Chapter 32: Chapter 032

A strange dark mist clouded Henry’s mind and vision. Suddenly, he saw only pitch black. He could feel himself moving. He could feel the air brushing against and past his skin. He could feel the burning sensation resulting from his quick and heavy breaths. But he couldn’t see anything.

His mind was a mess as if the darkness had turned everything upside down and then proceeded to stir everything up like a blender. When it had left his mind, everything was in a jumble and shambles. He could remember nothing. He tried his utmost to focus his mind but he could turn up nothing. All that he could remember was his name and his race, a Dragon.

No, I’m not just a Dragon. I was merely reborn as one. Before that, I was a human. …I was a human? Why am I remembering myself as a human? Was I ever a human?

Something struck his mind. It hit him hard like a full-on slap without any intent of moderation.

Snap out of it, Henry! You were a human! I was a human! I may be a Dragon now but I was certainly a human! I—

Suddenly, he heard the sounds of explosions and the frightened screams of people.

Explosion? Screams? What is this?

He then heard the whirling of machines revving up followed by a string of deafening shattering noises that he recognised as the blazing expulsion of machine guns. There were also sharp deafening booming noises of canons, or maybe high-powered rifles.

G-guns? Why are there guns? Where am I?

Then, there were the piercing shrieks and blaring cries of something inhumane. These screeches reminded him of the Demon he fought in the cavern.

Wait, Demons? Guns. Explosion. Screams. A war? Am I hearing the sounds of a battlefield? Was I a soldier on this battlefield? Or was I a collateral civilian? Was I—

His speculations came to an abrupt end as the darkness was lifted off of his sight and he was greeted by the charging figure of Rayne with her cleaver-sword raised.

Oh, right. This was happening but just what hell was that?

His memories of the recent times and immediate moments flooded back into his head after the dark veil was lifted. He didn’t know what that was but that was a mystery for another time. First, he had to deal with the wretched bitch who dared to enthral him. He didn’t know how he managed to free himself of the Geas earlier but he wasn’t complaining. He was just glad he was free and capable to be angry at the bitch who enthralled him.

A huge wave of fury washed over Henry at that thought. The rage was near-unbridled and his body moved before his mind even told it to. He met Rayne’s charge with his own. He spun and slammed the tail into the puny white elf wannabe. Her small body, in Henry’s perspective, went skipping across the ground like a flat pebble being thrown across a body of water.

Huh… I’m faster?

He didn’t have any solid ground for that discernment. He simply felt in his bones that he was faster. Not just his speed, he hit harder too.

In his mulling, Rayne had recovered and threw the two-pronged spear at Henry after infusing the spearhead with her Murux. He scoffed and let the spear hit him. It bounced off of him per the usual results.

“Impossible,” Rayne muttered. Though she was being swatted across the courtyard like a bug, Henry couldn’t see any bruise or wound on her. Even the ground had cracked against her momentum but she was fine.

“You’re the impossible one,” Henry retorted. “Bones fracture and flesh go bursting, those usually happen after a slap of my tail.”

“And my spear usually pierces into the flesh of the monsters when it hits its mark.”

“It can speak!?” cried Soren, who then glared hard at Rayne. “You enthral an intelligent beast with Geas?” He then turned to the elderly. “Father, this is unacceptable. She has crossed the line. She must be punished.”

“In due time, my son. For now, she has a mess to clean up.”

“If it’s capable of speech, then it’s capable of seeing reason. Why must she still fight the beast? Surely he’s willing to talk, right?”

“My brother has a point, don’t you agree, Henry?” said Rayne, smiling faintly.

Henry snorted with a sneer. “To hell with your brother’s point,” and he lunged with a swipe.

Rayne slid back to avoid his claws, followed by a forward slash that was aimed at his eyes.

Henry battered her slash away and thrust forward with a bite.

Rayne flipped over Henry’s snapping jaws and landed on his back. She placed her palm on the top of his head. “I am still your master! Obey me!” she shouted.

The runes etched on Henry’s head began to glow but only for a while before they fizzled out of existence.

“This is ridiculous. How can you—” before she could finish uttering her surprise, Henry pulled her off his back by the leg and slammed her to the ground.

