The battle reached its breaking point.
Xyldrak finally lost what little patience he had left.
He roared.
The sound tore through the academy like a living force. The air itself seemed to freeze, then fracture—razor-cold pressure exploding outward in all directions.
For a heartbeat, there was only silence.
Then the pain arrived.
Creatures staggered. Spells collapsed. Bodies hit the ground as the shockwave fully registered, leaving fighters gasping and disoriented.
Damien spotted Reinna through the chaos.
Ignoring the pain screaming through his own body, he reached her and poured every fragment of healing magic he had into her, steadying her form, anchoring her strength before it could slip away.
Xyldrak advanced.
Not rushing. Not raging.
Walking.
Each step sent terror rippling through the surviving students and professors. No barriers held long. No formations remained intact. Flesh were turned to minced meat as the dragon walked by.
Alpha—still in his wolf form—looked up just in time to see an enormous claw descending toward him.
So this is it.
He closed his eyes.
If this was how he paid for his mistake, then so be it.
But the impact never came.
Instead, the ground shook violently beside him. Alpha opened his eyes to see the claw embedded just inches away, the dragon already moving past him, uninterested.
Nearby, Victor felt the pressure bearing down on him next.
Pain flared through his body, but instinct overrode it. He forced himself forward, grabbing Ace and pulling him clear just as the space they had occupied was crushed by a massive claw.
The dragon did not look back.
It did not need to.
The battle had entered its final phase—and survival was no longer guaranteed.
Xyldrak's massive form loomed over Damien and Reinna, wings spread wide, casting shadows that swallowed the block.
Reinna lay unconscious, her chest rising and falling faintly, as Damien poured all his focus into keeping her stable.
"I'm the one you want—don't touch her!" Damien shouted, never breaking his concentration.
"I had no intention of harming her," Xyldrak replied, voice calm but menacing.
A claw swept down to strike Damien—but in that instant, a misty Komodo-shaped construct surged through the air, coiling around him and Reinna and whisking them away from the dragon's reach.
"Get back here!" Xyldrak roared, chasing after the escape.
"I've been holding back," a calm, dreamlike voice echoed over the storm. "Now I won't."
Derian's form shimmered as his skin hardened into scales, mist swirling violently around him. Power surged outward, bending the air. And then the Komodo emerged.
Not a construct. Not a projection.
Solid, Massive and very much Alive.
As the Komodo rose from the mist, Derian himself vanished, leaving only the dragon that had been held inside him. Its scales shifted in impossible gradients—pink, purple, and violet—giving it an otherworldly, unreal aura. The Komodo had whiskers and a it's horn shaped into a two-edged crown.
Xyldrak's eyes narrowed, surprise and a hint of disbelief flickering across his face.
"You again," he said, voice low, a rare uncertainty threading the words.
The Komodo cocked its head, almost amused.
"Me?" it said, a smile curling along its jaws.
Then, with a surge of unimaginable force, it slammed into Xyldrak. The impact sent a shockwave across the battlefield, rattling debris and whipping the storm-wracked air.
"My name is—" the Komodo's voice rumbled across the block.
"Gaza."
It coiled upward into the sky, serpentine and fluid, every motion radiating power and intent that even Xyldrak had never anticipated.
The force of the movement threw Xyldrak violently to the ground. Creatures still able to move scrambled out of the way; those unable, were pinned by the shockwave.
Professor Giga's eyes widened as she reassessed Gaza.
"You've challenged me, but I don't have time for you now," Xyldrak said, shaking his head to clear his blurry vision. His gaze snapped toward the Komodo construct, flying further away—probably aiming to leave the Academy entirely.
"I told you," Gaza said, standing firm, whiskers flying wildly in the wind, "if you want him, you're going to have to go through me first."
Xyldrak's eyes narrowed. "Then so be it. Once you're out of the way, that construct stops interfering."
With a flap of his wings, Xyldrak surged like lightning, slamming into Gaza. The two collided with a deafening impact, crushing toward the ground, but Gaza wrapped himself tightly around Xyldrak's neck, holding firm.
Their faces were inches apart. Eyes locked, neither yielding, when Xyldrak erupted a torrent of mist and ice from his mouth. The force slammed into Gaza, knocking him backward. At the last moment, Gaza conjured a shimmering mist barrier, absorbing most of the impact, though the pressure still bent him backward.
