Dragon's Heart

"Any progress?" Dimaria asked Vera, who kneeled down behind her, as she herself focused on putting on her gauntlet.

"We've located two." Vera replied "The blonde and the redhead are located in Invel and Neinhart's locations. We're still in the works of finding the others.".

"That's good enough." Dimaria said, turning around to Vera "Get a report ready that all of Amon's friends are alive.".

"Ex...cuse me, General?" Vera asked, confused at the orders given to her "I've yet to find the others.".

"It's only been a week." Dimaria said "That's a believably long enough time to meet the requirements.".

"M-...My liege? You're not suggesting we lie to him, are you?".

"Bingo.".

"B-...But that would be going against the deal!" Vera suddenly stood up. She wasn't above executing Amon on virtue of him being a potential enemy and menace to Zaman, but that was her honest opinion. To lie to him and give him false hope, only to get his end of the deal, didn't sit well with her. Vera still had her pride "Just one more week, even just a few days, and we'll locate the oth-...".

"No." Dimaria spoke, a displeased tone, as a heavy aura crushed Vera, forcing her down on her knees again, cracking the windows in the room and the mirror used by Dimaria "Did you think I was going to waste resources this much on some nobody?" Dimaria said, walking towards Vera "He's a White Rose. I doubt people who know him will want to see him that much anyway. We're doing them a favor, really." She got down on one knee towards Vera.

"That man is weak. Impossibly weak. Manipulating him doesn't even fill me with satisfaction." Dimaria continued, petting Vera on the head, in a mocking gesture "I hate that composed look of his. I want to break it. I want to see that pained look on his face again. Do you understand, Vera? I never planned on giving that man my word on anything.".

"...Understood.".

Prisoner of Time
Amon opened the newspaper, standing at the hallway next to a drink dispenser, holding a cup of cold water "Why are half the news about Dimaria...? I'm not interested in these facts. Except maybe the underwear section...".

"Y-...yeah, not a lot happens here." Martin said, leaning against the wall, holding an open book "There's also a modelling section...".

"Wait, really?".

"Right here." Martin leaned next to Amon, turning the page "It's pretty, uh...interesting. All supplied by Dimaria as well.".

"...Huh." Amon squinted his eyes as he read through the page "Goddamn, that's some...not sure if interesting is the right word, but it's definitely something.".

"What are you two doing?" Vera said, a disgusted expression and tone, with her arms crossed, startling Martin, causing him to step back, while Amon remained unflinched "Perverts, the lot of you!" Vera shouted at the two, condeming them and taking away the newspaper "Why does the General allow this smut to be published?" She crumpled the newspaper into a ball, throwing it into the nearby trash.

"C-...Captain..." Martin saluted Vera, whilst stuttering and shaking "W-...We were merely...having a talk! Among men! Yes, yes, nothing to worry about!".

"By lusting over our leader's body?!" Vera angrily stompted, pointing fiercely at Martin, causing him to squirm and hide behind Amon's back "Just because she presented her mighty body for all to see in the newspaper's modelling section, does not mean you should look at it with such perversion!" She continued, angrily visibly more furious.

"...Do you want something?" Amon asked Vera, giving off a disrespectful attitude towards Vera.

Vera stopped herself from hitting Amon, composing herself and brushing her hair back, placing both hands behind her back "I came to relay a message to you, the report to our findings." Amon's expression suddenly changed, his eyes widening in surprise and anticipation "I am...glad to announce that my team have found everyone you requested. They're all safe, within Alakitasia." Vera clutched her hands together, her grip on her wrist tightening "They're unharmed. In good hands. No harm has come to them.".

Without warning, Amon's arms wrapped around Vera, tightening in an embrace "Thank you! Thank you so much...!" Amon said, smiling widely, while Vera was too surprised and shocked to react on time, at best letting out a confused grunt, followed by blushing cheeks "Ah! Sorry!" He released her, dusting her off "I got too excited! I can't tell you how much hearing that means to me...Truth be told, I've been anxious all week." Amon said, sighing in relief "I was afraid...so afraid for them. But knowing they're okay makes whatever will happen to me inconsequential.".

