The dragon pushed its body upwards using its powerful legs and wings. It rose in altitude very quickly, but the enhanced body of the ferocious Yoichi remained attached to its back.

The blond-haired warrior grabbed the exact spot where the dragon's wing joined its back, knowing that his enemy could never get rid of him while in that position.

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His right hand on one side and his left hand on the other: clutching Urgerross' muscle as if it were a thick rope, Yoichi immobilized its right wing. In the same instant, the white dragon began to fall.

It could no longer maintain control of its flight, and just before it reached the height of the white columns of the arena, it fell under the force of gravity. The reptilian body of the mighty Urgerross spun in the air like an inanimate object, while Therion's gaze watched the fight carefully.

When Yoichi was sure that the dragon's wing would never be able to break free from its grip, he placed one foot on one side and the other foot on the other side, locking his body at that point straddling the muscle that allowed the wing to move.

"My friends need me!" Yoichi suddenly growled, who for a moment managed to let his conscience prevail over his demonic instincts. "Die, Urgerross!" he shouted fiercely. Large tongues of fire shot out from his shoulders and forearms.

Under the incredulous gaze of the Dragon King, who was almost moved to witness such a show of power, its human heir, who looked like an insect on the white dragon's back from the mountain, tore Urgerross' wing off, screaming as if he were possessed.

The flesh of the muscular joint that joined the wing to the rest of the body tore fiber by fiber: Urgerross's tendons were lacerated and the bone was broken at that spot under the powerful pull of Yoichi's arms.

The enemy's pain was so great that it was followed by a sudden reaction. The dark sky above their heads growled and the roar of thunder was unleashed in all its power. A massive bolt of lightning ripped through the landscape, zigzagging from the top of the clouds and striking hard at Urgerross' body.

As soon as the fate of the duel was reversed, the sky seemed to want to protect the golden-winged dragon. The lightning's static energy enveloped its winged paladin and Yoichi, who was thrown backward.

For an instant, time seemed to stand still in his perception of things: right before his eyes, one of the Guardians of the Whole had just been struck by lightning and in his hands, its golden wing was spattered with blood.

The lightning released its energy and struck Yoichi's body as well. However, Therion's draconic fire made him almost immune to that kind of damage, dispersing the electricity of the blast and protecting its possessor.

*BOOM* - The explosion unleashed by Urgerross' fall into the center of the arena was devastating. A cloud of dust covered the floating Sanctum of Infinity making everything invisible due to the scarcity of sunlight.

When he was still in midair, Yoichi managed to direct his feet downward and, without enhancing his legs in any way, landed with his feet on the sturdy floor tiles.

After him, Urgerross's wing hit a pillar and, whirling around, fell from the edge of the island, plunging down to the valley guarded by the floating isle.

As the blanket of smoke dispersed, the black clouds concentrated in the sky began to move away from each other, allowing sunlight to filter through only a few spots.

A multitude of subtle rays of light struck the shrine, illuminating the specks of dust and allowing Yoichi to breathe a sigh of relief. However, although the brightening of the sky was certainly related to his enemy's loss of energy, the young tamer was still in a rage and the primal instinct that had guided his last actions still overpowered his reason.

I can't stop...I must defeat him. I must defeat the dragon and gain its power! Thought Yoichi, his eyes bloodshot. The veins of fire between the scales of his arms came alive and, one step after another, the young warrior walked towards the center of the arena. Flaring his nostrils, he was looking for the dragon like a wild predator.

"Urgerross!" he shouted angrily. His voice was hoarse from the pain of his still-open wounds and almost sounded like a roar. Kenji's red eyes, before the light beams could illuminate his enemy's body, pierced the blanket of grayish smoke.

"Screek!" the little dragon boomed, showing its new appearance to its tamer: the scales all over its body looked stronger, much more like those of a full-grown dragon demon; on its tail, in addition to the draconic torch at the end, many small spikes had grown that followed the shape of its spinal chord.

Kenji's chest seemed wider and taller as if its pectoral muscles were more swollen. Those enhancements also highlighted its black horns, giving Yoichi's Oracle a more regal appearance that was increasingly reminiscent of the shape of the supreme Therion.

Its roar instilled courage in its tamer, who after discovering that inside the Tear had managed to awaken the true powers of his mentor, felt invincible.

It only took him a few steps to look, illuminated by the many small rays of sunlight, at the motionless body of Urgerross. The one-winged dragon was lying in the center of the arena, its own tooth lodged in its eye and its upper and lower limbs in a pool of blood.

*anf*anf* - A deep, warm breath made the ash on the floor move, gracefully caressing Yoichi's face, the only part of his body not covered by clothing or scales.

The thunder dragon's back swelled and deflated. After the Nightblades warrior's devastating rampage, Therion's disciple was no longer able to fight.

With its golden eyes pointed skyward, the only thing Urgerross' heart yearned for was to see the sunlight one last time.