And a wyvern it was. Everyone huddled back into a group squat; even Berdrogh crouched down, trying his best to avoid causing a disturbance with his gear.

  “We’re nearly there.” Lionel said, promptly making all of them glance at him with their surprised expressions. Though unlike everyone else’s, Berdrogh’s turned into a frown.

  “That right there…” Berdrogh pointed at the wyvern without looking away from Lionel. “Isn’t a gap you can hop over as if it is not a problem.”

  “Why do you think I implied that it was? I don’t appreciate your tone.” He just sighed, then continued. “All my plans worked, haven’t they? This one is far simpler, and perfectly so, enough even for you to understand. I go in while all of you cover me. Alas, my plan didn’t involve the two of you—“ His mask darted to Kanade and Juuka.

  Not smart enough to adapt? Moron’s read too many guides.

  “So, let me do my thing here.” He stopped and then fully sat down with his finger brushing through the air. That pompous prick didn’t manage to add anything notable. Though, he couldn’t speak up, as he had no clue what he could really do to help in that fight. There was no way he could bite through bone, though all things considered, he probably could. But then he shuddered at the thought of being flung off the bridge the moment he attempted to gnaw on one of its legs.

  Kanade and Juuka were fine; their usefulness diminished a tad due to having to aim at, well, bones. One was a good shot, and the other was a meathead version of an archer. Basically, he had nothing to worry about in regard to them, though Berdrogh on the other hand, was fully kitted out. Tank, check. Bashing strength, check. He ticked all the boxes. And finally they had a melee wizard or whatever.

  Let’s see what this doofus will do.

  “It’s not worth using my bow.” Kanade said, and to everyone’s surprise, even Lionel had to double-check.

  “What the hell do you mean? I swear… these random NPCs piss me off.” Speaking of, he was the first one to pick a fight, pointing his finger and all. Berdrogh just stayed silent for a moment; next up was Juuka.

  “Aren’t you an archer?” She pondered without causing a fuss.

  “Mm.” Kanade shook her head. “I’m proficient at it,” With a quick nod at Berdrogh, she continued. “But since I was a child, I spent most of my time hunting.”

  “Ahhh… You’re a hunter class?” Juuka was rightfully surprised, and so was someone else.

  How didn’t I guess that?!

  “Even your wolf didn’t know…” Juuka added after noticing Han’s flabbergasted eyes.

  “…” Kanade smoldered while watching Han for a moment. “I wouldn’t be able to do much; you, however, can. I’ll do my share of work and try not to be a liability.”

  “T-Thanks… if you’re good at it, I don’t see a point in arguing.”

  “Nothing to add?” Upon seeing how Berdrogh was quiet, Kanade prompted a response.

  “I trust you.”

  Han heard their muttering but was busy having a fight with himself. Since he didn’t need to remember the hunter class. But as it was brought out into the light, it explained a lot of the things he was intrigued by. Kanade’s class, how she acted, and her possible skills in the future; how she linked with a literal hanma hound, though how she found one to begin with was still a mystery.

  With that out of the way, he switched his focus once more. Their composition. He and Juuka were level 16, Pochirin was level 17, and it was also safe to assume Kanade shared the level with Lionel, that being level 19. And the big guy was level 34.

  This shouldn’t go absolutely wrong.

  “Everyone ready?” Berdrogh whispered and glanced back at them. Juuka, with the blackwood longbow in hand, had her unblinking eyes locked onto the wyvern’s head, whilst Kanade had her daggers ready.

  “Leshgo!” Lionel said through his teeth as his hands were enveloped in fluttering flames. Without any worry, he walked forward. Han’s gait didn’t share the enthusiasm, but he had to come with. If it was susceptible to the confusion effect, it had to be tested early on in the fight.

  The trio behind them followed close by, with Juuka being in the far back, then their melee damage together. Every step inched them closer to the oblivious wyvern. Oblivious. That word. He jolted in front of Lionel.

  “Whad agh you doinh mutth?!” He muffled. Before he could do much, Han sprinted towards the wyvern. Despite them still being more than 20 yards away, he cleared it a couple crucial moments without a sweat.

  The wyvern’s breathless breathing kept moving its ribs rhythmically. The sound being close to a falling tree on a slow, methodical loop. Every hollow strain of every rib was clearly distinguishable as it moved in that chillingly loud pattern.

  Its yellowing skull, its maw filled with crooked pointy teeth, could eat him whole. He managed to slip to its right side. A whole delectable menu to choose from, yet he went with the safest one; the humerus, the right arm’s bone. The problem was that he knew he was in range where the cloak would stop working.

