บท 27: Chapter 26
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It echoed out all across the land, the birds dispersed, the trees swayed, and any animal with a modicum of intelligence hid for their lives, carried on the winds throughout the corners of Skyrim.
A roar that could shake heaven and earth.
Ddraig let the entire world know of his presence here.
[You don't have much time, and the more moves beyond regular boosting you use, the shorter the time will be.]
"I need wings." I grit out, this was already taking a major toll on my body.
[Done.]
As he said that, I felt the draconic wings sprout behind my shoulders. They were similar to my devil wings and I instinctively knew how to use them.
"Boost." I said quietly, letting the feeling wash over me. I looked up at the dragon again, he was still staring at me, utterly confused by what he had just witnessed. Perhaps it was the novelty of the whole situation that it couldn't comprehend, something new it its life, that made it just want to watch me for a few moments. Well, I would use this time well then.
"Boost."
"Boost."
"Boost, Boost, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST."
The limits on my boosting were gone. At the base stage, the gauntlet can only let me boost every 10 seconds, and before I could only do it once, but now, the only limits where what I could physically handle. Which admittedly, were not much when taking into consideration that I was not physically at my best.
What a rush of power, it was almost intoxicating. If I didn't have experience wielding such massive amounts of raw magic, I may have been lost in my own temporary strength.
I shot up, one moment I was on the ground, next I was staring into the dragon's eyes from only a foot away. The world was almost slow in my eyes at the speed I could now move at.
Its eyes dilated ever so slightly, surprised was over its face "Tii—"
"None of that." I said calmly grabbing its neck, allowing my hand to dig into its skin, distorting the smaller scales around its neck. I held it for a moment before pulling on my newfound strength and introducing it to the ground, hard enough that a new crater formed on impact.
"YOU!" The Dragon spoke in rage and confusion. The dust and grime kicked up from the impact had been swept away at the flap of its wings. "You are no Dovah! There is none of Father's spirit within you!"
A boom erupted as I moved again, colliding with its prone form. I felt its scales crack under the force of my blow, the spikes that littered its spine were smashed and blown apart. I still held my sword in hand, and I flipped it upside down, stabbing it down into the dragon's hide. Slowly, pushing down into the dragon's body inch by inch.
It roared, no true words coming out, but the recognizable sound of pain.
"Lightning Cloak." I cast the simple spell, filling my sword with lightning and forcing it into the body of the dragon. "This is fun, right?" The spell faded and I cast another. "Flame Cloak." The fires poured down my blade and went inside the dragon's body. Its outer body was nearly invulnerable to normal spells, but its inside weren't quite as indomitable.
"What are you!? Thdro los impossible!"
I twisted my blade ignoring its words, pulling up more of its scales as blood poured out of its wound. "ARE YOU ANGRY?" I shouted over its roars as it tried to force its body up, only to be met with a stomp of mine, forcing it back down, possibly even breaking a few bones. "Then fight me, test your scales against my steel!" I hissed. My gauntlet-clad hand reached down, digging into its hide and ripping off a section of scales from its body.
"I WILL DEVOUR YOU, MORTAL." It shouted its fury to the heavens. "THIS TOWN WILL KNOW MY ANGER, THE FLAMES WILL NOT DISPERSE UNTIL EVERYTHING IS ASH."
The sounds of scales and flesh ripping apart was only overcome by the anger and agony produced by the dragon.
"I said you would beg, I don't like being made a liar." I grabbed hold of its wing, and I began to pull.
"Alduin damn hi wah oblivion hi insolent joor ant!!!" It screamed, its arrogant voice practically dying as the pain was all that remained.
I twisted and tore apart the tendons, flesh and muscle connecting the wings to the dragon ripping, pulling apart the bones that held it in place. It was with a final tug and burst of strength that I ripped it free, tossing it to the side.
My arm went almost limp, I felt an immense pain, stronger than I had before. It was the same arm that was hurt earlier and I put too much pressure on it. It made me hesitate ever so slightly, forcing me to take a moment to center myself.
"Feim Zii Gron" The dragon spoke as its entire body become ethereal. "I have seen through you! This power is not yours, abomination! Let us see which one of us lasts longer."
Did it notice in that brief moment my weakness?
I guess a dragon is still a dragon.
