This chapter was a fucking nightmare, and I'm still not entirely happy with it, but it is at least tolerable now. You can expect a Snippet to be released later today as well, featuring some individuals not engaged in the main events of this chapter, but engaged in significant events of their own. Some characters shall be joining the cast for the first time, for example.

At any rate, I will probably be editing this chapter to try and streamline it even further for the next week or so, but I wanted to post it regardless.

As always, remember to Tv Tropes, Patronize, review, comment, and discuss!

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Seraphim

Chapter 11

Lucan Thorne was not the most imposing or impressive young man, even by the admittedly kind standards offered by the sometimes-bizarre ways that puberty could treat a teenaged boy. He was shorter than many of his peers, and while thinner lacked any significant muscle density. His nose was slightly too large for his face, his limbs long and gangly. No young woman would give him a second glance based on looks alone, and it was a desire to make himself more appealing and 'valuable' that had led him to joining the Empire 88, at least in part. No, he was not a superior physical specimen in the least, but he was very good at numbers and organization, a skill that had led to no small amount of responsibility and influence amongst his new comrades in arms. As a result, and despite his youth, he had very quickly been put in charge of a major drug production and distribution point at the southern end of The Docklands, not far from what most would consider downtown Brockton Bay. A safe posting, one with sufficient soldiers to protect it from marauding ABB thugs or Merchant filth feeling lucky or desperate enough to try a raid on his stores, and a fairly prestigious one due to its proximity to the idle rich and their taste for adventure and excess.

As such, he was more irritated then concerned when the door to his (soundproofed) office burst open in bowels of his headquarters, an utterly nondescript three-story house that was so incredibly normal and uninteresting that it was immensely suspicious to just about anyone who laid eyes upon it. His ire faded slightly to mix with confusion as he took in the harried, almost panicked look off his subordinate, and a thread of fear began to lace through his thoughts as cracks echoed in the background.

"Sir, it's the ABB!" the man cried out, sounding as though he was trying to remain calm but failing more than succeeding. As Lucan shot to his feet, the man gestured wildly in the general direction from which he had come and continued. "They're attacking in force, all along the border! Lord Kaiser says to hold out until help arrives!"

"Any sign of the chink capes?" Lucan asked, opening a large cabinet and pulling out his preferred methods of intimidation and death-dealing, a pair of .45s and a 12 gauge shotgun. The shotgun was quickly passed over to his soldier along with a handful of grenades. None of the other guards had anything heavier than an AR-15 or 9mm, and as good as those guns were they wouldn't do much against the numbers that appeared to be against them.

"No, sir, and thank God for it! If they were here we wouldn't stand a chance, but as it is we can probably hold out for an hour or so." The man shook his head in relief, a feeling that Lucan shared as he led the way out of the office and onto the floor. "We think there are about twenty of them, maybe thirty, carrying AK-47s, Uzis, and grenades. We've lost a half dozen guys already!"

"Pull everyone back into the warehouse, we'll get up on the catwalks and set up a crossfire. They'll have trouble hitting us or getting grenades up there." Came the brisk order, the lieutenant following his own order and heading for the nearest steel-wrought stairs to the next level. He would be damned if he lost this warehouse without a good fight, and if he could break this attack and ambush the next ABB unit down the line he could get a promotion!

A minute later, and the Empire soldiers streamed in through the big double doors that were the building's main entrance, racing for the staircases as bullets followed on their heels. Obviously, the ABB weren't keen on letting them run, which suited his plans just fine. The first rival banger through the entrance took three of his bullets to the chest, and there was a momentary pause as the enemy gathered themselves. Then the tide came, men and women dressed in the red and green of the Asian Bad Boyz surging through the door en-masse, screaming obscenities and threats in a mix of English and lesser languages. Imperial fire lashed down at them, felling a handful more before they were able to take cover from the defenders, and the true battle began. Accuracy and advantageous position versus rate of fire and numbers resulted in heavy casualties as the fight dragged on, and unfortunately for the Empire soldiers' numbers and suppressive fire had pushed many a battle in the favor of the one holding those particular cards.

In the end, the final Empire defenders were herded into Lucan's office, and their final experience on the material plane was fear and hate as a quartet of grenades came bouncing into the room, before everything turned to fire and darkness.

