Khurem, was the strong and imposing warlord of Lahidi. He was one of the strongest servants of the Ibinian dragons, yet he found himself in quite an awkward situation.

 

It was the day of the competition he and two brothers-in-arms had agreed to host, and the fights were in quite a tight schedule. A few even happened simultaneously. As powerful as the three warlords were, they could not be everywhere, thus they had to fan themselves out.

 

Currently, he was watching over vast swathes of desert, dust and the occasional wildlife. He was hundreds of kilometers away from any semblance of civilization. He had ran as fast as he could to get here before the contestants.

 

One might think this was a terrible and undesirable task, but Khurem was actually first to call dibs on watching over this region. The reason was quite simple:

 

He did not know the exact details why the moneygrubbers and the nutjobs were so insistent in having such a vast wriggle room for merely two contestants, on top of a request to have as few as possible observers. However, what he did know was:

 

Who else would take up so much space for a fight aside from a powerful archmage or the like?

 

His hunch was further consolidated when he had learned the names of the two combatants: Cor Ferrum and Thorn. Those names were notorious and feared throughout the land such as Cheshire or Hiram, in fact quite the opposite, the two were practically nobodies.

 

That was exactly why Khurem suspected at least one of the two would be an archmage. They were the type who preferred to be secretive and lie low, the best example was Archmage Wesley, who despite having many contributions to the body of both magical and non-magical knowledge over the course of 20 years; People still argued about his or her gender!

 

A highly adept caster could sling spells that shook the earth and blot out the sky. While Khurem had successfully bench pressed a small mountain, he was still a little boy who loved big explosions at heart. Magic made for very big explosions, so he was a big fan of magic.

 

So, despite the scalding hot sun shining right over his back, it was the perfect situation, right? He got what he wanted, and would probably be able to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Nothing awkward about standing for hours in the desert if you got something great out of it!

 

Yeah, that would be the case if not for the girl munching on a human burger right next to him. The short-stack of a woman had shoulder-length, inhuman green hair, and what she was wearing left very little to the imagination. Thankfully, Khurem was a man of many gods and had a great many loving wives, so he could control his desire fairly well.

 

The woman had introduced herself as Thorn, which made him fall into a stupor. He knew that mages cared very little of their physique, but those he had dealt with were unkempt middle-aged men and women, not a… whatever he was dealing with.

 

Then it hit him.

 

The glare that seemed to pierce through him, the ethereal form, the green hair and the vines that covered her body…

 

The nutjobs had somehow gotten the fucking deities on their side.

 

Just as Khurem was about to kneel in reverence, he heard the dryad’s stomach rumble. He had inquired if she was hungry, and she venomously affirmed that she was not, stammering as she spoke.

 

This awakened a protective instinct within him, and he nearly broke the sound barrier rushing to who-knows-where. He had returned with an Ibinian cuisine in his hand, with some adjustments to make it acceptable for dryads.

 

The dryad in question hesitated, but after holding her stomach and making a reluctant expression, she snatched the burger from Khurem and bit into it.

 

---

That led to the current predicament.

 

Thorn swallowed a sizable chunk of the meat and bread; she was not used to chewing well. As a cactus, water and sunlight would be all that she needed to survive but-

 

Her human desire yearned for something more… filling.

 

“Huh-human meat?”

 

Khurem inwardly grimaced, but he kept a straight face.

 

“Well, Your Eminence, I know dryads do not appreciate the destruction of the ecosystem, therefore I suspected that human meat would be the only acceptable option.” He explained as formally as possible, even using foreign words in the process. A not-so-glorius tribe he had conquered had many techniques to make human meat as appetizing as possible. So he was confident the dryad wouldn't have any trouble chewing or digesting it.

 

“Hmph, garbage ish still garbage, even when well done, but-.” Thorn pointed at the bread and narrowed her eyes.

 

“Bread. Made of wheat.” She tried her hardest not to mess up her diction to sound threatening.

