal eyes looked back at me.

“Who dares summon the Great Phoenix?” the creature spoke in a thundering voice.

I gulped. “Erm… Me?” I replied.

“You?” the voice sounded surprised “How could a… this thing… something like this… YOU summoned ME?! Is this a joke?” called out the voice, it sounded female.