Chapitre 27: A Duel
"Show you?" Dagon asked, "And how do you want me to do that?"
"I want you to have a duel with me." She said. "The only rule is to not hold back."
"What? But.. what if I kill you?"
"Then I die. I was too weak." She shrugged.
The cavern had opened up into a large stone area, dimly lit by lamps laying across the ground. The cavern was large enough to hold at least six dragons. At the end of it was another tunnel, but Dagon could not see where it led.
The girl walked to the center of the cavern and pulled out her spear. The tip of the weapon was diamond shaped and came to a thin, sharp point.
"My name is Bella. I have no family name." She said.
"So… we are starting just like that then..?" Dagon asked, confused.
"Ugh, you are so slow. How do you expect to be the Dragon King if you are so stupid. Yes. We start now."
"Well, first I'd like to shake your hand." Dagon said with a smile.
Bella raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because, it is a show of respect." Dagon spoke.
"Hm. Fine." She held out her hand irritably.
Dagon walked forward and, with a smile, took it.
"To a fair fight." Dagon said with a smile.
Sephtis snorted in the background.
Dagon's Drakeagen began to glow as Sephtis Shifted more magic to him. He stepped away from Bella, and the moment he was at arm's length she thrust her spear forward.
Dagon quickly knocked the weapon aside by tapping the side of the blade. He then backed away from her, the entire time a smirk tugged at the edge of his lip.
Bella ran at him, swinging her spear and sometimes throwing out kicks and punches, but Dagon would easily dodge all of them.
Bella, becoming frustrated, swung her spear at Dagon's feet, but he jumped over it. Then Bella quickly wrenched the spear over her shoulder and cracked the weapon's shaft on Dagon's shoulder, but he had deftly caught it with his hand. He then threw out his foot, hitting her directly in the stomach and pushing her back.
"Why the hell aren't you using any spells?" She growled, gasping for air.
"I could ask the same of you." Dagon spoke. And then his eyes went cold and his expression became menacing. "But it's too late for that."
"The hell it is-" Bella rose to her feet, lighting arcing about her spear, but she suddenly froze, her eyes going wide.
Dagon grinned. "I won this from the beginning. Ever since you shook my hand, but I had to make sure the match had started before we shook hands. As I asked you, you said it had started, so when I shook your hand we were already fighting. Can't blame me for making the first move, even if it seems underhanded. Sometimes those tactics are the only way to win."
"Since when was Dagon so good at hand-to-hand?" Sephtis asked.
"His father had taught him as a child, and he continued his practice and training ever since, sometimes even sparring with me." Gena explained.
"I see."
"What… did you do to me..?" Bella asked, dropping to her knees.
"Simple. All I did was have a little bit of liquid Mercury in the palm of my hand when I shook yours. And now it's taking affect." Dagon smiled, "But don't worry. I'm not gonna kill you."
Bella dropped to the ground as her body began to convulse. Dagon approached her, but her dragon quickly blocked his path.
"If you don't want her to die, you need to move." Dagon said.
"How do I know you won't just kill her yourself?" The dragon growled.
"Are you stupid? If I wanted her dead I'd just leave her as she is now. She has information I need to know. So move." Dagon said.
With a hiss, the silver dragon hesitantly moved aside. Dagon knelt down beside Bella and placed his hand on her heart. After a moment, the convulsing stopped.
"There." Dagon said. "I removed all of the poison from her. She is fine now, just unconscious."
The girl suddenly shot into motion, clasping Dagon's arm. Her fist then cracked across his face, knocking him to the ground where she pinned him, holding her spear to his neck.
"I never said I surrendered." She spat. "You are a coward. You should have just left me to die."
"I couldn't." Dagon said. "You have information I need to know. And quite honestly I don't want you dead. I want you to be my ally."
"Listen to me. If you want to win this war, you can't be merciful. You have to kill all your enemies without hesitation, because if you hesitate, you will be the one left to bleed out in the mud." Bella growled.
"I understand that." Dagon said. "But I refuse to kill unless it is absolutely necessary. If it comes back to haunt me, so be it."
Bella was silent for a moment. She seemed deep in thought, holding Dagon down the entire time.
"Alright. Can you let me go?" He asked. "I think we both know I won this."
"I don't think so. Look who is on the ground."
"Fine. Then allow me to make it painfully obvious for you." Dagon said.
Mercury spikes shot up from the ground, stopping just short of Bella's body. She froze, holding absolutely still.
"Surrender. This will be my second win. Because you know as well as I do that I won before."
"No. You surrender. I still have a blade to your neck." She growled.
"And I have like six blades to your entire body, Jesus god please just surrender already you persistent woman." Dagon sighed. "This is getting uncomfortable. I always wanted a girl on top of me, but I never thought it would be like this."
"W-what?" Bella said with surprise, loosening her grip. At that moment the Mercury spikes receded and Dagon used all his might to spin, pushing aside the weapon and rolling on top of Bella, pinning her down, his hand pressing down on her throat and his face a breath away from hers. He used his knees to pin down her arms at her sides.
Bella's eyes were wide, staring into Dagon's cold and calculating eyes.
"Surrender." He said coldly.
"I-fine. I concede."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone