When the Draco and Evelyn fell to the ground, the two of them were knocked out. While they fell from a higher height earlier, the two creatures were still fresh and healthy. Now that they were both exhausted and wounded, they couldn’t tolerate this level of damage without some consequence.
Fortunately, Evelyn’s activated gift provided her with enough defense to survive terminal velocity.
But the damage drained the last of her strength and her gift returned to its normal state.
The Draco was the first to wake up. Its eyes dart around, looking for Evelyn.
It sees Evelyn by the side, unconscious. As if by reflex, the Draco starts to generate fire but it stops itself. It waited for Evelyn to react but after a few seconds of silence, the Draco knew that she wasn’t in any condition to fight.
The Draco’s mouth immediately salivates at the thought of devouring Evelyn consumed its mind. It tries to move but was suddenly assaulted by an immense amount of pain. It studied its body and was reminded of all the wounds it has taken. It tried scratching out the arrowheads embedded deeply into its flesh but it couldn’t pull them out with its large claws. It grits its teeth in anger. It wanted to pull them out but it didn’t have the grace of small digits only the strength of large claws.
Unable to properly tend to its wounds, the Draco puts strength into its limbs. It growls in pain but it trudges on and manages to stand up. Its front limbs were a bit weak because they haven’t fully regenerated the damage from the combined assault of Michael and Evelyn.
The Draco limps toward Evelyn’s unconscious body.
It opens its jaw and lunges forward. Without any hesitation, the Draco bites Evelyn’s defenseless body. As the Draco got nearer, it imagined the euphoria and ecstasy that it would experience when it rip and tears through Evelyn’s flesh. Its jaws close around Evelyn, hoping for a mouthful of flesh.
But the Draco was quickly disappointed. Despite using all of its remaining strength, the Draco’s teeth could not pierce Evelyn’s unbelievably tough body.
This angered and confused the Draco. How did this happen? Evelyn shouldn’t have been able to resist the Draco’s jaws or claws. Earlier, she had to dodge most of her attacks but now, she didn’t need to.
Unknown to both of them, Evelyn’s desperation and constant activation of her gift pushed her to the brink of evolution but she still needed a catalyst to activate it, similar to how Michael showed pity to the arrogant Draco. Fortunately for Evelyn, her catalyst was the immense amount of force moving through her body a second time as she fell with the Draco.
While she was knocked out, the Draco has no way to properly harm her. Her actions in preventing Michael from risking himself saved her from certain death. The strength of Evelyn’s gift when activated is now the base strength of her gift. This made her body almost indestructible by the Draco’s standards.
The Draco continued to chew.
With each movement, the Draco’s jaw started to become sore. And with soreness came frustration.
WHY CAN’T I EAT THIS?!?!?!
The Draco’s thoughts were filled with unending rage. The most delicious meal was just placed in front of it, yet it was unable to eat it. The Draco pulls away and roars. Its wounds continued to bleed. Its regeneration was severely weakened after constantly taking heavy damage.
Its rage continued to build up. After all of its efforts, the Draco could not even have a single taste of Evelyn. The Draco’s eyes were slowly becoming bloodshot as it continued to bite down on Evelyn.
Frustrated and left with no options, the Draco rears its head backward and releases a concentrated plume of fire toward Evelyn. The heat was overwhelming and the Draco even felt its own body start to heat up. It continued to bathe Evelyn with fire, slowly turning the ground into glass.
The Draco’s rage allows it to pull out more power from its soul. The fiery hell that the Draco continued to release transforms to a shade of blue as it draws out more power from its soul.
Eventually, the Draco stops. It pants in exhaustion.
Once the fire settles, the Draco sees that the ground was turned to ash but Evelyn was unscathed, albeit surrounded by smoke.
This made the Draco insensate with rage. It charges forward and strikes Evelyn’s body with its claw.
Evelyn’s body is sent flying to a nearby tree which shatters on impact but she takes no damage. The Draco charges forward and brutally assaults her with claws and teeth. It released a plume of fire, desperate to damage Evelyn.
But none of these attacks managed to pierce her defenses.
Eventually, the Draco’s anger subsides and it pitifully chews on Evelyn’s nigh-invulnerable body.
It continued to do this but it quickly remembered something. Michael was still alive. It knew that Michael’s body wasn’t as tough as Evelyn’s body. That meant that the Draco could eat him.
Its extinguished anger quickly reignites as it releases Evelyn and roars. The Draco then grabs its new chew toy, Evelyn, and flies toward the sky. It knew that it couldn’t eat her now but in the future after a few evolutions, the Draco might be able to eat her then.
Within a few seconds, the Draco reaches the top of the waterfalls. Its eyes survey the plateau and it immediately finds its target.
Michael was running out of a cave.
With Evelyn still, in its mouth, the Draco dives downward. It wanted to roar but it couldn’t do that without dropping its prey.
As it dives down, the Draco’s powerful wings warn Michael that it was approaching. It sees Micael turn up to look at its descent but the Draco was too fast.
It lands on the ground, quaking the earth with its girth and power.
