2025-03-29 18:36:47The sun dipped low behind twisted jungle canopies, draping the land in a wash of amber mist. Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx had survived waves of slimes and outmaneuvered organized goblin warbands—but the real danger was still on their trail.
“They’re watching us,” Celestia murmured, crouching low beneath a thicket of luminous ferns. “I smell blood... but not ours.”
Ethan activated a silent detection pulse. Sure enough, faint mana trails spiked behind them—thin, sharp, unnaturally clean.
“Syndicate assassins. Three of them. Maybe more.”
“Still following us from Dasi,” Celestia growled. “Persistent rats.”
Ethan's eyes gleamed. “Good. I’ve got a plan.”
They advanced deeper into the jungle, now using the terrain to their advantage. The environment shifted with every step—sludgy swamps gave way to fungal groves and bulbous vines that pulsed like veins. And nestled among this was a natural trap: an abandoned goblin outpost, now overrun by territorial slimes.
“Set the bait,” Ethan whispered.
With precise movements, they left traces of their trail—a torn scrap of cloak here, a muddy footprint there. Celestia even left behind a splash of dragonfire on an overhanging branch.
They circled wide, climbing into the trees to watch.
And waited.
It didn’t take long.
Three Syndicate assassins, clad in tight black armor and wearing scorpion-marked masks, emerged into the clearing. Their footwork was silent, their eyes cold.
The first assassin stepped into the open clearing—only for the ground to erupt in a cascade of slimes.
Dozens of Water and Earth Slimes surged up from the soil, sticky and heavy. The assassin sliced them with clean motions—but for every slime he cleaved, two more took its place.
Celestia smiled. “They’re not used to real monsters.”
The second assassin attempted to leap back—only to trigger Ethan’s rune trap. Explosive vines laced with fire sigils shot up, tangling her in place.
The third ran—right into a goblin patrol attracted by the noise. The last thing Ethan saw was a jagged spear punching through the man’s gut.
Silence fell once more.
Ethan dropped from the branch beside the carnage. “Three fewer problems.”
Celestia nodded approvingly. “You fight smarter than you used to.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“A rare one. Don’t get greedy.”
Night fell fast in this cursed jungle, and even Celestia’s sharp eyes began to lose clarity.
“We need shelter,” Ethan said. “Somewhere we can’t be ambushed from every side.”
They trekked onward until the forest opened into a rocky bluff. Hidden behind hanging vines and jagged stone was a narrow mountain cave—part natural tunnel, part collapsed ruin. Its entrance was nearly invisible.
Celestia touched the stone. “Old magic,” she whispered. “But dormant.”
Ethan led the way in, pouch glowing faintly as it mapped the contours.
The interior was dry, cool, and quiet—too quiet. But no signs of predators.
They settled in, lighting a small rune lantern.
Ethan sat on a boulder, pulling off his gauntlets and flexing tired fingers. “Today was... brutal.”
Celestia removed her cuirass and leaned back against the cave wall, exhaling a breath that shimmered with faint violet fire. “You held your ground. Even against those goblin formations.”
He chuckled, then glanced at her. “And you didn’t scold me once.”
“I’m evolving.”
They shared a soft laugh.
Then silence.
Ethan lay back on the cave floor, staring up at the shadows dancing on the ceiling.
Celestia joined him, curling nearby—close, but not touching.
After a long moment, she turned her head. “You’re warm.”
He raised a brow. “You cold?”
“No.”
But she scooted closer anyway.
Her head came to rest lightly against his shoulder. He didn’t move.
“You know,” she said, voice quieter, “I used to think I’d die alone. Just me and the battlefield.”
“You’re not alone anymore,” Ethan said softly.
“No,” she murmured. “Not anymore.”
She closed her eyes.
And just like that, the warrior and the dragon girl drifted into uneasy dreams—surrounded by echoes of forgotten battles, and the faint hum of magic still lingering in the cave walls.
Yet the morning brought no peace.
From the depths of the valley below, a bone-rattling roar cracked through the dawn. It was not goblin. Nor beast.
A chorus of snarls followed, deep and unnatural.
Ethan sat up, heart pounding. Celestia was already on her feet, eyes glowing.
“Chimeras,” she said.
“Plural?”
“They’re hunting.”
Ethan stood, hand on the pouch.
“Then we make our stand.”
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