Bab 12: Great Opportunity
"Noooooo.....!!" Bawling her eyes out, Siri collapsed on the floor as she let out a heart-rending cry. She couldn't believe she lost her match.
She felt warm hands wrap around her as the healer came from behind and hugged her.
"Cry no more little one, there will always be winners and losers in a battle. You just have to train harder. More So you are still young, your future is bright."
Siri smiled a little at the comforting words. 'She's right, and I just need to train harder than before.'
"I'm actually a big fan of yours." The healer said to Siri's surprise.
"It was a well-fought battle; you have the makings of a warrior."
Siri laid still on the infirmary bed, enjoying the warm hug even though she was tired, and her whole body was hurting, she wouldn't deny herself this.
Truth be told, female dragons are physically weaker than their male counterparts, but Siri is a rare one; she has gone toe to toe with talented dragonewts and dominated them.
The worst part of this battle to her isn't losing the battle, but instead losing to another female. Even if the female is the holy dragon, she felt that she had the upper hand in the fight between the two.
"Be proud of yourself," the healer caressed Siri's hair and cleaned her sweating face. "You have gone further than most thought you could be proud of yourself."
Siri allowed the small smile to creep across her face as she nuzzled into the warm embrace. "Thank you."
********************
Queen Sabrina couldn't contain her happiness as she smiled ear to ear, walking up to her daughter, Ella, and Put who had already gathered.
She walked up to Put first and immediately took her hand into hers, patting it.
"I can't thank you enough Put. After seeing Drake's fight the day before, I had thought this battle would be the end of my child's tournament journey. You've really trained my Drazon into a fine warrior."
Old Put held a calm smile, as if the situation had been foreseen, "hahaha, you worry too much, your majesty. How could a student of mine be beaten so easily!?"
Unbeknownst to the Queen, Put's back was filled with sweat after Drake's name was announced as Drazon's opponent. He had zero confidence in his student coming out as the victor.
'I certainly couldn't tell her I had the same fears as she!'
The Queen looked towards her small red dragon as he approached, a grin so big his eyes were shaped like crescent moons.
**********************
Drazon, Bash, Destiny, and Drake moved on to the finals. Even though Drake lost the last battle, he still had to fight another round to determine whether he would take third or fourth place.
The next fight was announced: Drake, the defeated favorite to win versus Bash, the strongest of all competitors.
The match was touted to be the greatest of the tournament, the one the crowd had anticipated from the start to be the finale match. Even though Drake already lost and had no chance at the first place, he was still a favorite amongst the crowd.
Both dragons looked forward to the match, each feeling that the opponent was a worthy one.
***********************
While the dragons went on with their tournament, princess Judea once again snuck out of the tribe and to the Phoenix's forest to finalize their deal.
Judea felt she was more relaxed than when she first came. Now treating the heavy atmosphere as nothing but a wind, her confidence grew as she believed she started showing the makings of a great King.
King Raja always stood at the highest point in the council hall. His voice reverberated through the entire hall as it fell onto the princess.
"Our deal has been struck. A small squad of my elite troops will follow you through the secret passage. They will slay the dragon, and you shall show them where the Phoenix fruit is hidden."
"You have my word." She replied. 'Though it won't end as you think,' she thought mockingly. 'after helping me get rid of that brat, do not expect your men back.'
Her mouth revealed a broad smile at the thought of killing two birds with a single stone.
"I shall take my leave." She announced as she got up from her seat and left the council hall.
King Raja's eyes followed her as she slowly walked, his face holding a mocking smile as he shook his head slowly.
"Foolish child, your arrogance and jealousy will be your downfall..."
The elders nodded to his every word.
'The rainbow fruit will finally be mine!!! Once I kill off the rest of the wretched dragon clan, the other elders will have no choice but to give me the rainbow fruit.'
The rainbow fruit once belonged to the dragon clan. During the Great war it was wrested from their hands by the Phoenix and had since been locked in the depths of their Treasury.
The Phoenix ancestors declared that only the Phoenix who bathed the Treasury with hundreds and thousands of dragon's blood would be allowed to eat such a grand fruit.
Using this, the Phoenix fueled their descendant's desire to destroy the dragons. They saw it as a way to right the wrongs the dragons had done to them; they saw it as punishment for their heretic claim as rulers of the sky.
