Hurricane Showdown
A fierce storm raged.
The wind, whipping up in the wake of Giryu's wingbeats, tore savagely toward Nix, intent on shredding him to pieces.
Nix countered without hesitation, unleashing his own wind magic. But his gusts were no match for Giryu's gale—they were mere breezes against a colossal tempest.
This won't be easy.
Nix furrowed his brow faintly and swiftly ducked his head.
A bolt of lightning streaked perilously close, grazing right in front of his eyes.
Watching the phoenix wield the storm like an extension of its own limbs, Nix clicked his tongue softly.
Wind and lightning magic from the fourth and seventh heads are useless.
In truth, he doubted any of his other elemental spells would fare much better.
Could his magic even pierce that ferocious storm and reach the enemy?
After a brief moment of contemplation, Nix sprang into motion.
The blue phoenix, Giryu, was charging straight at him alongside the howling gale, its razor-sharp talons gleaming as they aimed to rip him apart.
"Shaaaargh—!!!"
His left head roared ferociously at the diving foe.
Jagged ice pillars lanced toward Giryu.
"Piiiii—"
Giryu didn't dodge or evade the incoming ice. Instead, it swung its mana-charged talons, shattering them into fragments.
The splintered ice shards were swept away by the storm, vanishing without a trace.
Having effortlessly neutralized the left head's assault, Giryu lunged again—straight for Nix, its massive wings propelling its body like an arrow.
"Shhh—"
Nix raised his long tail to meet the onslaught.
Tail Strike SA
Counter SS
Ignoring the familiar status window chime in his mind as always, Nix whipped his tail like a lash to intercept Giryu's charge.
Whoosh—
With speed belying its enormous size, the tail smashed into the oncoming phoenix.
Nix had planned to follow up with a breath attack, but his body froze for a split second.
"Piiiii—!"
Giryu had seized his tail with its talons and was flapping its wings furiously.
The phoenix's powerful wingbeats sent Nix's mountain-like body lurching.
Think I'll just sit here?
His right head swiftly activated its Magic Eye.
A being of Giryu's rank would naturally resist petrification, but Nix had anticipated that.
Giryu released the tail to evade the Magic Eye and soared skyward.
Nix's tail pursued the fleeing foe, coiling around its body like a living serpent.
Constrict SA
It was a skill he rarely had occasion to use given his size, but against an opponent of similar bulk like Giryu, it was perfect.
Giryu thrashed its wings desperately to escape the tightening coils.
Bolts of lightning and gales crashed down in its wake.
[Let go of me this instant!]
[Hah—would you let go if our positions were reversed? You're the one who grabbed my tail first!]
With the left head's snappish retort, all three of Nix's heads drew deep breaths.
And exhaled.
A trio of breaths in three different elements engulfed Giryu at point-blank range.
Even the tail constricting the phoenix took damage from the intense blasts, but Nix paid it no mind.
Minor wounds like that could heal anytime.
Fwoooosh—
"Piiiii—!!!"
Giryu cried out hoarsely and escaped upward, slipping free as the breaths weakened the tail's grip.
Despite taking direct hits from the three breaths, Giryu's body looked far too intact as it ascended.
Its durability is higher than it appears.
Regeneration might be strong too.
Nix scowled at Giryu's unexpectedly pristine condition but pressed his assault relentlessly.
He fired off spells nonstop to keep it from climbing higher.
Though they were largely blocked by Giryu's storm, yielding little result.
"Piiiii—!!!"
Having realized in their brief melee that it couldn't match Nix up close, Giryu opted for ranged attacks once more.
Its vigorous wingbeats stirred the winds into motion.
Whoooosh—
The churning gales twisted together, birthing a massive hurricane.
Surrounding floating islands were dragged mercilessly into its maw by the ferocious winds.
The island beneath Nix fared no better.
The ever-growing hurricane tugged at it, shaking the entire landmass.
Nix's body rocked unsteadily.
When it comes to wind affinity, it's at the pinnacle.
Acknowledging Giryu's prowess honestly, Nix calmly assessed the situation.
Frankly, it wasn't favorable for him.
Above all, his footing was far too precarious.
The floating island, already half-destroyed from slaying Sperado and his kin, seemed ready to crumble under the strain of this battle.
Could it withstand the shock if he moved with full commitment?
The unstable platform made unrestrained action impossible.
Should I retreat?
The thought surfaced, but it was unrealistic.
With all nearby islands sucked into Giryu's hurricane and vanished, there was nowhere to flee.
Besides, would Giryu just let him escape?
From the start, Nix's only option had been to fight.
Well, think of it as a handicap.
Thumping the ground lightly with his tail tip a few times, Nix gauged how much longer the island might hold.
The quaking earth seemed to herald its imminent demise.
It won't last much longer.
Accepting the reality stoically, Nix turned his gaze to Giryu hovering in the sky.
The hurricane it had conjured had ballooned enormously—large enough to swallow even him whole.
And that wasn't all.
Smaller hurricanes swirled viciously around the central behemoth, asserting their presence.
No way to dodge.
As mentioned before, there was no escape.
The only path left was to block that monstrous assault.
No. Not block—counter it.
Defending passively risked the island beneath him being swept away too.
Could this fragile foothold endure such a colossal hurricane?
Better to clash head-on than defend.
Excluding the three heads that had already used their breaths, Nix's remaining six drew quiet breaths.
Ordinary methods wouldn't shatter that abomination.
