Reality Shown Again

The summons surged forward in unison, their coordinated assault a display of raw determination.

The Bloodhorn Stag charged first, its powerful legs propelling it to the wyvern's side as its antlers slammed against the beast's armoured hide. 

Thump!

The impact sent a tremor through the battlefield as the wyvern's figure was visibly shaken but it managed to brace itself as it stood its ground.

However another attack came. The Stoneback Tortoise surged forward from the other side, its massive shell acting as an unbreakable shield as it rammed itself into the wyvern opposite side.

Thump!

Another tremorous impact greeted the battlefield and it was stronger this time as the wyvern's figure lost its balance and was forced onto the other side and the antlers of the Bloodhorn Stag were able to penetrate into its hide, causing it to let out a roar of pain as it scrambled back to balance itself.

In that time, the Venomfang Viper slithered between the wyvern's unstable legs as it coiled itself tightly so as it stabilised itself before it lunged at the wyvern's tail and sank its fangs into it. A shudder ran through the beast as another sharp pain also began to emanate from the site of the bite but also from deep inside its own body as the venom worked its way into its bloodstream.

The remaining summons were not just spectating either as they also struck, the Stormclaw Wolf and the Frostfang Lynx followed as the wolf's electrified claws raked across the wyvern's hind legs, leaving faint scorch marks where it struck as a numbing and loss of sensation struck the wyvern. The lynx took to the air in a graceful leap as it aimed for the wyvern's exposed wing joint, claws glowing with icy energy, and struck down hard. Causing its wing's to visibly shake from the attack as not just its lower body but its upper body also began to ring out in pain now.

The wyvern roared in fury, as it wriggled itself free from the stag. Finding its footing again, it rapidly turned around as its claws slashed right at the stag, however, the Ironhide Warbear charged right in front of the stag just in time. It covered the stag as its hide began to take a shiny silver coat as the claws of the wyvern struck.

Clang!

A sharp clunking sound of metal hitting metal sounded as the bear and the stag were sent flying.

The aura in the wyvern began to change as a strange crackling could be heard emanating from it. But that did not stop Boy and his summons.

The Duskfang Panther was creeping up on the wyvern as it lunged, preparing to strike at the wyverns leg again but as it was about to attack, the wyvern seemed to have been expecting it as it lifted with its hind legs and its tail. 

The panther's attack had terribly missed and even worse, the tail that the wyvern had lived had changed trajectory and was about to come down on it and the panther had no escape.

Screech!

Suddenly, the call of the Warhawk rang out of nowhere, swooping down as its claws struck the face of the wyvern before continuing and grabbing the panther with its talons, saving it from the incoming tail attack.

It zoomed past the wyvern as it put the panther down at a safe distance before taking off into the clouds again. 

Meanwhile, the attack to the face that the wyvern took had temporarily stunned it as it shook its head to fix itself again but the emotion in its eyes took a far more dangerous look.

The aether around it began to grow denser as spark of lighting began to appear, growing in intensity and number on its body as it let out a piercing shriek. 

Its wings began to flutter open as an intense wave of electricity was suddenly radiated from its body. This caused all the summons that were on its body or attacking it to be forced to retreat.

Screech!

The sound of the Warhawk came again as it could be seen high in the sky before turning its body towards the wyvern as its figure took on a translucent green shade. 

The hawk then began to take a sharp daredevil dive straight for the wyvern as its wings were pulled close to its body as it began to sharply increase in its speed, covering an impressive amount of distance.

Gale Dive!

Meanwhile, the wyvern had brought its head up to the skies and saw the incoming hawk. Its maw slightly open as crackles and sparks of lightning could be seen gathering as a large amount of aether began to gather.

'I need to act!' Boy thought as he charged forward. The dive of the hawk did not seem like it was going to be able to dodge properly in time.

Spirit Dash!

Boy immediately dashed forward as he hurriedly reached the Wyvern who now had blue electricity starting to scurry out of its mouth. Boy jumped up, climbing onto the Wyvern's back.

'Faster!' Boy internally shouted as he saw the wyvern's maw open up preparing to fire off the beam of electricity. 

Spirit Dash!

Vvvv…

Shadow Bite!

VVMMMM!

An intense beam of lightning was fired straight out of the wyvern's mouth, flying straight upwards and it missed the warhawk. 

'Argh!!!!!' 

Boy had managed to get there just in the nick of time as he clamped his mouth down hard on the wyvern's neck. The sudden weight on its neck had caused the wyvern's lightning breath to miss the hawk.

But as Boy's jaws clamped down on the wyvern, he found that his teeth had made it through and a part of the lightning breath had escaped through his bite and began to assault him as a shocking pain began to flood his nerves and he ended up letting go of his bite.

