Guardians of The Damned-Chapter 30: They Can Lose

This guy... I thought slowly but didn't disturb him.

"Can you handle that?" I asked Dre.

"Yeah! I fought a guy a few days back whose whole power was shields. Talk about luck!" He sounded excited to finally use this ability.

"Trace," he uttered. If I remembered right, whenever he said that, it meant he was using an ability he chose to keep — not just a one-time copy.

Normally, every ability he copied was single-use.

A shield of familiar energy took form in front of us, shaped like a flower. It floated steadily in the air.

I didn't stay idle either. Drawing on the mist around me, I layered a protective coating over the shield.

Just as we were bracing ourselves—

"I'm still here!" a female voice rang out from the sky.

We looked up and saw Miem, flapping dragon wings on her back. Axe in hand, she looked like a Valkyrie descending to battle.

"Why didn't she use that earlier?" I muttered.

"Annoying monkeys!" The dragon's grand voice shook the sky and ground.

It shifted its attack toward Miem, breathing out a torrent of elemental energy.

From a distance, it looked like three massive pillars of color rising into the heavens — beautiful and deadly.

"She's going to die," Dre said grimly.

"Believe in her," I replied.

Miem dived sharply, heading straight into the breaths without hesitation.

"What is she doing?!" Dre clutched his head in panic.

I could see it — risky, but deliberate. Raising my hand, I summoned the surrounding mist upward, forming a thin shield just before the city ceiling.

Meanwhile, scales spread across Miem's skin. The breath swallowed her — yet she remained untouched.

The attack surged on and struck the ceiling, but the mist barrier dispersed its force, preventing catastrophic damage.

Still falling, Miem raised her axe to the sky — and it grew in size.

The dragon watched in disbelief.

"Just what are you?!" it roared. It had never seen a human wield so many abilities at once, switching between them with ease.

"I'm your master. I order you to return to my side!" Miem shouted.

She swung the axe down.

The blow crashed into the dragon's heads with a thunderous crack, sending them slamming into the ground.

A pillar of dust exploded upward, reaching twelve meters into the air and blanketing the surroundings for five kilometers.

Miem landed near us, panting heavily. One by one, her axe, snake tail, hooves, wings, and claws disappeared, returning her to her human form.

"Sunny... how did you disperse its breath?" she asked between gasps.

"A secret," I said simply.

Miem stared at me, doubt flickering in her eyes. A silent understanding seemed to pass between us.

"You're a monster, Sunny," she whispered, then closed her eyes and collapsed.

I caught her just in time.

"What did she mean by that?" Dre asked, bewildered.

I said nothing and took a puff from my vape — only to find nothing entered my mouth.

I checked it — half of it was gone.

Before I could react, Dre pulled out two beads. He crushed one. "Hoverboard," he said.

The bead burst into smoke, forming a hovering board.

I placed Miem gently on it.

"Stay here," I told Dre, and walked toward where the dragon had fallen.

The dust thinned, finally letting me see the dragon again, lying there like some ancient statue about to crumble.

I couldn't make more smoke, so I ordered Puffy to protect me. It showed up without a sound, bowing like a ghost playing knight.

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It wanted its weapon back.

I touched the blade and pulled it free. Changed it into a sword — just one, since two would've been too small — and handed it back.

Puffy swung it a few times, slow and testing, like it was feeling the weight of it.

Then it gave me a thumbs-up.

I swear, this thing's getting more and more alive.

I pushed those thoughts away and walked toward the dragon.

Its breathing was shallow. Its heads barely moved.

"I see... your powers are granted by *that* person," it said, voice cracking the air like dry branches.

I didn't bother answering. I was too focused.

The smoke inside its body pulsed faintly — I linked with it, guiding it carefully toward the beast's chest.

Took longer than I wanted.

The dragon kept talking anyway.

"Tell me... are they ravaging your land?"

"Yeah. Why? Shouldn't be anything new to you. You've lived long enough. Probably seen a bunch of other worlds too."

I didn't even look at it when I spoke.

It chuckled. Weakly.

"Fascinating... how and why did you come up with such a conclusion?"

"Honor's intuition."

"You call yourself 'Honor'?" it asked.

"Yeah. Pretty arrogant, right?"

"I've seen humans far more arrogant," it said. Then it went quiet for a second, like it was weighing something.

"It fits perfectly."

I didn't reply. The smoke was almost there, inching into place.

The dragon watched me work.

"What do you call them?" it asked.

I knew what it meant.

"The shadows? Shadow creatures. Some people call them Dark Devils. Different names, same monsters.

Why? You know something about them?"

No answer at first.

Then the dragon said it — calm, like it was commenting on the weather:

"Let them win."

My hands froze for a second.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

The smoke reached the core. I wrapped the Primal Bone in thin wires. Tight.

I stood there for a moment, feeling the finality of it.

"Any last words?" I asked.

The dragon's mouths barely moved.

"Don't despair... that you are the only one left," it whispered.

"In this universe... in this entire multiverse... only this world still clings to life. Everything else has already perished."

It went still after that.

Dead quiet.

Even Puffy didn't move.