“You have no idea who or what you have just fucked with!” Henry roared. His voice made the air tremble and ripple. Still gripping Rayne by her leg, he proceeded to slam her around a couple of times before tossing her into a wall.

Rayne got herself out of the hole just as Henry pounced on her. She rolled out of the side and brought her sword around in a wide arc but her blade grazed harmlessly against his tough hide.

Henry sneered with a chuckle and backhanded her away. She was light, which was something unbelievable for someone of her resilience and tenacity. He opened his inwardly glowing mouth, intending to use his fire breath, but he closed his mouth after a thought. He could easily turn her to ashes but there would be no joy then. She had brought him much agony even though it was only a short while. He wanted to repay the pain a hundredfold. He wanted to see her suffer.

Was I always like this? Nah, who cares? That is but an insignificant matter. This bitch’s suffering takes absolute precedence. She made me miss out on two Murux Hearts!

Rayne was back on her feet once more without any apparent injuries on her. “You’re nothing without that tough hide of yours,” she spat.

Henry chortled. “And how are you any different, covetous bitch?”

“Bitch…?” Rayne’s voice turned low and quiet. “Covetous? Your tongue suits you, you lizard, as brutish as a beast.”

Henry growled with a chuckle and threw Aura Blades at her, which she easily dodged by flipping to the side.

“It could use refined Murux Arts!” Soren exclaimed.

“It would seem so. If its anger can be quelled and the darkness within it dispelled, this beast will be a great ally to have,” the elderly muttered quietly.

Refined Murux Arts? Anger and darkness? What the hell are they talking about? Are they trying to enslave me too?

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Henry smacked Rayne out of the sky and into the ground after a series of impressive acrobatic movements. Before she could get up, he blasted her with Jetstream Breath and she went skidding and grinding across the ground. Henry then turned his attention to the father and son.

“Father, the beast’s attention is on us.”

“I can see that.” The elderly nodded and stood up. “Stand down, beast. I understand your wrath towards her and this thrashing you are giving her, she deserves it. But my sons and I mean you no harm.”

“Piss off with your pretence!” Henry snarled. “You want to enthral me just like that bitch!”

“We have no such intention. You misunderstand.”

“Don’t lie to me!” Henry shouted and the air rippled once more. “I heard what you said! You were going to turn me into your precious pet just like that white tiger by your side!”

“Then you are severely mistaken. It's true I mean to take you in as an ally but not by enthralling you. I hope to just persuade you.”

“Lies!” Henry roared and unleashed his Fire Breath.

“Tygris!” Soren cried out and the white sabretooth tiger leapt in front of the stream of flames and vanquished it with an equally loud roar.

Henry was even pushed back a little by that roar and he could feel the tinges of sheer cold from that breath. Indignation flared up within him at the fact that his blazing roar was so easily warded off. He had never thought himself to be a prideful individual but he found it intolerable that what he considered his ultimate offence was repressed with ease.

When he opened his mouth to vent his indignation, no roar came out. Instead, he bellowed with a piercing screech. It was deafening even to his own ears. While the three Zeras in the courtyard curled into their belly with their hands on their ears, the white tiger scrunched its face and stormed toward Henry.

He reeled in his sharp cry and swung his claws at the approaching tiger. It dodged low and lunged at Henry from below. He swiped at the tiger with his other claw but it was used as a foothold as the tiger leapt to his back. Once landed, Henry flipped himself on his back before the tiger could try anything. It leapt off and Henry quickly flipped himself upright but he was too late to react against the tiger’s paw slamming into his face. He went staggering but only for a bit. Still, it hurt a lot more than he thought.

The tiger did not take a rest for even a second. It continued with its assault. It rammed into Henry’s left hind limb, disrupting his balance. The tiger came around and smacked another paw into Henry’s face. When Henry swiped, it dodged low again and rammed him in the chin in retaliation. The tiger then blasted Henry across the courtyard with an energy breath or something of that sort.

Before Henry could recover his bearings and composure, Rayne was upon him. She threw her spear, which she had retrieved, at his eyes. He batted the spear away and Rayne capitalised on this opening, swinging her cleaver-sword at Henry’s face. She was too close for him to dodge or counterattack.

