It was over.

Ashtoreth had done the math.

For one thing, Hunter was on standby to rescue her if anything went wrong.

For another, Morax Tol, who had clearly not done the math, was utterly outmatched despite his higher levels.

He was a spellcaster. Still a dragon, of course, and still theoretically a terrifying, many-limbed beast armed with jaws, tail, wings and claws.

But while he was clearly capable in melee combat, that was all that could be said for him. He was a spellcaster, and everything she'd seen of him so far indicated that he was used to winning battles with superior spellpower.

She'd already fought him both alone and with her allies, and she'd seen no strokes of genius or sparks of creativity in his fighting style. The same weak points that she, Frost, and Hunter had first taken advantage of were the ones he still struggled with. Simply put, he lacked the skill with improvisation that he'd need to fight Ashtoreth.

And when it came to his spells, nothing he'd thrown at her had worked, not even when he had all his towers. The spells that he could cast quickly in the midst of combat were all too weak to beat her [Defense] and regeneration, and despite his own skill as an abjurer and his dispel protections, he'd shown no ability to dispel her buffs.

Sure, he was still currently invincible. But if he weren't so upset, he likely would have questioned how long his invincibility was going to last given the fact that the humans had infiltrated and attacked every part of his compound.

And she should have questioned why Ashtoreth was sticking around to fight him instead of doing the more typically fiendish thing to do in a losing situation and leaving, right now.

Morax Tol charged, his tail flickering with white light, and Ashtoreth understood what he meant to do as soon as she saw it. He reared, lashing out at her with his claws, but this was a feint—a moment later lightning flashed from his tail, a spell meant to momentarily stun her as he snaked forward, jaws opening, to crush her in his teeth.

But she simply brought her sword around her body with [Proximate Telekinesis], then pushed against it so that the counterforce pushed her forward and beneath his oncoming face. The lightning struck her, but the momentary flash of pain and disorientation faded instantly.

He reared, wings flared as he brought his claws together, trying to get ahold of her so that he could end it once and for all… but she was too slippery, already pulling on her sword once again to fly out from under him, grasp the hilt of Wanderschloss, then closing with him once again.

Morax Tol fought harder, striking out with fewer and fewer spells as he tried to grab ahold of her so that he could finish the fight. But he found her too hard to catch; she was no longer throwing her sword away to dodge his colossal spells because he wasn't casting any, anymore.

She threw a couple of hits at him as they fought, intending to convince him that she was desperately, foolishly struggling to fight through his protective magic after he'd scuttled her real plan.

But after perhaps a dozen seconds had passed, she knew it was time.

Do it, she told Kylie.

Sec, said Kylie.

A moment later she felt an explosion wrack the palace.

Got him, Kylie said.

Ashtoreth launched her blade at the dragon to push herself away from him, then conjured Rammschloss, her cannon-blade, bringing it up to aim at her enemy.

Morax Tol's body language shifted as she leveled her cannon at him, and she guessed that he'd just realized his invincibility had expired.

Then the air atop the pyramid shook with the shockwave of her cannonfire… once, twice… Ashtorteth emptied her whole magazine into the dragon. He was too close to avoid her, and she was too fast for his claws and tail to bat her away.

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Her first two shots were deflected by a sudden barrier, and she liked to think that he was trying to convince her that he had bottomless defenses… but at level 800, Morax Tol had only a few more advancements than she did. She knew she'd get him eventually.

Her second two shots struck home, delivering her [Energy Drain] and stealing huge chunks of his [Strength] for herself.

Morax Tol let out a howl of fury, then rushed toward her.

But the insult of finally being struck should have been the last of his worries.

The sudden shift in his [Strength] score didn't just mean that his approach was slower, it meant that it was awkward as he adjusted to the new change. This in turn meant that he fell back on instincts and any training he had… which meant that if anything, he was more predictable.

Ashtoreth found it simple enough to dive past his snapping jaws, weave through his claws, and land straight beneath him.

Once there, she used her [Power Tap] to bolster her strength, braced herself against the steel of the pyramid's surface, then used a [Mighty Strike] to launch the blade upward, where it buried itself two feet deep in his belly.

She looked at where the blade jutted out of his body in shock. Somehow, he had high enough defense that it hadn't simply ripped a hole straight through him.

But she had no time to consider what power he might have used to give himself a stay of death. She pulled herself up to the sword, one hand rapidly darting to the spare magazine in her satchel as she used her [Proximate Telekinesis] to eject the first.

She slammed the new mag into her weapon, then began to fire… only now she was firing [Draining Rounds], and she had each of them target Morax Tol's [Defense], stealing it for herself as he spun in place and howled.

Once all four of her shots had been fired, she launched the blade once more with a [Mighty Strike], slamming her down into the metal below them… and causing her sword to tear its way through the dragon's body at an odd angle, coming out where one of his wings met his body, severing the shoulder and causing the wing to hang in a limp tatter.

The sword left a spray of blood in the air, one that Ashtoreth quickly ignited to create a plume of burning hellfire.

Morax Tol must have tried to rise into the air at that moment, but wings were the focus for flight magic, and the fact that his left wing was inoperable meant that he rose into the air but immediately tilted to one side, driving himself back toward the top of the pyramid like a mis-aimed rocket.

She leapt after him, pulling her sword back toward herself so that she was brought high into the air. As she caught her weapon, she looked down from her high vantage at the dragon struggling below her, aiming…

Again she launched her blade through the air, and again it cut easily into the dragon, punching a hole through his neck as he struggled to rise.

She yanked herself toward the blade a moment later, jerking his bloody head upward as the counterforce pulled her weapon toward her. Morax Tol made a piteous noise as she landed against his neck, then tore her sword free and rolled to the ground beside him.

She gripped her blade in both hands, planting her feet as she pivoted to face the wounded dragon.

"Time's—"

She struck out with a [Mighty Blow] that blasted his head into fragments.

"Up!"

{You gain [King Morax Tol Core]; Tier 4}

The world darkened, rushing away from her…

Ashtoreth was suddenly standing in a vast chamber that had seemingly been carved entirely out of crystal.

"Whew!" she said, positioning her sword behind her so that she could lean against it. "That's nice."

{Congratulations! You have been selected as a candidate for the election of the Monarch of Dereemo! You have been placed outside of normal time for the duration of the election.}

If you're in here, Frost said, reaching out to find her with the psychic bond. We're all going to opt out.

Uh-huh! There won't be any fighting unless you stick around.

It didn't take more than a minute for Ashtoreth to be proven right on this last count, but unsurprisingly, none of Morax Tol's minions had the confidence to fight the person who'd just killed him atop his pyramid.

Soon enough, she was warped back to the top of the pyramid with a new system message.

{There are none who stand against you, and so you have been appointed the Monarch of Dereemo. Consult your system interface to learn more.}

She looked out at where the golems that Morax Tol had awakened as a last resort were still fighting the human soldiers. You can preserve your people, Sir Gao. We'll handle these.

As more orders were given through the psychic bond, Ashtoreth conjured Wanderschloss and took to the air, moving for the nearest of the new golems.

Coming to join us I see, said Frost.

Be nice to blow of some steam, Ashtoreth said. Honestly, I feel like I've been fighting that dragon forever.

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