Lightning began to escape from the wyvern's neck at this moment, reducing the intensity of the lightning that was shooting out of its mouth.

Upon letting go, the freedom in movement of its neck, the wyvern hurriedly turned its head up again and aimed it towards the hawk.

Zzzzzzzzz!

The lighting beam moved across the air as it came upon the hawk but before it could completely strike the hawk, the attack fizzled out.

The wing of the hawk had been hit by the attack but its momentum was not at all decreased as it charged straight for the wyvern.

Boy saw it charging straight down, not at all changing its trajectory, and he understood what it was. To be convinced to dive at such a sharp speed at an enemy on the ground, it was attacking with the intention of taking the wyvern down with it.

'Don't do this!' Boy said telepathically to the hawk but he saw the hawk simply look at him in reply as it bowed its head slightly in reverence and gratitude. At that moment, Boy knew that the end result was going to be.

Boom!

A loud crashing sound filled the area as a huge gust of wind blew a lot of the nearby summons away while a dust cloud was formed.

As the cloud thickened and slowly began to dissipate, a loud howl of agony could be heard from the wyvern as a large gashing wound was seen on its neck, exposing its throat which had dark blood spurting from the wound.

Next to it, on the ground, was the remains of the hawk which was extremely disfigured but still in one piece.

Boy's breath was caught in his throat as he saw the sacrifice unfold. The Warhawk had done a great deal of damage, giving them an edge but it came at a terrible cost. Rage ignited in his chest as he clenched his claws into the dirt but it wasn't over yet.

The injury seemed to have taken away the remaining sanity that was left in the wyvern as it let out a piercing shriek, its body tensing before it exploded into motion. 

The Stormclaw Wolf barely had time to react before the wyvern's talons lashed out, catching it mid-leap. A pained yelp tore from its throat as it was hurled aside, its body skidding across the battlefield. The Frostfang Lynx was struck by its tail as it was thrown into the air before plummeting to the ground with a dull thud.

Boy watched this whole scene unfold and he was left hopeless. 

This wasn't how he had expected it to go… They had done so well… Was this wyvern really supposed to be impossible to beat?

Then, while his mind was racing, the wyvern's gaze locked onto him.

Boy had no time to brace himself as its lunged, and before he could dodge, its clawed wing smashed into him with the force of a boulder.

Pain erupted through his side as Boy was sent flying at an incredible speed. The battlefield blurred around him, spinning out of control until-

Thump!

He crashed into something softer than he had expected. The force still knocked the wind from his lung, but it wasn't the fatal slam that he had been expecting.

As he felt his body touch the ground once again, he slowly forced his eyes to open and as he looked behind him, he saw what had broken his fall. 

The summons that he had sent to the medics…

The sabrehound, the griffin cub and the boar- they had cushioned his landing, shielding him from further harm.

Boy panted as he slowly realised what had just happened… His allies… had just protected him. 

But his attention was then caught on something else.

The other summons, each still had their injuries and there were no signs of treatment or care having been received on their wounds. 

The sabrehound was still bleeding, its breaths even more shallow than before. The griffin cub he had saved earlier was curled up in pain, its damaged wings twitching feebly. And the boar was barely clinging to its consciousness, its side heaving as it struggled to stand up.

His gaze lifted to his surroundings and what he saw ignited a fury deep within his chest once again.

The medics were still tending to the wounded soldiers, casting healing spells and binding wounds with practiced efficiency. Yet the summons who had fought and bled alongside them lay forgotten, left to whimper in the dirt. Some were barely clinging to life, others already succumbing to their injuries. 

None of them cared.

Boy blinked in disbelief, the medics had completely neglected the summons who had fought and bled for them.

Boy's claws dug into the earth, rage bubbling up inside him as he realised the reality of summons. Once again, summons were nothing but tools… Discarded… Left to die…

First, it had been the farmer. Now, it was an entire army…

Next to him, a summon groaned. It was a massive bull-like creature, its armour-like hide was cracked with deep wounds oozing blood. Its eyes, filled with pain, met Boy's eyes for a brief moment before dulling, its body shuddering one last time…

Dead…

Was this the fate of all summons? To be used until they were broken, then discarded?

Then, a shadow loomed over him. 

The enemy general had made it to him and his blade was raised high, ready to deal the finishing blow to Boy who was still stunned at the scene around him.

Then, a blur of movement.

Something leapt in front of him.

Claws slashed through the air, intercepting the general's strike just in time.

Boy's eyes widened…

Standing before him, saving him, was a familiar feline summon.

It was the cat he had saved from the first summoning circle battle.

A slow grin spread across Boy's face, despite the pain as he saw the cat standing tall in front of him, protecting him.

Seems like favours weren't so easily forgotten.