Chapter 66 - Piggyback ride

  “That’s insane!”

  Ariel’s voice tore out of her as she kneeled beneath a slanted slab of white stone, rubble pressing close overhead. Dust rained down with every distant impact.

  “Ariel—” Lilia muttered, her voice rough with pain.

  “I won’t let you,” Ariel shouted, turning back toward her. “I won’t!”

  Light seeped through her fingers, unsteady, flickering.

  She sucked in a sharp breath as pain shot up her arms, her hands shaking as she fought to keep the glow controlled, careful not to hurt Lilia.

  The ground shuddered.

  Somewhere behind them, the aberration’s claws scraped against stone—slowly Getting closer.

  Lilia felt the pain dull slightly.

  Her breath caught. This explained a lot

  “Ariel, listen,” She said.

  “I won’t—!”

  “Ariel !”

  Lilia forced the word out, sharper this time, breath hitching. “Please. Just—listen.”

  Ariel froze.

  The light flared wildly for half a second. She pulled back just enough to steady herself, her hands trembling harder now, fear flashing openly across her face.

  For half a second, the only sound was the creature’s heavy screeching in the distance… and Ryn’s uneven breaths beside them. He stood guard at the edge of the rubble, sword raised.

  “You’ll die,” Ariel whispered. Her voice cracked. “If you do this, you’ll both die.”

  Lilia turned her head away, swallowing hard.

  Then she spoke again—quietly.

  “You’re not a very fair person, Ariel.”

  Ariel stared at her. “What are you saying—?”

  “You make decisions for us,” Lilia continued, voice trembling but steady. “You ask us to trust you. You act like it’s for our own good.”

  She finally looked back at her, eyes shining.

  “But you don’t let us do the same.”

  A distant roar echoed through the ruins. Stone groaned. Something collapsed behind them.

  “At least… not anymore.”

  Ariel’s hands curled into fists against the ground.

  “So listen,” Lilia said softly. “Just this once.”

  She reached out, fingers brushing Ariel’s sleeve.

  “Trust me.”

  Another scrape—closer now.

  “Trust your maid.”

  She shook her head slightly, still tucked beneath Ariel’s arm, her cheek brushing against the fabric of her tunic.

  She tilted her face up toward Ariel and managed a small smile.

  “Don’t forget,” she said softly, voice thin but steady,

  “I’m still older than you.”

  Her smile wavered, just a little.

  “Even if it's only by a few months.”

  Ariel's throat worked. Her hands shook.

  Then, slowly, she nodded.

  "...Okay."

  ***

  A young boy stepped through the torn grass and scattered rubble, his face smeared with dust and dirt. He wore little more than linen rags strapped awkwardly beneath scraps of armor. Without his full gear, his lean frame looked almost fragile—pathetic, even—despite the exhaustion etched into his posture. A young girl was perched atop his shoulders.

  Her silver hair spilled messily around her face, and the armor she wore was clearly far too large for her, its collar rising nearly to her chin, plates clinking softly with every step.

  Ryn glanced up at Lilia.

  “I know I said I’d trust you,” he said quietly.

  “And I promised Ariel I’d keep you safe.”

  He hesitated, breath uneven.

  “But are you sure you haven’t lost your mind?”

  “Sh—shhh,” Lilia muttered, shifting slightly. “You’re moving too much.”

  Her cheeks flushed faintly as she adjusted her grip, pressing her hands down to steady herself.

  “Just… keep walking.”

  Ryn let out a quiet sigh and stepped closer.

  They stood beneath the looming shape of the giant lizard, its bulk blotting out what little light remained. Its shadow draped over them like a veil. Hot breath rolled down from above, thick and wet, carrying the stench of blood and rot.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  Lilia nodded.

  “Ariel barely managed to hold together the injury to your ribs, it was enough to stop you from bleeding internally,” Ryn said, voice low and measured.

  “But It’s not perfect. Don’t push it. If it gets too bad, let go. We’ll find another way.”

  Lilia gave a small, breathless laugh.

  “I’m starting to think you still don’t trust me.”

  Ryn didn’t answer right away.