Vera froze up, feeling a sudden overflow of gut-wrenching guilt building up inside of her. This man who she verbally belittled and didn't try to hide her discrimination towards him, purely on virtue of his appearance, had such genuine gratitude for her. How quickly his attitude changed in an instant was the worst part.

She breathed out, relaxing her grip on her wrist "You...No need to thank me. I was merely keeping my end of the deal." Vera tried to keep herself composed, managing to maintain her firm posture and expression.

"Ah, right. I should get to mine then." Amon said "I should find Dimaria and get to...".

"Wait." Vera said, clearing her throat "Before you do, it's best you get to know Zaman better." She said.

"Oh...would...that be necessary?" Amon asked.

"Of course!" Vera suddenly shouted again "What if the General wishes for you to get something for her from town?! Or what if there's a place you need to be at? What will you do then?!".

"...Ask for directions?".

"Directions are for sore losers who don't know where they live!" She firmly replied "We will meet within two hours! I will notify Dimaria. Meet me at the gate! Do you understand?!" Amon nodded "Excellent." Vera turned around, walking away.

"I think she just asked you on a date, haha..." Martin said, awkwardly laughing as picked the crumpled newspaper out of the trash can.

"...I haven't been on a date in so long...Should I wear something nice?" Amon turned to Martin, asking him.

"I-...I mean, I don't think the Captain will wear anything beyond her armor, s-...so...no?".

"Casual outfit. Alright." Amon said "...I literally only have these clothes.".

Two hours have passed, and as promised, Amon waited near the gate of the city, the one he entered through. He changed to casual clothing, whatever he could grab anyway. Martin was kind enough to give him a blue blazer to wear over his white shirt.

"Ah, excellent! You arrived on time." Vera said, arriving with a wide grin. She wore a cape over her body, a white bodysuit, a leotard underneath it with golden outlines, and black armor pieces on her arms were visible, with no gloves on her hands, but wore armor boots. Her brown hair was brushed and made more smooth without her helmet, as well as a collar created from the cape "We can begin our tour then. Follow me!" She said, beginning to lead the way without warning, as Amon rushed to follow suit.

"Here we have the fish market!" Vera said, pointing at the fish market. Salesman and customers, and a variety of sea creatures for sale, from the small shrimps, to the octopi. Even seemed to have sharks.

"Oh, this looks nice." Amon said with genuine fascination "I should see if I can get anything fo-..." Amon stopped, cutting himself before changing the subject "...So where do you get the fishes?".

Vera took notice of Amon's tone, but decided not to poke into what isn't her buisness "There's an ocean not far off. It's two hours on horse, and we recieve them from a small fishing market. We pay them, of course.".

"Oh, good buisness, huh." Amon noted, looking through the variety of fishes present "Sure are a lot of sharks here...".

"Moving on!" Vera commanded, getting Amon to follow her over through the streets "Zaman is propserous, but is only one city among many where Dimaria rules!" She explained, sporting a wide and proud grin on her "Thanks to her influence, for the last ten years, this territory moved along and grew. Our military power, our people and economy, they have all grown slowly, but the end result was wonderful.".

Amon looked around as he followed Vera, scratching his chest nervously "Well...who knew..." He muttered "Say...that, uh, Martin guy, are there more like him in the army?".

"You mean weak?" Vera bluntly stated "There are weak soldiers. Not everyone is equal. But you're mistaken, Amon, Martin is not necessarily weak." She said, halting near a food stand "Ah! Fruits, an excellent part for your diet." Vera grabbed an apple, flicking a coin over to the merchant.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Amon asked, clearly confused.

"I...best not say actually." Vera replied "It would be rude to Martin.".

Amon raised a brow in suspicion, but opted not to poke into it any further "Right, what's the next spot?".

"Nothing else really..." Vera said "We're a small place. We don't have that many things about it.".

"...That's anticlimactic.".

The two sat at a table in a restaurant. Each one had their own order, Amon drinking a smoothie from a straw, while Vera ate a piece of cake with a fork, a strawberry top with cream toppings "This, however, is a special spot! My favorite, the restaurant here cooks a variety of meals." Vera explained "Dimaria put funds into making a single, universal restaurant that serves all manner of men and women.".

