The entire party gasped.
"What just happened?" Maxwell shouted. "The boss just...flew backwards?"
"I didn't see the dragon move!? It teleported!?" Tiffany stammered.
In their eyes, Owen had instantly moved between spaces and The boss had just automatically flung itself backwards.
Yuki, still on the ground, stared at Owen hovering above her. Through their bond she felt the residual energy of Owen's Sovereignty being used, but couldn't understand the scope of the skill.
"Owen... what was that?"
Owen's golden eyes Glowed. "I'll explain later, right now. We need to end this."
He turned towards the kobold king, who was already recovering despite it's broken arms gripping its war axe with its remaining good hand.
"Yuki..you've recovered enough mana right? Use [beast shift]. Now"
Yuki didn't hesitate at the command. She hurried to her feet and activated the Skill.
Black scales rippled across her body. Horns sprouted from her head. Her stats skyrocketed as the half dragon transformation took hold. golden energy crackled around her form.
She stood beside Owen, both of them staring down the kobold king.
"Together?" Yuki asked.
"Together!" Owen replied.
Then they moved as one.
Owen flew high, circling above the boss. Yuki charged from th ground, her Clawed hands glowing with the golden draconic energy. The kobold king roared and swung it's axe towards her.
She ducked under the swing with her enhanced agility making her faster than ever. Her claws ranked across its armor, leaving deep gouges in the steel.
Owen dive-bombed from above, slamming into the boss's helmet with enough force to dent it inward. The kobold king staggered disorientedly.
"NOW!" Owen shouted.
Both Yuki and Owen inhaled simultaneously, their chests swelling as heat filled their chambers. The air trembled.
"[DRAGON'S BREATH]!" They roared in unison.
Twin jet streams of flame erupted from their mouth, converging in the kobold king from two directions. The synchronized attack was devastating. The boss's armour melted instantly. It's flesh disintegrated. It's war axe flungged to one side.
When the flames subsided, nothing remained except for a pile of molten metal and a glowing B-Rank monster core.
Ding---!
[Dungeon boss defeated]
[Dungeon cleared!]
Yuki's beast shift transformation faded as she collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily. Owen landed beside her, equally exhausted.
The rest of the party stood frozen in absolute silence.
Then Joseph dropped to his knees and began sobbing. "THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL!"
Maxwell's shield fell from his hands again. He couldn't find the words to describe the absurdity of the power he had just witnessed from his fellow C-Rank.
Tiffany and Sabrina simply stared at the ground, afraid to meet Yuki's gaze so their crimes of insulting her be not remembered.
---
Upon leaving the dungeon, the party emrgered into the cool evening air of nexus prime, the dungeon gate behind them flickered and dissolved, another cleared dungeon removed from the city's threat list.
Maxwell hesitantly approached Yuki, his earlier now confidence replaced with genuine respect for Yuki. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "hey, uhm... Yuki? I just wanted to say.... That was incredible. I've been C-Eank for two years and I've never seen anything like what you and your dragon did in there"
Yuki smiled politely, still exhausted from the battle. "Thank you, Maxwell. you did your best as a Tank"
"Hah!, I bare did anything" He admitted with a self deprecating laugh. "But... If you ever need a party again, I'd be honoured to team up with you. Seriously. Just send me a message through the network" he pulled out his phone, showing his contact information hopefully.
Before Yuki could respond, Joseph practically tackled her with enthusiasm, tears still streaming down his face.
"Lady Yuki! Master Owen!" He sobbed dramatically.
"I swear on my life, No! ON MY SOUL! I will create a fan club dedicated to you both! The 'Dragon Tamer Devotees!', no wait... "Owen's faithful!'... Or maybe--!"
"Joseph, calm down" Maxwell said, pulling him back gently.
"I CAN'T CALM DOWN!" Joseph wailed. " I witnessed TRUE BEAUTY today! That Dragon's breath! The way they moved as one! It was poetry! It was art! It was---!"
"Weird..." Sabrina muttered under he breath, though her voice lacked it's earlier venom. She and Tiffany stood a few feet away, clearly uncomfortable. Tiffanny avoided eye contact entirely, staring at the ground.
Owen, perched on Yuki's shoulder, puffed out his chest proudly. "I like that Joseph guy now, he has taste"
Yuki chucked softly. "I appreciate the offer, Maxwell....and Joseph, Thank you for your, uh, enthusiasm. But I need to get home and rest"
Maxwell nodded Understandingly. "Of course, we'll let you go, just.... Seriously, call me if you need anything"
Joseph wiped his tears and saluted dramatically. "I'll begin drafting the fan club chat group tonight!"
As the part dispersed, Yuki pulled up status screen and checked her and Owen's levels. due to them having the largest Contribution rates, they had both level up. Owen leveled Up once while Yuki leveled Up thrice.
"It's slow as hell" Owen said as he stared at their status screens. "I don't think either of us would be ranking up anytime soon"
Yuki smiled, satisfied with their progress regardless. She sent Owen into the [beast space] with a mental command and he vanished. The weight on her shoulder disappeared, leaving her feeling oddly unbalanced without him there.
When Yuki returned to her apartment complex, she froze.
Standing Infront of the door, arms crossed and leaning against the wall with the infuriating casualness, was Vonn.
"You changed the locks huh? Be thankful I didn't break the damn door down"