A storm of sand ruthlessly pelted against the three men as the gigantic rock itself began to rise, unburying itself from the shore. It felt like a never ending onslaught of life-and-death scenarios within the unforgiving island; the titanus creature unearthed itself, stomping down with its flat hooves of stone as it towered over the three men.
It resembled a mix between a tortoise and a horse, clad in a stone exoskeleton with pink flesh exposed beneath certain points; it possessed hair of some kind, resembling stringy vines that cascaded down its back.
"That's a big one," Emilio muttered under his breath, readying himself for conflict.
The roliath was nothing short of terrifying in its sheer size and density, as it opened its cavernous maw to unleash a bellowing roar that shook the shore.
Emilio stepped past Everett, rolling up his sleeves, "Make sure the old man doesn't die, yeah?"
"Ya got it!" Everett nodded, hoisting his large shield up.
Before the colossal mammal of stone made its first move, the Dragonheart took the initiative, summoning a bright-orange fireball into his right hand. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the ball of fire flying forward, speeding like a bullet before colliding with the front of the stone-armored beast.
BOOM
An explosion of sparks fluttered through the air as the roliath was battered by the flames. The sharp release of volatile flames rattled the shoreline, casting sand in every direction once again.
Maverick winced as hundreds of grains of sand pelted his skin, raising his arms, "Ow! Ow! Ow! That stings! Raise that shield, already!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Everett tiredly said, holding the shield in front of himself and the bearded man.
As the embers faded away beneath the sunlight, the hulking stone remained in one piece, only somewhat burnt by the attack.
Emilio raised an eyebrow in surprise at the futility of his own attack, "...Well, that's scary."
"Em', it ate yer attack like nothin'!" Everett shouted in surprise.
"Yeah, I can see that!" Emilio yelled back.
As he responded, the roliath made its first move as it raised its mountainous left foot up high, casting a shadow over the shore before stomping down.
"Watch out—!" Maverick warned.
The stone-armored beast was faster than it seemed for being not far from a breathing mountain. It's foot came down with tremendous force, bringing a mighty collapse into the shore—
[Dragonheart System Activated.]
[Current Stage: Dragon Son | 2/10]
"Ngh—!"
Standing beneath the roliath's foot, large enough to stamp out an entire cottage, the Dragonheart held both hands up, preventing it from crushing him.
'This…is just not my day, is it?!' Emilio thought.
With his boots pressed down against the hot sand, he could feel the inexplicable pressure of the creature rattling his skeleton as he contested its foot.
Even with the draconic strength roaring through his body, it still felt as though he was fighting an uphill battle, only losing ground as he fell to a knee.
'…Damn, I'm more exhausted than I thought. I underestimated how strong this thing would be,' he thought.
"Found you, my brother."
The air froze for that single moment as if caught within the merciless grip of frost, becoming thin as something manifested in the skies above.
Emilio watched from his disadvantageous position as a magenta spark of electricity dazzled in front of him.
ZZZZZZT
—Piercing downward from the clouds, a majestic bolt of vibrant, purple lightning struck the mountainous beast from above.
"What the–?!" Maverick flinched at the sudden brightness and chaos that flushed through the shoreline.
The merciless lance of electricity penetrated the roliath's sturdy shell, causing the beast to roar out in pain as it collapsed from the brutal attack.
The weight of the beast's foot removed itself from the Dragonheart, who flipped back as he finally freed himself with a sharp exhale.
He didn't even need to fully look up to know who it was that had arrived at an opportune time, knowing that lightning unmistakably.
"Sirius!" Emilio called out with a smile.
Standing atop the carcass of the felled beast of stone, the gray-uniformed man fixed his hair as magenta sparks coiled in the air around him before responding, "The one and only."
"Err…Who?" Maverick asked with a stunned expression.
"A friend—a helluva strong guy, too!" Everett answered excitedly.
Sirius leapt from the felled creature's back, landing in front of the others as he kept his hands slid into his pockets.
"Know what's going on here, brother?" Sirius asked as he approached the Dragonheart casually, looking around at the shoreline.
Emilio could only sigh out at the question as he shrugged his shoulders, "It's a lot, so listen up."
From everything that had happened from the meeting with the botanist up until reuniting with the Stormheart, Emilio explained it all to Sirius.
Sitting on a flat rock in the sand, Sirius let out an exhale while looking up towards the clouds, "You really did it this time, huh, Emilio?"
"Yeah, sorry," Emilio apologized, sitting across from him.
They all sat around a makeshift campfire, which Maverick insisted on creating by hand as he dutifully gathered twigs, using his own two hands to support a spark of fire.
"C'mon! C'mon! C'mon! Bring me…fire!" Maverick chanted while quickly grinding the stick against the stone.
Minutes were spent with nothing more than dying sparks generating.
"…He knows you can make a fire with a snap of your fingers, right?" Everett quietly asked Emilio, scooting close to him.
Emilio sighed, "Yeah, but he wants to do it himself. Something about pride, I don't know."
"This island sure is something. Wish I would've known about this when I was training," Sirius claimed, clapping his hands together.
"We still need to find Celly. She's alone out there right now," Emilio said with a hint of impatience, stretching his arms with a quiet exhale.
"That's true. Speaking of—" Sirius began to say.
"FIIIIIIIIIRE—!"
Maverick yelled out in utter victory as a bountiful fire finally manifested from his efforts. The exclamation was followed by silence as the bearded, shirtless man sat there with his arms out as if the newly-born blaze was a miracle itself.
"...Haaah…" Maverick breathed out, smiling.
Sirius looked at the bearded man oddly before turning back to the others, speaking again, "...As I was saying, I ran into somebody else here not too long ago."
"You did?" Emilio asked.
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