Chapter 16: Dragon
Silence filled the air of the gigantic underground colosseum. The dancing flames in the darkness cast tall shadows, as the dimly lit enormous cavern, added a dark ritualistic atmosphere.
Zan stood in place, merely looking down at the dragon beneath him. The crowd choked on their words. The ten win consecutive champion lost in one hard slap to the ground.
Not enough time passed for Cole to be relieved, Kaerys to feel satisfied, and the crowd to come out of their shock.
Apart from them however, a woman stood at the very top of the stone platforms. She was bathed in a sea of water-like shadows. Mila watched with pride as she looked down at the makeshift arena.
“That’s my boy.”
‘I first thought he was one of those disgusting mutated but I was wrong. He uses a similar practice to that of the ruined empires…’
‘It’s different from hers…maybe it'll help bring back— no!’
‘It’ll help my husband and son to go back to how they were, yeah that’s what I meant...’
After a moment of silence, the crowd regained their senses. The nobles and masters who bet on Zan celebrated in joy, and the same for the ordinary slaves that had now become rowdy and boisterous. The tribes and states fumed in silence, though some more violent ones immediately started to hit the ordinary slaves.
Cole finally felt his tense heart start to beat slower as he squeezed on Yela’s hand. His stressed face went away, at least for the moment. Yela did not think about what just happened, she covered her face with her other hand so that the boy did not see her red flushed skin. Kaerys, had stars in her eyes as they glimmered in joy.
“He’s not bad, I guess.”
“I told you, I find him quite interesting.”
Renna and Kaerys quipped.
Delon stood on the same platform as Mila, and he looked on in bored cruelty. How could his toy not even last a single second against that hateful slave?! Thoughts raced in his mind until an idea then popped up in his baby-dropped head.
The slaver motioned his hand and gave the order.
Rows of steps could be heard marching. Men pushed the surrounding crowd out of their way as they circled the arena.
Fifty men from the tribes and the warring states surrounded the lone boy who stood at the center. Cole started to feel his heart tighten again at the familiar scene and Yela was once again reminded of her mother’s actions. Tears threatened to come out of the soft girl’s eyes once more.
Renna looked on as if it was overkill while Aela’s eyes finally gleamed.
Kaerys meanwhile stared attentively at the scene. It was impossible to know whether she disapproved or supported it, only looking towards Zan in anticipation of what he would do next. Surprisingly, he looked more relaxed than when he fought twenty men.
Mila looked down at the scene with cold amusement, she knew better than anyone how strong her child had grown. She was confident that ordinary humans would not even be able to touch him, and only her elites could hold him down. The boy truly was a generational talent with monstrous aptitude.
Zan stretched his neck, getting ready to unleash a storm of broken bones and mashed muscle.
‘Should I use this chance to escape too?’
‘There’s no way she didn’t plan anything to stop my escape…I could still probably smash through it though.’
Zan tightened his hands into fists and started to walk forward calmly.
Stolen story; please report.
Delon looked down at the scene with an eager sneer but before he could fully revel in it however, a group of noblemen surrounded him.
“What is this?”
“Our master would like to personally have a match with the one called Arem, that worm. He will be coming shortly.”
“...What? Do you know who I am!?”
“We know perfectly who you are, halfborn. That is why we must remind you to behave.”
Delon seethed with anger. He considered acting out anyway, but by the way they talked to him they must have had the power and connections to do so. The last time he offended a person without checking their background, his neck was almost put to the chopping block, though he almost had his balls scooped out first. He clutched at his private parts before calming himself down into his chair once more.
As the men approached Zan in a circle formation, a horn sounded from the very top of the caverns. Delon had backed down and gave the order to stop.
Zan looked on with an emotionless face while a slave master whispered something into the announcer’s ear.
‘What the hell…’
“Esteemed patrons! Beautiful women and rich men! Great nobles, masters, and pathetic slaves! We have a surprise event!”
The people looked at each other confused.
“A special guest from royalty itself! Bow down! Rejoice at his presence! Here he descends, Balon the Black Dragon!”
