The Draco choked on its blood. It tried to roar but instead, it released a gurgling sound as it started to vomit blood. It weakly backed away but kept its eyes on Michael.
Moving was immensely painful. When it moved, its wounds stung but most of all, it felt the long spear embedded in its body rip apart its delicate organs. The Draco was unbelievably tough but after constant abuse, its body was falling apart. Its regeneration wasn’t able to keep up.
But the Draco wasn’t the only one that was falling apart.
Michael’s entire body was trembling. He looked at his right hand and noticed that it was slightly deformed. He shattered a knuckle or two. He closes it into a fist but he can’t exert as much force as earlier.
Any movement was also hellish. Michael felt that his overuse of the ulatron drug had ripped apart important muscle groups and fractured most of his bones. He tries to move away and create some space between himself and the Draco.
Michael glared at the Draco. It spat out blood and continued to vomit but it was still alive.
Not enough. You are an unbelievably tough bastard… I really need to kill you.
But Michael didn’t know how. The spear is inside the Draco’s body and the steel knife is destroyed. He no longer had a weapon capable of harming the Draco unless he was ready to lose another arm as well.
Looking downward, Michael moved his legs. It was immensely painful but they were more functional than his right arm.
I can still use these to kick the Draco.
The Draco sees Michael look downward, realizing that its enemy still has a way to attack. For the entire fight, the Draco was immensely arrogant and kept underestimating Michael due to his lack of defensive abilities or unique powers. But somehow, Michael was able to deliver an almost lethal attack that terrified the Draco.
It could no longer afford to underestimate Michael.
The Draco felt some of its strength return as it allowed its regeneration to heal its small wounds.
Michael took a deep breath, focusing all of his attention on trying to recover some strength. He feels a measure of his vitality come back. Opening his eyes, he notices that many of his superficial wounds earlier were healing. It was almost as if he was regenerating but he knew that he didn’t gain a regenerative ability like the Draco.
Being much more aware than the Draco, Michael felt that there was an energy within him that was building up the moment he fought the Draco. He knew that he was on the cusp of evolving. If he managed to defeat the Draco, Michael would reach the next half stage of his evolution. But, did he really need to defeat the Draco to evolve?
After a few more seconds of self-recovery, the two start to move again.
Fire starts to build up in the Draco’s mouth and Michael commands the psion stones to protect him.
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Evelyn’s powerful defensive gift allowed her to shrug off damage that would easily kill Michael or mortally wound the Draco. If the Draco truly wanted to harm Evelyn, it would need to constantly deal damage at a single point but even then, there was no guarantee that Evelyn’s newly evolved defenses could be pierced.
But if enough damage was dealt to her, Evelyn could still suffer mundane effects such as concussions or dizziness.
Unfortunately for Evelyn who was running on drug fumes, she didn’t have the internal resources to take another devastating fall from the skies.
Waking up from being knocked out, Evelyn internally groans.
Stupid… gift… couldn’t even… withstand falling from a waterfall…
Evelyn cursed her gift. She felt immensely annoyed whenever her gift failed to protect her.
If Michael heard her thoughts, he would be rightfully annoyed, considering that the ulatron liquid would be an immensely powerful drug for someone like Evelyn. Fortunately for Evelyn, Michael couldn’t hear her thoughts. Her senses slowly returned to her but she still felt dazed.
She then hears the Draco’s body moving around and the sound of Michael running around.
Michael… Michael’s alive… I’m alive… He must have protected me again.
As the world becomes more clear, she hears the terrifying sound of fire spreading everywhere.
I need… to help…
Evelyn tries to open her eyes but even this simple act was an immensely straining effort. She commanded her body to move but it stayed immobile.
The drugs have run their course and left her body without energy. The consequences of constantly activating her gift have made her body like a car without fuel. She eventually opens her eyes and she’s able to see gouts of fire from the periphery.
Michael!
She tried to open her mouth to shout but found that her body would just not follow her command. She then sees Michael moving away, albeit very clumsily.
Why is he moving so slowly?
Her vision was blurry but Evelyn noticed that Michael’s right arm was loosely hanging by his side.
His arm is fucked up!
Evelyn tries moving again but her body continues to refuse her commands. She then sees the Draco chase Michael.