Michael didn’t immediately turn around but he seemed unperturbed by the small earthquake. Michael was afraid of the worst. Was Evelyn still alive? Did the Draco kill her?
Turning around, Michael heaves a sigh of relief when he sees the Draco unable to bite through her defenses.
But the Draco wasn’t a cruel tyrant for nothing. While holding onto Evelyn with its mouth, the Draco breathes out a small plume of fire.
Michael frowns but he doesn’t let his anger get the better of him. Raising his right hand, Michael shows two dark purple gems.
The Draco was suddenly assaulted by a feeling of dread as he stared at the two purple gems. It reminded the Draco of its ability to breathe fire, albeit more primal and chaotic.
----------------------------------------
Michael grits his teeth.
He was livid and wanted nothing more than to kill the Draco. He continued to glare at the beast while making sure Evelyn is still in his vision.
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He takes a deep breath, forcefully calming himself down. He couldn’t let his emotions take over, especially not now. If he wanted to save Evelyn, kill the Draco, and survive, he needed to be absolutely focused.
No mistakes. Not this time.
Michael gripped the two psion stones in his hand. He then turned his attention to the Draco, which was waiting for him to move. The Draco slayer was deeply impaled on the Draco’s chest while the steel dagger was stuck on a lower part of its body.
Both weapons were too dangerous to attempt to retrieve. And with only one arm to use, Michael wasn’t confident he could use them as effectively as before. But Michael was determined to win this fight. After all, he still had two weapons in his right hand.
When Michael found out that the Draco’s ability to breathe fire was due to its soul, Michael immediately thought of the psion stones. Due to only finding two in the span of a year and a few months, Michael surmised that these were immensely rare materials that he didn’t fully understand. He also knew that if he didn’t properly use them, he could die but at the same time, he knew that they could give him abilities similar to awakening.
During his free time, Michael studied the stones. The stones fed on the soul, the most primordial aspect of a human. And if the user was not careful, a stone user’s soul would dissipate, leaving nothing for the afterlife.
Now, is he prepared for that?
Then the Draco lunges forward.
Still infused with enhancers, Michael stores the stones in his bag, ducks, and quickly enters the Draco’s reach.
But the beast was ready. It quickly throws Evelyn to the side and turns to Michael with a breath of fire coming from its mouth.
Michael slides downward, narrowly avoiding the Draco’s fiery breath. The Draco backpedals so that it could roast Michael with its soul-powered ability.
Sliding underneath the Draco, Michael grabs the steel knife and pulls it out, causing blood to splatter all over him. Now used to his missing left limb, Michael easily stands up with the Dagger in his right hand. He runs forward, avoiding the backpedaling Draco.
Once there was a big enough space in between them, the Draco turns around. Its monstrous face was excited. The Draco looks at its prey and admires all of the burns and wounds it has cost Michael.
It snorts at the wounded human. After all, the Draco knew that Michael couldn’t regenerate.
And Michael’s enhancing drugs were starting to wear off, causing him to profusely bleed from his left stump. If Michael was a normal human, he would have died a few minutes after the evolved super reptile removed his limb but fortunately for him, superhumans can survive dangerous wounds without treatment for a longer period of time.
But even then, Michael will eventually die if he doesn’t treat his wound.
Can’t think of that right now.
Michael didn’t delay anymore. He was dying and he needed to finish this fight.
He dashes forward with his right hand tightly gripping the steel dagger.
The Draco rears its head backward.
Michael knew what was coming and he prepares to dodge. Instead of releasing a cone of fire, the Draco spits out a ball of concentrated fire toward him.
You won’t be able to dodge it.
Ignoring the sudden intrusion of a voice, Michael jumps to the side, dodging the ball of fire which hits the ground, scorching it.
The Draco then lunges forward swiping its claw toward Michael.
Michael runs toward the claw and slides downward. With the momentum of his slide, he slices the Draco’s front limb that was supporting its weight.
The Draco growls and tries to grab him but Michael was already standing behind it. It instead snaps its tail toward him.
There we go.
Making use of the ulatron’s gift, Michael pushed his body to its limit again. He felt as if his internal body was being remodeled and shattered at the same time. He then uses his unchecked strength and swings the dagger toward the Draco’s tail.
The steel and steel-like objects collide, causing a powerful clash between the two sturdy objects.
With Michael’s superhuman strength multiplied by the effects of the drug, the steel knife shatters but not before cutting the tip of the Draco’s monstrous tail.
The Draco roars in immense pain. It looks at its tail and sees it spurt out copious amounts of blood. Its regeneration was too weakened to immediately close it. It furiously turns around to face Michael.
In a desperate attempt, the Draco blindly charges. Michael was prepared. Ignoring the pain from exerting his body, Michael jumps upward. Using every trick he can muster, he extends his jump upward, somersaulting past the Draco’s body, and lands on the ground with grace.
The Draco turns around to release a burst of fire but as it was about to face Michael, it sees the human standing a few feet away from it.
Michael wasn’t going to run away even if he was weaponless. He’s running out of time and couldn’t afford to wait. Pushing his body a 4th time, Michael draws upon his uninhibited superhuman strength and punches the Draco’s jaw.
