Mike had little time to look around, but he managed to notice enough. He studied the five fish people who were attacking them.

Hero was dragged away by two of them. All of them wore black clothing. Each held a dagger in one hand and a medium length sword in the other. The swords looked extremely light, the blades thin and sharp.

Hero immediately drew his sword. It was a new one. It had a brown grip and a silver blade, slightly larger than most swords. Hero tore himself free and faced the two fish. They rushed at him, their swords crashing together. Hero had to be careful. They were two against one and had four weapons in total. He could not afford to be slow. After every clash of blades, he moved, dodging sharply to the right.

Mike looked away. He had his own problem.

Three fish were holding their swords at Mike's throat. One of them spoke immediately.

"Give us everything you have right now, or else—"

The fish's head flew into the air and despawned before it even hit the ground. The body collapsed and vanished seconds later.

The remaining two fish struck at once.

Mike caught their swords with his bare hands. A white aura wrapped around his hands. He clenched his fists and shattered the blades with sheer force. The fragments clattered to the ground. The fish stared at each other in shock, and a moment later, their heads flew as well.

Mike turned toward Hero.

Hero was just pulling his sword out of one of the fish when the other attacked from behind and slashed Hero's back. Blood sprayed across the ground. Mike moved instantly, appearing behind the fish and stabbing straight through its back. The tip of Mike's sword emerged from the front. The fish fell and despawned shortly after.

Mike looked at Hero. His back was injured, but nothing life threatening. They were still standing.

Of course, it could not end there.

A loud crash echoed behind them.

A girl jumped toward them. She was badly hurt, her face covered in blood. She held a blade in her hand, but the upper half was completely broken, leaving only a blunt edge. She looked terrified and exhausted.

When Mike looked closer, his eyes widened.

It was Ice.

"Ice. You are here. What happened?"

Ice did not answer. She only smiled weakly. As she dropped to her knees, she pointed toward the place she had come from. Then she collapsed and lost consciousness.

Suddenly, a massive creature burst out from the corner.

It was the same creature Mike had fought in the arena.

Rage surged through him as he realized it was responsible for Ice's injuries. Mike stepped toward the creature. It screamed at him and raised its arm to strike.

Then it was ripped backward.

The monster was split cleanly in two.

No one saw the attack.

The entire city was swallowed by mist. No, not mist.

Clouds.

Yes, clouds.

Hero jumped up, trembling, gripping his sword tightly, and shouted toward Mike.

"What just happened?"

Mike stepped back toward Hero, pulled Ice closer to them, and positioned himself in front of her to protect her. He looked at Hero.

"I think it is—"

Lightning suddenly shot out of the clouds. Bolts surrounded Ice, Hero, and Mike, forming a circle like an arena. Escape was impossible, though none of them intended to run.

Mike equipped his sword and gripped it tightly. He swung it a few times, steadying his stance and clearing his view.

Then a voice echoed through the clouds.

"Joy never fades, Mike."

Both of them flinched.

How could this be possible?

Mike whispered to Hero, "It is the Cloud of Joy. I do not know how this is possible, but I know this will not be an easy fight. Probably the hardest of the entire adventure. Damn it, focus."

The confusion and fear in Mike's voice were impossible to miss. This was the hardest battle, even though it had barely begun. Everyone could feel it. The crushing aura of the cloud pressed down on them, and it was hard to see anything clearly through the clouds drifting through the city.

Suddenly something slammed against Mike's sword.

It was him.

Mike caught a brief glimpse of the Cloud of Joy's body. It was made of something like condensed cloud skin. Two glowing eyes shone bright white from within. The impact was immense. Mike reacted instantly and shoved his sword aside.

The Cloud of Joy was knocked back, flying downward before landing on both feet. He looked up and raised one hand. A spear spawned in his grip. In the next instant, the spear shot forward at terrifying speed.

Mike raised his sword and blocked it.

A loud crash echoed through the streets and snapped Ice awake. She jolted up, needing a few seconds to understand what was happening. She scanned her surroundings and saw Mike, Hero, and the Cloud of Joy standing in front of her.

Mike had deflected the spear, but the Cloud of Joy immediately rushed forward and unleashed a barrage of strikes. Mike managed to block several of them, but his footing slipped. His sword slid aside, and the fist of the cloud slammed straight into Mike's face.

In that moment, a shadow flashed through the city.

This was the first attack, and it was negated.

Mike reacted instantly and countered. His sword cut through the Cloud of Joy's abdomen, tearing away a massive chunk of its cloud like flesh. The Cloud of Joy leaped back at once, its body already regenerating.

Then it began to laugh.

"How weak."

The sound made Mike furious. He focused, drawing deeply on his power, and summoned around forty shadows at his side.

"Still sure?"

The cloud looked at the shadows, and its grin grew wider. "Yes. Still sure."

The Cloud of Joy stepped back a little, then raised both hands as if it were pulling something out of the ground or creating it from nothing. Instantly, smaller Clouds of Joy spawned. They looked the same, just smaller, probably weaker. Hopefully.

They rushed at the shadows and began to fight. At first it looked like the clouds would win, but very quickly the battle evened out.

Mike looked back at the Cloud of Joy and shouted, "Now I will end this. I promised Zaikel!"

The moment Mike spoke the dragon's name, his chest began to glow gold. A system window appeared immediately.

( Zaikel summoned! )

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