Chapter 24: The Fleeing Enemy
“Feline Agility!”
“Greased Lightning!”
As the Azure-Footed Dragon Serpent began gathering energy for its next Lightning Breath, Kai Xiusu cast a flurry of speed-enhancing spells upon himself. His body surged with unnatural dexterity, and he danced lightly through the mine shaft, leaping with fluid grace toward the serpent.
Though the Red Dragon’s raw strength paled in comparison to the Azure-Footed Dragon Serpent’s immense frame—its size dwarfing his own—power wasn’t the sole determinant in close combat. Kai Xiusu had unwavering confidence in his ability to overcome the beast in hand-to-hand battle.
Lightning shot forth from the serpent’s maw, but the Red Dragon was already prepared. Anticipating the trajectory, he twisted and dodged with effortless precision, evading each bolt with ease.
The serpent’s voice rasped with mocking amusement. “Foolish dragon. Daring to challenge me in this cave?”
“No flight advantage—”
“Then what are you but a pitiful scrap?”
Twelve pairs of limbs writhed across the rocky wall like living vines, moving with unnatural speed. It advanced with the swiftness of a storm, its pace even outpacing the Red Dragon’s spell-enhanced movements.
It surged forward like a bolt of electric blue lightning.
“Bull’s Strength!”
The Red Dragon welcomed the charge. Instantly, he activated a strength-enhancing spell. Veins bulged across his muscular frame as steam erupted from his nostrils, his body swelling with raw power.
“First Strike!”
Golden vertical pupils flared with a violet aura. The Red Dragon locked eyes with the serpent, scanning for the next move—any hint of intent.
“Pathetic,” the serpent sneered. “You’re no different from the cowardly human mage. Easily broken.”
Seeing the Red Dragon swathed in spells, the serpent showed no fear. It simply opened its maw wide and lunged in a vicious bite.
The Red Dragon anticipated it. He leapt aside, dodging the strike, and readied his claws for retaliation.
But he hadn’t expected the serpent’s bite to be a feint.
As he dodged, the serpent snapped its body upward like a coiled whip, wrapping its massive form around him in a crushing embrace.
Constrict!
The serpent tightened its grip, compressing the Red Dragon’s space, squeezing the life from him. Its body was more than twice the length of the Red Dragon’s, and its strength far greater. Once the constriction was complete—victory was sealed.
The Red Dragon, trapped, slashed furiously at the serpent’s exposed, charred flesh with his claws. Blood and torn muscle flew in all directions.
The serpent shrieked in pain—but it did not relent. It knew that if it loosened even slightly, it would lose. And if it succeeded in Constricting, even a Red Dragon would collapse from sheer pressure.
But Kai Xiusu was no mere barbarian. His claws tore deep into the flesh—several feet in—ripping open the serpent’s hide and tearing through muscle and sinew.
“You’re just prey,” the serpent snarled, fury burning in its voice.
Even as it bled, its body moved with terrifying speed, coiling tighter around the Red Dragon.
“You’re just dying,” it spat. “Screaming your last breaths.”
It had succeeded. The Red Dragon was trapped—bound in a death embrace, like a beast caught in a snare, unable to move his limbs, only weakly thrashing, his fangs and teeth sinking feebly into the serpent’s body.
It was moments away from ending the Red Dragon’s life.
The serpent felt its Bloodline surge with primal ecstasy—its ancient hatred for dragons, etched into its very essence, flared to life. It ignored the agony, driven only by instinct, squeezing with every ounce of remaining strength.
This was the terrifying power of an ancient beast weapon—the blood-deep enmity woven into the dragon’s soul.
Then—suddenly—the tide turned.
“Phantom Step!”
The Red Dragon, still firmly Constricted, whispered the spell. As a master of Combat Casting, he retained full control even in total restraint.
In an instant, the serpent felt emptiness at its core—where the Red Dragon had been, only a wisp of silver-white smoke remained.
The Red Dragon had vanished.
He reappeared ten meters away, perched atop a jagged cliff edge.
“Too late!” the serpent cried in shock.
It had strained itself too hard. Its body was twisted into a grotesque knot, caught in a vulnerable position.
Kai Xiusu could have escaped the moment the serpent launched its Constrict. But he chose to play along—to let it believe it had him trapped, thereby draining its strength even further.
With a triumphant roar, the Red Dragon launched himself forward, plummeting down like a falling star toward the stunned serpent.
“Now,” he snarled, “tell me—”
Who is the hunter?
The serpent, still contorted and defenseless, barely managed to raise its head and snap at him.
But Kai Xiusu’s Dexterity far surpassed the serpent’s. The Red Dragon danced to the side with a fluid, effortless leap—avoiding the bite with ease.
Then, in the opening created by the serpent’s attack, he struck—darting behind it, lunging forward with a savage bite into its exposed, mangled flank.
Flesh torn. Blood sprayed.
Warm blood flooded his mouth. Teeth sank deep into muscle, tearing through fibers, piercing deeper still. The sensation was intoxicating—pure, primal satisfaction.
“Aaaaarrrrgh!” The serpent screamed, its voice echoing through the cavern, as it writhed in agony, thrashing wildly in a desperate bid to escape.
But the Red Dragon wouldn’t let go. His jaws clamped down like iron. His arms strained, veins bulging, claws digging deep into the serpent’s body—reaching inside, tearing blindly.
The two beasts rolled across the ground in a frenzy of raw, brutal combat. The mine shaft trembled. Rocks cracked and tumbled from the ceiling, showering down like rain.
“Uuuu…” The serpent’s cries grew weaker.
Finally, its struggles slowed. Its breaths became shallow, its body barely twitching.
The Red Dragon, exhausted, held on—his strength fading. If the serpent still had a trick left… he was finished.
Had it come to an end?
Kai Xiusu felt the serpent’s breath grow fainter. Its movements ceased.
Then—a sudden burst of emerald-blue mist.
“Boom!”
The serpent had torn off half its own body—its tail—using the severed end as a desperate escape. Seven pairs of legs scuttled across the rock wall at lightning speed.
Though wounded, the loss of its burden made it faster than ever.
“…It still got away,” the Red Dragon muttered, finally releasing his grip. He pulled his claws free from the twitching, half-destroyed corpse.
He watched as the Azure-Footed Dragon Serpent vanished into the endless darkness.
He couldn’t follow. He was spent. And this mine shaft was the serpent’s domain.
Without flight, the Red Dragon’s speed was limited to his four legs—no match for a creature with seven pairs of limbs, even half its former self.
The Dancing Light Spell had faded, leaving only the dim glow of a single torch.
Kai Xiusu stood in silence, staring into the dark abyss—the serpent’s retreat.
The Red Dragon’s unique reflective membrane behind his eyes allowed him to see in the deepest shadows, his gaze glowing faintly in the dark.
Yet his vision was only in shades of black and white.
“That way… is Ashen Hollow,” he murmured. His sense of direction remained sharp, even in utter darkness—able to interpret the subtle cues from the environment.
Then, a thought struck him.
“Bottomless Chasm?” Kai Xiusu whispered.
(End of Chapter)
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