 

However, instead of a look of fear, Khurem gave a gentle smile.

 

“We cultivated the desert lands to give bountiful harvests. Our magic has in a sense 'terraformed' the soil to make it more nutritious. We give to the land, and the land gives back. It is a symbiotic process.” He repeated a quote one of his ancestors made.

 

Thorn took another bite, and considered the warlord’s words. Give to the land… and give back. If magic turned her desert territory into a land rich in greenery, then wouldn’t she look as nice as the other dryads?

 

She shook her head to remove such outrageous thoughts. Human-like creatures have chopped down thousands of trees, taken thousands of innocent lives. And yet they have the audacity to ask for something in return for doing their duty as a species?! Such arrogance!

 

Besides, she was sure they would rather use their magic to raze the land rather than make her look pretty. Wait, since when did she care about such a disgusting concept?

 

Thorn furrowed her brows and inwardly cursed at every single race in the world that did as much as pick up a rock. At this point, she may as well have forgotten about the upcoming battle.

 

Khurem left the enraged dryad to her own devices; he’d rather not raise the ire of nature.

 

-

---

Thorn’s train of thought was interrupted by a construct of human pollution heading towards her direction. The construct had four wheels made from the carcasses of her fellow plants, and it belched an ugly substance that she could only describe as utterly vile.

 

It was most likely her enemy, and even if it wasn’t – it needed to be erased for desecrating nature. Thorn wolfed down her food in rage.

 

“Yowe the filthy c-cretin responsible for the ‘towrnament” right?” Thorn crossed her arms.

 

Khurem scratched the back of his head.

 

“Yes, I am here to oversee it and declare the winner.”

 

“Can I.... start?” She spoke, emphasizing the word “start” so her stupid human vocal cords would not flub it up.

 

“Well, assuming that’s “Cor Ferrum”, he’s already in the combat zone, so I guess you can. But I suggest you hold fire since we’re not su-“

 

Thorn needed no further confirmation. She made a giant cactus to impede the path of the vehicle. It swerved violently to the right, with a boy jumping from it while carrying a rather aged man. They both looked surprisingly calm despite the ambush.

 

Once Thorn confirmed the construct was unmanned, the giant cactus' thorns suddenly detached and shot towards the vehicle, warping the metal and essentially destroying it.

 

The filthy machine shall soon decay and be rightfully reclaimed by the earth. Thorn could speed up the process, but she had more important matters to attend to.

 

“HeY, aRe YoU the EneMY?!” She covered her mouth; she was still not used to yelling so her voice came out squeaky and cracked.

 

The enemy didn’t seem to capitalize on her embarrassment and jumped really, really high, hurling towards her.

 

“DRACO PUNCH!!” Thorn had very little time to block the attack, but with some quick thinking she managed to call upon a fast-growing, large, conifer tree.

 

The tree was rapidly disassembled as soon as it made contact with the mana-coated fist, its matter violently ejecting in every direction. A splinter of wood had found itself in Thorn’s right leg. Right, she was human now; her own plants could harm her. She quickly extracted it so it would not impede her movement.

 

The enemy was not; despite crashing directly into the tree, the boy was completely unharmed. Every projectile that hit him most likely bounced off.

 

She had to make some distance. Distance that her foe did not seem interested in crossing.

 

The young man had a uniform that denoted a high rank. ‘Civilized’ societies had leadership, and Thorn despised the leadership the most. More often than not they were the ones with machinations to destroy nature.

 

She scowled and stared him down.

 

The boy returned the intimidating gaze.

 

“Hey miss! Don’t you know that was dangerous? You could’ve killed someone with that exploding cactus!”

 

‘And nothing of value would be lost.’ Thorn wanted to retort, but at this distance, her disgusting human voice would surely betray her.

 

Instead, she chose to stay silent and slowly float away, on guard against her opponent. Surprisingly, her opponent did the same, unfurling huge, metallic wings from his back.

