"You sure this is the spot?" Tom pointed at a seemingly normal plot of land.
"Yes, I'm positive." Toffee confirmed, his right hand immensely illuminating its sinister green glow as his palm was extended towards that same spot.
What Tom assumed was a barren valley located behind the Jaggy Mountains turned out to be the former region of the Septarsis Kingdom, reduced to a desolate uncharted territory yet to be claimed by any other tribe or nation. Hundreds of years went by since the fall of the reptilian society, leaving nary a pile of rubble that would be indicative of its former existence. While Septarians themselves were still currently present in the land of Mewni, they are spread severely thin. Their heritage and lineage ended up blurring with the rest of the monsters until their identities became indistinguishable.
But if there's one thing that was left behind that still spoke of the kingdom's former glory was a slew of fossils surrounding the area. Fossils of dragons that once roamed the lands over a millennia ago. The dragons that eventually became the ancestors of the Septarians
"I've never resurrected anything of this size or strength before," Tom spoke with uncertainty.
"Is that not why I'm here?"
"Fine then," The demon prince took a stance, spreading his legs apart and planting his feet firmly on the ground. Both palms were outstretched in front of him, pointing at the designated area. He took in as much air as he could and released. "Here goes nothing,"
"Altogether now," Toffee stood right next to him, stretching both of his stubby arms out.
Both became enveloped in a strong green aura and their eyes became blank green. As they concentrated, a green circle several kilometers wide formed before them. Three smaller circles with upside down stars inside of them formed within the larger one, all close to the edge and placed in a triangular formation. Lines began connecting those smaller circles. As soon as all were connected, green energy filled in the smaller circles until the circle was completely blank green. Then a circle that resembled a reptilian eye materialized between the three circles. The entire larger circle slowly began filling with green, starting from the middle and working its way outwards.
From the summoning circle slowly rose a towering skeleton with bones that were several meters thick. At first, it looked like the skeletal structure of a T-Rex, but as the cadaver rose further, one would see wide, towering blades on either side of its torso.
Once the entirety of the corpse has reached the surface, its flesh and organs steadily materialized, starting from the soles of its raptor-like feet to the peak of its head. After its necessary parts formed, much denser scales slowly layered themselves upon the softer scales thoroughly from head to toe.
With a soft chuckle, Toffee lunged his right hand towards the towering beast, a burst of flame shooting out towards its body. Rather than making contact, the flame grew in size and stretched, making laps around the revived dragon and then dipping itself into its heart. Green flames radiated from the beast's eyes, and it began to kneel towards its master, dipping its head in front of the possessed avian.
Toffee softly caressed the massive reptile's snout, then emitted a series of guttural whispers that Tom couldn't even begin to decipher.
As if answering its call of duty, the Rayvern bolted from its kneeling position, roaring straight into the
sky. Its terrifying voice were carried off to the winds of Mewni.
With relative ease, Toffee materialized a portal of its size underneath it, sending his newly revived companion to the target area to indiscriminately wreak its due havoc and indulge in its longing for errant destruction.
"It's... not going to hurt Star, is it?" Tom asked, concerned.
The possessed avian turned to the Underworld Prince, a creepily genuine smile curving his beak.
"Relax. If I wanted to attack the Butterflies, I would've gone over there and did it myself. This is merely a message. The first strike."
"You still didn't answer my question."
Toffee's face dropped to that of unreadable neutrality. He redirected his gaze and faced in the direction of the Butterfly Kingdom.
"I wouldn't count on it,"
Star and Marco's bodies rocked as they rapidly rode throughout the now-dilapidated Butterfly Kingdom Middle City. The Rayverns' handiwork was certainly thorough, that's for sure.
The devastation caused was surreal. People were either running to who knows where, or feebly hid beneath piles of rubble or debris trying to conceal themselves from the beast that assaulted their once-peaceful home. Soldiers scattered all about the place, either to assist in evacuation or fighting off the singular invading force.
But of course, there were the stray corpses and the consistent burning houses that caught the two teens' attention as they galloped through these scarred streets.
"All these people..." Marco trailed off as soon as he began, dismally taking in the surroundings.
"It's awful," Star grimly responded, "How can anyone live with themselves knowing they caused all this?"
"You think Toffee brought that thing here?"
