“Who do you think you are?” Arad growled as he glared at Connor, a massive pressure emanating from his body.
“Who am I?” Connor smiled. “Question back at you. Oak log.”
“You and this rotten city. Are nothing but mere waste.” Veins started popping on Arad’s neck as he took a stance.
Thud! Eris landed in front of Connor, “He’s mine! Back off!”
“Take him if you want, but I’m taking Scarlet and that bastard Alcott,” Connor growled, but he then felt his skin crawl.
“You don’t get to decide that,” Arad growled, clenching his hands on the sword.
^Frightful presence?^ Eris stared at Arad. ^It is heavier than that of a sorcerer or a half-dragon.^ It took her a second to realize.
SWOSH! Eris lifted her hands and aimed at Arad, “Die!” [Plasma Ball] She fired three condensed plasma orbs of immense heat. 𝐞𝐨𝘃𝐞𝐥.
CRACK! Arad lunged forward, running on the tips of his toes like a wolf. If a human sorcerer can tap into the hidden power of their ancestors, why can’t he do the same? He’s a dragon, and his ancestors were dragons, so they must leave some power.
Deep into Arad’s head and from the fragmented memories that Mom had, he could see the image of a swordsman swinging his sword, running toward a massive castle.
^I can use all my skills at the same time. Layer the vampire regeneration and wyrmwolf acrobatic skills with my draconic strength and durability.^ Arad glared forward with a stern face.
Arad started actively drinking the blood in his stomach to heal. Activated [Wyrmwolf Uncanny physique] and tensed all of his muscles to rip the burned flesh off.
Arad’s wounds rapidly healed as he approached the first plasma ball.
[Void dragon claw] CRACK! Arad swung his sword down, cutting Eris’s first plasma ball in half. He simply covered his sword with void instead of fire, to suck everything that he cut into his stomach.
Puff! The plasma ball disappeared without a trace, causing Eris to gasp. “What? Where did it go?”
CLANG! PUFF! CLANG! PUFF! Arad sliced the two plasma balls and swung at Eris’s neck. ^It’s simple. All I needed to do was replicate his moves. I never knew that running on the tips of my toes could be faster.^
As Arad’s strike raced toward Eris’s neck, he could hear Connor laughing in the back, swinging his claw at Ginger, who was protecting the dying Alcott.
^I’m not fast enough. I can’t run there.^ Arad’s brain started working faster and faster. ^Void walk, I can teleport there, but the spell takes a second to activate. I won’t make it.^
Arad could see the image of the swordsman fading into the darkness of his void. ^That’s right, you were a mere human. She’s stronger. His vision shifted to the image of a massive draconic shadow.^
[[Void Walk]=>[Void Step]]
ZON! Arad’s body disappeared as soon as the blade touched Eris’s neck, leaving her shivering on the ground. She touched her neck. There was blood, but just from a scratch.
^He didn’t cut me more than skin deep?^ She looked around, ^Where did he go?^ She gasped.
ZON! Arad appeared between Connor and Ginger, swinging his sword at Connor’s claw.
Connor flinched again, remembering how his eyes were gouged. CLANG! Arad sliced one of his claws as he retreated. ^What was that?^ Connor looked at Arad.
^This fear in my skin. I can feel it crawl down my spine.^ Connor could feel the hair on his back standing. He was unintentionally trying to make himself look bigger.
“It’s a dragon’s frightful presence!” Eris shouted, “A sorcerer or a half-dragon can usually only scare people. But that man is capable of using a true dragon frightful presence.”
Eris stabbed her hand with a dagger, “It acts like magic, drawing fear from inside the mind and making you hesitate to attack or defend.” Thud! Eris rushed toward Connor, “He’s using it against us, making us less effective at defense, attack, and coordination.”
Connor bit his own arm. The pain could help him resist the fear effect of Arad’s [Frightful presence]
Connor healed his claws with a thud as he stared at Arad. “You really gave us a scare. This is why I hate unexpected variables.” He smiled. “Your tricks won’t work on me again.”
“What’s so amusing? Why are you laughing?” Arad’s voice became deeper and deeper. “What do you think those two are?” He glared at Connor with a ghastly face.
Arad’s mind jumped away from the drakaina and started skipping into the distant past of his blood, looking for powerful ancestors. He soon stopped in front of a titanic five-headed drakaina.
“You’re my descendant, but I only grant power to chromatic dragons.” The massive drakaina was the first one to speak as if she was feeling Arad’s consciousness in real time.
The Titanic drakaina smiled, “But check with my husband. He might help you.” The drakaina disappeared, and Arad found himself in a white room, glaring at the back of a white-haired old man sitting on a wooden chair.
“Grant a brat a massive wealth that they didn’t work for and they will waste it.” The old man said, “I don’t give people fish. I teach them how to hunt.”
Arad tried to reply, but he couldn’t. His body felt hot and burning, “Void is like any other element. You can’t truly understand it until you feel it. Let it burn, suck everything into your stomach and eat it.”
The distance between Arad and the old man expanded. “Void dragons are the ones who erase.”
****
Thud! Connor sees Arad zoning out for a second, so he jumped forward, clawing him across the chest.
Arad’s blood splashed onto Alcott’s face, waking him up. The first thing he saw was Arad’s body falling to the side, wounded. His eyes expanded, glowing with a golden light.
Connor immediately picked up Alcott’s bloodlust, “You can still move?” He gasped.
Alcott’s body morphed in an instant, fur covering his body as two massive bat-like wings expanded from his back. But he could feel a sharp pain in his chest. He won’t last any longer.
Alcott grabbed Connor by the jaw and jumped into the sky, flapping his wings as fast as he could. His only hope was to take Connor as far away from Ginger and Arad as possible.
“Your grip is weak!” Connor growled. Alcott was already at death’s door, and the mere strength he could muster wasn’t enough. He pushed Alcott’s arm away and bit his neck.
Thud! CRACK! Connor felt a sharp pain at the base of his tail. Ginger was there, pulling him by the tail. “Let go of Alcott’s neck!” She growled, ripping the tail off.
Alcott lost all of his power and morphed back into his humanoid form as he and Connor fell to the ground.
Connor decided to ignore Ginger for the time being and finish Alcott off. He can’t rest assured until he crushes his head to the ground. He lifted his leg up, trying to stomp Alcott’s head.
Ding! Alcott’s body disappeared. “Where did he go?” Connor gasped.
Arad stood beside Ginger, a dark haze oozing from his wounds.
“Are you two fuckers a son and father? Both won’t die like cockroaches.” Connor glared at Arad with a scornful face.
[You’re close to them! Grab Ginger and Alcott and teleport away as far as possible.] Mom suggested that Arad use [Void Step] (Was Void walk before) to teleport 400m away, which will give them some time to breathe.
Arad stood, dropping a few healing potions to Ginger from his stomach.
“I’m going to kill him!” Arad growled, glaring at Connor.