Fiery Reflux

With the impenetrable shield protecting Dessix from all attacks, the Enaga rebels had to deal with Netherdraco. The skeletal machine dragon's four giant horns zapped onyx lightning across the ground to vaporize poor Shima Enagas to dust. Shyrin shot Netherdraco's eyes, similar to how she dealt with Salamandra, but the dragon's eyes were heavily armored.

"We just got to hold it off until it gets hungry!" Valiesha yelled into her transceiver to coordinate airstrikes. "We need to force it to run out of power!"

While the spider tanks bombed the dragon, the flycatcher fighters and attack choppers dealt as much damage as possible to both Netherdraco and the Academy's shield. Netherdraco became irritated at the rockets raining in its face, flapping its skeletal wings together into a rotating halo. The machine halo discharged lightning into the clouds, summoning a thunderstorm of black electrified meteors.

The aircraft swiftly backed away from the thunderstorm as Valiesha and the girls took cover behind the nearby tattered buildings.

"There's our cue!" Firaga heard Netherdraco croak velociraptor sounds. "Get ready!"

Three Skelengel moonbow fighters zoomed toward Netherdraco for feeding, but the Enaga aircraft intercepted the fighters and destroyed them swiftly. Netherdraco's roared in anger as its stomach rumbled. It launched as much remaining lightning at the rebels, but Sunder's smoke bombs blinded its aim.

With no lightning left, Netherdraco croaked again in agony. More moonbows flew close to drop the male cadaver into its mouth, but the rebels fried the fighter jets to a crisp. Any corpses that were dropped would be caught by the flycatcher fighters before Netherdraco could munch on them.

"What's the matter?" Firaga taunted the dragon. "Hangry?"

The dragon stomped wrathfully as its belly growled again. Netherdraco pointed its horns at Sunder and recklessly charged, but she chucked a smoke bomb in its mouth to leave Netherdraco to cough on soot. It leaned on the academy's shield, weakly knocking on it with the slim hope that Senri would feed it. Instead, it only experienced heavy bombardment from the rebels.

When the dragon roared at the moonbow fighters again, the Enaga attack choppers blasted missiles to stop them. The flycatcher fighters did their best to catch the falling corpses, but one male corpse evaded them.

"Oh no!" Valiesha panicked as Netherdraco scrambled for the body, opening its jaws wide.

"Nuh-uh! No food for you!" Firaga jumped into Netherdraco's mouth with the corpse.

"No, Firaga!" Everyone yelled.

When Netherdraco closed its mouth and tasted the bodies, it froze and turned pale. The taste of a woman like Firaga was horrible. As Firaga shot its tongue within, Netherdraco banged its head onto Dessix's shield in agony. It then tried to force both the boy and Firaga down its throat, but that made everything worse.

Netherdraco turned green as Firaga's bitter taste made its stomach churn in heartburn. The dragon tossed and rolled with a hacking cough. Finally, Netherdraco gave up and spat Firaga and the boy out. Its stomach acid heavily refluxed within its esophagus, burning the dragon from the inside out.

As Valiesha used a towel to wipe Firaga and give her new clothes, the dragon collapsed onto Dessix, which had just lost its shield thanks to Calyx from within. Netherdraco's giant body crashed into the academy and died with its mouth corroded from its stomach acid.

Sunder's jaw dropped. "It choked on Firaga and died?"

"Yeah! That was fun!" Firaga grinned. "Let's do that again!"

Please no. Your head's got a screw loose. Shyrin signed, rolling her eyes.

Valiesha checked on the boy, who was sadly already long dead before today. "Rest in peace."

"Dessix is down! Let's charge!" The rebels charged through the smoky ruins over Netherdraco's corpse.

As the smoke cleared, they saw the campus grounds stained with dead students. They could tell a big battle occurred as pieces of Endromen and glass shards of Makyuran guards filled the battlefield.

