Death; that is the simple reality of what they felt. The thin air that cascaded from its monstrous body, inteced with a tightness that made breathing difficult in its overbearing presence.


    ncing back, the young man knew he couldn''t let War draw any closer as the less-thanbat capable elven man was not too far behind him.


    I''m not strong enough to fight something this powerful while protecting somebody else, he thought, the best I can do is keep it away from him…but can I even do that?


    As questionable as his capabilities were in the face of such an overwhelming force, there was no choice but to fight–all logical conclusionsnded there.


    "Run if you have to, but don''t die," He warned hispanion in a quiet voice, readying himself.


    Blimpo was taken aback by his words, wearing a nervous smile, "The hell if I''m running now! I''m seeing this through until the end!"


    While those weren''t the words the worried part of himself wanted to hear, they were without a doubt the words that would leave the mouth of the entric, somewhat insane inventor, bringing another sense of relief to him.


    Drawing a breath through his lips, sucking it into his lungs, he flexed his core, causing that internal heat dormant in him to reignite. In the face of something so overwhelming, so vastly daunting, calling upon his inner power was a much easier task.


    BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.


    [Dragonheart System Activated]


    An armor of scales wrapped itself around his body, tightening with the full-sturdiness of the azure scales before a draconic helm stretched over his head.


    [Current Stage: 3/10 | Dragon Warrior]


    Like an engine revving up, his heartbeat amplified with the ignition of his draconic blood, allowing the strength of dragons to flood through his body as he squeezed the handle of his sword tightly.


    War had yet to move, only standing there as if waiting for him to make the first move; by the air around it, what it exuded was a confidence that transcended ego, only merely aplete understanding of its own strength.


    Without a word needing to be said, he bent his knees for a split-second beforeunching forward, aiming high as he set the edge of his de to meet the neck of the monstrous entity before him.


    CLANG


    Though it was undoubtedly the bare flesh of his foe, what his sword shed with felt like solid, immovable metal.


    "--Huh?"


    As he leapt past War from his swift strike, hended cleanly on the ground, looking up to check the state of his foe: as he feared, there wasn''t so much as a scratch left on War''s neck.


    It didn''t go through? Just how tough is its skin? He questioned.


    There was no doubt that even steel would be cleaved through like paper while he utilized the third stage, yet it felt like he attempted to use a wet noodle to perform the sh.


    Having yet to take a single step yet, not even flinching from the initial attack, the monstrous centaur finally turned to face him, lifting its colossal sword arms up. It was as though it was signaling its own counterattack, hoisting its arm up as the weight of its malice could be felt.


    "--!"


    In an instant, a burst of speed was disyed in a dash from the gargantuan centaur; something so tall had no reason to move with such swiftness, at least, that''s what the Dragonheart believed.


    Shit–! He thought.


    As he leapt back, flipping through the rows of seats in the cathedral, he found himself narrowly avoiding a clean bisection as War swept its right arm forward, cleaving through a row of dormant skeletons and destroying the seats in the way of its de.


    The wind pressure could be felt against his scale armor, prompting him to catch himself on the ground before thrusting his sword forward as a means to aim his retaliation–


    "Dragonheart Hurricane."


    Manifesting all around War were the heads of dragons, forged by raging, azure mes that didn''t waste a moment before bathing the vicious entity in their fire.


    Burn! He thought.


    The entire center of the cathedral was flooded with azure mes from each angle, engulfing the entity in its sublime heat.


    Even from across the room, the elven man, who could only spectate in their transcended sh of strength, felt the heat as though he was standing in an oven, already caked in sweat.


    "...You weren''t kiddin'', were ya?! You''re crazy, Emilio!" Blimpo called out excitedly, wiping sweat from his chin as he pressed himself against the back wall.


    –Yet, even the draconic mes could not reach War; swinging both of its colossal, edged arms outward, it repelled the azure inferno before charging forward towards the Dragonheart.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was a stomach-dropping sight to witness something shrug off his mes, but it was a reality he was already prepared to face as he begrudgingly squeezed the handle of his sword.


    Tough doesn''t even begin to describe it. Is it even tougher than that caveman I encountered during the trial?...If it is, I might need to reconsider my course of action, he thought.


    Just as he swept his sword forward for a sh of his own, it was intercepted halfway through as one of the pir-sized des wielded by the giant centaur mmed into his wielded steel.


    "Ghh–!"


    There was absolutely no chance of him holding his own in a contest of strength amidst their sh; he felt the bottom of his feet lift from the stone below as lost control of his own momentum.


    Like a tremendous gale amidst a storm, the sheer power behind the colossal de caused him to be flung back.


    In a burst of speed, the hooves of the war-embodying entity dashed over, stomping down on the young man''s abdomen before he could even fall to the ground.


    "Nnngh–!"


    The Dragonheart armor cracked beneath the devastating weight, leaving his stomach to be bludgeoned as blood spit out from his mouth, only hitting the interior of his scale helm.


    Can''t…breathe, he thought.


    He was unsure if his foe had removed his hoof from his stomach, feeling such a painful pressure still weighing down on his abdomen; it felt as though his intestines had been twisted and hammered repeatedly by the single blow.


    "Emilio!" Blimpo called out.


    By some miracle, he found the strength to kick his legs up, jumping to his feet and evading another stomp that came down, but not before having the dull side of one of his foe''s massive arms mming into his body.


    "Ghh—!" He gasped out.


    Doubt flooded his mind; the very essence of the After–the realm where dreams died; the ce in which aspirations were cut at the head. It was that nature of the realm that naturally turned his mind to negativity the moment he faced such insurmountable odds.


    –Yet.


    He firmly stomped down with both feet, catching himself as he clenched his entire body, summoning strength from the depths of his being.


    [Draconic Might]


    Forcing a burst of strength to the forefront of his flesh, it naturally enhanced the scale armor he wore as well, shining its azure glow through the grooves of the darkened armor.


    I''m not letting anything stop me from getting out of here. I don''t care if you''re some sort of transcended being–I''ll tear right through you! He thought.


    Once more, that fiery spirit of the draconic flood manifested itself through a boiling heat in his mind, bing engrossed in the fight as he rushed forward, openly meeting his opponent in their next sh.


    First and foremost, his priority was getting the path of the battle away from his elvenpanion, leading him to burst forward with azure mes supercharging his speed.


    Come on—! He thought.


    He mmed his shoulder straight into War''srge torso, managing to avoid a sh of its colossal des as he charged against his foe''s body, pushing the monstrous centaur back rapidly. It was an unorthodox action taken against such arge enemy, but in the fiery mind of the Dragonheart, it was as natural as breathing.


    Using his mes as a propulsion in his movement, he mmed War through the backmost wall, forcing Blimpo to dodge to the right–


    "Woah–!" Blimpo called out before jumping out of the way.


    The wall burst through as the Dragonheart mmed the flesh-armored centaur straight through, knocking his foe back before he rolled onto his feet. He ended up in a wide chamber, hardly filled with any objects to impede the path of battle.


    Warnded seamlessly, emitting steam through the visor of its helm as if sighing out in response. Both of its arms shifted forms as its own flesh seemed to melt and reform like liquid, swiftly changing shape from greatswords into massive, pitch-cknces.


    "Come on, then," he readied himself.


    Dragging a single hoof across the stone flooring like a bull preparing to rush, the war-embodying entity reared its arms back, preparing both of the gargantuannces for a thrust forward as it stationed itself across the grimy chamber.


    Knowing that a rapid charge would being, he had to prepare himself carefully in those precious few moments, bringing upon whatever amplifications to himself he could:


    [Draconic Might]