  His fingers tightened slowly around the hilt. He adjusted his footing, testing the ground, angling his body for precision.

  His breathing steadied, eyes never leaving the creature’s throat where the scales split unevenly.

  The creature shifted its weight.

  Ryn exhaled.

  “…Alright.”

  He drew his arm back and threw.

  The blade tore through the air and sank deep into the gaps between the creature’s warped scales.

  The aberration shrieked, pain ripping from its throat, then roared and surged forward—claws tearing up dirt and stone as it charged straight at them.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  But as the creature hurled itself toward them, something unexpected happened.

  Ryn didn’t run.

  Instead, he dropped low, bending his knees with Lilia still balanced atop his shoulders. The ground shook as the aberration closed the distance—too fast, too close—

  When it was barely a foot away, Ryn moved.

  He surged upward with all his strength, launching Lilia into the air above the creature's head—

  Then immediately dropped and rolled hard to the side.

  The creature slammed down where he’d been standing moments before, its jaws snapping shut on empty space as stone and dirt exploded outward.

  Lilia tumbled midair.

  light flashed across the blade in her hands as she brought it down with all her strength, driving the sword deep into one of the clearings in the creature’s warped scales.

  The creature howled in pain

  The plan was risky.

  No—risky didn’t even begin to cover it.

  And it was something only she could do. Ryn and Ariel had their own roles to play, which meant this part fell to her alone. That was why she wore Ryn’s armor despite how heavy it felt, why she’d braced herself for this moment long before her feet ever left his shoulders.

  She drove the sword deeper.

  It didn’t do much damage—she knew that. She wasn’t strong enough for that. But the blade slid between warped scales, scraping something sensitive beneath, and the creature felt it.

  That was enough.

  The lizard thrashed violently, muscles bunching as it tried to reach her. Its head snapped forward, jaws clamping down on empty air. Its tail whipped sideways, smashing into stone.

  But Lilia was behind its skull.

  Out of reach.

  She twisted the blade.

  The aberration screeched, a raw, furious sound, and charged blindly—slamming into ruins, tearing up the ground, trying to crush whatever was hurting it. Each movement came too late, its bulk working against it, its reactions delayed and clumsy.

  Lilia clung to the ridged spine, arms burning, fingers screaming as she fought to stay on. The world lurched violently beneath her as the creature bucked and slammed itself against the terrain.

  She twisted the blade again.

  Harder.

  The creature howled.

  Its head twisted, trying to crane backward, but its own bulk betrayed it. The ridged spine, the armored scales, even the angle of its own neck prevented it from reaching.

  It knew something was there. It just couldn't do anything about it.

  From its perspective, the pain had no source—no shape, no target. Just a constant, searing sting it couldn’t see, couldn’t bite, couldn’t claw away.

  A thorn lodged deep in its back.

  And Lilia held on, teeth clenched, muscles shaking, determined to stay exactly where it couldn’t reach her.

  As the creature thrashed, Lilia was ripped from its back, hurled into the air—

  —but she clung on desperately and slammed back down against its spine. The impact rattled through her body. Ryn’s armor absorbed most of it, metal biting into her ribs instead of flesh, but she still felt something break.

  That had been expected.

  She hadn’t gone into this believing she’d escape unharmed. That would’ve been selfish.

  All she had to do was keep the damage within what Ariel could heal.

  She didn’t know where that limit was.

  She just had to hope.

  Just a few more seconds.

  The creature bucked again—

  White-hot agony exploded through her side.

  She felt it—the grinding of broken ribs, the tearing of half-healed flesh.

  Lilia bit down so hard she tasted copper, a scream trapped behind clenched teeth.

  This was her first real fight, beyond drills, beyond training with Ryn. He’d told her she’d understand what combat truly was when it stopped being practice.

  And somehow;

  It felt the same.

  Hold on.

  Don’t let go.

  Just keep holding on.

  Her fingers burned. Her arms screamed.

  A few more seconds.

  She counted in her head.

  Five.

  The creature swung wildly.

  Four.

  Its screech tore through the air.

  Three.

  Its body twisted beneath her.

  Two.

  Her vision blurred.

  One.

  “Ariel—now!”

