GOTTA GET UP!!!
Evelyn screamed in her mind as she used every ounce of her willpower to move.
But try as she might, her body would not respond.
Michael didn’t exaggerate when he said that the goros adrenaline pushes the human body past its limits. But it wasn’t supposed to be this severe. Unknown to Evelyn, the brutal fight against the Draco pushed not only her body to the brink but also her soul, forcing her to use the stored energy within her to evolve her gift.
Her gift’s active ability was now its passive ability. This meant that unless the Draco evolved once again, it could not hope to harm Evelyn. Unfortunately, she didn’t know this yet.
Even worse, the effort of her sudden evolution caused her body to shut down at the worst moment. Paired with the goros adrenaline’s aftereffects, Evelyn was under the mercy of time.
I NEED TO GET UP! GET UP YOU WORTHLESS BODY! GET UP! GET UP!! GET UP!!!
While Evelyn lay helpless on the ground, she had to watch as Michael slowly stood up, enduring the aftereffects of the ulatron liquid.
Evelyn’s eyes darted around in a desperate attempt to find anything that could help her or Michael.
Her mind strained against the possibility of losing Michael. But before it could snap, Evelyn saw the silhouette of a small creature that was hiding in one of the trees.
Bob!!!
Evelyn tried calling out to Bob but even her ability to speak has yet to return. And while Evelyn was struggling with her useless body, Bob was hyperventilating. He looked at the items with him, trying to find anything to help Michael.
Looking at his satchel, Bob’s panic prevented him from distinguishing the useful items in his bag. Frustrated, Bob throws the satchel on the ground, causing many empty and full vials to break.
Desperate and unable to figure out how to help Michael, Bob started to hit his head in frustration.
He started to screech in anger but that was drowned out by the sound of flames and roars.
Bob’s desperate screeches come to a climax when the Draco manages to strike Michael when the latter’s body suddenly freezes.
Bob’s screeches stopped as he watched Michael fly and hit the ground with a sickening crunch.
At first, there was no reaction. The two of them waited for Michael to move again.
Hey… no way… what happened!?!?!?
Bob’s thoughts suddenly roared as he saw Michael hit the ground with blood-splattering force.
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While Bob and Evelyn were dying of panic and Michael was trying to not drown in his own blood, the Draco was engulfed in psionic light.
Without a host, Bob’s psion stone must spend a large and inefficient amount of energy just to create even the smallest amounts of miraculous effects. But it was desperate.
The Draco’s strength, recently awakened soul, and infant mind were the perfect host for such an ambitious entity.
Enveloped by the powerful light, the Draco attempted to resist but its soul had just recently awakened. Excluding the natural use of fire, it didn’t know much about the manipulation of psionic power. Due to this, it didn’t know how to resist such a power.
Bob’s psion stone invaded the Draco’s mind, infusing its mind with visions of grandeur and power. But the Draco was already an ambitious creature so these visions did not affect the psion stone.
Terrified of being rejected after expending a large amount of power, the psion stone quickly changed course. It desperately sifted through the emotions and memories of its previous host, the snake, but could not find anything to entice the immensely powerful Draco.
It contemplated forcefully taking over the Draco but it wasn’t confident in doing so. It was much more terrified of dying than being rejected.
Despite its lack of familiarity with such a power, the Draco’s soul, which was more rooted in reality than the fleeting psion stone, naturally resisted the psion stone’s efforts. Soon, it would break out and resume its genocide.
Without a way to sway the Draco into accepting its power, the psion stone decided to settle for a compromise. Instead of complete subservience, what about equal footing?
Slowly loosening its restraints, the psion stone felt the Draco’s soul slow down as well in its efforts to break out. Now that it has given up dominance, the psion stone had no choice but to settle for a collaborative effort. A give-and-take relationship where both of them could gain power through each other’s efforts.
Despite this, the psion stone finds that the Draco couldn’t care less if the powerful stone wanted to be best friends. It would only accept submission and if submission wasn’t possible, then death was the natural outcome of this interaction.
The psion stone cursed its lack of experience. If it only managed to devour more memories, then maybe it could’ve convinced the Draco to submit.
Seeing no more efforts on the psion stone’s part, the Draco then starts to exert its soul once more, slowly gaining the knowledge to resist such effects.
But the psion stone had one last trump card. In the short time, it protected Michael, Bob’s psion was able to view some of Michael’s recent unprotected memories.
Using Michael’s point of view, the psion stone infused the Draco with memories of advanced weaponry, alchemical enhancers, and armor that could even surpass the Draco’s scales. This onslaught of new knowledge shocked the Draco to the point of stopping its resistance.
Seeing a weak point in the Draco’s mental armor, the psion stone immediately went for it. Without an advantage, the psion stone can only force a collaborative effort.