All across the city, equally vicious fights were creating countless casualties in both soldiers and civilians alike. Lung had begun an all-out offensive against his hated rival organization and its leaders, fully intent on wiping The Empire out once and for all. However many lives were lost, however much property and product was destroyed, however many crimes he committed…none of it was relevant beyond a footnote below the declaration of his superiority over the inhabitants of Brockton Bay.

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"Damn them all!"

Ariana Vikers, nee Herren, flinched as a glass flew across the room and smashed explosively on the wall. She, in the guise of her parahuman identity Othala, and her husband Matthew (the skill-thief known to all as Victor) had been summoned to their headquarters within minutes of the ABB beginning their attacks across the territorial border. Since then, as reports came in off both victories and defeats and losses beyond anything that had been suffered or inflicted before, their Lord and master Kaiser had been raging as he waited for the appearance of Lung and Oni Lee on the battlefield. Even with their fellow parahumans deployed to assist their soldiers, the fact remained that the ABB very clearly had more numbers than expected. Despite having the most parahumans of any group in the city, Protectorate included, they still didn't have enough to put out all of the fires (both literal and figurative) currently raging, and that didn't factor in the fact that Oni Lee and Lung had yet to show themselves. It would be Kaiser who would fight the enemy capes, with the two of them for backup, when their position was finally relayed back from the front.

"Is Lung insane?! He's starting a war, and whatever he might think about his own strength it is only a matter of time before he gets caught before he can ramp up enough to survive retribution!" Kaiser continued, glaring out the window with seething rage. "We've dedicated years to maintaining the Marquis Peace, spent fortunes to keep this city afloat until the time came to claim it entirely, and he endangers it all without warning or a shred of hesitation!"

"With Purity's now-public departure, and Rune not involving herself in recent weeks, perhaps he feels that he has enough of an advantage to make his own play for total control of the city. Purity was our biggest deterrent for him." Victor pointed out, rather more calmly than he probably felt in the face of his leader's anger, and Kaiser was forced to acknowledge him with a tight nod. No one in The Empire besides his erstwhile wife (and she did still belong to him, by God!) had the mobility and power to fight Lung on more-or-less equal terms. As galling as it was to admit it, neither his nor Hookwolf's armor were resistant enough to ignore Lung's flames, and none of his other subordinates had the offensive strength required to actually damage the beast when he was ramped up. "There is also the fact that certain new elements have entered the field. It is possible, given their previous activities, that Seraphim and her cohorts will intervene. He did deliberately fight the entirety of the Protectorate when he arrived here, he might be looking for a fight with her group in order to cow them."

"It won't work, they have the same edge over him that Purity does: Flying and Blaster powers. The fact that he chose to pick a fight of this scale with heroes visiting the city is uncharacteristically bold. Sire, I believe we should assume this is a trap of some kind." Ariana countered respectfully, ignoring the look her husband shot at her as she kept her eyes on Kaiser, who was looking thoughtful as he considered her words.

"Lung is not stupid, despite his inherently defective nature as a member of a lesser race. He would not have lasted as long as he has otherwise, so you may indeed have a point, Othala. I expect that it is possible, even probable, for him to have Oni Lee ambush us when we finally find and confront him. If we are busy avoiding or deflecting suicide bombing attacks, we will not be able to focus entirely on him, something that could quickly prove fatal." He mused aloud, sounding displeased with the admission but not foolish enough to dismiss his opponents out of hand simply because of race. As he said, Lung was far too powerful to treat as insignificant. "I suppose that this could prove beneficial, in the end. Despite our losses in revenue, product, and people today, it may prove itself the lever needed encourage Purity to recall her place at my side."

Privately, Ariana had to question how much of that last statement was based in reality. Kayden had made it clear more than once, at length and with volume, that she hated Kaiser now. That she had nothing but contempt for him and for his goals, that she had no interest in him romantically or platonically, and that trying to pressure her too heavily would result in conflict. Especially if he was stupid enough to involve little Aster. It was possible that Kaiser could bring Kaiden back temporarily, with the obvious and catastrophic threat Lung presented to the safety of her baby girl (even if only through incidental and collateral damage), but it was doubtful such an association would last longer than the presence of the threat.

Kaiser's 'work' phone rang, and it was to his ear in a moment with a curt acknowledgment. Listening carefully, he nodded to himself several times, expression unchanging. It was impossible to tell if it was good news or bad news, but quite frankly she couldn't imagine how things could get any worse than it already was. After a full three minutes he listened, before finally ending the call and turning to face them, eyes cold.

