DING!
~----~
[Critical State: Mortal Vessel at 12% Integrity!]
[Eternal Dragon Legacy Awakening…]
[Dragon Soul Fusion (Tier 1) – Unlocked]
[Temporary Fusion Initiated: Ryujin + Nox ~ Hybrid Draconic Form!]
~----~
BZZZ!
Crimson energy erupted violently, forcing Valtheris to recoil.
For a moment, the master assassin narrowed his eyes, slight trepidation slithering into their cold depths as he witnessed something that he heard of in legends but never thought he would witness in reality… Dragon Soul Fusion.
At the very least, he never expected to witness it in a Jormungandr.
As soon as the crimson energy erupted, Ryujin changed. His aura skyrocketed in a violent manner even as scales rippled along his arms, claws extending as molten light consumed his irises.
His injuries… they didn't fully heal, but his pain became numbed.
Ryujin felt nothing.
Shadowflame wreathed his spear, as for a moment, Ryujin felt the changes in his body, fully embodying what it meant to be a Dragon.
Knowing fully well that he was still locked in combat and that his life was still in danger though, he forcefully shifted his attention from his body and back to his opponent, carefully feeling the new power that now thrummed through his veins, flooding his muscles with newfound might.
And then, his voice rumbled with layered human and draconic tones. "You won't take me… serpent".
Valtheris hesitated for only a moment, and then…
WHOOSH!
He moved.
The battlefield transformed into hellfire.
The master assassin had a mission, and no matter what happened, no matter what unforeseen obstacles he stumbled upon, he would carve through it with sheer experience and might to get his desired result.
Ryujin reacted as soon as Valtheris moved.
He lunged forward with inhuman speed, spear blazing with shadowflame. Each strike carried the weight of Nox's strength fused with his own, forcing Valtheris onto the defensive for the first time.
Nox fought beside him, their movements perfectly synchronized; tail whips matching Ryujin's thrusts, black flame eruptions driving Valtheris back one step at a time.
The assassin snarled beneath his mark, tearing it away to reveal emerald-serpentine tattoos glowing along his face and neck.
"You think fusion makes you my equal?!" He roared.
With a guttural cry, Valtheris unleashed his forbidden technique, his body twisting into a shadow-serpent hybrid.
Venom hissed from clawed hands, and his speed doubled, daggers now fangs in a serpentine blur.
The plateau quaked as man and assassin clashed like titans, spears and daggers flashing, shadowflame and venom colliding in deadly arcs.
Jagged stone shattered under the force of strikes, molten cracks glowing where dragonfire scorched the earth.
Never in his wildest dreams did Valtheris expected to face so much difficulty in assassinating the Beastless trash of the Jormungandr household.
Yes, they had elite training all the way from childhood.
Yes, they had the best instructors and trainers, but still… still, as the master assassin of the Jormungandr household, you would think eliminating Ryujin would have been a work in the park for him.
So he thought too when taking the mission initially. But as he observed Ryujin fight and survive for one week, he realized how far different from his expectations reality was.
Ryujin was not a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. Rather, he was a Dragon with fangs and Dragonflame, and could bite.
But still, after all his preparations, to still have such a hard time…
'Monster!' he thought.
If it was his older brother, Valtheris would understand. But this… he felt conflicted, his throat felt dry, but his daggers never stopped moving.
Still, he didn't relent. He snarled and kept on fighting, pooling on his skills and decades of experience to strike the kid down.
Nox roared, pouncing on Valtheris' serpent mount and crushing its coils with enhanced draconic strength. Shadowflame consumed it, the beast's screeching death cry echoing across the cliffs.
Valtheris fought on, relentless even without his mount. His wyvern mount was not a combat one, or else it would have joined the fight already.
And then… the assassin's last desperate strike came like a lightning-fast blur aimed for Ryujin's heart…
…but Ryujin anticipated it.
With a roar, he drove his spear through Valtheris' dagger arm, shadowflame erupting as the assassin's weapon shattered.
Ryujin stood over him, draconic eyes blazing, voice deep and resonant.
"Tell Halveth… his coils no longer hold me".
Valtheris froze, emerald blood dripping from his wound. Then, with a serpentine hiss, he dissolved into shadow-mist, retreating into the wilderness.
His final words slithered across the battlefield:
"You've earned your reprieve, wyrmling… but the Dominion never forgets".
Valtheris escaped.
Then, silence…
Pin-drop silence reclaimed the plateau.
Ryujin's hybrid form flickered, molten light fading from his eyes as claws and scales dissolved back into trembling human flesh. The sudden loss of draconic strength hit him like a collapsing mountain. His knees buckled.
Blood soaked his torn tunic, dripping steadily from the deep wound in his ribs where Valtheris' dagger had struck.
The earlier poisoned graze along his cheek burned hotly, veins faintly glowing with emerald venom that refused to leave his system.
Ryujin collapsed to one knee, one hand clutching his side. Every breath was a knife, every movement a lance of fire through shattered ribs.
System notifications flickered faintly in his blurred vision:
DING!
~----~
[WARNING: Venom Residue Detected – Mortal Integrity 27%]
[Legacy Passive: Draconic Vitality Slowing Poison Spread… Full Purge Requires Recovery or Healing Assistance]
[Soul Strain: Severe – Dragon Bond Stable, Host Body Weakened]
~----~
Nox stepped forward, molten eyes filled with raw concern.
The drake nuzzled his master's shoulder gently, rumbling a low growl as if scolding him for pushing too far.
Ryujin coughed, crimson flecking his lips. "We… we did it," he whispered hoarsely. "But gods… he nearly killed me". Despite his words, and the pain, he grinned.
With effort, he wrapped an arm around Nox's scaled neck.
The drake shifted carefully, lowering itself to support him. Every movement sent fire through Ryujin's side, but he forced himself upright.
As dawn crept across the shattered plateau, smoke still curling from scorched stone and serpent corpses, Ryujin stood broken but unbowed.
The assassin had retreated, but the price of survival was carved deep into his flesh and soul.
System messages reappeared faintly, blurred but triumphant:
~----~
[Beast Tamer Rank E – Solidified]
[Legacy Growth: Sovereign's Flame (Seed) Acquired]
[Dragon Bond Evolution Path – Opened]
~----~
Ryujin spat blood onto the blackened earth, his voice a ragged whisper. "One serpent down… but I'm not done. I'll make them all kneel".
Nox rumbled softly, wings twitching as the drake helped Ryujin limp away from the battlefield.
Behind them, emerald venom hissed faintly in the cracks of the plateau stone, a reminder that Valtheris' strike still lingered within Ryujin's blood.
And far in the serpent halls of Veydrall, the news of Valtheris' failure, and the survival of the dragon-cursed exile would soon plunge the Dominion into uproar.