Will of a Prince

Chapter 201: Dragon Slayers

Jacob walked with Maria by his side towards the gates of the kingdom. Neither of them spoke to each other, but both of them were extremely angry with their group for keeping secrets about the truth of their power. The group had been through everything together, including facing death countless times. However, they always managed to put their differences aside in order to succeed. The entire foundation of their relationship was built on trust.

However, the reveal that they were not trusted with their own powers that could have been used to help them or possibly save more people’s lives was a grave insult to everything they had been striving for.

Jacob angrily pushed open the gate of the kingdom. Steel hinges moaned as it tried to fight against his push. Avala was standing by watching him leave.

"Leaving so soon? Was the news that rude boy gave you really so terrible?"

Jacob glared at Avala with malice.

"Do me a favor and give them some news for me."

Avala suddenly seemed intrigued hearing how upset Jacob was.

"Oh? Do tell."

"Tell them that we’re going home."

With that, Jacob continued walking out into the grassy fields of the east, slowly shutting the gate behind him as he walked.

Walking back towards the west filled Jacob with a strange melancholy.

"To think this will all be gone soon. We aren’t going to let it happen, Maria."

Maria was awfully quiet since they had left. She simply nodded her head upon hearing Jacob’s proclamation. Jacob looked at her with a hint of concern.

"Is everything okay?"

Maria took a moment to respond.

"Sorry, it’s just... Lidia never seemed like the type to hide anything from me. I may not be her flesh and blood, but I’m still her daughter. How could she betray my trust like that?"

Jacob sighed deeply and looked forward.

"I don’t know. I feel the same with Slimo. I could tell from his attack that he was truly trying to kill me back then. He didn’t hold anything back in his strike. Is having this power seriously all it took for me to be seen as nothing more than a threat? It’s appalling."

Maria laid her cheek on Jacob’s shoulder as they walked.

"So, where are we going? What are we going to do?"

Jacob looked down into her emerald eyes with his usual determined expression.

"We’re going to take back Iron Kingdom and protect it with our life."

Maria hesitated before giving a response.

"But Jacob, your uncle is still in charge of the kingdom. Actually, it may even be a part of the whole Monlo Empire at this point. The general himself may show up again."

Jacob grinned hearing her words.

"Which is why we will take care of them first."

Maria lifted her cheek and stared at him.

"You mean, we’re going to fight the Monlo Empire? All by ourselves?"

"Is that a problem?"

Instead of calling him crazy or slapping him over the head, Maria simply laughed.

"A problem? The only problem is we keep giving ourselves impossible goals!"

Jacob wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Well, it looks like we will be starting to make some progress on that list after this."

Suddenly, a massive wing came down upon them, sending Jacob flying across the field. Before Maria could react, another wing swatted her flying the opposite direction.

A roar rang across the field that made Jacob’s legs feel weak. The dragon that Slimo had fought twice before had come back to settle the score one final time. Its wings were tattered and bruised, its eye still twitched with its scar, and its belly was dark from Lidia’s punch.

"Maria! Are you okay?!"

Maria stood her ground and grabbed the spear off her back, staring the dragon down with a deathly glare.

"I’m fine! Do you have a plan?!"

Jacob readied his sword.

"I’ll figure one out as I go! Just don’t get caught in its mouth!"

The dragon screeched and lunged at Jacob. It widened its mouth as it closed the distance. Jacob ran towards it to meet it halfway. Using all of his strength, he brought the sword down on its massive snout.

The metal cried as it scratched against the dragon’s rough scales. Instead of cutting through its hide, the sword was stopped completely, lodging itself in the flesh. The dragon used its tail and whipped Jacob off its face, sending him crashing into the earth once more. However, Maria was ready for the follow up.

She came crashing down on to its head from above with her spear pointing at its one good eye. The spear lodged itself deep in the dragon’s cornea, causing it to shriek in pain. Maria never let go of the spear as the dragon thrashed around trying to shake her off. She screamed and swung herself outward, yanking the spear as hard as she can.

The dragon was dragged to the side from the force, clawing at its own eye trying to free itself. Jacob blitzed into its belly, pointing his sword right in the area where Lidia had given it another mark. The sword passed through the skin like butter, allowing dark black blood to paint his sword. Another scream came from the dragon’s maw.

Suddenly, a strange amber color started forming around the dragon. Maria tried to ignore it and pinned its head on the ground using her strength.

"Jacob! Its throat is exposed!"

She was right. The throat of the dragon had the same soft skin as its belly, and it was exposed, almost asking to be cut through. Jacob didn’t waste any time to close the distance and swipe his sword as hard as he can. However, just as his sword was ready to pierce its flesh, a voice rang through his mind.

"Insolence... You mortals will never defeat me!"

A feeling of dread washed over Jacob’s body. He screamed over to Maria before he jumped away.

"Maria! Get some distance!"

Maria’s eyes widened as the dragon’s body glowed more. Using all her strength, she tore her spear from its eye and pushed off its body to get as far away from it as she could.

Suddenly, a massive explosion rang through the field, causing dust to kick up all around them. A low grumble escaped through the veil of dirt. An angrier, colder feeling washed over him.

"What the hell?"

Once he was finally able to see the dragon again, there was something different about it. Its scales had turned white and shiny, as if it had put on a new set of armor. Its eyes were a dark purple that reflected nothing but pure wrath in their wide, reptilian pupils. Somehow, the dragon seemed to have completely healed itself from its previous wounds and evolve into something greater.

