The capital burned louder now. The air shook with heat and the echo of crumbling towers. The battlefield where they stood was nothing but shattered stone and fire, yet in the middle of it, Lucy’s breath came steady.
Her horn gleamed violet in the smoke. The markings across her body pulsed, bright with every heartbeat. Her new aura was raw, alive, still fighting against itself. She could feel it rushing through her veins, wild and sharp, like the power wasn’t hers but some ancient thing forcing her to carry it.
The Dragon King stood across from her, golden cloak flaring, his fists clenched tight. His gaze no longer carried calm arrogance. His pupils had narrowed, his jaw set too hard. He feared what he saw.
Karl leaned against rubble, blood spilling from his mouth, scales cracked. His body tried to rise but failed, every bone screaming. He could only watch.
Lucian lay silent in the dirt, chest moving faint but slow, his cloak shredded. His glow had dimmed, his power burned out.
The Dragon King snapped his head up as the massive shadow swept down from the clouds. The sky itself bent under the weight of Kaelis’s wings. His fire blazed black and gold, rivers falling from his scales like rain.
Panic flickered across the King’s face. His aura flared wider, desperate, as though he meant to hold the sky up by himself.
But Kaelis did not strike. He landed, the ground cracking under his weight, his claws carving trenches through the stone. He lowered his head and spread his wings wide—shielding Lucian’s limp body with a wall of scale and fire.
The Dragon King’s breath stuttered. For a heartbeat he thought Kaelis had come for him. Instead, the great dragon only guarded the boy. Watching. Waiting.
Lucy exhaled. Relief struck her chest like a blade drawn free. Her brother was safe. Now, all that remained was the monster before her.
She raised her sword. The black fire crawled higher, fused with the markings across her arm. The horn pulsed once, her violet eyes sharpening.
The Dragon King moved first. His fist tore through the air, gold splitting the ruins apart.
Lucy swung. Her blade cut the strike in half, black fire erasing gold. Sparks scattered, stone screamed, yet she held her ground.
Her legs buckled under the weight, but her aura flared in answer, markings glowing brighter. She stepped into him, her blade carving again. The fire ripped across his chest, burning his golden cloak, leaving blackened scars along his armor of light.
The King growled, his voice low, edged with anger he had never shown before. He lunged, both fists striking like falling suns.
Lucy bent. Her new power carried her faster, sharper. She slid under the strike, the markings along her legs flaring violet. Her blade rose, black fire slashing up across his ribs. Golden blood sprayed, hissing as it hit the stones.
The King staggered back a step, eyes wide. He pressed a hand to his chest, the burn still eating into him. His aura shook at the edges.
Lucy’s chest heaved, sweat dripping, her body struggling to contain the power coursing through it. Every strike felt like more than her own strength—like something older was guiding her hand. She wasn’t in full control. But she didn’t need full control. She needed to cut.
The King roared. His voice broke the air. He slammed both palms together, golden waves bursting out like storms.
Lucy steadied herself, markings flaring down her spine. Her horn pulsed, her aura spiked. She raised her blade with both hands and slashed once.
The wave split down the middle.
The ruins on either side exploded, but she walked through the storm untouched, her violet eyes locked only on him.
The King’s teeth bared. He lashed again, faster, his fists raining golden strikes. The street shattered under each blow, rubble lifted into dust.
Lucy met him. Her blade clashed with his fists, black fire against gold, each strike shaking the world. The markings on her arms burned hotter, her bones screaming under the force, but her grip never loosened.
She pressed forward, step by step, her resolve carving the ground beneath her feet.
Karl, half-collapsed against stone, watched through blurred vision. His grin returned, weak but sharp. "Show him..." he coughed blood, "...how a black fights."
Lucy’s blade carved wide, black fire exploding in a crescent. It ripped through the King’s defense, cutting across his chest again. His golden aura cracked, sparks falling like broken glass.
He staggered, his eyes narrowing, fury twisting his face. His hand shot out, faster than lightning, clamping around her throat.
He lifted her from the ground, golden aura pouring through his grip. Her markings flared wildly, her body straining. Her blade slipped from her fingers, clattering against stone.
For a moment, her breath choked. Her vision blurred.
Then her horn pulsed once, hard. The markings across her skin erupted with light.
The black fire didn’t crawl from her blade this time. It burst from her body, raw, violent, erasing the King’s aura where it touched. His hand smoked, skin blistering.
He snarled and hurled her away, his palm burned. She flipped mid-air, markings guiding her body, and landed low, her hand snapping to her sword again.
Her violet eyes burned brighter. Her voice came steady, calm in the fire.
"You can’t break me."
The King roared, golden aura flaring, his fists rising again.
Lucy surged forward, blade alive with violet-black fire, markings pulsing with every heartbeat. She clashed with him head-on, her resolve hammering through every strike.
The battlefield lit with gold and black.
Kaelis’s eyes narrowed, his wings still spread over Lucian. Karl dragged himself higher, blood dripping, watching the fight with a grin torn by pain.
Lucy pressed on, her power rising, her will sharpening.
For the first time, the Dragon King looked not untouchable.
He looked forced back.
A/N ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel⁂fire.net
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