The Dragon King's Heart

He summoned his wings and took to the sky. Laina was not afraid of heights. In fact, she enjoyed it very much. She yearned for the day she too could fly freely in the sky, feeling the wind against her face.

Flying with wings was just different and a levitation spell could only get you so high up and so far. 

Titan was running alongside them in the air. A burst of flame formed beneath each of his paws as he ran. 

"If only I had wings like yours," she muttered to herself as she looked up at Dante's face. 

She realized he was looking far off into the distance. She turned to look, gasping in surprise. Dante was right, all they needed was a different perspective. He turned to look at her. 

"Are you ready?" 

Laina gave him the signal. Dante flew them down near the entrance of the cave they had spotted. From its size, they knew the creature that lived within it must be massive. They landed safely on the snow-covered ground, at the entrance.

Laina looked up above her head, wondering the height of the cave. Looking to her sides, she gulped. Just how big was the beast that lived within. 

"Do you think it is in there?" she asked as she turned to Dante. 

"They might be," he replied. 

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She gave him a look for confusion, "They?"

Dante walked towards the walls of the caves. He traced his hands on the walls. Based on the markings, it seemed to have been made by more than one beast. 

"There might be more than one," he warned. 

Titan barred his teeth as he glared deep into the cave. Laina could tell he was prepared to attack whatever was inside. The Solar Mastiff was never one to fear any opponent, no matter how big or small. 

Dante held onto Laina's hand as he asked, "Are you ready?"

She took in a deep breath, "Ready."

Together, they entered the cave. Laina held up her hand. A sphere of light and fire guided their way. The air was damp and they soon picked up on a distinct odor the further they ventured. 

Laina looked back, the entrance of the cave shrunk from sight as they continued. The odor grew more pungent too. The fresh white snow that lined the entrance of the cave was not white the further they got. 

"That is definitely not the smell of fresh meat," Laina whispered as she kept a careful eye on their surroundings. 

For safety, both of them had drawn their weapons. A sickening crunch sent shivers down their spines. They lifted their feet to check, only to see broken pieces of bones scattered across the ground. Laina threw the sphere of light into the air.

It duplicates itself and scattered across the cave grounds, lighting the ground ahead. To their horror, it was all covered in bones, piles of them. Dante crouched down. He picked a piece of bone and examined it closely. 

Laina took a few steps forward, in hopes of seeing how far the cave went. 

"What was that?" she whispered to Dante with haste. 

She had heard scuttering and the rattle of bones. Laina moved her spheres of light around in hopes of getting a better view. She could hear the scuttering echoing in the cave but it was as though they were actively avoiding the light. 

Dante came up to her. Laina pointed out what she had observed to him. 

"Extinguish the light," he whispered. 

"What? Why?" though they could see well enough in the dark, it was still best for them to have some light. 

"Trust me," he urged as he continued to look deeper into the cave. 

Without any more hesitation, she did as he asked. In the blink of an eye, the lights were extinguished. It took them a few seconds for their eyes to adjust. Laina could hear the scuttering again, and so did Titan and Dante. 

"I think we found it," Dante whispered carefully to Laina. 

He pointed far ahead. It was difficult to see where he was pointing in the dark but when her eyes adjusted a little better, Laina widened them in shock. 

Resting on the ceiling of the cave, was a beast, unlike anything they had seen before. Multiple pairs of eyes were staring right back at them. Its body was seemingly covered in sigils and runes. 

With the absence of light, the sigils and runes on its body were glowing. What little light that emitted revealed a horrific sight. 

"Is that... what I think it is?" Laina gulped. 

She had only ever seen it in a book or two. Never in a million years did she think she would see one in person. 

"That's a Rat King," Dante whispered. 

A grotesque beast, formed from the fusion of multiple rats. Together, they became a singular living monster. The beady eyes of the rat king glowed bright red as it snarled at them. 

Laina and Dante both took a few steps back. Titan was right there with them. The Rat King climbed down from the ceiling of the cave. 

"Are you ready?" Dante asked as a drop of sweat trickled down his forehead. 

"Let's go!" Laina replied as she readied her weapon. 

The Rat King let out a shrieking cry before lunging towards the both of them. Laina raised her hand, releasing a huge sphere of flame. The bright light emitted from the flames blinded the beast for just a second. 

But it was more than enough time for Dante to launch his own attack. Laina winced a little, seeing the beast under the light. It was not a beauty, that was for sure. 

The fight with the beast was taxing. But eventually, Dante and Laina emerged victoriously. They celebrated their victory over the corpse of their foe. Titan celebrated with them too. 

Dante was still gasping for air, "That... was exhilarating." 

"We made a great team," Laina replied with a smile. 

With the Rat King defeated, they decided to venture further into the cave. Examination of the corpse showed that the runes on the beast were not drawn on. They appeared on the skin of the beast through other sources. 

"I think the answer lies within this cave," Laina predicted. 

"How do you know?" he questioned in disbelief. 

Laina grinned, "It's a gut feeling." 

They were still able to hear scurrying all around them. But having killed the Rat King, they were not bothered by them. 

"I was right!" Laina exclaimed with glee as she rushed forward, leaving Dante behind."

"Hey! Wait for me!" 

He caught up to her to find glowing mushrooms. Upon realizing what they were, he immediately pulled Laina back to his side. He covered his nose with a piece of cloth and helped Laina to do the same. 

"What's wrong?" she asked in confusion by his actions. 

Dante cast a spell of protection on both of them. He heaved a sigh of relief.. A puffy mushroom close to them popped open, dispersing spores into the air.