The roar made the valley ring. The thunderous sound was enough to shake the grass scattered randomly across the valley.

It shook Kyle’s bones completely, causing him and the others to cover their ears with their hands.

Several C-ranks flinched. One actually stepped back instinctively.

The dragon moved its head slowly, as if searching for the insect that had disturbed its sleep.

Then, it set his gaze on the two ox carcasses in the center of the rune circle. The dragon did not hesitate when it saw its food at its doorstep.

He spread his wings wide and flapped them with such force that it sent a gust of wind through the valley.

The dragon flew toward the rune circle with eyes full of hunger.

Behind the rocks, Arthur’s grip tightened on his sword. Kaia lifted her bow.

The guildmaster didn’t move. He focused his gaze on the dragon, and when it entered the rune circle, he raised his hand and screamed. "Now!"

The purple-robed mage slammed his staff down. The rune anchors around the valley flared to life.

White chains formed, surrounding the dragon’s wings and trapping it.

The dragon stumbled in mid-flight and its wings bent, causing it to fall to the valley floor with a loud crash.

Dust scattered everywhere, obscuring everyone’s vision.

The dragon got up in surprise and tried to spread its wings and fly, but the chains would not let it. The dragon could no longer fly.

The purple-robed mage shouted. "I can maintain the circle for half an hour only!"

The guildmaster stepped forward, his sword flashed. The primary assault team surged into the dragon.

The dragon snarled, its massive jaws snapping at the air. It thrashed, powerful legs scraping against the ground.

The guildmaster’s voice cut through the chaos. "Arthur! Kaia! Flank right! Celestia, Celestia—the barrier!"

The Hero’s Party moved like they’d trained for this exact moment. Arthur’s sword blazed with holy light as he charged, Kaia’s arrows whistled past, and Celestia’s veil shimmered as she circled behind.

Kyle followed his own orders—

"You take north ridge. We take the east flank." Alara said to Stewart. "If anything comes out of the side caves, we kill it before it reaches the main fight."

Stewart nodded quickly, already giving orders to his party. His four C-ranks moved off toward the ridgeline.

Alara turned to her team.

"Leo, front guard. Mira, eyes up. Weston, stay behind us, keep everyone steady. Kyle, watch the caves"

They nodded, already moving to the eastern side of the valley, near jagged rock formations and smaller cave mouths.

From there, Kyle could still see the main fight. All around it, chaos.

And it was brutal.

The dragon slammed a claw down, cracking stone.

The guildmaster rolled under it and drove his blade into a joint seam—not deep, but enough to make the dragon jerk.

Kaia’s arrows embedded themselves in the dragon’s side—three, four, five—each one finding purchase, but the beast barely seemed to notice.

Arthur charged in and slashed at a foreleg with a shout that was half battle-cry, half performance.

The purple-robed mage was already gasping, sweat beading on his forehead as he maintained the rune circle. The chains were beginning to flicker.

The short girl swung her axe and blocked the dragon’s claws from attacking the purple-robed mage.

Celestia stood behind them, hands raised, maintaining barriers that shimmered briefly when the dragon exhaled fire.

The fire wasn’t a single stream. It was a wave, but the barrier held. The ground behind it blackened.

The heat washed even over Kyle’s position, making the valley feel like a furnace for a moment.

Mira whispered, "Holy..."

Leo grunted. "That’s not a monster. That’s a disaster."

The first monsters arrived ten minutes into the fight.

The first were Basalt Crawlers—low, heavy creatures with rock-like plating and too many legs. They skittered out of cracks and side caves, drawn by the tremors and smell.

The second were creatures resembling hawks, except that their necks were much larger and their wings were large enough to cover their entire bodies. They were called valley hawks.

Mira raised her staff. "Incoming!"

Alara’s voice snapped sharp. "Hold the line!"

Leo stepped forward and took the first Basalt Crawler head-on, his shield slamming into it with a crack. The creature bounced back, claws scraping uselessly across metal.

Mira fired two fireballs fast—one into a valley hawk’s wing joint, the other into its chest. It screeched and spiraled away.

Weston lifted his hand and murmured a prayer. A soft light wrapped around Leo’s shoulders. Leo’s stance steadied even more.

Kyle drew Fear Blade. A Basalt Crawler tried to sneak into the fight from one of the small caves, but Kyle saw it.

He moved fast and cut across a softer seam near the creature’s underside.

Blood splashed onto the dagger, the red lines glowed faintly.

The creature twitched and hesitated. Its movement stuttered like its body couldn’t agree with its mind.

Kyle’s eyes flared crimson as he gave the order. `Turn and bite the one behind you.`

The Basalt Crawler jerked.

Then snapped sideways and latched onto another crawler crawling up from the rocks, claws tearing into its plated neck.

Alara used the opening, stepping in and driving her blade down into the first creature’s exposed seam.

It went still, dead.

Kyle pulled his dagger and moved again.

A valley hawk swooped low, talons reaching.

Kyle didn’t chase it. He waited for the perfect time.

As it passed, he flicked his wrist and sliced its leg. A shallow cut and enough blood for the blade to take its effect.

The valley hawk shrieked, wings faltering. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Kyle’s command slid in quiet. `Drop here and don’t move.`

It jerked midair. Then, its wings stopped moving as it fell.

Kyle flicked his wrist lightly and slit its throat with a quick movement, killing it.

More crawlers were coming, more valley hawks were circling, and the valley was getting louder.

Kyle wiped a thin line of blood off Fear Blade’s edge with his thumb and kept his breathing steady.

A Basalt Crawler crawled out of a crack with a wet, scraping sound, trying to circle wide toward Weston’s back.

Kyle moved first.

One quick cut. A small spill of blood. The red veins on the dagger brightened faintly.

The creature twitched—hesitated—then turned sharply and slammed into a rock as if it had forgotten how to walk straight.

Kyle didn’t waste time finishing it. He just left it confused, stumbling in place, and looked back toward the primary assault team.

Because something about the dragon’s movement had changed.

The beast was breathing heavier now. Its chest rose and fell with a rumbling heat, scales slick with soot and dust.

Chains still bound its wings, and every time it tried to lift, the rune field dragged it back down like invisible weight.

The guildmaster moved like a veteran—always at the joints, always at the seams. He didn’t swing wildly. He cut with purpose.

The short axe girl struck hard whenever the dragon exposed a limb, her swings timed like she’d done this a hundred times before.

Kaia’s arrows kept peppering weak points, forcing the dragon’s head to shift and its eyes to narrow in irritation.

And Celestia... Celestia held everything together. Her barriers flickered when flames hit them. Her blessings kept the primary team’s bodies from folding under pressure.

Then the guildmaster found his opening.

He slid under the snapping jaw and drove his blade into the dragon’s hind leg—deep enough to make it jolt.

The dragon’s weight shifted wrong.

Its knee buckled.

For a moment, the monster’s massive body dipped, its head lowering closer to the ground as if it was struggling to hold itself up.

Dust billowed. The dragon looked hurt.

Arthur’s breath caught. His grip tightened around his sword. Suddenly, his body moved before his mind finished thinking.

He broke formation.

"Arthur!" Kaia’s voice snapped, sharp with warning.

Celestia’s head turned instantly. "Don’t—"

But Arthur was already sprinting.