I stared. After a second of letting their words and the stupidity of it all settle into my frontal lobe, I joined them in their mirth, my brain simply unable to resist the absurdity of the events unfolding.

  That was until I started vomiting.

  Throwing up the acid that had made its way down my throat during our tumultuous journey, the contents stained red with blood, I groaned and wiped at my mouth. Still huddled on the floor among corpses, I wobbled to a stand.

  My limbs felt newborn foal weak. Health was low, but nothing urgent. Mana and stamina didn’t even really matter anymore, but they were on crumbs right now. Well, they did matter, but with the regen LVL 5 had granted us, there was so little limit on them that we had free reign. The rest of the party looked in similar statuses, Wren and Tam unconscious by me.

  Gigi said, It is good to have you back. Our hopes were beginning to dwindle.

  It wasn't even a thought, but my gaze sought Axel, and in that instant, he was by my side. He’d momentarily dropped his invisibility, and his hand was around my waist, assisting me to stand tall, the action uninvited but more than welcome all the same.

  I stared at him, absorbing and comparing the details of his face with the one in my heart.

  Briefly, I heard him ask for Gigi to protect us, and the Linnikian acquiesced, [Sentinel Shields] popping into existence next to Wren, Tam, and me, along with a fence of [Shield Walls].

  As Axel steadied me, relief so stark in his eyes that the word itself might as well be written in their blue depths, he said, “I’m holding myself back real bad from kissing you right now.”

  I blinked, the comment both unexpected and not. “I'm literally covered in dragon vomit.”

  “I can promise you I’ve tasted worse.”

  Taking a split second to think it over, I figured I had nearly died.

  Hell, we could still die in the next few minutes.

  And the truth was the security of his touch and the joy I felt at the sight of him had almost overwhelmed me into pointless laughter. Just being here with him right now, his eyes on me, was like basking in the rising sun.

  And I'd almost lost this.

  Stopping myself from questioning it any further, my regrets fresh in my mind, I wreathed one of my arms about him and tugged him tight toward me, knowing exactly what I wanted for once in my life.

  “How's this?” I asked.

  His body loosened in my hold, and when I met his eyes, they were wide with surprise. The warmth of him transferred through to me, granting me focus, soothing me. But this wasn’t enough, not by a long shot; I needed to feel him, ingrain his existence into myself, just in case I never could again.

  I pressed my cheek alongside his, closing my eyes to focus on the sensation, his breath quickening, the entire side of my face in contact with his, resting against him, leaning my full body into him, my other hand coming up behind his head to bring us closer still. Axel reciprocated with his free hand, the unsurety of his touch along my neck light and tender.

  We were skin to skin. Any nearer and we’d been wearing each other, our inhales and exhales shared. He smelt like sweat and the bodywash we shared and of home, and when I held him like this, nothing else existed but us and the thrum of his heart against mine.

  Other than protecting my party, there was very little in this life I wanted more.

  An eternity passed in a second.

  I would never want to kiss Axel in the way he wanted.

  But this was how I felt.

  I just had to hope he understood.

  It was a quick embrace despite its intensity, barely a moment, since it wasn’t the right time or place, but as I reluctantly relinquished my hold on him, and he pulled away, I saw only a dazedness on his face. The expression sharpened into mischief, and he ducked his head forward to lay a quick peck on my cheek. If I’d blinked I would’ve missed it, but along with his touch on the nape of my neck, it remained on my skin; a reminder of his feelings for me.

  “That’s payback for last night.”

  He had been awake when I’d snuck that small hesitant kiss. I couldn’t help but smile back, no spare energy to be embarrassed about it. I wasn’t sure he’d fully registered the meaning of my embracing him, but that was neither here nor there. If we survived, we’d talk about it. Probably. Maybe. Possibly.

  Jye had managed to put some distance between us and the dragon, dragging its writhing form at least a football field away. It looked like they could go no further, the dragon putting up too much resistance now, its body tightening about trees to stop further movement.

  Breathing in deep, my reconnection with Axel fueling me, I cast a cursory glance at my mana and stamina. The brief reprieve was enough for me to start acting again. Thank fuck for that LVL 5 upgrade. Subconsciously, I recast [Saintly Intent] on Wren. Hopefully, she’d come back to and be ready to heal Tam.

  Time for Just Friends to slay a dragon.

  Keep it locked, Jye!

  Their huge head nodded, biceps curling tighter around the dragon as it bucked to escape. There was no amusement in its yellow eyes anymore. There wasn't even anger. There was only panic and fear. A grim satisfaction rippled through me.

