Blue mana flared around Ebruhan's blade as he rushed forward again.
No hesitation.
No retreat.
Just pure dragon stubbornness weaponized into bad decisions.
He slashed—
fast, sharp, aimed clean for Varkryth's side.
CLANG.
Obsidian met blue mana.
Varkryth parried it with one hand on the blade, effortless, almost lazy.
The force rang through the chamber.
Purple eyes looked at him with complete disappointment.
"Weak."
Ebruhan gritted his teeth and swung again—
harder.
Faster.
This time Varkryth answered with his own strike.
One clean horizontal slash.
Ebruhan barely raised his mana blade in time—
CLANG—
The impact alone launched him backward like he had personally offended gravity.
He skidded across the stone floor, boots tearing lines into the ground.
Pain shot up both arms.
His hands almost went numb.
(Why does every hit from this man feel like a damm meteor)
Varkryth walked forward.
Calm. Steady.
Like doom with excellent posture.
"Puny."
Another strike came.
Faster.
Ebruhan twisted aside just in time—
the obsidian blade carved through the wall behind him like paper.
No hesitation.
He countered immediately, turning back with a slash aimed for Varkryth's ribs—
Almost.
Almost.
But Varkryth was faster.
He pivoted smoothly, body turning with ancient precision—
and—
THUD.
An elbow slammed straight into Ebruhan's face.
No fancy magic.
Just violence.
His vision flashed white.
His nose made several legal complaints.
Blood sprayed.
He stumbled backward, barely keeping his footing.
Varkryth stood there, sword low at his side.
Still calm.
Still judging.
"…Is this truly the dragon Mia trusts?"
That one hurt worse than the elbow.
Ebruhan wiped blood from his mouth, breathing hard.
His face throbbed. His pride was on life support.
But his eyes—
still burning.
He straightened slowly.
"…You talk too much for an old man."
Silence.
Then Varkryth gave the smallest smile.
Cold.
Sharp.
"Good."
He lifted the obsidian blade again.
"Anger is better than excuses."
And then—
he attacked again.
"CLANG—!"
The impact rang like a bell of judgment.
Ebruhan was thrown backward, boots grinding against the stone as he skidded across the fractured floor. He dropped to one knee, breath ragged, blood slipping from the corner of his mouth and pattering onto the ground below.
His blade trembled.
So did his arm.
Varkryth didn't move.
"Get up."
Not loud.
Not angry.
Just absolute.
—
Footsteps echoed from the entrance.
Heavy.
Familiar.
Mia stepped into the chamber in her dragon form—
—and froze.
Her eyes locked onto the scene.
Ebruhan.
Broken. Bleeding. Kneeling.
"…Ebruhan?"
Her voice cracked.
"What are you doing here?!"
Ebruhan didn't turn.
Couldn't.
Before she could move—
SNAP.
A cold weight clamped around her neck.
An iron collar.
Chains shot out from it instantly, anchoring into the stone floor under her.
Mia's eyes widened.
"What—?! No!"
She pulled hard.
The chains didn't budge.
Not even a little.
Varkryth raised his hand lazily, as if fastening restraints on a storm.
"Watch."
His voice was calm.
Cruel in its simplicity.
"Watch this pathetic weakling die."
Mia's head snapped toward him.
"NO—!"
She struggled harder, claws scraping against the ground, chains rattling violently.
"You idiot, Ebruhan! WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"
Ebruhan exhaled slowly.
Blood hit the floor.
"…Promise."
One word.
That was all.
Then he moved.
Again.
He charged.
Blue mana flared—
He didn't make it far.
BOOM.
Varkryth's fist slammed into him mid-motion.
Ebruhan folded from the impact, body lifting slightly before being driven straight into the ground.
CRACK—
Stone shattered beneath him.
"STOP—!!"
Mia screamed, chains clanking violently as she pulled with everything she had.
Ebruhan tried to rise—
Varkryth grabbed him—
and threw him.
He hit the wall again.
Hard.
Dropped.
Forced back to one knee.
Barely conscious.
Still breathing.
Still trying.
"NO… no!!"
Mia's voice broke.
"STOP! YOU'RE KILLING HIM!"
She pulled harder.
The chains bit into the stone, unmoving.
Varkryth stood between them, unmoved, watching.
Judging.
Ebruhan coughed again, forcing himself up—
again—
again—
like the concept of staying down simply did not exist to him.
