When August tried to take the enemy by surprise, giving it his all with the intention of ending it with just one powerful blow, the enemy was indeed surprised with the skill that the human boy possessed.
But other than skill and talent, the factor which determines whether a person lives or dies in the face of battle was something the young boy was lacking ——the experience.
However the strike and the impact behind his attack was enough to gravely injure or even kill anyone, but the man standing in front of him had an advantage of the age gap as he moved just in time to save his neck.
However the fatal blow didn't go as a complete waste either, cutting through the humanoid skin of the wyvern commander, a pretty deep burning wound in his chest was to be seen, blood spilling out of it.
With an amusing expression on his face, taking a stance to fight properly the man said,
" Aren't you the feisty one. I'm impressed.
Last time I received these types of injuries-- were fighting with the dragon king. Well you can't be compared with the former king of dragons surely but for a boy of your age, you are cunning with the real skills, i will give you that much. "
Watching the man being distracted, talking to August, Noir initiated a concentrated beam of dragonfire from behind.
When the beam was about to hit him, the man turned around with a devious smirk dodging the attack and covering the distance in between with the blink of an eye and proceeded to punch Noir at his stomach with only Enough force to make him unable to stand----- not to kill the boy.
With the impact of that punch, the young dragon got blown to a distance as his back smashed against a tree that made him fall into a state near unconsciousness.
With that stinging pain, he struggled barely to keep himself conscious.
" Well that takes care of that.... " The man said with a casual tone. " you dragons act like you are above all species. But the only thing you can do is exaggerate yourselves only to be killed by the true high species. "
It was obvious in the tone of his what kind of hatred his kind had deep within their hearts for dragons.
" Boy! You are no exception, even your father, the ' great dragon king Aurelion ' was crushed like a bug under my feet. " Looking at the young dragon with a pitiful look, the wyvern smirked mockingly.
With the last of his energy the young dragon smiled back at him with his heavy eyes,
" You think too highly of yourself "
" What are you talking about? You are the one on the ground aren't you? You still want to cling to that hollow pride of yours? " As Valmunt said these words, the boy's smile widened even more soon after he realised a light source rapidly approached him from behind.
As though descending straight from the heavens, August with his fire covered fists leaving behind the long irregular trail of the bright flames. Intensity of the fire in his attack midair coming towards the Wyvern, could easily be felt by anyone present---- from the look of the burning sleeves of the long over cloak of the young boy.
With the maximum impact, he punched the man, caught off guard and got blown to a distance. Without losing his footing on the moist soil of dense forest Wyvern stood still only to realise the burning sensation of the injury he got from the human boy.
Dealing a deep cut on the chest of a mighty commander of Wyvern forces was one thing but feeling burning pain from external fire? That was something new and humiliating for a being who literally breathes it.
Gently landing on his feet August shot a mocking smirk " What happened, you're not smiling now,
are you? " shattering his pride and dignity. A warrior being injured not only once but twice by now with the hands of a human boy who isn't even a fraction of his age was a pill very hard to swallow.
Enraged, the Wyvern lost his cool, tearing apart his own clothes of the upper body exposing the blood red scales underneath on his broad chest.
Roaring in anger he transformed his two hands into crimson scaly, giant claws of his other form as he Came towards August with his full strength which was more than enough to destroy a small mountain by himself.
Barely dodging the head-on attack August, he tried to get a hold of himself but it turned out he was too late to Dodge the second blow from the giant claw of a half transformed Wyvern which was way faster this time.
Getting a pretty good hit from one of his sharp claws the boy, bleeding severely from many parts of his body. The impact was even enough to make his old injuries bleed.
Deep cuts on his chest and face, shallow marks and bruises on his limbs the boy was slammed on his spine in a pretty deep crater.
Coughing up blood with a dizzy vision when he tried to watch out for the enemy, it was nothing but his bad luck that he got a grave injury being pierced straight into the right side of his chest. In that moment of immense pain, the man said with the still burnt face of his, " You are really good ...for a human that is, I was going for your heart, but you managed to dodge on time and i think I don't have to worry about you anymore, you will probably die within no time... Yeah that's right, humans are weak, physically by far from the parameters of us higher beings.. Which makes me a little curious,
why did you risk your life to save that child? "
As soon the wyvern took out his claw from his chest August fell on the ground nearly unconscious and bleeding gravely. Wyvern, ignoring the bleeding human boy turned his gaze towards the dragon boy who also was barely keeping with the support of a nearby tree.