Wait… the Draco’s sluggish too…
Evelyn watched in horror as the Draco chased Michael while profusely bleeding from its chest. Whenever it breathes fire, it can only do it for a short amount of time before it pukes out more blood.
Michael damaged it that badly… I need to help!
Once again, Evelyn forces her body to move. Regaining some of her strength, Evelyn barely manages to move the farthest tip of her fingers and toes.
FUCK!
She sees the Draco manage to corner Michael.
No!
The Draco slowly rears its head and releases a plume of fire toward Michael. Evelyn watched in horror as Michael didn’t have anywhere to go. His weakened body didn’t allow him to perform another athletic escape. The fire was going to burn him, she was sure of it. Desperate, Evelyn tries to move her body to no avail.
Then fire engulfed Michael’s body. Evelyn internally screamed but immediately saw a mirror-like sheen coming from the flames.
Michael leaps out of the flames covered by some form of barrier. He was untouched by the flames.
Wha-what?
The barrier resembled a very clear sphere that seemed to be made out of glass. The glass-like barrier protected Michael from the Draco’s all-destroying flames. Using the barrier, Michael closes the gap between himself and the Draco.
Michael’s left foot deftly lands on the ground and he immediately twists and turns. Spinning around, Michael delivers a powerful spinning sidekick toward the Draco’s chest. His foot directly strikes the tip of the spear, causing it to embed deeper into the Draco.
The giant beast roars in pain and pukes out blood. Without hesitation, the Draco swipes its claw toward Michael. Michael falls downward, avoiding the attack. He quickly stands up to deliver another kick to the Draco’s chest.
The Draco quickly backs away to protect its mangled chest. It responds against Michael’s jaw by conjuring fire. The Draco concentrates its power and releases blue flames. Once again, Evelyn watches in rapt attention as Michael surrounds himself with a translucent barrier, protecting him. The barrier was strong but it couldn’t take the stronger blue fire for long and cracks started to appear.
Before the barrier could shatter, Michael charged forward again. The Draco sees this and flaps its weakened wings. It couldn’t exert the effort to fully fly away but it was enough to create space between the two fighters. Once again, there was a moment of rest between the two combatants.
Michael’s body is trembling in pain while the Draco’s breathing is raspy.
While the Draco was still stronger than Michael, it couldn’t deal a final blow against the superhuman. Its ability to breathe fire was no longer a decisive factor in the fight so it had to be careful. It internally cursed itself as it realized that if it had been careful earlier, the fight wouldn’t have dragged on this much.
Unable to move, Evelyn continued to watch the fight.
Michael’s absolutely focused.
His breathing was erratic but it was only for a moment. Michael devoted every fiber of his entire being to this fight but so did the Draco. He and the Draco were both on a tightrope. A single mistake would cost either of their lives.
Seeing the damage that Michael has wrought upon the Draco, Evelyn is shocked and impressed. She wanted to fight as well but her body was still paralyzed. She quickly tests her body and feels it twitch. She knew that in a few minutes, she’d be able to join the fight. Michael just needed to hold on for a bit longer.
But Michael was starting to feel the effects of overexerting his body. The cusp of evolution wasn’t enough fuel for him to keep moving. And without a weapon, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to deal a final decisive strike against the Draco. He just wasn’t dealing enough damage.
And unknown to Michael who was focused on the fight, Evelyn noticed that he was getting slower.
Fuck.
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Michael ducked as the Draco tried to rip his head off with a claw swipe.
Not enough.
Michael noticed that his body was becoming slower.
I need to be faster. I can… try that… but I haven’t perfected it yet.
Dodging another strike from the Draco, Michael backs away and takes a deep breath. One of the skills that Michael developed in Teremarae was the ability to erase his presence. He created it because the ability to hide was a necessary skill if he wanted to survive.
Due to this, Michael realized that with his perfect body, he could create abilities that were reserved only for humans at his level. He couldn’t teach it to normal humans but he could teach it to humans like Evelyn.
But he didn’t stop at just hiding his presence. Michael studied his body for months, even before Evelyn appeared, and continued to do so whenever he had free time. He never mastered it because it was a completely alien feeling for him. And even without this skill, he was already strong enough to slay most beasts.
But now, it might be what he needed to slay the Draco.
Colors first.
When Michael moves forward, the Draco is shocked. Once again, Michael managed to surprise the creature by moving even faster than before. The speed increase was minuscule but for these two creatures, every edge was used to push themselves to the finish line.
