Grandpa moved like a clockwork soldier at times, especially in winter. He said it was the sword injury he got back in the continental war, somehow the injury never fully healed. Even so, It didn't stop him at all, he tottered just as fast as the rest of us walked, often faster. I asked him about it once, about the day he left the battlefield, about the day it happened, at my question his face fell into an expression I'd never have associated with his features before. Under that spirited personality was someone more vulnerable than I could have guessed...I never asked again. The continental war, what kind of war was It to cause Grandpa to have such a face? — ???

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The monstrosity below kept its gaze strained on me, with its teeth bared in hostility. I glared at it in contempt. It wasn't wise to underestimate my opponent, that I knew, yet as I glanced at its repulsive figure, something seemed to cause my blood to boil, it was as if the creature below was beneath me.

I didn't quite understand my feelings, nor did I try to change them, I simply accepted them as a fact, though I still kept my guard up, nothing good would come from underestimating an opponent.

As I circled the monster from the air, my eyes remained locked on him ready in case he had some sort of long-range magic attack, though I doubt it, no harm in being cautious.

My mind wandered back to my mother's spell. That thin strand of mana as she controlled her spell from the distance. It was different than what father did with his long-range Dragon Breath.

Father used his energy to form the attack and mana to push it forward while guiding it towards his goal. Mother's spell was different, she used a small string of mana to communicate with it causing her spell to activate from a distance.

'Okay, let's first test the waters with a Dragon Breath!'

With my mind made up, my wings fluttered as I came to a stop right above the monstrosity while it continued to growl at me menacingly. My jaw opened as I took aim, the familiar bluish orb formed before I sent it flying towards the creature leaving a trail of blue in the sky.

I did not use any mana to push it forward since the distance was not far and merely relied on my energy. The creature's two small eyes widened as It swiftly dodged my attack which caused a medium-sized crack to appear on the ground as it pulverized a dozen trees.

'It's fast!' I inwardly mumbled. Since it had short back legs, I assumed speed was not one of its strong points, but it seems like I was wrong.

'No matter, I hold the advantage since I have the high ground!' I inwardly chuckled, before opening my jaw and releasing another Dragon Breath, not giving the monster any time to rest.

"Roar!"

Another loud explosion ensued as dust seemed to fill the area obstructing my vision. 'Shit, that was a bad call, did I get it?' I wondered.

My thoughts were cut short as my ears perked at the sound of something breaking the air at an extremely fast speed. 'Danger!' My scales tingled as I flapped my wings evading a giant tree trunk that had been sent my way.

'What the fuck? That was too fast! Thankfully I reacted fast enough.' I breathed a sigh of relief.

My eyes hardened as the dust settled, the figure of the monstrosity standing in the middle of the ground crack came in sight, It held another tree trunk within one of its lanky forelimbs.

Our gazes interlocked for a second as sparks seemed to fly before the monster sent the tree trunk my way. This time, however, I was already prepared. I mentally reached out to the mana in my surroundings, the familiar energy I was close to answered back.

Unlike when mother did it, what appeared was not a gust of wind, but a water wall! I was just as surprised to see it appear so suddenly. I did not give the mana any specific order and simply asked for its help to block the attack causing the water wall to emerge in the middle of the sky.

The flying attack was neutralized as the tree bark clashed with the water wall which caused it to stop before it fell to the ground harmlessly. The monstrosity did not seem to like that as It released a shrill cry.

I frowned, 'Dragon Breath is useless since the fucker just keeps on running around dodging it, so I guess the best course of action would be to try mom's attack.'

I once again reached out to the mana in my surroundings, I did not quite know how to recreate her spell. 'Wait, do I have to recreate it?' I inwardly mumbled.

'Mom used a thread to control the mana in her surroundings, but does that mean I also need to do that? Let's try it out first.'

I took a deep breath clearing my mind from all useless thoughts, I could feel the various strands of mana dancing around me, the wind-type was the strongest yet since I didn't seem to have a strong affinity with it, it was useless to me.

Water-type mana was also present in the air, though it was a bit weaker, yet my affinity with it was the strongest. It seemed to react to me as It danced joyfully while brushing itself against my scales.

I sent my intentions to it, asking for its help once again, this time to defeat the monster below. The mana reacted with excitement, its temperament seemed to change with mine as if it was able to sense my bloodlust.

This time, I imagined a large pillar of water rushing from the ground below the monster's feet sending him flying to the air, and the mana complied. The creature had no time to react as a sudden water column appeared abruptly, sending it hurling through the air.

'Dodge this you ugly bastard!'

"Roar!"

With him in the sky, the monster had no way to avoid my Dragon Breath as It hit him head-on instantly pulverizing his entire upper body, his lower half on the other hand fell to the ground with a loud thud.

'Well, that was bloody.'