Every time I close my eyes, I see a flash of the past. Sometimes, I see the battlefield with bodies at every step, and smoke from artillery fire everywhere you looked. Sometimes I see friends, Odin, Michael, and even Azazel. But most of the time, I...
The music dies. Eyes turn. Mouths start whispering.
Riser: You dare interrupt a sacred noble union?! Do you know who I—
Legend: I don't keep track of every small bird in the sky.
He thinks he's fire. You're the wildfire. Burn him for me, won't you.
He flares up. Literally. Flames roar across his shoulders. Peacocking.
Riser: I am fire incarnate! I—
Legend: Talk too much.
I move. He launches a fireball. I step sideways, grab a ceremonial spear from a guard's back, and hurl it. Right into his aura core. It explodes mid-cast.
Riser stumbles back, coughing smoke and ego.
He tries to rise. I throw a dimeritium bomb at his feet negating his regeneration. After which it's the usual. Fist to throat. Knee to ribs. I stop just shy of killing him.
End him. Finish the song. I want to hear the sound his ribs make when they snap.
He spits blood. Looks up. And then he sees me.
Riser: (shakily) Wait. No... you—you're—
Noble1: (whispering) It's him...
Noble2: The Hellfighter.
Noble3: (backing away) He's real?
Legend: (to Riser) Was hoping you'd put up a fight. Guess fire's all flash when it's not tempered.
The smoke's clearing.
Riser's on the ground. Bloody, twitching. Mouth cracked open mid-gasp. Flame aura in shambles. His pride's gone. So is his regeneration.
I grab him by the collar. Lift him just off the marble. High enough for him to know what's next.
Legend: You tried to humiliate the Red Dragon. You thought bloodline meant you could. You thought wrong.
He's all power, no bite. Make him beg. Make him earn his death.
I raised my hand. His eyes widen. He starts shaking. He knows. He knows I'm going to finish it.
And I will.
Girl: STOP!!
Tch. Another one. Always crying when it's already too late.
Small voice. Sharp. Controlled.
But there's fire behind it. Real, earned fire.
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