Mia's eyes trembled.
"…Why…"
But she already knew.
He had said it.
Promise.
That stupid, unbreakable, dragon promise.
And now—
he was paying for it.
One hit at a time.
Ebruhan moved again.
Because stopping was not something he knew how to do anymore.
Blue mana flickered weakly around him as he forced his body forward—one more dash, one more attempt, one more defiance against something he had no right to challenge.
Mia's voice cracked behind him.
"STOP—!!"
"PLEASE—STOP—!!"
He didn't.
He couldn't.
Ebruhan surged forward, closing the distance in a desperate blur, mana blade forming in his hand—
A final strike.
Straight for Varkryth's head.
For one impossible second—
it almost looked like it might land.
Then—
caught.
Just like that.
Varkryth's hand closed around his wrist mid-strike.
Perfect timing. Perfect control.
Ebruhan's eyes widened—
"CRACK."
The sound was sharp.
Final.
Varkryth twisted.
Hard.
Ebruhan's grip broke instantly, the mana blade flickering and shattering into nothing as pain ripped through his arm.
A breath—
That was all he got.
Then—
BOOM.
Varkryth's fist drove straight into his stomach.
Not just force.
Impact.
The kind that sends a shockwave through bone and air alike.
Ebruhan folded instantly.
All air left his lungs.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
His body shook.
Collapsed—
down to one knee.
"…Ghk—"
The chamber rang with the echo of the hit.
Mia screamed.
"NO—!!"
Her chains slammed against the ground as she pulled harder, desperation tearing through every movement.
"STOP—PLEASE STOP—!!"
Ebruhan couldn't even answer anymore.
Couldn't stand.
Couldn't breathe properly.
And still—
he tried.
His body trembled, trying to rise again—
But a hand closed around his throat.
Varkryth lifted him effortlessly off the ground.
Like he weighed nothing.
Like this was nothing.
Ebruhan hung there, barely conscious, blood trailing down his chin.
Varkryth looked at him.
Purple eyes cold.
Judging.
Then—
his other hand moved.
Dark mana gathered.
The obsidian blade formed again, humming with quiet, terrible finality.
Mia's voice broke completely.
"NO!! DON'T!! PLEASE!!"
She pulled so hard the chains screamed against the stone.
"I'LL DO ANYTHING—JUST STOP—!!"
Varkryth didn't look at her.
His gaze stayed on Ebruhan.
On the dragon who had come this far—
and failed.
"Pathetic."
The word fell like a verdict.
The blade lifted.
Ready to fall.
Ebruhan's vision blurred.
Sound dulled.
The world narrowed to fragments— cold and cracked…
the taste of blood…
and Mia.
Just barely.
Through the haze, he saw her.
Struggling. Screaming. Breaking against chains that refused to yield.
His chest rose weakly.
"…Sorry…"
The word barely formed.
(So this is it…)
Varkryth's grip tightened around his throat.
The obsidian blade lifted.
Dark. Final.
For a moment—
everything slowed.
Then—
SHHK.
A sharp sound cut through the air.
Varkryth's arm jerked.
A spike of dark purple mana had pierced straight through it.
Clean.
Precise.
Enough.
His grip loosened.
Ebruhan dropped.
Hit the ground hard.
Didn't get back up.
Couldn't.
He just lay there, breathing shallow, vision flickering in and out.
Varkryth looked at the spike in his arm.
Then slowly turned.
Toward the source.
Mia.
Her body trembled.
Not from fear anymore.
From power.
Dark purple mana poured off her like a storm breaking loose, coiling around her wings, her claws, her entire form.
The chains around her neck—
cracked.
Then shattered.
Falling away like they had no right to exist.
Her roar tore through the chamber.
Raw.
Furious.
Alive.
Varkryth calmly reached up and pulled the mana spike from his arm.
The wound sealed instantly.
Like it had never been there.
But his eyes…
His eyes sharpened.
Locked onto her.
"You dare…"
His voice lowered.
"…fight your father…"
A small pause.
He glanced briefly at Ebruhan lying broken on the ground.
"…for this pathetic weakling?"
Silence.
Mia didn't answer.
Didn't hesitate.
Her stance said everything.
Varkryth stared at her for a moment.
Then—
he laughed.
Not loudly.
Not mockingly.
Something else.
Something darker.
Something… pleased.
"Good."