That "earth-stone," nearly half the size of a house, moved without warning!
More accurately, it cracked open!
A hideous, terrifying fissure split the center of the "stone," and a blood-red maw, filled with layers of jagged, pale fangs, lunged from the mud and snapped shut with savage force!
CRUNCH!
The bone-chilling sound echoed through the air. The Storm Gryphon, caught off-guard, didn't even have time to shriek before it was swallowed whole. Blood erupted like a fountain from the gaps in the maw, staining the surrounding mire.
"Watch out!" Leylo's pupils shrank as he barked the warning.
Ed's face went pale, his hands tightening on the reins. His heart felt as though it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, nearly stopping.
The beast that had devoured the gryphon slowly lifted its massive head. A thick neck and torso, covered in dark-brown scales as hard as solidified silt, emerged from the mud. A behemoth far larger than Tempest, radiating a suffocating aura of terror, revealed its true form!
It had the flattened, elongated head of a crocodile, but its skull was crowned with short, blunt bony horns. A pair of turbid, icy yellow vertical pupils stared at Leylo's group, filled with tyranny and greed. As it exhaled, a thick stench of blood and rot wafted toward them.
"Tier 4 Magic Beast—Marsh Caiman-Dragon!"
Leylo recognized this apex predator immediately. The unfortunate gryphon had clearly mistaken the camouflaged beast for a resting spot.
A surge of fury and killing intent rose within Leylo, but he forced it down. Now was not the time for impulse; this beast's strength was likely on par with Tempest's, perhaps even exceeding it within this mire.
The Diversion
"Tempest, gain altitude!"
Leylo ordered. Fighting in the mire was unwise; if a gryphon's wings were coated in the viscous sludge, it would lose the ability to fly—a death sentence. He looked down. Near the edge of the massive mud pool, a patch of dense shrubs and jagged rocks was the only possible location for the ruins.
"Ed, I'll lure the Caiman-Dragon away. Once it leaves, search those rocks!"
"Wind Blade!" Leylo shouted.
Mana surged, and several glowing green blades formed out of nothing, whistling through the air to strike the thick mud-armor on the beast's back. While they failed to cause a lethal wound, the impact successfully enraged the swamp overlord.
ROAR!
The Caiman-Dragon bellowed. Its yellow pupils snapped toward Leylo, and it pursued him with terrifyingly rapid speed. Leylo steered Tempest, trailing just out of reach to keep its attention locked on him.
The Discovery
High above, Ed watched tensely. Seeing the beast lured away, he took a deep breath and dived toward the shrubs. Before his gryphon even touched the ground, Ed leaped off and sprinted toward the boulders.
He funneled his combat qi, activating the "Grasp of the Giant," and shoved a massive rock.
GRIND! GRIND!
With his amplified strength, the rocks were moved aside. Amidst the dust, a patch of off-white stone appeared—an entrance framed by massive blocks.
"I found it! My Lord, it's the temple ruins!" Ed shouted.
However, a roar more violent than before erupted from the pool! The Caiman-Dragon had seen through the ruse. Ignoring Leylo, it whipped around and charged back at Ed!
"Oh no!" Ed's heart leaped. He pounced onto his gryphon just as the beast's maw snapped shut on his previous position, pulverizing the rocks into powder.
"Fly! Get us out of here!" Ed roared, cold sweat soaking his back.
The Summoning
Leylo steered Tempest back to regroup. He looked down at the Caiman-Dragon and frowned. He could win this fight with his gryphon flight, but the cost would be too high—he couldn't afford to lose more of his aerial force.
"We can't brute-force this," Leylo decided.
He unhooked an ancient-looking horn from his waist and pressed it to his lips.
MUUUUU—
A low, distant sound, as if coming from the far shores of a sea of stars, echoed over the marsh. It possessed a strange piercing quality that drowned out the dragon's roar.
As the sound faded, the space in front of Leylo rippled. A speck of starlight appeared, expanding and brightening in an instant. Within the light, a tall, upright figure solidified.
A towering knight appeared, clad in full-body silver-gray armor shimmering with the luster of stars. At the joints, pale blue mana flowed like a living breath. In each hand, he held a broad two-handed greatsword, their crossguards embedded with deep blue gems that looked like sealed fragments of the heavens.
The Starfall Knight has arrived.