 

Thorn smiled, this was a chance to knock the bells off those arrogant dragons. Something felt off about this one, though.

 

A harsh wind found its way into the area, kicking up some sand. The two, however, seemed unperturbed. They merely closed their eyes to not get dust inside of it.

 

The standoff lasted until it was interrupted by a certain warlord.

 

“OH MY GAWD! THIS BATTLE WILL BE LEGENDARY!” yelled out Khurem, who was escorting Anton from the battlefield.

 

He coughed, realizing that he had yelled loud enough for both contestants to hear his fanboying.

 

“SORRY ABOUT THAT! I’LL BE EVACUATING THIS CIVILIAN, HAVE FUN!” His voice bellowed as he quickly disappeared into the horizon.

 

The boy spoke once more.

 

“Ah whatever, can’t expect the bad guys to have proper manners.” He nodded and gave a toothy grin, as if he completely understood the situation.

 

“I do, however. Good noon ma’am, my name is Cor Ferrum. I assume you are Thorn, my opponent?” Cor made an exaggerated bow and tipped his imaginary hat.

 

Thorn answered his question by attempting to add a porcupine into the ecosystem via hundreds of poisonous needles coming out of her skin and heading towards Cor.

 

Cor however, simply stood in place. The needles had bounced harmlessly off his skin, even if they were poisoned; Thorn doubted it would cause anything more than a rash.

 

At least she had confirmed her opponent’s skin was tough as steel, or perhaps even composed of a similar material. An earth dragon came to mind. If so, this match was over.

 

However, reality often disappointed as much as the first time dolphins discovered fire. She clicked her tongue.

 

“Haha, surprised? Compaction, miss! I can harden my skin in response to physical trauma. You can't hurt me..." Cor paused and thought for a moment.

 

"Actually, I probably shouldn't say that. Anyways, I'll have to tell you 10 reasons not to be a bad guy now..." He mouthed, not caring that he was being ignored.

 

Thorn communicated with nature spirits from all over the world; not once had she heard of a dragon or an offshoot species. That could only mean one thing: the one in front of her was a heretical creation of a machine empire.

 

The cactus had lived for 3 centuries, that was young enough not to experience the horrors that 'advanced' civilization brought to the biosphere. However, they had heard horror stories from older dryads.

 

Some say they were more cheerful in the pass, some say they were fiercer. But those who had survived that era were never the same... they seemed to have lost something.

 

She was furious, rage boiled inside her, much like the ray of heat that she had anticipated and dodged. However, a scorching wave still greeted her left side, bringing unfamiliar pain.

 

It was ignored by the adrenaline pumping through her mortal form.

 

Bamboo jutted out of the ground, it grew fast and it had greater girth than its natural counterparts. The pointed end headed straight for Cor’s bottom.

 

“Number 9, Kebab Lord Boot Tomato- YEOWCH!” Cor rubbed his bum and flew out of the way as he did not want to get impaled by the thick bamboo.

 

“OW!” Another one burst from the ground, reaching Cor despite the higher altitude.

 

Another bamboo was headed straight for him, but he swiftly maneuvered out of the way. He expected multiple attacks to head for him, so he did a barrel roal to evade them while looking as cool as possible.

 

“I got ya good this time didn’t I- HOLY TERRA THERE’S MORE!” Cor felt that the metal around his lower half was being slowly but surely scraped off, never mind the state of his pants. He had to make a move.

 

“Alright, that’s it! Just cause I’m made of metal doesn’t mean you can poke me with so many sticks. Combust!” Cor chanted as his surroundings were engulfed in an intense flame.

 

---

Thorn chuckled at the scene of the terrible machine scurrying around the bamboo she called forth. After some experimentation a couple decades ago, dryads realized that naturally fast growing plants could be boosted to ridiculous levels using Phytomancy. With this discovery, they had modified bamboo to produce a thick and durable subspecies that consumed little to no nutrients, suitable for use as a weapon against invasive species.