Fudge.
Michael feels the sinews of his body tear to shreds and his tendons snap. Blood pours out of his nose and eyes but his attack wasn’t for nothing.
The Draco’s vision suddenly blurs. It loses balance and was momentarily knocked back by Michael’s devastating strike.
Michael sees the spear’s long handle jutting out of the Draco’s chest. He steps forward.
One last time!
As Michael’s about to empower his body a 5th time, the Draco recovers and slams its body forward. The Draco’s neck was used as a battering ram and Michael was the gate.
Already dedicated to the attack, Michael was unable to dodge the Draco’s body and he was knocked out of balance. Stepping backward, Michael prepares his stance, unready for the Draco’s next attack.
The Draco predictably releases a plume of fire which Michael dodges by jumping upward. It knew this.
The first thing Michael sees after he dodges the wall of fire coming his way was the Draco jumping up toward him.
Without the maneuverability of wings, Michael had no way of dodging the Draco’s next attack.
Surprisingly, the Draco wasn’t about to release a plume of fire. Michael saw the Draco close its claw into a fist. Imitating both Michael and Ximi, the Draco delivers an immensely powerful punch.
Michael raised his arm to block the strike but knew that he would take damage no matter what.
Then the Draco’s clenched fist hits, ignoring Michael’s pitiful defenses. Michael feels some of his ribs break. The force throws Michael towards a wall.
The impact causes Michael to black out for a second but he quickly wakes up. He coughs out a large amount of blood. He tries to stand up but weakly falls back to the ground, coughing up more blood.
The Draco shakes its head, trying to get rid of the dizziness from Michael’s strike. Once it recovers, it looks up and sees Michael slipping on his own blood. The Draco tries to laugh but its jaw was sore. It was sure that Michael managed to crack its bone but now was the best time to permanently stop its prey.
Opening its maw, the Draco releases a powerful plume of fire toward Michael.
Michael hears the fire and tries to stand up but his weak body fails him.
It’s too late to dodge now.
Then he heard that same voice.
How much are you willing to sacrifice?
Thinking of Evelyn and Bob, Michael responds.
Everything.
The stone seems to chuckle.
Everything?
Michael screams in his mind.
Everything!
The active stone screams in glee and sends its power forward to connect with Michael’s soul but Michael’s will called another.
The sleeping psion stone woke up and blocked the connection.
WHAT?!
The fire collides with the wall where Michael was leaning on. The powerful plume of fire engulfs Michael. The Draco roars in celebration as it finally hits Michael with a direct attack.
It stops itself and waits for the fire to disappear but to its dismay, Michael emerges from the flames. The Draco noticed that there was a circle around Michael that was untouched by fire.
While the Draco studied its prey, Michael immediately noticed that the two psion stones were clashing. They both wanted to connect with him for different reasons.
The first to present its case was Bob's stone.
Fool! Accept me! This one just awakened! It has no powers to bestow upon you except raw energy!
The second stone replied with a childish voice.
No master! This one is evillllll~~
Michael tried to understand the two sentient stones but saw the Draco watching him.
Listen. I will only connect to the one willing to protect me.
The two stones voiced out.
How dare you command me, you hairless ape?!
Yes, master! I'll protect you!
Fool! If you protect him without a connection, you will be quickly drained!
Michael internally screams, silencing the two stones.
Enough! We have no time for this! The choice is up to you two!
Leaving no room for argument, Michael prepares to fight. He coughs out some blood but he ignores it. He's already gone this far. There was no point in holding back.
The Draco observes Michael and notices that he is still weakened. It snorts and quickly spits out a fireball.
To the Draco's surprise, Michael sprints at full power. It prepared itself just in case Michael leaps upward like earlier.
As the fire approached him, Michael gambled.
Do it now!
Michael lost his first bet.
You idiot! I have no intention of wasting my power! I will not compete for it!
But he won his second one.
Yes, master!
The young voice was bubbly and full of energy. Instinctually, it projects a spherical barrier that completely covers Michael's entire body.
You stupid child! You're killing yourself!!
Bob's psion stone shouted as Michael's psion stone exerted an immense amount of effort just to project the barrier.
Unknown to Michael, psion stones needed a host to fully utilize their powers. If a psion stone lacked a host, it can only project its powers at the cost of more psionic energy. This was very inefficient and a psion stone would rarely do it.
Bob’s stone was in the right not to use its power and Michael’s stone was stupid to use its power. Michael didn’t care. He just needed to nullify the Draco’s fire.
The fireball strikes the barrier but the invisible force easily dissipates it.
And within a second, Michael was already in front of the Draco.
The Draco wasn't prepared. Its eyes widen in surprise when Michael managed to close the gap so quickly. The Draco believed that Michael would have some shred of hesitation but Michael, on the other hand, was willing to risk everything.
Pushing his body a 5th time, Michael feels the bones in his legs crack and shatter. He then takes a final step forward and strikes the tip of the spear's handle.
The force travels through the spear, causing it to launch forward, fully impaling the Draco.
The Draco's roar was suddenly silenced as the spear shreds through multiple organs.