The First Dragon of Marble

Chapter 21

I decide to do a thorough search for the settlement so after we stayed the first night in the forest, we worked our way north towards the base of the Spikeback Mountain range and then work our way inward into the forest and then back south. I am doing this because I want to stay away from the city for as long as we can to let things die down, but also so that I can teach Lucy how I use magic and to see if her eyes are truly like mine away from any prying eyes. It has been a week since we had our conversation about how she had two mothers along with her father. It caught me off guard, but we discussed things and set clear boundaries, so the topic has been dealt with and we have moved on to different things to talk about.

Right now, we are in the middle of a fight with goblins and what seem to be hobgoblins. The hobgoblins are riding wargs and seem to be the elites and leaders of the goblins. “Hmm…it seems we are rather close to the settlement if we are encountering hobgoblins now.” I say to Lucy who is behind me protecting my back and pointing her bow and nocked arrow at the goblins behind me. “So, it seems, but how were they able to surround us without either of us knowing?” Lucy responds to my observation. “I let them of course.” She looks over her shoulder at me in surprise. “What?! Why?! There are too many of them, plus there are five hobgoblins. They may be in the same species as goblins, but they are much more powerful than a goblin or even a warg, which they are riding.” I raise an eyebrow and say, “Calm down Lucy. Panic will not help in this situation.” She tries to say something, but a goblin decides to test his luck seeing us talking and assuming we let our guards down. Lucy puts an arrow through its eye and the rest step back out of caution of projectiles.

“I let them surround us so that you can test how the levels you have gained over the week has affected your body.” Lucy looks up at me and thinks for a moment then nods. “Do you think you can take on a hobgoblin?” I ask her while I control the temperature of the water spell I am casting and throwing icicle spears at incoming goblins. “I could probably take one or two if there weren’t all of these goblins around as well as the wargs they are riding.” I go into thought while keeping the goblins at bay and avoiding arrows from the trees. “I can get rid of the goblins easily as well as the wargs by myself so that only the hobgoblins remain. I have never killed hobgoblins before so I am sure that I will get a good amount of soul essence. Though I want to have Lucy level up more. She’s been fighting all week by herself for the most part and has risen her level up to twenty. Of course, it wasn’t just wargs and goblins in the forest. We have encountered a variety of monsters in large numbers possibly being pushed out of their habitats by the goblins. Hmm…okay here is what I’ll do. I’ll kill the goblins and wargs. Then I’ll kill one of the hobgoblins and leave the rest for Lucy. I’ll let her fight two of them first and if she is okay with continuing then I will lure the last two to attack for her to fight again.”

I kill more goblins that were stupid enough to attack me and then get closer to Lucy and tell her my plan. Lucy nods and casts shroud to hide in the shadows of the trees. I pinpoint her location with Dragon Eyes and then take a deep breath. The goblins are confused at the disappearance of Lucy and look around dumbly. I then unleash my purple flames burning the goblins surrounding us. Once done I throw five stick spears into the eyes of the five wargs piercing their eyes and brains. The wargs collapse dead sending the hobgoblins to the ground. I look around and see that the circle of flames is closing off any route for escape for the hobgoblins. They get up and I motion for Lucy to come out of hiding. She appears beside me with daggers drawn.

[Lucy’s POV]

“You ready?” Ladon asks me as I cancel my shroud spell. I feel nervous about fighting two hobgoblins but nod my head signaling my readiness. “Good I’ll kill one of them and then keep two others busy until you finish off the first two.” “Wait, Ladon? Why not just kill the others?” I ask shakily. He looks at me with an evil smile I have gotten used to when he throws monsters at me to kill. “The priority of taking this job is to increase your level and to train you. Do not worry my love I will be able to interfere if you are in danger I promise. Now get ready they are coming.” Ladon sprints forward and martializes his scales and tail while pulling his shield and spear from his earring. I sigh and get ready, “I love him so much, but he is worse than the clan instructors who trained me to fight. I’m sure he is doing this for my own good and for me to stand beside him. I can only imagine what he went through in that dungeon if he has me fighting so many monsters each day.” I dodge and weave as I think about the past week with Ladon. He had said that there are now more of variety of monsters at the edge of the forest than before he went into the dungeon. He had said it is most likely because of the goblin settlement. Hopefully we can find it soon before they have enough courage and numbers to attack Melcox.

