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Leila let out a yawn and rolled over onto her side. The silver dragon blinked at Grimmy as she curled her legs against her belly, resting in the fetal position with her tail sticking out. “What are you doing?”
“I’m setting up a soul-catching trap,” Grimmy said. He was standing on his two hindlegs, and with his front legs, he was holding a large, pointed stick in his paws. His body waddled as he took steps from side to side, scooting around in a circle while drawing on the ground with the stick.
Leila looked around. The place was deserted—as expected of a desert in the middle of the day. “Is this a fugitive soul you’re capturing?”
“No.” Grimmy shook his head before continuing with the drawing process. “I want to catch a sand ruler’s soul, so I can put it inside Lindyss.”
“It’s for your little elf, huh?” Leila asked. She extended her front legs out and rested her chin on her paws, the upper half of her torso rising off the ground. “Why?”
“To make her into the strongest being in the world,” Grimmy said. He glanced around before grinning at Leila after confirming the coast was clear. “Of course, that’s the official reason I give to the public. Between you and me, well, it’s fun.” The cursed dragon shrugged. “Whenever I stuff a soul in her, I think I know what’ll happen, but she always does something against my expectations.”
Leila tilted her head. “I’m surprised she’s not doing her best to run away from you at all times.”
A chuckle came out of Grimmy’s mouth. “Well, she was a dunce when I first met her,” the cursed dragon said. “She was a white mage, but the best healing spell she could cast was worse than a potion’s healing effects.” Grimmy let out a sigh as he rested his drawing stick underneath his front-right leg pit and leaned against it. “She was a natural at controlling lightning magic, and she knew it, but she suppressed her abilities because she wanted to get along with her peers. Back then, all the elves raved about holy and nature magic.”
“That does seem a bit foolish,” Leila said. She smiled at Grimmy. “I suppose you came along and taught her the approval of her peers didn’t matter?”
“Huh?” Grimmy blinked. “No. I stuffed her full of different magician’s souls, and everyone naturally avoided her because I turned her into a freak. Well, her peers were already ostracizing her before that since she was an orphan, so I guess it wasn’t really my fault.” He nodded at his mate. “Also, don’t call her foolish; only I can do that. She’s actually pretty wise now—though, it did take living and making mistakes for over a thousand years to beef up her brain.”
Leila let out a noncommittal hum. “If you were really making your little elf stronger for fun, wouldn’t you have more people you’re stuffing souls into?”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Grimmy said and scratched his chin. “You see, other than Vur and my elf buddy, everyone explodes when you try to put another soul in them, so I simply have no other choice to put souls in Lindyss since Sera doesn’t want me messing with Vur too much; she thinks I’ll blow him up or something.”
“It’s rare for you to listen when someone tells you not to do something,” Leila said and let out a laugh before climbing to her feet. She tackled Grimmy, playfully knocking him to the ground.
“Well, yeah,” Grimmy said and scratched his head, letting himself fall without resistance. “I don’t mess with Vur’s soul because he really might explode. As for Lindyss, she already absorbed a lich’s soul, so even if she pops, I can still piece her back together.”
“I’m sure she’d love to hear you say that,” Leila said and rolled her eyes.
Grimmy chuckled. “The only love that matters to me is yours,” he said and tossed aside his drawing stick.
Leila smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What about our children?”
“Ah, who cares,” Grimmy said. “If our children don’t love us, we can always make more.”
Leila smacked Grimmy’s snout, causing the cursed dragon to chuckle. “Don’t let Gloria and Ramon hear you say that,” the holy dragon said. “They’ll think you’re being serious.”
***
The Lightning Lord grimaced and narrowed his eyes as he scanned the area. Lightning and fire crackled against his skin. Even though the flames burned his body, he absorbed the energy within the lightning and used it to heal himself, allowing him to stand within the lightning-and-fire-filled pit without harm. There was something strange about the lightning though. Instead of dissipating after striking an object, the lightning bounced and struck something else. Thanks to that, there was a constant stream of white bolts striking the person standing in the middle of the clearing: the Martial Lord.
“Are you alright?” Zoose asked.
Ouyang Feng gritted his teeth. There was a translucent barrier around his body, less than a millimeter away from his skin. Occasionally, bolts of lightning would penetrate the barrier and strike his body. “I’m alright,” he said. “This much isn’t enough to kill me. What’s the skeleton doing? I can’t see past the lightning.”
“It’s…,” Zoose said and raised his head, looking up at the sky. “It’s just maintaining the inferno and glittering at us.”
“And the elf?”
“I don’t know where she went,” Zoose said and held his halberd out in front of himself. “I think she turned herself into lightning. She could reappear wherever and whenever she wants.”
“You think Darkie’s still alive?” the Martial Lord asked as he scanned his surroundings with squinted eyes.
“We just have to trust that he is,” Zoose said. “What’s the plan?”
“We fight the skeleton,” Ouyang Feng said. “I don’t believe she won’t reveal herself before we destroy her summon.” The Martial Lord held his arms out to the side, and his root bracelet flashed amber—though, it was barely visible within the fire and lightning. Two black gloves appeared over his hands and he punched his fists together, causing the lightning to disperse wherever the rubber-looking gloves went. “Let’s do this.”