"Huh." Amon said, sipping further from the smoothie "...It's good.".

"It is!" Vera said, waving the fork in her hand "It's an excellent place for relaxation.".

"This is almost like a date." Amon casually remarked "I haven't been on any in a while. This is nice.".

"Ha, a date." Vera replied, scoffing at Amon's remark "You are a funny man when you're not infuriating.".

"...Sure." Amon said, going back to simply drinking his smoothie.

"...Why are you like this?" Vera asked Amon, much to his confusion "You must hold a grudge for what I said to you. You can't seriously be forgiving me this easily.".

"Ah..." Amon scratched his chin, trying to muse out an answer "...I'm too emotionally drained to really care, to be honest." Amon said "You may not know, but the last month or so has ruined me. I feel every fiber of my mind being torn off every night and every time I remember what happened. A dream world where I could have a perfect life being presented towards me just so I lose it, reuniting with the people I knew, losing them, and reuniting with the ones I despised. Encountering monsters..." He seemed frustrated, nervously scratching his neck.

"I see." Vera calmly responded "I suppose such is the life of a White Rose, because fat-...".

"Don't." Amon interrupted her "Say that...please.".

Vera raised a brow, curious "Does the White Rose despise the idea of fate?".

"I don't know." Amon replied "How would you feel about being told there's an unseen force out there that can decide what happens to you, and no matter how much you tried, you couldn't oppose it?".

"So, you don't fancy the idea of fate?" She asked, almost sarcastically.

"I don't fancy the implications of that fate." He seemed to grow irritated "I just want to ignore everything. I'm tired. Whatever Dimaria has planned to do with this deal, I'll deal with it.".

"Not going to pursue your friends?".

"They're better off without me." Amon replied "Anyway, if we're done here, we can move on.".

"Aren't you going to ask me anything?" Vera leaned back against her chair, resting up "Know sensitive information that I, the Captain of the Army of Zaman and Dimaria's right-hand man, might know?".

"No.".

"Not of Dimaria's power?".

"No.".

"No embarassing secrets? No potential weaknesses? Nothing?".

"Please. Stop." Amon said, politely telling Vera he's had enough.

"I-..." Before Vera could say anything, Martin slammed his hand on the table, catching their attention. He was panting heavily, sweating as he tried recollecting himself before speaking "...Mart-...?".

"C-...Captain!" Martin spoke, rather loudly, making a scene "Hi, Amon.".

"Hey, man.".

"Captain! W-...We have...an emergency." Martin grabbed a random chair, sitting down and breathing heavily, trying to calm down "M-...W-...Army...Soldiers are getting executed outside the city walls. W-...We don't know who...who or what...but...".

"What?!" Vera suddenly stood up "What do you mean executed?!".

"We don't know...! What do we do, Captain?!" Martin asked Vera, tears in his eyes as he panicked further.

Vera gritted her teeth "Dammit. I'll go speak with Dimaria! You keep an eye on Amon, you understand me?!".

"Y-...Yes, Captain!" Martin said, saluting to Vera as she left the scene, rushing to the castle.

"...You alright?" Amon asked Martin, concerned for the man's health.

"I'm fine..." Martin replied, weakly gesturing to a nearby waitress to get him a glass of water "I checked on the messenger pigeons, and...and I recieved a bloodstained letter. The odd thing was...the blood wasn't dry, and was in fact hot...The pigeon was unaffected, but...".

"Calm down now." Amon said, resting his arms on the table "Is that your duty?".

"It is..." Martin replied "I like the pigeons...They're friendly. Quiet. They listen to, you know." He seemed to simmer down after, his breathing calming down "Alright...I think I'm better." As if on cue, a tower of black flames was visible from afar. It reached the clouds, pushing them away, and spreading the flames in a form akin to a dragon's wings, before vanishing.

"That was interesting." Amon snarkly said.

"He's coming! Whatever it is, it's coming! It's probably going to hurt! Probably going to kill us! Kill everyone...k-...ki-...kill...!" Martin said, beginning to stutter and panic.

