Free Web NovelChapter 26: Lethal Wound
After evading the attack, Ren steadied himself. He locked eyes with the headmaster, who was still holding the staff extended.
’That staff, I can tell it’s no normal mage staff. This man might be strong, but this staff is doing something to help.’ His eyes drifted to the staff.
"Ahh, seems you have noticed that this staff is not normal," the headmaster said. He rolled it one time and pointed it back at Ren.
"This is one of the Seven Mage Divine Armaments that exist in my kingdom."
He said, his voice oozing with pride, like he was speaking of the greatest tool in the world, and he was.
"The seven armaments are artifacts made by the elder dwarves and blessed by the gods for the kingdom. Seven beings wield one, harnessing their great power.
Our fight was already decided from the start, but you should be happy. You made me decide to use the armament to fight." The headmaster spoke with the tone of someone who already knew the battle was theirs from the start.
"I see, so the kingdom handed one of their greatest weapons to a vile human like you. I guess there is not much to expect from humans if they would do such a thing," Aren replied in a calm tone.
While he spoke, he calmed his breathing. This battle was taking a toll on him. This headmaster was genuinely in a league of his own.
’Should I find a way to retreat? No, I’ll never retreat before a man like this. I’ll give it my all and then some before I even consider the thought of retreating.’
The headmaster frowned. "You are really sharp with your mouth, dragon. From what my students told me, you were far smaller when they met you, and you somehow got larger and stronger in a day. You are a threat. If you are allowed to keep growing, you would become an issue in a short while.
I’ll have to deal with you here and now. I wanted to capture and study you, but you have made it clear that you will not be allowing me to do that, so sadly, death is the final option."
"Kill me? You want to kill me, typical. Humans see something they do not understand and cannot control, and their next thought is to kill, kill, kill."
’Sad to say I was once part of this race. Somehow they only disgust me now, their selfishness and their greed.’
The headmaster scoffed. They had talked enough. He tightened his grip on the staff, and the crystal glowed. Lightning crackled around the staff. It gathered toward the center with the same intensity as the last attack.
The lightning came roaring out. It split the sky in an instant, tunneling toward Ren extremely fast.
Ren kept a steady gaze. He didn’t falter even slightly. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth. The flames crackled and grew in size. The ember breath roared through the sky and slammed into the lightning.
The collision shook the air, casting a bright light that resembled the sun. Both parties poured out their attack with no thought of relenting. The flames and lightning mixed with each other.
The lightning pressed hard against the flames and made it seem like Ren would lose, but Ren dug deeper and unleashed stronger flames.
The scene shocked the headmaster. His eyes widened. "Tch, how is he?" He gritted his teeth in anger and stopped the attack. He pulled his staff back and gripped it with both hands.
"I have had about enough of you," his voice thundered.
"That makes both of us," Ren replied. He spread his wings wide. He knew that there was hardly ever a world where he would defeat this man fully, not at his current strength, but he also knew that if he pushed himself, he would be able to land an attack that could be decisive. That was all that he was going for.
The headmaster summoned several spheres, this time more than the last time, over a hundred in the sky, shimmering and glowing, each one ready to take the life of the dragon they faced.
Ren gritted his teeth. He drew a deep breath and allowed the air to rush through his lungs. His wings spread wide and, in one powerful flap, he shot forward through the air. He moved like lightning, fast and precise.
The headmaster hurled all the spheres at the same time. They created a formation in the air that breaking through would be damn near impossible, but something like that would not hinder Ren.
As three spheres locked onto him first, he pulled up fast, barely evading them as their explosions ripped through the air behind him. He activated Dragon Vision to allow himself to see as best as he could.
Two spheres came in from the left and right. He banked to the left, his head swinging to the side as he hurled an ember breath and exploded one while shooting in that direction to completely evade the one from the right.
Bursting out of the smoke, his gaze locked onto the several ones coming from below very fast. He wasted no time and hurled flames at them, causing a chain reaction of explosions through the air while he flew through very fast.
The headmaster tried to keep track of Ren, barely able to follow the speed at which he was moving. He also noticed that not a single attack had managed to touch Ren. This made him enraged, but before that rage could grow, a sphere slammed into the side of Ren and exploded, covering Aren in flame and smoke.
The headmaster smiled when he saw this. His attack had worked. He watched as more and more spheres slammed into the location, all exploding on Ren. That was sure to be the end. That moment of victory caused his attention to waver, and that was all.
From the smoke, Ren burst out, claw extended. It was too late for the headmaster to dodge or block.
