Chapter 38

"The gates are falling!"

As the words were uttered, the wooden gates, one of the only things keeping out the enemy, fell as they splintered and burned. The town militia looked helplessly as the kobolds flowed through the opening that the scale sorcerers and the half-black dragons created.

"Protect your homes!" shouted Roboco as Shion sent a fireball at the gates, blowing up most of the kobolds. She was thankful that the traveling adventurers had decided to stop by her new hometown.

"Ah-ha!" exclaimed Aqua as she smacked one in the head with her belaying pin. She then used that and her rapier to lock blades with one of the half-dragons.

As it started to say something, the prosthetic-laden archer shot two arrows into its mouth and throat. A gargled roar later, the former sailor jammed her rapier into the roof of its mouth to kill it. Roboco then rolled to the side when a pot of acid crashed into where she used to stand. She then shot two arrows and killed two other kobolds that were running at her.

A sudden commotion at the gate drew her attention. A half-oni had suddenly appeared and proceeded to challenge the lead half-black dragon, and was now dueling it with two swords, one of which was on fire.

She smiled, suddenly feeling confident that the town could overcome this attack. She drew her bow back and killed two more kobolds, stopping them from throwing lit torches at the houses.

Coco ran through the streets. The explosions took her by surprise, but she kept a level head and ran through the streets, looking for the city's citizens to help. What people she could find, she helped direct them to the gates, where she assumed was where they haven't bombed or blown up yet. As much as she wanted to shed her disguise, she had to maintain it as to not attract attention. Not to mention the ancient black dragon she saw in the air earlier. She knew he was far stronger than she was and so, that left her with other avenues to aid the city. So, she was thankful when she saw the River Dragons gang helping out some of them too.

"At least Dojima is keeping to his word," she thought as she rounded the corner, where she found a peculiar thing. Some of the River Dragons were being surrounded and attacked by civilians. The attackers were looking clumsy and uncoordinated, as if they were being mind-controlled. She looked around carefully and she saw several cloaked figures in an alley. Taking out her lyre, she started singing, directing her song at the figures. Suddenly, a twisting pattern of colors filled the space the figures occupied. When the colors disappeared, the figures slouched over a little, as if in a trance. At the same moment, the attackers snapped out of it.

"What just happened?" asked one of the Dragons.

"Over there," she pointed out, "I think they tried to enthrall these people to stop you guys."

"Ah… mind helping them out while we give some payback?"

She grinned and replied, "Certainly. Have fun, guys."

She continued on her way through the now twisting paths of the city. However, as she continued down a different road, a large caravan suddenly thundered past her.

There was only one horse and it seemed to be out of control. She could barely hear someone shrieking… and then the wagon crashed into one of the houses. She hurried over to check it out. The door burst open and several ladies scrambled out of the wrecked caravan. Three were human. The other was an angel, who turned to the driver's seat and shouted, "What in the world happened, Watame!? You almost killed us!"

A sheep girl stumbled out of the wrecked house, seemingly unscathed, saying woozily, "Watame did nothing wrong..." She then fell backward unconscious.

"Hello, are you alright?" the dragonborn asked as she made her way over.

"We are fine, if not bruised all over," replied the one with tribal markings on her face, "Maybe you can tell us if there is any place safe?"

"Ah, well, it's this way," she explained as she gave them proper directions.

"Ah, thank you so much!" gushed the one with a red hair ornament.

"Right, let's get the troupe to the gate then, Sora," stated the first one as both of them thanked her.

Meanwhile, the third human who had a blue hair ribbon asked the angel to carry Watame.

"Ha? Why me?" the latter asked.

"Because, Kanata, you are the strongest among us," reasoned the former.

"Aw, c'mon. It was just one time. I didn't mean to knock the man out, Suisei," complained the angel as she picked up the sheep girl in a fireman carry.

Soon after Coco sent them on their way, she was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Coco!" shouted Choco as she waved her over.

"Thank the gods I found you," she replied as she jogged up to the tiefling. Enticing that the cleric was the only one present, "Wait, where are your friends, Subaru and Rushia?"

After getting filled in on what happened, she clicked her tongue and muttered, "Is that so? We better hurry up and find them. Who knows what could have happened in the meantime."

Oh! My! Gods! What was I thinking!? Why did I have to do this!? I know I wanted to stop him from killing the king, but this is too much! I did it, but at what cost!? I don't wanna die! I wanna see my Mama again! I want to see my father! I want to tell them about the rest of my adventures! Please, whichever god is hearing this, please help me stay alive! I want to see my family again!

