CHAPTER 45: I’M A DRAGON!

Chapter 44

THUD!

Max landed back to the ground with a small thud. His breath came out ragged, chest heaving in and out due to exhaustion. Sweat rolled down his temples, mixing with the blood dripping from his mouth.

’I still have five minutes left on Strength Surge, and I have two minutes left on Adrenaline Rush. If I don’t finish this soon and these skills deactivate, I would be doomed.’ Max thought as he stared at the now settling dust cloud that rose from the massive crater.

Meanwhile, Elijah who crouched down high above was certainly impressed by what he had just seen Max do. His lips twitched slightly, neither a smile nor a frown, just the expression of someone begrudgingly entertained.

’Okay! He does possess a few brain cells. But I’m still intrigued on how he plans to defeat a real demon. From what I’m seeing here...’ Elijah thought as he pulled out a device that looked like a phone, but wasn’t.

Instead, strange numbers, words, and even symbols blinked faintly on it in a rhythm, glowing and fading like a pulse.

’It’s a greater fiend. How will the dragon defeat it? Let’s see.’ Elijah grinned as he relaxed back, even yawning slightly in amusement.

"Kuk!" The demon could be heard coughing loudly as it slowly rose out of the crater its own body had created. Limbs trembling, its dark figure emerged from the dust, dragging itself out with a twisted grin.

"Right! I thought it would have died from that." Max clicked his tongue in irritation as he saw the demon’s head bleeding slightly, specifically the base area where the horn was.

But as quickly as it bled, the wound sealed up. The dark flesh knitted back together in seconds, healing as if the injury never happened.

"Fine." The demon sighed as its tattered wings stopped fluttering while it shook its head like one swatting away an insect. "I want to finish this as soon as possible so I can get back. Which means I would need to kill you just as fast."

"And once again, I want to see you try. Because I’m definitely not giving up un..."

Bang!

The demon had already moved so fast, cutting off Max’s words as it appeared right in front of the dragon. Its glowing orange eyes bored into the human-dragon hybrid, filled with malice.

"Bye." It simply said as its claws shot forward with immense speed and then....

TCHK!

The claws plunged deep into Max’s abdomen, piercing through flesh and muscle. Blood filled his mouth instantly, his eyes widened in horror as he glanced down. The claws had gone in so deep, their tips could be seen protruding from his back.

{-20 HP}

{HP: 53/100}

"Kuk!" Max coughed out violently, the blood in his mouth spraying outward in a red arc.

The demon twisted its claws cruelly while still buried in his body, making Max’s legs buckle from the unbearable pain.

{-8 HP}

{HP: 45/100}

Elijah, still crouched above, suddenly tensed up. He shoved the strange device back into his pants and quickly stood upright. His hands clamped tightly around the hilt of his sword as he stared down with his heart thumping loudly in fear and panic.

’Crap! What have I done? I was so absorbed in the fight that I forgot the master’s instructions.’

"No matter what, the dragon mustn’t die, especially since one demon has already found its way back into our world. Soon enough, they will all trickle in and no human, not even a hybrid, will be able to survive."

’Shit! What have I done? I need to sa...’

"I still don’t want to kill you." The demon shouted suddenly, claws still buried inside Max who clamped his trembling hands around its wrist, eyes flickering in and out of their glow.

"Accept my earlier offer. Let me take you back to the underworld so you can be turned into a demon. Can’t you see? You can’t defeat me! Talk more of the twelve echelons. You won’t survive. Surrender now!"

"Ack!" Max coughed out a speck of blood, hands still gripping desperately at the claws in him. He swung his foot forward, aiming to smash the demon’s leg.

But with its superior speed, the demon countered instantly, its own leg snapping out and colliding against Max’s shin.

CRACK!

A loud breaking sound filled the air as agony shot up Max’s leg, forcing him to stumble in pain.

{-10 HP}

{HP: 35/100}

"Ahhh!" Max cried out in raw agony, the sound tearing from his throat.

The demon, noticing him still moving and struggling despite everything, wasn’t about to allow it. It immediately swung its head forward and rammed it straight into Max’s face.

