The Sins of the Serpent | Book 1.5 of TSOT and Prequel of TDH Trilogy

5 | Cleanse & Shatter

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Zheng Zixin

"Don't get in my way," Olivier said to his comrade before lunging at me again.

I released a torrent of flames, the color a rusty orange mixed with traces of gold. He sliced through the fire with little difficulty and continued his charge. He head-butted me with substantial force, sending me barreling towards the ground. The momentum kept me from opening my wings, so I landed in the sand with a loud thud, my ears ringing.

The impact was not enough to break any bones because I wasn't at a high altitude, but it would surely leave plenty of bruises as a reminder of my battle. I glanced at Sun Fang, watching him fight off Baʿal Berith's creations. More and more creatures poured from the book with no end in sight. Sun Fang wouldn't last long. I needed to end my battle with Olivier quickly.

"I'm surprised you have time to think about anything else. You should focus on your opponent," Olivier said, swinging his blade down once again. He continued his flurry of attacks, never leaving me time to breathe in between my blocks. His strength was unlike anything I'd ever fought before, and the thought excited me more, striving me to be better.

'I may have to shift back to my partially shifted form,' I thought. There was only so much I could do in my dragon form.

With a big flap of my wings, I forced Olivier back, before changing back to my half-shifted form. Scales still covered my arms and my fingers still appeared as talons, not to mention my wings. I unsheathed my sword without waiting for him to recover and began my return attack.

Our swords clashed, the sound of clanging metal echoing. The longer the fight went on, the bigger I could feel my smile growing. Finally, I found someone strong enough to withstand not just one of my attacks, but multiple. The challenge was thrilling and knowing my strength would increase after his defeat; it brought me great joy.

"Ame no Mizuhiko," I heard a female voice whisper on the breeze.

Olivier and I turned our heads just as a spear flew towards us. I used my wings to propel me out of the way in time, but to my astonishment, the spear's attention was on Olivier.

The spear followed him and severed his arm, sending droplets of his sanguine fluid flying. He caught his severed arm, looking unamused. And then his arm turned to dust and faded away.

The ocean's waves grew restless, rising higher every time it touched the shore. When it hit nearby rocks, it sounded like thunder. Olivier looked as confused as me when we watched a young woman rise from the depths of the sea.

She landed in front of me, wearing a dark blue kimono with sky blue trimmings. Along her sleeves were print designs of crashing waves in turquoise, midnight blue, and royal blue. On her back, she had an intricate design of the azure dragon. Her long hair was the shade of a blue ombre, starting off as a dark blue and turning turquoise at the ends. The gradient reminded me of the ocean. I noticed she had nine foxtails of the same color. Her pure aura led me to conclude she was a Celestial fox from the Holy Fox Clan.

"Wash away their sins, Seiryū," she said, willing her spear back to her hand.

Water populated at the spear's tip, forming a small orb of saltwater. Her spear glowed bright blue, releasing waves of energy. She lunged forward and an enormous wall of water unleashed its rage, crashing down on Olivier like a powerful waterfall.