Chapter 26: Defeating a "Dragon"

"Ooh, I think I'm starting to gain my sight back. Hell yeah!" shouted Wilson. Ryland immediately grabbed Wilson's shoulder and whispered, "Keep it down, Mr. Wilson."

"Oh, okay. Sorry, kid. But hey, remember this: next time you're gonna do something flashy like that, better give me a heads-up first, or I'll let you taste my hammer, got it?" whispered Wilson in Ryland's ear.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Mr. Wilson," said Ryland. He then spoke into the comm piece, "Everyone, you're regaining your sight now. But the Komodo Dragon will regain its eyesight in another 25 seconds. So please move into your positions and get ready to execute your tasks as I told you earlier."

Each of them quickly moved to their allocated positions, even though they were still a little teary-eyed because of the blinding flash. Wiping her eyes, Betty started preparing for her move. "I will need one minute to prepare, hold on until then, guys," said Betty into the comm piece.

"That's 30 seconds of hell with this beast once it regains its sight! Arghh!" said Wilson as he morphed his heavy armor into liquid form that hovered above his head to reduce the noise from his movement.

"Enough yapping, Boss. I'm trying my best over here," replied Betty.

"Okay, everybody calm down. We need to trust and cover each other to make this happen," Ryland interjected.

"Boss! Guys! Look..." said Daoist into the comm piece.

Everyone turned their heads to the Komodo Dragon.

"What the hell..." said Wilson.

Ryland telepathically spoke with White Boy, "White Boy, what's happening with that lizard?" White Boy hovered closer to Ryland and said, "It's going crazy, Master. So mad you blinded its eyes."

Ryland spoke into the comm piece, "Guys, it seems that the Komodo Dragon is enraged now. Be extra careful!"

"That's great... Razor, you're gonna partner up with me. We're gonna give this lizard hell, okay?" said O'kuyo to Razor as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Razor responded with a hiss. "Haha, I believe you understand what I mean, right?" O'kuyo chuckled and proceeded to his spot on the right side of the Komodo Dragon.

Daoist cocked his guns and took his spot further at the back.

Right after that, the enraged Komodo Dragon took a stance. It opened its mouth and started to spray green acidic projectiles blindly.

"Everyone, take cover!" shouted Betty into the comm piece. Wilson halted his movement, turned back, and planted his tower shield on the ground. The nimble feet of Daoist and O'kuyo made it easy for them to evade the acidic attacks, which were not that fast.

But Ryland found himself in a tight spot because he didn't have any defense or evasive movement. "Shit, they all can take care of themselves in this situation. Betty is preparing for her move, so I can't ask for her help. All I can do is run away quickly before it regains its sight."

But then, one of the acid projectiles made its way towards Ryland. Ryland, who was running away, didn't realize that. Suddenly, Ryland felt something grabbing him under his armpit.

Ryland's feet suddenly left the ground as White Boy grabbed him and lifted him into the air. As he looked down, he saw an acid projectile pass right where he had been standing. Glancing up at White Boy's fearsome face, Ryland telepathically said, "Thank you, White Boy. You just saved my life."

White Boy just responded with a smile, exposing its fangs, making its face scarier. Ryland laughed a little. "You better hold me tightly, White Boy. Being this high up is a new experience for me." White Boy replied, "I got you. Don't worry, Master."

The acidic projectile attacks stopped. The Komodo Dragon could be seen wiping its eyes with its tongue. "Guys, it has regained its sight," said Ryland into the comm piece.

"Yes, bro. We can see it. But, I can't see you. Where are you?" questioned O'kuyo. "Look at the sky, brother," Ryland responded.

Everyone turned their heads upwards and saw Ryland and White Boy hovering in the air. O'kuyo chuckled and said into the comm piece, "That must be scary, right?"

"Yeah. But let's hold this conversation for later. The Komodo Dragon is making a move. You all need to act now!" said Ryland.

