"Dammit! I knew it wouldn't be that simple, but still, if they have such protection in this room, that means it's quite important.
What's really happening on the other side? Did Edward create a huge chaos there coincidentally at this moment?"
Jake's eyes locked on the gate. He still didn't give up on entering it.
He stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth. With a grin, he took a pill, recovering his bones.
His shadow then moved like it was alive, covering his body and enhancing his physical strength multiple times. With a shadow-infused dagger, he started poking through the wall, trying to dig his way in.
At first, the digging proceeded smoothly, but it soon started meeting resistance and then was deflected.
This made Jake realize the barrier had properties that allowed it to deflect attacks back.
"I don't believe they can deflect everything. There should be a limit to it. And for what's inside…"
The dragari also put barriers outside the city, but they didn't have any properties . So whatever was inside should hold far more importance than even the city.
As he kept trying, the fight on top of the spire still showed no change.
Clash after clash happened, but Luca couldn't find any way to push back her enemy.
Seraphine also tried to find a good time to ambush the dragari but couldn't find any.
As she did this, she also wondered if the dragari had already realized her presence since he had been listening to their conversation before.
But if he did listen, she wondered why he didn't do anything to her. Even though their culture wouldn't allow them to use her as a hostage, it didn't mean they wouldn't kill her first.
There was also a possibility the dragari didn't perceive her to be in danger at all.
As the battle went on, Luca started to understand more about how he used his ability.
Not only did he hide his own weapon, but sometimes, he also created an illusion of himself. This was what made him look like he was teleporting.
He would appear in front of Luca like he was teleporting, while in reality, that was just an illusion, and the real him camouflaged, running to her back, then started his attack.
Luca's sword slashed through the air, targeting the Dragari's neck. But its tail raised upward, deflecting it. This was then followed by Luca's kick to the creature's torso.
Bam! Her leg was caught by the Dragari's grip, but she had already expected this to happen.
Using this as a pivot, she spun while one of her hands threw a smoke grenade at the creature's face.
BOOM! Smoke exploded out. It wasn't normal smoke; it had a potent ability to disorient all five senses: touch, sight, smell, hearing, and taste.
The smoke overwhelmed the sensory system, making the Dragari unable to act.
But Luca was already prepared. She closed her eyes and held her breath. Her body now moved based on her predicted movements for three seconds ahead.
The Dragari quickly used mimicry, camouflaging himself while he put his hand over his nose.
He knew humans had weapons , but as Luca always fought him with her sword despite the many chances she had to use something , this attack really caught him off guard.
Luca knew targeting his neck would be useless, as the Dragari would do his best to protect it.
So her target was the next area that could impact the battle: his tail.
Blood spurted out as Luca successfully maneuvered and cut the tail off.
The Dragari reacted by throwing his elbow, trying to attack Luca, but it hit nothing other than air since Luca had already predicted this.
After cutting the tail, Luca forcefully opened her eyes to see the future possibilities. This allowed her to dodge at the right angle, making sure she took the smallest amount of time to evade.
Luca started coughing as she got out of the smoke, her eyes red with some tears flowing out. But she smiled as her goal was achieved.
With her experience, she knew that creatures with tails used them often to balance themselves. Without it, they would struggle to maintain balance, resulting in weakened attacks and agility.
For the Dragari, getting his tail cut off didn't just cause pain; it also tarnished his pride as a warrior.
"GROOAR!!!" It roared like a wyvern, his reptilian eyes blazing with anger.
Black energy started coming out from his body, followed by a rise in temperature.
Even Luca could feel the sting on her skin while Seraphine took some potion to enhance her resistance toward heat.
The Dragari's body started transforming, its wings growing bigger, followed by its body and head. From standing on his two legs, he now stood on four.
His scales turned more sleek and sharp as the claws on his fingers grew longer and more deadly.
The face also changed, becoming more like a dragon's.
Luca's hair stood on end while Seraphine quickly ran toward her. "Luca, this is out of our league! Run!"
Hearing this, Luca didn't think twice. She took Seraphine in her arms and then jumped through the nearest window.
PRANG! The glass broke while she turned her body to look toward the spire.
The wall she had just jumped from turned into rubble, followed by a huge roar that pierced the sky. From inside, a black dragon came flying at high speed toward Luca.
In the city, the roar brought everyone's attention to the spire. Isolde and Aldric were among them.
When they saw Luca and Seraphine jumping out into the sky, they already felt worried. But then they saw a humongous dragon come out from the tower.
"Fuck it!" Isolde cursed under her breath. She knew if she didn't force herself, she wouldn't arrive in time.
"That is not a dragon. Don't be fooled by its appearance," Aldric reminded Isolde.
Isolde didn't reply. Many elements started spinning around her body. Fire shot out from her feet, followed by the wind.