STARLESS

Meanwhile, as Kael fought like a one-man army, Drako and Lucia faced their own mountain of flesh and fangs.

Their roles were obvious — Drako, the immovable wall. Lucia, the ghost in the storm.

The moment the beast lunged, Drako met it head-on. Muscles tensed, shield raised, boots digging into the snow. The tiger crashed into him with the force of a landslide.

A lesser man would've folded.

Drako grunted, his boots sliding back an inch — no more. His earth affinity flared, mana anchoring him like stone.

"Now!" he growled.

Lucia was already gone.

A blur in the blizzard, she danced around the tiger's flanks, too fast to follow — too silent to hear.

Then: a flash of silver.

Her dagger slashed cleanly across the tiger's face, severing muscle and nerve.

The beast shrieked, blinded on its right side, thrashing in pain. But it couldn't move — not with Drako holding it in place, shield planted like a mountain.

It spun wildly, snapping its jaws at air, but she was gone again.

Lucia struck from the left this time. Then again from behind.

Each time the beast reacted a second too late.

"Its mana is flaring. It's getting serious," Drako called out, still holding firm.

"I'm counting on it," Lucia replied, her breath misting in the cold.

The tiger roared again, its claws now glowing with a faint, icy shimmer.

It leapt away from Drako and swung wildly at Lucia — missing her by inches. But the near hit forced her to disengage.

Drako didn't let up. He pounded his shield with his fist.

"Come on then!" he shouted.

The tiger obliged, charging again.

Drako caught it once more, bracing. The impact rang like thunder.

But this time, the beast had learned. Its claws raked low, slicing at his legs. Drako gritted his teeth as pain shot up through his thigh — not deep, but enough.

"Drako—!" Lucia called out.

"Just keep going!" he barked, blood running down his leg.

The next time she struck, she went for its tendons.

With surgical precision, she hamstrung it — one leg, then the next.

The beast staggered, still snapping, still refusing to fall.

But now, it bled from a dozen wounds. It panted heavily, trying to keep up with shadows it couldn't see.

Drako limped forward now, shield still up.

"End it."

Lucia blurred past him one final time.

Her daggers sank into the beast's throat.

Silence.

Then, a wet thud as it collapsed into the snow.

Lucia stood behind it, breathing heavily, her blades slick with blood.

Drako let out a long breath and dropped to one knee, mana still stabilizing the ground around him.

"Could've gone worse," he muttered.

"Could've gone better," Lucia shot back, helping him up.

They glanced toward the others. Snow still howled across the ridge. The battle wasn't over.

But their part was.

For now.