Protect Castle Phoenix.

Thunder rumbles through sky, though not from dark clouds of lightning, but instead the relentless fury of a gold-scaled dragon. You raise your arm up to shield yourself from a mighty gust of wind as Lord Vraelion soars close by the castle before ascending past the tall, dark stone walls, though not quite out of the invisible dome created by the Shard of Draconax. You're not certain how the rest are doing back at the gate, though when you initially left, there were hardly any threats left beyond three angry dragons. You wonder how the two mages are doing--Candy Cane and Drev Barkis--but you're confident that they can handle themselves. Even if Candy acts like a total goofball, she's just as powerful as the other members of the Circle.

Your eyes dart up the top of the towering wall nearby. Chini! The harpies are making their way up to the sky, though it's the pink-feathered girl who you spot close by. You call out as loudly as you can and wave in attempt to get her attention, all while sprinting in the same direction she's going--back towards the gate. "Hey, can you give me a lift?!"

She glances down at you with a blank stare, and you notice the exact moment her mind catches up with her. "Oh!" With a smile, she soars down towards you. "What do you need, Kyle?"

"Up, onto the wall!" you shout just before vaulting yourself up off a nearby fence in order to get enough air to reach her talons.

She flaps harder the moment you grab hold, but with all her might, she flies upwards. "I-Is this okay?" she asks frantically.

"Yeah, thanks!" you call back. Then you leap from her feet, and land flat onto the outer wall. "Now get somewhere safe."

You hurry along the perimeter as quickly as you're able. It doesn't take long before you see Lord Vraelion circling back around, and you make sure to lock eyes directly on him. You may be tiny in comparison, though he notices your presence immediately. You're his primary target, but he's also yours. As he gets closer, you continue along the wall with your sword gripped tight, just waiting for the moment to strike. A bright light then illuminates behind his razor sharp. Flames flicker up from his nostrils. Instead of swooping down to take you out in melee, he stops in place just before unleashing a devastating cone of burning hot flames.

You're no fool, however. Before the fire comes, you squat down and prepare to leap.

To any onlooker, they may have seen the great Demon King of Tivera disintegrate behind a wall of flame, though not even Lord Vraelion notices where you've gone at first. You Bunny Hop forwards and up, and land directly on the dragon's back. Then, with Lauo in both hands, you drive the point down with all of your strength and pierce right through the hard, golden scales into the monster's flesh. Lord Vraelion lets out a brand new sounding roar--one of frustration, but also of pain. All he can do is fly diagonally upwards over the middle of Castle Phoenix in an attempt to **** you off the back, though you hold on tight.

As he flies, he stops in his tracks as a massive beam of crackling energy, like condensed lighting, fires up from one of the rooftops and towards the sky. It nearly takes his head clean off. Though in this moment of fear, you take advantage. You draw your sword back from Lord Vraelion's back, and sprint towards the back of his neck to once again pierce through. This time, he begins losing altitude almost immediately. Though he experiences an entirely different sort of pain when his eyes fall to the one who actually fired the beam in the first place.

"Ahaha! He thought that was real!" mocks Candy. "Did you see that, Drev? He's really losing it if he thought that wasn't an illusion."

It's Candy. Not only that, but she's pulled her dress up completely and is bending over. Her underwear and anything else in the way are pulled down to expose her ass in full, which she slaps with her hand in a mocking gesture.

Flustered, the old man beside her reaches out with a hand, but doesn't seem to know what to do in order to stop her behaviour. "Ms. Cane, I--"

Malakae suddenly soars by with one of the dragon cousins in her claws.

They exchange blows, though it's clear that her cousin is in distress. Not only are they rapidly disappearing into the sky, though as they near the barrier, Malakae kicks off, spins, and smacks her opponent with the full **** of her tail. The momentum sends the cousin flying--exhausted and wounded--out into the mountainside somewhere.

Wham! The other dragon is nearly knocked **** by a single blow. Niki steps back and readies a second strike, though her opponent begins backing away. "Hey!" your warrior shouts. "I wanted to take on the big guy, but I've settled for you, so don't you go running away."

"Sh-She's nuts!' the dragon mutters with wings flapping. Suddenly, it takes off into the sky, and in panic, soars out in the direction of the other to find them.

You're now perched atop a falling dragon. He has no allies left, and his vision is fading. All he sees when he looks down are swords, bows, staves, and more, all pointed in his direction, while a Demon King rides on his back. With a deafening crash, he hits the ground right in front of the front gates--on top of the bodies of the many he brought, all while not a single one of his opponents was even critically injured.

After pulling Lauo from the back of his neck, you stomp a boot down against the wound.

"You've lost," you say. "Next will be Elok Daven. And then King Thadius will be dethroned as well. You've picked the wrong side, Baspiax." You can't help but speak his first name with vitriol. "Surrender. You've put Malakae through enough. She doesn't need to see me behead her father, even if he's more of a monster than a dad. I don't know what Elok or Thadius promised you, but I can make you a promise too. If you ever come anywhere near here again, I'll turn you into my next suit of armour."

All he can do is stare in contemplation as you dismount back to the ground and make your way around to face him. He almost looks like he's going to be sick. This may be a defeat like he's never felt before. His eyes aren't even looking down at you.

You continue to speak after an uncomfortable silence. "We're going to bring peace back to the Empire of Tivera by weeding out the corruption Elok and Breiah have spread. Demon King, adventurer, hero, whatever. I guess I'm whoever I need to be. And if you get in the way of this, because of whatever petty thirst for power you have, then you best leave Tivera all together, because things are going to change. What did Elok say at the Sports Festival? Beware the true terror of Earth."

With wobbly legs, Lord Vraelion's wings rise up and begin to flap.

"If you're going to bend over backwards for someone, maybe pick a better master," you say.

"... I have no master," he growls.

"You keep telling yourself that."

Without saying another word, he lifts off into the sky. It isn't long before he disappears from sight.