I throw four throwing knives at the two hobgoblins trying to get into range with their short swords. They seem surprised but experienced and only the one on the left was pierced in the thigh with one while they dodged the rest or blocked them with their shields. I look over at Ladon and he is holding three of them at bay to keep them from trying to run or come after me. I see the hobgoblins swords slide off his scales producing no visible damage, bouncing off his shield, and parried by his spear. It seemed so effortless for him, as if he were just simply playing with some children. Hobgoblins are about a head taller than goblins and instead of brown skin they are more of a dark green. So, the whole scene is rather comical to me.

I decide to get serious after learning their attack patterns and realize that they are just simply stronger and a little smarter than goblins. I put my hands together and then take a deep breath. “I have been wanting to show this to Ladon ever since he told me about ninjas and the myths that surround them.” I think to myself as I gather wind mana in my mouth and fire mana into my palms. I see Ladon glance at me and raise his eyebrows then he quickly swings his spear to raise stones from the ground and shape them into lances sending them into one of the hobgoblins quickly killing it. Seeing their comrade dead, the other two stare at Ladon in fear who smiles at them and then stomps the ground causing stone to trap their legs and arms keeping them from moving. Ladon then turns back to me and sits cross-legged and watches me with interest.

The hobgoblins that are fighting me were stunned at how fast Ladon incapacitated their fellow hobgoblins. Using this chance, I blew wind mana into my fists having it mix with the fire mana. Then a stream of fire roared from my fists engulfing the hobgoblins causing them to panic and scream in pain and confusion. They soon dropped to their knees and then collapsed on the ground dead. I look at Ladon and see him grinning from ear to ear. “That was awesome, bunny. I would expect nothing less from my woman.” My heart skips a beat as joy courses through me from his praise of me. “Thank you, love.” He nods and says, “Are you good to take on the other two or did that spell consume too much?” “No, I can take them. I’ll use my daggers this time. If the amount of monsters that we have encountered is of any inclination of the size of the settlement, then I need as much experience as possible.” Ladon nods as he stands up and then pushes his hand down to release the stone restraints from the last two hobgoblins.

As soon as they are free, they turn around and try to escape but see that the fire has encircled the area. They turn around only to see me driving my two daggers into their throats and then with a slicing motion I brutally open their throats causing them to choke on their own blood. They collapse holding their throats and soon pass away. I hear Ladon walk up from behind me and give me a hug. “I knew you were nervous at first, but I wanted you to see how powerful you really are, Lucy. Well done.” He squeezes me tighter as I lean back in his embrace. “I see…It is so hard to hide anything from you. Can you read my mind?” He releases me and goes into a different stance than when he uses earth mana. His body makes movements as if flowing like water and soon I see a massive sphere of water form above us. At the end of his movements, his is standing with his legs together and his arms held high and then he brings them down as the sphere of water bursts. It seemed to be raining with the sheer amount of water dosing out the flames. He continues to kneel until all of the flames are put out and then, soaking wet, he stands up and answers my question.

“Nah, I can’t read your mind Lucy. It’s more like I can see your emotions.” While he was dosing the flames and not answering me, I decided to get proof of kill from the hobgoblins and wargs. I was in the middle of skinning a warg when he finally spoke and became confused. “What do you mean you can see my emotions?” He walks over to another warg and begins to help me skinning them. “With my Dragon Eyes I can see mana like I told you. Every person has a specific mana signature and to be honest I have yours memorized where it is seared into my brain.” I tilt my head in thought. “I see…So you can see certain shifts in my mana signature depending on my emotional state?” Ladon looks up from his dismantling and gives me a handsome smile if you discount the blood from the skinning. “Yep. As you know a person’s magic is affected by the extent of their imagination, training, and emotions. If I know a person well enough or have paid specific attention to their mana signature, then I can see when their emotions are changing. With you I have seen you in multiple emotional states, so I have learned what patterns your emotions take.” He pauses and looks at me. “If it bothers you then I won’t do it anymore.” I shake my head and say, “No, it’s not that. I just wish I could read your emotions too. You are pretty easy to read just by your facial expressions, but I would still like to be able to do what you just described.” I say with envy. He just chuckles and says, “You have already opened most of your mana veins. I am sure you will be able to do the same soon, though it may be difficult at first. When I first noticed that I could do it. It took me awhile to be proficient because of the pain it causes in your eyes at first.” I nod and smile at the anticipation of being to use Dragon Eyes too.

