Chapter 8

  Catch The Rainbow

  The towering demon form of Mr. Fury stepped into the mouth of the cave, moving against the roar of the beast echoing from within.

  The ground quaked like a natural disaster had struck. Nora shifted fully into battle mode. Just hearing its roar was enough to shake a soul free of its body. Her heart pounded like it might burst. She was afraid—of course she was. But what gave her the courage… was the other demon standing before that cave.

  And then… it emerged. The true master of the cave—Iskaryx.

  Next to it, Fury looked small.

  Its eyes held the void of a soulless predator. On instinct, the beast lunged at Fury the moment it came into view.

  A deafening crash echoed. Nora Ophilis leapt up the cliff face to escape the hailstorm of debris blasted in every direction.

  White mist obscured the battlefield. From this distance, one might have thought Fury was done for.

  But everyone knew that wasn’t true.

  Iskaryx was yanked back by its crystalline horn—dragged out of its cave with brutal force.

  KRROOOM!!

  The ground shook again, this time from Fury’s doing. A mini-avalanche crashed down in the wake of his strike.

  A shadow in black strode forward like a zookeeper dragging a wild beast that refused its cage.

  Iskaryx screamed, a roar that raced across the earth, stretching to the horizon. It unleashed its fury, spewing a white frost breath at the smaller figure and lunged to maul.

  Nora knew that breath—she’d seen it freeze entire battalions of Snowhaven soldiers. Even from this vantage, she had to duck to avoid the icy haze.

  “Mr. Fury!”

  She shouted, worried he might be frozen solid like Freya once had been.

  But when she looked again—Mr. Fury was already airborne.

  He plummeted straight down toward Iskaryx.

  BOOOOMMMM!!

  The impact shattered the crystal plating on the beast’s body.

  Don’t expect elegance in this kind of battle. This was raw violence.

  More specifically, it was a fight with a beast strong enough to shatter mountains.

  All Fury could do was grab the creature and hurl it around—buying time.

  Then… Nora saw an opening.

  (Ice shard sound effect)

  She conjured an ice arrow in her hand—her target: Iskaryx’s open mouth, held agape by Fury’s brute strength.

  She fired.

  The arrow shot between Fury’s arms, slipping just past him and plunging straight into the monster’s maw.

  “!”

  Fury let go and leapt back immediately.

  “Is shooting it in the mouth… even going to work?”

  But before he could finish the thought—

  Spikes of ice erupted from within Iskaryx’s mouth. Blood burst forth.

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  Fury glanced up at Nora. The answer lay in the arrowhead—a glowing white crystal embedded there.

  Once inside, it exploded—firing icy spikes outward in every direction.

  But of course, Iskaryx wasn’t finished yet.

  Its tail lashed out, slamming into Fury again and again until the earth was flattened.

  He was flung into the forest, knocking down dozens of trees—

  —but he got up, charged back, and tackled the beast into a boulder, collapsing the cave entrance completely.

  Nora saw another chance.

  Just as Fury threw a punch into the dragon’s face, she fired another arrow into its leg.

  It burst open the same way—shattering its crystalline armor.

  Fury followed up with a powerful kick, splintering the rest of the scales.

  The beast roared in pain.

  But then, its tail struck the cliff where Nora stood—

  —and the earth gave way beneath her.

  “Nora!”

  The princess’s body tumbled down. Fury saw it—but he was caught between the monster’s upper and lower jaws, about to be crushed.

  Nora crashed into the cliff face, her ice barrier shattering on impact, her body ricocheting off jutting rocks—

  “Ugh!!”

  At least the ledges absorbed some of the impact.

  Nora shielded her head with both arms, and after bouncing against the cliffs, she finally hit the ground—

  —ending up on the same level as Mr. Fury.

  “Ghh…!”

  She was bloodied, bruised, torn up—but nothing was broken thanks to the protective ice she had conjured beforehand.

  She knew she couldn’t hold Fury back. The princess pushed herself up with both hands, even as blood ran down her temple.

  Ahead of her, Fury was holding open Iskaryx’s jaws with both arms to keep himself from being crushed.

  He turned and saw her—battered but still fighting.

  He thought to hold the beast a little longer, give her time to retreat to a safe distance.

  But what Nora did next overturned his plan completely.

  She charged—straight at him and the dragon, without hesitation.

