Chapter 13: Teus Vs Kuravana!

Teus' heart pounded out of his chest as he struggled to come to terms with what was in front of him. The dragon hunched over as his feet sank so deep into the dirt it caused the ground beneath them to crack. His eyes firmly fixated on Teus before launching himself towards him, the momentum springing him forward.

“I-It’s really him...! Kuravana the shapeshifter!”

The old man gripped his blade with volition. He quickly got in the way of Teus and Kuravana. He twisted his torso in the direction of the dragon and performed a downward slash sending a large wave of pressurized air at the dragon.

“Don’t even think about it you dragon scum!”

Then the ground quaked as the dragon met the force of the old man’s attack head first. A gust of wind sent Teus rolling backward and the debris flew in every direction possible. He quickly regained his bearings, gritting his teeth and fingers scraping deep into the ground to better witness the battle.

The old man was clearly at his limit. He used every last ounce of his remaining strength to swing his blade in multiple crescent motions, each meticulously aimed for the head of Kuravana. His blade reflected the soft shine from the moonlight as his blade moved like a smeared blur. The speed of his strikes were swift enough for Teus’ eyes to struggle to keep up with the naked eye.

However Kuravana was not deterred by the assault. Each movement was quickly evaded as the speed of the old man may have been great, but the speed of a dragon appeared to be that much greater. His head swung like a pendulum, in an extremely controlled motion ducking and waving through each of the blows, with each evasion closing more distance between them.

“I must say, you’ve certainly caused me more problems than any of those in that Beast Breakers bunch.”

Kuravana quickly lowered his body and placed his head to occupy the space right next to the old man’s side and above his hoisted arm. His smile only growing more sinister as his tongue smeared across his lips.

“But I’m saving you for later now, This fight is between me and Teus! Don’t get in the way!”

His tongue then shot forward and blasted through the old man’s side protruding from the other end of his body, its movement as fast enough to break the sound barrier. The sight made Teus’ eyes burst open as he saw the old man gasp for air. His movement lost vigor as he lifelessly dropped to the ground.

Kuravana chuckled to himself.

“Don’t worry, he’s still alive. I want to see the despair on his face when I eat him later, afterall…”

Teus pushed himself to raise his body upward, getting in a position to sprint towards Kuravana. His right hand now in his pocket grabbing the dragon core.

“I need to activate it quickly, it’s now or never!”

But in an instant the dragon vanished from his sight, seemingly disappearing into the floating dust and debris that surrounded them. Teus struggled to grapple on what happened.

“Damn it all! Where’d he go!?”

“Behind you~♪”

Teus quickly turned his body to see the dragon looming over him with a cheerful smile. A shadow cast out most of the features of his face except for his glowing green eyes and serrated teeth that had the faintest twinkle. He quickly went to pull the gem out of his pocket but he was interrupted.

A strong blow hit Teus in his face, knocking him down to the dirt. He quickly tried to regain his bearings as he saw that the dragon’s tail was wafting in the air, directly in above him as Kuravana casually sauntered in his direction. Teus’ vision began to get blurry and evermore darker

“Already!? He’s just playing with me and I feel like I’m about to black out!”

Kuravana frowned as he continued to approach.

“Relax, I didn’t even hit you that hard!”

The dragon grabbed Teus by his ankle with his claws, cutting deep into the boy’s skin. He carried him upside down, raising his body just high enough to meet his gaze. His tail poked at Teus’ face. The blue dragon core fell from his pocket.

“Oh…what do we have here?”

The dragon had a look of surprise etched into his face. He began to snortle as he continued. Teus' face grew pale.

“I knew you had something in that pocket of yours, but I never imagined it would be that interesting? Were you planning to use that on me!?”

Kuravana’s eyes flickered to Teus’ face of absolute anguish. His grinding teeth, red face and considerable amount of sweating made it more than clear to him. He continued to laugh.

“You totally were, weren’t you!? Wow, what an interesting kid! Though, it’s not like it would have worked or anything. The core isn’t shining at all. Whoever’s in there hasn’t made you their master. Have you even talked with the dragon in that core yet!? Haha, but still… now I see why you thought you could handle a dragon!”

