To Be Proud: Revamped

Chapter 73: A Bigger Problem

~Thwok~

The last thing I was able to process was the bright light that occurred before the searing blast of fire scorched my entire left side.

I woke up to a dusty red sky above me, the wispy brown clouds swirling within the surrounding storm. Chunks of deep black stonyx dotted the raspy air around me, sailing down to the surface with the force of meteorites. They brought destruction in their wake, tearing down the thatched roofs and splintering the planked walls as they broke through the heavily-bricked alleys around me. The scent of a frustrated inferno filled the air, suffocating those who dared to breathe it with an incomprehensible hatred. Jolted by a nearby thud from falling debris, I attempted to hoist myself up onto my feet.

Immediately after I stood up, I fell close to collapsing. I grasped at a nearby boulder, pressing my body against the scolding piece of stonyx, to try and assess the amount of damage I had taken. The sprain on my leg had gotten worse, evolving from a bruise to a break and a burn, and all of the fur on my left side had been moderately singed. A few bruises had appeared on my left arm, speckling it like polka dots, and blisters lined a few bands on my tongue. It hurt to breathe, felt worse to move, but I knew I had to keep going despite how much of a Blow't the stinging and burning was being.

A distant roar shook the land below me, and as I readjusted myself I glanced over in its direction. The castle had been decimated, the product being the shower of stonyx meteors, and in its place stood a ginormous beacon of blinding white light. Something arose from the cleared mound, rising up rapidly and quickly expanding. Large bolts of crisp yellow energy pierced the sky, striking at both the ground below it and the air above it. Albeit it was peculiar I could vaguely make out the shape of a figure, one that was brutish and reckless by design, but as I watched it longer I realized that something was wrong. Before I could figure it out a loud shout erupted in front of me, and as I looked in the source's general direction I froze.

In front of me stood a large group of monsters, most of which I knew were native to the island. Through their vicious advances and outraged war cries, I was convinced that I wasn't wanted in their territory. Quickly guiding my body around the debris, I pushed myself away and started to sprint down the steep slope. The scarring and burns on my leg hindered my movement significantly, not to mention the added difficulty of the hill's slant and the fact that gravity was not on my side, so in an act of desperation I switched my strategy and Blabbit-hopped with my good limb. I soon found that the desolate ruin around me flew by faster than it had prior, given that the odds were once again in my favor.

As the panic and fear fueled my thinking, I glanced around and sped through any and all recognizable side passages in hopes of leaving the enraged mob in the dust storm. I kept weary of the falling debris, dodging the occasional red hoop that the native Hoola tried to restrain me with. Given the short amount of distance I had managed to create between me and the mob, I propelled myself backwards into a crumbled alley and pressed my back flat against one of the broken barricades. The swarm fumed past the opening, leaving me with a chance to catch my own breath. From swimming in ruin to hopping through fire, I internally commented as I studied the bruises on my arms further. Who would've thought?

The ground beneath my feet gently rumbled, persuading me to hold on to the lack of a wall behind me. Flashes of color erupted beside me as the mob from before fled back towards where they came, and through the chaos I could hear slight sounds of distress. Once the color was cleared, I peeked into the open passage to see what had caused the commotion. To my left was the fleeing herd, crying and running to safety, and to my right my heart dropped. Plowing through the strip was the Drummidary from the castle, roaring and snapping its claws, and riding on top was...

      "Kay!?"

      "Thwok? Thwok!" Somehow, the armored knight of a Kayna got on top of the beast that was a Drummidary. As much as I wanted to question the logic, the pain I was enduring did not make it worthwhile. "Quick, grab on!" Kay lowered the handle of her axe for me to grab, and as I latched on to the end she hoisted me up on top of the Drummidary. Lightly collapsing against the large beast's back, I allowed my body to rest.