[Ladon’s POV]

We finish taking the proof of kills from the hobgoblins and pelts from the wargs. We didn’t bother with the goblins because I turned them all to ash. I decide to pick up the hobgoblins weapons since they look like weapons used by adventurers. “These weapons and shields may be from the missing adventurers that took the same job as us in the past. I doubt they are still alive, but I can at least bring them back and bring closure to their families and friends at least. Maybe we will even get a reward for returning them.” I put the remains of the hobgoblins and wargs together in a pile and then burn them. I turn to Lucy and ask, “You ready to move on now?” She nods and we start moving through the forest again to look for the goblin settlement.

Another two weeks pass since the encounter with the hobgoblin group. I have been training Lucy in magic and leveling her up. We continue to run into various monsters which Lucy kills as I back her up. There has been a couple more times when we have run into a group of goblins with hobgoblins in them as well. Right now, we are at the crater where I was born again. I decided to show Lucy this place since it has a special meaning to me, both good and bad. What we are looking at is a lake rather than a crater though. “I thought you said that this was a crater Ladon?” “It was. Hmm…I don’t know how it was filled water so quickly. Maybe it has something to do with mana left over or maybe mother and father decided to cover up the crater. I still feel the mana from their domain here.” Lucy looks at me and then asks, “Are they still in the area?” I use Dragon Eyes to see if any trace of them anywhere and only sees faint signs of their mana. “No, I don’t believe so. They told me that they are rather busy. Even when they were training me, they would take turns so that one could perform their duties.” “I see…I wanted to meet them if I could.” I put my arm around her shoulder and squeeze her into a side hug. “I’m sure you will someday. They are gods after all. I’m sure they are very busy, plus they told me that we would see each other soon. If I know my mother even a little, I am sure we won’t have to wait to long.” Lucy smiles and nods.

I look up to see that the sun was starting to set so I say, “Well it is almost night. Let’s set up camp and continue your training in magic.” She nods and we set up camp which is mostly me making a stone shelter, Lucy gathering firewood, and me casting the early warning spell. Once done we settle down in the shelter on the furs and let the stew over the fire cook. Lucy is the one making it as she insisted after tasting my attempt at making stew. I hear her chuckle to herself, so I ask, “What is so funny my little bunny?” She turns with hair hiding face, so she moves it out of her face and says cutely, “I’m just glad you aren’t perfect that is all.” I raise an eyebrow and say, “I never said I was perfect.” “I know my love, but you can do almost anything except cook. Hehe I’m just glad that I am better than you at something.” I look away in embarrassment and say, “I can cook some things, thank you.” Lucy finishes stirring and puts a lid over the pot. She walks over to me and sits in my lap facing me and says, “Oh? Like what love?” I am still looking away and only side glance at her and mumble inaudibly. She giggles and says, “What? I didn’t hear you ole mighty dragon.” “I can make toast.” I say softly and she just bursts with laughter. It is the first time I have heard her laugh like this, and it just makes me blush even more.

Once she finishes laughing and kisses me on the cheek. “So, the mighty dragon can only make toast.” I fake growl at her and say, “You would be wise not to tease this mighty dragon my little moon rabbit.” She puts her hand to mouth and giggles, “Oh really? Is the dragon going to eat me if I don’t stop teasing him?” I grab her waist and whip her around laying on top of her and start tickling her. “HAHAHAHA…stop…Hahaha…you’ll make me…haha…pee myself…hahaha!” “Have you learned your lesson little moon rabbit?” I continue to tickle her as she squirms. “HAHAHAHA…never…haha!” “You little…” I stop tickling her and bite her bottom lip. “Stop acting all cute or I will devour you little bunny.” She shivers and looks at me with a seductive look. “Control yourself Ladon! It is not smart to jump her bones right now!” “And if I wanted you to devour me my mighty dragon?” I start to breath hard from arousal, but soon gain control of myself. “Trust me I do. More than anything, but we still need to eat, and you need to train. So, please do not tempt me anymore.” She giggles and bats her eyelashes. “Okay, you just looked so cute when I tease you.” I grumble as she checks on the stew. After a few more minutes it is done, and we eat.