The blade carved into his eye. Blood spurted out. Henry flailed his head around as he unleashed a screech that was louder and severely more deafening than before. Stunned by his screech, Rayne lost her balance and fell on her rear. Her brother and father were faring much better as they were also incapacitated by the screech. Before she could recover and move away, out of Henry’s reach, his claws turned into black tendrils and they darted towards Rayne, pinning her down on the ground.

Using his other claw, Henry pulled the cleaver-sword out of his eye and in seconds, his left eye was as good as new.

“By the stars…” Rayne gasped weakly, still in a daze from the earth-shattering cry. “Demonic Arts… so that’s how you break free of my Geas. You’re a Demon…”

“That’s rich, coming from someone who unremorsefully enthrals beasts for her own selfish benefits.” He pulled her close to him as the tendrils retracted and turned back into claws. “If I’m a Demon, what does that make you?”

“A bitch,” she retorted and threw a bolt of energy into Henry’s face that she had secretly conjured in her palm. His grip loosened a little but it was enough for her to slip out of it. She dove for her sword just as Henry recovered from that surprise attack.

He screeched furiously and pounced at Rayne but the white tiger slammed into him and the two went tumbling together as they bit and scratched at one another. The tiger came out on top but its position was instantly reversed as Henry was much stronger and heavier.

Trapped under Henry’s forelimbs, the tiger struggled vainly. It tried to use its breath attack but Henry headbutted it every time it drew in breaths.

“Do not do this!” pleaded the tiger with its Murux Voice. “Come to your senses!”

Henry wasn’t surprised that it could speak. “Don’t do this!?” he yelled in disbelief. “Come to my senses, you say!? You all made me do this and now you want me to just roll over and show my belly!? Scum of the lowest dump! Face your failure and blunder in stride!” Henry opened up his jaws to their widest, prepared to take a bite of the tiger’s head.

“This bitch is right here!” Rayne came in and saved Tygris from its imminent death with a knee to Henry’s head. He went staggering backwards as Rayne swung her cleaver-sword down on him. The tattoos on his limbs glowed and he skidded to the side as if there were wheels on the soles of his limbs.

“That does it!” Henry growled and brandished his ethereal wings.

“It can fly…” gasped the elderly. “Soren, gather all the warriors and tell Damien to get all the others to safety now!”

“But what about you, father?”

“I have to make sure this Demonic Beast does not go anywhere.”

After some reluctance, Soren eventually bowed and dashed out of the courtyard.

Demonic beast? Henry raised an eyebrow at that name-calling. I’ll show you demonic!

Henry took to the skies before Rayne's desperate lunging slash could catch him. Henry was chuckling at Rayne’s desperate look but when he collided with something, his smile disappeared. A large magical barrier, akin to a glass pane, was in the way of his ascent. He punched it and bit it, forming cracks all over, but the magical pane repaired itself almost instantly. Following the conjuration trail of Murux, he found out the caster to be the elderly, Rayne’s father.

He dispelled his wings and let gravity pull him towards the elderly. He realised all too late he shouldn’t have done that as he smacked face-first into a similar magical barrier that prevented his ascent.

That damn old man! I’ll fucking tear him to pieces!

Henry re-conjured his wings and tried to back away but there was also a magic pane behind him. In fact, magic panes were forming around him, caging him in. He kicked, punched, rammed, but the panes were repairing themselves faster than he could crack them.

But when Henry used his Infernal Breath, the magical cage of panes shattered instantly into millions of tiny fragments. Though however fast the magical panes were repairing themselves, they could not repair anything if there was nothing to be repaired.

Henry continued in his fall through the air and towards the courtyard. He saw the elderly’s hands moving, most likely conjuring another series of barriers. Henry stopped his attempts by spitting a firebolt directly at the elderly just as barriers were forming around him once more but the firebolt was already launched.

Die!

Henry roared inwardly. He was so engrossed in his rage that he didn’t even notice an obvious change in his power. The bolt of fire he just spat out was black.

“Father!” cried Rayne as she threw her spear to intercept the firebolt. Though the firebolt was still some distance away, the explosion was no joke as the shockwave of the explosion alone was enough to devastate the entire courtyard and also the surrounding areas.

That’s what you get for trying to enthral the apex predator, puny creatures.

Henry scorned smugly in his heart as he watched the destruction he wrought in glee.