Chapter 22: Undefeated

The underground was still dim and dark, but Balon’s powers illuminated enough to show everything that happened, and everything that was happening on the lowest floor. People took a look around themselves to fully revel in the carnage. The blood sport that they entertained, extended its hand to them. Not in a generous offer to participate, but in an abrupt verdict to experience the full joys of their entertainment.

The stench of blood already assaulted their noses, but when they looked at the scene of hell in front of them, many started to vomit all over the floor. The sick stench of blood and vomit mixed into each other, causing many who were simply disgusted and repulsed to commit the same actions as their previous patrons.

This did not stop the two beasts from fighting however.

Zan was no fool, he could tell that the luminous light Balon gave off was directly proportionate to the strength of his opponent’s blows.

Resolution welled up in Zan’s eyes, he had not lost just yet. The spiraling energy inside Zan manifested as centrifugal force— he was planning to fully focus on defense for the time being.

Balon slightly bent his knees and spread his legs, his arms fully spread out, and his palms faced the sky once again.

Zan observed.

‘The same martial art! It was coming!’

‘I’m gonna take everything that comes from this motherfucker and deliver it back to him tenfold.’

Balon dashed, and in an instant the towering giant was right in front of Zan.

The bright dragonfist reached his opponent in a blink of an eye. Zan’s eyes continued to bleed as he closely observed his opponent.

Two swirling forces of energy— his hands filled with swirling force— were placed in the center of his chest, blocking the gigantic fist.

BOOM!

His bones creaked from the impact, but he swung his arms out anyway, sending the fist back and dissipating the force.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Balon continued with his assault, and the blood tears that came out from Zan’s eyes started to gush out in droves, yet he stubbornly continued with sending spiral energy into the windows of his soul.

Suddenly, Zan saw something extraordinary. Perhaps it was the blood in his eyes causing hallucination, but in that brief moment he saw a magical scene of a black dragon, whipping its tail.

It left him awe-struck, it left him stunned, and in the next moment, he felt a bone break in his left leg.

CRACK!!!

Zan’s left leg bent at an unnatural angle as it hung limply from the joint.

Reeling from the events that just happened, he distanced himself away from Balon.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the stout, prideful youth allowed him the brief respite.

Zan breathed roughly, while pondering. He had to review what just happened.

At the same time he saw the image of a dragon whipping its tail, Balon whipped his right leg in a mysterious but profound manner. Next thing he knew it, his left leg was already unusable.

Clenching his fists in frustration, Zan concentrated energy into his eyes using his centripetal techniques.

‘What the…’

‘Incredible…’

Zan’s vision seemed to have zoomed out, encompassing more of the surroundings into his eyes.

A range of colors appeared, he could see the energy signatures of everyone around him.

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And then, there it was. An illusory image of a black dragon hovered above Balon. When he breathed, it breathed, when he moved, it moved, when he raised his head, the dragon raised its head.

‘What the hell…’

“I’m coming.”

Said the towering youth.

Blood tears no longer came out of Zan’s eyes, but rivers of red.

Zan closely observed both the man and the dragon despite the excruciating pain in his eyes. Balon assaulted him with a few regular blows, to which, when Zan observed, the dragon was simply hovering.

Blow after blow came and Zan blocked or dodged all of them. The movements of everything around him seemed to be much clearer, yet in that moment that Zan became comfortable, the image of the dragon moved.

Using its right arm, it swiped its dragon claws in a wide arc. At the same time it moved, Zan closely observed all of Balon’s movements.

The muscles he used, the timing, the subtle concentration of strength in each area of his body— although he had thrown a regular right hook, it hid some kind of profound power.

In advance Zan prepared both hands to soften the blow, centrifugal cyclones appeared on his palms.

THWACK!

His left hand broke at the wrist, and hung there limply.

‘Fuck!’

The dragon swiped its claws again, this time on the opposite side. Zan hurried to block the attack with his right arm, and yet despite his urgency and panic, his eyes never left his opponent.

CRACK!!!

The blow hit his elbow and shattered it. Excruciating pain was delivered directly from Zan’s nerve system to his brain.

The broken youth grit his teeth, he saw one more strike coming to his chest, but his eyesight already started to blur. Using all his willpower, he closed his right eye and delivered the remaining energy to his left. In his decisiveness, the energy overflowed from his left eye and connected to his brain.

For a brief moment, time itself had slowed in his vision, he saw energetic intricacies that were invisible to him previously.

