The three-headed dog growled more, its six eyes looking at Elias and Dawn, scanning them like prey. Dawn placed her hands on the sword that was by her side as she got ready to battle. The moment her hands touched the sword, the three heads locked on her. They could smell it, her will to fight, her desire to cut them down. They could smell all of it in that instant, and it made her desirable.
It took a step forward, hungry for a taste of her flesh, yet reluctant to attack because above all, it could smell her strength. She was no weak prey, she was strong, but the stronger the prey, the sweeter the flesh.
"Master, please step back, this fight will not be easy," Dawn said. She pulled her sword and gripped it with both hands, her eyes slowly shifting into a sharp state, her concentration locked on the monster.
Elias watched. He clenched his fist. 'Is she going to carry me through everything this way? What am I even doing? Am I really this weak?' The thought gnawed at him. Seeing someone take responsibility for him and fight for him, it stabbed his heart and bruised his ego.
'If father saw me now, he'd see me as a loser, weaker than what he believed I was, relying on others,' Elias thought, anger rising inside him. He didn't know it, but a part of him still sought out the validation of the leader of the Grimhorn family, a residue of the brainwashing that he faced all his life.
While Elias was stuck in his mind, the three-headed dog rushed at Dawn.
"Master, step back," Dawn said again and then charged forward. She lunged forward, needing only one stride to close the distance, but what she didn't expect was for all three heads to suddenly open their mouths and unleash flame breaths that merged into one powerful breath of flames.
Very quickly, Dawn lifted her sword and blocked the flames. It slammed against her sword, throwing her back. She planted both feet into the ground as the searing heat of the flames reached her, but she held strong.
When the attack was over, she looked ahead and the three-headed dog was already looming above her and attacking, all three heads biting down. Dawn gritted her teeth, she clenched her sword tighter and slashed.
"Thunder Slash!" Her voice cut through the air at the same time as her slash. The pounding, explosive thunder sound broke through the air.
BOOM!
Dawn was sent skidding backwards. When she stopped, she looked up. The dust cleared, and the three-headed dog was standing there with a massive gash on its chest that revealed the core right there, but not long after, the wound healed up completely and it was fine.
Dawn took a deep breath to relax herself, her tense muscles freed up. "Master, from the way your hands are clutching your sword, I can tell you are eager to help," Dawn said, while still keeping her eyes on the three-headed dog.
Elias looked up when he heard her speak, then he looked down. "No, I'll only slow you down," he said.
"I have a way that you can help, Master," she stated, and immediately the light in his eyes returned. He looked at her eagerly.
"When I create an opening, you'll attack and kill it, go for the core," she said calmly.
"An opening? How will I know when to move?" Elias asked.
"You will know when you see it," she stated and then went back to her stance. The next moment, she charged again.
"I'll know when I see it? I feel you are overestimating me, Dawn," Elias muttered, but placed his hand on his sword, keeping it there and watching keenly for the right moment.
The three-headed dog saw Dawn coming at it and reacted immediately, unleashing another flame breath at her. The stream travelled fast toward the incoming Dawn.
She looked at the flames. She could feel the heat, but she kept moving. When the flames were right there, about to engulf her, she drove her foot into the ground and, with everything in her, she slashed down, cutting through the flames with one attack, and then she pressed forward, running as fast as she could.
The three-headed dog was infuriated by this. It created the flames that it let out, yet she pushed past as the heat got to her, and it felt as though her skin was on fire, yet she kept pushing. Finally, she broke through the flames, getting so close to the three-headed dog that it couldn't attempt to run away.
Her chance had not come by luck or by waiting. She had forged it with her own strength, and now she was going to make sure that she reaped the result of it.
"Again, Thunder Slash!" Her voice shook the air as she went for another slash, planting her foot into the ground and striking.
CRACKLE!
BOOM!
That alone caused the air to tremble. Her sword ripped into the chest of the three-headed dog, leaving a massive gash in its chest.
Elias, who was watching the entire fight, felt something the moment he saw that wound, like it was calling to him.
"You'll know when you see it," he muttered Dawn's words. His body moved on its own instantly, feet pressing against the ground hard as he ran, eyes locked on the goal, everything else faded.
In his eyes, all he could see was the pulsing core at the end of an empty runway. His hands pulled the sword while he ran. Every movement he made right now was one destined to help him take down the monster.
"Arghhhhhhhhhhhh!" Elias roared as he reached the three-headed dog. He thrust the blade immediately.
'Go deeper this time, push harder, you failed with the horned cat, do not fail now, do not become a failure. Those that fail can never have their wishes come through, become a winner, forge your path, victory after victory.'
His blade stabbed into the core, but Elias didn't stop there. He dug it deeper and twisted the blade as it entered.
"I'll go deeper!" he yelled.