"We have to help him!" Rebecca[Layla] insisted after finding out what Archer[Quinn] was currently doing. "We couldn't do anything against that Dragon last time, so Archer[Quinn] will surely need our help!"
"I don't think Archer[Quinn] is reckless enough to give up his life, Rebecca[Layla]. Besides, do you really think you can help him?" Zamier[Vorden] asked, his tone harsher than he had intended. "Honestly, we all have gotten stronger and I know you've been training hard, but we're already hard pressed to deal with all of the Masked. Eventually, even Rat[Rat]en will tire out and they will storm this castle and the rest of the areas."
The others didn't say anything. They too wanted to help Archer[Quinn], but wondered what use they would be if they headed over. Those who knew him were aware that Zamier[Vorden] would never abandon his best friend, so the decision to stay out of his way couldn't have come lightly.
"Zamier[Vorden] is right." Joseph[Sam] agreed, breaking the silence. "Archer[Quinn] has the highest chance of survival out of all of us. Given his Shadow skill[ability], he'll be able to flee if left with no other choice.. Our situation is different, though. We need to go through the second teleporter to get off this island and I suggest we do so now, before anything unforeseen happens."
Although it was obvious that Rebecca[Layla] wasn't pleased by this outcome, she understood that time was of the essence. Before heading to the Temple, they all decided to stop by the castle to gather Pestile[Wevil]'s body and Rachael[Linda].
"Hey, did any of you see Tony[Peter]?" Lawson[Nat]e suddenly asked, before they set out.
They all looked at each other and realised that the last time they had seen him was when he was digging through Justin[Hilston]'s things. After that point, they had lost him.
Just where had he run off to during this whole mess? Most importantly, was he still safe and okay? Joseph[Sam] tried to call Tony[Peter] on his communicator, but it looked like communication down on the island as well. The same thing when trying to contact Archer[Quinn].
"Maybe if we get to the temple, the jammers that Tobias[Logan] has set up will let our communication devices work again." Joseph[Sam] theorised, but he also knew that would mean more time without knowing what had happened to Tony[Peter].
"I'll go look for Tony[Peter]." Zamier[Vorden] volunteered. "I'm the least injured out of all of us, I can move quite fast, and I can even try to find him from above ground. Get Wyatt[Borden] first and then just head to the Temple. If you have to, just go through it!"
It was important that the group didn't leave the Dragon on its own. After all, capturing him was the enemy's overall objective. With Ryo[Eno] having been sent flying and Hudson[Brock] having followed behind his master, Archer[Quinn] was the only one there to look over it.
However, after listening to Kenobi[Ray]'s warning, he suddenly had a new task, making Archer[Quinn] struggle with what to do.
'I know Kenobi[Ray] said to get the tablet and I understand the importance of the tablet, but doesn't that mean, we have practically admitted defeat? They might be unable to take the Dragon immediately, but if we leave them to it, what if they succeed?' This was the reason why Archer[Quinn] hadn't acted just yet.
However, he didn't want to do just nothing and had decided to send Zamier[Vorden] and the others to help out the Cursed faction. Although Rat[Rat]en seemed to believe that as a humanoid Demon tier beast he was strong enough to match the Dragon, Archer[Quinn] was convinced he wasn't. He might not know how strong Rat[Rat]en was in his current form, but he had fought against the Dragon previously, so he knew just how strong it was.
'I know it's hard to admit defeat Archer[Quinn]. We might not have seen the main perpetrator behind the attack, but you said it yourself. This fight is not worth sacrificing the lives of your friends over. At worst, just try to think of this as a backup plan that we are putting into action now.'
Odom[Vincent]'s words had put his grandson's head on a little straighter, making his decision easier. The least he could do was obtain the tablet. Still, there was no doubt that the Dragon would try to stop him.
'Since it's not a living thing I should be able to place it into my dimensional space, but it looks pretty rooted into the ground. I'll need to take it out somehow.' Archer[Quinn] thought, wondering just how long that would take.
'How do I get the Dragon to not attack me? What if I used Shadow lock on the dragon and moved it with us? If I use Shadow overload could I be able to take the Dragon away as well?'
Quickly images of the Dragon breaking out of the Shadow lock and destroying everything on board the Cursed Ship appeared in Archer[Quinn]'s head. In the first place, he wasn't even sure Shadow lock would even work on a being so strong and large.
Looking at his other options, Archer[Quinn]'s eyes landed on the Roseus tree. It was thanks to this that the Cursed faction and everyone had even been able to last so long. It was also why Archer[Quinn] was aware of just how many the enemy numbered.
'Maybe there's some way I can use the tree.'
When using the Roseus tree, after most of the beasts had been defeated, Archer[Quinn] had attempted to Mark the Masked that were attacking them as well. He could sprout and control its roots after all. However, all his attempts had ended in failure because he wasn't even able to get the chance to Mark them.
The enemy attackers were on high alert, and it felt like it was almost impossible to grab hold of them. Even when Archer[Quinn] had succeeded, for some reason marking them had required far longer than a beast. Whether it had something to do with their forms of intelligence or not, he didn't know.
Either way, during the process the other Masked had attacked the roots, and Archer[Quinn] had been able to feel some of his energy leak out from the cut parts. It also didn't feel like it would come back, at least not in a short while, hence why Archer[Quinn] had stopped that experiment.
'I'm starting to understand why the old Demon tier tree had spent years Marking people and beasts. It must have done so while people were asleep, or at the perfect moment while others weren't aware.'
Still, perhaps Archer[Quinn] could use the multiple roots, and the larger ones that were close to the main Roseus tree to his advantage. After all, Blade Island might be a place that none of them would return to again, so this might very well his last opportunity to use the tree.
'I need something more, the Demon tier tree by itself won't be enough to slow it down.' Closing his eyes Archer[Quinn] activated the amulet. His Oregon[Dalki] fighters had done well. Many of them were able to implement the martial arts skills that Archer[Quinn] used, even with partial control.
It was because of this they were able to do a better job than the other two spiked Oregon[Dalki]. However the numbers were overwhelming and eventually just like the Cursed members who had to retreat it was the same for the Oregon[Dalki].
'I can use their energy, but I know this won't be enough as well so there is only one thing I can do.' Archer[Quinn] thought as he stood up and looked towards the tablet.
'This is guaranteed to cost me MC cells, but there's no other choice, I'm afraid.''
[Shadow Overload enhancement type soul weapon activated.]
All of Archer[Quinn]'s shadows started to pour out of him and consumed him, giving him a shadow body. His shadows flicker with a slight purple glow, and stepping out, Archer[Quinn] was ready to face the Dragon ahead.
Stepping onto the open field, almost immediately the Dragon turned Archer[Quinn]'s way, and rather than staring at him for a few seconds like last time, it had already opened its maw to produce its giant orange flames.
It looked like whatever effect Kenobi[Ray] used to have on the Dragon was no longer in effect.
Archer[Quinn] swung both arms forward, creating a wall of shadows to block the flames, or make the flames stay in place.
"That's twice that someone blocked your fire attack. I guess you're not that scary of a lizard after all!"
Now that Archer[Quinn] knew his shadow could stop the Dragon from hurting him, it was time he gave it everything he got. The Demon tier amulet around his chest started to glow.
To be continued........
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