  Leaping into the air, she summoned her ultimate move: a massive black ice spear formed midair.

  And then she hurled it—piercing Iskaryx’s eye with bone-cracking force.

  Blood gushed out.

  The beast roared in torment.

  Suddenly, its entire crystal body began to glow—flashing blue in rapid pulses—until—

  Ice spikes and frost beams shot from every direction on its body, obliterating everything around it.

  “!!!!”

  Nora, hurled from its head, couldn’t dodge the crystal shrapnel.

  Each shard was like a sniper round. Without defense, a direct hit could decapitate her.

  Even ice wouldn’t hold.

  But just as death approached—

  A dark figure shielded her.

  Mr. Fury.

  He threw his body between her and the barrage. One arm cradled her close, while his back took the brunt.

  “?!”

  Nora felt it. A thousand shards pelted him with sickening force.

  She heard bones crack.

  “Hold on tight.”

  Fury leapt into the sky immediately. Nora felt her neck almost snap from the force.

  The hail of shards ceased.

  He carried her to safety at high altitude, then let her go.

  “Mr. Fury!”

  No matter how tough he was, those shards could tear a person in half.

  She knew he’d taken real damage—and she was right.

  The armor on his back was cracked like broken glass.

  Spikes had pierced into the fissures. Blood seeped out.

  “Are you okay?!”

  “Harder hit than I expected.”

  Fury wiped blood from Nora’s forehead with a finger.

  “You didn’t break anything in that fall, right?”

  “No, Mr. Fury.”

  “Good. Look there… I think it’s retreating.”

  “…You’re right. It’s running away. It’s afraid of you… Mr. Fury.”

  Below them, Iskaryx spread its crystal wings—wide and gleaming in the sun like a rainbow.

  Then it folded them sharply, generating a wind so strong they had to shield their faces.

  “Instinct,” said Nora. “It knows now. It can’t kill you.”

  “The instincts of a wild beast, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  “Back up. You’ll get hurt by the shockwave.”

  Fury looked skyward. Lightning danced down his legs.

  BOOOM!!

  He leapt, charged by the red lightning, leaving a crater behind.

  Nora watched, mouth open in awe.

  In a blink, the demon prince collided with Iskaryx midair.

  Its flight path was knocked off course like a cue ball struck on a snooker table.

  The beast plummeted. Nora sprinted forward, moving faster than any human thanks to magic reinforcement.

  She saw it clearly—

  Mr. Fury had ripped off its wing.

  Blood splashed in every direction.

  When it finally hit the ground, snow exploded outward like a bomb.

  Trees, rocks, dirt all hurled skyward in a wave of destruction.

  Fury stood atop the beast—but it still wasn’t finished.

  It opened its jaws to charge an attack.

  But before it could fire—

  It tasted Fury’s fist.

  SMAAACK!!

  (dragon roar)

  Nora arrived just in time to chain a combo—

  Summoning her bow, she fired more arrows, each loaded with explosive ice spikes, into the dragon’s blind eye.

  Fury leapt clear. The spike bombs detonated—

  Shards burst from within Iskaryx’s skull.

  The beast writhed, hemorrhaging rivers of blood.

  Finally—

  “Mr. Fury! Open its mouth!”

  Standing atop its head, Fury pried the jaws open.

  What he saw—

  Nora’s eyes glowing pure white, aura blazing, ice spikes forming in every direction.

  She had been charging this for a long time.

  “Nora?! What are you doing?!”

  But it was too late.

  Nora Ophilis sprinted forward—

  —and dove straight into the beast’s mouth before Mr. Fury’s eyes.

  “!”

  Fury was stunned.

  At the same time, Iskaryx thrashed and hurled him away with its last ounce of strength.

  It snapped its jaws shut. Stood up.

  “NORA?!?!?!”

  She was inside it.

  Fury leapt to his feet. Red-black lightning surged around him. He readied a deathblow.

  But then—

  He felt it. A massive energy surge from within.

  And suddenly—

  Dozens of spikes burst through Iskaryx’s skull in every direction: through its eye sockets, jaws, nostrils, and every inch of unarmored flesh.

  It was the most violent spike detonation Fury had ever seen.

  Iskaryx froze midair—

  Like someone shot through the brain.

  And then it collapsed.

  THUUUUUUD.

  Silent. Motionless. Dead.