After we eat, Lucy sits down and closes her eyes to continue letting her mana veins form. I use my Dragon Eyes to see her progress and am astonished by her progress. She has trained every night and when we take breaks from fighting monsters and searching for the goblins. I have kept my eyes on her every time she does, but right now it looks like she has finally stopped resisting the mana flowing inside her and lets the mana create the veins faster. She has around ninety-five percent of veins formed throughout her body. “How is this possible? Was I the same? I didn’t have anyone to observe me when I learned this on my own, so I am not really sure.” I exclaim inside my head as I continue to observe her. “I am so proud of her though. Even after all that she has been through she has risen above it…Maybe I should do the same. Maybe I should just forget about Noah, Loka, and Abel…for her sake…No I can’t…I have already killed Musir, and I am sure it is only a matter of time before they come back with the lord’s son and finds out that it was me that caused so much damage to their partners.” I think about giving up on my plans of killing Noah and the rest but then I come back to reality of what I have already started and cannot turn back now. “I just have to continue training Lucy so that they cannot use her against me and so she can handle anyone who acts against her.” I regather my resolve of finishing what they started and focused on teaching Lucy.

The next day we move on from the crater, now lake. As we move deeper into the forest monsters become less frequent. “I would say that this is strange if not for my theory about the goblins pushing out the other monsters closer to the forest’s edge.” I say as we look for signs of goblins. “Yes, it would be strange. Though even with the goblins you would think stronger monsters would be around to prey on the abundance of goblin meat.” Lucy retorts giving her perspective. “Hmm…You’re right. I say we keep on guard from now on more than we usually are. There may still be stronger monsters around aside from the goblins.” She nods as she looks around more and pays more attention to the surroundings. I decide to be safe and materialize my scales and tail while holding my shield and spear at the ready.

We travel deeper and deeper into the forest throughout the day not encountering a single monster or animal. Close to sunset we hear a twig snap from the right of us and we immediately become tense. I whisper to Lucy and say, “I will try to see the mana flows while you cast Shroud to do some recon.” She nods and casts the spell melting into the shadows. I whisper again saying, “Be careful bunny.” I didn’t hear a reply only the sight of her shift of emotion as she quietly scouts in the direction of the sound. I am not good at all with sneaking, so I stand still and observe my surroundings. “I have a bad feeling about encountering something so suddenly. It seems to be smart enough to catch their prey during the fading light of the evening and playing phycological games.” Suddenly I hear a snap of a branch to my left and look in the direction to see nothing. Then a snap from behind me where I whirl around and see nothing again. “Fuck they are either fast or there are more than one. I know Lucy will be fine but if I cannot even catch sight of them with my Dragon Eyes then how is she going to see them.”

I continue to wait for Lucy to come back as I keep my guard up. Suddenly I feel something hit my scales on my shin through my pants. I grunt from the unexpected impact and look down. I see an arrow stuck in my pants and pull it out to see a crudely made arrow made. “What the hell? This looks like the arrows that the goblins with the hobgoblins used.” I mutter as I feel another arrow hit my chest bouncing off my scales. I look into the trees and still couldn’t see anything. “I could see and dodge the other arrows shoot by the goblins back then but why can I not see nor hear these coming at me?” I think to myself as I produce a stone wall behind me to protect my back from projectiles. I materialize my tough but smooth fur on my back. It provides a good amount protection, but I shouldn’t be careless right now against an opponent that I cannot see nor hear. After a few more arrows shot at other parts of my body bouncing off including my head which I protect with my shield the arrows stop coming. I lower my shield a little to look around and see goblins coming from the bushes and trees. These goblins though are not like the brown ones nor are they like the green hobgoblins. They are taller than hobgoblins and have black as night skin.

“The hell? I have never read anything about these monsters.” I think to myself as I watch the monsters surround me. As we stand at a standstill, one of them, the one directly in the middle talks in fragmented common. “Another…people of the Weak Gods…come to stop…our Chief.” My eyes widen in shock at this monster speaking common. “I assume you are part of the goblin settlement that has sprouted in this forest.” The monster nods, “Yes, people of Gods.” I think for a moment and ask, “Have your people killed other people of the Weak Gods?” He grins with fangs showing and says, “Yes…try…stop…strength grow…and then…march and kill…lands…people of Gods.” “I see.” I respond shortly to try to comprehend its sentence. “The others tried to stop their…buildup of strength and numbers maybe? Possibly to march and kill the people of the Gods? If we can communicate then maybe we can avoid any bloodshed. Even if they are monsters, if they are intelligent to converse then they can possibly be reasoned with.” “Is there any way for your people and mine to coexist?” The black goblin looks at me in confusion not understanding my use of words. I decide to reword my question so I ask again, “Anyway that our people can live beside each other without killing the other?”

