Breaking Step (Dungeon Runner 3)

Breaking Step, Chapter 68

"Retreat!"

This time, they were by the sorcerer before the doorway finished forming and the roar resounding off the walls.

"What is going on?" Jackal asked, as the creatures again ran out to where they had been fighting, not even looking at where they now stood. Not even those with spears looked away.

"A form of automated response," Don replied. "I don't know what the trigger is yet, probably the damage we're inflicting, but its eyes will glow red and it roars regardless of what else it's doing. The two serve to trigger the doorway, I think. But they happened each time."

"But why aren't they coming to fight us?" Jackal asked as the creatures entered the doorways.

"Be ready to attack," Don said, instead of answering. He ignored the fighter's glare. "Now!" he ordered once the last creature vanished.

Tibs ran at the dragon again, putting aside the whys, and focusing on killing it. He stabbed it with a fourth sword, then the dragon shifted position faster than Tibs expected and a rear paw came down on him. He formed a metal spike around himself, then he was sent sliding as the dragon ripped it out of the ground and shook the paw. Fortunately, it was toward Mez so that—

"Retreat!"

—he was ready for the run.

"Why isn't it blowing fire?" Mez asked, watching the creature run.

"Could be something it only does if we keep our distance," Don said.

"Or it knows it's a waste of time," Jackal offered.

Don ordered the attack, and they returned to the fight.

Tibs added the etching that spread ice to his sword, and it took him three stabs, each time adding essence to it, before enough survived the shimmering it ate away at the dragon's life essence. It also took enough from Tibs he could now sense the dip in his unending reserve.

As he let go of the seventh sword, the scales glowed red, and the essence within the dragon changed.

"Retreat!" he yelled, running out from under it, just before Don yelled the same. "This is going to be different!" The flash of light as he reached Don had them rubbing their eyes.

He turned and watched in awe as the glowing dragon expanded, broke into eight balls of essence and reformed into eight smaller dragons, each without injuries.

"That's not fair," Jackal yelled as the dragons shook themselves. "All that damage we inflicted is—"

With a unified roar, the dragons rushed them.

Tibs sent an etched ice spear as he moved away from his team, and the dragon he'd targeted launched itself in the air, spreading its wings. Others were also taking off in response to being attacked.

It flew around a column and came out the other side maw opened and essence pooling there. Tibs exerted his will over the essence and accomplished nothing as it ignited and the fireball came at him.

He threw himself aside, and the fireball splashed on the floor as if it was water. He cursed as some fell on him and burned.

Light shot out of a dragon's mouth as Tibs doused the fire sticking to him with far more water than it should have needed. His thoughts of coming to Mez's help were interrupted as the fire-breathing dragon dove at him. He dodged it, then slammed it down with a column of air as it started to go up. He grew stone around its legs to hold it in place and formed an ice sword, then had to jump aside as it spat a ball of fire at him. He had to jump again, its long neck letting it keep targeting him as he moved about, approaching.