Before Gaza could fully recover, Xyldrak loomed above him, eyes glinting. But with a sudden surge, Gaza's whiskers solidified into horn-like projections, and with a mighty leap, he rocketed upward, striking Xyldrak and sending the world-destroying dragon careening backward.
High in the sky, Gaza's horns shifted back to their wispy, fluid form.
There was a lesson every dragon knew: the gem—the core of their life force—was the most protected. Strike it, and a dragon could be disoriented or even killed. A direct attack was nearly impossible, but targeting it could throw the creature off balance.
Xyldrak steadied himself, recovering from the hit, and surged toward Gaza with renewed fury.
Gaza veered sharply, flying away from the Dragon's Block to shield the remaining survivors. His path, however, carried him in the opposite direction of the Komodo construct carrying Damien and Reinna.
After covering a significant distance, Xyldrak unleashed a torrent of ice and mist, aiming to cut Gaza off. With a swift roll, Gaza dodged, body coiling with fluid precision, before finally turning.
He had been searching for Xyldrak's gem—but it remained hidden… until now.
Xyldrak fired again, forcing Gaza upward into the sky. Looking down, Gaza finally spotted his target—the gem, nestled between the spikes that ran from Xyldrak's neck down to his tail.
Whiskers solidified into horns as Gaza plummeted like a meteor, crashing toward the gem. Xyldrak, unaware of the Komodo's plan, braced by turning his spikes toward the incoming attack.
Both collided with the small mountain below, shattering it completely. Xyldrak's spikes splintered, leaving only ice spikes—far less sturdy than his original defenses.
Gaza's horns shattered too—but unlike Xyldrak, they healed almost instantly, returning to their wispy, horn-like form, ready to strike again.
Now, Xyldrak's gem lay exposed. He realized, too late, what the serpentine Komodo had been plotting. Instantly, he erupted ice spikes around it, cloaking the area in dense, swirling mist.
Gaza paused, receiving a silent message from his master: do not kill the dragon—subdue it.
Like his master, Gaza slithered around Xyldrak with fluid precision, dodging attacks and redirecting energy, ramming into the ice spikes and shattering them with ease.
He clamped onto the blue gem, forcing Xyldrak into a fit of frustration. Already weakened from the Academy's combined attacks, Xyldrak could barely resist the assault. The gem, the core of his focus, was no longer fully protected.
Xyldrak staggered, a low rumble escaping his throat, before finally collapsing to the ground. Gaza lingered nearby, watching silently, ensuring the dragon remained alive but subdued.
Fifteen tense minutes passed. The gray-blue mist around Xyldrak began to dissipate, revealing a battered Ramien. His body bore the strain of the ordeal, and he could barely move.
Gaza dissolved into a swirl of pink mist, revealing Derian at his center. He rushed to Ramien, hands glowing with restorative energy.
"What of my brother?" Ramien's voice was weak, fractured. "Where is he?"
"He's safe," Derian replied, steady and calm. "I've taken care of him."
Once Ramien was stable, Derian turned and left the Academy, heading toward the location where his Komodo construct had taken Damien and Reinna.
A floating white palace, grand in everyway. The palace was simple, there was no one except Damien, Reinna and Derian.
Damien lay barely conscious. Derian sat on the bed beside him, inhaled deeply, and opened his dreamlike violet eyes. Warm, pink-purple energy radiated from him as he poured healing into Damien.
Damien's fingers found Derian's hand. "Leave me," he whispered, weak. "Heal her first," he pushed gently toward Reinna.
Derian studied him, noticing the resemblance to Ramien—the same stubborn, selfless streak.
"You've healed her," Derian said, voice gentle but firm. "She's stable, just unconscious. You should focus on yourself. If you go down, who will take care of her?"
Damien's eyes flickered toward him. "How's my brother?" he murmured, struggling to stay conscious.
"He's safe," Derian replied. "I've made sure he's in good hands."
Derian resumed his healing, soft light flowing into Damien. Gradually, his body relaxed, and at last, he sank into unconsciousness. For the first time in a long while, a rare, peaceful smile touched his face.