 

Thorn’s mortal form had the power of multiple dryads within. That produced the scenery in front of her: at this point the bamboo would number in the hundreds in half an hour.

 

Granted, with how sparse the nutrients were in the desert and with how tall they had grown, they would die shortly after. Their sacrifices will be remembered.

 

‘The poor imitation of those repulsive dragons did not have much to offer after all.’

 

Then, a massive fireball appeared around Cor, the heat wave brushed against Thorn’s skin. The destruction did not end at Cor’s surroundings however, as the flames quickly spread to the remaining bamboo.

 

Thorn realized how badly it would go if that fire would touch her. She had to go higher, and higher she went.

 

This time, Cor did indeed pursue

 

“Draco Paaanch!”

Thorn narrowly avoided another violent mana-fueled punch. She had noticed that they had already passed the lowest of the clouds. However, the occasional rays of flame that Cor threw at her were still dangerous.

 

Higher in the sky, she did not have any place to anchor plants to, but such a disadvantage was acceptable over being burnt to a crisp.

 

She did however, have an equally potent ability.

 

Thorn closed her eyes, and used a familiar ability. Within the desert, in her stubby but superior natural form, she often used it to tell scorpions to bite travelers or tell camels to buzz off; right here and now however, she could use it for so much more.

 

She called out to the children of the earth that frolicked within the sky. Her call only encompassed a few kilometers in every direction, but it was enough.

 

The cry of avian creatures could be heard in the distance, they charged into the fray like Valkyries. Their ranks consisted of the most timid of vultures to the fiercest of falcons. Regardless of what their genetics were, they all looked at Cor with the same burning hatred as Thorn.

 

---

Cor despised aerial battles, he truly did. He was part-dragon, so he enjoyed flight in general, but actually fighting someone in the air that wasn’t at least the size of a lesser dragon was a pain.

 

“Good grief, just let me get a hit in already, pretty please?” He yelled out, his voice amplified by magic.

 

He received no response from the rude girl.

 

‘Hmph I thought bad guys at least had a proper 5-minute monologue. This one has no redeeming qualities at all.’ Cor grumbled as he released increasingly more potent fire spells, he even slung spells laced with toxic properties such as his famous "Radioactive Metal Slugshot".

 

Anton had complained about those things being apparently dangerous when they hit the ground, but there weren’t any people nearby, so it should be fine.

 

The two danced through the air as Cor kept a steady stream of spells aimed at Thorn; the latter seemed pressured into a defensive position where she progressively grew weaker and weaker. In the ground, her movements would be clumsy. as she was not used to it. However, in the air, Thorn was already very much used to flight. In fact, her lighter wait only made her more manuevarable.

 

Thorn came to a halt and quickly climbed upwards. Cor could not control his momentum well enough, so he had ended up overshooting a bunch of spells. The distance between them grew even wider.

 

A couple more exchanges occurred, and any observer would see it as a beautiful performance, almost like a dance. The advanced aerial maneuvers often created unintentional hoops and helixes in the sky.

 

However, one of them used wild magic that consumed mana, and one of them used "natural" flight.

 

If the battle of attrition continued, the metallic dragon was sure to last longer than the nature spirit-turned-human.

 

However, Cor did not have that opinion, he was growing quite bored. There was no use in fighting a bad guy if the bad guy wouldn’t fight back. The vine-covered woman seemed to have a very plant-based theme around her, so did that mean her ability was limited to controlling plants?

 

Wasn’t she the one who brought them up here in the first place?

 

Cor sighed, all he had to do was find some way to drag her back down. However, when he looked down and saw that they were already a good portion above the clouds – he realized that it was going to be quite a challenge.

 

It would be possible in his dragon form, but he had a strict code to follow. He could only use the dragon form if it seems like he’s in a tough spot. It was a good way to shock his opponent with a “second phase”.