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Michael failed to evolve but despite his unawakened soul, his supernatural senses were far more potent than the recently awakened Draco. He could sense a qualitative change within the powerful creature in front of him.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
But that didn’t matter now.
Moving his sight to the side, Michael saw a clear path toward the caves. It was where his bedroom was. Evelyn also had a room there. It was full of tools as well but nothing immensely important. As long as the storage shed survived, Evelyn would have the knowledge to survive. She just needed to be patient. It could be destroyed and nothing of importance would disappear.
Taking a step backward, Michael saw the Draco stare at him with seemingly intelligent eyes.
The stone made it smarter?
Michael takes another step backward and the Draco follows him with an inquisitive glare.
Then Michael’s sense of danger screams at him as an ominous dread starts to engulf him.
One last free step huh? Without the ulatron liquid in my body, I doubt I’ll be able to.
Taking a deep breath, Michael prepared to run toward his room. The Draco’s body was still battered and bruised but with the fusion with the psion stone, it has managed to recover some of its strength. It’s currently focusing all of its efforts on a single lethal move.
Even if Michael was on his deathbed, the Draco, its intelligence now enhanced by the psion stone, could and would not underestimate him. After all, the Draco was only in such dire straits because of Michael and Evelyn taking advantage of its pride.
Until Michael was 200% dead, the Draco was going to be careful.
Then Michael moved.
Exerting his drug-fueled strength, Michael quickly turned around and ran towards his cave. The Draco leaped forward, using its powerful limbs to jump and its wings to delay its fall.
A shadow passes over Michael and the Draco lands in front of him. With a single swift movement, it breathes out fire.
Ah, it was prepared.
Time slows down for Michael as he takes into account what he could do. Without the Ulatron liquid, he couldn’t perform a miraculous athletic feat like jumping above the fire with his currently broken body. Without the psion stone with him, he couldn’t generate a barrier to protect his body.
Tsk.
Steeling himself, Michael ran forward, ready to meet the fire. As the fire approached Michael, he could feel the burning air approach him. Then at the last moment, he makes a strong turn to the right, moving towards a wall. Slamming onto it, he winces in pain but he manages to dodge most of the fire.
He then moves forward again. The Draco stops the fire and charges toward Michael, preparing to swing its claw. Michael prepares to counter by striking the Draco’s claw.
Wait, no!
Barely dodging, Michael forgets that he doesn’t have the Ulatron liquid in his body anymore and that even his current efforts were causing his situation to deteriorate faster.
After moving away, Michael sees the Draco blocking his path.
Must you make this so hard?
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Bob watched as life seeped out of Michael’s body while the Draco’s form continued to become stronger.
When all hope was lost, he saw Michael stand up, taking in an absurd amount of drugs. While not aware of the complexities of creating drugs or medicine, he was taught that taking too much is dangerous.
From this alone, he knew that Michael was betting everything in the next few minutes. Looking at Evelyn’s immobile body, Bob steeled himself.
Turning toward the satchel he threw on the ground, he jumps toward it. He internally screeches, angry for wasting possibly life-saving medicine. Picking up the bag, he then takes the remaining vials that survived the fall.
He had five left. 3 of them were bottles of oil. 1 was a bottle of goros adrenaline. Lastly, a bottle of crushed-up insects and spices, meant to irritate the senses.
He immediately jumps toward the trees, near Michael and the Draco.
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Michael spat out a small glob of blood. Despite releasing copious amounts of blood, Michael’s body desperately attempted to regenerate the damage his body suffered. Until Michael’s body fully gave out, his healing factor enhanced by the powerful drugs would force him to regenerate blood. To make sure he doesn’t drown, he needs to regularly clear his lungs.
The Draco didn’t move. It waited for Michael’s next move.
Goddamit… I preferred it when you were a mindless fire-breathing lizard.
Breathing heavily, Michael slowly approaches the Draco. He needed to get to his room.
No point in being wishy-washy.
Charging forward, Michael was prepared to burn his body. He just needed to enter his room and he had a chance to take down the Draco.
Approaching the massive beast, Michael steeled himself. The Draco snorted and prepared to release a gout of fire. As it opens its mouth, a glass bottle soars through the air and strikes its mouth.
The glass bottle shatters on contact, causing its content to spread inside the Draco’s mouth. The Draco reactively closes its mouth, causing the glass shards to pierce some of the softer parts of its mouth’s inside. It then starts to cough and sneeze as the irritant invades its body.
Despite its watering eyes, the Draco braced its body, prepared to suffer Michael’s assault. But it never came. It swung its claw and struck stone but even when it provided an opening, Michael never attacked it.
Feeling suspicious, the Draco then covered its face and then released a small puff of flames. Using its large claws, it managed to redirect some of the fire back to itself. Immune to its own flames, the Draco burns away the spices that irritated its senses.