'My elemental progression stagnated some time ago, even with all the resources I've been given: elemental potions, and fire fruits. No matter how many more I consume, they do nothing to help me push to the next level. If I am able to get my hands on the rainbow fruit, surely I'll become the strongest phoenix ever born!'
Raja let out a hearty laugh, breaking the awkward silence that hung in the air after Judea's exit. Confused, the other council elders quickly joined in.
"Truly this is a great chance. Who knew something like this would just gladly jump into our laps?"
Raja didn't bother looking at who was speaking. The voice was indeed that of the 4th elder, Seth.
Seth is next in line to the throne if Raja doesn't produce any worthy heirs. Because of this fact, Raja has little to no trust in his fellow elder Seth. He constantly suspects an ulterior motive in every action made by Seth.
Nodding his head in agreement, Raja replied: "It is indeed a great opportunity. I will ensure we do not squander it. We will follow the girl to the hidden entrance to the Dragon territory and use that knowledge to destroy them!! When the time is right, that is..."
.....
Flying stealthily back to the dragon tribe, princess Judea exited the Phoenix forest, followed by her guards.
She couldn't help but reflect on her actions, 'this is truly a dangerous game. But one I have control of. The Phoenix still fear our dragons. They wouldn't dare stir up more trouble than I've instructed. See? It's reasons like this, me taking charge of a situation for the better of the tribe, that I should be in charge. Father will see that, once this is all over.'
She just had to make sure Raja's elites wouldn't do any more than she asked. 'Kill Drazon, that's it. Then, once they're done, they get killed by the guards. No loose ends.'
As for angering Raja, she wasn't bothered by that. The Phoenix are now in a great era. They wouldn't risk their lives to go against a fallen but still powerful dragon, just to appease their king's anger.
'All will be fine' she thought, a grin smeared across her face.
***************************
"Contestants Bash and Drake get to the ring!!"
The referee bellowed as the crowd went into a frenzy. The match the crowd most looked forward to was finally about to begin. The betting den described it as a match of Titans. The most talented dragonewts facing off against each other.
Starting with no time to spare, both contestants rushed towards each other at great speed. With a quick move, Drake flipped and dodged Bash's incoming attack and grabbed ahold of his hand.
Attempting to flip Bash down and start his wrestling move, Bash's arm suddenly bulged and with a cry raised Drake up and smashed him down on the ring
**BOOM***
Drazon, watching intently from the crowd, shook his head. 'Drake takes too much confidence in his wrestling move. Instead of staying far away from Bash and using his long-range superiority, he rushes headlong against the monster.'
"Idiot" he muttered aloud, just enough for his mother beside him to hear.
She shook her head and ruffled her son's air.
Drake's hold on Bash's wand was loosened from the impact. He got up slowly and unsteadily backed away from Bash.
Shaking off the stun, he quickly rushed backwards hoping to create a considerable distance between himself and Bash. Bash didn't take him seriously at all, allowing him to do as he wished.
Drake could see Bash's air of superiority but calmed his anger as he gathered his wind element within him. The hit from before made Drake realize it was a huge mistake to think he could contend with Bash in close combat.
****Swoosh*****
Large wind currents gathered in his hands, and he released them quickly towards Bash.
The other youngling's body suddenly bulged and increased dramatically in size. With a loud cry, Bash suddenly charged through the wind current under Drake's horrified look.
The distance between them was closed in an instant. Drake jumped up as he took an aerobatic flip but lost his footing. The attack from earlier still affected him.
Before he could regain his footing, he suddenly saw a fist take up his vision.
THWACK
Everything went dark.
The crowd suddenly turned silent as healers and the referee rushed to Drake's rescue. The poor dragonewt's face caved in from the punch and, had it not been for the dragons extremely high vitality, he would not have survived.
Excitement soon took over the crowds' surprise as the sight of blood fueled their desire for battle. They cheered and hailed Bash over and over again.
Bash's match against Drake had the crowd craving for more as excitement took over while waiting for the next match to start.
The Holy Dragon Destiny versus The cursed Dragon Drazon. A battle between a chosen and an outcast.
Destiny was welcomed with a resounding cheer as they all let out a joyful cry and applause.