  He slowly walked, keeping all his legs in check, and despite the distracting heartbeat in his ears, he managed to reach it. Just as he hovered his teeth over.

  “FLAGHMING POWHER!!” The clown was close enough to do his dance as well. Han’s mouth clamped shut completely on reflex. Roaring heat enveloped him. The searing of his own flesh. The frantic pitter-pattering that his fur emitted drilled its way into his brain even before he could feel anything.

  ?

  “Po… RIN!” Kanade’s mind took a moment to react as huge flames covered the wyvern as well as the whole bridge behind it. Lionel had his palms pointed at the monster; they threw out flames continuously in a large spread. Lionel’s whole thing was to torch it? Kanade didn’t care.

  Her posture instantly shifted, resembling a cat ready to prowl. Her green eyes completely locked onto Lionel’s nape. It was two too many attempts; he had done enough harm for a lifetime.

  Just before she could snap back at him. A black blur hopped out of the flames whilst still on fire, landing right beside Lionel. Her objective changed.

  “Awo…!” Pochirin’s immediate howl soon left her audible hearing range. However, she still could see what he was doing; the flames formed and blended into a rough cone. It became something akin to a flaming tornado aimed directly at the wyvern. Given that the attack was successful, she closed in on Pochirin. Her eyes dried out by the sheer wind resistance, and by the time she joined them.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “I-I can’t hold much longer!” Lionel screamed, out but she didn’t care for him. Out of her trusty pouch came a rag. Using it, she forcefully wrapped it around Pochirin, unable to see his injuries underneath. Though, as she did so.

  —PFOOM!

  The flames backfired straight at them, blinding her as the wind threw her to the ground. Using her quick instinct to stab her dagger into the bridge in order to regain her foothold. On the other hand, Han avoided everything by sticking to the low ground. Due to it, he was staring into the eyes of Armageddon.

  It had to… it just had to get worse.

  The wyvern had stood up. Unfazed by their attacks, the supposedly charred bones were simply covered in ashes; they fell off like dust. Its jaw opened wide as it roared silently, yet somehow it was far eerier. The large ribs clattered loudly, rumbling the air itself. Revealing a pristine white skeleton underneath. They unknowingly made it easier for it to wipe them out.

  It’s a fucking fire wyvern’s corpse!

  How could they have known that it was specifically one of the sub-races that was tolerant to heat? Its long neck jutted back. A sign that Han knew. A sign to run the hell away.

  He turned back to see Berdrogh and Kanade waving him closer. A giant thud followed behind. Then another and another. Far away, maybe twenty yards away, was his savior-to-be. Juuka let go of her arrow that whizzed through the air akin to a firework. Han couldn’t see where she hit it, but the next attack didn’t come after his tail.

  I played these games before! Asshole!

  Han then knowingly dodged to the left, managing to get hit once instead of being skewered to hell. He could see the wyvern readying its next bony attack. It slashed the air with its bony left wing in an arc. More than a dozen or so prickly bones followed the intent. Yet, this time they weren’t aimed at him.

  “Shit!” Berdrogh shouted. In a split second, he covered Kanade with his body and threw a Hail Mary, his shield, in an attempt to stop the airborne projectiles that were heading towards Juuka.

  The hunk of metal that was his shield spun around, interjecting multiple bone skewers, but as it did, an arrow soared through. The shield instantly embedded into the stone railing, Han had trouble following the arrow’s trajectory, yet didn’t need to as it hit the wyvern.

  BULLSEYE! LET’S GO!

  The thick skull of the wyvern couldn’t compete with Juuka’s inhuman prowess and split into two. That already crossed out one of its attacks from the playbook; its jaw hung loosely and unusably. He had to act, but his howl was on cooldown.

  I need to get close—agh!?

  An eye for an eye. His back left leg barely hung on. The sharp triangular bone was stuck in the thickest part of his thigh. Then two words were embedded into his mind. Stay still. He glanced back. Han forgot. He forgot that he wasn’t alone.

  “HAGHAAA! I haven’t been this alive in AGES! TRUE! IRON! BODYYY!!” Berdrogh screamed. His skin turned a shade darker, akin to a light tan. His full sprint barely resembled a jog, and the wyvern didn’t wait, using his right claw in an attempt to crush him like a bug.

  —BOOM!

  “HAGHAHA!” He laughed as the bridge cracked under his feet, holding up the wyvern’s whole weight with his battle-axe as a barrier between them. “I got the lizard where I want him!” His shouts were barely audible as the bony claws kept scratching the metal weapon.

  T-That bastard…! Haha!

