Chrysalis

Light flashes, wind roars, but this time, I’m ready for it. The onrushing tail parts the clouds at the last possible moment, mere metres away from my eyes. With my reflexes, and actually understanding what my antennae are trying to tell me, I can deal with it.

Manoeuvring through the air using force magic isn’t exactly easy. Alright, it’s just about impossible, but using a blast to flip my body up so I can use my legs to push myself over the sweeping tail? I can manage that.

Hah! I’m clear, and I’m still falling toward my target. How do you like that, dragon?

Not much, apparently, the claws are back.

[I don’t want to hurt you, but I know you don’t have a choice but to fight me. Well, I don’t have a choice either. So, I’m sorry about this!]

There’s no way I can slip past this monster, not when it’s seriously trying to stop me. I can only think of one thing that might distract it long enough for me to get through.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWLLLLLL!!!!

Now, it’s not full power, or pumped up with the energy from the Altar, but even a moderate gravity bomb is enough to cause serious issues to most things in the Dungeon. Even in this situation, I try to be considerate to the city and I fire it at an angle where it’s not going to impact the capital, but it’s going to suck up an awful lot of cloud on its way through the air.

My hope is that it will consume part of the monster’s body and make it more difficult for it to stop me getting to where I want to go. Sadly, things don’t pan out that way.

I notice a few things at the same time. The cloud, unlike the air around me, is not being sucked into the gravity bomb, and this time there are several tails swinging through the air towards me.

Even with all my defensive nous, I can’t see a way to avoid being hit. I lash out with my mandibles against one, tuck my legs to make sure they don’t break, and take the other hit full on. Once again, it batters me backwards, sending me flying through the air and rattles my noggin, but ultimately, it only slows me down.

My gravity bomb continues to sail through the air, decidedly not devouring the golden cloud as I’d hoped before it expands off in the distance. Lots of air is pulled in, sure, but depressingly, still no cloud.

me to one,

dragon is so twisty and able to reform itself however it likes, it isn’t even here! Here I was

I demand of the

can sense the presence of a powerful monster. A super

unlawfully lifted without the author's

ONLY SHOW MYSELF

sounds almost amused at having been discovered, as if this is all some

sister down there on the verge of death! Let me through! If not that, then save her

slight pause as the dragon… well, I don’t even know if

SAVE THE ANT,

told your

[I HAVE.]

won’t help me?!] I roar,

MY POWER WITHIN THE CITY, SO I CANNOT

the light around me, the clouds parting, no… not parting… dissolving, blowing away like snow until the entire golden city is displayed before

the cathedral. Through the vestibule, I feel desperation, pain, and misery, growing weaker, and weaker,

MANA HERE IS SO THIN, BUT I CAN SEE YOU WILL NOT BE DISSUADED UNLESS YOU KNOW THAT YOU CANNOT

until it radiates like a golden sun. The sense I had, that of a powerful monster, grows stronger, and stronger, and

the city, the light begins to coalesce into

FWUMPH.

FWUMPH.

FWUMPH.