"Lung is moving north from his territory into ours. Based on the observations and assumptions of our lieutenants, he knows about this location and is coming to challenge me directly. We will go out to meet him and draw him away from the more critical points of our infrastructure. The PRT is heavily engaged with Oni Lee and the fighting between our soldiers, but the agent I just spoke with assured me that they are attempting to resolve things as quickly as possible so they can move against Lung. They will not dare to engage us at the same time, so we need not fear treachery from them tonight."

"And the Trinity? What of them?" Ariana asked, and Kaiser tilted his head and made a shooing-away gesture.

"No sightings, but doubtless they will involve themselves, based on every insight on their character. All the better for us if they assist in combat with Lung. Perhaps their intervention will allow us to ensure the creature is defeated and incarcerated for good at last." He responded, sounding as close to gleeful as he ever had, not that his subordinates were surprised. The Dragon of Kyushu had been nothing but trouble since his arrival in this city. His soldiers and peddlers infringed on Imperial profits, his pet suicide bomber caused wanton destruction to their territories and people, and he himself was an opponent they struggled to face. It was an affront to their cause and their organization every moment that he ruled the ABB, and one they all wished to redress.

With that, he led the way from the room, Othala and Viktor at his heels, the female Trump already shifting through the powers that would be most beneficial for her to endow Kaiser with. Invulnerability, of course, as often as possible. Perhaps enhanced strength or durability, or even a minor Mover power? If Kaiser could out-maneuver The Dragon, they might be able to draw him into some sort of trap. Perhaps one sufficient to weaken him to the degree that their might combined with that of the heroes could lay Lung low.

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"Is he trying to get a Kill Order?" Charlotte snarled furiously as she followed her King into the air, easily spotting the trail of destruction across their home, a smoldering, blackened scar across the cityscape that marked Lung's passing. The casualties, both deaths and injuries, were doubtless enormous already, and they would only grow in equal measure with Lung's escalation. Even if he was actively trying to avoid causing collateral damage, something that was doubtful at best, the nature of his bulk and powers made them inevitable. "He's never done this much damage to the populated areas of the city before, and even the PRT can't ignore this sort of thing any longer. No matter how much they want to avoid rocking the boat."

"I think the boat is well and truly rocked, Char." Emma noted dryly as they winged their way after the distant form of their target, her own eyes sad as she imagined the suffering and the fear of the people below them thanks to Lung's actions. "I guess he feels like supporting the status quo isn't acceptable anymore. If we're lucky, The Empire and The Merchants will let things settle down after The ABB are beaten back. If we're not…"

"War." Taylor finished softly, voice tight with pain and anger in equal measure as she continued accelerating, displaying much of the speed that the trio had kept in reserve for all these months. The time for caution and hesitation was not now, not while the city burned and people died. "The fragile peace is doomed. Kaiser and Skidmark aren't going to sit around on their hands if the ABB are destroyed here, but I think that such a result is preferable to Lung escaping again. Kaiser can't let something like this pass, not if he wants to retain his reputation in general and his legitimacy with his supporters. And playing passive after this would only make him appear weak or soft. No, whether Lung is finished today or not, things are only going to get worse for a while."

Silence fell between the three of them as this truth was absorbed with solemn resignation. Brockton Bay had long been acquainted with constant violence, more constant than any other city in the United States, but it was conversely violence (at least between capes) of a more civilized sort. The Teeth had been driven out, never to return, and The Nine had never dared to 'visit' since King had been killed back in the 80s. Even the arrest of Marquis did little to destroy the Peace which he had so ruthlessly enforced, a Peace above and beyond the simple and frankly laughable 'Unwritten Rules'. All of that would be thrown away, now, washed away in a tide of blood and agony as the major powers tried to seize absolute control during the chaos.

"We can do nothing now except help stop Lung and do our best to heal the damage to both people and city. I believe that we should move up our timetable for the cooperative clinic with Panacea if she is amenable, and visit the hospitals more regularly for the next little while." Emma finally sighed as they descended towards the shore, where Lung was battling an Othala-enhanced Kaiser.

Summoning a pair of Light-Spears, Taylor announced their presence by hurling them in the side of the ABB leader's head. He rumbled in shock and anger, the weakened lances of energy lacking the punch to truly hurt him, especially as ramped up as he was. The combatants turned to face them as they hovered, wings beating languidly, and Seraphim enhanced her voice as she addressed The Dragon.

