Headed by a Snake

The red dragon blinked its eyes and yawned, lazily spouting a gout of flame.

"(It has been many years since a mortal has spoken to me so brazenly.)" The dragon sighed, "(I shall forgive thy foolishness... this once.)

The dragon sleepily unfolded its wings, more than doubling its already-massive size, "(Behold. I am a great and powerful dragon. You've found me.)"

Kakui grabbed Taree's shoulders, "Young Mistress, what... what shall we do?"

Taree wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head, "Wh-what can we do? Grandpa, we have to trust in Warrior Tycon."

Pale held Taree's hand and nodded to Kakui. The older man gulped a lump stuck in his throat but remained silent.

"(I've had quite a long flight, and I'm very tired, you see. I'd really prefer you all return in, say... an epoch? 16 of your years should do, for certain.)"

The dragon yawned again, a wider, uglier, serpentine-neck-flexing yawn. "(So bugger off, will you? Before I change my mind.)"

"Yeah-- You can't sleep here, Lizard," Tycon ordered, as if he were offended.

Barza tugged on Tycon's cloak. "Boss... Boss, I know you have your thing against... the lizards but... What the heck are you doing?"

"Not now, Mister Barza," Tycon angrily shoved Barza back to the rest of the group.

"Oh?" The dragon looked perplexed and responded in the common tongue. "And why in the blazes not, mortal??"

"The cave." Tycon pointed at the ground with emphasis, "It's. Mine."

The dragon furrowed its great, scaly brows, "What? Don't be ridiculous. I was obviously here first. How could this cave be... yours?"

Tycon crossed his arms, "Simple. I discovered it."

"You... You can't just say you discovered something-- well... Fine," The dragon snorted flame from its nostrils. "I discovered this cave, first! How about that?"

Tycon laughed, "Hah! Your claim is IRRELEVANT!!"

The red dragon reared its head back, "What? By what... logic could you possibly make that claim?"

Tycon pointed angrily, "I don't BELIEVE IN YOU!! You don't EXIST!!"

Elder Kakui hid his face in his hands. Taree stared with wide eyes, open mouth. Barza began to sob quietly.

Tamaki, hiding behind a rock, flashed a thumbs-up motion of agreement to Tycon.

The dragon stared blankly. It squinted its eyes. It lowered its head to be level with Tycon, its head alone taller than the green-haired youth, "I. Beg. Your. Pardon?"

In a flash of movement, Tycon stabbed the dragon in the eye, "INVICTUS!!!! PIN LEEEEFFFT!!!"

The dragon roared in anger. Taree collapsed, her entire body shaking in fear. Tamaki couldn't hold his bow steady, eventually collapsing to a knee behind his rock. Kakui too, had fallen upon both hands and knees in despair. He looked up and spotted Lone, the Chosen One, stunned with his dual blades stuck in the earth. Kakui shut his eyes and slammed his fists to the ground beside his fallen sabers. How were they to survive the coming onslaught?

Wroe appeared out of the mist-- the humid environment perfect for his abilities. He pulled his ethereal blade out of the vapor and plunged his blade into the dragon's left claw, "PIN LEFT!!"

Pale had already circled behind the dragon. Bouncing off of a wall for height, he stuck his crimson spear into the dragon's rear left claw, "PIN LEFT!!"

Tycon roared, "TAREE!! STRIKE RIGHT!!"

"I-- I can't move!!" She screamed.

Tycon turned and scowled, "Idiot!!"

He pointed a hand awash in mana at her, "Desire Trigger!!"

Taree's eyes widened in an instant. Choking back a sob, her legs began to move, and she sprinted towards the dragon's right side. With a mana-infused leap, her tiny form smashed into the massive creature, toppling it to the ground, bleeding it upon the cave's stalagmites. It roared and writhed in pain, smashing its claws and tail against the cavern stones.

Dragan leapt through the air, "Enervating Slash!!" With a sorcerous slash of darkness, the red-headed behemoth of a man smashed his axe into the dragon's back, leaving a shadowy wound that bled black ink.