"Well duh, who else could it be? He's, like, our family's mortal enemy."
They were drawing near. They could clearly see the Pegastrikes and projectiles making their futile attempt to impede the creature's path. Just several more miles.
"Is this how he's gonna make the changes he wanted? By letting people just die for no good reason?" Marco asked no one in particular.
"Whaddya mean?" Star peered over her shoulder in curiosity.
"I dunno if it's a good time to talk about this right now. Let's just focus on the task at hand. The dragon's getting close,"
Star let her interest go for now. She continued facing forward.
Both teens and the Rayvern were now in the same street. The beast was still swatting away the air forces and getting pelted by burning ordinances.
Star caught sight of her dad on a Warnicorn, trotting about and barking orders into some Mewni walkie-talkie.
"Dad!" Star cried out. River turned away from his communication device and trotted his way to his daughter and her friend.
"Honey, what are you doing here?!" River asked, in fatherly concern. "You two should be in the castle, safe from all of this...madness,"
"We're not just gonna wait there and let more people get hurt," Marco declared.
"Dad, call off your soldiers." Star demanded. "Me n' Marco'll take care of this dumb lizard,"
"Are you mad!?" River's eyes bugged out as he held his head incredulously. "Do you have any idea how dangerous a Rayvern is and how difficult it is to even scratch its nigh indestructible armor? I'm not sure even the God Hand can achieve that."
"That's why we have this," Star brandished her newly enchanted blade. River's eyes lit up and his jaw dropped.
"No... is that Solaria's all-cutting enchantment?" River asked, staring in awe at the blue-lit blade before him. "I've only heard rumors of such a spell, but I never knew them to be true,"
"Eeyup," Star answered with utmost confidence. "And we're gonna cut that thing's life into pieces."
"It's pretty much our last resort," Marco added dryly.
River contemplated. He anxiously bit his lip and rubbed his long blonde beard. He didn't want to lose his only daughter. But at the same time, this is the last glimmer of hope they have in stopping this raging beast.
"Everyone, fall back to the Castle. I repeat, fall back to the castle."
Soon after the order was uttered, the Pegastrikes flew away from the Rayvern and sped towards the castle. Dozens and dozens of soldiers ran from their positions, passing by River and the teens.
"It's all yours, my dear," The king of Mewni commenced galloping back where the duo came from, presumably to the castle.
The Rayvern noticed that the gnats that orbited its body immediately dispersed, most likely realizing how pointless their displaced efforts were. However, its attention was immediately grabbed by two lone would-be heroes on a Warnicorn.
Were they seeing things or did the dragon just flash a smile?
Rising to the challenge, the beast screeched to the heavens, shaking everything and deafening anyone within the vicinity. Its sights were set on the opposing duo and speedily stomped its way forward.
Marco met eyes with the beast that ran towards their direction. They were now undoubtedly locked in bloody combat, at the point of return. However, that means only one thing.
The monster was cloaked in a red aura.
"Uhh, Star?" Marco nervously gulped, "That dragon's gonna be tough to fight. Like really tough. Like tougher than it already was before."
"Good!" Star boomed with lofty confidence, pointing her blade towards the sprinting dragon. "I love it when my prey makes me work hard! Hyaaaah!"
"Wha-aaaah!" Marco yelped as he was tugged by the full speed of their steed
The opposing forces were rapidly closing the distance as both opponents raised their weapons in a joust. While Marco was still somewhat shaken, he immediately steeled himself and clenched his right fist in adamant resolve. As long as he had Star and she had him, they were both essentially unstoppable. This scaly good-for-nothing had nothing on them.
The Rayvern's gigantic blade dropped upon them, but Star was quick to dodge to the side. Another one swung for where they were headed, but the horse predicted its move and stopped itself in the nick of time, the giant blade merely scraping the ground and some houses instead.
While the beast was recovering from both of its whiffs, the two rode towards the underside of its body. Star raised her Blitzkrieg'd blade to set up a swing, and managed to slash at its armored shin during her pass between its legs.
While she felt the blade go through, it didn't completely remove the scales. She needed a few more laps before she can truly make some progress. While it now has the ability to cut any tangible matter, one cannot rely on the sword alone. It requires some strength and input from the user if was to be used to great effect.
