Sorah found himself staring up from a shallow crater, his neck strained at the impossible height of Kahless’s Titan Avatar. The Cerberus, once a terrifying spectacle, now paled in comparison, both in stature and raw power. This earthen dragon, easily exceeding a hundred meters in height was not merely a Primordial Ancestral… but a full-fledged Overlord Maestro – the pinnacle of Titan evolution!
Even amidst the chaos and the throbbing pain that wracked his body, Sorah couldn't help but marvel at the sight. The dragon's colossal form, sculpted from earth and wood, radiated an aura of power that distorted the very air around it. Its emerald eyes, blazing with an inner fire, were fixed on Sorah.
‘This is bad, very bad.’ Sorah’s heart sunk like a stone in a well. Even if he was in his prime with the Sage Curse's power coursing through his veins, he would have struggled against such a formidable opponent. Now, battered and exhausted, he doubted he could even scratch its impenetrable fortress of a body.
He recalled his most recent encounter with an Overlord Maestro - the monstrous Varzik Darkfurnace that Marshal Commander Dravenik had summoned during the invasion of Cloud Hamlet. Back then, fuelled by the initial power of the Sage Curse, Sorah had managed to temporarily bind the infernal behemoth with the Aether Shackle Bind technique. But that victory had come at a great cost, nearly draining his life force entirely – effectively weakening the Sage Curse.
Now, with his Sage Curse reserves depleted and his body ravaged by the curse's corrosive influence, Sorah couldn't rely on such drastic measures again. He had to find another way, a way to outsmart his opponent, to exploit its weaknesses and create an opportunity for escape.
Sorah closed his eyes briefly and extended his Wind Sight, his awareness swept across the battlefield like a gentle breeze. He beheld the shattered bodies and spirits of the Pyro Warriors and Sand Devils, strewn forms. He noticed Warden Poahf crouching behind a heap of debris, her angry face twisted.
And then, he saw it - the swirling vortex of light within the Rendil Temple, the Cloud Portal that the Rice Guru had managed to reactivate. He could sense the presence of the others, their hopes and dreams intertwined with the ethereal energies of the portal. They were almost there, almost to freedom.
But first... he had to buy them time. He had to keep Kahless’s Titan Avatar occupied long enough for the others to escape.
Taking a deep breath, Sorah poured the remaining dregs of Sage Curse energy into his staff, bracing himself for the impending confrontation. The Dawn Sky Crusher thrummed with unwavering power.
‘I will not falter,’ he thought as he prepared to launch himself at the colossal dragon. ‘I will not give up. I will protect them, even if it costs me my life.’
Whoosh!
“Huh? You still wish to delay the inevitable?” Warden Poahf who had been observing the situation from a safe distance, was taken aback as she saw Sorah rising to his feet with a resolve so hard, it could crack teeth. "You've got guts, old man, I'll give you that. But you've clearly gone senile if you think you can challenge both of us at once."
Sorah ignored her taunt and focused his intent on the towering dragon.
“Expand!”
The Dawn Sky Crusher began to elongate into a massive oaken pillar that rivalled the height of the nearby cliffs.
Whoosh!
With a burst of speed, Sorah propelled himself upwards, riding the expanding staff like a rocket as he soared towards the dragon's head.
“That’s…!” Poahf became angry as she witnessed Sorah's audacity. How dare he ignore her and focus solely on the Vice-Marshal Commander?
“You’ll pay for that!”
She furiously channelled her TerraFlow Kana into the Cerberus Titan. Its three heads howled in unison as they charged up a trio of Kana Beast Bombs.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The bombs, each the size of a small house, shot upwards towards Sorah, trailing plumes of smoke and fire in their wake.
Glancing down at the incoming barrage, Sorah yelled, "Sage Curse Eruption!" while thrusting his staff downward.
A wave of golden-black glyphs gushed forth from the staff and expanded outwards like a spiderweb. The glyphs intercepted the Kana Beast Bombs below, disrupted their internal structure and prevented them from detonating.
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"What the..." Poahf was momentarily stunned by the unexpected turn of events. How had the old man managed to capture her attack so easily?
Sorah smirked as he felt the glyphs containing the explosive energy of the Kana Beast Bombs. He silently thanked Poahf for providing him with additional firepower. With a flick of his wrist, he redirected the bombs towards Kahless's Titan Avatar, sending them hurtling upwards with incredible speed.
Whoosh!
Seeing the approaching projectiles, the dragon responded with a thunderous roar that shook the heavens. It opened its cavernous jaws, unleashing a torrent of emerald-white TerraFlow Kana that engulfed the bombs and dispersed their explosive force harmlessly into the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
But Sorah was already upon the dragon. "Chew on this!" he hollered triumphantly.
He extended his staff until its tip penetrated the creature's open mouth and was pushing deeper into its throat.
