Chapter 14: Explosion

Teus quickly raced after the dragon core. His feet striking the ground harder than ever.

“Damn it, why’s it have to roll so fast!”

He was somewhat relieved that his last stunt had bought him time but in truth he was more so concerned. He had not seen Kuravana’s shadow from above him or see him anywhere near for the past couple of seconds. And he knew the creature was fast. 

“He’s probably decided the core was useless to go after since it’s not active yet, good for me! But where is he now? No, never mind that! I need to summon Galmarion!”

As Teus was running he heard another boom resound throughout the streets of Thorinhil. He quickly took a glimpse at what was behind him to see a large cloud of dust whoosh past him. A dark aura completely engulfed Kuravana’s body as his head began to change. Different parts of his jaw became dislocated and his maw grew larger. He took great pleasure in the fact that Teus was watching his next move. His smile became even more gruesome and large as his eyes carried a spark of exuberance. His laughter echoed through the streets.

“Heya Teus~♪”

Teus quickly looked away from Kuravana and did not break stride and continued to run after the core. Goosebumps coarse throughout his body. The dragon continued.

“I see you’re just like that old fart over there! Fighting until the end, pushing your fear to the side! So I thought to myself… I was gonna save him for later! But since it’s no fun to eat you without despair, I’ll just make you watch me eat him first! How about that? Magnificent plan isn’t it?!”

Rumbling ensued on the ground and Kuravana’s wings stretched far and wide. His figure would be majestic if not for the sadistic grin he possessed. His energy swirled around him in the shape of a double helix before he took off into the air, destroying a portion of the ground as he ascended.

With a single flap of his wings he closed the distance between him and Teus, smiling at him as he crossed, continuing his path flying towards the old man.

Within that instant, Teus' heart sank. Time seemed to slow down. His skin grew pale and sweat rolled down his brow. He watched as Kuravana flew towards the old man in a spectacular flash. There was no time. Nothing he could do. The dragon was too fast and the core was nowhere near him yet. He had a second, no, less than that. He had a fraction of a second at most in order to stop this. He was completely helpless. Thoughts whirled wildly across his mind.

However, in this moment, his resolve was only more concentrated.

“No…! It can’t end like this!... Mister Fluff and Puff!”

His eyes were glued to Kuravana. The dragon blushed out of joy as he continued to fly.

“That’s perfect! Don’t look away now! You’ll miss the best part!”

However a luminous shine stretched its way into his view, catching him off guard. 

Kuravana’s smile faded as he saw the core on the ground, far away from Teus, begin to glow once more.

“Wait! He got it to work!?”

Teus’ eyes flickered with rage between the Kuravana and the dragon core. The only thing consuming his mind being wrath. He tried to communicate with the dragon in a last ditch effort.

“You’re out of your mind if you think you can get away with this! I know you can sense this happening right now! I need you to blow him to pieces, don’t waste an ounce of strength! I’m not taking no for an answer! Awaken, my dragon: Galmarion the Burstbringer!”

The dragon core flashed with a marvelous light that spread throughout Thorinhil. The ground began to rumble as the dragon core flew into Teus, who quickly grabbed it as he ran towards Kuravana. 

The sphere glowed into a hot white.

“Seriously!?” Thoughts crossed the befuddled mind of Kuravana.

…

KABOOM!

In an instant, enough energy burst from the core to blow apart the surrounding ground, creating a deep and gaping crater in the road. The shockwave, like the roar of nature itself, resounded throughout the town. Trees were uprooted and flung across the terrain, smacking into buildings. Boulders and shattered debris were flung into the sky, then descended from the air, striking the land like rain. 

A gust of tempestuous wind shot across and all over the streets of Thorinhil.

****

In the distance a house was shaking, battling for its ground to stay upright in the overwhelming gale. Inside the shopkeeper tucked his crying daughter into bed next to a dying candle. The wind was howling in the background.

“Papa, I'm scared! Is it going to be over soon? Will the Beast Breakers win, papa?”

A soft expression of concern briefly occupied the shopkeeper’s face before he returned to a loving smile.

“Of course sweetheart, the Beast Breakers are more than enough to handle a small little dragon like this. They’re our heroes!... I’m sure they won’t need much longer.”

The child’s face still carried a clear essence of worry.