 

His thoughts were interrupted by the cry of numerous vultures. He saw the veritable swarm of birds heading his way. They looked angry, but Cor didn’t really care; vultures were pretty much harmless. Unlike those dastardly Vermillion Birds from Jingzhu that always tried to prove themselves better than dragons.

 

He trusted in that judgement so much that he was shocked when a vulture started pecking on him. Then another, then another, until he was swarmed by numerous vultures trying to peck off his skin and rip out his cogs.

 

He wasn’t worried though, all he need was a good ‘ol “Big Combustion”

 

A massive fireball erupted, turning all the birds surrounding him into ashes.

 

At least, that’s what should have happened, but not only was the fireball weaker, but it also died out faster.

 

As if that was not already bad enough, mushrooms grew on the nearby corpses that weren't burnt to a crisp, they released spores that irritated his skin.

 

The swarm of birds around him had formed a shape similar to a cloud.

 

Cor turned to Thorn, who had a smug grin plastered all over her face. That was when he understood why his opponent had led him all the way up.

 

Fire magic was less effective the higher you go, after all. But…

 

It was bold of her to assume that fire magic was what he was the best at. He was only using it because fire was most effective at eliminating nature-focused magicians.

 

Clearly, birds called for a different strategy.

 

Cor started to chant in an ancient language, though that was only for fun. All he really needed to do was control his mana to properly flow out of him and have the materials prepared beforehand.

 

He looked to the ground, he couldn't spot the ruined steam-powered car, but he was sure it was still somewhat salvegable.

 

It had been a while since he had to use such a spell, so the materials weren’t a problem.

 

A small tear in space appeared, which greatly alarmed Thorn. She stared at the sun and decided to prepare a big spell of her own.

 

Cor had finished way before her.

 

“Ameno dori me.” He said firmly.

 

From the small hole in the sky a thin, metal rod peeked out. Dozens of others appeared alongside it. A radiant glow emanated from each metal rod, giving off a suffocating pressure. It was a combination of rudimentary space magic, holy magic and metal magic developed by Cor.

 

He dubbed it “Maxim Holy Fire”.

 

The divine rods rapidly “fell” off the hole, guided by Cor’s magnetism; they found their way into the flesh of the birds harassing him. The hole in space fired off multiple “rounds” every second and every time a rod was expended another took its place. It was literally a vicious circle.

 

The kill count wasn’t even one vulture for every metal rod, the holy energy imbued gave each rod the ability to mortally wound the surrounding birds.

 

In a few seconds, the swarm of vultures had already been wiped out. A couple of the hawks circling below them were also taken out for good measure.

 

However, they would not die in vain. Fungi immediately sprouted out of the dead bodies before they could plummet. It could not grow enough, but they released a corrosive spore that managed to eat through metal.

 

Thorn’s quick use of Phytomancy had managed to harm Cor, as parts of his metallic skin corroded away. It had not ended in her victory, but she at least managed to stage a counterattack.

                                                                                                                                                                                  

Now, the “Maxim Holy Fire” could fully focus on Thorn, but she would not let such a thing happen.

 

The sheer radiant power of the sun engulfed the tear in space and managed to override the mana keeping it open. The spell was effectively cancelled out.

---

Thorn panted, Heliomancy took no small amount of mana, and such power was something she needed to keep herself flying in the sky. Not to mention she had no idea if the battle was anywhere close to finished. Thus, she had to stop there.

 

Magic wasn’t her only worry as she soon found out. Her breathing had become laborious; her human body needed precious oxygen which was very thin high up in the sky. The factor was something the cactus dryad failed to consider.

 

If she stayed here, she would plummet, and the round would be over in her loss. Her loss against a machine, of all things.

 

Had this match been against any other contestant, she would give up and live to fight another match. There were going to be a lot, and she would not trust the Ordo to win for her.

 

However, this one was quite personal. An opportunity to take revenge on an empire that acted so arrogantly against Mother Nature. She would make a gambit that could possibly destroy the mortal form her fellow dryads had worked hard to acquire.