I finish my question and study his face as he does the same as me to comprehend my meaning. He then smiles widely, and I see the evil twinkle in his eyes. “Not…possible…our Strong Gods…say to kill…people of the weak Gods…there is…no other meaning for…us to be.” “What! Their gods?! Is it possible that one of the other gods are using monsters for some reason? Wait…maybe the ones warring with my parents and the others somehow slipped through with them and has been plotting something? Fuck to many questions and not enough time to contemplate. It seems there is no room for diplomacy with these monsters.” I think fast and decide now is not the time to be questioning things. “I see…well I cannot just lay over and die for you. So shall we get started.” The goblins draw different weapons such as swords, axes, clubs, and daggers. I take a deep breath and still myself for a hard fight.

[Lucy’s POV]

I leave Ladon to scout out the noise that we both heard. I feel happy that he is depending upon me in this situation. Since coming into the forest, he has been the one who has been able to tell when monsters are approaching even before I can with my sensitive hearing. I have a sickening feeling about him not being able to this time, but I have more faith in myself and even more faith in him. I decide to climb a tree and jump through the canopy. I look down to observer the floor of the forest and barely see a figure crouched and stalking towards the direction I came from. I stop and watch the figure and follow it. Soon it stops and rising its bow and arrow. I look at the target that it is aiming at and see Ladon in a defensive posture looking around. I see an arrow hit Ladon leg and I become angrier than I have ever been. I look at the one below me again and see that he still has his arrow nocked. “There must be more of them and for Ladon to take a hit means he cannot see them or hear them. HOW DARE THEY TRY TO HARM MY LOVE!” I jump down on top of the figure driving my dagger into its neck blocking its mouth from making any noise. Once it was dead, I turn it over to get a better look and see that it is an ogre. “Fuck.” I whisper to myself. “Ogres are a high tier monster. Even if Ladon is powerful by himself I fear facing off against more than two will be rather hard for even him. I have to do something.” I look up to see multiple arrows being shot at Ladon as he conjures a stone wall behind him to protect his back but also cutting off his view from behind.

Suddenly the arrows stop, and the ogres come out from hiding. I see some of them come up to the stone wall and wait. I creep around behind the wall in the trees where they previously came from. I then hear Ladon talking to the ogres and think, “Why would he be talking to them? It’s not like we can understand each other.” Then I hear a low snarling voice reply to Ladon. I freeze in surprise that an ogre is speaking in broken common. Then I shake myself and focus on getting into position to shoot the ogres trying to ambush Ladon. “I see…well I cannot just lay over and die for you. So shall we get started.” I hear Ladon say and pull back my bow string with two arrows nocked aiming at the ogres climbing the stone wall. Weapons are soon drawn after Ladon says this and the ogres begin to close in on him.

Once the ogres climbing Ladon’s wall reached the top I release my arrows, and they pierce their necks. I see them grab their neck and fall from the top snapping their necks when they hit the ground. The other ogres stop moving closer to Ladon as they see their dead comrades on the ground. Ladon takes this chance to use the wall as a projectile and bursts it with his mana sending stone shrapnel into the surrounding ogres. Some pieces mange to pierce the thick skin of some of the ogres and killing them leaving around eight more left standing. One of the ogres that looks like he may be the leader of the rest as he is slightly bigger and more menacing than the others, points at four of the ogres and speaks in a garble language that I cannot understand. Ladon notices this and charges forward trying to keep the ogres with him but the other four already disappeared. “Fuck. Lucy be careful!” He shouts just as a I feel a punch in my stomach sending me flying backward further away from Ladon. When I land, I try to stay conscious and stand up to defend myself. I cast shroud again to hide in the shadows of the dying light and control the pain and my breath.