It was a good plan, I could tell its body didn't exist on the physical plane of existence anymore. I doubt even regular spells would be able to harm its body at this point, some kind of conceptual immunity that surrounded its body. I could perhaps overcome it with a sufficient Ether Canon, but I didn't have the clarity of mind to cast something so complicated at the moment.
I held my hand over the dragon's head. "Penetrate"
One of Ddraig's abilities he developed in response to his rival, Albion, creating an ability to Reflect any attack. Penetrate does actually as it sounds, conceptually pierces through defenses.
The orb of energy formed in my hand as it coalesced and discharged straight down through the head of the beast in a beam of crimson light. There was no wailing as its body thumped to the ground, the ethereal light slowly fading away as I all but fell off its back, entirely spent.
I could barely stand, trying to push myself up off the dirt. My breathing was erratic, and I couldn't even use my circuits to pull out any magical energy. The last bit of my physical strength was used to merely turn over on my back.
"No." I said in but a whisper as I saw the dragon's body twitch.
It shuddered under its own weight, slowing turned to me as life still flickered in its eyes.
Impossible, I blew a hole through its fucking brain! Unless…..its body was immaterial? Wait, was its soul animating its own body!? The spell it cast, the 'ethereal' thing it did, did that perhaps turn it into some kind of spiritual being for the duration, and since I 'killed' it in such a state, the soul just stuck around in its body?
The scale mail around my body began to unravel, starting at my feet. My Balance Breaker was coming to an end...
Ddraig!
[I can't stop it, you're at your limit.]
Fuck! I wasted too much time.
"You must perish." The dragon spoke, though its 'mouth' didn't move. It was like…. its thoughts echoed out.
Well, it was good to have a backup plan in times like these. I of course held out my hand and gave him the middle finger before turning my palm towards the side. "Transfer."
The ability to 'transfer' the boosts to another person or target.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Thorum rushing over, and he just disappeared from the spot as his sword was now found in the eye of the dragon.
His muscles bulges as blood vessels popped. His whole body shuddered under the strain as blood leaked from his pours, he couldn't handle this much power for long.
The dragon's head whipped around, opening its massive jaw to try and bite down on Thorum. If i had to guess the dragon was also under a time limit for whatever it was doing. Luckily its body was barely able to move.
With the last bit of my magical energy, I pulled on the Kaleidoscope and opened a portal right under Thorum.
The dragon looked confused, swinging its limp head around looking for him, only for my friend to appear above and slam his sword down into the dragon's neck. He pushed and pulled with all his strength, I was certain I heard one of his bones audibly crack as he yanked his sword down, decapitating the beast.
Even if the dragon's soul was animating his own body, there was a limit to that.
The 'sound' the 'voice' of the dragon's soul could still echo out. "No! Mortal, you may have slain me, but my soul is eternal and Alduin will burn this world."
Its soul was a very physical thing as a golden light floated around the dragon's corpse. And the strangest phenomenon happened, the 'light' swelled and pushed into Thorum's body.
"WHAT!? DOVAHKIIN!!? NOOOOOO!" It screamed out as the light disappeared and the dragon's flesh evaporated, only leaving a set of bones on the ground in its place.
Thorum fell to the ground, clutching his heart as he spit out mouthfuls of blood.
"Release" I quietly whispered as the remains of the scale mail disappeared and I removed the boosts from Thorum.
He would be fine, he was still breathing even if his body was in a terrible state. He stumbled towards me, fumbling a health potion in his hand as he lightly drizzled it into my mouth. The warm sensation washed through my body, but it merely alleviated some of the more dire concerns.
"Did you just eat that dragon's soul?" I asked my friend, finishing the last of the drink.
He laughed clutching his side in pain, falling down right beside me. "I think so, I have some strange memories in my head now."
"Huh…..did it taste good?"
He looked thoughtful. "Like the best mead I've ever had."
"Wow….I'm a bit jealous now."
"We can always share the next one." He smiled brightly.
"I don't think it works that way, but what the hell, lets do it." I chuckled. "Oww….hurts to laugh."
"Is it strange if I can't feel my arm?" He lifted the limp limb up into the air. "Oh wait, there's the pain."
"Idiot…." I sighed, rolling closer to him and doing my best to fetch a health potion out of my ring. "Drink."
"I hope it tastes like apples." He gave his signature goofy smile; I think he's a bit delirious right now…do dragon souls count as narcotics?
"Yeah, yeah. Just drink up, big guy."
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