SPELLBOUND

As Vera saw the powerful whip of dark magic arcing towards her, she could not help but wince a tiny bit and her eyes fluttered close halfway. However, she could not be faulted for behaving in such a way as every place that the lashes of Gideon's dark magic hit, it left a gaping gash in its wake. On top of that, the gaping wound on the ground would be seeping out black wispy trails of smoke, as though there were some corrosive attributes to his attack. r

So, though it had not hit Vera yet so far, she was still afraid of the attack a��� more so it was now headed directly for her. As it drew nearer to her, Vera suddenly lost her nerves right at the end and her eyelids tightly squeezed shut. r

"I'll still stand strong. For Gid, I will not avoid his attacks!" She whispered fiercely to herself, even as her whole body was trembling with the anticipation of the attack connecting with her flesh. Though she closed her eyes due to the fear, her feet were anchored to the ground, not moving from the place where she stood.r

A strong blow hit her. Although she had expected and already anticipated that the lash of dark magic this time would most surely hit her, the real blow still took her by surprise. r

She tumbled onto the ground due to the impact. Just with that one hit, Vera could feel as though her internal organs were being sent into total chaos and were on the verge of exploding. If it were not for the angle of her fall to be advantageous to herself, the injuries might have just caused her to kick the bucket and expire right there and then.r

Suddenly, Vera was sent into a violent coughing fit. She coughed and wheezed to catch her breath to the point that she had a fleeting thought that perhaps she might even cough out her own lungs. After barely stopping from coughing, another bad news seemed to have greeted her. Bright red, life- giving blood began to flow from the corner of her lips. Yes, flow. It was not a small trickle, but a large amount of blood flowing out of her.r

Though Vera was taken aback for a moment when seeing so much blood running out of her own body, she composed herself and her emotions very quickly. In the next moment, she still rose to her feet, though a little ungracefully, but with a spirit filled with fighting aura.r

"Stay back!!!" Gideon shouted at her, his tone strangely sounded as though he was begging her. "You will die if you continue to advance!" r

She, however, did not stop even with his ferocious warning. Another wave of magic surged mightily before being thrown out. Again, it was aimed right in the face of Vera.r

Azure had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and was in time to perfectly block the magic that had been aimed at Vera. But with the results of that actions, the dragon was so badly wounded. r

Gideon kept stepping back. Even though he had been warning Vera to not approach, his steps almost mirrored hers. With every step she took towards him, he took two steps back in order to avoid her.r

Seeing that her approach to him was being met with his retreat, in double time, Vera started to get concerned. It was to the point that she could no longer hold back and screamed out for him.r

"Gideon!" Vera cried out. She cannot let him leave. She must not let him leave! As her initial gut feeling had told her, if she failed getting him to return to her side this time, it might mean that she would lose him for good. And that was something that she was not okay with. Even if she had to sacrifice much, she was not going to allow him to just back off and leave her. "Gideon... STOP!!" Vera exclaimed loudly as she shot her hands out, as though wanting to hold onto his arm.r

Her sudden move must have given Gideon quite the shock. Because, immediately, he sent a strong wave of magic sweeping down her way. And again, the ever-dependable Azure jumped forward and blocked it for Vera, causing the dragon to fall into a stupor. This caused Vera to be so aggrieved for Azure that she had shrieked out in worry. Azure was a very large and very powerful ice dragon. But no matter how powerful a dragon was, it was still made of flesh, blood and bones, and they could be injured. All it needed was for an opportune timing and a whole lot of vicious attacks. And the mighty and powerful dragon would also succumb to its injuries. r

Vera was incensed that Azure was continuously being injured only for her sake. And to make it worse, the perpetrator was her very own mate! Gideon! Panic and anger for her dragon mount began to rose within her.r

"Stop!!!" she screamed. Azure was already so badly injured from the battle outside this dark core and that dangerous and deadly fall as well. His wings was battered and he wasn't even trying to fight Gideon. He was merely protecting her.r

"Gideon! Please!!!" she begged. Unable to watch Azure getting hit anymore.r

But Gideon continued lashing out at the dragon with his full attacks. However, it was as if he was redirecting the hit from Vera towards the dragon now, instead of attacking her.r

Gideon did not seem to be showing Azure any mercy and his attacks were intense and aggressive. Out of five attacks, three would lethally hit Azure. Vera cried out and exclaimed every time an attack landed on her dragon's body. r

Feeling her dragon's pain, and feeling like this next blow would surely kill Azure, Vera's eyes suddenly turned blurry and the next thing she knew, she was standing there. Right in front of Azure. Her arms spread wide as she bravely blocked the dragon with her very own body. r

Time seemed to stop for a moment and as her vision darkened, she heard her name finally being called by Gideon.r

"Vera!!!!" r