Bratley the dark was a dragon older than time. When the planet came into existence, he was already there. When the first creatures showed signs of intelligence, he taught them magic. When they misbehaved, he put them in their place.

The creature was as large as five trucks put together. His black scales could deflect a meteor and his claws could slice through adamantium with ease.

Centuries had passed since the last pest had bothered him. Last time, it was a human. This time, it was a pixie.

“Who dares disturb my slumber!?” the dragon growled so loud it made the trees around it bend and lose all of their leaves.

Once again, Seth protected himself with wind magic leaving Momo to fend for himself.

“It is I, Seth, first of my name and Supreme Overlord of this forest,” he tried to respond in an equally imposing voice. “Foul creature, prepare to die!”

The warrior summoned the biggest wind blade he could muster and threw it at the dragon. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it bounced off his scales without leaving a mark.

“Ha, foolish vermin,” Bratley snarled. “It is you who will die!”

The dragon lifted his giant claws and tried to stomp Seth into his next reincarnation. Just the wind pressure generated by the movement was enough to flatten the pixie and render him immobile.

However, just a couple of inches from the warrior’s body, the scaly arm stopped. It was as if an invisible force-field was keeping it at bay.

‘Oh, no,’ the dragon grumbled while lifting his paw.

“Haha, I am protected by the light,” grinned Seth. “Your evil power is useless against me!”

He then resumed his barrage of attacks switching between wind blades and rocks.

‘No, no, no,’ Bratley muttered while attempting another stomp. Again, his paw stopped just before reaching its target. Annoyed, the ancient monster shot a dragon breath creating a hole into the planet all the way to its center. Magma began pouring out, yet the pixie was unscathed.

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“Kid, you wouldn’t happen to be part of this forest, would you?” Bratley asked while face-palming and frowning at the same time.

“He is, o wise one,” answered Momo while bowing deeply. “Please forgive his actions.”

“Die monster!” Seth shouted.

“Gods damnit,” the dragon sighed.

Half a millennia ago, one of the past heroes had defeated him in battle. As punishment for his deeds, the dragon was sealed into becoming the eternal protector of Blueberry Grove. If the forest got destroyed, he would die too. More importantly, he couldn’t leave this place, and he couldn’t attack its inhabitants.

“Oi kid,” he called while sitting his giant butt on the grass.

“The name is Seth, foul creature!”

“Seth, how about we calm down and talk about this. You can’t kill me, and I can’t kill you. Let’s just go our separate ways, cool?”

“Never!” the pixie declared while throwing one magical strike after another. “I will defeat you and claim this forest for my own. It’s just… a matter of time.”

Convinced of his victory, Seth pressed on. The dragon was annoyed, but there was nothing he could do.

‘Oh well,’ Bratley shrugged. ‘He’ll tire himself out eventually.’

10 days later…

“What the f**K is wrong with you!?” the dragon roared so loud those in the nearby cities released their bowels en masse. “Kid, will you please go home already? It’s been more than a week.”

Not only did Seth not stop his attacks, but he was relentless in his execution too. 23 hours/day, the pixie found new ways to turn ambient mana into projectiles that he would throw towards the dragon. If Bratley tried to ignore him or go to sleep, Seth would now shoot fireballs and lightning into his ears or nostrils.

“Kid, aren’t you sleepy?” the dragon pleaded. The dark circles under his eyes were getting larger by the day.

“Life is meant to be lived, not slept,” the warrior answered with enthusiasm. Seth was never much of a sleeper, and his new body could be rejuvenated with mana.

“Dude, even if you shoot the same spot for the next three years, you’ll still barely leave a scratch.”

“But, I will leave one,” Seth countered.

“You’ll waste your youth just to remove a single scale.”

“Excellent!” Seth grinned.

“You’ll be an old man or dead before you can properly fight me.”

“Awesome! A life-long battle against a mighty dragon: That will be a tale for the ages!”

“You won’t live to tell it!” Bratley was exasperated. ‘What the hell is wrong with this kid’s head? At this rate, I’ll die of sleep deprivation.’

For the next 10 hours, the dragon nervously tapped one of its claws while the warrior tried to scratch it.

“Kid… Seth, I have a proposition.” After much thought, Bratley came up with an idea.

“Say it.”

“Sure, but how about you stop shooting first and then…”

“No.” Like the spoon killer of legend, Seth was determined to finish the job.