Rise of the Devourer

Book 3: Chapter 46— Wyvern Heart Pt. 1

Noah sat atop the nightshade’s back, feeling the breath of the creature beneath him, and the nervous tension filling its body. Noah patted the wyvern’s back, feeling a similar emotion himself, somewhere halfway between excitement and nervousness.

Groups of wyverns sat near the top of the hive, watching the skies from their perches as anticipation filled their chests as well. There were thousands of them, all waiting atop the hives. The groups had been segmented into squadron like formations, with leaders heading the charge and co-ordinating the attacks. Vion and Aurelia were in different segments, each of them leading their own segments. Noah, on the other hand, would be going in alone.

The three had had a talk last night regarding whether they all needed just one heart, or one for each. The system had clarified the answer rather quickly, making it clear they would each need to bring a heart of their own.

That was fine. In truth, Noah was glad it was this way. He wanted to face the wyvern on his own terms. Just him and his mount. It was their battle. The others would have their own fights as well.

He felt the wyverns all shift in anticipation, as the skies began to brighten in the distance. It was surprising how quiet the world was, as if it knew what was to happen, and was waiting with baited breath.

Noah watched the first rays of the sun peer over the horizon in the distance. There was a pulse, and then he felt a connection to Quazrithril. The matriarch reached out to all her children, but also Noah’s group as he heard her voice in his mind.

“Go forth my children. Go forth and show them our might. Today, we push back the detestable thunder hive back, and reclaim the land they have taken for us. Go forth. For the hive.”

The wyverns all roared. Including Noah’s own nightshade, their magics erupting all at once, and Noah felt a chill run up his spine as the creatures all rushed ahead, starting to jump and take off together.

The skies turned a patchwork of multicolored wings, and bursts of magic as the entire sky hive rushed forth.

His nightshade jumped off as well, shadows lingering under its wings as the fast moving wyvern rushed ahead. Wind howled, a shrieking sizzle cutting through the air as the two of them moved ahead with speeds hardly any of the others could match.

Or so Noah had thought. A moment later, he paused as he saw a sleek but larger blue striped wyvern fly close, wind moving in steady silent streams around it. More joined quite quickly all around their group and Noah looked around himself in surprise, before using Analyze.

[Adult Sky Wyverns (Legendary) - ???]

There is hardly anything faster than an adult sky wyvern. With complete control over the wind around their bodies and flight magic this potent, these creatures can break the sound barrier at their top speeds without much effort. Just the sheer momentum alone from these creatures is enough to make a glancing blow from their claws lethal and rip you apart like meat confetti.

Good thing these ones are on your side, eh?

Noah watched the wyverns glance sideways at him and his shade wyvern for the second. These sky wyverns were the direct children of Quazrithril, the leaders of the hive. They looked at Noah, then let out a rumbling chittering sound, as if to say ‘keep up’ before, with a burst of power, they shot ahead.

Explosions rocked the air as sonic bursts shook the world around them, the wyverns rushing ahead like missiles let loose. Noah watched them go, and then grinned.

“We can’t let them make us look bad bud,” Noah said, and his nightshade grunted in agreement.

Then, the two of them shot forward as well, moving faster.

The thunder wyvern hive quickly came into view in the distance, clouds swirling above the hill like a storm brewing in the sky as the thunder wyverns began to rush out in a panic, taken back by the surprise strike.

Noah watched the first of the strikes launch, howling blades of wind shot forward from the sky, wyverns moving faster than it was possible to even see. Lightning strikes stuck down from the skies, bolts shooting down as the entire thunder wyvern hive crackled with power, but the sky wyverns swiveled and moved with precise control, dodging the bolts of lighting as they struck at the thunder wyverns launching the first strikes.

Despite knowing the power of the sky wyverns, Noah still found his jaw drop as he watched the sky wyvern cleave through a thunder wyvern’s body right from the middle with their powerful claws.

There was one strike, then one more, and then one more, and soon, a raining barrage of sky wyverns shot downwards like raining missiles as they tore through the scrambling and surprised thunder wyverns all desperately trying to flee from the strike.

It was a bloodbath, leaving literal clouds of blood sprinkling down from the skies above the hive, as the sky wyverns all let out roars of thrill at their successful strike.

Noah and his wyvern closed in, circling the perimeter of the battle as they all slowed down, letting the battle unfold. Noah found his heart pounding as he watched the scene. Notifications swirled from the system, but he had no time to check any of them, feeling a strange sensation rising in his heart. Quazithril had said, this was not a true war. Noah wasn’t sure he wanted to see what a true war between the hives looked like then.

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Not surprisingly, the thunder wyvern hive did not just take the attacks laying down. Noah felt the power gathering in the skies, similar to the attack that had struck him. And a massive bolt of lightning formed in an instant, before striking down one of the adult sky wyverns immediately.

More bolts followed, striking across the ranks, as wyverns continued to pour out from the mountainous hive to protect their home.

His own wyvern rumbled, fury rising, ready to jump in but Noah brushed a hand on the creature’s back, telling it to wait. They had to be patient. They had a specific target in mind.

The main segment of the sky wyvern hive soon began to arrive from behind them, and as they did, all hell broke loose in the area. Myriads of attacks began to tussle, wyverns tangling with wyverns, and magical abilities going haywire. The mana in the air was vibrating so powerfully Noah could feel it on his skin, each strike adding to waves of pulsing energy into the area.