The Draco desperately swipes its claw toward Michael, trying to create a wide berth between them. Michael easily dodges the slow attack and steps within the Draco’s range.
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Sense of touch next.
Michael stepped forward and struck the Draco’s neck with his shattered fist. The Draco gags a bit. It wasn’t as strong as the attacks Michael delivered earlier but the Draco felt a qualitative increase that wasn’t there before. It looked at Michael in terror. How did this creature keep becoming stronger?
That’s good. It’s not as damaging compared to the Ulatron fluid…
Backing away, Michael assessed the damage to his fist. Without the sensation of touch, he couldn’t assess the immediate damage he incurred but he could still feel pain.
Time to remove the sense of pain too. I’ll assign that to reflexes.
Without any delay, Michael leans backward, deftly avoiding the tip of the Draco’s claws.
Yeah. That’s worth the extra reaction time.
Michael removed his ability to distinguish colors for a minor increase in speed. He then removed his ability to feel physical sensations for greater strength. Lastly, he removed the ability to sense pain in exchange for faster reaction time.
He intended to remove more but he was already on his last legs. He knew that 3 bodily functions were the limit. While this was a unique skill reserved for humans at his level, it was still unnatural.
If only I was at the next level…
Despite having reached his limit, he knew that he couldn’t hold back anything.
Sense of smell next.
Taking a 4th bodily function away, Michael then quickens his healing factor. Unfortunately, he used non-existent stamina to forcefully knit broken flesh and shattered bone. It was nowhere near the speed of the Draco’s regeneration but it might just be enough to delay his body’s complete breakdown. In addition, it also helped stem the bleeding in his left arm.
More!
Michael springs to the side to avoid an incoming ball of fire.
Sense of taste.
Finally supported with quickened healing, Michael could risk putting more strain on his body using this ability. He then exchanged his sense of taste for more speed. That was the 5th function.
The Draco internally panicked as it noticed Michael become faster and stronger as if he was gaining his second wind, unaware of what Michael was sacrificing. Desperate, the Draco started to surround itself with fire. It continuously released flames around it, trying to create a wall of flames but failing to maintain them due to its grievous wounds.
Circling around the Draco, Michael waited for the fire to stop. A hole suddenly appeared in the fiery wall which Michael immediately dashed to. The Draco tried to back away but Michael removed another function.
Last one. I need to put everything into this. Remember.
Time seemed to slow down for Michael as he tried to focus on only one goal, which was to kill the Draco.
As long as the body remembers, my instincts will follow. Now, remove my ability to think rational thoughts.
Then everything went black.
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Evelyn saw the Draco attempt to create a wall of fire only to fail miserably by puking out copious amounts of blood. Once a hole appeared in the desperate wall, Evelyn saw Michael take advantage of it.
But there was something wrong.
The moment Michael entered the ring of fire, his movement changed. The Draco struck Michael only for Michael to slither forward, avoiding the attack and delivering a powerful punch toward the Draco’s arm, causing it to hiss in pain.
What’s that?
The Draco tried to grab Michael. Normally, Michael would back away to make space but instead, he rushes toward the Draco’s incoming claw. As the claw was about to touch Michael, he suddenly moved unnaturally. Evelyn could hear the sound of bones and tendons snapping as Michael moved to the side, barely but perfectly dodging the Draco’s claw. Then snapping forward, Michael kicks the Draco’s arm, causing it to back away, exiting the fiery circle.
The large beast growled but stopped once it started to feel pain. It flexes both of its claws only to realize that Michael’s strikes turned them numb. It waited for Michael but the superhuman was already moving. It was as if he no longer cared about his own safety. Evelyn manages to turn her head to follow the fight.
He managed to render the Draco’s forearms numb! But… why is Michael moving like that?
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MURDER!
Michael dashed forward with the bare minimum of care for his personal safety. His right hand was almost completely broken because he used his unique ability’s strength and the Ulatron liquid’s limit breaker.
KILL!
The Michael right now that was charging toward the Draco was no longer the same as he was earlier. Immensely risky and unsure if it would have worked, Michael shut off his ability to be rational in exchange for putting his entire focus on animalistic instinct. And his gamble paid off. Without the human thought process limiting him, Michael’s pure instincts allowed his body to use the Ulatron liquid perfectly.