As I hide, I can barely see the ogres searching for me. They raise their noses up to catch my scent and look for signs of my blood to track. “Dammit! How do I kill these assholes to get back to help Ladon?” I close my eyes to calm my thoughts and focus on how to kill the enemies in front of me. “Think back to your training Lucy. When facing multiple opponents as a moon rabbit. The best course of action is to divide and conquer. Okay…Okay…I can do this. Ladon needs my help, so I need to do this.” I creep away from the ogres quietly gaining some distance. I had dropped my bow when I was hit so now all I have is my daggers, throwing knives, and magic. I go around and set up traps on the ground with earth mana creating fall traps. I do not have enough time to put spikes at the bottom, but it will give me enough time to ambush them as they try to get out of the holes.

I creep back to the ogres who have spread out more from each other to cover more ground. I see one close by me, so I create some noise to get his attention. His head snaps to my direction, and I can see a sadistic smile creep on its face. I retreat to lure it into one of my holes and while doing so I start to hear the sound of a ferocious battle taking place in the direction of Ladon. “Please hang on love, I’m coming.”

[Ladon’s POV]

I see Lucy being punched in the stomach while being sent deeper into the forest. My rage boils over as I turn around to help her only to be hit in the back by the leader of these monsters. I fall face first in the dirt and roll over to dodge the next blow. I get to my feet only to be hit in the side with a club strike so powerful that I am sure that a couple of my ribs broke. I grunt in pain unable to focus from the continuous attacks. “Fuck I need a breather.” I use my tail to jump into the air and back to gain some room between the remaining monsters. “You…and…other…die…people of Weak Gods!” The leader says in broken common as he and the other monsters advance towards me. Now that I have space, I focus mana through my whole body to ready for attacks. Two of the monsters flank me and sprint at my sides for a pincer move. They are so fast that I only have time to fight off one of them before the other strikes me in the back of my knee with its sword bouncing off my scales. The sword may not have pierced or cut me, but the strike was enough to buckle my knee making me kneel.

I see the others sprinting forward, so I jam my spear butt into the ground causing stones to come out of the ground and shoot forward towards the oncoming monsters. I then hit the monster who struck my knee with my shield into his knee causing it to scream in pain since his knee bent in the wrong direction. “One out of commission for now.” I turn to see the other monster that was trying to flank me coming back at me with his axe. I block his attack with my shield and thrust with my spear sticking it into his thigh. It screams in pain as I take out my spear whirling it around to slice his throat. “One dead, one wounded, and two left.” I look at the remaining two and say, “There could have been middle ground, but you forced my hand.” The leader snarls as he looks at his downed subordinates on the ground. “We…here…for destruction…you…die…here…now! GRAAHA!” The other monster beside the leader rushes me. I thrust my spear forward pushing it back with wind mana causing hurricane force winds to blow the monster into a tree limb. The limb pierces it chest all the way through killing it as I hear its death throes.

The leader sees this causing its face to distort with even more anger and lifts its hands towards me. I see a black sphere forming and have a sense of foreboding. I rush forward but I am too late as the leader finishes gathering the mana and sends the black sphere towards me. I jump to side only for it to follow me as it grazes my left side. I immediately collapse to the ground screaming in pain. “AHHHHHAHHHH!” The pain is as bad or even worse than the sludge from the Ancient Wyvern that I fought in the dungeon. The pain does not stop and only seems to get worse. I glance at my left side and see that my skin and scales have all torn and are bleeding nonstop from every pore and crevice. I barely hear the footsteps approaching me as I feel a hand wrap around my neck picking me up into the air. “HAHAHAHA…weak…easy…kill.” The leader says as he laughs at me. “This monster is laughing at ME! AHHH…I can barely think from the pain, but did this motherfucker just laugh at me?! ME! A DRAGON!” I drop my shield and martialize my claws and grab the monster’s wrist ripping it from my neck. Dropping to the ground my knees buckle as I am unable to stand because of the pain in my left side. The monster screams from pain in its wrist where I left gashes.

I look up and smile as I feel blood running down my left side. The monster growls at me and asks, “Why…smile…scum…you…lost…only…dragging…out…you…death?” I cough out blood and spit, “I’m not smiling at you moron.” His angry expression turns into confusion and then two daggers pierce his neck. His eyes widen as he grabs his neck and sees his own blood on his hands. I take advantage of his surprise trying to ignore my pain as I thrust my spear underneath his chin straight through to his brain. The monster’s body goes limp and falls to the ground revealing a blood covered Lucy with multiple wounds. Before I can say anything to her my vison blurs as is drift into the darkness of the void.