The crowd split and what emerged was a tall, skinny young boy with black hair and a handsome face. He looked like the ideal, frail scholar nobleman that both common born and noble born women would fawn over.
And indeed they did. Both girls and ladies’ hearts skipped a beat upon his appearance, and so did Yela’s as she looked at him.
Though what they saw was not what Kaerys, Renna and Aela saw. It was not what Zan saw either.
‘He’s…big.’
The youth was still tall, but he was not skinny. No, his rolling muscles at a weight of two hundred and fifty pounds made him look quite imposing. His face was still handsome, but what replaced the slender soft look was an intensely angular and heroic face. The youth looked like one of those generic hero men in children’s fairy tales.
The sisters on the other hand were having different thoughts.
“That big lumbering oaf. Now all the other royalty and high nobles know we’re here.”
Renna complained.
“It’s fine. It’s all the more fun for us.”
“Uh huh, sure.”
Back to the ground, the big man’s lips finally opened. What came out was a deep, full, and lofty voice.
“So you’re the fool disgracing and prancing around with the title of dragon?”
Zan stared with a blank face.
“...Huh?”
‘The fuck?’
“Know your place, peasant.”
Balon kicked off the ground and shot towards Zan like a fired cannonball. The sisters watched on in amusement from above.
“Your boy won’t last.”
Kaerys stayed silent, holding expectation in her eyes as she watched the wall of iron rapidly approach Zan.
Balon readied his arm mid lunge, before throwing the hurling iron fist right to the youth’s face.
He held no regard for the one before him, just another clown who was ignorant to the true title of dragon.
THWACK!
Balon widened his eyes. The youth before him stood rooted in place when he was supposed to have been sent flying. For a moment he stared at the wide and strong fist that caught his iron hand.
Zan on the other hand, was shocked at the amount of force that fist carried. There was no way that could have come from a normal human. The explosiveness of that fist creaked his bones, and as soon as it threatened to snap his wrist, he immediately gushed the energy within to reinforce his arm.
WHOOSH!
Zan snaked energy to his right leg and responded with an earthshaking roundhouse kick.
BOOM!
The black haired youth blocked it with his arm and shoulder, but he was launched off his feet. The ground screeched as the iron wall slid on the ground to stop the overwhelming momentum.
A golden glint flashed through Balon's eyes. He re-evaluated the red haired youth before him. First he dared to play with the title of dragon, now his particular shade of hair resembled his uncle’s. A complex sort of emotions was bubbling within his stoic exterior.
“Hmph. Not a worm but a snake.”
The pressure in the air suddenly became heavy. A circle of air formed and released around the giant, muscular, black haired youth. The bangs near his eyes started to fly up and backward. Golden was the new color of his once black, spherical eyes, that had also now turned into predatory, vertical slits.
The sisters widened their eyes.
“Your boy is…capable. But that shouldn’t have been enough to get Balon to release his bloodline.”
Renna commented.
Kaerys narrowed her eyes.
“Yes...”
Renna took a momentary glance at her sister, observing the high amount of attention she gave to the fight.
‘She pays more attention to this than her private lessons from that flame sage.’
‘Then again she doesn’t really pay attention to anything…’
Renna commented again.
“As big and stupid as he looks he’s usually more calm.”
“Maybe me and Balon have the same thoughts.”
“Same thoughts?”
Kaerys simply smiled, moving her eyes back towards the fight.
‘What the fuck…’
Zan saw the big man transform before him. The vertical slits in his eyes reminded him of the monstrosities he saw with the insane doctor, but he quickly calmed his heart.
The overall feel that Balon was giving him was entirely different to the dull darkness he had seen before. The one before him was full of life and burning purpose, while the other was of cold unfeeling death.
“The world really is a big place.”
Zan simply flowed the energy burning in his chest to all the parts of his body, fortifying and empowering each iota of muscle that he could. Balon’s eyes might have transformed from black to glowing golden, but Zan’s eyes transformed from nonchalance, to a light of simple resolve and unnatural tranquility.
A moment of stillness took place…then the two storms clashed.