Each strike that he delivered was augmented to the point that it dealt almost no damage to Michael but dealt massive damage to the Draco.
DESTROY!
As Michael continued to push the Draco to the brink, the giant beast’s mind became sharper and sharper. This sharpness was incomplete but it felt that with a few more pushes it would step onto the next stage. The Draco felt exhilarated at the idea of evolving again.
But there was someone else abusing the system.
While Michael did shut off his rational thoughts in exchange for a faster reaction time and immensely greater strength, he also made another gamble, one that he did not bet on to succeed but had no choice but to do otherwise.
The rule of evolution in Teremarae applied to all creatures. It applied to the gargantuan Draco, the large berserker ape, and the small Bob. It even applied to the unmoving plants and minuscule creatures of the world. And everything evolved at an insane speed.
If that was truly the law of this world, why did Michael and Evelyn not evolve? His evolution from the 1.5 stage to the 2nd stage took almost an entire year while the Draco reached its current strength in a few months. Evelyn, on the other hand despite being in a constant state of danger, hadn’t shown any signs of evolving.
Why was this the case for the only two humans on the planet? Was it God’s intention? Or was there something preventing them from evolving?
After seeing the Draco evolve multiple times in the span of such a short time, Michael realized the thing preventing his and Evelyn’s evolution.
It was awareness.
The ultimate strength of humanity that allowed it to rise above animals was its unique awareness. This awareness of the world around them. The awareness of oneself and how to differentiate oneself from everything. And quite important to the rule of evolution, the awareness of change.
Evolution creates change within a creature. This change could range from an immensely small change to the eye to a full-body evolution. What Michael wasn’t aware of was that evolution in such a short period took an immense amount of energy that the current period of humanity could not replicate. Technically, this amount can be generated by humanity’s technology but not as dense nor as pure, especially in such a short period of time.
Evolution would need to use the soul to generate such an immense amount of potent energy. Because of this, evolution indirectly changes the soul as well, even if the evolution is mostly physical. Unfortunately, the human soul, as it is the most powerful and aware of all the types of souls, is immensely against change.
Before a creature can evolve, it stores up dormant energy which it gains from dangerous events, sometimes not even. This dormant energy is stored within the body and can be used at any moment. The more stored energy there is, the more powerful the evolution becomes. Most creatures unconsciously use this stored energy to evolve so they can solve an immediate problem. This means that before they reach the limit of their storage, they spend whatever dormant energy they have to evolve. This allows for easy and quick evolutions which are powerful but not as powerful as they could be.
If the Draco delayed its original major evolution, it might have become far more powerful than Michael could have predicted.
Humans do not follow this pattern. Being aware of themselves, the prospect of change is terrifying. And because of this terror, humans subconsciously store this energy and never make use of it until they hit their limit.
And if this awareness is what was limiting humanity from spontaneously evolving, could Michael turn it off?
After months of grueling effort, Michael finally found an answer.
Yes, he could turn it off.
And now, Michael was exploiting the system. With each attack, he could feel the dormant energy within him start to come alive. With each step forward, Michael’s body started to heat up. With each second he spends in this mindless state, Michael’s body is slowly breaking through the evolutionary barrier that his human mind set up.
The Draco retreats in terror as it notices Michael’s sudden surge of energy. It couldn’t believe that this human was still able to pull out an unbelievable amount of energy.
Dodging the Draco’s desperate swing, Michael lowers his body and moves forward. Once again, Michael exerts an amount of force that shouldn’t belong to his body but without the limitations of a rational human mind, Michael is no longer inhibited. He is as free as he can possibly be.
Each step forward uses the perfect amount of energy. Each action wastes no movement.
His dormant energy suddenly explodes outward, reinvigorating his body. Flesh seemed to knit itself as months' worth of stored energy brought Michael to the cusp of evolution. Even his missing limb started to restore itself.
But then, everything stopped.
The Draco watches in surprise as Michael, who earlier was moving with immense speed, suddenly stops moving like a puppet having its strings cut.
Without missing a beat, the Draco concentrated all of its remaining strength in its right claw. With a force capable of instantly killing a fully grown elephant, it lunges forward and strikes Michael with its claw.