 

Her “clothes” dug into her skin, creating festering wounds in the process. Using phytomancy, Thorn could make the plants grow and control them to an extent using the nutrients in her very own body. This also gave her a lot more breathing room in a literal sense.

 

She rushed towards Cor, who was busy scrubbing off the corrosive spores and cursing under his breath. Though he had noticed her, and realizing she was in talking range called out to her.

 

“Hey plant lady! Why are you working for the bad guys?” He asked innocently.

 

Realizing that her extended vines could not wrap around Cor despite his stupidly large wings and point-blank range, Thorn decided to amuse him to relax his guard.

 

“T-the zilk trade deal is… a threat to nathure.” Thorn explained, trying hard to speak properly. She swore that her mortal form had a speech impediment or something.

 

“Hmm? A threat to nature? But my old friend said that the trade deal will help everyone get along!” Cor swiped away a lashing vine with his left hand. He could use magic, but he felt that it would be wrong to use minor cantrips after using such a big spell.

 

“Ith will help huwmanz and their acthomplithces get along. It doez nothing for the ecothytem.” Thorn retorted, blocking a heavy blow with a stem. She counterattacked by trying to pierce Cor’s eyes, but it instead scratched his wings.

 

“Huh? That makes no sense! The sapient races are a part of the ecosystem too.” Cor complained, tearing apart a bundle of thick leaves.

 

“Hah! What’ve you all done for nature? Any rathce that hath done so much as put on cthlothing w-would  have done more harm t-than good. You think we will forget the deztruction and polluthion the mathine empirez have wrought? If anything, we dryads are protecthing nature from beings like YOU!” Thorn’s attacks increased in both quantity and strength, her ferocity and rage that her ancestors held powered her. Her mortal form looked to wither way, but she did not care.

 

Cor erupted into violent laughter.

 

“Hah. What a joke! Look at the land, it’s on fire!” He gestured towards the ground that was growing ever closer.

 

Indeed, the effects of their battle brought destruction into the land. The fires that blazed away at the stalks of bamboo had not been quelled. The suffocating smoke had made its way to the sky and was drifting off. Pools of dangerous substances were scattered throughout the desert. If a majority of their fight had not happened in the air, there would probably be a fair amount of craters as well.

 

Most importantly, the corpses of birds, valuable members of nature, lay strewn on their sandy graves.

 

Thorn’s eyes widened in rage.

 

“And who iz at fault?”

 

Cor realized that he should have probably considered the context before spewing out quotes of his past opponents. He forgot that he was the one hurling all the deadly spells around.

 

He scratched his head, letting down his guard completely.

 

“Well, now that I think about it. I guess it’s mine?” He let out a dry laugh.

 

‘And partially mine.' Thorn wanted to add, but the goal of the conversation was already achieved.

 

The vines around her unfurled and extended, Cor widened his eyes, seeing something he should probably have not. They shot towards the undefended Cor and wrapped around him, squeezing him tightly.

 

‘Evil creation of mankind, today you meet your demise.’ Thorn thought. Ever since she took to the sky, she had understood that a dryad such as her would not stand a chance against Cor. He was an imitation of a dragon, sure, but he held the power of one.

 

She undid her flight, bringing them into a freefall. As they dipped in altitude, the hawks she had called earlier approached them, but she told them to return to their nest. There was no more need for additional sacrifice.

 

Cor had finally attempted to use magic, but she blocked any leakage of mana with her vines.

 

Thorn, however, was not one dryad, not today. Her mortal form was the culmination of many. And they – all of them – were standing up to a greater foe.

 

 

Thorn let go of her vines and Cor just before they hit the ground, letting him smash into it at terminal velocity. She spent a great amount of magic to slow her fall into a safe contact with the ground.

 

The wounds on her body had opened; there was nothing to keep it shut anymore.

 

She felt weak; the mana in her body was nearly drained.

 

She had enough for one, final set of attacks.