Suddenly, the Komodo Dragon screamed loudly. Then it started to target O'kuyo as he was the first one it had its sight on. O'kuyo and Razor retreated quickly. "Mr. Wilson!" Ryland shouted.

"I know what to do, kid," Wilson replied. He, who had already morphed the liquid Mercurial back into heavy knight armor, clanked his hammer on his shield, trying to gain the Komodo Dragon's attention.

Apparently, the enraged Komodo Dragon had become much more sensitive to sound. The Komodo Dragon turned to Wilson. As it ran towards Wilson, Daoist released multiple shots on its back, this time dealing minor injuries.

That attack made the Komodo Dragon angrier. So it turned back to attack Daoist. This time, Wilson threw his hammer at the back of the Komodo Dragon. As it shrieked in pain, the Komodo Dragon kept its sight on Daoist.

Unfortunately for the Komodo Dragon, the nimble feet of that gunslinger let him escape its attack. When it tried to catch up to Daoist, a few slashes came from its left. It was O'kuyo and Razor.

The situation went on and on. They simultaneously attacked and evaded the Komodo Dragon as it changed its sight from one to the other. The enraged Komodo Dragon kept on attacking but was becoming confused and tired.

"Its movements have become slower and dull now. It is time," Ryland thought to himself and glanced at Betty. Betty, who was sweating, gave Ryland a nod.

"Alright, White Boy. Drop me off in front of Mr. Wilson and prepare for your supersonic scream," Ryland ordered.

"Okay, Master," White Boy obeyed as it flew down towards Wilson.

Right now, the Komodo Dragon had its sight on O'kuyo and Razor. Daoist noticed that Ryland was ready, so he replaced one of his guns with another that had a bigger caliber and more firepower. He blasted the Komodo Dragon with that gun, forcing it to change its target.

But as it approached Daoist, Wilson morphed his hammer and shield into a set of javelins. He threw each javelin at the back of the Komodo Dragon. Two of them made it through the thick scales of the Komodo Dragon, while the others bounced away.

Ryland saw the bounced javelins being controlled by Wilson to return to him. "That is a seriously convenient move. He throws the javelin like a ballista, except this ballista will never run out of ammo," thought Ryland.

The Komodo Dragon now turned its target towards Wilson, but Ryland was in its way. The enraged Komodo Dragon would just swoop everything in its way to finish off the enemies around it. Ryland seemed calm even though the Komodo Dragon was nearing.

Ryland raised his staff, and this time everyone either turned their heads away or closed their eyes tightly. Then, the staff released the blinding radiance once again.

The Komodo Dragon halted its movement for a moment. When it wanted to start moving, White Boy flew down and released its supersonic scream, making the Komodo Dragon stop in its tracks.

The Komodo Dragon was now blinded and deafened. "Now, Ms. Betty," said Ryland into the comm piece. Betty released her fist that she had held in the air for a while, and immediately the soil underneath the Komodo Dragon became quicksand, sucking down the Komodo Dragon.

The Komodo Dragon struggled to move away, but being blinded and deafened, and now getting its movement slowed in the quicksand, it unleashed attacks from any body parts available to it, blindly.

"Move away and take cover, guys," said Wilson. The Komodo Dragon whipped its tail, hoping to knock someone. But Daoist at the back was further away now.

Then the Komodo Dragon started to attack blindly with acidic projectiles again. But this time its whole legs had already sunk into the quicksand. The team managed to evade the blindly shot acidic projectiles before the mouth of the Komodo Dragon started to fill with sand.

As the Komodo Dragon sank deeper, Ryland shouted to Betty to stop. Betty turned her hand into a fist, and the quicksand turned into hard soil again, trapping the Komodo Dragon in the soil.

"Ryland, that soil can't hold it long. Whatever you need to do, do it now!" shouted Betty into the comm piece.

"Okay, Ms. Betty," responded Ryland as he called on White Boy to bring him quickly to the Komodo Dragon's head.

Ryland pointed his Summoning Staff at the head of the Mutated Komodo Dragon and closed his eyes.