Subaru ran for her life, making sure to duck into alleyways just to dodge the acid breath and more surprisingly, acid arrows and flame bolts. However, it started to feel like she was being herded around as the projectiles and the breath started being shot in front of instead of trailing after her. Alleys got blocked up by rubble. Roads got damaged as she tried to avoid getting hit. She didn't know how long she ran, but she felt confident she held his attention and led him away from the king. However, all that came to an end when she ran to a junction that was turned into a cul-de-sac by the explosions that ripped through the city. One road seemed traversable but it would be difficult and would take too much time. The other two were fully blocked with rubble.

The sound of beating wings caused her to turn around. She couldn't tell earlier, but the dragon was gigantic. Its huge frame, including its wings, filled the road and left little space to slip through. And she was trapped with it. She felt scared but she still unsheathed her longsword and turned to face him.

"So, little rat, have you finished playing hide and seek?" Dorgriaz sneered out in a deep, threatening voice, "Will you finally lay down and die like the coward you are?"

"I am not a coward," she protested loudly, her grip on her sword tightening.

"Then tell me, rat, what sort of coward kills my sons," he growled out.

"I had no idea," she confessed, "I didn't know that they were yours… but… if you only had them to aid you in taking over the capital, then it was probably for the best."

"INSOLENCE!" he roared, "I shall take my pound of flesh! With Interest!" He then proceeded to swipe at her with his giant clawed hand. She raised her shield but they were fast for their size and they raked her shield arm, slicing through, drawing blood.

"Subaru!" the fighter heard someone shout. Glancing over to the obstacle-ridden road, her eyes widened as she spotted, of all people, Rushia, trying to traverse the road. Looking back to the dragon, she saw that he also noticed the young necromancer. His eyes narrowed and his leg took a step forward.

"Rushia! Duck down!" she shouted as she ran for the young girl. The dragon spun around, its tail crashing through the row of buildings, aimed at her. She reached her just as the tail burst through. She grabbed the girl just as the tail slammed into her, sending her back into the cul-de-sac with her friend. She rolled and bounced on the cobblestone ground and came to a halt in the middle of it. "Guh, are you alright?" she groaned out.

"Pitiful rat," the black dragon sneered, "I will enjoy your rotting corpse."

"What are you doing?" she asked as Rushia unhooked the flask from her belt.

"Choco not here. Need help," the latter muttered as she took off the stopper and released the lich.

"Hmm, I see," it stated as it looked around and turned to face the dragon, "I see you have done well for yourself, Dorgriaz."

""...Well, well, so this is what happened to the undead reinforcements," he growled out, "You were successful, Arbus."

"As you can see, I did," it stated as it gestured to itself, the two humans behind it getting to their feet.

"And now you are enslaved to a rat and a coward," he sneered.

"Debatable. Regardless, I suppose it was inevitable that I come to face you," it stated calmly.

The dragon chuckled and said with a menacing grin, "So it would seem. Let us finish this quickly and put you out of your misery."

"I think you will find that I will be the victor," it replied as it raised a glowing red hand.

"Then, let's settle this… Once And For All!" he declared as it prepared to lunge forward with an open maw. Before he could move, a glob of acid splashed on his eyes, distracting and stopping him. "Who dares!" he roared out.

"We dare!" shouted Coco as she and Choco clambered over the blocked street.

"Ï will crush you all!" he declared angrily as his head reared back and unleashed a roar that sent fear running down everyone's spine.

A great sense of dread washed over them. All of the living shook at Dorgriaz's frightful presence… except Arbus. The lich had long shed the qualities of the living and thus had very little need for emotions like fear. Still, it did not expect the dragon to come right for it. A smart decision as it was definitely the most dangerous one here.

"Though I barely feel pain, it is still there," it thought as it channeled its power through its hollow sockets. Even if it may not affect the dragon, it may give him pause.

Instead, the dragon laughed and said, "Are you just going to glare at me? Pitiful!"

"Hardly," it replied calmly as he gestured and chanted under its breath. Stretching out its hand, it sent a frigid beam of blue-white light at the dragon's head. At the same time, it heard its daughter… stepdaughter chanting as well and it smirked as necrotic energies splashed against his chest. He roared and turned, the tail swinging around and whipping into them. As injured as she was, the fighter called Subaru was standing there stock still, all in a shiver. Still frightened. A pity. It could have used some brute force to distract the dragon right about now. No matter, as it gestured with hands while chanting, calling out thick green smoke that blanketed the area around the dragon. It then retreated to the blocked street, onto a slightly elevated area, if only to survey the battlefield. It then sent another ray of frost at the dragon's head.

