A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

As soon as she heard Erik's shout, Naeku blasted a nearby creature away with sand, then crouched low. At the same time, Erik leapt over and landed just in front of her with both hands raised. One hand was accompanied by an icy-white magic circle, the other by an icy-blue one.

The main reason Elora had taught him dual casting in the past was because he could use it to advance both his runes and glyphs at the same time, but that wasn't its only use. Though complex and cost-inefficient, it was times like these when Erik used it in combat.

The magic circles flashed, and the magic activated. Instantly, ice-maker created a large wedge of ice, and a thundersnow shield formed directly behind it. At the same time, the dragon lowered its head to the floor and gaped its maw. With a devastating roar, it blasted out a sea of fire, surging for Erik and Naeku.

As soon as it hit the ice wedge, the fire split and flowed off the sides. The temperature around Erik and Naeku quickly spiked to near-boiling levels, but their Runebound bodies weathered it. The stream of fire didn't end for almost ten seconds, and eventually melted the magical ice, only to slam against the thundersnow barrier and stall there.

When it was over, Erik dispelled his magic, and Naeku got back onto her feet. "It looks tired," she commented when glancing at the dragon.

Erik nodded sternly. "It won't be able to do that again for a little while."

Naeku then cocked an eyebrow and surveyed the rest of the battlefield. "Don't you think it's a little unfair none of these other creatures were hurt by that…?" she muttered resentfully.

Just in front of them, across the exact path of the dragon's fire breath, all the creatures it should have touched were completely unharmed. Erik smirked and wryly agreed with her.

But then he focused back on the dragon and the fully obscured throne behind it. "We need to get rid of that thing quickly," he grumbled thoughtfully. "Not only is it dangerous, but it's perfectly blocking our approach to the throne, and doesn't seem keen to move."

He glanced at Naeku worriedly. "We have only about 50 minutes left to save Elora, and if we can't manage that…"—His tone lowered to a dangerous growl—"…then I'll try to blow this place apart using Elorium in a last-ditch effort to safe her, and you need to be ready to get out when that happens."

Naeku paled, her eyes widened, and she stuttered a little. "I— I know tha—"

"Don't," Erik interrupted her, shaking his head full of determination. "I would do the same for any one of you, and that's just who I am."

He remembered a conversation he'd had with Emily about what he'd leave behind if he sacrificed himself to save just one of his wives, but… even though he agreed at the time, he clearly wasn't able to internalise that yet.

Naeku gulped, but then nodded. She actually felt a little bad about liking the fact he included her in that statement, despite their very fresh marriage. "Then let's make sure we do this in time…"

Not wasting any more time, they charged the horde of monsters again. This time, they aimed straight for the dragon. Since they could communicate instantly through their bond, their teamwork was flawless.

After engaging the monsters and dodging a few more fire breaths, it took them half an hour to get near the dragon. At that point, Naeku charged first, darting toward the dragon's left side.

With a roar, the beast turned, tail sweeping the air and claws slashing through blasts of sand as Naeku skilfully manoeuvred around it. She cursed a little as she did this, because she'd discovered her nature sense was very little help here.

Usually, she could literally see every muscle spasm of her opponent and know what they were about to do, but these creatures only had a physical outer shell, while their insides were just masses of swirling aetherium, rather than bone, tissue, and muscles.

Meanwhile, Erik sprinted directly at the dragon, power coalescing into his hammer until it pulsed with blinding brilliance. He leapt upward, aided by a burst of lightning beneath him, aiming for the dragon's neck.

However, sensing the threat, the dragon shifted violently. Erik's hammer missed by inches, cracking the floor instead and unleashing a blinding discharge of thundersnow. Erik staggered slightly from the recoil, and the dragon turned angrily toward him, jaws snapping.

Naeku reacted instantly. She thrust her spear forward, extending it several meters to stab deep into the dragon's flank, causing it to howl in fury and shift attention again. Sand erupted below Naeku's feet as she shifted once more.

This scuffle went on for another fifteen minutes, when a furious and impatient Erik leapt onto the wounded dragon's head and used his hammer to ring the creature's skull. The dragon flailed and roared, but Erik held on to its horns. In rage and desperation, the dragon inhaled deeply, its chest glowing as it prepared another fire breath.

"Let's see you roast us now!" Erik roared and lifted his hammer with one hand. An icy-blue magic circle formed on its head, and Erik smashed it down as he channelled ice-maker through the hammer. The dragon roared in pain, and icy magic coalesced to create a powerful muzzle around its maw.

The dragon began to panic. It didn't seem capable of stopping the process it had begun, but now the fire had nowhere to go. Its feet were partially frozen and covered in sand, keeping them in place, so he started smashing his maw against the floor in an attempt to break the ice.

Just before it did that, however, Erik had already left its head and jumped down it's back. There, among the dragon's spinal ridges, he met up with Naeku, who'd sand-skated up the creature's back.

"Ready?!" he roared at her, and Naeku nodded hurriedly.

They approached each other with extreme speed until they grasped each other's arms and used their momentum to twirl several times, gaining even more speed. Then, at the most opportune moment, they released, and Naeku shot through the air like a furry metal rocket… straight at the throne.

They were still about a single football field away from the throne, but Naeku sailed through the air at extreme speed.

Erik stumbled back and watched her go anxiously. He could feel his bond with Elora fraying, and fully believed Eira when she estimated they only had minutes left before the bond was broken and Elora was killed.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't see the result. Behind him, the dragon's chest exploded, and Erik was transported out of the room before the fire engulfed him…