The horns plunged deep. One sharp horn tore a small hole in his forehead, the second stabbed directly into his eye, damaging it badly. His face was soon a river of blood, pouring down in thick streams.

{-8 HP}

{HP: 27/100}

"Say you surrender!" The demon roared in his face, voice like thunder. "Accept my offer and you would become a stronger version of yourself. Don’t you want more power? Don’t you want to be superior? Don’t you crave to rise above everything that mocked and belittled you?"

Its words slithered into Max’s ears like poison, tempting, cruel, and heavy with malice.

"I am superior!!!" Max roared back, his one eye brimming with unyielding intensity. "No matter what you say, I refuse to become a demon. Not now, not ever. And that’s because I am something more, something powerful, something stronger.

I am a dragon! A Mythical Dragon, so bow before me!" He shouted with fervour, his voice shaking the very air.

With his teeth grit and blood dripping down his lips, he smashed both elbows straight into the twisted limbs that were connected to the claws buried deep inside him.

"ARGHHHH!" The demon roared in pain as Max’s elbows crashed into its grotesque flesh.

SMASH! SMASH! SMASH!

Max didn’t stop. He continued hammering his elbows with all his fury, rage and defiance exploding in each strike. The demon howled, its body trembling as pain surged through it.

"Stop it!" The demon growled out, desperation creeping into its voice as it rammed its head into Max’s face again and again.

Blood sprayed, cuts opened across Max’s forehead, and his vision blurred, yet he refused to stop. He only hammered his elbows harder, even as agony spread through his bones.

"ARGHHHHH!" Max roared one last time, his roar fueled by a madness that refused to surrender. He drove his elbow with all his strength and then...

POP!

The demon’s limbs suddenly snapped and tore apart, severed in a gush of thick, black blood. Its claws, however, remained lodged in Max’s torso, digging deep into his flesh.

"ARGHHHH!" Max cried out again, every muscle in his body straining as he gripped the jagged claws. With all the willpower left in him, he ripped them out of his body, blood gushing in streams.

His face twisted with pain, yet his voice thundered louder than his suffering. "Never will I bow down to those beneath me! I accept! I am a dragon!"

{Dragon Roar Activated}

The moment the notification flashed before his eyes, Max felt energy boiling inside his stomach. It surged violently, bubbling like a volcano on the verge of eruption. His veins pulsed, his chest swelled, and the power inside him rose again and again until...

ROARRRRR!!!

An ear-piercing, earth-shattering, and soul-shaking roar erupted from Max’s mouth. His one remaining eye burned with fierce yellow light, like molten fire refusing to fade.

The roar spread like a wave. The moment it echoed, the demon froze in place. Its muscles locked, its body trembled, and it found itself unable to move. That was the paralyzing might of the Dragon Roar.

Max’s legs tensed, his calves bulging as they ripped through what remained of his pants. His bloodied hands gripped the claws he had torn free.

"I refuse to be killed a second time!" he roared out, exploding forward in a sudden burst of speed that tore the ground beneath his feet.

In less than a heartbeat, he was before the demon. Without hesitation, he swung the claws in his hands across its thick neck. The moment they connected, there was no resistance. Flesh, bone, and sinew parted as easily as air.

The demon’s head slid free, eyes widening in disbelief as it toppled and fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Its massive body followed, collapsing in silence.

The moment its head touched the ground, it began dissolving into black ash. Even as its face crumbled, its eyes stared wide open at Max.

’He...he...he is dangerous f...for us! If he is allowed to grow stronger, we are doomed...’ the demon thought in its final moments, its body turning to ash until nothing remained.

Max stood there, huffing and panting, his chest heaving in exhaustion. His body shook from pain, his wounds burned, and blood soaked the ground beneath him. The claws in his hands also disintegrated, fading into particles of light that vanished into the air.

Tring!

{System is shocked! Host has managed to defeat a Greater Fiend Demon.}

{Quest Completed! Rewards will now be distributed.}

"ARGHHH!" Max groaned in agony as his knees buckled. His body finally gave out, and he collapsed to the ground with a thunderous thud, his vision blurring into darkness.