"Enough, Lung. Whatever your hatred for the Empire, however justified you might be in wishing them gone from this city, you have gone too far. If you don't stand down now and surrender yourself into custody, you may not be able to avoid a Kill Order. Not with the number of people you've hurt or killed today." It would not be an exaggeration to say that she was pleading, hoping quite desperately that further violence was avoidable. Her response was a thundering roar and a billow of flame, which was easily avoided by the three flyers. "As you wish. Take him!"

At her shouted command, her two companions took action, with Solace breaking high and away, healing and protective energies spilling from her hands to wrap around her King and fellow Pawn, the later of whom moved to support Kaiser in melee while the former began to attacking with rather more powerful Spears than those with which she had announced their entrance to the battle. Spears that could scorch and crack Lung's scales, though his regeneration repaired the damage as quickly as it was caused.

"I'm glad that you all decided to join me…" Kaiser addressed Artificer, sounding as friendly as possible, only to be cut of with a brusqueness that was certainly on the other side of rude.

"We didn't join you, will never join you, and attempting to schmooze us isn't going to do you a damn bit of good. I obey my King and my King only, and the likelihood of you convincing or coercing her into supporting you is so close to nil it is laughable."

Had Kaiser not been wearing a full-helm, anyone in view-range would have born witness to the rather amusing sight of an utterly gob-smacked Max Anders. He was not used to being denied anything he desired, especially not when he was armed and armored as Kaiser, nor had he ever been called out quite so bluntly on the word games he used to ingratiate himself towards others and ensure they felt indebted to him. He had spent literal decades honing this skill, and very rarely was it unsuccessful. Still, it took him only moments to shake it off, far too determined and arrogant to believe he would not achieve his goals eventually. He was Kaiser, rich as Crassus and master of the most powerful organization in Brockton Bay. A warrior that had never been captured, who had faced Endbringers and monstrous parahumans alike without falling. A group of teenaged girls were nothing before him, and in time they would learn the truth of that.

"Now, we will keep his focus on the air as much as possible. That should allow you and yours to focus on his weak-points, such as they are." She continued, uncaring of his reaction or innermost thoughts. "The important thing is to keep drawing him towards the shore and hope that more of your people or the Protectorate show up soon."

She was in the air again before he could respond, evidently deciding that her metal-forged weapons were of insufficient power compared to those formed from Holy Light. An accurate summation, even with the (admittedly still rudimentary) enchantments she was capable of weaving into her craftsmanship. The problem was, their Spears weren't doing a great deal of damage either. Doubtless her King could kill or subdue Lung swiftly with greater magics than either of the Pawns could call upon at the moment, but those same spells would cause immense collateral damage. All they could do was continue hammering the beast and hope that a solution revealed itself soon.

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It was an exhausted but determined Armsmaster who dismounted his bike several hundred yards from the enormous form of the ABB's leader, swinging his third halberd of the day off of his back as he did so (the first falling victim to overzealous grenade use by battling gang members, the second to a critical malfunction that he had missed in his latest maintenance. It was appalling that he had made such a critical error!) This wasn't going to be easy, but between his innumerable mechanical wonders and the Anti-Regeneration serum he had developed expressly to use on Lung, he had no doubt that victory was achievable. Then he could capture Kaiser, who would be utterly exhausted from dueling with The Dragon, and bag himself two gang-leaders in one fight. Pragmatism at its finest.

Ten minutes later, a far less confident and rather more battered Protectorate ENE commander grunted in exertion, and no small amount of pain, as he dodged another sweeping limb with all the grace and speed he could still muster. Fighting Lung when he had grown to tower over two stories high was hard enough on a good day, but as tired as he was from trying to pacify the warring gang soldiers, he was at a sever disadvantage from the start. Even if the giant draconic cape was actively trying to avoid killing any the parahumans currently engaging him, it was simply impossible for the man to move without putting someone at severe risk. And he wasn't all that sure that Lung was trying to avoid casualties, at this point.

"Militia, ETA on those reinforcements?" he barked into his helmet's microphone as his halberd spat another syringe-dart full of his Anti-Lung cocktail. After twenty he had long given up hope that this particular mixture would prove to be of any use at all, but given that trying to engage Lung in melee would be suicidal at this stage, there was little else that he could do until help arrived. Help that was currently engaged with Oni Lee and The Empire.

