Legend of Zelda: Divine Vessel

- VI: The Sapphire of Nayru - Part III -

Nova stepped backwards slowly until she felt the wet stone on her back.  She could hear Link's foot shift as he prepared for the battle that was going to come.

Nova breathed in heavily, and when she breathed outwards, her golden eyes found a new fire.  She lifted her Divine Blade and crouched while her companion did the same.  Then, the dragon spoke.

It was like a deep echo, similar to Halo's tone.  He didn't open his mouth, but his words were heard loud and clear.

"How dare you disrupt me." The venomous dragon snarled, baring its sickening fangs again.  He finally propped himself upright, showing off the lengthy claws wedged within his hands while his tail winded around his massive scaled body.

"We are not here to bother you." Nova spoke, surprising even herself when she dared to raise her voice.  "We are just here searching for a stone."  She grew rigid as the dragon stretched his neck to inhale her scent.

"Foolish beings." The dragon chuckled. "Not only do you dare disrupt my slumber, but you dare to steel from the likes of me?!"  He clearly thought the situation was ridiculous, but Nova and Link were completely serious.

"Who are you?" Again, Nova dared to speak.  There was no spitefulness in her voice, but complete curiosity.  The dragon erupted into disgruntled laughter again.

"Yet you do not know who I am?!" He was still corrupted with devilish chuckles. "The Goddesses have sent me to guard the Sapphire of Nayru, which clearly you are trying to steel from me." The scaled dragon began, but something was strange about his explanation.  He was so obviously consumed by an evil aura, yet claims to be sent by the Goddesses.

"I am Zafiro, Guardian Dragon of the Water." The dragon proclaimed, yet his echo-like voice was full of malice, not holy strength.

Nova watched realization cross over Link's face as he softly spoke to her.  "It's possessed by something.  If he was sent here from the Goddesses, then he wouldn't be so..." He struggled for words.

"Evil." Nova finished Link's conclusion.  In the next minute, Zafiro roared and reached a clawed foot frighteningly close to the two.  They dodged in opposite directions and immediately knew that the battle had begun.

Because they knew nothing of the dragon, they were unsure of how to attack him.  They kept dodging strong swings from his strong arms and deadly tail.  Every once in a while, Zafiro would snap his sturdy jaw at them, in which the Hylians would have to jump out of the way, often not being able to land on their feet.

Eventually, Link and Nova were able to communicate silently, and agreed to slowly hack at the creature until a vital opening was visible, where the person closest to that point would strike as quickly as possible.

Thus, they took every opportunity to strike Zafiro with their grand blades.  However, with every strike, they had to jump backwards to avoid being attacked themselves.  After one particular jab, Nova caught sight of a peculiar blue glow beneath a scale behind the dragon's right forearm.  She acted quickly, but much too quickly and disregarded the caution she needed.

Nova's golden eyes were fixated on the glowing blue portion and not her surroundings, serving as a potentially vital mistake.  She was mere inches from piercing the vital point when she felt extreme pain in her side.  The significant pressure forced her into the wall, while the stone around the impact cracked and crumpled.  Nova screeched in pain as blood began to ooze from behind her head.

"Nova!" Link screamed from the opposite side of Zafiro when he saw the girl fall from the impacted point in the wall to the damp ground.  A new anger was present in his eyes and he slashed at the dragon's massive tail.  However, he disregarded Link's attacks as he swished the tail back and forth to keep the adventurer at bay.  Zafiro's focus was directly on the crippled girl in front of him.