Another rock flew through the air and – with unsettling accuracy – struck the Wyrm straight in the eye for the second time that day. It let out an annoyed screech. As it turned back toward Rodrick, Arwin lunged, swinging his sword for the small crack on its leg. The Wyrm noticed his attack and flicked its claws at him, trying to carve Arwin apart before his blow could connect. Using a blast of energy from [Scourge], Arwin leapt over the monster’s leg and slammed his sword home once more. More magical power raced out of him and into the wound, sending a dull thrum up into the air. The Wyrm roared and lunged at Arwin, forcing him to use even more of his power to throw himself to safety. Arwin could feel his magical reserves starting to run out. He’d been using [Scourge] at max for the entire fight, and his sword drained power at a massive rate. He probably only had one or two more moves left in him before he was completely dry. The Wyrm, on the other hand, had been barely injured. The damage to its leg wasn’t much more than a bad scratch, but the fact he’d managed to do anything at all to the enormous beast was a feat in itself. “Get out of here!” Arwin yelled. “We can’t win this!” “We aren’t leaving you behind,” Rodrick yelled back. “You can’t win this either!” Arwin didn’t have a response to that. He grit his teeth and held the Wyrm’s gaze as it contemplated its next move. At least Reya got out. Now only three of us will get killed. The Wyrm was equally as surprised, but it recovered quickly and spun toward her, its maw snapping open. The scales covering its body rippled as the muscles beneath them tensed, preparing to pounce. Arwin burst into motion. He didn’t have any other choice. His armor would keep the claws of a normal lizard from ripping Reya to shreds – it wasn’t a magical wall that would stop the weight of the Wyrm. The Wyrm saw Arwin’s approach out of the corner of its eye. Its tail shot out and Arwin jumped – but the Wyrm wasn’t trying to knock him out of the way. The massive appendage wrapped around his chest. He barely managed to lift his arms into the air before the tail tightened, starting to squeeze. Arwin’s armor cracked and groaned, desperately trying to hold the monster off and failing spectacularly. He wasn’t far from its leg, but his sword arm was pointed entirely in the wrong direction. The Wyrm lunged, aiming to swallow Reya whole. She tried to throw herself out of the way in the same way that Arwin had, but she didn’t have [Scourge] to help her. Rodrick ran toward Reya, but he wasn’t going to make it in time. Arwin drew on every last ounce of magic he had, letting [Scourge] erupt through his entire body. He let out a snarl, shoving the Wyrm’s tail back just enough to slip free of its grip even as it started to clear the ground. Arwin launched himself forward, moving with the Wyrm’s momentum to launch himself up the side of the body. He was too close to the monster to rear back and swing his sword without hitting something else on accident. With only instants to act, Arwin brought the blade up – but not toward the monster. His teeth slammed down on the blade, shattering the metal. Energy poured into Arwin’s mouth and spread throughout his body. He ripped power from the sword, draining the rest of the weapon until it was ash in the wind within just milliseconds. Then, with a defiant roar, he drove his fist into the cracked scales. The power that the sword had once held was temporarily infused within him, and Arwin spent every last drop of power he had pushing it out through his fist, activating his greaves at the same time. The ripples of resonating energy detonated with a brilliant crack. The Wyrm screamed in pain, twisting at the last moment. There was a loud screech and Reya went flying, but Arwin hit the ground before he could see the extent of the damage. A brilliant flash of light lit up the air and the Wyrm roared in surprise, buying them precious seconds. Arwin rolled across the ground, crashing into a tree with enough force to knock it back. His enhanced defenses were the only thing that kept him from passing out. Bright stars flashed before Arwin’s eyes and he drew in a hissing gasp. Pain rocked through his back as he forced himself upright, squinting through darkness dancing at the edges of his vision. The Wyrm had landed several dozen feet from him, its momentum having carried it deeper into the forest and through a dozen trees. The scales on its right foreleg were badly damaged, and blood poured down it like a small river. Letting out a wail, the enormous monster tried to put weight on its leg before yanking the foot back into the air. Its eyes swiveled to stare at Arwin. Hunger and hatred mixed with fear within them as he staggered upright, baring his teeth and breathing heavily. He had absolutely nothing left – but the Wyrm didn’t know that. “Come on,” Arwin rasped. The Wyrm didn’t move. “Come on!” Arwin screamed, pounding a hand against his cracked chest piece. The world swam around him, and trees danced when they should have been still. The Wyrm turned. It slunk back into the forest, limping to avoid putting weight on its injured leg. Deep, echoing thuds echoed through the darkness and faded into the distance. All that remained of it was a drying puddle of blood on the ground and a single, cracked scale. Arwin turned toward the others, leaning heavily against the tree. Reya laid on the ground several feet away from him, sprawled out beside Anna. Arwin staggered toward them, barely able to keep himself upright. Reya pushed herself over. The front of her chest piece, running from her shoulders down to just above her waist, had been ripped to shreds. Several furrows ran through her skin, but they were no deeper than half an inch. The armor had stopped the damage from being fatal. “Look at that,” Reya said with a weak smile. “It held up after all.” A laugh slipped out of Arwin’s mouth, rocking his body with such intensity that he had to grab onto a tree to keep from falling over. And, in his laughter, he just barely noticed a flicker of golden light dancing through the air. Achievement: [Shieldbreaker] has been earned.