An eye for an eye, force for force.
Facing overwhelming power, Nix resolved to meet it with his strongest firepower.
The footing was shaky, but time was short for alternatives.
Just hold together.
Murmuring a quiet prayer, Nix unleashed his breath toward the slowly approaching hurricane.
Boom—
The floating island shuddered violently from the intense force wave.
Yet it held—for now.
Fwoooosh—the blasts tore through the smaller hurricanes, dissipating them into harmless breezes.
The breaths pressed onward until they collided with the massive central one.
Even Nix's mighty exhalations, which had effortlessly crushed the lesser storms, faltered against it, flickering unstably as if they might be devoured in turn.
At the same moment, the island beneath Nix quaked again.
Hold on just a bit longer.
With a fervent plea unlike him, the other three heads—still not fully recovered—joined in with their breaths.
The island groaned as if on the verge of collapse from the added strain, but Nix didn't stop.
Halting now would doom everything.
Progress was being made, at least.
The barrage of breaths began pushing back Giryu's hurricane.
The merciless winds that had devoured all in their path lost momentum in an instant.
A mere flicker of time, but that split-second gap tore open a massive rift.
The raging storm began to weaken.
"Piii—"
Giryu, flapping to bolster the gale, let out a startled cry.
A surge of mana pulsed toward it as it tried to flap again.
Nix's central head had opened the Magic Eye on his forehead, glaring fiercely.
Despite the searing pain scorching from lungs to throat, and the eye feeling like it might burst from overexertion mid-breath, Nix refused to yield.
Giryu flinched under that piercing gaze, its face twisting.
Did it hate its own momentary hesitation?
Even as it resisted the Magic Eyes now glaring from the other heads too, pouring out mana, it beat its wings fiercely.
Fresh winds revived the fading storm.
The unyielding clash between two SS-rank monsters had begun.
And Nix was at the greatest disadvantage.
The island underfoot shook violently.
Collapse had started.
Plink-plink—stones began crumbling down.
The floating island disintegrated slowly from its weaker edges.
A minor tremor at first, but as the breaths gained power over time, the destruction accelerated.
The outcome was obvious without seeing it through.
Nix grimaced fiercely.
He never imagined losing to mere terrain, of all things.
Frustrated and indignant, he poured even more mana into his breaths.
Even in defeat, I won't go down without a fight.
At least taking one wing would salve the injustice.
Once the island crumbles, activate Inhwa's Art immediately and flee fast.
To escape unscathed, he had to inflict serious damage first.
Enough to prevent pursuit.
As Nix mustered every ounce of mana for one final push—
[Stop—!!!]
A shrill voice echoed thunderously in his mind.
Both Nix, exhaling with all his might, and Giryu, beating its wings furiously, froze.
The weakened breaths and hurricane collided and dissipated cleanly.
...What the hell?
Turning in bewilderment, Nix spotted a massive lifeform piercing the storm from afar.
Giryu, identifying it too, stiffened.
[Miss!]
With a startled cry, the enormous golden dragon revealed itself.
Not a wyvern-like sub-dragon he'd seen often, but a true dragon.
Nix's expression hardened at the apex predator among draconic monsters.
[Miss! What are you doing here?! It's dangerous!]
[Giryu ran off without listening! I told you to wait just a bit!]
[How could I bring you here knowing what dangers lurk?! Go back now!]
[You're in danger too!]
The bright yellow dragon screeched before glancing sideways.
It flicked its tongue, eyeing Nix appraisingly.
[That's him?]
[...A dangerous foe. I've already lost three of my stockpiled lives.]
[Three already?]
The dragon let out a soft gasp and peeked at Nix.
Nix flicked his tongue quietly at those curiosity-filled eyes.
[Hello!]
A cheerful, innocent greeting out of nowhere.
Nix frowned slightly and glanced at Giryu.
The monster he'd been battling to the death moments ago couldn't muster its spirit before this dragon.
Was it its superior?
After a brief ponder, Nix nodded.
[...Pleased to meet you.]
[Yeah! Nice to meet you too! So you're the intruder from the upper floors? I heard you were talon-sized, but nope—you're huge!]
Nix fell silent at the lively voice.
Its aura was unmistakably SS-rank, yet the conversation made it feel anything but.
He glanced at Giryu again.
It was glaring daggers at him, as if to say handle it yourself.
Hard to believe this was the same beast from moments ago.
...My course is clear. Play along with them for now.
Two SS-ranks—not one.
Giryu alone was worrisome; adding this dragon made the result inevitable.
With the island barely holding, Nix had no moves left.
Resigning himself meekly, he flicked his tongue briefly at the dragon.
Its bright yellow eyes sparkled with curiosity, fixed on him.
At least no hostility.
[I'm Nix. And you?]
[Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! Sorry! I'm Lehatna! The youngest daughter of the great Dragon King Kali Boal! Golden Dragon Lehatna!]
-Please take care of me!
At the bubbly voice, Nix's gaze drifted to Lehatna's scales.
[......]
'Golden' my ass—those scales are piss-yellow.
Noticing his stare, perhaps—Giryu behind her signaled urgently with frantic wing flaps.
Grasping the meaning, Nix sighed softly.
As said before, he had no choice but to go along.
[Right. Pleased to meet you again, Lehatna. Take care of me too.]
[Yay! You too, Nix!]
Watching Lehatna nod eagerly, Nix flicked his tongue quietly.
The path ahead wouldn't be easy.