" Look brat! You have managed to become the reason for another death. "
The words were harsh, on top of that they were directed towards a boy who thought the death of his father as a failure of his own and unlike the others of his age, he knew the cost of losing someone important to him, losing his father -- his family, his home. looking at that lifeless body of that boy who was hardly two or three years older than him, who just in a short amount of time managed to become so close to him, whom he thought of as his older brother and also received the same warmth of family.
That boy was lying there bleeding to death in front of him. Unlike his father's death, he felt directly responsible for the sorry state of the human boy.
' no, it's .... it's my fault. Everything is my fault. This man is right. If only I hadn't been stubborn to stick by my father's side he would have been able to fight freely without worrying about my safety. And maybe he wouldn't have died.
But the thing I can say with surity is about big brother Augustus, only if I have left him alone, without concerning him further, he would have been safe and never dragged into my worthless fight.
He died, because of me.
The only one at fault here, is me.
The one who destroyed my family is ...me. '
The boy was so deep into his thoughts even his tears were all dried and refusing to come out.
" It's my fault
This is all my fault
I am worthless, I can't do anything "
Uttering these words to himself Noir was in deep shock as the Wyvern was laughing his lungs out in the background.
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CURSE 1 :
[ THE PULSE OF AGONY ]
: With his every heartbeat the sharp waves of pain surges throughout the bearer's body.
feeling every pain, every shock in the very soul of his up to the extent of making his thought process go in a state of complete nothingness.
-- Triggered by a near death experience
--------------------------------------
Noir, as his eyes grew wider looking at the surprised expressions of the wyvern who was laughing like a mad man just now-- turned the attention at the dark aura emanating from the lifeless body of the human boy.
Covering his grave wounds, the dark mass regenerated the wounded -- missing parts of his body
As his lifeless looking body started to lift off the ground, hovering straight in the midair. As though August wasn't in the control of himself.
His eyes closed, flames originating directly from his heart hovering midair when he regained his consciousness, shouting in pain and coughing up blood everywhere.
The way his body was reacting, the emotions he was going through, the pain he was feeling up to the extent his blood vessels were about to burst -- was not something August had experienced before.
Not even a single bruise to be seen on his body, August realised the simultaneous surges of continuous pain were all internal far exceeding the boundaries of external pain which seems to be systematically in sync with the flickering of the dark flames of fire bathing him.
Shocked to see a human possessing such fearsome regeneration abilities, in fact these were far exceeding the limitations of even the higher being like himself considering the fact that even dragons can't heal themselves at this rate. The wyvern immediately assumed a defensive stance.
In that moment of intense pain August heard a gentle jingle of a bell, just like the previous one as he realised a seal had been lifted.
------
The boy, when opened his eyes with the third seal lifted without saying a word hovering midair, he looked at the young dragon crying and blaming himself with that he immediately turned his fierce gaze towards the Wyvern who was gulping in intimidation.
The wyvern's eyes widened as the yellow- red flames surrounding the fists all the way to the arms of the human boy in front of him, started to turn dark shades of their previous colour. Shocked to see his own body had taken a posture to back off faster than he could think of that scenario.
The only thing he was able to think about that color was ' the color of death ' .The reason was simple, if death had a colour, it would have been the same dark shade that the boy was carrying with himself.
August shouted with the flickering of flames around his arms. Clenching his jaw enduring the pain he opened his red-turned eyes looking down at Valmunt hovering in the air.
There was some new sensation beyond that pain which August was able to sense but couldn't properly grasp the hold of the whole thing.
It was power. Limitless power
With a slight gesture from his hands he manipulated the gravity around the Wyvern leaving him unable to move and stuck in the muddy ground like a half buried stick. As he closed the distance in between and struck the wyvern with a life threatening blow.
But the wyvern suffered only external but serious injuries, with that no more recognizable face of his he said, " I think it's enough playing for today "
Wind started gathering around the wyvern as he closed his eyes. A dark mass of crimson - red gathered around his half transformed body. Clothes or muscles were unable to be distinguished as they ripped apart making his titanous true form come into existence.
And just like that with a loud thunderous roar two titanous claws fused with wings came out like scythe resting on the ground. Behind them two scaly hind limbs bearing the weight of that giant life form.
It was the first time, August saw a real life transformation ----into the other form of a literal higher being. The transformation wasn't anything like he had imagined by reading books about the body altering creatures but it was still fascinating enough to be called as a spectacle. Totally different from fairy tales and imaginations that were....raw, not some eye pleasing magical phenomenon.