Opening its eyes and with its 360 vision, it scans its surroundings. Michael was no longer in front of it. It then looks behind it and sees the superhuman rushing toward a hole in the mountain.
Quickly turning around, the Draco roars and chases its prey. A bottle flies through the air and strikes the Draco’s leg. The beast feels a slick liquid flow down its leg. It ignores this but two more bottles fly toward it, both hitting its hind legs. This liquid causes the Draco to slip, faceplanting on the ground. Roaring, it pushes itself upward and looks up.
Michael was already in front of the cave.
Feeling a sense of dread within it, the Draco didn’t want to chase the human.
Michael turns and sees the Draco hesitating. Due to his minor healing factor, Michael managed to regenerate the vestiges of his lips. With a painful effort, he smirks and flips off the Draco, trying his best to anger the beast.
At first, the Draco doesn’t bite but Michael spits on the floor and takes a stance. The Draco remembers that this was the exact standing position Michael had when he finished murdering its mate and children.
Overcome with rage, the Draco rushes forward. Its oiled legs cause it to slip and fall but it quickly gets back up and rushes toward Michael. Without any hesitation, it releases a plume of flames to drown the cave with hellfire.
Once the fire subsides, it doesn’t see the burnt carcass of Michael strewn on the ground.
Eyes red with rage, the Draco charges forward.
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Barely managing to dodge the Draco’s gout of fire, Michael manages to enter the cave. Looking around, Michael looked for artificial outcrops of rocks
There’s enough space for that thing to follow me.
Looking back, Michael could see the Draco charging toward him.
Perfect.
Continuing deeper into the cave, Michael finally sees the first rock outcrop. With just enough force, he strikes it, causing it to fall off. Once the rock cover was gone, Michael saw his handiwork. It was a large full brown pouch. It was connected to a thread that was attached to the wall and up the ceiling.
It’s still intact.
He then feels the cave shake as the Draco finally manages to squeeze inside its halls.
Ignoring the quakes, Michael continued and removed more rock outcrops, each one revealing a brown pouch that was connected to the ceiling via a thread. The Draco didn’t notice as it followed Michael deeper into the cave.
Seeing Michael within range, the Draco raises its maw.
No!
Michael internally panics as he sees the fire appear in the Draco’s mouth. Picking up the rocks he removed from the walls, Michael uses his remaining strength and throws one of the rocks toward the Draco’s neck.
Seeing this, the Draco immediately stops its actions and lunges toward Michael.
Michael jumps backward as the Draco’s large body strikes the ground, causing the cave to shake. Large shards of rock fall from the ceiling and clouds of dust obscure the area.
Without missing a beat, Michael dashes deeper toward the cave.
Sensing Michael’s movement, the Draco follows, roaring.
Just a bit deeper.
Dodging the Draco’s claw, Michael strikes another rock outcrop, revealing another full pouch. Michael kept removing the artificial rock outcrops that were attached to the cave’s ceiling.
Eventually, the Draco noticed the holes in the walls. It saw the brown pouches with strings attached to them. It felt as if a giant bucket of cold water splashed all over its body, freezing its blood. It didn’t know what they were but after the minor intelligence boost from the psion stone, the Draco felt an instinctual fear.
It tries to turn around but quickly finds that the cave is too tight to turn around. It was large enough for it to run through but small enough to prevent it from turning around. It looks at Michael and sees a smile forming on his half-regenerated face.
The Draco could crawl backward but it saw the end of the cave already. If it moved forward quickly enough, it could kill Michael before he could do anything.
Retreating now was more dangerous. No, retreating was just impossible.
Michael knew this as well.
Running deeper into the cave, Michael could see his and Evelyn’s bedroom. Bashing his door open, Michael flips his bed, revealing multiple brown pouches under his bed. All of them were tied up by a white thread.
Smiling, Michael looked back and saw the struggling Draco inch its way toward him. The monstrous beast looked desperate.
Without looking back, Michael opens the drawer beside his bed, pulling out two rocks. Holding them both in his hand, he snaps them together, creating a small fiery spark.
Smirking, Michael turns to the numerous bags of gunpowder under his bed.
Ah, I never expected I’d use you.
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Bob rushed toward Evelyn, carrying the last bottle in his inventory. It was a bottle of Goros adrenaline, enough to kill a normal human.
Evelyn turns her line of sight toward the rushing monkey.
Bob! Come here! Michael needs our help!
Unable to speak or move, Evelyn could only wait for Bob to reach her.
But before Bob could reach her, the mountain that was their home shattered in a powerful explosion.
As the shockwave spreads across the area, Evelyn feels her heart drop down to her stomach. Gaining desperate strength but not enough to move her body, Evelyn screams.
“MICHAEL!!!!!!!!!!!”