"Extend!"
The staff continued to elongate as Sorah added more power. Its massive form was literally bursting through the back of the dragon's neck, creating a gaping hole that spewed forth a geyser of blood and viscera.
"GRAAAAH!" The dragon roared in pain, thrashing its head and body wildly as it tried to dislodge the staff.
But Sorah held on tight, his grip unwavering as he rode the bucking staff like a rodeo cowboy.
"Swallow it all!" he shouted, feeling the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He had wounded the beast, and for a moment, he allowed himself to believe that victory was within his grasp.
But then, something unexpected happened. The dragon's body, instead of collapsing from its injuries, began to twist and contort. Its long, serpentine form wrapped itself around the massive Dawn Sky Crusher, constricting the staff with a force that threatened to snap it in two.
"What the..." Sorah gasped in surprise. He had never encountered a Titan Avatar with such flexibility, such control over its own body.
The dragon's tail, tipped with a sharp, bony spike, lashed out and struck Sorah across the chest and sent him flying backwards. He tumbled through the air and plummeted towards the mountainside below.
Boom!
Sorah crashed into the rocky slope with a bone-jarring impact. He groaned, but he couldn't afford to stay down. He had to get back up, to continue the fight. He quickly flipped to his feet and focused his intent on the Dawn Sky Crusher.
"Retract!"
The staff, still embedded in the dragon's throat, began to shrink rapidly until it was back to its normal size. It then flew through the air and into Sorah's outstretched hand.
Whoosh!
As he caught the staff, Sorah felt a empowered again - a temporary reprieve from the Sage Curse's burning and the exhaustion that weighed him down.
He glanced up at the dragon, which was now hovering in the air above him and blazing with fury.
Kahless yelled. "You will pay for trying to feed me that piece of stick, old man.” He then spat a humungous saliva that splashed onto the ground and created a crater.
Seconds after the huge splash, Poahf three-headed Cerberus Titan materialized before Sorah. “Now it’s my turn, you insolent old bastard. I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart piece by piece.”
The Cerberus angrily lunged towards Sorah but he whispered, "Zephyr Dash!" and activated his technique once more. His form flickered and he vanished from sight just as the Cerberus's jaws snapped shut where he had been moments before.
Whoosh!
He reappeared beside the Cerberus, with his staff raised high. "Hah!" he shouted, bringing down the weapon with a dreadful force.
Swish!
The staff sliced cleanly through the Cerberus's neck, severing one of its three heads. The head tumbled to the ground with a thud, its eyes glazed over and its jaws still agape in a silent scream.
“Grrrr!”
The remaining two heads of the Cerberus Titan roared in pain and fury while thrashing their bodies wildly as they searched for their attacker.
"What the..." Poahf gasped in disbelief. How had the old man managed to move so quickly, so silently? And how had he managed to sever one of her Cerberus's heads with such ease?
Not wasting any time, Sorah capitalized on the Cerberus's momentary disorientation. He leaped into the air, propelled by the wind currents that swirled around him, and charged towards the dragon once more.
He thrust his extending staff forward and hollered hotly, "Air Break!"
At the tip of the staff was a small, swirling sphere of compressed air that could unleash a devastating shockwave.
Recognizing the approaching attack, Kahless responded with a guttural roar, "Wood Splash!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of enormous wooden tendrils, each as thick as a tree trunk, erupted from the dragon’s body and shot downwards towards Sorah. Twisting and turning like serpents, they sought to intercept his Air Break attack.
Boom!
The air sphere collided with the wooden tendrils, creating a blinding flash of light and a deafening rumble that echoed through the mountains. The sky above the Rendil Temple was ripped apart, spatial ripples formed across its surface as if the very fabric of reality were tearing.
The onlookers, both those present within the temple and the remaining Dune Empire troops, watched in astonishment as the two attacks clashed. They had never witnessed such a display of raw power, such a violent collision of elemental forces.
"Incredible..." Bishane commented.
"He's... he's holding his own against that... that monster," Lukio stammered, scarcely believing what she was seeing.
"Master Sorah..." Daichi’s finger trembled around the trigger of the Aether Pistol he had aimed at the Duke.
‘How could that old man be so strong?’ Duke Theodore was flabbergasted. He was now dreading the outcome if the Vice-Marshal Commander were to lose this battle.
Boom!
The Air Break's shockwave ripped through the wooden tendrils, shattering them into splinters that rained down upon the mountain like a deadly hailstorm. But the dragon was relentless. It continued to summon more tendrils as they sought to overwhelm Sorah's attack.
The clash continued for what felt like an eternity, neither side gaining the upper hand. The air crackled with energy, and the ground trembled as the two forces collided. It was a battle of wills, a test of endurance, and a display of elemental mastery that defied comprehension.