"H-...Hey, you're being a bit, uh..." Amon tried to comfort Martin, but failed out of inexperience in this field. Usually he's the one being comforted for inexplicable issues.

Dragon of Eight
"Hahaha! Are these truly the soldiers of Dimaria?!" Serena bawled loudly, surrounded by defeated soldiers. He grabbed a random necklace from one of the downed soldiers, using it to tie his long hair behind as a ponytail. Striking a pose, his finger pointing at the sky, and another hand near his face "Soon, I will terminate and annhilate Dimaria's city and army! And the Stygian Cor! Will be MINE!".

"...Right, so." Midnight said, calmly continuing "Are we close? It feels longer than usual, because you keep stopping every fight to pose and make a dramatic speech.".

"It's essential!".

"For what?".

"Atmosphere!" Serena proudly exclaimed "How else will they know I'm coming?".

"No one besides us, your allies, can actually hear you." Wahl sarcastically replied "You're doing this for nothing.".

Serena suddenly turned around to stare at Wahl, a look in his eyes akin to someone who has been blatantly offended, while his entire expression was a mix of anger and disgust.

"So." A feminine voice called, as everyone turned to witness the soldiers were gone, and only Dimaria remained, leaning against a tree "You're alive?" She said with a calm tone, a small grin on her face.

"Dimaria." Serena sounded pleased "A pleasure to see you after so long. How has life treated you? Because mine treated me like dirt. And literally had me buried in dirt!".

"Oh don't be so angry." Dimaria replied "It wouldn't your first time tasting dirt.".

"Jokes on you, one of my eight elements makes eating dirt advantageous.".

"Not when it's been infested by the carcas and waste of animals.".

"But I'd rather not go into your litter box.".

"You wouldn't have to, because I don't have a cat!".

"I wasn't talking about a cat!".

"Ha, that's amusing! Because I always did see you as a dog!".

"I'll kill you!".

The two grown adults finished arguing with petty insults, leaving an awkward silence in the area between everyone.

"Step back." Wahl suddenly said, extending his arms, creating a force field around him and the Oracion Seis.

"Heh." Serena's aura spiked up, before quickly changing to exude heat from his being, causing the surrounding to catch on fire "Well, enough rambling." He took a step forward, the flames moving with him "Dimaria, I am here to take the Stygian Cor from you.".

"You won't be getting your hands on them, much less see the walls of Zaman." Dimaria said "In fact, I will end it, now.".

"Hm?".

"Welcome..." Dimaria extended her arm forth, her hand gesture conveying an almost alluring, inviting gesture "...to my world!".

The world froze, stopping completely. All motion and sense of progression was halted. Time had stopped, and only Dimaria remained in this chronoless world.

"Heh." Dimaria chuckled, walking towards Serena "You should have known how this fight would turn out. The moment my world overtakes yours, victory is assured." She suddenly stopped, feeling an intense heat scorching against her skin "Wh-...What?" She stepped back. Looking down, she saw the burning grass and trees near her "...I see.".

Even when time was frozen, the effects on her body were not. The aura of heat exuded from Serena's body prevented her from getting too close, lest she wished to get scorched alive "Well, well, well...Let's see..." Dimaria held her sword, cocking her arm back, swinging forth, throwing her blade towards Serena.

As it close in on his body, it heated up, turning it red, but it endured.

Until it hit Serena's body in a loud CLANG bouncing right off, freezing in mid-air.

"...Eh?" Dimaria was shocked, needing a moment to process what just happened.

"You...you can't be serious." She said "So..." She grinned widely, amused and furious "You exuded a heated aura around your body, preventing me from getting close without burning myself alive. Turned your flesh as hard as steel to prevent me from slashing you up from afar, eh?!" Dimaria snapped her fingers as time resumed "You're sneaky aren't you?!".

"Haha!" Serena laughed loudly, extending his arm forth "Thor Dragon's Imperial Crowned Serpent!" He remarked, gripping his hand into a fist, a lightning bolt from the sky broke through the clouds right into his fist, holding the pure lightning as a spear.

"Ah, so you can now force nature to obey you?" Dimaria's grin lessened to the "soft" smile she's known for "Alright, let me give you a free shot. We never had a proper fight, did we, Serena?".