  Han couldn’t help but laugh. Pochirin’s heart raced; the insane battle of strength was then blocked by familiar cat ears. He didn’t even wince when Kanade ripped the bone out; the battle waited for him.

  Before the wound could even heal, he ran in. Their eyes met, and Berdrogh smiled as if he knew what he planned to do. Han immediately bolted to the closest part he could bite, its back legs.

  ? Bite of Obliviousness ?!

  His jaw fully clenched on the tibia, using the short window to gnaw like a rabid animal. As the status effect ensued, Berdrogh finally parried the attack, letting the wyvern’s arm falter to the ground. Without any hurry, he grabbed his battle-axe with two hands and shattered its right arm completely.

  Ever so slightly, the ribs started to move. Han let go and attempted to ditch, but somehow Kanade appeared. She leapt towards him, landing on all fours before thrusting her dagger in the fracture he made with her full body. It didn’t break. She stabbed it again and again.

  “Gh—!” Han caught a weird sound, the sound of someone getting their wind knocked out of them. Berdrogh was mid-air; his immense weight made it seem like he was flying in slow motion, eventually landing into the railing where the shield was lodged.

  NO!

  With everything combined, it overwhelmed whatever was left of the integrity. The railing broke off and disappeared into the abyss along with the shield. Han bolted. Berdrogh clutched a piece of railing with one arm as more than half his body was floating over the nothingness. An arm entered Han’s tunnel vision. It was Juuka. That didn’t matter; his sprint didn’t falter.

  “Grab him!” Juuka screamed whilst both of her hands were latched onto the right leg of Berdrogh, using her leg and the piece of the railing as leverage. He didn’t care and bit hard enough to have a grip on his other leg.

  Pull! PULL!

  Then, gravity disappeared. The ground under them shattered. The bridge broke.

  As everything seemed to slow down, Han managed to see who caused it. He stood there with his eyes closed, clean white drapes, and his charred staff barely floating above the bridge’s newfound ledge.

  LIONEL! I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU! I WILL! KILL—

  The bridge nearly instantly disappeared from his vision, but that wasn’t what made his gut wrench. The feeble Juuka floated above him, gently smiling with a wyvern bone spike straight in her left eye.

  Juuka…

  She reached out. Her fingertips turned into blue particles before touching his snout, and eventually her whole body, leaving useless gear falling after him.

  I… faile—

  “O—rin!!” Han heard something. He spun around. It was Kanade. She mouthed something; the fight against wind resistance was so loud he couldn’t hear her words.

  Shit! Shit! What to do! Uh… skydivers! Yes!

  In a quick-witted moment, he straightened himself akin to a pole, becoming slick enough to inch towards her. It was enough for her to extend her arm in his range. He bit into her two fingers with some force and was pulled closer.

  Everything was happening so fast. Despite it, her instant hug calmed him down a tad, but they didn’t have a moment to gather their thoughts; they were still barreling down at insane speeds, completely unsure how long that would last. Kanade shaking hands forced him to think, then she jolted as something touched her back; it was Berdrogh’s battle-axe.

  She clutched the battle-axe with her other hand; Han bit into her leather chest plate just in case. Once they were close, Berdrogh threw it to the side and shielded them with his thick hands without a wasted moment.

  “Hope remains!” He screamed. A single tear flew straight into the air. As their situation settled in Han’s mind, Kanade hugged him tightly.

  Is this the end?

  “PHUU! AHGHAA!” Berdrogh shook his head vigorously, snapping back into gear. They followed his gaze but didn’t share the enthusiasm. “Grab the shield! We’ll live!” Somehow, the shield that fell beforehand was floating beside them, slowly going upwards. With a chance to increase their likelihood of survival, they were ready. Han was already being squeezed tightly, but then his breathing tightened even more as Berdrogh clutched him tight with his left; his right latched onto Kanade’s ankle. She didn’t need to step off of him to reach it. They promptly went back to square zero, but with a shield.

  “Do me a favor! Peek over my shoulder and shout once you see something!” He smiled without any fear. Kanade nodded, and he loosened the grip on both of them.

  The time blended. The wind disappeared. It had turned pitch-black. If Berdrogh and Kanade weren’t here, he would have had trouble knowing if he was still alive.

  I failed… FUCK!

  “I see something!” He was unable to even scream at himself as she shouted and then huddled back to hug Han.

  “TRUE IRON BODY!” Berdrogh yelled, his skin turning tanned. The wind returned; they were falling even faster.

  “SHIELDING OF ADAM!” Once more he screamed, and an orange light washed over them in the blink of an eye.

  I’m sorry. It’s all my fau—