Kuravana continued to laugh to himself while Teus stared at the core desperately.

“It’s not over yet, if I can just get a hold of the core again, I can awaken Galmarion and get him to blast this guy to smitherines!”

The dragon gently poked at Teus’ face more playfully, each sting, rupturing his skin as he began to bleed.

“But I have to admit it is fun to look at you struggle! You must be really upset after everything I did to that guy, right? I mean, it looks like you really cared about him.”

He pulled Teus in closer as his grin grew. His tail was still lightly jabbing at his cheeks. 

“...Well, it’s not all that bad. I mean, sure, I’m eating you now…but not too long after that you’ll all be united in my stomach. Hahaha!”

His laughing was interrupted as a sharp pain surged through his tail. Kuravana’s pupils dilated as his vision was directed to Teus’ teeth deeply sunk into his tail, forcing as much strength out of his jaw as he could muster.

“Ah, you little annoying rat!”

The grip was released by the dragon as Teus kicked his feet into Kuravana’s face, pushing himself away backwards before Kuravana instinctively swiped at his face to cleave it. Teus barely missed most of the damage as one of the dragon’s talons cut deep into the surface beneath his right eye extending all the way to his cheek.

He hit the floor again on his side, gushing blood from his face. 

Kuravana stood in his spot briefly as Teus scrambled to try and stand up. He was getting mildly frustrated.

“After running into those Beast Breakers and fighting this senior citizen, I’m getting worn out huh. I know I’m playing with my food but this kid should have already been dead by now!...”

His thoughts were interrupted to see Teus still running to grab the dragon core on the ground. The boy was still moving with purpose. He was still trying with everything he had to try and somehow defeat him. Kuravana’s eyes sparked with a little more fury as his blood ever so slightly, was beginning to boil.

“...Oh no you don’t!”

Teus continued to run towards the dragon core on the ground even though he saw the dragon moving to stop him. A cold drop of sweat fell from Teus’ chin, his hand shaking.

“I’m terrified out of my mind right now! But if I show it, he’ll be quick to eat me. I have to keep my game face on until I can summon Galmarion!”

He was seconds away from the core, his hands were stretched out but Kuravana was effortlessly faster.

The dragon stomped his hoof over the core, leaning into Teus’ face giving his most horrifying grin. Saliva dripped from his maw and his glaring eyes stared deep into Teus’ soul, his sharp claws gleaming in the moonlight. Kuravana’s thoughts repeated over and over in his head.

“I didn’t do all this trouble for you to not be afraid when I eat you! I want to see some despair you little brat!”

But to his dismay, the boy showed no fear. Instead, he ducked underneath him, sliding across the ground being carried by his momentum. When he felt it was the right moment, he used his legs to burst upward, he stuck out his index and middle finger and thrust them into the dragon’s eyeballs, plunging them deep.

“You dirty little…!”

Kuravana recoiled back, taking a couple steps to build distance as he grabbed onto his face. Once released from under his hoof, the dragon core bounced off into the direction of the old man.

A gobsmacked expression wore itself on Teus’ face for a brief moment as the dust wafted past him. Then without missing a beat, he pivoted his body and he darted off in the direction of the gem, he was shocked he did not die in that moment.

“I can’t believe the Twin Dragon’s Arrow actually worked!”

Meanwhile an overflowing feeling of rage consumed the dragon. The dirty attacks being done by the child were not potent in force by any means, in fact they barely hurt. That was not what had upset the dragon. He was slowly slipping away from his whimsy and fun demeanor because the child was not giving him the fearful face he so badly yearned for.

“Damn him! I can clearly sense that he’s afraid, terror-stricken. But he’s not giving me the satisfaction of seeing it! He has that same expression that the old geezer was wearing a while ago! It’s all because of that dragon core!? It’s not even active! It’s as useful as a rock right now! So why is it giving him so much hope! I can’t stand seeing him so determined…Wait a minute.”

The dragon’s irritated face seemed to fade as a delighted smile began to form, chuckling as he did so.

 “...If that core is really what makes him think he can win, then I know just how I can use that to my advantage…”