“Huh…?”
The world around Kael slowed down as he saw the wolf tearing his arm off, blood sprawled all over the place, and finally,
The pain kicked in.
“AAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!”
He screamed in absolute agony as he lost his balance and fell on the ground. However, even when he fell, even when he was in pain so agonizing that he had never felt something like this before, his eyes were on his child, who was still surrounded.
Because Kael had attracted the aggro, the pressure on Igni had reduced, allowing the little dragon to continue fighting. Even if he couldn’t tackle the enemies because of the lack of space, he still grabbed them by his jaw and cut them in half.
It was a sight that made Kael smile despite going through the hellish pain of having his arm chopped off and having four flaming wolves stepping over him, prepared to feast on him.
Soon, however, Kael’s face paled in horror as he noticed Igni, who had now turned towards him.
“FATHER!”
The dragon screamed, and that little loss of focus allowed one of the wolves to tackle the dragon.
Igni lost his balance and fell, allowing the wolves to pounce on him while he was in no state to defend himself.
“IGNIIIIIII—ROOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!”
Kael screamed, his voice turning somewhat… demonic?
It was as if multiple voices screamed at the same time.
The very air trembled, and suddenly, something happened.
His remaining arm dug into the ground, and claws formed at his fingertips. His body convulsed, his flesh reformed.
His missing arm regrew, but it wasn’t made of flesh, it was made of flames.
His tattered clothes burned away, revealing shimmering red scales that pulsated with an unknown power… something… Primordial.
Crack Crack
And this wasn’t the end. The bones on his back deformed and suddenly,
Flap
Two massive, shimmering red, draconic wings came out of his shoulder blades. His eyes turned draconic golden as a part of his face was covered with scales similar to what had covered all his body.
Intimidated by his aura, the wolves froze.
Flap
Kael flapped his wings and hovered in the air. Then, he dashed towards Igni, his speed so absurdly fast that let alone the wolves, even Igni couldn’t react to it.
His massive wings cut all the wolves in front of him in half. Within a mere second, Kael had killed around fifteen wolves, and this was when killing these beasts wasn’t even his goal,
He just wanted to get close to his child.
“Igni…”
He called out, his voice hoarse.
His eyes, however, were filled with the same, gentle and overwhelming love for his child.
“Igni…”
He called out again as tears welled around the edges of his eyes, his heart racing quickly.
“Grrr…”
The wolves who once stood around Igni growled nervously, unsure whether they should attack this ‘being’ in front of them.
They could sense it.
He was too strong.
And what’s worse?
They couldn’t sense any weaknesses they could take advantage of.
Whoosh
Then suddenly, as if he just noticed their presence now, Kael’s three-meter-long tail moved like a whip, slicing all these wolves in two.
All this while, he never once looked away from his child.
“Father…?”
Igni called out, his weak voice was unable to hide his confusion.
But then,
[Time Remaining: 2 Seconds.]
Kael saw a message and,
Flap
He flapped his wings and flew into the air at a speed he didn’t even think was possible.
Two seconds, however, was not a very long time, and soon, his massive crimson wings flickered out of existence.
Just like the wings, his scales and tail melted away into specks of glowing dust. The endless energy that had surged within his body a few moments ago now abandoned him, leaving behind nothing but exhaustion.
Like a rocket that had lost its fuel, the momentum carried him forward, but… he was falling.
What’s worse?
His earlier injuries resurged, and his muscles gave out, unwilling to move even a little.
Even in this situation, however, Kael used all his remaining strength to roll mid-air, keeping Igni on his chest and curling inwardly, preparing for the fall.
Then,
Boom
His back slammed against the ground.
The sheer force of the landing sent him skidding across the terrain. The warm, crusty earth ripped his flesh apart, tearing open wounds across his back as sharp rocks and debris cut into him.
Blood splattered behind him, painting the earth with crimson streaks.
“Aaggghhhhhhh!!!”
It was agonizing, but Kael didn’t let go.
Even as his body was dragged, even as his muscles screamed for release, even as the sheer force of everything threatened to tear him apart,
Kael tightened his grip around Igni.
His only remaining arm, already weak and trembling, was wrapped around the small dragon like he was everything he had.
His body screamed in protest, but Kael didn’t allow himself to rotate and let Igni be hurt.
He would bear everything on his own.
That was his final resolve, his final stubbornness.
And finally,
It ended.
His broken body came to a halt. The world around him finally stopped moving, but… Kael had nothing left.
He lay on the ground, his chest rising and falling as he breathed heavily, his vision blurred.
Every single part of his body was in pain, there was blood all around him, the flesh on his back was pretty much gone, his bones were visible, his nerves seared with unbearable agony, but even then…
There was a stubborn smile on his face.
“Igni…”
He called out.
His voice was extremely weak, as if he was barely holding on.
“Father…”
The dragon wasn’t in any better condition either.
He was crying, his voice was broken and his face was covered with tears. He was hurt as well, there were injuries all over his body. After all, he was surrounded by more than twenty wolves.
The dragon, however, wasn’t crying because of his injuries.
He was crying because of his father’s condition.
He was blaming himself.
“Father, I am sorry! I am so sorry! I was a fool! I shouldn’t hav—”
“Igni…”
Kael called out, making Igni stop.
He then finally closed his heavy eyes and,
“You did well…”
Kael spoke as suddenly,
Whoosh
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Fountain of Lava erupted from the ground and consumed both of them.