Dragon Monarch: Dragon's Will Manifestation

Boom, boom, spwask!

A violent rumble shook the earth as a thick column of black smoke shot up high into the sky from what seemed to be the epicenter of the savage quake. Thunderous roars filled the ears of the terrified dragon-slayers, who ran desperately to escape the deadly landslide that chased them close behind, destroying everything in its path.

Kurururug!

The mountain shook again and again, the earthquake seemingly endless. Only no, it wasn't an earthquake. Forceful shockwaves warped through air and ground alike, generated as fists collided one after the other, again and again.

'Young miss…' Krul stressed to himself. The elderly man stood watching outside of the dense smog with the Emperor and the Warchiefs, each wearing stiff and solemn expressions as they weathered every shockwave with effort. Even though he had drunk that empowering elixir, all he could do was wait for the battle to end. As the Guardian of the Estereon Family, Krul could only feel ashamed. Once again, he was incapable of being any help.

Despite Krul's lack of facial expression, Bolt could immediately tell how the old man felt. Just imagine: how useless would one seem if their job required them to protect someone who was long already the strongest of the strongest? In everyone else's eyes, it was simply unnecessary. But Krul accepted the offer wholeheartedly, and worked hard to fulfill this senseless job.

Several deafening booms were heard from afar.

Boom-!!

"Why are you running? I thought you were here to fight?" Alistein turned to provocation after failing to take ahold of Blaze, who was being as slippery as a snake due to her Cultivation Arts and Liquefication.

"Kek! You can't even catch a woman in a game of tag. No wonder Alexandria never gave you any attention," Blaze taunted purposefully with a sneer.

"You- what did you just say?" Alistein couldn't believe her, his eyes widened with shock. He knew she was taunting him on purpose, but to use a deceased person… Isn't that too much?

In another attempt to catch her, Alistein dashed forward with accelerated speed, but…

…a foot came flying in his direction and greeted his chest with a bone-crunching kick, sending him straight back through the air by afar.

Blaze lowered her foot and grinned at her successful spinning back kick. "Let me get this straight. I was not running. I was simply looking for the perfect opportunity to strike. I lured you in, and you fell for it, dumb*ss." She had intentionally tricked him into using his top speed in order to use his own momentum to amplify the vicious impact of her heel plunging deep into the veil of green energy that coated him. Else, her kick would not have damaged him at all.

Alistein painfully slumped onto his knees, blood dripping down the side of his mouth as his health fell by a few percentages. His shoulders weigh defeated; his arms looked without strength.

Blaze cackled devilishly as she slowly approached him. "If it weren't for that weird green thing around you, my kick would've shattered your ribs, twerp!"

Once again, she raised her leg with her foot above Alistein's head, looking giddily down on him as she planned to bury his head into the ground with a stunning ax kick. It was the best feeling, the feeling of satisfaction that overflowed and burst from the chest… She felt this every single time she could prove that she was stronger than anybody. It was as if everything she had suffering through her training was worth it. Yet-

Alistein's limp head suddenly snapped up, his dark green eyes shining with a steady flame behind his glasses. "You should've run when you had the chance, you arrogant child!" His firm hand was suddenly wrapped around Blaze's ankle, and the next thing she knew, she was hurled into the air.

It was a disturbing experience, to be looking down on by a woman much weaker than him, and then to hear the sound of the Hydra dragon sighing left and right relentlessly inside his head at the sight of its host having such a miserable time against an Incipient Stage.

Slam-!!!

The sound of a loud bang and bones cracking resonated through the mountains, amplified by the presence of Draconic Energy within the body.

Blaze's ears rang as she crashed onto the ground, trembling from the impact. She could just barely feel her limbs. At the same time, the system's flashy screen popped up with the mechanical voice to deliver a short message.

[Health is reduced to 40%]

Alistein's shadow came to take over Blaze's helpless body on the ground, chest falling and rising laboriously as he tried to catch his breath. Who would have thought a mere Incipient Stage who only gained access to her Dragon's Will today would give him such a hard time? But the outcome should be clear enough now, was it not?

"Give it up, Blaze. You had no chance of winning to begin with. Just look at the sorry state you're in."

And quite disturbingly, she responded, her giggles not matching the motionless wreck of her body on the ground. "Well, you would have to do more than that to convince me, Alistein."

With a determined grunt, Blaze forced her legs to move and entangled them around Alistein's one foot as tightly as she could with fast fluid movements resembling that of a snake constricting their prey. She raised her upper body from the ground with just her strong core muscles and was about to aim for Alistein's back again after managing to pin one of his arms under hers.

"…Too bad, your trick won't affect me twice." Alistein tried to shake her off, but she wouldn't budge. And so he grabbed her by the face with his free hand and tore her off his body back onto the ground with brute force.

Boom-!!

[Health is reduced to 30%]

Blaze's head plummeted directly onto the ground, but her legs didn't let go. She had seen this coming from miles away, and knew Alistein would overpower her. And there was no letting go of this opportunity. In a split second, she changed her leg setup around Alistein's body to his neck, pulling his arm down along with her while constricting his neck – a triangle choke!

"Urk-!"

The green veil of energy surrounding Alistein suddenly subsided. His real appearance came to view, veins bulging and his face turning purple due to the lack of blood flow that was restricted at his neck.

Blaze applied more force to her pull on Alistein's inside arm, dragging his left shoulder downward and tightening the chokehold with her legs. "Let's get you to sleep in a few seconds," she hissed.

"You…shouldn't know this…," Alistein managed to force out, his angered voice strained. "This is…Art of the Killing Throw!"

"Wrong!" Blaze shot back. "This is still Dragon Slayer Fist, the perfect, well-rounded martial art created by my father! Can't you see the difference? Dragon Slayer Fist: Bind of the Twin Serpent Dragons!"

Alistein's eyes shook. A triangle choke of the Art of the Killing Throw was already a great technique that would render the opponent unconscious in less than ten seconds. Revamped and modified with Dragon Slayer's Fist's Liquefication and Solidification would speed up the effect. Meaning, Alistein was in great danger and was bound to blackout any moment now. He quickly fell to his knees and fiercely began slamming Blaze's body on the ground while still stuck on his, desperate to get her off him while he still could.

Each slam sent a wave of tremor through the mountain, pieces of broken earth sent flying with each collision.

[Health is reduced to 26%]

[Health is reduced to 22%]

[Health is reduced to 19%]

"Let go of him, Blaze! You will faint once you reach 10%! At this rate, you will lose consciousness before him!" Azurion warned with great worry on his face.

But Blaze didn't listen. She only pulled Alistein's arm and tightened her strangle, letting a dissatisfied grunt out from her mouth.

[Health is reduced to 16%]

[Health is reduced to 13%]