--
Runes manifested into being and weaved by Cedric with sheer ease and familiarity.
They formed complex lines that blended through the surroundings but left a visible effect behind. Most of the runes landed on the swords that Cedric summoned as they streaked through the air, drawing multiple intersecting lines that covered the trapped foe.
Despite the restrictions on his body and the apparent pain assaulting his insides, the Thunder Prince remained sober through it and aware of what his enemy was trying to do.
He could recognize the continuous string of runes coming out of Cedric's body. His mother drilled the language of runes into him since he was a child, and she'd undoubtedly beat the shit out of him if he couldn't even tell what these were.
But this recognition also caused the trapped halfdragon to sweat coldly. It's precisely because he recognized the pattern of these runes that he knew that he must interrupt this. Because if Cedric succeeded in laying down this formation, it would spell his total defeat. He must do it quick too, because Cedric was surprisingly fast with his arrangements.
'Shit! This kid is ridiculous! '
'He's already a maestro at laws and a sword master; now you're telling me that he understands runes too? How much free time does he have? '
'What's even more ridiculous is that he could combine his runic knowledge with his sword arts.' The Thunder Prince thought as he observed the flying swords glowing with runes around his body.
'Seriously! Is he the reincarnation of an ancient expert? '
Despite his inner complaints, the Thunder Prince never stopped his attempts at freeing himself. The gigantic swords that trapped his body shook with his struggles, and the chains were loosening up.
He would revert to his original form if he could, but he couldn't. Not when he's injured and trapped like this, especially since the objects that were trapping him were interfering with his control over his energies.
With a grunt, he whipped his tail. Forcibly worsening the injury in exchange for freeing it. He managed to do it after experiencing more agonizing pain, but at least his tail was now free. He also drained a chunk of his energy to regenerate it and used his tail to whip the gigantic swords that'd trapped his body.
He broke one of them successfully, freeing his right hind leg. He stomped on the vacuum of space and raised his body slightly, causing the other swords to lodge deeper into his body and cause him even more pain, but he endured all of this, showcasing the frightening tenacity and endurance of someone who had the bloodline of dragons.
His tail attacked the other sword, freeing up his left hind leg. And with those two freed, he was able to gain more of his mobility to wiggle out of his bindings.
But of course, Cedric didn't just watch as his foe slowly freed himself. He already anticipated that this could possibly happen, and he's just going to have to deal with it. That's why he didn't slow down with his formation casting either.
He curled up his gigantic body into a ball. Just in time before Cedric condensed the final rune that completed his grand formation.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Light converged and space twisted. A vortex of twisted reality formed at the spot where the Thunder Prince was. Five massive swords acted as stakes, which served as pins for a pentagram formation. These five gigantic swords were all of the runic swords he released earlier; each one released a sharp hymn that distorted reality as everybody knew it.
Phantoms of the past, present, and future flickered out of existence. The influence of the concept laws became chaotic within the formation, creating an unpredictable realm that traps anybody inside without any hopes of getting out.
This formation doesn't have a name. It was something that Cedric created spontaneously, yet it's one that not even a halfdragon could hope to escape from.
"Haaah! Haah..." Cedric panted in exhaustion and looked pale. Building this formation took more out of him than he expected. But he's fine with it since he managed to do it in the end.
Unfortunately, it seems that the Thunder Prince had other means of keeping himself safe. Because instead of trapping his humongous body within this chaotic and reality-altering formation, the Thunder Prince was now curled up inside an egg that protected him from all harm.
Cedric had no idea what that's all about, but since he's within the formation, he should be trapped there for now, giving them enough time to finish the others.
He looked behind him, and his vision tracked what was happening with his team.
Backpack Fatty, Moss Lady, and Morning Wood were able to take down the Thunder Prince's teammates. But they're unexpectedly facing a difficult problem.
They discovered the island core of the enemy team, but the problem was that it's protected by tough scales, which undoubtedly came from the Thunder Prince. Hell, it might even be his reverse scale, which would only mean that it's ten times tougher than his ordinary scales.
The island core was completely protected from all sides, and his teammates were unable to pierce it even after all the time he bought for them.
And so, with what little energy and strength he had left, he appeared right next to them. He summoned many swords, which combined into a single humongous sword. Cedric poured his remaining power with it and brought it down.
It spun, acting like a drill to punch a hole through the troublesome scales. Slowly but surely, a crack appeared on its surface. But before the sword finished doing its thing, an alarming sense of crisis shook his entire body.
He looked back, and to his shock, the formation he worked so hard for was destroyed by a single explosion.
Cedric didn't even have the time to wonder how that became possible because the next thing he knew, his teammates were killed and a gaping hole appeared on his body, rapidly draining his strength all while his neck was grasped by the crushing grip of a frightening predator.
"Geez, you are the most troublesome foe I have ever met."