"We'll finally be able to settle the score." Serena stomped his foot forward, holding up the lightning spear over his shoulder "Who is the mightiest Spriggan?!".

"Eh? Why did I say that?" Serena thought to himself, still locked in his position "Why did that name prop up?".

"Spriggan..." Dimaria's mind blanked for a second, unable to figure out why, but that word felt important "How nostalgic...But why?".

Serena roared, lightning crossing from his hand to his shoulder, as he threw the bolt of lightning at Dimaria. The thin, cracking electricity in his hand suddenly hardened into a purely bladed staff, shooting forth. Dimaria failed to notice it on time, even if she did, it would have been impossible for her to react on time. Speeding at lightning speed, it struck her, pushing through the trees, rendering the forest asunder.

It culminated in an eruption from afar. A dust cloud to signal where she was.

A clear pathway of scorched land with remnants of lightning was created. It lead right into her city she tried to keep Serena out of; Zaman.

"Hahaha! Wahl, throw me a lacrima stone." Serena said to Wahl, who deposited a crystallized ore of eternano, throwing it over to Serena, who took a large bite out of it, using it to reinvigorate his power, as well as empowering himself further "Let's go.".

"No, we will remain back." Wahl said "We will only get in your path, as we almost did now.".

"I hate to admit it, but I'll agree." Midnight said "Besides, we've no interest in fighting these men.".

"...Alright." Serena said, beginning to head towards Zaman.

"Ugh...!" Dimaria rose back up, feeling half her body numb and unresponsive, the current of electricity surging throughout her. She couldn't focus her magic proper to stop it again. Soldiers rushed over to their general, but touching her sent a shock, even through their armor "Stay back! Idiots, I'm electrified. It's not deadly. My aura will prevent it from doing that, but I can't move half my body.".

"General, is it the unknown enemy?!" One of the soldiers asked.

Dimaria smiled, brushing her hair back with her right hand, calmly looking at her soldiers "Listen, this man is too dangerous. I can't afford to lose more men today." She said to them "Please, go away.".

"G-...General Dimaria! We can't just abandon you to fight someone alone!" One of the soldiers pleaded to Dimaria "I-...We couldn't bear to!".

"Hahaha." Dimaria chuckled, patting the soldier's shoulder "My men aren't fodder, so I'd rather you not do something foolish." She said, and although it may have came from a sense of concern for her soldiers, her tone and tight grip on the soldier's shoulder implied frustration.

"Y-...Yes...General Dimaria." The soldier reluctantly said "Come on, men! General's orders." He said, as the other soldiers followed.

"Ah, one more thing." Dimaria said to the soldiers "Evac-..." A wave of black flames burnt through the stone walls, burning the men alive, leaving nothing but dust behind. They didn't get a chance to even scream, as the flames were potent enough to reduce them to nothing in seconds. Dimaria took a moment before letting everything sink in.

"...! Serena!" Dimaria's expression changed in an instant towards Serena, who emerged soon after from the hole burnt through the walls.

"Who knew, you became a caring leader of these whelps." Serena said in a mocking term, crossing his arms. The clear, white stone floor began to melt from the intense heat exuding from his body "Did you grow soft?".

"...Oh well." Dimaria sighed, scratching her hair in frustration "Five minutes.".

"Hm?" From Serena's perspective, the only thing that changed was Dimaria's attire. A navy blue, skin-tight bodysuit, with a new gauntlet on her right arm. A change so insignificant, he only smirked in response "Ha, I guess you think lowly of them if an outfit change is a priority to you." He said, openly mocking Dimaria "That Age Seal of yours. It's truly the worst possible magic to face. It is annoying.".

"I could say the same thing about your strategem." Dimaria said "Keeping an intense, scorching aura around your body to make coming close to you a death sentence. Hardened your skin to steel, so that every normal blade bounces right off your body. What else did you have up your sleeve?" She chuckled, gripping her sword in her right hand "Those eight elements of yours are really nice, huh.".

"Purgatory Dragon's...!" Serena wasted no time any further, his feet sinking into the stone floor as the heat projected increased, becoming visible as a red dome of heat "Burning Seventh Circle!" His arms became engulfed in black flames, leaning his upper body forward. Kicking against the floor, Serena rushed at Dimaria, getting the harrowing heat closer to her as well.