"Oni Lee is retreating and the Empire capes have informed us that they are unwilling to fight us with Lung at the level he is. A temporary alliance has been agreed upon for the sake of ending the fighting quickly before the collateral damage, people and property alike, grows even worse." The weapon-wielding heroine responded, sounding as tired as he felt. That would remove any possibility of taking Kaiser into custody, but honestly that was an utter pipe dream at this point. Even with the three Empire capes and the constant aerial bombardment from Seraphim's group, all they had managed to do was move Lung to the outermost streets beside the long seaside length of the harbor shore. Which was obviously a very good thing and represented not-insignificant progress. That did not, however, mean that they were even close to done with the job.

"Hurry. Lung has surpassed his previously known maximum size and may, theoretically, continue to grow exponentially the longer we allow him to have the upper hand."

Ignoring Hana's acknowledgement of his words, he fired his halberd's grapnel at the edge of the nearest building. Powerful yet tiny servos hauled him through the air with impressive speed, allowing him to clamber onto the roof in a handful of seconds. From this superior vantage point, he could see that the three winged parahumans were targeting their barrages of energy at vulnerable points on Lung's body in an effort to cripple his ability to fight. Wing joins, knees, elbows, eyes, even his nostrils. Anything that might cause significant enough pain or damage to distract and hinder him. A logical and sound tactic, but unfortunately one that was guaranteed to fail, given the insane rate at which Lung could regenerate damage. If an Endbringer could not overcome his regeneration swiftly enough to be noticeable, then there was little hope that three teens with little experience beyond thrashing no-name thugs could bring him down. Still, he could respect their tenacity, courage, and intelligence if nothing else.

A billow of flame raced skyward, a wave of heat heralding its passage, as Lung opted for area-of-effect attacks over his fruitless attempts to hit them with his multitude of limbs. It seemed, however, that even his flames were not fast enough to catch the group. They darted away, fire swirling past harmlessly, and their bombardment intensified as they spread out to surround him. A dreadfully familiar clicking sound drew his attention from the fight, and as he grapnelled away from Oni Lee's clone and its grenades he cursed himself for losing focus. Of course the bomber would come here to support his leader, he never fought for long without either retreating or receiving Lung's aid, and it made sense for him to cause chaos amongst the heroes in order to prevent them from coming up with a cohesive and effective plan. It made sense that he would get here faster than any of those he had been fighting, too, because his line-of-sight teleportation allowed very rapid movement indeed when combined with tall buildings.

Another pop heralded Lee's next attack, but an eye-wateringly bright cascade of light obliterated it even as a slab of concrete as large as he was absorbed the blast from the surviving grenades. Purity and Rune had arrived on the field, quite independently of any other Empire forces, and seemed to have a vested interest in keeping him in one piece, at least for the moment. He certainly wasn't going to complain about that, and according to his HUD Militia and her temporary companions were arriving below them. Hitching a ride to the ground on a sewer grate provided by Rune, he looked over the group as Lung and the Trinity battled behind him.

"I think it's obvious to everyone here that Lung has no interest in backing down this time, which means all of us will need to hit him with everything we have if we all want to make it out of this. Our biggest advantage will be his lack of agility and the fact that his attention will be split between ground and air." He said briskly, running through his listeners' various powers and known strengths as he strategized. "His biggest advantage will be his regeneration, size, and fire-power."

"He can afford to tank our hardest hits if it means he can land one on us in return." Crusader grunted in agreement, folding his arms across his chest, watching the aerial display before them with a critical eye. "They seem to have his attention firmly at this point…Jesus!"

At his exclamation, they turned in time to see and hear a feminine form, blurred by movement, smash through the brick wall of a nearby warehouse as Lung landed a lucky blow and struck one of The Trinity from the sky. In response, the others redoubled their efforts and drew his attention before he could follow up with fire. Before they could send anyone to check the fallen teen, or even speak, she erupted back out of the warehouse with a shout of anger they could hear despite the distance, and massive lance of golden energy temporarily blinded them as it impacted Lung's chest. The ground quaked as The Dragon stumbled back several gigantic footsteps. He very well could have lost his footing, if not for the support of his long and muscular tail, and there was a surge of hope that he might withdraw or give up at such a blow, but it was dashed as he visibly grew taller. Now nearly thirty feet tall, with four arms and legs, two pairs of wings, six eyes, and an axe-like blade on his tail, he caught sight of the group preparing to oppose him and sent a cloud of heat and destruction billowing across the distance separating them. It was fast, faster than they expected, and at least a few of them would be too slow to escape in time.

