Leo looked at the surrounding horde, there had to be hundreds, if not thousands, of ravenous monsters on the mountaintop. He barely recognized most of the monsters that faced him, the only consistent trait was their rotted bodies.
A monster that looked as if a raptor had been stuffed into a chimpanzee costume ran at him, with fangs bared and arms outstretched. Leo steeled himself for his counterattack, prepared to trim the fat of the horde.
He gently smacked the monster before it managed to grab him. It flew violently through the air, its body managing to take down any monster in its path. This seemed to move the horde into a frenzy, as they started to rush in.
“Stop.”
The voice echoed throughout the mountain range, with such commanding force that it shook the ground. The horde froze at the command, even Leo felt his own strength fade into fear.
Leo saw two giant claws rise from a cavern in the mountain. Each movement screeched like nails on a chalkboard. The claws struck into the ground as the beast elevated itself.
From the ground arose a dragon, its wings stretched out like a jagged tapestry. Illuminated by the moonlight, he was able to get a better look at it. The dragon was composed of thousands of bones, all somehow held together to give the monster its shape. Despite it having no eyes, Leo could tell that the dragon stared down at him.
“You will regret surviving long enough to reach the top, to disturb my rest carries the penalty of death,” boomed the dragon.
The dragon began to flap its wings, each flap exerting enough force to send parts of the horde flying. Leo dug his feet into the ground to avoid going flying. He tried to stay calm, but he felt as if fear itself had started to burrow inside of his skin.
Leo shouted, “You disturbed my rest first, and the penalty is an instant execution.”
“Fool,” replied the dragon.
[STATUS EFFECT GAINED]
[FEAR THE DRACOLICH]
[EFFECT: YOU ARE TERRIFIED IN THE PRESENCE OF THE DRACOLICH]
It shot forward in the air, grabbing Leo with one outstretched claw. Leo saw Koram and Budmuk as he was dragged away, as the surging force from the burst of movement shattered their barrier.
Leo wanted to break free from the dragon’s grasp, but he felt himself unable to move. The strength he had once felt seemed gone, as if there was nothing he could do. While he tried to focus on the status effect he gained, he suddenly felt excruciating pain over his body.
While the dracolich flew around the mountain, it had an extended claw that dragged Leo through the surface. With each beat of its wings the speed increased, as Leo was forced through the solid stone and coarse dirt at breakneck speeds. The pain was bad, but as the taste of blood mixed in with the dirt, he realized that he was being hurt by this.
“SYSTEM, WHAT’S MY HEALTH,” spat out Leo.
[HP: 94,605/99,999]
Leo could just barely make out his health as it fell at an ever increasing rate. Eventually, the dragon moved away from the surface of the mountain.
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It raised Leo up to its face, “Impressive, mortal, your continued survival shows your potential as a member of my army,” mocked the dragon, its broken bones formed a jagged smile.
Leo spat at the dragon, “Fuck you.”
“I see, it will take more to break you,” sneered the dragon.
The dragon shot upwards with a large burst of movement. Leo had survived a lot that would kill a normal person, but this was the first time he’s been injured since his change. Leo was terrified that this could be his end, as they burst through the cloud. The clouds were soon left behind as the dracolich continued to fly upwards.
Finally, the dragon stopped their ascent, miles above the ground. Leo looked down, while before he could see the nearby forests and towns on his flight up, now it felt as if he could see the entire continent through the patchwork of clouds.
The dragon gloated, “This will all be mine, for the age of man has reached its end.”
Leo wanted to fight, to break free, but he hadn’t been in anything resembling danger since his first day here, and when faced with risk, he couldn’t help but freeze. Leo tried to stall, hoping the spare time would help him find the confidence he had started to lack.
Leo spit out some gravel stuck in his teeth, “Then what?”
“Then I will rule over the lands, an empire carved in my image,” responded the dragon.
“But why? Is there any benefit to ruling over everything?” asked Leo.
“With the world under my control, I will rise above the others and become an eternal God,” answered the dragon.
Leo hoped to give the undead dragon an existential crisis, but it seemed as if it had already gone through a midlife crisis. Leo noticed that he had been getting lightheaded, each breath was deeper and longer. He looked down and realized that the air was near non-existent this high up, and he needed to get down quickly without dying.
“Then let me worship you, I will fight as your top soldier,” offered Leo, as he grew more delirious.
“Joining my army is not a choice, not for anyone. When you are converted, you have the potential to become my best soldier. Soon, the world will hail David, the dracolich,” declared David.
The fear that had wrapped around his very being seemed to loosen. Each breath of air made his mind lose focus of the situation he was in. Leo could no longer fight the urge to laugh, whether he truly found it that funny or was simply lightheaded, he would never know.
Leo burst out laughing, “You’re a giant badass skeleton lich dragon, and your name is fucking David???”
He felt the dragon tighten its grip on him, offended by Leo’s comment.
“You will pay for your mockery.”
With a rapid flick of its wrist, David sent Leo hurtling to the ground. While Leo plummeted down, he saw the dragon tuck its wings and dive after him. Leo couldn’t tell why until he saw the Draco lich open its mouth. A mixture of dark green and purple swirled within, which grew larger by the second.
Leo released his conserve power, unafraid of the risk it would pose, as he needed to be at full strength to protect himself. David released a powerful beam of magic aimed squarely at Leo. The beam propelled Leo down to the ground even faster than before.
Leo had just enough sense to block, but even with his arms in front of his face, this attack was beyond overwhelming. With his mind refreshed by the air, the terror he felt came back. Leo had no choice but to block, as he was afraid that even the slightest drop of his guard would kill him.
Each passing second was far worse than the acid burns he’d faced earlier, the magic felt as if it rotted and weakened his body while it hit him with an obscene show of force. Leo focused all of his willpower to holding strong, even as he quickly approached the ground.
Leo managed to hold his guard for 4 minutes, until he finally had a break. The break was the impact when he hit the ground. Leo was strong, likely one of the strongest beings in this new world, but even this was too much for him. The necrotic magic had weakened him, and the fall from beyond the atmosphere had been a heavy impact.
He laid on the ground, and as he faced the sky, he felt the agony and fear spread over his damaged body. He saw David, wings spread, flying above him with the full moon to its back.
“STATUS!” spat out Leo.
[HP: 3,278/99,999]
His body felt as if it was barely held together after the assault. This was the first threat to harm him, let alone endanger his life, since the accident. Leo saw David look at him, unsure if he was alive, as Leo realized he had been backed into a corner. He still felt the same paralyzing fear that had kept him near frozen this entire fight, but somehow it felt weaker than before.