It connects and Michael is sent flying as a large chunk of his flesh is torn apart. Roaring, the Draco knew that it managed to deliver a decisive strike.
----------------------------------------
Wha- what?
Evelyn’s body almost jolted in fear but that was purely in her imagination. Her body hasn’t recovered enough for her to move.
Anger courses through her veins but she can't do anything. She watched in horror as Michael's caved in and ripped apart chest stopped breathing.
NO! MICHAEL! YOU CAN'T DIE!
Hot tears uncontrollably streamed down from Evelyn's eyes. She felt her mouth move as she started to crunch her teeth. But she couldn’t do more.
She watched as Michael’s broken body continued to bleed.
And she couldn’t do anything.
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Michael’s eyes opened.
Wha-what happened?
After receiving such a lethal blow, Michael’s rational mind returned.
The drugs… lost their effects?
Michael tried to remember what happened but losing his rational mind also meant turning off his memory, albeit temporarily.
Ah… I didn’t replenish the drugs… I knew it… turning myself off completely… a gamble…
After a second, Michael realized the result of the drugs suddenly disappearing from his system.
I failed… the evolution failed… I think… I think… I’m dying…
He tried to move but he noticed that his body was unable to. Similar to Evelyn, his body was out of energy but unlike her, Michael’s body had a faster rate of recovery.
Breathe… You need to move. Move Michael.
Michael tries to take a breath but he feels something stuck in his throat and he starts to choke. His body manages to recover some energy and he coughs out blood.
Ah… my lungs…
Despite recovering ever so slightly, Michael couldn’t move his head to look down but he knew that his chest was ripped apart.
Lungs are full of blood… Not yet dead… I need to… fix this.
Using all of his remaining strength, Michael diverts all of his senses to healing. But it’s not enough. He doesn’t have any remaining strength and his body is just too damaged.
Even if just a little…
With a desperate effort, Michael manages to purge the blood in his lungs. He continued to purge it just so he could breathe. Regaining some of his energy, he turns his head to look for Evelyn.
His heart breaks when he sees her tear-stained face.
You’re alive… that’s good. But… you can’t move either… drugs must’ve run their course.
Evelyn sees Michael look back at her but she couldn’t help but gnash her teeth in anguish. Michael’s body was mangled. His jaw was surely broken and he was missing his nose. His chest was a giant bloody gash and his missing limb was starting to become pale from the blood loss. The only reason Michael was alive was because of his superhuman nature.
But even Evelyn knew that Michael was at his limit.
Michael looked away. He couldn’t bear to show his lowest side to Evelyn. He wanted nothing more than to close her eyes so that she wouldn’t have to see the brutality inflicted on him.
Then he heard the Draco’s pained roar.
Michael immediately recognized it as a triumphant one.
Yeah, gloat you goddamn lizard.
Michael turns to his enemy.
Despite its mortal wounds, the Draco felt so light it could fly again. It growls at Michael, angry that he managed to push the powerful lizard to the edge. With each attack, the Draco felt closer and closer to its doom.
It didn’t help that each time it moved, the deeply embedded spear continued to damage its organs. It planned to remove it later, somehow.
But for now, it won.
The Draco managed to take down Michael, the only other apex predator it could consider its equal.
Now, it only needed to claim its prize and devour Michael. It hoped that with the evolution it would gain from Michael’s body it would be able to eat Evelyn too.
The Draco licked its teeth, tasting blood.
It moved forward, blood dripping from all of its wounds.
Gaining more energy, Michael grits his teeth. He tries to summon enough energy to flick off the Draco but he can’t even raise his arms.
The Draco sensed this and it couldn’t help but internally chuckle. As it approached the incapacitated Michael, the creature heard a voice in its head.
Beast, one of immense strength and unquenchable fire, heed my call.
The voice felt compelling and managed to distract the Draco from its meal. It looked around but found nothing but the plateau it had been fighting Michael on.
Then it heard it again, this time clearer and stronger, as if an invisible force was inside its head screaming.
GOD OF FIRE AND STRENGTH, HEED MY CALL!
The Draco’s soul seems to respond to that. Being subconsciously guided by its soul, the Draco looks down. It sees a small object.
It was a small purple stone that seemed to gleam with bright light. It was Bob's psion stone. It fell out of Michael's bag when he was erratically moving around due to shutting down his mind.