  Can do, boss, Jye replied.

  The dragon wrestled against them, its long body wriggling about, the tail end of it sliding in closer from the trees. It looked like it might start wrapping about Jye if we waited any longer.

  Did we figure out the weak spot? I asked, hoping they’d managed to nail it down as I’d requested while I was literally being digested. Part of the plan I’d shared with them had been to search for the marker that we’d seen on the Minotaur and that Axel had struck on the scout mordexi. Gigi had confirmed that all the monsters we faced should have them. This search was enacted alongside pummeling the dragon’s abdomen, to aid in the desire to throw up.

  I couldn’t find it, Axel replied, tone flat. It's not where I thought it would be at all.

  We go classic then. Its heart, right? I asked.

  If that is the case, perhaps this is a job for Mirror. It is still inside, is it not?

  Jye supplied, Or could be like Siegfried’s kill too.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The three of us stared up at the giant.

  Rolling their eyes as they struggled with the dragon, they said, Come on, dudes, the Nibelungenlied! Under the dragon’s armpits sometimes there’s less scales, so you can target there.

  And you’re telling us that now? Axel hissed. I didn't do a pit check!

  My bad, man. I got the tiniest bit distracted by Wren being eaten. The redhead’s expression was not apologetic at all, which honestly was fair.

  Whilst I was used to Axel's hissy fits, most people would not find them acceptable at all. I did wonder how much I ignored about my b— his bad habits just because I cared about him. That was definitely something I needed to reflect on, just not now.

  The dragon had multiple pairs of legs at equal distances along its slithering body. It’d been whipping its serpentine form and slashing with the first few pairs and gnashing its jaw at us, and the front and middle portion of the creature is presumably what Axel and the others had focused on with their assault to assist us.

  Keep it busy. I'll check over its limbs closer, Axel said before darting off, a hiss following, his form disappearing entirely.

  Sure. All right. Glad we all agreed to that plan.

  Why haven’t you Loaded it down? I asked Jye, trying to think of something else to do while Axel ran about. I could join him, but without knowing what path he was taking, it’d be a waste of time. Clearly he thought he could handle this all by himself.

  Jye’s large brows furrowed in frustration. Yeah, so, like, I can’t use any other ability like this.

  The glitch that kept on giving.

  I’ll send Mirror in for the heart then. Gigi, watch my back.

  The Linnikian’s brow set, and xe took up post before me, xir aegis between me and the occupied dragon. Feeling as safe as I could, not wanting to leave Tam and Wren’s vulnerable forms either, I let my focus fall back into Mirror as I activated [Cloak], just in case.

  The darkness inside the dragon was almost relaxing compared to what was happening in front of my real face. Okay, think. Where is the heart in a snake? In most mammals, it’s located in the rib cage, because it needs to be protected. In general, it’s positioned in an area where it doesn’t fight gravity to pump blood. So obviously, it wouldn’t be toward the end of its body.

  As Mirror, I switched to [Healing Hand] again, so I could get some sort of light. Then I glanced back up at the muscle flap that had closed after swallowing us. It would be a climb and a half to get to, but maybe I could do it as Mirror since it didn’t transmit pain or exhaustion to me. While I couldn’t feel the effects, [Cloudeath] still lingered inside the stomach, the noxious green gas obscuring half the stomach, but it looked like the cleanse had dealt with a good portion of it too, perhaps absorbed by a fresh round of stomach acid.

  All that said, I’d have to be careful with pushing Mirror too hard. It was difficult to tell what its health limits were. Maybe it was already in the red. Not being able to feel pain had its disadvantages.

  This isn’t looking good, Jye squeezed out, and the flooring shifted beneath me, rumbling.

  Locking onto the outside world, I saw that the dragon had unknotted itself from the trees and was looping about the giant, its large body surging into a spiral, the ground shaking with the movement.

  Fuck.

  Jye would be crushed to death, despite the size of them.

  Can’t you get any bigger? I asked.

  That’s what she said, Axel immediately retorted, to my annoyance.

  A dick joke? Really?

  Just trying to lighten the atmosphere.

  I’m mostly surprised you used “she,” I remarked.

  Well, that’s just because no man’s ever said that to me.

  I wondered if my sigh would come through the [Mindlink].

  Jye, thankfully ignoring our exchange, replied, Nah, man, it’s not like Load. The larger I am, the more it locks off from my bars. I’m fully hulking out right now.