As they ran behind the Rayvern, it strategically lifted its tail to the sky and it slammed it down towards Star and Marco. Before they realized what was happening, it was already too late.
While the tail managed not to touch them, it still hit just close enough to roughly knock them both off the Warnicorn and send them several feet in the air. Since it sustained some damage, the trusty steed disappeared in a puff of pink smoke, returning to Star's wand. Upon landing, they rolled a few feet on solid stone and far away from one another. Star's sword fortuitously landed right beside her.
With a snarl, the dragon about faced and turned its gigantic head in the direction of a downed Marco. He painfully landed on his back, his torso arching backwards as he writhed on the ground.
Seeing that its prey was incapacitated, the reptilian titan lifted its leg, hanging it precariously over his prone body. It delayed for a few moments, silently allowing him some last words should he feel the need to express them.
"M-Marcoo!" Star staggered to her feet, picking her blade up and ran towards him in some unplanned attempt to save him.
The monster's foot was falling quickly upon Marco, who responded just in time to draw his arm back and slow its descent and the rest of time to a crawl.
He had to look for something. Anything that could save his life. He couldn't use anything too orb-consuming, or he won't have enough for the rest of the fight should his enemy prove too sturdy for his normal attacks and Star's sword.
A lot of the moves sounded like he needed to be in a better position to execute them. Unfortunately, he couldn't use the slowed down time to move out of the way. His body was kept in place until he chose something from the intangible menu in his view.
Something was brought to the forefront of his vision. Something that looked simple enough to work. Simple enough to use from any stance or position. Marco thought it was better than lying there to become a human pancake. It only used one orb, so it might be worth using. Oh well, here goes nothing.
One Inch Punch.
While the foot slowly descended upon Marco, he raised his right arm skywards and instinctively opened his hand. He felt an intense heat rising from the base of his shoulders and traveled to the very forefront of his palm. Once the energy peaked, he closed his fingers, emitting an instant, yet exploding flash.
Time resumed as normal once again as the enemy's hulking heel flew upwards, causing the reptile to stagger back several miles until it fell on its rear end, stunning the beast and providing time to recover and regroup.
Star was dumbfounded as she witnessed her bestie toss that beast off of him like a fat bag of garbage. But she quickly shook herself back to her senses as she summoned another Warnicorn. Before galloping towards the beast, she quickly made her way to Marco, who swiftly got to his feet. With no time to spare, he jumped right onto the pastel colored warhorse and held onto Star as they galloped towards their dazed target.
Rather than go for another cut to the shins, Star opted to leap off the Warnicorn and towards the Rayvern's face, using her Mewberty wings to get the height she needed.
However, it seems she slightly overshot her jump as she ended up several feet above its head.
Good.
As she raised her blade to the heavens, it became bathed in the encompassing radiance of the afternoon sun, it's yellow glow and the enchantment's blue glow coalescing into a fusion of vibrant shimmers. As she reached the peak of her jumping height, Star herself became grossly incandescent, her fair skin cloaked in a soft yellow. At this very moment, one could mistake her for Solaria the Monster Carver herself, bringing justice to this vile, inconsiderate beast with the edge of her sword, while protecting the weak and those she held dear.
Star felt something rise within her. Something primal that she had never experienced before. A fierce cry to the sky climbed up her throat. A daring declaration to all those affiliated with the forces of evil. One that would carry off to the winds and resonate within the hearts and minds of those who listened. A resounding shout that would become the call to this deplorable dragon's demise.
If it had a good memory, it would remember these words being uttered even after death. Plaguing its mind for all eternity will be the day its image of itself as the hunter instantly flipped into that of the hunted. The ferocious predator devolved into the whimpering prey. This was vehemently conveyed through three simple words.
"RULES OF NAAATUUUURE!"
Star's vision became enshrouded in a blue tint, and a strange, unfamiliar symbol appeared in the upper right corner of her view. At that moment, her and her weapon existed in absolute unity, morphing into extensions of one another. While she floated before the gigantic snout of her enemy, time slowed to a slither as she steadied her body, her breathing, and her blade.
Both arms moved in an imperceptible flurry of fast and fluid motions. Every swing elegantly and methodically flowed into one another in an entrancing display of dexterity that was as graceful as a dance between two lovers. It almost felt as if her blade slashed at air as it made its smooth motions with little to no resistance.
