26: Battle in the Light Grid Chimaera vs Knight

The antivirus program ravenously careened into the light grid, mouth wide open, ready to consume. It touched the edge of the trap and, in a rush of static, was sucked into the grid, condensed to less than half its previous size. It screeched and howled as a multitude of manic faces momentarily rippled across its surface. It whirled like a tornado, throwing itself against the sides of the grid. Green energy crackled at every touch, coursing through the program and making it scream louder.

Finally the program ceased its struggles. It settled onto the ground into a nebulous mass.

‘You want to play?’ A deep, gurgling sound emerged from the creature. ‘I have been learning to play.’

The creature undulated and pulsed. A lion’s headgrew from its depths, roaring as it emerged. The static continued to take shape - a lion’s body formed, with muscular legs and sharp, sharp claws. From its rear, in place of a tail, snaked a serpent with wild eyes and long fangs, hissing and spitting as it thrashed about. From the middle of the lion’s back sprang the head of a goat, with fierce eyes of fire, twisted horns and snapping jaws. It was an impossible creature, three animals in one, with an ungainly appearance.

The chimaera’s three heads gnashed their static teeth, sparking and sizzling, the creature’s bulk dwarfing the knight. It crouched low to the ground, its serpent tail flicking from one side to the other, forked tongue darting in and out of its mouth. It crept towards the knight as if stalking prey, then paused. Fixing three sets of eyes on its opponent, it leapt.

The knight flung itself to one side, swinging thesword o’light. As the chimaera leapt past, the sword came down on its tail, severing the serpent from the rest of the creature. The decapitated snake shrieked and spat, writhing on the ground, before dissolving into nothingness.

The chimaera howled with its two remaining heads and launched itself at the knight, the lion’s jaws ready to savage its prey.

The knight sprang forward, faster than anythingwearing armour had a right to. It thrust upwards with its weapon.

The sword o’light sliced into the belly of the beastas it sailed over the head of the knight. The static that made up its form parted like the Red Sea and landed in a shapeless heap. remained at the entrance of the base. Emboldened, they crept closer to the grid.

The knight barely had time to turn around beforethe static took on a new shape. Within seconds a huge dragon, larger even than the chimaera, was glaring down at the knight. It threw back its head and roared a deep and guttural sound with a crackly, electronic undertone.

‘Plaaay!’

The dragon reared on its hind legs and thrust its head forward, jaws wide open. A burst of orange flame erupted from its mouth.

The knight held up its shield, deflecting the flames.

Back on all fours, the dragon roared again. It lifted an enormous, lumbering foot, ready to charge its opponent.

The knight sprang forward with the samemovement it had used against the chimaera, thrusting upwards with the sword. Although the sword o’light sliced up into the gigantic foot, it was not enough to stop it. The dragon’s foot stomped to the ground, crushing the knight beneath it.

A booming voice roared through the grid. ‘I have been learning to win!’