A giant dragon - like creature bearing a set of sharp huge teeth. As though giving an end the crimson colour of the rest of his body, two dark long horns erected like spears. Magical abyss- like black eyes of the creature were looking down at the human boy with a pitiful look. Two huge muscular light crimson wings fused with his front legs which were a major trait that distinguished between dragons and Wyverns.
Scythes like white sharp claws of the creature were enough to cut down a forest by itself. It was like the wyvern lost all his civility and reasoning along with the humanoid form of his when it began to roar like a wild beast.
The commander of one of his elite forces Valmunt assumed the true form of his. The creature he was supposed to be, free from his false human form.
A creature that could take down a large number of armies by itself.
But the mark of being injured by a human remained in both --- physical body and like a stain on his mighty pride.
With the burn marks on the skin of that huge creature and his larger than anything wings also being damaged by some burn marks, it was still a living anomaly. With the many shades of crimson colour on his body, the colour had lost its beauty.
When the huge creature looked down at the boy surrounded by dark flames it roared in anger throwing its claws everywhere just to kill that damn insect.
The entire forest got shaken by that giant creature's roar when the boy who it underestimated just for being a human, now he was like a threat to its existence.
The forest bathed into the overwhelming light and heat of continuous dragonfire and the dark flames from their battle.
A battle in which fire rained down in two shades.
When those two were throwing different types of attacks on each other and dodging simultaneously, down there beneath the shade of that tree, the dragon boy finally fell unconscious.
Due to continuous bleeding he was in dire need of healing. On the other hand August, who was well aware of Noir's health situation, wanted to end this quickly.
The newly awakened power had both its merits and demerits, it was also because this was being triggered with a curse and with that the more he used that new energy, the more violent the surge grows on his body.
Enduring the continuous pain, up to the point he thought his blood vessels in the brain were going to burst.
' I have to end this quickly '
Whether he was not all aware of himself, but there were some key points he was able to comprehend.
Like, he knew that he had to slay the creature before him as fast as he could to save Noir.
Also he was surprised himself, that his senses were active more like they became even sharper.
Every attack, every opening was before him ,even with the closed eyes August was able to move and fight well.
As the Wyvern rained down a shower of dragon fire on the young boy the forest-- upto miles, became a burning battlefield in which only things to be seen were burning trees, running wild beasts for their lives and the flames --shades of red and dark somewhere.
A burning flat fighting ground with the boundary of more burning trees. In the centre of the destruction stand two anomalies facing each other, a huge creature with wings and sharp claws also armed with
all-burning dragon fire.
And at the other side, stands a human boy surrounded by dark flames as he bravely takes the beast head on.
Between continuous dealing of fatal blows on each other the Wyvern said with a very heavy voice,
" human! There is no use, you can't kill me. You will run out of energy after sometime, but I on the other hand have mana reserves.
There is only one way to defeat me, but that's impossible, you are skilled, a worthy foe in fact. But even you can't kill me. Just let me take the boy and I will spare you. "
' he's right! I can't even deal a fatal blow on this form of his, only if I had some kind of weap... '
As he recalled looking at the golden -White bracelet on his hand the gave it a deep thought as well.
' am I ready? No I am probably not. What if I end up causing more trouble for myself. I can't even endure this pain I am having now. No, there is no time to think. I have to do something ...fast. '
Continuously dodging the long beams of pure dragonfire August, adrenaline coursing through his veins, took a few steps back, and inhaled deeply. In that quick moment of calmness he made the decision to unleash that newly acquired weapon of his. He let the wind carry his words to the creature,
" I have promised Noir that I would take him to his people. It's not in my manners to break a promise so I will keep it until my last breath." Making his voice more loud and clear
" I am warning you,back off now and I will let you live "
Whether in the expressionless creature form of his, the amusement was to be clearly seen,
" To think a child would give me a warning, a human on top of all. I am not someone to be pitied by the kinds of you . it's already hurting my pride that you are alive until now brat!. Don't get too cocky. "
Sighing with a heavy heart closing his eyes, he said,
" I see! So that's what you chose. "
With the bright sunlight, piercing through the dust and smoke particles in the air, the surroundings filled with the smell of burning wood, flesh and blood as well staring straight into the very eyes of the giant creature the human boy said,
" Alright! Then brace yourself "
**********