“My first boss fight… and almost my last”

After hearing the first strokes of midnight, the winged creature stands before us, bipedal, while it's still raining and the darkness of the night makes it impossible to recognize its shape.

"Get ready, because we're facing a big problem," Isolde looks at the winged creature while remaining alert.

"Big as a 'bird on steroids' or as a 'stage boss with a fancy Latin name'?", Ayato's words indicate that he's about to face a sudden 'tutorial boss' as an exercise in reflexes and prediction, since he can be considered dead with a false step.

"Grooooaar!"

A roar echoes, and the lightning of the night storm reveals that the flying creature is indeed a Wyvern.

Although these flying reptilian creatures are often mistaken for Dragons because they share physical features, such as a head and wings. The way to distinguish them is by the number of legs they have.

Since dragons always vary in number depending on the type of dragon, while wyverns always have two legs, they are also inferior to dragons due to their small size, primitive behavior, and lack of ability to speak beyond roars and growls.

"Tell me you also stole a useful weapon?", Isolde asked, drawing her sword and a dagger.

"Who do you think I am?!", Ayato draws a sword he also stole from the drunken Demon Hunter, though the weapon itself is quite poorly maintained.

The wyvern begins spraying black smoke from its snout as a distraction, from which Isolde deduces that the influence of the night doesn't make the creature strong, but rather makes it employ basic strategies, so they shouldn't underestimate the reptile.

"Grooooaaar!", The wyvern flies into a dive, trying to ram its dragon-like head into the vampire woman, but Isolde transforms into mist to avoid the blow.

"Shing"

However, the wyvern unleashed its claws to try to grab Ayato and carry him through the air, given that, compared to Isolde, he's easy prey.

Zap!

"Way to learn how to parry!", Ayato used his sword as a defense as if it were a video game mechanic, while his other hand took advantage of the opportunity to grab a sharp stone from the cobblestone street when he could no longer withstand the creature's force.

But the wyvern's legs held the sword while they carried Ayato up for his next move, and Isolde took advantage of this to transform into a bat while the creature focused on him.

The Wyvern carries Ayato to a certain height off the ground as the rain intensifies, as he refuses to let go of the sword still attached to the creature's legs. Otherwise, he'll fall to the ground, certain death or lethal injury, or worse, attract lightning as they're exposed in the air, especially with the sound of thunder.

The winged reptile tries to bite him, moving its snout, exposing poisonous fangs, while the aspiring hero tries to respond by waving the sharp stone forward, trying to stab a vulnerable spot on the creature, in a moment of panic.

"Come on, overgrown lizard! Show what you've got!"- Ayato said, trying to buy time and avoid the creature's bites. He noticed Isolde, transformed into a bat, fly above the wyvern and return to her human form. He quickly draws his sword and dagger to stab the winged reptile, specifically where its back connects with its two wings.

The lower dragon screams in pain and drops Ayato's sword as he freefalls, when Isolde quickly grabs him by the arms and saves him from certain death before throwing him to the ground, while the wyvern falls toward the cobblestones.

"Gravity is always on your side... if not, you're the one who falls," Ayato said grandiloquently as he was quickly struck by the wyvern's violently whipping tail, throwing him against the wall of a nearby house.

"Serves you right for declaring victory early!"- Isolde said, noticing that the wyvern was badly injured and unable to fly, but ready to fight on its feet.

The wyvern spits smoke from its snout again, but this time, the black smoke is flammable, making it easier to spit fire and burn the area even with the disadvantage of rain.

The lesser dragon spits fire from its dragon-like mouth, which Isolde was exposed to. While it didn't seriously damage her, it was a blow to her soul after focusing on highlighting Ayato's incompetence.

The vampire woman coordinates her sword attacks and alternates them by transforming into mist and bat without hesitation, while the wyvern becomes more aggressive, exchanging fire attacks, bites, charges, high leaps, and strikes with its tail.

As the fight continues, Ayato regains consciousness and prepares to sneak attack the creature while Isolde does the rest of the work.

Once the vampire woman and the wyvern are about to make a final move, Ayato runs, jumps, and stands on the creature's back, quickly draws his sword and... "AARGH! RRAAAU!" He stabs the wyvern, causing the flightless reptile to roar in agony and collapse to the ground. The wyvern itself doesn't completely collapse.

The sound of lightning followed by thunder continues on the horizon, until a clap of thunder comes and...

A loud crash followed by a flash of light illuminates as the lightning strikes Ayato and the Wyvern, electrocuting them both, given that they were exposed on a stormy night and there were many conductive elements.

They both end up screaming in pain and agony as electricity courses through their bodies, until Ayato is sent flying into a wall again when the wyvern's body explodes, disintegrating the creature and the stolen sword.

"This is the worst boss tutorial in the world..." Ayato said, crashing into the wall and falling to the ground, as a silhouette emerged from a manhole cover after having been very skillfully hidden throughout the fight.

However, Isolde noticed that there was a kind of 'soul' or 'dark energy' emanating from the wyvern's already disintegrated body, and that energy was directed toward Ayato, as if his body had absorbed it.

"No... Can... It... Really...?", He murmured in fear as he felt the energy of the defeated winged reptile flowing through his body. He began to accept that he had indeed been summoned to be the new Dark Lord, given that both Dracula and his possible reincarnations have the same ability: Soul Stealing.

"Those affiliated with the forces of darkness can steal and assimilate the souls of monsters fallen in battle, as long as they deliver the final blow..." Isolde said solemnly, as Ayato struggled to get up from the ground.

"Psst, this way...", the two heard a soft female voice.

The girl in question is a beautiful, angelic figure with the air of a nun or sister, but with a fragility reminiscent of crystal. She's dressed in a Victorian Gothic dress with predominantly black and orange colors and white details, a long skirt, puffed sleeves, a rosary hanging around her neck, and a pair of magic books hanging from the sides of her skirt with a chain.

"I didn't know the Church started growing pumpkins~," Isolde said scathingly, highlighting the girl's short, silky orange hair and light orange eyes.

"Pumpkin?!", the sister felt somewhat mortified at being compared to a vegetable, although she does look like one.

"My name is Vera Lauren, I'm a roving cleric! And I'll help you get out of here...", the sister introduced herself and pointed toward a drainpipe that connects to the outskirts of the citadel.

"Wow, another archetypal fantasy heroine, what could go wrong?!" Ayato said, trying to sound heroic to impress Vera, though things take another turn when the three of them start to emerge through the sewer duct.