Selin, now equipped with Ryolos' old sword, stood above the green cloud. Mike was still buried beneath the many stones. He must have lost consciousness. The impact had been too strong. The group knew that Mike would not be able to fight in this battle anymore.

But there was a problem. They had only one weapon left. Ryolos' sword was in Selin's hand. The other sword she had thrown about two minutes ago had shattered upon impact with the cloud. The cloud could harden its skin, making it strong and unbreakable.

With this new information, Selin thought about how she could seriously injure the cloud. She came to the conclusion that striking with the sword was the right decision. She just had to wait for the perfect moment.

So Selin waited.

She opened her wings, ready to fly upward if necessary. Her white tail twitched violently back and forth. She was clearly nervous.

Hero raised his hand. A golden glow appeared, stronger than ever before. Selin began to shine gold. She was strengthened and now ready.

Ice stayed a few steps farther back, always prepared to use her healing magic if needed.

The cloud hovered there, waiting for Selin's attack. But Selin remained calm and did not charge forward.

Hero thought about how he could support her beyond the golden buff aura. Then he knew how.

Hero called Cloudless to him. The cage floated back and transformed again into a sleeping cloud. It lay in his hand and spread out slightly. It had never looked like this before.

"Cloudless is resting."

Hero cursed under his breath, though he did not insult Cloudless. He was grateful to it and allowed it the rest it deserved. Unfortunately, this was a bad moment. He could have created a sword and fought alongside Selin. Now all he could do was wait and hope Cloudless would reactivate at any moment.

Something happened.

The cloud launched stones again. Four stones formed above it. The cloud created the stones itself, making the barrage almost limitless, though it clearly cost energy. No one knew how much.

Two stones shot toward Selin. She reacted instantly and flew upward. Her white wings beat through the air, sending out a gust of wind. She held her sword straight and waited. When the stones came close enough, she sliced through them cleanly. The speed was fast and precise. The stones split apart and fell to the ground.

Selin used this moment as a counterattack. With a powerful wingbeat, she flew toward the cloud. She raised her sword high and straight. She feinted a strike, then stopped her blade just before hitting the cloud's skin.

The green cloud did not notice the feint and hardened its skin again. The cloudlike surface stiffened like an extremely strong suit of armor.

But then, there.

Selin saw it.

Just after the hardening activated, the skin briefly returned to normal.

Now.

Selin reacted instantly. She struck straight down with full force. The cloud's skin tore open. There was no blood, but the green cloudlike flesh was ripped apart at that spot.

A strange scream filled the cave, creating an atmosphere of fear.

Selin pulled back, stared at the wound, and smiled.

"You are weak, cloud of creation."

The cloud remained silent. It floated upward and stopped just below the cave ceiling. As it spoke, its cloud skin regenerated. The wound vanished almost instantly.

"Yes, I am so weak that I created my own people. I am so weak that I created my own dragon."

The cloud suddenly split in two.

Selin, Hero, and Ice recoiled in shock. It happened so suddenly. The green cloud was torn apart, but a small piece remained in the center, holding the two halves together so they did not fall or separate completely.

Inside the split, on both sides of the wound, four teeth formed. They were razor sharp and needle pointed.

The cloud looked different now. Its skin reinforced itself constantly, permanently. It could no longer be cut. And now there were these sharp teeth as well.

The aura filling the cave became suffocatingly strong.

Hero breathed heavily.

"We have not even seen three attacks from what this cloud can do. Selin, I will help you fight."

"Cloudless senses the aura of battle and is ready."

Cloudless reshaped itself in Hero's hand into a sword. It was white and extremely sharp. The handle was simple, with nothing extra along the sides. The tip was unusually long, and the blade was thin but refined.

It was a katana.

Hero grinned and in a single second stood beside Selin. The wind stirred violently, roaring through the air. Hero's hair was blown back as he took his stance next to her. Selin hovered slightly higher, yet they could still fight together.

"Two against one? I will change that," said the toxic green cloud.

Its sharp teeth did not move. It felt almost telepathic, yet the echo of its voice filled the entire cave.

The cloud glowed, and from the rocky cave floor, three large trolls crawled out.

Hero widened his stance, ready to support Selin.

After all, he had fought a troll before.

The large, broad trolls slammed their massive wooden clubs into the ground. Brutal and furious, they charged forward.

Hero took a sharp breath and sprinted ahead. He sliced straight across the first troll's back, cutting it wide open. The troll screamed and collapsed to the ground. Blood poured from the wound, making it impossible for him to continue fighting.

The second troll towered over Hero and swung its wooden club down at him. Hero quickly dodged to the right. The club smashed into the rocky floor. Hero seized the opportunity, jumped upward, and tilted his katana. In one clean motion, he sliced off the troll's head. The head hit the ground, and a few seconds later the rest of the body collapsed as well.

Now only one troll stood in front of Hero.

Hero grinned, impressed by his own strength. After all, he had taken down two trolls so quickly. He smiled and looked up at the green cloud.

"Seriously? You thought trolls would be enough?"

Hero laughed, then moved in a flash. In an instant, he was in front of the last troll and dragged the blade straight through its thick neck. Green blood sprayed across the ground and over Cloudless. Hero landed back on the floor and swung the blade to shake the blood off.

"I think I have found my favorite weapon."

The katana was incredibly strong and useful. However, a single mistake could cause the blade to shatter. Luckily, the material was made of cloud. Hero did not know that if this had been a normal katana, it would have broken long ago.

The green cloud's reaction was exactly what one would expect.

It became even more enraged.

A purple aura formed around it, and the cloud screamed. Two purple energy spheres appeared beside it. They shot forward at high speed.

Their target was Selin.

Everything happened so suddenly that Selin could not even dodge. The energy spheres hit her directly. The impact alone was enough to make her bleed, but the spheres also exploded. They detonated around her abdomen.

Selin was hurled backward. Her armor was damaged, and Ryolos' sword flew out of her hand.

Hero remained unharmed, but his concern for his friend was clear.

After the purple mist faded, a quiet voice could be heard.

"I am fine."

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