Screams echoed across the plain.
The firewyrm reared its titanic body from the earth like a demon born of the world's crust, its molten plates steaming as blood-red eyes scanned the chaos. It exhaled a torrent of flame, washing over a phalanx of soldiers in the rear. They didn't even have time to scream. One moment, they were men—the next, shadows turned to ash.
"Form ranks! Shields up!" bellowed a captain of the Agema.
But it was too late. The wyrm crashed into their line like a living avalanche, scattering men like broken dolls.
Viserys drew his sword and took a deep breath. How in the living hell was he supposed to kill that thing? He had nothing. Sure, Valyrian steel could work against it—but he wasn't going to be able to get close enough to hurt it. How was he supposed to protect her?
He looked around, spotting Daenerys.
"Dany! Stay behind the priests!" he shouted, voice hoarse.
She looked ready to argue—but saw the wyrm crush another dozen men under its coiling mass and fell back, Kinvara pulling her behind a red priest's protective ward.
Viserys spurred his horse forward.
He didn't think—there wasn't time. A soldier stumbled in front of him, bleeding and screaming, and Viserys yanked him onto the saddle behind him before leaping off toward a crumbling ridge.
As he landed, he slapped the soldier and shouted,
"Get it together! We're all gonna die—try to rally the soldiers to form a phalanx while I distr—"
He was cut off.
The wyrm struck again.
It slammed the earth with its body, sending out a shockwave of fire and force that threw men and horses into the air. Viserys hit the ground hard, rolling across the cracked stone, his armor groaning under the impact.
He spat blood, groaning as he looked up at the giant beast in the distance. It was making its way toward one of the carriages—the second most guarded one after Daenerys's.
In that carriage… the dragon eggs.
No. No, no. That thing was going to eat the eggs. He had to stop it.
He began sprinting as fast as he could, ripping off his armor along the way—it would only slow him down.
The battlefield was hell. As he sprinted toward the beast, he looked around and saw the Agema trying to form shield walls, but it was useless. The beast's heat alone melted spears before they touched its flesh. One formation managed to stab into its side—only to be crushed by its tail in retaliation.
The priests chanted furiously, using their fire magic to set the archers' arrows ablaze. The archers aimed and unleashed a volley—the wyrm barely noticed.
Not fire. You can't hurt fire with fire.
Viserys surged forward, blade drawn. He jumped onto a riderless horse whose owner had just been killed and forced it to move faster than it ever had before. They burst forward toward a small hill near the wyrm. As they reached the top, he leaped off while the horse kept running.
He landed just behind the wyrm's armored skull. The heat scorched his cloak and boiled the air in his lungs. His vision blurred.
He jammed his blade downward into the exposed spot between its neck plates.
It screeched, thrashing wildly.
But the blade only sank inches before it was thrown from his grip. The wyrm reared, twisting violently—
And Viserys was thrown like a ragdoll.
He hit the ground so hard something snapped in his chest. Pain exploded through him.
[Major Injury Detected: Fractured Ribs, Internal Bleeding]
[Warning: Vital Condition Declining]
He coughed blood. Everything hurt. Breathing hurt. Standing hurt. The world swam.
And still, the beast raged.
A group of Fiery Hand soldiers attempted to push a giant boulder into the beast, hoping it would do some damage. The wyrm ate it. Its teeth crushed the rock into dust.
Then it turned toward them and roared.
Flame exploded.
The group of soldiers vanished in an instant.
He could hear Daenerys screaming in the distance. He couldn't see her. Couldn't tell if she was safe.
He couldn't let her die.
He wouldn't.
With one hand gripping the dirt, he accessed the system shop.
[System Shop Accessed – Emergency Mode]
Available DP: 19,342
Healing Elixir (Advanced) – 9,000 DP – Fully restores health, removes status ailments.
Weapon: Valyrian Steel Glaive (Bound) – 8,500 DP
"Buy both," he hissed.
Pain washed away instantly as the healing elixir took effect, knitting bones, sealing internal wounds. Power surged through him like liquid fire. The glaive materialized in his hands.
He stood.
He roared in pain as his body pulled itself back together.
And he ran.
The wyrm sensed him, turned toward him, molten maw wide.
Viserys threw the glaive.
It soared like a comet—and struck deep into the beast's eye.
The wyrm screamed.
A sound like mountains collapsing.
Viserys summoned the glaive back to his hand with the system and charged again, slashing at the exposed underbelly. Blood—steaming, glowing, liquid magma—sprayed across the ground. His clothes burned off due to the contact, the magma searing hot, but it didn't burn him. Not truly. For some reason… it didn't.
The beast coiled, and he was nearly caught in its tail swing—but three remaining Agema slammed into its flank in a coordinated attack, buying him a second.
That was all he needed.
One more slash.
Straight through its open maw.
The glaive cut deep—severing nerves, bone, heat.
The wyrm let out one last roar…
… and collapsed.
Dead.
He let out a heavy breath and looked around.
The battlefield fell into silence.
Smoke rose from scorched earth. Bodies were everywhere—half the caravan was gone. The priests? Almost all dead. The Fiery Hand? Broken and bleeding.
Only thirty or so survivors remained from over two hundred.
Viserys collapsed to his knees, panting, his glaive melting the stone where it touched the ground.
Daenerys rushed to him, eyes wide and wet.
"You're hurt—gods, you're bleeding—"
"I'm fine," he rasped. "I'm still breathing."
He looked out across the field of death.
And smiled bitterly.
[Quest Complete – Ash Breaker]
Reward: +22,500 Dragon Points
Title Gained: Wyrmslayer – Enemies of draconic or corrupted origin now recognize you as a slayer of kin. Fear effect added.
System Comment: You shouldn't have survived that. But you did. That's all that matters.
He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the system panel, confused.
"You can talk?"
System Comment: Yes, I can talk. I can do a bunch of other stuff.
"Why haven't you said anything until now?"
It didn't respond.
He looked to his side, where Daenerys was staring at him in utter confusion. She said,
"Who are you talking to?"
He replied,
"I told you I had been gifted magic by some higher being, Dany. I can also communicate with them."
He turned around and walked toward her. He towered over her—she stood at 5'2", and he at 6'7". She looked like a little doll to him. He stroked her hair and said,
"That's not what's important right now. What's important is that you're okay. If I had lost you… I don't know what I would've done. When I heard you scream, I feared the worst. I thought it had gotten to you. I wasn't prepared to lose you. You're the only thing in this world that matters to me."
He brought his hands down to her cheeks and leaned in like he was going to kiss her—but before he could, a soldier called out to him.
"Milord! The High Priestess Kinvara has requested to speak with you immediately!"
He pulled back and looked at Dany.
"I better go talk to her. If it weren't for her men, I might not have been able to kill the damn thing."
He turned and began walking away. He looked back—Dany looked sad, but tried to hide it. She approached one of the carriages, picking up a locked box. It was the box with the dragon eggs.
He smiled at her. He was just about to turn back when—
He heard a roar.
As he looked toward it—the beast.
It wasn't dead.
Fuck. How?
How wasn't it dead?!
The wyrm lunged toward Dany, its mouth gaping open.
Viserys's eyes shot blood-red as he let everything go—blurring forward.
He reached her in time, pushing her out of the way as the wyrm snapped its jaws. She dropped the box.
He was about to push it aside too—
But the wyrm got to him.
It swallowed him—and the eggs—whole.