Drazon's entry was a stark opposite. Boos surrounded him as he ascended the platform and, treating it as a joke, smiled and waved in reply; stoking the crowd's anger.
Drazon kept his eyes peeled on Destiny as he waited for the referee's signal.
As soon as the ref uttered the words "BEGIN," he readied himself to charge at his opponent but was met with a shy smile.
Drazon turned to jelly as he stopped in his tracks and started to blush.
He didn't know what came over him, just that he suddenly couldn't bear to hurt this holy dragon, he felt more inclined to help her instead.
While still smiling, suddenly, a stream of water slammed into his face as he was sent off his feet.
He slowly got up as the silly spell on him wore off with the attack. Now getting his head back together, Drazon took a battle stance and closed the distance between them.
His fist flew through the air and just barely missed the female horn. Not bothered by his attack missing, he swung his hips, and roundhouse kicked at her.
Drazon watched on as Destiny's control over the time element and her dragon instinct helped her dodge his flurry of attacks. Destiny spotted a gap in his defense and swept her leg forward.
"Too slow." He muttered, though loud enough for her to ear. Grabbing the leg, he pushed it sideways and retaliated with a kick of his own.
King Novax watched on with a joyful smile. The speed shown by the boy was beyond what a youngling was normally capable of. Closing the distance of future sight with just pure speed is an incredible feat.
'Truly, he is good' Novax couldn't help but admire Drazon's skill. 'I was right to keep him alive. I have created the perfect conditions for a child of such caliber to thrive and grow. If I hadn't made him an outcast at birth, he would probably have grown up to be like Judea, spoiled and entitled…'
Drazon continued with his constant attacks. He made sure to time his attacks perfectly so as not to hurt the female dragon excessively. It just didn't sit well with him, the thought of her being hurt; he would rather win the battle in a fight of endurance.
Drazon saw as blood slowly trickled down her nose. He had noticed in her previous fights that she seemed to have a low endurance, relying on counterattacking big attacks. Her weakness, in his mind, was continuous dodging. She would use up too much stamina when forced to dodge that much.
Destiny, in a bid to turn the fight in her favor, suddenly went on the offensive. Her left hand raised as she blocked an attack from Drazon. She held the hand and smashed down her elbow towards his.
At that moment, Drazon suddenly released the gathered lightning from his hand. He watched helplessly as she screamed in pain and crumpled on the floor.
Drazon picked her up from the floor as he felt her muscles spasm. He gently placed her outside the ring as a mixture of boos and cheers rang out from the spectators.
After the celebration ends, Queen. Sabrina stood before her child as she has a bitter smile, she's been trying to convince him to give up the tournament but to no avail.
"Drazon, you have done enough as it is; you have shown everyone your are a true dragon. This much is enough. Bash Is a ruthless being, you might end up seriously injured in this battle."
Drazon shook his head at his mother's words. He understood her reasoning and her fears, but he can't give up now. Not now when he's so close; not now when it's the final.
"Mother, I shall be careful. Don't worry about me."
Queen Sabrina sighed at her son's word. She knew he wouldn't be convinced, but a part of her hoped so. "Be careful." Turned out be all she can say as she gave her son her blessing.
That night, Drazon went all out while practicing. Though he told his mother all will be well, he knows it's far from well. Bash Is by far stronger than he his, and he has to muster all his strength to eke out a win.
**********************
"ROAR!!!" the dragons on the stand let out terrify roars as they shook their bodies. It's the final showdown of the Sacred tournament. The Victor will earn the Phoenix fruit and be above all.
The cursed child against the Violent one.
Drazon slowly ate his meal, like all other dragons he ate fruits and vegetables but today there is something different, Meat!!
A piece of meat his mother had sneaked into his diet.
This is another reason the royal family is stronger than average dragons. While all other Dragons are vegetarians,at least once every year hunters will sneak off to catch prey, this is then presented to the royal dragons.
Today, Queen Sabrina opened up her stash and sneaked Drazon a few pieces.
Soon the time for the battle arrived, and both contestants walked up to the stage.
Drazon was received with a mixture of cheers and boos, his previous battles had earned him quite a few fan.