Star's mind was clear and her judgments solidified. The only thing that mattered right here and right now, was that this massive pile of scales and organs needed to die. All she ever knew was completely erased from memory, replaced with the singular, self-serving desire to cut.
And cut.
And cut.
And cut.
And cut.
And cut.
And cut.
The once nigh impenetrable scales were immediately ripped apart like they were made of parchment paper. Rapidly and rapidly, its soft scaly face was being bared to the elements.
But Star didn't stop there. She continued slicing and dicing well past the point of penetrating its organic armor, her blade hitting soft scaly flesh, bone, and cartilage until she reached the base of its snout.
Star inhaled deeply as her state of slashing nirvana dissolved and her senses came flooding back. Time moved at normal speed and her vision reverted back to the way it was.
While coming back from her slash-happy high, she flapped her wings to slow her descent upon the ground. Her feet landed and she fell to her knees. Her lungs and her heart vigorously compressed and expanded to their very limits.
Words could not describe the awe Marco felt witnessing Star put the "Blinding Blade" technique to use. During that whole thing, all he saw was Star floating in front of the Rayvern's head and in less than a second, its face suddenly looked like it went though a paper shredder. Long strips of its peeled flesh hung and swung grotesquely from its face like streamers at a party. The bones and muscles on its face were exposed as its lower jaw and tongue flopped all around after they were sliced into several segments. What used to be the proud and intimidating countenance of a creature that served as a dignified representative of its genetically superior species now resembled that of pulled pork that could barely keep itself attached to its head.
"Star!" Upon seeing his best friend touch down and fall to her knees, he frantically sprinted towards her.
The swordswoman groaned in fatigue as she wobbled to her feet, her legs barely able to carry her petite, yet hardy figure.
"Oh my gosh that was awesome! You were amazing up there!" Marco cheered, his face beaming like a kid on Christmas morning.
"I-it's not..." Star's sentence was cut short as the creature that sat before them stirred itself back up.
Miraculously still being able to see past all the meat chunks obfuscating its face, the Rayvern took a swing at the two, neither of them in a proper stance to retaliate.
As the blade closed in, Star's body straightened in the blink of an eye as she held her blade in the direction of the attack. She didn't expect for this attempt at parrying to go well, but she had to try.
By some surprising twist of fortune, the massive attack bounced off, almost as if the dragon's blade weighed just as much as hers. However, Star soon realized that Marco's body was wrapped around hers as they were cloaked in a warm, golden light .
Marco's arm braces were removed and his shining tattoos repeatedly pulsed.
The monster swung again. It clanged off her sword again. It swung from a different angle. They parried that, too. It used its other arm. No luck. It used both. Nuh-uh.
The Rayvern was furious as it began swinging quickly and savagely, every strike still deflected as if they were nothing.
It decided to change tactics and instead went for a more accurate thrust of its arm.
While Marco's Tension mode wore off, the two still remained close to one another. As the tip of the massive arm struck earth, the unified duo jumped high into the air, Star's Mewberty wings giving them the height they needed. Because the dragon was foolish enough to put power into his lunge, he ended up getting a quarter of the blade buried in the ground.
The two landed upon his arm, and proceeded to climb up to its shoulder. They parted at once, splitting off into different parts of the upper regions of their target. Star went for the shoulder that connected its sword arm to its body and Marco went for the side of its skull. The hulking prey could only stand there, hopelessly watching as these little pests crawled up his body to do who-knows-what.
Neither of them needed to utter a word as they already knew what the plan was. And it was insane enough to finish off this foul colossus.
Star began cutting into its shoulder, dark-red blood spewing forth as it coated her body with every chop. She didn't care. Getting her favorite dress gruesomely filthy was the least of her worries.
As the edge of her blade cut deeper and deeper, the shoulder was just a few feet of flesh away from completely severing. All they needed now was one final push.
Getting the silent signal, Marco drew his arm back and reopened the Roulette Menu. He needed something with a tremendous amount of force that could push this dragon back far enough to remove his arm.
He's found it.
100 Fists.
Marco's braces removed themselves once again as he unleashed a one-handed onslaught of punches.