Korr had dashed to the dragon's exposed belly. "Hurricane of Blood!!" Slashing her stolen Staghorn sword with unparalleled speed over and over again, the dragon's underbelly scales became a mess of torn scale and crimson flow. Her skill came to a forceful stop, however, as the blade broke under her handling.

Maximus was flapping his great blue wings, hovering in the air. He pointed his spear forward and was yelling his own name. "Maximus! Maximus! Maximus!" With each call, lightning emerged from the man's spear and accurately struck the dragon's body, causing it to twitch and convulse with each strike.

Tycon had approached Lone and backhanded him across his scarred face, "Wake up!"

"Bwuhh?!" Lone fell onto his back but seemed to regain his senses.

He scrambled to sit up, sporting a bleeding lip, "I'm g-good, Boss! What do I do?!"

Tycon roared in anger, "Assist Korr! NOW!!"

Lone immediately sprinted as Tycon directed.

The dragon roared again in pain, flames of rage spreading out and blackening the cave ceiling, "(YOU MORTALS DARE!! YOU DAAAAARE!! TO--)"

Tycon lashed out his whip, entrapping one of the dragon's horns. Tycon flew up acrobatically, landing on the dragon's face. He stared into the dragon's unbloodied eye before stabbing his sword into that one too, "DEATH TO THE ENEMIES OF INVICTUS!!"

[Vexing Gaze activating. Death to the enemies of Invictus.]

Blood poured from the dragon's mouth as it choked.

"Eldritch Blast!!" "Whirling Rend!!" "Rising Storm!!" "Crashing Thunder!!" --a slew of skills continuously activated, smashing into the helpless dragon's body.

Blinded, the lizard began to thrash around, swinging wildly with its claws, wings, and tail.

Barza grinned, "Stupid dragon, behold!! MY!! SKILL!!"

His two swords pointed outward, Barza began spinning his body like a top.

Tycon stayed mounted on the raging drake's head, holding fast onto one of its horns, "Korr! Do something before the fool gets himself killed!"

The drake whipped its body around, sending its tail hurtling towards Barza.

"On it, Leader!!" The woman dashed in front of Barza and side-kicked the mana-less spinning man out of the way.

« System, Activate Jumping Knee Counter on Korr!! »

[Activating. Jumping Knee Counter. Reaction ability. Targeted ally's physical defenses are improved against a single attack. Target is compelled to make an instantaneous unarmed strike against an enemy with increased accuracy.]

Leaping forward, Korr's fist collided against the massive dragon tail, stopping its momentum. With a precise grip, she grabbed with both hands onto the scales of the lizard's tail and connected a merciless knee into it, causing the lizard to cry and sob in pain and lamentation.

"(WWWWHYYYYYYYY?! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIIIIIISSS??!)"

Barza sat back on his behind, dumbfounded, "D-did you just break the dragon's tail?"

Not turning to look at the fallen man, Korr held her hand out towards Lone, "WEAPON!!"

Lone hurriedly stood up and placed one of his blades into Korr's outstretched hand.

"Brutal Blade!!" Korr smashed it into the dragon's belly, inflicting a grievous wound and bathing her in blood, but shattering Lone's favorite weapon in the process.

Korr held her hand out again, "WEAPON!!"

Lone looked on in horror, suffering deep-seated flashbacks of the worst night of his life. Unwilling to disobey the woman, he placed his other sword into Korr's hand.

"Brutal Blade!!" the woman used her monstrous strength to break the second weapon. She discarded the hilt and grabbed onto the dragon's torn skin and with inhuman strength, tore the leather skin apart, blood spilling onto the ground in a flood.

"WEAPON!!" The woman demanded. She was thoroughly soaked in dragon blood and her eye seemed to glow with frenetic red mana.

Lone was too horrified to be aggrieved. He carried the most weapons on his body in Guild Invictus. He could stand to lose one or two. He unsheathed another one of his weapons and handed it to the Berserk Knight.

"This is OUR CAVE, you stupid LIZARD!!" Tycon had climbed the helpless, dying dragon's head, and yelled into its aural cavity, "How DARE you question me!!"