His eyes peeled forward, he watched on has Bash cockily walked up to the platform. The crowd went into a frenzy as cheers and calls if Bash rose from the spectators.
"Give up, you are not my match." Bash cocky voice entered his ears as soon as he walked up the stage. Drazon in hopes of irritating his opponent and making him lose judgement simply laughed.
"Come on, hurry up and let's fight. I don't wish to waste much time on you."
Drazon looked on as Bash eyes turned red, the other youngling breathing Quickened as he succeeded in angering him.
"Bastard!! If I win, you must be my slave for a month, and I shall have you kiss my feet in front of everyone who pass by."
Drazon was a bit stunned. He didn't expect such bet, instead of Bash rushing towards him in hopes of bashing his head.
He stood still, acting ever so confident to mislead his opponent. "And what if you lose to me?"
Bash readily replied "my parents once found a water fruit for me. Should you win, I shall present the fruit to you."
"Good!" Greedy Drazon forgot the danger attached to it and also angered by Bash's insult, he readily accepted and replied "then it's a deal."
Judea couldn't be more pleased at the thought of Drazon being humiliated as she made note to reward Bash after the battle. Maybe she shouldn't have visited the Phoenix after all, her father will lose all hope in him if he ends up being humiliated.
Should the worst even happen and her father still have any ideas, the proud dragons wouldn't bow to someone who once laid under others feet.
The best however will be Bash overestimating Drazon and using too much strength; the youngling better die in Bash hands.
"Begin!"
Drazon stood still even though the match had started. He can feel the anticipation from the crowds, the slightly higher wind and the increased tension.
Drazon has his eyes peeled on Drake who stood still just like him. They began a staring competition as both stood still.
Suddenly, by what signal oy God knows, Drazon charged forward same with Bash. They crossed part as their knuckles clashed.
A small shockwave spread out from the center of their fist. Both jumped back as Drazon measured Bash normal strength; this first attack was only to measure each other's strength.
Without enhancement, he feels like he is a bit stronger than Bash, Bash isn't as strong as he actually thought.
The youngling opposite him simply laughed and charged forward again. This time, his hand swelled and veins and muscle crawled all over his hands; the enhancement his in effect.
Drazon knows himself and his enemy. Should he go toe to toe with Bash, he will surely lose.
"Rharrrrg" will an angry growl, fire and lightning revolved around his fist, as he met Bash head-on.
Their fist met again, and a much larger shockwave blast from the collision. Wind and dust spread out and reached the spectators area.
"Good!!" Ardean exclaimed out loud. Truly he was wrong, this child isn't a waste!! He his a great talent; he will truly care for his child now, and train him up.
As for the bet, he doesn't care about it. Even if Drazon should lose, as long as he made his intention know, will Bash dare humiliate the prince? Given ten times more guts and more ruthless than he currently his he wouldn't dare do such if he likes his head on his neck.
Drazon dodged the fist as he lowered himself. Wind blew through his hair, as he swept his leg towards Bash legs.
The other youngling have less battle experience or awareness than him, but made up for it with his extraordinary strength.
Bash soon lost lost his cool and in hopes of ending the battle, he stumped his feet hard on the ground as the floor rumbled and shook.
His feet gave way, as he lost control of his footing; he stumbled in hopes of getting control over himself again.
Just when Bash fist arrived at his face, he fell down and dodged the attack.
Drazon saw the confused look on Bash face. The youngling wasn't sure if it was luck or he truly timed it. Not wanting to contemplate over it any further, he charged forward once again.
Unknown to Bash, Drazon is actually faster than him even though his legs are enhanced; on normal basis, Drazon is faster and has Bash enhanced himself, Drazon used his lightning element to enhance his metabolism which increased his own speed aswell; though at the cost of pain.
Wisss wissss wissss
Gust of winds and dust were blown all about as Drazon kept on dodging Bash continuous attack. Knowing he will lose head-on, he changed his strategy as he hope to tire Bash out.
Bash is too slow for Drazon, further more, Drazon's hightend dragon sense helped him dodge every single one of Bash blows.
Drazon now having first hand view of hightend dragon sense can't help to look forward to other technique Put will later on teach him.