Jacob looked at the scene in horror.

"You can’t be serious."

As if the new look wasn’t scary enough, something seemed to spark around the dragon’s mouth. After three moments of the strange sparking, lighting exploded out of the dragon’s mouth, coloring the sky with streaks of white. Strangely, seeing this made Jacob even more determined to kill it. Killing a dragon had never been on his bucket list, but this was the perfect first step to taking on an entire empire. Jacob slammed his foot into the ground and screamed.

Within moments, the dragon kicked off the ground and soared towards him. Jacob choked on air and brought his sword up. His sword wedged itself in between the sharp teeth of its mouth and Jacob was sent flying into the air as he held on. Panic started rising in his chest the higher he flew. Not only that, but he could also hear crackling of another lightning attack begin to form in its mouth.

"Shit. I can’t-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed Maria’s dark black hair above the dragon’s nose. She had somehow managed to grab on to it before it took Jacob up into the air.

"Release!!"

Thrusting her spear down with all her might, the tip exploded through the dragon’s head and pushed it towards the ground. However, the wound wasn’t nearly deep enough to cause a lot of damage. Using its tail, it whipped Maria off its back and began flying towards the ground. Jacob gripped on to his sword with all his might. Something inside him began to grow. An indescribable hunger filled his gut.

’No. Not again.’

His mouth started to water.

’Control it! Control it, Jacob!’

Suddenly, Jacob had an idea. The sparking had reached its breaking point. Another bolt of lightning was coming. At the veery last moment, Jacob jumped away from the dragon using all his strength, He stared into its eyes with wrath as he spoke it a command.

"CLOSE YOUR MOUTH!"

Within moments, the dragon closed its mouth, shattering Jacob’s weapon. Additionally, it couldn’t stop its own attack in time. The dragon’s mouth shone with a radiant light before exploding outwards into a bloody mess. Smoke began to funnel out of its throat as it cried out in the sky. Jacob was still falling towards the earth. He held out his hands in front of him.

"Catch me!"

The grass everywhere followed his command and made a massive cushion to slow his fall. Jacob stumbled to the ground with minor wounds. Pools of blood and shards of sharp teeth littered the ground around him. The pools were so deep that he could see his reflection in them.

’Perfect.’

The dragon was still flying in the sky, readying to swoop in and claw both Maria and him to death as payback for their previous assault. He didn’t have a lot of time. Jacob picked up a shard of the dragon’s teeth and ran over to pool of blood. He stared at his reflection and gave himself a command.

"Don’t lose control!"

And then, he threw the tooth into his mouth and swallowed it whole. It felt like he had swallowed a shard of glass that cut his throat deeply before reaching his stomach. However, an immediate change started taking over Jacob’s body. His skin felt tough, his teeth felt sharp, and something seemed to be trying to escape from his back through his armor. However, Jacob was so distracted by the transformation, he forgot about the dragon in the sky for the slightest moment, which was all the dragon needed to make its attack.

By the time Jacob turned around to fight back, it was already much too late. A gargantuan, sharp wing was being sent down on him. Just before it made contact, a hand shoved Jacob out of the way. Maria was there to take the full brunt of the attack for him.

"NO!"

The wing crashed down into her armor, shredding it to pieces and leaving a deep gash across her body. Maria fell to the ground completely motionless. One good hit was all it took to defeat her. A primal anger flooded Jacob’s being.

’I’m... in control!!’

Suddenly, the back of Jacob’s armor exploded into shreds, allowing dark, stygian wings to take form. Using his new powers, Jacob flew towards the dragon aiming to send a fist into its eye. The dragon predicted this and kept its distance, afraid of letting Jacob get too close. After a few missed attempts, he had finally landed a crushing blow into the beast’s spine, sending it crashing into the ground from the force.

Jacob’s strength felt like it had multiplied tenfold by eating the dragon tooth. His hunger craved more, but his command to himself was overriding the feeling for the time being.

The dragon tried flying away, but Jacob wouldn’t let it. He got underneath its throat and wrapped his arms around its windpipe, aiming to crush it in his grasp. The dragon flapped its wings and swiped its claws trying to get Jacob off, but the claws couldn’t so much as scratch his new skin.

After minutes of a desperate struggle, the dragon was about to finally free itself. Just when it was getting ready to fly back, a glowing figure was falling above him.

Maria was shrouded in a dark purple aura. Her hair was floating off her head, her eyes were glowing their verdant color, and there appeared to be a strange thread coursing through the veins under her skin. All Jacob knew from seeing her is that he needed to brace for impact.

Maria’s fist collided with the spine of the dragon.

BOOM!!

The ground beneath the dragon had crumbled to nothing but dust. A crater as deep and wide as massive lake was formed underneath them. The explosion was so loud that there was no doubt the people of Paria Empire could hear it tear through their skies.

The dragon folded under the immense power of Maria’s attack. It seemed to have been completely paralyzed. Now was Jacob’s chance to go for the killing blow.

He held on to a strange sensation filling his throat and mouth. The area in front of his face began to spark as he gripped tighter on to the throat of the dragon. In the next moment, a small blast of lighting shot from his mouth and exploded through the dragon’s throat and head, causing it to finally grow completely still and quiet.