The Dragon King's Servant: Rise of the Daemon King

Chapter Fifty-Seven: All together

When Bedelia dipped into her divine power, it had burned away every ounce of the venom. Kelly drew in a deep breath and felt her stomach churn. Her heads drew back and then shot forward as she exhaled. A solid stream of acidic yellow poison launched forward, coating Bedelia's tail and leg. The toxic liquid hissed and bubbled as it collided with the flames. The daemon queen growled with annoyance.

With a flick of her tail, she slapped Kelly sending her rolling into the side of a partially intact building. The bricks gave way and tumbled over her beaten body. With snarl of resolve she pushed herself up and shook off the bricks. Her muscles ached and she could feel several broken ribs clicking as she moved. She watched as Maalceus roared with rage unleashing a torrent of smoke and fire that engulfed Bedelia's head. With a snort of disdain she shook away the harmless attack and opened her mouth.

Maalceus struggled against her hold, eyes glued on the bright red and white light of her fire building within her throat. For brief moment, every memory that Maalceus held dear flashed through his mind. Memories of childhood spent playing with Lucian. Memories of adulthood sparring with his brother and fighting side by side. Memories of Kelly and the love they shared. Memories of raising their children together. Laughing and playing. Every happy memory he had ever cherished sprinted through his mind in the blink of an eye.

'This isn't the end' He thought to himself, staring into the maw of his own demise. 'No! Not now!' He roared silently and reared up. With every ounce of strength he had at his disposal, he stretched out his neck and bit down upon Bedelia's throat. Her thick scales prevented him from puncturing deep but it was enough to stall her attack. Bedelia roared in anger. She pulled away, pressing him down with a claw but no amount of force would dislodge Maalceus as he hung on like a bloodthirsty tick.

Maalceus caught a glimpse of movement from his peripheral vision. A flash of crimson which flew in like a spear. He bit down and held on tight, ensuring the daemon queen did not see the aerial strike coming. As Bedelia tried her best to force off Maalceus, she forgot to check her surroundings. By the time she even noticed the blind attack, it was far too late. Maaltaire flew straight at her side, claws outstretched and head straight. Like a boulder being catapulted through the air, his daemonic dragon form hit her hard causing her to rock to the side.

Bedelia tried to adjust but to her surprise, both her hind legs were being arrested. Mother and daughter had clamped down and were pulling at her legs assisting Maaltaire as he pushed her off their father. Bedelia's massive wings stretched out but the action only aided in her loss of balance. She toppled to the side and caught a glimpse of the blazing crimson dragon that had snuck up on her.

Her jaws lashed out but Maalceus, still firmly locked on her neck pulled her away from snatching his son. Maalceus rolled with her, allowing her body to pull him up as their sudden roles were reversed. Kelly and Shauna moved away from the legs and slithered to the wings. Each fifty foot wing was as large as they were long. The scales burned and the leathery lining of her wings glowed with daemonic fire. Both mother and daughter went to work tearing into the wings. Their dark claws tearing rents in her wings.

Bedelia shrieked in pain and tried to roll out from under Maalceus who had started raking his claws along her chest. His hooked talons pulled away thick scales allowing her underskin to show. Maalceus didn't pause his attack. His front claws tore and streaked across her body, relieving her of the natural armor she had. Bedelia flapped her upper wings causing a fiery hurricane that pushed Kelly and Shauna who sank their talons and teeth into her wings. Maaltaire flew up into the sky and repositioned himself above them before diving straight down.

With his wings tucked and his body straight, he became an arrow. The wind rushed past his face and the dark moist clouds hissed against his fiery scales. As he launched himself forward, he waited until the very last moment before parachuting his wings and turning his decent slightly. Maaltaire's four limbs crashed into Bedelia's stomach, tearing open a gash in her armor. Magmatic essence leaked out onto the stone. 'How can this be!' She screamed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. 'No! This shall not happen! Never again!' She roared.

*****

In Melanie's smallest form, chasing down the daemon elves had proven to be tedious work. The streets were red with the blood of the Vervanian citizens. Though from her aerial view she could see the hundreds that were running up the royal road leading to the palace. Melanie flew ahead and began unleashing her frozen breath upon the city streets. Her icy energy piled up, creating a thin wall of crystalline ice.

The pursuing elves wouldn't be stopped for any more than a few minutes, but every second was precious. Melanie glanced up at the skies as rain began to fall. As the precipitation met her aura, the moisture turned from wet to flaky. The white flakes of snow drifted to the ground slowly. A beautiful sight amongst the chaos.

*****

Bedelia's tail swung hard like a flail, knocking Maalceus off her body and tossing him into a broken structure. Maaltaire lifted off into the sky but could not gain enough distance before Bedelia loosed a massive beam of divine daemonic fire upon him. The fire burned through his wings and scales, pushing him off course where he collided with a watch tower. Kelly dug her claws and teeth into Bedelia's wings and held on even as she rolled back onto her feet.

Shauna turned in a tight twisting coil as she did her best to bend and break the daemon queen's wing. With a sharp kick from her powerful rear leg, Bedelia sent Shauna skidding across the ground where she slammed into the border wall. Kelly met Bedelia's gaze and sneered.
'Fucking bitch. You will not live to regret attacking my family.' Kelly snarled.
'And you will regret attacking me, long enough to see your family burn.' Bedelia hissed.