Side By Side And Hand In Hand

Takao broke out in a cold sweat, and shivered despite the summer warmth. His breathing quickened, and his vision tunneled until there was nothing but him and the piercing blood-red eye that bulged grotesquely from Karou’s forehead. His body felt stiff and heavy like stone, and he felt himself sinking. An inky black void was swallowing him up, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t resist.

Electricity surged through Takao suddenly, and he yelped in pain. The world returned, and he fell to his knees, gasping for air.

“Takao! Hey! Can you hear me? Are you okay?” Sumire asked. She knelt by his side, looking extremely concerned.

“What— happened—” He coughed.

“You were staring at Karou and wouldn’t respond to me, then you stopped breathing, so I shocked you. I don’t know what that eye is, but don’t stare at it. It’s dangerous.” She warned.

“AHAHAHAHAhahaha!!”

A sudden disturbing laugh brought Takao and Sumire to attention. The laughter was coming from Karou, but her voice was different, as if overlapped by a second voice. Karou’s mouth was twisted up in a sickening imitation of a smile. Her eyes stared blank and unblinking.

“Dragon God of The Storm, Sumire Fuchi!” Karou said, her voice overlaid by a deep and imposing baritone. “The once exalted prodigious daughter of the high king! Look at you now! Wallowing in the filth like the rest of us! Ahahahaha—”

Sumire tried to speak, but the raucous laughter drowned her out.

“—Hahahaha! I have nothing to discuss with you, former princess! I merely desired to see your pitiful state before my newest servant strips you of your power and ends your life!”

Sumire opened her mouth to speak, but an ear-splitting scream cut her off.

Takao and Sumire covered their ears as Karou’s scream filled the plaza, growing ever louder. Her body began to glow, and wind swirled violently around her. Her form expanded, growing larger and longer. Massive coils filled the plaza, smashing and collapsing buildings and expanding high into the air. The light covering her body shattered like glass, revealing Karou’s enormous dragon form. The gold that accented her spiral horns was gone, leaving only solid black. Her scales were a deep black that was interrupted by numerous scars that covered her long body.

Karou’s scream became a deafening roar, and the wind that swirled around her grew in strength.

Takao felt Sumire’s breath on his ear as she shouted to be heard.

“COPY ME!”

Takao nodded, and copied Sumire’s magic. Two orbs appeared behind him, hovering beside his shoulder blades, and his feet left the ground. He flailed in the wind for a moment before Sumire grabbed his hand, and pulled him up into the sky.

High in the air, Takao could see Karou wreaking havoc on the town. Her massive tail whipped through buildings like paper, and the wind surrounding her threw rubble and debris far and wide, causing more destruction.

“We have to lead her out of town!” Takao yelled, and Sumire nodded her agreement.

Takao held tight to Sumire’s hand, and together they pointed their weapons at Karou. Electricity danced across their skin and surged between them, building till it couldn’t be contained. With a deafening crack and rumble, a lightning storm burst from Takao and Sumire, striking Karou repeatedly.

She howled in pain and turned to face them. Her eyes were deranged, like a wild beast. Takao felt himself getting pulled by Sumire. They flew through the air, launching more lightning at Karou as she stalked them through the town, leaving destruction in her wake. They passed over the town wall, and Karou rammed straight through it head first, collapsing a wide section in seconds.

Takao kept up his lightning assault, thinking they could bring her down from a safe height, but then Karou reared up like a snake and was on them in an instant. Takao held to Sumire for dear life as they tumbled through the air, dodging Karou’s snapping jaws and feral windstorm. They barreled toward the earth at breakneck speed, changing direction at the last second. Karou smashed into the ground right on their tail, sending a shockwave through the earth that launched chunks of land rocketing into the air.

Sumire skidded to a sudden halt, leaving stone spikes in her wake that obstructed Karou’s advance on them. She and Takao spun around to face Karou. With a wave of her sword, a ring of fire appeared in the air before her, and an enormous flaming bird emerged with a screech. It directed a fiery breath at Karou, pushing her back. Takao copied the spell without thinking. To his surprise, a ring of water appeared below him. A giant serpent burst from the water under their feet, launching him and Sumire tumbling into the air.

After they stopped spinning, Takao was able to get a good look at the serpent he’d summoned. It was an enormous gray monster with blue diamonds running the length of its back, and fangs longer than he was. It was the largest snake Takao had ever seen, but it was still nowhere near as large as Karou.

“What is that!? How did you summon that!?” Sumire exclaimed.

“I don’t know! I just copied you!”

“That’s not one of my monsters! How—”

Sumire’s phoenix streaked past, interrupting their exchange. Its wings and body burned with powerful flames as it dove at Karou, racking her back with razor sharp talons and blasting her with fire. Takao’s serpent fought fiercely as well. Dodging Karou’s claws and teeth, it rammed her from below with enough force to incredibly knock her off her feet, and followed up by sinking its fangs into her side.

Karou howled in pain and snapped her body like a whip, sending the serpent crashing into the forest, but immediately it reared up over the trees, hissing its outrage. A jet of water erupted from its mouth, blasting Karou and pinning her down. Sumire’s phoenix jumped on the opening and fell on Karou with talons and fire, accompanied by lightning from Takao and Sumire.

Takao hoped Karou was finally down for good, but a powerful burst of wind confirmed otherwise. He, Sumire, and the phoenix were all caught in the gust and sent tumbling until it suddenly reversed, pulling them back toward Karou with irresistible force. Her huge dragon tail whipped through the air, catching the phoenix and sending it crashing into the forest and Takao’s serpent. Sumire pulled herself and Takao out of the way in the nick of time, but still bounced off Karou’s rough hide before smashing into the ground and tumbling till they hit stone.

Karou’s massive form loomed over them, trapping them against the town wall. Sumire conjured a shield and Takao copied it as Karou descended on them. Her horns rammed them with devastating force, shattering Takao’s shield. Sumire groaned under the pressure. A fissure erupted in the wall behind them and cracks covered her shield, but it didn’t shatter. Karou reared back for another strike that would crush them for sure, but a stone pillar rocketed up from the ground first, punching her in the jaw and sending her reeling backward.

Before Takao could wrap his head around what just happened, another stone pillar shot up underneath him and Sumire, launching them into the air. They sailed high over Karou, and Takao momentarily panicked as they started plummeting back toward the earth. Before they hit the ground, Sumire grabbed his hand and their fall turned into a flight. They landed deftly before a huge group of adventurers, all carrying weapons and looking ready for battle. In the forefront of the group stood the strongest adventurers Sukiya had to offer: the enormous guild master Aidachi, Nanako with her flaming red hair, and the grizzly haired bear-man Kenta.

“Your welcome.” Kenta said nonchalantly.

Sumire’s Exposé!
Summoning magic requires first forming a bond or contract with a magical creature. Some prefer contracts due to finding it difficult to form bonds, while others find that they’ve formed bonds without even realizing it.