 

She called forth the most dangerous carnivorous plant she knew, expending a great deal of energy and nutrients to make in grow big enough to directly engulf Cor in its stomach.

 

Sure they may have deviated from their goal, sure the only reason she went this far as for vengeance-

 

Five motes of light formed above Thorn as she raised her hand; she would use the absolute limit of her power to make sure the deed was done.

 

-but Thorn always aimed for more than just the primary objective.

 

After some time, the motes of light expanded and contracted, before directing five radiant sunbeams towards the plant where Cor would meet his end.

 

The sunbeams easily punctured the stomach of the plant, letting highly corrosive stomach acid touch the ground and spray into the sky as rain.

 

Instead of coming out the other direction, the light did not make it through the other end of the plant. Thorn had angled the sunbeams slightly downwards to make sure all of the destructive power was not wasted. A gigantic orb of light formed at ground zero.

 

They soon stopped and scattered, having completely drained her mana. She felt woozy, and wanted to faint. Though, she would not until she was absolutely assured of her victory.

 

Dust kicked up into the sky, rocks had exploded into bits and pieces. The ground had formed into a massive crater, testament to nature's wrath.

 

However, standing in the middle of the newly-formed crater was Cor, his admiral uniform in tatters. The boy, however, had but a ‘flesh wound’.

 

Though for Thorn it may be more accurate to call him a monster now.

 

His lithe, copper body featured some dented metal and broken pieces of cogwheels, but otherwise he was fine. His tails were pointed upwards, and in his chest was a coalescing orb of molten magma.

 

He let it loose directly at the remains of the carnivorous plant, deleting any proof of its existence.

 

With heavy steps, he made his way towards Thorn, who had almost given up.

 

However, she had one more trick up her sleeve. The dryads had perhaps not only imparted strength into her mortal body, but intellect as well.

 

The stumpy, fierce cactus that was Thorn would never have resorted to an underhanded tactic.

 

Cor had arrived in front of Thorn, and looked towards her, the cogwheels in his eyes gazing at her own.

 

“That was a good fight, miss.”

 

He spread out his wings and raised his head, prepare to deal the final blow.

 

“WAIT! I’M NOT A BAD GUY!” Thorn pleaded, weakness evident in her voice.

 

Cor’s draconic body immediately relaxed, and he tilted his head in confusion.

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“Yeah, I umm… was forcthed into thiz by the bad guyz… Nova Ordo.” Thorn blurted out, unbelieving of the words coming out of her mouth.

 

Cor let out a roar of rage.

 

“WHAAAT?! Such audacity?! Stay here, I’ll go burn down their headquarters right now. Oh right I should probably end this first.”

 

Cor raised a claw to knock out Thorn, but she raised her arm.

 

“Wait! Nova Ordo is ho-holding my brethren hoshtage, if I don’t fulfill my end of the agreement, zurely they would be i-in danger.” She half-lied, technically Nova Ordo had a garden, so they could possibly threaten those if she lost.

 

“Oh, that would be bad, if you’re a good guy… then you don’t deserve something like that. What’s the condition?” Cor lowered his front leg.

 

“I have to win thish match.” Thorn blurted out with a straight face.

 

“Why do I feel like you’re tricking me so that you could win?” Cor seriously questioned. Anton warned him that bad guys like to play tricks. This looked like a trick, and while Cor was… debilitated thanks to his curse, he was not stupid.

 

“Do I look like I’m trying to trick you?” Well she was, but she managed to say it weakly with a determined gaze.

 

Though to Cor it looked like puppy eyes. Never mind, he was stupid.

 

“Ah fine! I’m just here for the experience and all.” Cor backed away, completely forgetting the stakes of the tournament. With a loud thump, he fell to the ground.

 

“AHHH NO!! MY GEARS, THEY”RE RUSTING AWAY… NOOOO! HEY WARLORD DUDE! I SURRENDER! THORN IS THE VICTOR!”

---

Khurem's eyes were full of sheer admiration, and he was lost in thought.

