Chapter 21: Dragon Buster

When I arrived on the scene, Minerva is on her knees with two azure javelins standing on her thighs, pinning her on the ground. I immediately drop the swords to go to her aid.

“Minerva!? What’s wrong?” I take her hands drooping on the ground. There’s a line of dried blood on her wrists. That’s a sign of a deep wound, but perhaps due to her natural regenerative abilities, her wounds healed on their own. Yet her eyes look lifeless and dull. I don’t think she could even see me, nor feel that I’m here.

“Minerva, speak to me.” I cup her face and slap her left cheek once, but she offers no response. Not even a nod. Nothing. I need to do something… But what?! This spear… Yes, I have to get rid of it.

One, two, three — “Aaaaaah!”

Like there’s a strong vibration attached to it, it electrified my hand that touched the handle. It hurts like hell, but if this is the one causing her pain then screw everything else! I grit my teeth and pull out the javelins in a single breath.

[Lightning Resistance Learned]

With a clank, the javelins drop somewhere. My palms are still twitching due to the electrifying pain, but I hurriedly allocate three skill points on my new skill. After a few seconds in a daze, Minerva regains her senses. “Eh, Brother?”

I hug her in response and press her face on the crook of my neck. “Thank God. You had me worried there for a second,” I murmur those words of relief that even come as a surprise to me.

“Brother… It’s dangerous here… You don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine. Just give me time to rest, I’ll be okay.” There is no strength in her voice.

“What kind of Brother am I if I can’t even give you this much attention?”

“I would follow the lady’s advice if I were you.”

I look over my shoulder, hearing a man’s voice from behind. Bearing the same golden hair like Minerva, a man clad in white clothing stand there and watch. He has a pair of blue wings outspread like those of a bat’s — a Dragon. Extreme loathing reflects in his ash coloured eyes, a sneer distorts his handsome face.

Minerva struggles to get up, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Azul, he’s but a regular human. Leave him out of this.”

The man snorts, clearly looking down on us. “Run if he must, I have no business with him.”

I see. From how Minerva acted when we first met, I’ve deduced that Dragons are proud beings. Seeing that this man waited for his turn to come is the proof of that. Since in his eyes, I’m nothing but a puny human. Someone weak that he could crush without even trying. How laughable. A villain’s cockiness had always led to their downfall. But I don’t blame him. Even that dude who kicked my ass from before described me as abnormal.

I turn to face him as I raise myself up. It seems like my distraction here has given Minerva a time to recover, as colors return on her face. Her recuperative abilities as a Dragon give me a sense of relief.

Minerva takes my right hand and palms her cheek with it. “There’s no need to worry. We Dragons don’t truly experience death. Our souls simply traverse the Soul Stream till we reincarnate in this world again. That’s why… I’m sure we’d meet again, Brother, someday…”

It’s my fault that I let her continue, as tears begin to fall. She wipes the tears away with her wrists and pushes me away with a face of regret. I don’t know what sparked this conflict between them two — I don’t care to know.

“Please, Brother, don’t be foolish and just leave,” Minerva continues when I remain in place.

I breathe a sigh. “It’s better to act foolish rather than regret that you didn’t do anything in the end.” I point a finger behind her. “Just leave this to me and go join Fia over there. I’ll end this in an instant.”

“What are you saying!? You’re facing a Dragon, Dude! A Dragon!”

I know that. “Minerva, don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Hahaha…” The man suddenly puts his hand on his forehead and laughs like a madman. “Hahahahahaha! Amusing. How amusing. How low have you crawled, Minerva? You bring shame on our race.”

I frown at the man. “Before you insult her, you should look at yourself.”

“What?!” It seems like that’s enough to shock him into a battle stance.

I crack my knuckles as I ready myself. “Minerva, trust me, alright? I’m your Brother, so let me take care of you. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate if you’re here. You’re a hindrance.”

“But…”

“Shut up and go!”

This time, I’m the one who pushes her aside. I hear her take a step, and another, before going into a full sprint. Finally. Yet, now that I’m alone with this man, staring at each other, an unusual sense of danger wells up in my chest. While he’s watching me with a glare, I use [Observe] to reveal his abilities.

Name: Azul

Race: Dragonfolk

Level: 103

Skills: [Flight], [Transformation], [Dragon Skin], [Auto-Heal], [Vesper], [Spear Mastery], [Throw Spear Mastery]

Magic: [Invoke Lightning]

That [Auto-Heal] of his is a major concern and if [Invoke Lightning] is his magic, then [Vesper] are those javelins from before. Oh great, what did I get myself into?

As I study him, a magic circle forms around his left wrist and an image of a long stick generates in his grip. Within three seconds, those particles of blue light turn into a thin spear, which he then holds behind him. His squinting eyes tell me he’s ready, so I withdraw two Firebrands after maximizing [Twin Swords Mastery], [Twin Swords Quicken], and [Dragon’s Blessing] consecutively.

There’s a change in his expression when he sees me pull out my swords, yet his lips remain sealed. I like that. No unnecessary conversation. This isn’t a duel after all. We’re here to kill one another.

There is no signal to start. A gust of wind blows, and the distance between us is erased at once. I manage to dodge his spearpoint because of [Quicken]. If this is like any other game, it’s basically a cheat skill. As long as I’m wielding two swords, this skill enhances my senses beyond the extreme; so let’s do this!

As I twist my body, my right sword descends to cut him apart. He blocks it with one hand, but the weight behind my swing forces him to jump back. Before he regains his footing, I shriek a battle cry and lunge at him. I move in to cut him with both swords, but lightning sparks and he’s suddenly on my right, his spearpoint only centimeters away from my chest. [Quicken] activates like a skill assist and guides my body into motion. I dodge with a scratch on my chest and I see a bewildered look passes across his face. Yet he’s too late. After I finish twisting my body in desperate avoidance, I swing my left sword upward and chop his left arm holding the spear. A line of blood forms an arch in the air. With dilated eyes, Azul starts to backstep away from me.

“As if I’d let you!” I continue my charge without wasting a single moment. I propel myself with a stomp on the ground and dash forward with my swords crossed. I swing with my right, and he dodges. I cleave with my left, and he dodges once more. But I don’t stop as I feel myself accelerating with the obvious advantage. When I swing with my right once more, his remaining arm comes flying away.

“Human!” He’s trapped himself with that last step. Azul almost slips in his frustration, giving me the edge to finish him off with a sweep of both swords. The Dragon’s crimson blood sprays everywhere as his arm-less body falls lifeless into three pieces.

But even though I won and clearly decimated the guy, my instincts tell me to retreat. It can’t be that a proud Dragon like him would be defeated that easily. Yes, I believe in my enemy’s potential. It wouldn’t hurt to heed these doubts of mine. And it turns out that I’m right.

I closely watch his corpse be envelop in a blue light. His limbs return like magnet, along with the blood staining my swords and face. He springs back forth like a new man, as if our previous confrontation didn’t occur. But his clothes remain tattered; that’s a sign. I know for sure that an ability such as that would cost him a good amount of mana. Those are the laws of this world.

So I just need to kill him again and again until he’s exhausted to the core. And if he doesn’t die with this plan, well, I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. For now, it’s time for round two.

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