"Hey..." Dimaria stabbed her sword into the ground, using it to rest against it "Have I introduced you to Vera?".

On cue, Vera had already arrived on the scene, rushing at Serena from the side. Unsheathing her sword and ripping off her cape "Dimension Style..." Vera muttered, gripping her sword with both her hands.

"Oh?" Serena halted dead in his tracks, turning to face Vera "How cruel. You think some no one can beat me?! I am God Serena, the Eight Drag-...!".

"Five Dimensions." Vera swung her sword a multitude of times. Five cuts made their way towards Serena, slicing through the floor before vanishing.

"...Wha-...?" A single slash appeared on Serena's left shoulder "Hm?!" A second gashed deep across his chest "Hm?!!" He grew more frustrated, gritting his teeth as blood made its way down his chin "What are you do-...?!" The third slash crossed his left eye, blinding it "Gahhh!!!" The fourth somehow made its way on his back, in a particular large and nasty gash, causing him to keel over "Helios Dragon's...!" Serena extended both his arms forth, cupping his hands forward, creating a sphere of light "Heavenly Throne!" The final and fifth slash appeared across both his knees, causing him to fall on his knees, but managed to fire forth a beam of raw light towards Vera.

"Dimension Style." She said, gripping the sword's hilt with one hand, cocking it back, pointing upwards "Super Dimension." Vera lunged her blade forth, stabbing the beam of light, slicing it in half, causing it to split in two, blasting the sides.

"...Hehe." Serena chuckled, as the blood dripped from his wounds, which quickly became cauterized by the flames spurning from his open wounds, standing back up "Well, you definitely have strong subordinates." Serena extended both arms to the sides "Alright, ladies, let us dance!".

"Dimaria, may I kill him?" Vera asked her General.

Dimaria casually waved to Vera "Feel free. Take an arm or leg first." She replied.

"I can't promise a quick death, but may as well try." Vera replied, holding her sword in a reverse grip, and down by her thigh "I haven't really danced since I was 20, but if you want...".

"Wait, no that was rheto-...".

"I know." Vera replied, rushing at Serena "Dimension Style, Two Dimensions." Vera swung her sword downwards, suddenly vanishing as she continued forward, causing even her scent to vanish, as Serena failed to track her.

"Teleportation...?" Serena theorized, looking at Dimaria, who had nothing but an amused smile on her face, causing him to smile in return "Time and Space, huh?".

"Heavy Dimension." Through the folds of space, Vera emerged with her sword, mid-air above Serena, blocking out all the heat Serena produced within a set "zone", a space lifted directly from a different dimension. She held her sword's hilt with both hands, carrying it over her head,before suddenly coming down like a heavy stone, swinging downwards.

"Cavern Dragon's...!" Serena openned his bloodied left eye, revealing stone clogging his eye socket "Monument Tower Babel!" He clapped his hands together, as the ground shook for miles, even reaching Wahl and the Oracion Seis, who were a fair distance away from Zaman "See this city of yours become my new tower.".

Pillars of stone and dirt broke through the city floors, tainting the white stone and bricks with mud and dirt. Debris flying everywhere, boulders crushing through buildings, flattening those unfortunate to get caught in the crossfire. The ground continued to rise, creating several spiked pillars, with smaller ones growing on top of those larger spikes. The earth tore around the city, allowing walls of earth to rise up, hardening, as elaborately designed blades grew out of the walls, skewering anything that would come into contact with it, leaving no "safe zones".

The pillars continued growing, eventually interwining into a singular tower, surrounded by walls in four angles. Small towers surrounded the main tower. The top of the tower extended into a platform, covering the size of the city.

The inside of the tower, surprisingly, had hollow rooms, allowing individuals who survived to reside, but with no holes, there also was no lights, leaving whoever survived the terraforming of their city inside a black void.

Zaman, the Capital City of the Western Territory, the White Stone City, was reduced to nothing, destroyed from below by the earth rising and tearing it, while the people were either killed, or caught inside the tower itself.