They both charged at each other once again as they crashed into each other. There was another shock wave, but this one was bigger than the one before as wind carried off and blew the whole crowd's face. The King was pretty excited about this match as he thought about the bet even if his good-for-nothing son lost he decided that he will start training him after seeing the potential that he had with the electric element.
The battle continued as they kept clashing until Bash got tired of it and decided to step it up a notch. Bash stomped on the ground making a small earthquake. Drazon lost hold of his footing as he stumbled around, at that moment Bash was already in his face as Bash had enhanced his legs and charged straight up at Drazon.
Just when he was about to punch Drazon straight in the face, Drazon had quickly dodged the attack making the queen sign of relief. Bash was confused about how Drazon was able to avoid that attack, but he didn't want to contemplate anymore as a charge towards him once again.
Bash had no clue that Drazon was way faster than him even with his enhanced legs, but Drazon decided to keep playing around with Bash and see how this enhancement ability works. Drazon had combined his electricity element in his body to enhance his speed even though it was hurting him.
Drazon continued to dodge Bash's attacks until Bash got so tired he had used up quite a lot of his enhancement ability, so his energy was draining faster than usual as he tried to land a single hit.
Bash was way too slow for Drazon as well as his use of his sensory ability to sense where the attacks were going to be coming from and quickly dodging them. Drazon had learned this while meditating, and it seemed like it was only just the beginning of this level of skill, and he has yet to learn a lot about it, but Put had been training him.
Both dragons started to get tired; Bash was sending a lot of attacks towards Drazon, while Drazon was sensing Bash's attacks to dodge them. Drazon knew that if he got hit at least once with Bash's strength, he would be in a lot of trouble and would probably be kissing Bash's feet, which was something he did not want to do.
Drazon decided to wear Bash out until he got tired, which worked as Bash went back to normal. Bash was angry at this point because he wasn't able to land a hit, and he had expended all of his energy without even thinking. Drazon was smart as he saw this and decided to take advantage.
Drazon covered his whole body in with electricity currents jumping around his body as he had gotten even faster than before. Drazon disappeared from Bash's sight as Drazon appeared right beside Bash and struck him right in the ribs.
Bash was able to decrease the damage as he pulled away from the punch, making the impact a little bit less than it was supposed to be. King was surprised that Bash was able to pull off such an advanced defensive move. Bash said, "I learned that from Drake when I had struck him in the face, it could have done more damage, but he had pulled away from the punch at the last seconds and was able to avoid death."
Drazon said, "Well, you're still tired, so this match is looking like a win for me," Bash smirking said. That was only 90% that I was giving you; imagine if I pushed it to 100%. At this point, even the crowd was surprised that Bash still had some tricks up his sleeve.
Drazon wasn't intimidated, but he was also still worried; nonetheless, he decided that he had prolonged this battle for too long and that he was going to end it right away. A strange aura started to revolve around Bash. Drazon sensed that Bash's power was increasing little by little, but it seemed like Bash had lost his mind as he was looking a bit crazy from all the energy he was expanding.
Bash's whole body was torn apart as his muscles increased, his bones were cracking. Bash's father said, "no! Don't you dare unleash that power here, especially against your clan member? Bash didn't pay him any mind as he continued to do what he was doing.
The King was surprised that this little dragon was able to use his family ability at such a young age; it was part of the family name, which meant strength. Bash took one step forward, and the step alone that he took had made a small crater on the stage.
Drazon knew he was in trouble if he didn't do something quick, this guy was going to crush him till he wouldn't be able to move ever again. The secret move that he had to practice was now about to be used thanks to Bash going all out he might as well too.
Drazon started to exert a lot of fire, and electric energy as his aura began to also expand around his body. Drazon looked like a massive fireball with electric currents around the fire. Bash was even more excited as he saw Drazon also get pumped up.
Bash finally had a worthy opponent to face off against using all his strength, Bash charged towards Drazon and disappeared in front of everybody else, most of the crowd that never trained weren't able to keep up with their movements as they appeared and reappeared moving at high speeds while crashing into each other.
They both landed a hit on each other square on their chicks, as both their aura's dissipated, and they both fell to the ground at the same time. They were both exhausted and couldn't exert any more energy. Bash was laughing happily on the ground as he said yes, finally a worthy rival.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
MrE
MrE I don't know who my grandfather was; I'm much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.