Chapter 41: Tower of Endless Might

"Take cover!" Ned cried, letting out all the frustration he had accumulated, cause he knew the result of the Devourer's attack. destruction followed by nothingness.

The group scattered in random, Ned took cover inside an abandoned shack, while Toni and Naa'ri scrambled in the stable, look of terror and disdain filtered their faces of beauty.

The Devourer's attack of mass-energy exhibits a thick and purple sphere accompanied by a crackling sound of thunderous lightning. Blue energy circles its hollow chest encased in a darkened bones. After the devourer finished charging, the surroundings hissed and a chilling aura crept all over the remaining living outside the gate.

The hissing sound stopped as the Devourer was about to shoot the purple sphere in the already chaos spread area. Everything fell to silence.

Moments later, their visions were drowned by the light that engulfed the area. Rays of red and blue mixed, that destroyed all the eyes could see.

Ned heeds the destruction that occurred outside the shack. The ground shook and the walls cracked, all this while the debris of molten brick fell atop.

A streak purple light was letting its way into where Ned was. Ned gazed in the hole in front of him. The beam of destruction was closing in, but when it was closer to Ned, it stopped. Frowning his brow, he stared once more into the hole. The ground buzzed of vibration, and his senses seemed to play with him. All the debris that settled on the ground, be it splintered woods, monster pelts, swords, quivers, bows, even the dead human bodies began to float.

Before Ned could shout, he instinctively swallowed a lump of his saliva. He stood, kick open the crumbling door, and ran to where Toni and Naa'ri was.

The two were in a stable, eyes bulging out, cause right in front of them were mutilated bodies floating midair, what appears to be the old owners of the stable. But Ned wasn't there to help them ease their thoughts. Without delay, Ned bit the skin of his finger and fed the dripping blood to Coco. A matter of second, Coco transformed into its adult form, cracks of lighting streaked all over his furry body.

"Coco, take them as far away as possible," Ned asked Coco.

Groar!

With Coco's transformation, the two snapped, Toni and Naa'ri were back to themselves, just noticing random things floating in the air. "How did you…" Naa'ri wondered how Ned made Coco transformed into his mysterious form.

"Ride with Coco, I'll come along," Ned said, looking at Toni with worry on his face. "Naa'ri you too." He ordered.

"What about you!" Toni asked, gripping Coco's white fur with all her might.

"I'll be fine, I'll tag along," Ned answered retracting a smile of assurance. "Go!"

"Uh," nodding, the two rode Coco. Blasting the timbered door, Coco sped off as far away as his vision could see. Cause even Coco felt the destruction the dragon bore.

Ned was left with a sword and a wit at its end. His instinct kicked off the top, tried to run, far-flung as he could. Ned saw grasses standing tall almost ten paces far from him. But when he's almost out of the blast zone, he ran but as slow as he could, his body felt like a stone attached in him. His weight doubled, no, even tripled. The sweat of desperation started afloat his fore. The gravity surge played with the dragon's gulp.

It was the last piece of the Devourer's attack. By the name itself, it devours. Everything the first attacks had summed, was now being devoured.

Everything that hovered midair was now being sucked inside the Devourer's mouth. Inside its mouth was an obvious representation of void. Dark, nothingness circled its jaw.

"Shit!" Perplexed Ned.

Ned left with no choice, swung free, and struck the Butterfly on the ground. He was now clipped, preventing himself from being sucked by the Devourer. Debris scratched his face, rocks to timber, metals to bricks, everything was moving on his way.

Ned was now floating midair gripping the hilt of his sword. But it wasn't the end of the Devourer's attack. To end the agony, the Devourer will attack with a breath of blue molten fire. Ned knew this for he battled Devourer's a thousand times before. Judging from the position of the Devourer, which is almost forty meters away from Ned, he was still inside the blast zone. And if the scythe of death intervenes, after the breath, Ned would be left with nothing but ashes.

As he predicted, the dragon started to channel its blue energy stored inside its bony chest. The blue energy crept along its neck. Without delay, the Devourer spew energy amassed in its mouth.

With a boom and a bang. Everything that stands on the dragon's way exploded and melted, turning into ashes.

With a molten breath coming its way, Ned cursed as he had no other way to survive the attack. Even if he used Overclock at full, the distance of the safe zone was far he could reach. "Shit!" He cursed the third.

Seconds passed, the molten breath was sprayed right in front of Ned. Oozing and steaming hot blue molten lava.

Before Ned could react. "Tower of Endless Might!" a shout encompassed the remaining area where Ned holding his dear life.

Almost four meters of broad white-light boomed its way protecting Ned from the dragon's breathe. Moments later, a shadow of a man dotted the sky, getting closer and distinct, the man landed right in front of Ned. Wearing a full plate armor that shined blue from the dragon's attack. He lifted his tower shield to increase the strength of the skill while he grips his sword from his right. "Third layer!" He shouted.

Another layer of white light formed and stacked from the already casted spell. One, two, and three-layer of illuminated shield stacked to battle the dragons breathe.

"Sir Edwin," Ned said. Recognizing the man in front of him. With the shield conjured, Ned slowly drifted down on the ground, ending the defying gravity attack of the Devourer.

Without turning to Ned, Sir Edwin increased his shield by adding another layer. "Fourth layer!" He shouted. Adding not just one but two more layers of light magic.

Sir Edwin's light brown hair danced in the ball of gleaming blue light. He used his right shoulder to support the tower shield, his left foot bore a hole on the ground supporting all his body while he shifts all his strength between his legs and shoulder. Veins almost popping out, Ned knew the knight was giving it all.

Seconds past, the Devourer took off unbeknownst to the two. The dragon seemed to be at full, without caring about the distraction it laid waste.

Particles from the shield slowly drifted off. Ending the skill Sir Edwin invoked from the start. "How are you kid," he said, darting an eye at Ned, laid on the ground.

"Thank you, Sir Edwin," Ned replied.

"Ned!" Toni cried, revealing herself from the forest nearby. Coco now a fluffy fur balled in front of Naa'ri tagged along with Toni.

Naa'ri thought, what kind of people did I join into. A mysterious girl, that if I fought, I will surely lose, and a Hollow kid whose brother must be called danger, he's always in action. And a cat, whose I'm after, which is not ordinary from the start, can transform into its mysterious form with the help of Ned. I wondered how did Xi think of them.