At the top of the tower, Serena, stepping on Vera's chest, breaking her ribs as a result. The chaos from the terraforming allowing him to easily overwhelmed her surprise attack. Dimaria herself was unscathed, thanks to her magic giving ample time to make her way through the destruction.

She didn't seem much bothered, or just didn't show much emotion when facing Serena himself, who had a confident smirk plastered across his face.

"Well..." Serena raised his hand up, drawing his forefinger and thumb close, leaving a tiny gap between them, almost touching "Maybe I went a bit far with this one." He snapped his fingers, as his body exuded heat once more, causing Vera to begin burning, followed quickly by her pained screams "Come, Dimaria!" Serena took the opportunity to pose, thrusting his fist to the skies, lowering it down next to his chest "Do you fear me all of a sud-...?!".

"Oh, stop it you." Dimaria interrupted Serena, stabbing the ground "Ah well. I tried being nice because you already died once, but may as well bring you back to that grave." She grinned, scraping her blade across the ground.

"Oh, I didn't actually di-...".

Time stopped, as Dimaria took a deep breath, smiling again. She looked at Serena and Vera. Still, the heat exuding was extreme "Oh, how I loathe getting involved on the battlefield with the men." Dimaria began walking towards Serena, resting the sword on her shoulder "I'm going to have to delay my playtime with Amon because of you. Repairing Zaman and taking care of everyone takes priority." She walked into the heat zone, as her body slowly began to catch on fire.

Lowering her sword, she pointed it at Serena's chest "You made one mistake though." Dimaria pushed the sword against Serena's chest, stabbing right through it with her sword "You forgot one piece of your grand strategem.".

Time returned to normal, as the heat suddenly vanished. Serena's eye opened, widened in shock "Eh...?" He looked down, seeing Dimaria's sword going through his chest "Oh. Ohohoho." He smiled, coughing blood, as Dimaria pulled the sword out of him, a severe burn mark across the right half of her face, as well as parts of her bodysuit being burnt off, exposing burnt skin.

"Hahahaha...!".

Dimaria extended her hand to Vera, helping her stand up "Good, you're not hurt too badly." Dimaria noted.

"Thank you, General.".

"Hahahaha! Oh, this is ironic!" Serena said, laughing as if he had heard an excellent joke "The strategy I devised for days, went up in flames, because I was so stupid to forget one part of it! Hahaha!".

"Funny, isn't it?" Dimaria sarcastically said to Serena, swinging her sword towards the ground, wiping the blood off of it onto the ground "So...mind explaining to me, why you're not dead?".

"Heh." Serena brushed the hair on the front of his face over his head, to the back "Dragons aren't going to die from something as small as a heart being stabbed." In reality, Serena was utilizing his Sea King Dragon Slayer Magic and Thor Dragon Slayer Magic at once, using the water to lead his blood through his veins, and prevent them from leaking out of his wound, and the electricity to keep the heart pumping. The magical attribute of both elements allowed him to artificially keep his heart going, at the cost of him dying if he stops this process for a few seconds.

"Riiiight." Dimaria said sarcastically, turning to Vera "I have an order for you. Find the Stygian Cor, and any survivor, and...".

"Ah, I understand." Vera said, realizing what Dimaria's order was "I'll get to it immediately.".

"Good." Dimaria said, gesturing off to Vera to go on her merry way.

Vera slashed through space, vanishing just as she did prior.

"Where is the Stygian Cor?" Serena asked, frowning and become agitated, coughing even "I can sense it, and if you think, I, God Serena, will not find it, then...!".

"Thennnn...?" Dimaria replied snidely "Oh, poor, poor God Serena the Eight Dragon. Poor Hybrid Theory. Is a stab wound all it takes to make you lose your temper?" She continued sniding him, her grin flashing her teeth in an antagonistic manner, provoking him "I guess in the end, you can't beat a true God.".

Serena's frown quickly changed to a smile "Do you really think I see myself as a God? Why would I be something so pathetic when I'm already a Dragon?".

"Then let's settle it, once and for all, eh?" Dimaria said, pointing her sword at Serena "Who stands atop the highest tower! The Dragon or the God?!".