 

The battle exceeded his expectations, the combatants were not simply arch mages, they were a deity and a dragon. Their fight was of a proportion that he could have never imagined.

From the initial ambush, to the burning bamboo forest, to the dance in the sky, the swarm of birds, the falling star of vines, and the final display of sheer mystical might.

 

He may have wet his pants. 

He was not without worries though, he was a little bit unnerved about Cor Ferrum's appearance, and to an extent Thorn's mannerisms.

He was a big fan of Archmage Wesley, so he had a lot of different figurines and posters in his room of all sorts of iterations of the good mage, except for the strange ones of course.

But if it so happened that the peak of magic involved turning yourself into a child one way or another, his spirit would surely be shattered. 

Dragon forbid the weirdo's who depicted Wesley as a child were correct...

He turned his attention back into the battle. It seems that there was quite a magnificent explosion that occured.

 

Though, it looked like the victor was obvious. The dragon had come out harmed - but on top.

 

He did not know why, but he did feel a little bad about the dryad losing.

---

 

While Khurem was busy looking at the desecrated desert in sheer reverence, Anton woke him from his stupor. The latter had convinced Khurem that he must absolutely stay to watch over Cor. Though, in reality he just wanted to see his master fighting.

 

However, it seems his generosity had gotten to his head once more.

 

“Huh, but it looked like the mighty dragon was winning?” Khurem wondered as he was about to raise his hand and proclaim Cor victorious through sheer reflex.

 

“Don’t question it. My master is quite old, it appears his humors are acting up again.”

 

“Ah, what a shame. I guess I wouldn't mind it if Her Eminence was the victor, she fought well.”

 

--

Khurem looked at Thorn’s naked body, though it was not the gaze of a lustful man. Rather, he was extremely worried.

 

Her mortal form looked highly malnourished, it was not drained of blood, but the blood was drained of important stuff. Not to mention the huge, gaping wounds all across it. It was a wonder she was still alive.

 

“Your eminence, you need to see a healer immediately. May I carry you to one?”

 

Thorn wanted to complain, at least yell out something insulting. The human pawn of a dragon dared to ask to hold her?!

 

However, she recalled his earlier words and Cor’s surprisingly insightful lines.

 

She could only utter one word.

 

“Fine.” She looked at the desolate environment around her. To the shredded plants and the fallen birds.

 

May your souls rest in Mother Nature's bosom forevermore - fear not children of earth, for you sacrifice was not in vain. 

---

The warlord took the dryad’s mortal form into a fireman carry. It would take a miracle to save her, but he knew a couple people capable of miracles.

 

It was his duty to protect his people, and he felt that the desert dryad was one of them despite being a deity.

 

He would surely be asked a lot of questions once he got to camp though.

---

“Hey boss.” Anton called out to Cor as they were flying home. They lost their steam powered car, and Cor did not to walk home naked in his human form.

 

“Yeah?” The dragon responded shakily, the battle had really managed to take a bit out of him.

 

“You did it again didn’t you?” Anton chuckled.

 

“Did what?”

 

“You purposely fell for a supposed enemy’s trick.”

 

“Wait, that was a trick? But her pleading look felt so convincing.” Cor mumbled, but then let out a mechanic cough.

 

“Anton my dear butler, sometimes you have to live and let live.”

 

Anton’s palm greeted his face.

 

“Sir, you pick the worst times to say such good quotes.”

 

The two remained silent for a while, but Cor had something to say.

 

“Hey Anton, that plant woman… Thorn. Her mannerisms… you think she has a curse similar to me?”

 

“Haha, sir. You surely jest.”

--

Thorn, who had recovered and reluctantly wore a more modest set of vines sneezed.

“Are you still unwell, Your Eminence?” Khurem spoke, he wore a blue-dotted apron and was cooking a casserole out of questionable ingredients.

“I-I am fine, human. I feel that someone just called me stupid.” She had finally managed to learn how to speak properly.