For that very brief moment in time, he took a glimpse at the layer of the universe above him. For that brief moment, he observed the connection between Balon and the dragon— he observed the connection in everything.

Splat!

Then he saw nothing. Nothing but black. His left eye had exploded.

BANG!

Zan flew and ragdolled on the ground, his ribs had caved in and punctured his liver and his kidneys. Balon looked at his half dead opponent on the stone floor, and so did everyone else.

Cole and Yela started to cry, the three sisters stared in pity and the bald monk sighed in inevitable disappointment. And Mila…she was surprisingly calm.

‘I…will not…lose.’

Everyone saw as Zan forced himself up. Tiny swirls of wind and energy connected his broken body, allowing the absolutely broken boy to temporarily stitch himself up like a puppet on strings.

The energy manipulation was nothing short of ingenious, groundbreaking, skillful and…desperate. The cyclones and spirals faltered every few seconds, threatening to dissipate. The youth was trembling and shaking, his forcefully put-together body was coming apart, and being put back together all in the same moment.

Balon saw this and nodded his head.

“You truly have amazing mettle and spirit…but it is time you rest.

Zan said nothing, he simply spread out his arms and his, his open palms facing the skies.

“Oh? What do you think you’re doing?”

Zan’s arms fell and after images came down, one after the other. Balon and his sisters opened their glowing eyes fully wide.

Zan’s heart raced faster and faster— his blood started to heat! No! It started to boil! His musculature seemed to be undergoing extreme changes as they rippled and twisted. The very bones in his body were shifting in and out of alignment, looking for the perfect transformation. If Zan still had his miraculous vision, he would see a vague, blurry image start to form and hover above him.

Then…

BOOM!

An explosion rang out and blood mist spread through the arena. Zan’s right leg, his left arm, and his heart beating within himself…had exploded.

“You fool! You do not have the blood of the dragon!”

Balon rushed to him, for whatever reason, he did not know.

It was true. The draconic arts, dragon sorcery, draconic soul circulation, etc, were made by dragons, for dragons. It was already a miracle that Zan could perceive, use and direct draconic intent. To perceive the “intent” of something meant to vibrate in its very essence. This was simply impossible for most. The elite of the royal family could so because of the purity of their bloodline, and the extreme talent of their individuals. For a normal human to do such a thing…it was not impossible per se, but…close to it.

Balon ran to the slowly falling youth, he did not know if he wanted to catch him or deliver the final blow, but he ran to him anyway. Before he could however, suddenly the arena lit by his bright powers was submerged into pure darkness.

An insidious and sinister presence appeared behind his back. A shiver ran through his body, he knew what this feeling was. It was the feeling of his imminent and looming death.

Just as abruptly as darkness came however, light did also. Golden brightness shined forth, like the very sun suddenly, somehow, manifested in the deep underground. A deafening, thunderous divine roar echoed throughout the cave system.

Balon knew what this was, a protection spell put on him had just triggered. Slowly he looked behind himself, but as he did he noticed the darkness returning. The presence that graced him as he turned his back almost made him shit himself.

The figure was bathed in pure darkness, it had gray skin, long white hair and eyes of pitch black void. The horrific creature stared daggers at the boy and in her hands made of solid darkness, was the severely crushed, crumpled neck of a golden dragon. He looked to her left and saw its gigantic head that laid there, separated from its body, on the dirt and blood-stained ground.

Pure darkness enveloped them all once again before disappearing as swiftly as it came. The red haired youth had disappeared…and so did many of the bodies and their remains.

…

Mila held the dying boy in front of her tenderly. They were flying fast through the shadows despite how steady and smooth the ride was.

“My baby boy…”

“I can save you, but I’ll have to do the things you don’t like. But I can save you, just say the word.”

‘I will even if you don’t though…’

Blood gurgled from his mouth as he struggled to speak.

—cough! cough! cough! —

It sprayed out of his mouth and onto Mila’s face in an intense fit of coughing. To this, she displayed a tender smile, turning her head away from his right eye, she licked the blood off with her elongated pale tongue.

“I…”

The red haired youth gasped for air, more and more.

“I… —gasped —…want” —cough cough cough —

“I want… to be…stronger.”

Mila stared at him with unconcealed joy, she smiled from ear to ear.

“You didn’t even say you want to live. Just to become stronger?”

Mila giggled, slowly she said,

“Then I’ll make you strong…”