  Ah, so it capped their mana and stamina. Honestly, with how difficult it was for the redhead to purchase abilities, in the future, maybe I’d just recommend they start pushing their ability meters to increase instead of anything else. DEX, STR, and CON only.

  Part of me was irritated that we'd assigned them to the back line in the first place. Had they been forced into melee combat, perhaps we would’ve discovered this earlier. There were several fights we’d been in that this could’ve come in handy. But I could blame Axel for this lapse in judgement. Jye as ranged damage been his entirely unhinged idea.

  Focusing back into Mirror, I extended out my claws, a similar feeling to clenching your fingers tightly, and started the climb. I had no idea what I’d do when I got to the fleshy flap, but that was a problem for future Lee. For now, I needed to scale the dragon’s throat.

  That I didn’t feel any of the side effects of [Cloudeath] or low oxygen made this a whole lot easier than it should’ve. It was just movement. Yes, it was difficult to get a good grip and as I watched how little distance I was making with each step, I found grim disappointment seeping in, but slapping a paw up, digging my claws in, and then repeating, was almost calming in its monotony.

  It was very, very different outside.

  Jye let out a scream, strangled in the body of the dragon which had circled about them, looping from their feet to their torso. Still, the giant restrained the reptile’s head, holding it near in a chokehold, restricting razor sharp fangs from tearing into them, hands clenched under its jaw.

  “Guys, this is not great,” Jye said aloud, voice small despite their size.

  Should I—

  “Mmm… Makris, just a few more minutes…”

  Surprised, I turned to Wren’s hidden form beneath the [Shield Walls], ducking down, as Mirror continued to climb. The man in her head was probably trying to stir her as much as he could. It annoyed me, but I was thankful for that and I said as much into our [Mindlink]. Reaching for her shoulder, I gently tried to shake her awake, taking in her status as I did so. She looked a little better, courtesy of my [Saintly Intent]. With her up, I could focus more on the attack instead of support, leaving Tam to her ministrations.

  “Makris is right. We need you.”

  Slowly, her hazel eyes fluttered open, and she smiled sleepily. “Oh, Lee. I was dreaming about a dragon.”

  With a frown, I angled my body out of her view to reveal the currently constricted form of Jye threaded about by the subject from her land of nod. Her eyes widened, and she glanced around, gaining focus. “Right.” She blinked and sat up. “What can I do?”

  “Heal Tam, support Jye and Gigi. Tell me if you see Axel.”

  The girl nodded. “I will.”

  I stood and helped her find her feet.

  “Will you be okay?” I asked, concern for her a sharp pain in my chest, seeing for a moment Chrissie there instead.

  “I think so,” she said, taking a shoulder width stance, squaring her body.

  She really was a strong kid. I hoped whatever memories Makris had stolen would never change that when he returned them. It had been one of my few regrets, and it was something I would see to when we weren’t fighting for our lives. I would force the ghost possessing her to inform her about the memories he’d locked away. Or so help me.

  Mirror had finally reached the muscle flap. This would’ve been impossible for any normal human. Had Tam, Wren, and I attempted it ourselves under the duress of low oxygen, we’d have lost consciousness half-way through. Being without pain was quite freeing, though very odd. Touch was like pressure instead of feeling direct contact. I wouldn’t trade the feeling of being able to sense things, despite how easy it was to tolerate something that should be blacking me out.

  So maybe my dragon throw-up plan really had been the best option. That’s what I was telling myself, at least. It made me feel a little bit better about almost killing three people in my party (myself included).

  I stretched a tentative paw toward the muscle that separated throat from gullet, sinking one testing claw into the flesh. In the green of [Healing Hand], the hooked point pierced the meat, black blood springing forth from the injury, and I burrowed in the claw harder, wondering how far I could damage it. It was much more malleable than the stomach walls, no cartilage behind it either. Perhaps this would be easier to cut through. As I breathed in, worried about how much Mirror still had in it, I flashed [Echolocate].

  Before I’d been able to see the organs inside the dragon, since it was so large it was practically a building, but I’d been so focused on Wren and Tam that I hadn’t given the rest of it any thought. The ability pulsed out from me, blueprint forming of the inner workings of the monster, and it caught the continuous flicker of movement to my right, the dim matching sound alighting in the fur of my ears.

  A muffled pulsation of thuds.

  Just beyond the muscle flap and to the right was the dragon’s throbbing heart. I stared as the ability faded away.

  Damn, was it really that easy?

  But now I just needed to get from here to the heart.

  As a cat. Cool.