The beast lunged again, dragging half of Lucia's glowing bindings through the sand. Its tentacles lashed wildly, smashing stalls and sending debris into the moonlit air.
Lucia staggered but didn't fall.
Her injured arm trembled, but she raised her other hand. A soft, pale light flickered at her fingertips—weak, unstable.
The tentacle strike had drained more magic from her than she expected.
The monster sensed it.
It slammed another tentacle forward.
Lucia rolled aside, sand biting into her palms. Her breath came short, but she pushed up again, forcing her legs steady. She whispered a small invocation under her breath—ancient words from a language only she could speak.
A thin glowing line uncoiled from her hand, like a ribbon of moonlight.
The beast roared, charging.
Lucia darted to the left, barely avoiding another crushing strike. The tentacle scraped the ground where she had stood, sending sand flying in a storm around her.
Leo watched from the far side of the plaza, panic rising like fire in his chest. He had finished guiding the last group of villagers to safety—but he couldn't reach her in time.
Please hold on…
Lucia didn't retreat.
She ran toward the monster this time.
Her cloak whipped behind her as she leapt up onto a broken cart, then onto a shattered pillar. From the higher ground, she thrust her hand forward:
"Astra—bind!"
The magical veins burst open, spiraling into the air.
Glowing chains wrapped around the beast's central body, tightening with sharp, ringing pulses of light.
For a moment, it stopped moving.
The plaza glowed white.
Then the beast shrieked, and all its tentacles struck at once.
Lucia braced herself.
One hit her side.
Another grazed her shoulder.
A third tore through her cloak.
She held the bindings anyway, even as pain shot through her limbs—sharp, intense, but she refused to let go. Her boots slid across stone as the creature dragged her backward.
But she didn't release her magic.
Her voice cracked—but she shouted anyway:
"Astra—SHATTER!"
The chains of light exploded.
A burst of radiant energy surged outward, engulfing the monster in a blinding flash. The air trembled. The sand rose in a swirling spiral around them. The beast writhed, its shriek echoing through the kingdom…
And then, slowly, its massive body collapsed into the dunes.
Silence fell.
Lucia stood shaking, every breath heavy.
Her mask was cracked.
Her arm bled from several wounds.
Her legs trembled beneath her.
The glow in her hands flickered…
…then went out completely.
She exhaled softly—almost in relief—
before her knees buckled.
Leo saw her fall.
"LUC—!"
He stopped himself before shouting her name.
He sprinted across the plaza, jumping over rubble and broken stone. His sword clanged against his armor as he reached her.
Lucia lay unconscious, her cloak half-torn, her arm wounded from multiple strikes. He knelt beside her, heart pounding.
"You shouldn't have fought it alone…" he whispered, his voice tight with worry.
Carefully—making sure not to worsen her injuries—he lifted her into his arms. She was lighter than he expected, her breath shallow but steady.
He didn't waste a second.
Leo ran.
Across the broken plaza, through the alleys, toward the healer's ward glowing faintly with lanternlight.
"Genesis!" he called out the moment he reached the entrance.
A girl with light brown hair pulled back in a braid looked up sharply from her table of herbs. Her eyes widened in alarm when she saw who he carried.
"Oh no… bring her here—quick!"
Leo gently lowered Lucia onto the healer's bed.
Genesis's hands moved fast, gathering jars, cloths, and glowing herbal paste.
"What happened to her?" she asked urgently.
Leo looked at the unconscious masked girl, his jaw tight.
"She saved the entire kingdom," he said softly. "But she paid the price for it."
Genesis's face hardened with determination as she began treating the wounds.
"Then we will save her too."
Written by-
Shreyashi Singh