"I want to get a girlfriend and be a good boyfriend, too! Sure, I'm not a pharmacy genius like Chirus. I don't know mathematics and engineering like Calyx," The girls heard someone yell. "Heck, I'm a dropout that the girls laughed at! But you know what? That's okay because I know there's a girl who would love me!"

Shyrin blinked to see her little brothers with the surviving boys, all intently staring at the thousands of sapphire women who were ready to eat them all.

"Why? I'm an author! I made a seven-book sci-fi series that will be famous! I wrote believing my works of fiction would impress a cute girl one day!" Tynan bravely declared. "Do you think I'm scared of some blue-girl monsters who can't move when watched? Probably the most cowardly I've seen!"

Valiesha and the girls were stunned by Tynan's courage in the face of death. Firaga's eyes glittered at Tynan's speech and insanity.

"You can't stop my dream! Come on! Bring it! My story's ending will truly be an epic one!" Tynan balanced on one leg and held his crutch like a sword. "Let's go! What are you waiting for?"

As the boys held each other close in fear, the rebels rode on their Shima Enagas to charge at the Makyuran guards. While the birds watched the statues, the rebels remembered Sunder's report on how the Makyuran guards could be killed. The girls drew their hand mirrors and smashed them into the faces of the sapphire women, causing each one to break like glass. Although it cost them a valuable makeup tool to help them look pretty, they were willing to sacrifice their mirrors to kill the male-eating statues for good.

"It's okay!" Firaga comforted the boys. "You can blink now. Let the girls take care of them!"

While the boys blinked their dry eyes in relief, the rebels recognized their long-lost boyfriends and embraced each other in joyful tears.

"Shyrin!" Calyx and Tynan ran towards their older sister with sign language.

What's up, you two knuckleheads? Shyrin hugged her little brothers tightly. Thank God you two are safe.

Overjoyed, the family hugged each other in tears.

"Hey, dude," Firaga elbowed Tynan. "That was some crazy speech there. Very brave of you."

"Ah, well, I honestly didn't think I would survive," Tynan blushed. "So, I decided to go insane."

"Haha, I like that, man. I would, too. Hey, you made seven books? What are they about? Wanna hang out after we take down Senri?"

"Yeah! If you don't mind going out with a school dropout like me. Heh, I wasn't exactly the smartest in class."

"Bruh, I lost count of how many exams I failed in college, man. Everyone said I was insane."

"Yo, me too!"

Oh no, my weirdest brother going out with the craziest girl I know? Shyrin facepalmed. Please tell me I'm dreaming.

As Valiesha smashed her mirror into the last Makyuran guard, she searched across the battlefield.

"Where's Chirus?" Valiesha worried.

"Looking for someone, Valiesha?" She heard someone yell.

The rebels saw a large razor-winged butterfly fly in front of them. Matriarch Senri rode on Edgemoth, who held a mangled Chirus connected by IV lines. Everyone gasped at the sight.

"Chirus!" Valiesha yelled. "Senri! Give him back!"

"I don't think so!" Senri declared, holding a green magical scepter. "Edgemoth! Topaz Wind!"

The mechanical demon flapped its sharp wings, summoning a twister of yellow-cutting wind that blew the rebels back.

"You want him? Come and get him. I dare you!" Senri snapped her finger.

Armies of Skelengel women wearing bird skull masks marched forward.

"Kill them all!" Senri ordered her troops to attack the rebels before flying off with Edgemoth.

"Get back here, Senri!" Valiesha fired her two pistols at Senri.

Senri used her scepter to block Valiesha's bullets with a green shield. As the boys helped the Enaga girls fight the Skelengels, Senri flew towards her mansion where Jezebel's altar lay.

"Arkanis will be mine in exchange for Chirus' soul!" Senri bellowed. "There's nothing you can do about it, Valiesha!"

"Senri! It's all over! You can run, but we all know about your secret contract with Jezebel. Both of you are going down! I won't let you take Chirus from me!"