Call it arrogance, but I'm confident this will not be a good fight, at least not for Fury. That is, unless power is involved. In which case, this will not be a good fight for me. However, can I use my summons if we go full power mode? If so, I can bring Gene and Bones into the fight. Maybe Bones' dungeon use is limited. Makes sense because that would be a conflict of interest when Bones orders Fury to fight himself. However, Bones should be able to use his personal summons, which means I get the crazy tree on my side as well.

In my second focus, I explore the avenues of my potential power and run through battle simulations, all of which end with Roxi getting backhanded. My primary focus is on Fury. The dragonoid squeezes the stone in his hand. A cloud of dust poofs as the rock is vaporized. His massive hands clap together. Stray particles fall to return to the ground, and more dust puffs into the air.

Fury's hungry smile is revealed as the wind carries the dusty haze away. He rubs his hands together, which have got to be the biggest hands in town, then cracks his knuckles. The loud, distinct pop carries twenty feet to my ears, and my hands impulsively ache to return the call. I refuse to copy. Instead, I stretch out my hands and give them a shake.

"So, how are we doing this?" I'm no longer content with the dramatic silence. Moreover, the desire to pop my knuckles messes with my thoughts and hands. "Full powers? Weapons? Do I get my companions? Do you get to change forms?" Fury waves his hand. Darkness converges.

Cold apathetic mana covers the training ground. All other mana is silenced inside Fury's night spell. Even my summoned swords are dispelled. The passive boon of shadow that usually allows me to see in the dark is no longer available. I close my eyes, focusing on my perception. The thick blackness of dark mana is hard to see through at first. I stretch my perception further, opening my senses completely. Only then does my energy reading return a sense of vision.

Fury's spell is impressive. All silencing spells I've experienced have never affected passive boons of mana, nor have they dispelled mana that has been summoned before the silencing effect. The paladin's dark mana is so concentrated that only darkness can be accessed in this limited domain. This would leave everyone other than the caster without power.

Darkness seizes upon my body. I can no longer move. It's as if a giant is holding me in his hands. Frankly, I find this to be bull crap. What an unfair fight. And I'm tired of being caught in someone else's domain. I'm a bit peeved.

"This peeves me," I say, not holding back any annoyance. Not the words I wanted to say. I can't get the strange word choice out of my mind, though, and they escape through my mouth. I blame the level of peevishness I'm at. Probably a seven, which is like a one on the angry scale.

"Today, we fight as dragons. No mana, no weapons. Just raw power." Fury saunters toward me. In his dragonoid form, he wears no armor. Not that that makes much of a difference, with his scales tougher than steel lining his muscular body. His words contradict my state since I'm wrapped in his mana and held in his domain.

Ten steps closer, I can finally see Fury with my senses. He wears no clothing, exposing his stomach, chest, and arms, each rippling with an absurd amount of muscles. There's no way he earned those properly. He's only been human for like five days, and for part of the time, he was dead. I call cheating. Luckily, I'm spared seeing the might of his manhood since the dragon opted for upper-thigh-length shorts. Of course, his bulge is on full display, which is not what I want to be thinking about when I'm about to get punched or ever.

Five dramatic steps later, I'm released from the grasp of darkness. I'll have to figure out navigating domains if I'm going to be acquainted with templars and sages. "Don't bother running," Fury says, getting himself into a fighting stance. His legs spread out the width of his shoulder. He bends at the knees. His right leg steps forward. His fists are raised and ready, balled up near his face.

"Since when do dragons box?" I curse. That's not the question I wanted to ask. "Why the theatrics of holding me if you can just cage us in."

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"I didn't want you to run."

"That's fair." The thought did cross my mind. It's essential to explore all options in a fight. I bend my head out of the way as the first fist rushes toward my face. The air cracks at the speed and force of the punch. A sidestep delivers me safely from the dragon's boot that follows. Not as fast as the punch, but three times as powerful. I can almost feel a vacuum of power sucking me back to where his leg extends. I take a step back, avoiding the follow-up sweeping leg.

"Dragons of Darkness have always followed the path of martial combat." Fury puts together another combo of punch kicks, which I barely avoid out of his long reach. "It is the true test of one's might." Fury is mighty, that's true, and he does nothing to hold back his power. The air around us heats up. My instincts warn me to dodge wide. I dive to the left, rolling back to my feet as fire engulfs the area I once stood.

"That's cheating."

"I'm a dragon."

"Touche." I don't like it, but who am I to argue what's dragon code and not. Fury is strong and fast. Incredibly fast. Like Roxi, he's already showing incredible improvement with his body control. It still isn't perfect, and that's one of his first mistakes.

The second mistake, and probably Fury's biggest one, is the thick veil he created. In the cover of night, I can't see anything. When pushed to the limit, my perception can barely distinguish details ten feet away. Anyone outside this pitch-black veil won't be able to see or sense anything from within unless it's the shadow shaman herself. I'm not worried about what Gene or even Fury knows.

I avoid the next flurry of blows, waiting for an opening. With unrestrained quickness, I close the gap. Two punches are thrown right at Fury's chest — a right and a left — leaving an indent on his scales. The displacement of air and darkness let out a low, powerful poof. Fury is pushed back two steps. Off balance, he can't counter. I close the gap again and knee him in the bulge. He hunches over from the burst of pain, which I welcome with a cracking punch to his jaw. Three more heavy punches send the dragonoid to his back.

I slow my breathing and sit in the darkness, waiting for the night to pass or Fury to wake. Thirty seconds later, Fury stirs. He shakes his head, clear of fog. Stretching out his jaw, he quickly leans over his left shoulder and heaves lunch and breakfast. Maybe I hit him a little harder than I intended.

"What the hell?"

"Human," I say, full of satisfaction. Fury shakes his head again and begins round two of inverse eating. I'm close enough to see that there isn't much content left for round two, but still get a whiff of the nasty smell. I push myself back while Fury tries to collect himself. It isn't enough distance, but the putrid puke punch is at least dulled.

"Why isn't it retractable?" His hands hold his belly, and his face still looks flushed. I try not to laugh, not at his question but at the pain he's in. I'm not proud of the nut punt, but I might be the first to claim doing so to a dragon, and that's not nothing.

"Did it used to?"

"Have you ever seen a dragon's dingle dangle?"

"No, but my exposure to dragons is limited… Wait, can I have that power if I kill you in dragon form?" Not the question I ever wanted to ask or a power that I want. It earns me a questioning glare from the dragonoid. Fair enough. He still looks like a mess. I'd heal him, but my power is cut off. Slowly, he picks himself off the ground and extends a hand.

"You are strong." He says as he lifts me off the ground. "Let's see how you fair for round two." I have to do some majestic maneuvering to dodge the incoming headbutt. The fact that he's still holding onto my hand makes it tricky, but I end up behind him. His attack leaves him bent over, and the leverage I'm applying to his arm gives me an unfair opening, which I exploit. Twice. Fury rolls on the floor in agony, and I again take my seat.

The dragon is steaming mad now, uttering curses that I try to remember for my own use. Rightfully so. Just wish his anger didn't center on me or that we aren't so close. He's going to want to fight again, and I have the distinct feeling he isn't going to let me say no. Fortunately, with Fury so distracted and having been knocked out once, his darkness veil isn't as complete as it used to be. I reach into Gloom and pull out two swords. One is a plain steel sword. The other is a massive blood-red blade. I put Ruby down at Fury's side while he finishes rolling out the pain.

"If you persist in fighting me more, then we will do this my way."