“You said that last time, papa…”

“Last time was ten minutes ago. As long as we’re patient and don’t go outside, things will be okay.”

The child then looked away from her smiling father with a sombre expression on her face.

“...And when they’re done, what about the next one?”

The shopkeeper paused in his tracks. His mouth slightly opened but no words fell through right away. He took a deep breath and masked his own anxiety, still giving a warm expression to his daughter.

“The next one won’t appear for a very long time, high level dragons don’t usually roam around these parts. And if they do, the Beast Breakers will come and get it again.”

The daughter looked unconvinced.

“You said that last time, too…”

A bead of sweat began to form on the back of the shopkeeper’s neck as she continued.

“...If we find the King’s Crest, will the dragons stop attacking?”

“Come now, Hannah, I didn’t raise you to believe in such fairy tales. We’re only peasants, it’s too dangerous for a human to try finding the King’s Crest, something like that is just impossible. Just trust and believe that things will be alright.”

“But it's already dangerous now, if we go outside, we die… if the dragons keep attacking, will our house be enough to protect us?”

“...Yes.”

The daughter appeared unconvinced. Her eyes seemed to plead earnestly.

“I think we should find the King’s Crest. A hero willing to put themselves in impossible danger makes it possible for us to be free. Don’t you think papa?”

The shopkeeper shook his head for a moment.

“Where’d she hear that?”

He gently patted on her head before he continued.

“I think you still need to learn the meaning of impossible.”

He got up from his daughter’s bed and waved her goodnight, knowing that not long after that, she would eventually burst into his room screaming and crying out of fear. It was nothing but a mere stopgap measure. It seemed like everything was.

He took a pause outside the corridor of his house to observe the flying pieces of dirt blowing in the wind. He pondered. 

If he accepted the truth about how he felt. Every second of every day he worried. Behind his mask of confidence he was more worried than his daughter could ever be. If no long term solution existed for the dragons, he did not know how long they had before they smashed the rest of the remaining humans to pieces. It was only a matter of time.

He thought back to the other day when his new hire mentioned something similar. 

“…Isn't someone who is willing to constantly put themselves in danger without fear like that the exact kind of person that you would expect to end up finding the King’s Crest though?”

Biting his bottom lip, he messaged the side of his temple as the thought of Teus resurfaced in his mind. His anxiety had not faded, he worried that the child would certainly get himself killed. He anxiously stared out the glass thinking back to the letter he left for him.

But something interrupted his thoughts. He looked out his window to see a faint glow of blue flashing as his house began to slightly shake with another resounding boom. He remembered the color of Teus’ dragon core and felt a hefty weight settle into his chest.

“He didn’t take my advice…”

****

Deep in the crater.

Teus slowly managed to open his eyelids, they were heavy. He realized they were they were and darted his eyes back and forth from the area to find Kuravana and the old man. But he was quickly distracted, he felt a searing pain from below his elbow. He struggled to raise his arm into view before gasping at what he saw. 

His forearm had been snapped like a twig, his bone pointing out of his arm, barely hanging on.

“Rwaghhhh!”

His scream of terror echoed in the wide bowl-shaped hole. He felt a crack from to his left. It sounded like his bones scraping against each other. He instinctively shrieked as his eyes snapped wide open again.

“Is part of my ribcage broken too!?”

The delayed reaction made Teus pay his price in spade as he yelped in agony. A wave of anguish washed over him. He bit his lip so hard it began to draw blood, struggling to keep his eyes open. A voice with dignity resounded from above.

“Foolish child! Did you even think of what would happen? You still have yet to prove your resolve to me!”

Teus winced, he looked above him to see the floating head of Galmarion glaring right at him.

“...Galmarion…”

“You senselessly attempted to force my power! And you thought that you would get away with it!? You lack even a weapon to seal my power! I told you my power is a storm and you will either shape it or be shaped by it. That, is a lesson you will learn one way or another, you impudent human!”

Teus scowled at the dragon before resuming his gaze to the now broken battlefield. His sight was inhibited through the dusty haze.

He was yet to see the dragon yet but something felt off, terribly off. He just could not put his finger on it. He strained his neck to turn towards a clearly upset Galmarion. 

“Is Kuravana dead…?” he asked intently.