"You think this would stop me!?" he roared arrogantly as his head lunged to take a bite out of Rushia. As frightened as she was, the fighter had the sense to at least help and tried to divert the attack. It didn't do much as the dragon's teeth raked across his stepdaughter's arm. This got him peppered by magic, some hitting, some missing. The dragonborn did most of it with her scorching rays, but the dragon beat its wings and dispersed the death cloud it set and took to hovering in the sky. As it rose in the sky, it chanted for a moment as it pointed its finger at him. A thin green ray sprang out and shot straight at his chest. Unfortunately, the dragon saw what it was doing and flew, dodging the ray.

"Fool! Such a thing cannot- argh!" he roared as it's stepdaughter and the tiefling sent their spells at him during his gloating.

"Yes, yes, where have I heard that before," it droned back as it shot at him with a frost ray.

"I will melt you down," he roared and breathed acid while flying over them, bathing the lich, the fighter, and the young necromancer in it.

It looked on in approval as Subaru tried to protect Rushia. A brave attempt but there was too much acid. Not to mention, the fighter still couldn't get over her fright. Once again, a pity. The dragon roared again as it got peppered by magic while landing. It retaliated with its tail, slamming into the young necromancer's side. Once again, the fighter made a valiant attempt to protect her.

"For a dragon, you're surprisingly unaware," it droned nonchalantly as it raised its finger while chanting, sending a wave of negative energy coursing through the dragon's body. It didn't mind it's stepdaughter's crumpled form, as Choco ran over to her after blessing the other living party members. Even when the tail bashed against her shield, she did not falter. Her shield arm seemed to be having a hard time moving though. Impressive.

Arbus continued to send frost rays at Dorgriaz, the dragonborn peppering him with scorching rays. It found the next actions of the dragon strange, attacking the fighter. Her presence seemed to enrage him now that he was focused on her. Such a peculiarity. Still, such tunnel vision benefited it greatly, as it used the same spell it's stepdaughter with great effect. The constant barrage of spells was slowly taking a toll on the dragon. His scales were slowly losing their gleam, covered with patches of frost, and he moved a little slower than before.

Choco chanted and laid her hands on Rushia, bathing her in warm green light. She took in a sudden breath and the tiefling helped her to her feet. If it could grin, it would.

"You dare stand up again!" roared the ancient black dragon as it lunged forward with a burst of speed, "I will end you here and now!"

The lich had long shed the qualities of the living… but watching the dragon's maw inching near Rushia in slow motion seemed to spark something in it. It knew it wouldn't be possible to reach her in time… but… in life, it was a genius named Arbus. In death, its brilliance magnified, it did the unthinkable. Putting up half its current magical power as sacrifice, it willed itself in front of its stepdaughter and took the full force of the attack.

Teeth and claw rend his body asunder and his thoughts went along the lines of, "I truly am a genius."

AN: Hello, readers. A scene in Dusktown. Roboco fighting to protect. Thankfully, Shion, Aqua, and now Ayame showed up and proceeded to wreck face. Heh.

Coco, running around the city and helping people. First, the River Dragons. They were told not to harm the populace, so they couldn't just outright beat up the civilians stopping their relief efforts. And yuan-ti purebloods have the suggestion spell in their spell list. I think you can piece together what happened from that.

Then, the troupe of bards. The one with tribal paint was Azki. The one with the red hair ornament is Sora. So, in this word, they have the same college since they share the same unnamed teacher. Ay or A-chan is a djinni in this world and she lives in Sora's mirror.

Azki / Sora Tokino

Human Bard

College of Glamour

Blue hair ribbon is Suisei. The college chosen for her, I think matches the 'Sui-copath' well enough.

Suisei Hochimachi

Human Bard/Fighter multiclass

College of Whispers/Archery Samurai

Angel is Kanata. Yeah, the combination here is... very strange, but, she's an angel.

Kanata Amane

Angel Bard/Cleric multiclass

College of Glamour/ Life Domain

Sheep girl is Watame. She's a tough gal. I would say she survived that crash thanks to her wool that's covering her.

Watame Tsunomaki

Sheep Kemonomimi Bard

College of Lore

We also poke the sheep and the angel.

And then, the fight. Oh, the fight. This is only two-thirds of the fight, by the way, and since today is a day off, I took the time to simulate the fight and finish this chapter. This part was told from the lich's P.O.V., which we now know is named Arbus. As for his final action... well, final reaction... hmm, I guess we can say... his 'genius' cheating out spells to make them work however he wants them to. Something like a sorcerer's sorcery points, only playing it fast and loose with his spell slots. So, he dimension door-ed himself to save Rushia.

Alright, this is it for this chapter. Next chapter, we finish the fight and end the threat of the invasion once and for all. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.