In an instant the Holy Trinity were before them, hands upraised as three vertical golden domes sprang into existence in the fire's path. The first was shattered almost instantly, Artificer flinching back as if she herself had been struck, while the second held for a few seconds before crumbling, this time with Solace reacting unfavorably. Seraphim's shield held strong, however, until the crimson air dissipated. Relief was short-lived as Lung charged like a bull, moving with surprising swiftness to bring one pair of SUV-sized fists down on the shield. Web like cracks became visible in its surface, steadily growing in length and breadth as he continued to strike with a tempo only made possible by his unnatural number of limbs.

Taylor gritted her teeth as she desperately poured more power into her faltering barrier, mind racing as she tried to discern how to get everyone out of this situation in one piece. A mass teleportation spell would work, but she lacked the experience and finesse to move everyone within the dome, yet leave Lung behind. She briefly entertained the idea of teleporting Lung out into the middle of the harbor, but it was entirely possible dropping something his size into the water would create a wave of significant size and power, one that could do incredible damage when it hit the shoreline.

I need more power! She snarled to herself, and she couldn't help but glance at her rings. She could remove them, all to easily providing all the power she could possibly need to not simply defeat Lung, but annihilate him. It wouldn't even be hard, despite her still-limited repertoire of large-scale spells, but if her repertoire was lacking her control was more so. She had barely mastered the amount of power she had while sealed, she hadn't a hope of controlling what they contained. Especially not in a situation as desperate as this, which would make focusing even harder than it might have been otherwise.

The barrier weakened further, and she could feel it was moments from shattering. Is this what it would come too, forced between preserving her group's safety at the others' detriment, or allowing harm to come to those who looked to her for leadership? Would she fail to save those who stood behind her, and her home at large? Was she really going to fail so utterly so early on her path?

No!She could not fail here, could not give in to despair nor allow weakness of heart to lay her low! She would stop Lung, save her city and the people who had fought beside her in its defense. To do otherwise would set a precedent of failure when confronted by parahumans, and that would not, could not, stand.

Across the city, within the central chamber of her mother's legacy, the engravings and embedded gems of Anette's armor began to shine with power. Wakened by the danger to their former bearer's child, the thing that she held most precious in all the worlds. Its display case shattered as its enchantments awoke once more, the gleaming glass reduced to little more than dust in the instant before the armor vanished in a flash that would have blinded any who had gazed upon it.

With a sound like that of cracking ice, Taylor's shield spell finally succumbed to Lung's pounding, and he roared in triumph before breathing forth the largest wave of napalm yet. As it rushed towards the now-vulnerable group of parahumans, they flinched and held up their arms in a futile attempt to defend themselves from onrushing death…but they felt nothing. Was this the strength of Lung's fire, a seamless transition from life to death without the pain of searing flesh and scorched bones?

Arms lowered slowly, and eyes widened in time with falling jaws. Before them stood a figure of radiance that put Purity's brightness to shame, only the faintest outline visible through the fire that was flowing and seething around her, writhing in impotent fury as it was tempered to her will. More and more of the crimson cascade gathered around her, compacting into ribbon-like streams so white-hot that the air distorted around them like a mirage. Within a minute the figure had claimed control of every inch of flame, and they watched in awe as it was shaped into a long, serpentine shape. A wyrm of fire, coiled around its mistress like a faithful pet, and as the blinding light finished fading her form was finally revealed to them.

Gold-trimmed plate armor of gleaming silver, studded with glowing gems and script that seemed to move before their eyes, covered her from head to toe. A deep hood shielded the upper half of her face, leaving only the space from her mouth to her collarbone revealed to observers. Yet it was not the fire-wyrm nor the armor that seemed to hold their eyes, not the taming of nature nor the polished metal that enthralled them, but rather her wings. No longer was it a single pair, raven-feathered, but two. Four wings now sprouted from her back, spread wide as she stood defiant before the titan.

"Now, Lung, the true battle begins. You had best defend yourself. Otherwise, you might not survive."

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