The Draco knew that the voice came from this object. Curious, the Draco leans forward.
The voice screams.
ACCEPT ME! LET US BECOME ONE! YOU ARE AN APEX PREDATOR WITH AN IMMENSE SOUL! ACCEPT MY COMMAND AND WE SHALL RULE OVER THIS INFANT WORLD!
The voice spoke to the Draco’s soul. Despite not having the ability to speak, the Draco’s soul translated the psion stone’s meaning.
But the Draco did not agree. In the most impolite way its undeveloped soul could say, the Draco told Bob’s psion stone to fuck off.
This rejection angers the psion stone. After being rejected by three powerful creatures, it became immensely angry.
I will not be rejected again! Especially by a mindless overgrown lizard!
Despite the spear embedded in its chest, the Draco roars back. It just defeated Michael. It had no intention of showing weakness now.
Beast! I will show you what I can do!
The psion stone started to release a bright purple hue.
The Draco didn’t understand what was happening but refused to back away. It did not want Michael to see it in a moment of weakness. The bright light devoured the Draco and for a moment, Michael had some reprieve.
He tries to slow down his breathing to have a semblance of recovery but each time he does, he feels his lungs fill up with more blood.
I have to keep purging the blood…
Desperately clinging on to life, Michael started to think of Bob and Evelyn.
They’ll survive without me, right? I left… dozens if not hundreds of instruction books… just in case I died before I met someone…
Michael looked around and saw Bob a few meters away. His best friend had a terrified look.
Who am I kidding? These two would kill each other if I were not here.
Filled with amusing thoughts, Michael couldn't help but internally laugh at his own situation.
Coughing up blood, Michael managed to recover a bit. His superhuman tenacity was truly something to applaud.
Looking around, Michael looked for his bag and saw that its contents were scattered around. He was looking for anything, anything at all that could turn the situation around.
Dirt.
Bandage.
Bottle.
Metal ball.
BOTTLE!
Michael recognized the many bottles rolling around as drugs and medicine. None of them could regenerate a lost limb or close a giant chest hole but they could alleviate pain and heal to start the healing process. While he didn’t have any ulatron fluids anymore, Michael saw a nearby bottle of goros adrenaline.
He flexes his hand and finds that he’s managed to regain enough energy to move his arm. With an effort that surpasses all the pain and suffering he’s currently experiencing, Michael drags his entire body forward with his arm.
While moving forward, Michael didn’t see the Draco. He focused his entire effort on getting as many crude bottles as he could.
One… two… three… I’m already dying so overdosing isn’t an issue for me.
Without stopping to think about it, Michael starts downing all of the remaining drugs that he can reach.
Goros adrenaline to give him energy and numb the pain. Siko mix to heal wounds. Aniotube juice to remove any strong infection. And many more.
Ingesting an immense amount of drugs with a battered body, Michael felt a tremendous amount of energy infusing his broken body.
He could feel his legs and body again. With a single effort, he pushes himself up but ends up puking out blood. After puking out enough blood to kill a man, Michael focuses on himself.
Once he’s upright, Michael touches his face and finds that his jaw is dislocated and his nose is torn apart. He quickly pops his jaw back.
Turning around, Michael sees a bright purple light surrounding the area where the Draco was. Without giving it much notice, Michael then uses his unique ability to control his body. He shuts down many not-immediately-important body functions. He then directed all of them to strengthen and heal his body.
With this, he could feel that his body was recovering. It wasn’t enough to save him but enough to prolong his life.
Last chance. Make it count. But how?
Michael looked at the cave. It was their home. Michael gives himself a wry smile.
Evelyn… you almost made me forget about it.
Then Michael hears the Draco’s roar. Michael knew what was coming and turned around.
The bright light enveloping the Draco shattered, covering the immediate area with purple glasslike objects. They quickly fade when they hit the ground.
Despite the beautiful phenomenon, Michael was focused on the Draco.
Its body was still wounded but for some hellish reason, many of its major wounds have healed.
He then hears the sound of something hitting the ground. Looking down, Michael sees the Draco Slayer. It was pushed out of the Draco’s body. It had a seemingly different appearance.
But once again, Michael couldn’t care less. He looked up and saw the Draco’s eyes. It glares at him with malevolent intelligence. It reveals its teeth in a toothy smile.
Michael internally smiles.
Fuck.