"AAADIADIADIADIADIADIADIADI!" He screamed at the apex of his vocal range with every punch that landed.
After reaching the 99th punch, Marco drew his arm back, gathering all the energy he expunged from the prior strikes along with some excess to unleash the finisher.
"AAADIOOS!" He let loose one final uppercut that sent the towering lizard back a few kilometers away, leaving them and its separated arm falling to the ground.
Now for the insane part. Star sheathed her sword, and ran straight for the bigger one. As she attempted to lift it to the air, she concentrated all of her focus into her body and the object.
She dipped down once again.
But this time, it was under her control. It wasn't out of impulse nor out of uncontrollable fury. It was out of her errant desire to protect her kingdom. To protect herself and her beloved. And to annihilate this gigantic wretch whose hideous face was an affront to all who were unfortunate enough to gaze upon it.
It's time to Dive Deep.
A thick aura enveloped her and the ginormous item she attempted to lift it up. Her eyes glowed a bright purplish-white as black tears consistently cascaded down her face yet again. The dark-purple that surrounded the green haze was more pronounced compared to the last time. Marco raised an eyebrow as he didn't think that this was part of the plan.
Her voice was heavily labored and distorted as she struggled and strained and stressed, but eventually, the gigantic blade was able to achieve lift off, slowly and steadily.
She was only able to lift it a few feet off the ground, with her dark magic barely able to keep it stable.
The beast recovered from its daze, and seeing its arm being misused by its enemy, infuriatingly emitted a weakened shriek and ran straight for them.
"M-MAARCOOO!" Her voice broke apart at the seems as she cried his name out of an overpowering desire for much-needed assistance. She used more of her already-faltering strength to angle the blade so that the edge pointed diagonally upwards.
That was all the signal he needed.
Marco waited a little longer for the monster to get closer, eyeballing the amount of distance they needed to execute this final blow of Herculean proportions.
"NOW!" They screamed as one.
Roulette Wheel.
This was it. The strike that decides this fight once and for all. He only had two out of his five orbs left to use for one final push. If he messed up, if he slipped even a little, it was all over. All the time and effort it took to get to this point would be all for naught. Their fates as well as the fate of the kingdom depended on this final blow.
He searched through the list until he found exactly what he needed to dispense some well deserved justice.
Dragon Kick.
Marco took a few steps back as he performed a little jig to wind himself up.
His body shifted speedily forward as he drove his foot against the giant sword-arm with all the force the universe could give him.
With Star maintaining her binding, magic-infused hold, Marco's kick powerfully propelled the towering blade to the side, catching the dragon in its neck and instantly decapitating it. It's head flew a few feet in the air before crashing upon the earth with an echoing crack that pierced the sound barrier.
After what felt like an eon since the battle's initial inception, the deafening silence that followed served as the fanfare of victory and a breath of fresh air.
The two heroes responsible for this memorable display of justice fell tiredly onto the ground. Their air intake and blood pumping going at speeds that nearly matched that of Star's Blitzkrieg Blade.
Consciousness remained steadfast as they slowly propped themselves off the ground, their bodies shuddering profusely as they threatened to shut down and collapse again.
They gradually crawled towards one another, their eyes locked and their faces in unreadable expressions. No, there was one perceivable emotion one could pick up from their faces. Tired as all hell.
Once the distance was closed, the two pivoted their bodies so they faced away from each other and sat down. Their backs leaned against one another as they lazily propped each other up.
The only sounds that accompanied them were their own labored breaths, their hastened heartbeats, and the brisk wind that brushed against them.
Their hands delicately grazed one another, the skin-to-skin contact slightly shocking to two awake. Star lightly put a few fingers on Marco's, to which he responded by gently taking her entire hand in his.
They sat there on the ground for what seemed like an eternity. Next to the disembodied head of their enemy and the mangled pile of scales that was its body.
Star and Marco had zero qualms about going back to either of their homes or finding a place to unwind from their recent ordeal. They simply found comfort and tranquility in the close presence of one another, regardless of the severely damaged environment they currently resided in.
"Hey Star?"Marco's breathing lessened, his voice much clearer.
"Yeah?" Star replied, her breathing slowed to reasonable speeds
"Can we... get out of here? The body's starting to stink." He humbly requested, holding his nose.
"Nah,"
"Okay,"