  ***

  It was a stupid plan.

  A really, really dumb one.

  But—

  Ariel couldn’t deny it.

  It was working.

  She clenched her teeth, eyes locked on Lilia as the creature thrashed, each violent movement sending pain through her body. Every instinct screamed at her to act—to stop it now—but she couldn’t.

  Not yet.

  Too early, and it would all be for nothing.

  As the days went on, Ariel gained a deeper understanding of her power, not through study or guidance, but through necessity.

  Before the plan, she’d explained it to them as simply as she could.

  One to nine.

  Never ten.

  In reality it was never as clean as numbers. Still, numbers were all she had to make sense of it.

  At the lower end, it was harmless. Almost gentle.

  One. Two. Three.

  Light, and nothing more—brightness alone. She could dim it, cool it, drain the warmth until it turned pale and yellow

  Five to nine… that was healing.

  She still didn’t know the full extent of it. She was too afraid to find out—afraid of what too much might do.

  And then there was ten.

  And beyond.

  That was destruction.

  Raw, unstable, violent.

  The kind of power she’d used in Solvara.

  And yet—

  She knew, deep down, she couldn’t do that again. Whatever had happened back then… it wasn’t something she could simply repeat.

  Which meant there was only one option left.

  If she couldn’t cross the line—

  Then she would run straight at it.

  With everything she had.

  Lilia had trusted her to.

  “Ariel—NOW!” Lilia screamed.

  Ariel moved.

  She pulled her arms up, gripping one wrist with the other as light flooded toward the center of her palms. The air around it warped, heat building so rapidly it seemed to evaporate, space trembling under the pressure.

  She knew it was going to hurt, hurt alot.

  Her hands shook.

  Her heart pounded.

  And then she fired.

  ***

  How terrifying…

  The moment she screamed for Ariel to fire, she let go.

  She shoved herself off the creature’s back, twisting midair. If she landed like that, she was going to break even more than she already had—she knew it.

  However she never hit the ground alone.

  Ryn leapt forward and caught her mid-fall. They crashed into the grass together, tumbling hard. Ryn twisted instinctively, taking most of the impact as they rolled to a stop.

  The creature turned its head toward them—only for a heartbeat.

  Then it froze.

  As if it realized something was wrong.

  Or as if it had finally felt it.

  But it was far too late.

  Light tore through the air.

  Not a beam—not anymore.

  It was a wave.

  The world screamed as white light detonated against the creature’s back, the air instantly vaporizing with a sound like thunder tearing itself apart. The ground buckled. Stone liquefied. Scales didn’t burn so much as cease to exist, blown outward in a violent halo of force.

  The shockwave slammed into Ryn like a wall.

  He clenched his teeth as the force washed over them,

  Lilia squeezed her eyes shut.

  Even shielded, she felt the pressure, the heat, the weight of Ariel’s power pressing down on her chest. Her ears rang. Her breath hitched.

  Fear crawled up her spine.

  When the sound finally faded, silence rushed in, thick and stunned.

  But beyond the sudden silence, there came a scream.

  Ariel’s.

  Raw. Agonized.

  It cut off just as abruptly—her body giving out as pain and exhaustion finally overwhelmed her. She collapsed unconscious where she stood.

  Ryn pushed himself upright.

  Lilia lay flat on the ground beneath him, chest rising and falling in shallow, uneven breaths. Adrenaline still burned through her veins, dulling the pain—for now. She knew when it faded, it would be bad.

  She tried to shift.

  Nothing responded.

  Her limbs felt heavy. Distant. Like they didn’t belong to her anymore.

  However It didn’t matter.

  Her part was over.

  She turned her head as much as she could and met Ryn’s gaze, then gave a small, deliberate nod.

  Ryn nodded back.

  Then a gurgling, broken screech tore from the rubble beyond the blast site—wet, furious, unmistakably alive.

  The ground trembled as something massive began to rise.

  Lilia’s breath hitched.

  She’d hoped Ariel’s attack would end it. But if that power hadn’t killed the thing back in the Sol Garden Hills, there was no chance it would kill this.

  Which meant—

  It was Ryn’s turn