His eyes continued to scan his surroundings, his mount remaining low and relatively hidden. Tony enhanced his body slightly, letting him see clearer at a greater distance, and it did not take Noah long to find his target.

A particularly large thunder wyvern roared, flying out of the hive. Its body shimmered and moved with power, as it breathed a bolt of fire that took down an entire group of juvenile wyverns in a single strike.

Noah focused on the creature, and he knew without the doubt that it was the one who had struck at them.

Noah pressed low, his hand on his wyvern’s back. Tony moved to transform his skin, turning it a darker shade, increasing his stealth and Noah began to charge his own attacks. Abyssal Inferno swirled underneath his skin, his body rippling with void energy. Arcane Body hummed with the mana all around him as wyrmblood pulsed in his veins, feeding the symbiote as it continued to enhance Noah.

Without needing to speak a word, he commanded his wyvern, as they shot forward like a silent bolt of the night.

The two moved with haste, crossing the distance rapidly as his nightshade swung and dodged any enemies that came in their path. Noah watched his target, the wyvern unaware of their approach as it continued to tear through the ranks of sky wyverns.

Noah took out his spear. It thrummed, quivering, almost as if in anticipation. Void Annihilation pulsed, the spear’s crimson turning a dark shade. Noah fed it power, as much of it as he had inside of himself.

His mana dipped down to half, but he let it.

They swept in close, blue flames bursting in his nightshade’s mouth. The adult thunder wyvern turned, noticing them at last. It was too late. Fire erupted, a howling ball of blue flames striking the thunder wyvern like a point blank missile as the fire burst against its body rocking the adult wyvern off its path.

Noah, not willing to let himself be outdone, let abyssal inferno and void annihilation lose across his spear at the same time, black fire and lightning of pure void energy bursting form his weapon’s form as he shot it forward.

The weapon howled as it tore through the sky, striking the falling wyvern through a wing and sending it crashing into the hive.

The nightshade and Noah swept down, rushing in as they moved with rapid speed, his nightshade’s claws ready to tear out the creature’s throat and Noah’s claws ready to rip its heart out.

Then, a storm of lightning erupted from ahead of them, striking his wyvern as it howled, losing control for a moment as the two of them crashed into the wyvern hive, kicking up a dust cloud.

Noah jumped, glancing behind at his wyvern. The nightshade shook its head, rising up and letting out an angry grunt but Noah had no time to check for too long. His spine crackled with alarm and he dodged with Arcane Step as bolts of lightning blasted the ground he’d stood at moments ago.

The adult thunder wyvern growled in fury, rising up and towering over Noah as he looked down upon the two of them, eyes burning with anger as it realized what had struck it.

Noah extended his hand, teleporting his spear back into his arms as he pointed it at the creature. The nightshade rose to its feet, lowering its head as it looked up at the large thunder wyvern with a hissing growl, as blue flames burst inside its mouth.

The two creatures shrieked and roared at each other, wings swerving and mana pulsing, and Noah could feel the interaction going on between them. He moved cautiously, eyes on the giant monster as he walked with his nightshade, moving in a circle.

The thunder wyvern struck first. Lightning bolts rose from the creature’s mouth and Noah teleported as the nightshade dodged the strike, firing a ball of flame as it swooped in, snapping with its jaw.

Noah struck from the side, spear shooting at the thunder wyvern with charged void annihilation that sank into the wyvern’s body, as the creature let out a howl of rage, but before it could strike back, the nightshade slashed at it with its claws, tackling it onto the ground.

Reaching into his inventory, Noah crunched on a mana stone, feeling his mana replenish rapidly as his power surged. He had meditation active, his mana regen increased in power and his focus sharpened on his target.

The two wyverns wrestled and tumbled, kicking up dust as blue blames and bolts of lightning crackled against one another. The nightshade snapped at the thunder wyvern’s wing with its jaw, before causing fire to bubble in its throat, as it burned through the creature’s skin.

The thunder wyvern howled in pain, before biting down at the night shade and letting a burst of thunder explode.

Noah rushed in, teleporting in as he punched the thunder wyvern’s jaw with a transformed limb. Then, for good measure, Noah let a burst of charged Abyssal Inferno explode out in a beam of furious hot void flames as the thunder wyvern was shot back, howling in back.

Touching the nightshade, now free of the thunder wyvern’s jaw, with an exertion of his mana, he used an arcane step again, teleporting the creature back away from the thunder wyvern. The nightshade shook its head, and then growled, rumbling, but Noah extended a hand towards the wyvern.

“You’ve done your part buddy. Go out and help the rest,” he said, glancing at the nightshade.

His wyvern looked at him with surprise, before growling with flames in refusal. Noah glanced at it. “I know I said we would do this together… but this is my fight. That monster? It’s my prey. Do not get in my way.”

The nightshade looked at him, paused, and then at the thunder wyvern still reeling from the strike. The nightshade growled, before eyeing Noah, its face telling him ‘don’t you dare die’ before it jumped, leaping off and going back outside to join the fray.

Noah turned around to face the thunder wyvern, having put out the abyssal flames and now furious than ever with lightning crackling all around it. The monster rose up to its full out, letting out an angry roar, and Noah smiled.

Then, he removed his suppression shackles.

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