Amity and Enmity

Chapter 42

Day: 1230

Days Left: 4250

Lives Saved: 6

The headless knight charged past all of the other monsters on the mountain pile, the speed and power of the steed overcoming the difficult terrain and slopes, almost toppling to the side, but Dex steadied himself, pulling the reins by instinct even though he was the one controlling the horse's body. He raised his lance back, the dragon coming into striking distance.

Flashes of the imps came into his mind, how Annika knew they were children and yet ordered an attack, how they screamed and cried when they were captured. And then he remembered Kai, Ivette, and Oscar getting spirited away by the flock of ravens. Everything was peaceful until this bitch decided that they were a threat. And now Dex was risking his memories and getting hurt for a group of strangers who had thought him an enemy not so long ago.

The dragon rolled back its shoulders, twisting its neck as if to get accustomed to its new size. A set of dark green wings spread out from its back, the sheer force creating a gust of wind that pushed the knight back. Dex clung desperately to his severed head inside his helmet, forcing himself to keep his eyes open and not cower.

More of the dragon emerged from the mountain pile, too large to hide anymore as it grew, its footing slipping as it could no longer take its enormous weight. As Dex got closer, his mind finally caught up with his senseless bravery.

What was his plan rushing in?

The dragon turned its head, sighting the small ant on the hill running towards it.

The knight did not reach the dragon's elbows, even on a horse.

Inhaling a long breath, the dragon reeled its head back, revealing underneath its neck and jaw where the scales grew sparse, transitioning to paler green skin. At its throat, an emerald light glowed as if inside itself, then grew brighter and brighter, travelling up the dragon's neck and-

"Get to cover!" Lili shouted.

But Dex was already too close, with nowhere to hide.

The emerald light continued to rise, and the dragon's eyes shut for a moment, pausing, before jerking forwards, spewing green flames out of its open jaw.

With no time to stop, the headless knight charged onwards, bursting through the wall of flames; the knight in his silver armour was unscathed, but the noble steed ached in pain after braving the heat for a few seconds. Dex could hear the screams and cries behind him, muffled whilst his severed head was in the helmet. He could not look back and see how his friends fared; all he could do was look forward at his target.

Realising that the fire had not deterred the headless knight, the dragon turned its attention to this particular ant whilst the others recovered further down the mountain. It swiped its claws at the insect; however, the horse was too fast whilst the dragon's ever-growing body was becoming sluggish and heavy from its monstrous size. But even the weight of its misses, when its paws struck down onto the ground, caused destruction, creating quakes across the mountain pile, discarded objects cascading down in avalanches, slowing down the other insignificant insects to reach the summit.

As Dex circled the giant beast, he slashed and pierced at it with his lance, but the green scales proved too tough, the metal of his weapon clinking and clattering, barely causing scrapes and being unable to penetrate through. He turned his attention to the dragon's neck, where the scales were at their sparsity and were instead of green hide. They still looked tough, but with enough strength and force, he could actually deal some damage and, with hope, slay this monster. The only problem, however, was reaching it, as the dragon had become so large now, Dex was nowhere near it, and his lance was fused to his gauntlet, nor could he throw it.