The dragons roared again, the force of their breath alone splitting the earth beneath their feet. Rubble and ashes flew as their colossal wings sent gusts ripping through the air. One flung its tail, sending boulders the size of wagons crashing down, smashing a hut nearby like paper.
Lamia, standing on the back of the largest dragon—a beast cloaked in scales blacker than night—raised the Book of Shadows high, his voice dark and booming with arcane chants.
"Vindex Umbrae! Revoco Inferna! Et ignis—consumet!"
The sky answered him.
Dark clouds churned in, lightning streaking crimson instead of white. Thunder didn't boom—it screamed. The ground quaked violently, deep cracks opening up as if the world itself rejected the spell he was conjuring. The dragons responded with frenzied snarls, their eyes glowing molten gold.
Asher stood tall now, his eyes red and swollen from grief, but there was something else—a storm behind them. His breathing was heavy, chest rising and falling with rage. Pieces of Ezekiel's incinerated cloak fluttered around him in the wind.
His fingers twitched.
Then—
Boom!
One of the dragons launched forward, jaws unhinged, flames spiraling like a tornado of fire toward him. Asher didn't move. He couldn't. His body wanted to collapse—but the wind obeyed him. Again.
Whooosh!!!
A violent tempest burst from him—a shield of rotating wind and shards of stone. The fire met the gale mid-air—and was instantly split in two, crashing into the hills behind and setting trees ablaze.
Jimmy's sword reappeared—levitating toward his hand like it recognized him. He caught it mid-air, flipping it once before he charged with a war cry.
"You want blood, you motherfucking freak? Come and taste mine!"
Jeremy lunged forward, blade drawn, eyes glowing with fury and purpose. One of the dragons swooped toward him, talons outstretched—but Jimmy leapt straight into the air, slicing its limb off in a savage arc. Hot blood spilled mid-air, melting the ground where it landed. The dragon shrieked, spiraling into a nearby structure and bringing it down in a cloud of splinters.
Lamia scowled. The Book glowed brighter. His skin peeled slightly as he chanted faster. His voice was layered—hundreds of voices overlapping with his, ancient and inhuman.
"Omnes luce peribit. Sanguinem regnat. Mortem impero!"
And from the sky… shadows began to rain.
Figures with twisted bodies and horned faces—undead soldiers—began to descend from above, each armed with jagged weapons and mouths sewn shut. They hit the earth with crushing force, shaking the battlefield.
Asher wiped his tears and took a step forward.
Another.
Then he ran.
"LAAAMMIAA!!" he screamed with raw hatred.
Lamia's eyes widened for a split second—just before Asher leapt through the air, fist clenched with supernatural speed. He smashed it straight into Lamia's dragon's jaw. The beast was sent flying off-course, its master thrown off and crashing into the rocky slope, coughing blood.
Asher landed, fists trembling, veins glowing a soft gold.
"You killed my mother. You took my sister. You destroyed my life. But Ezekiel?" Asher's voice broke. "You had no right!"
Lamia coughed, blood staining his lips. He stood, smiling mockingly. "I had every right. And now... you'll die like he did."
One of the smaller dragons struck again—this time from behind.
Asher spun—dodging barely—its claw grazing his side and tearing flesh open. Blood spilled. He grunted, twisted mid-air, and kicked the creature's eye with a violent force that crushed the socket. The dragon screeched in agony, blind on one side now.
But another charged. And another. He couldn't take them all—
Then Jeremy screamed, "Duck!"
Asher dropped, and Jeremy hurled his sword like a spear—straight through the mouth of one dragon. The blade came out the back of its head. It dropped mid-flight and crashed, unmoving.
But the others were surrounding them.
"You alright?" Jeremy shouted.
"Never been worse," Asher replied, blood trickling from his lip. "But I'm not dying today."
Then Lamia rose into the air again, floating this time, powered by the Book. His body was cracking, eyes glowing with a terrifying, crimson madness.
"YOU WILL DIE, ASHER. ALL OF YOU."
He commanded all three remaining dragons forward at once.
The beasts circled like vultures and then exhaled their fire.
Three columns of flame—red, green, and blue—merged into a single hellfire beam.
It was coming straight for Asher.
And Asher stood there—breathing—calm.
He whispered, "Forgive me, Ezekiel. I'll make it count."
His hands clenched.
The ground trembled.
Then—
A white light burst from within his chest, so blinding it swallowed the flames, shattered the air, and blew back the dragons like leaves in a storm.
The Book of Shadows shook in Lamia's hands. "What is this?!" he hissed.
Asher rose into the air—his eyes glowing like white fire.
Everything stopped for a moment.
Then…
He whispered just one word.
"Perish."
And with a crack like thunder, a giant ethereal dragon—translucent and made of wind and fire—exploded from his back and roared with the fury of ten storms. It flew with lightning speed, crashing into Lamia's dragons, tearing their wings, crushing their spines.
One. Two. Three.
Gone.
Burnt to ash.
Lamia screamed in rage, the Book now losing its glow. But before he could retreat, Asher was in front of him, hand clenched around his throat.
"No more games."
Asher's hand burned—flesh melting—as divine light scorched Lamia's skin, reducing it to bubbling ruin.
Lamia let out a cry—half pain, half laughter.
"Even if you think you won… you still lost him again. Ezekiel is gone."
Asher's eyes trembled—but he didn't let go.
And then he twisted Lamia's neck—snapping it with a brutal crack.
The Book of Shadows fell.
Still glowing.
Still alive.
Asher landed with it in his hands.
And as smoke cleared, and the village ruins glowed in flames, Jeremy limped forward.
Jimmy looked at Asher.
"What is our next move?" he asked, chest heaving with dread.
Asher stared at the Book. "We end this. For good."
But even as he said it, the Book pulsed—once.
Twice.
And a black eye opened in its center.