Gatekeepers Book 1: Darkness

Waltz

Zero jumped back to put some distance in between him and Draycos to assess this new development. But Draycos wasn't about to give him any time to think; he quickly closed in on Zero and got right up under Zero's shadow.

This boy; what the hell is he? A nervous smile cracked across Zero's face as he jumped back a step to try and put enough distance between the two so he could throw punches. Draycos immediately closed the gap once more.

Interesting, so he realized I need some space between us to throw decent punches. Did he figure that out during that first exchanged? No, he's not that big of a battle maniac. He probably realized it when I jumped back after he grazed me. I slipped up and showed the weakness between my large frame and his small one.

Even so, Zero wasn't done yet. He started gliding very slightly off the ground and flew backwards, attempting to nail Draycos in the stomach by throwing his knees into the fray, but Draycos managed to dodge those, too. He spun on the spot to dodge, and every time he did, he lightly touched Zero's knee and began rotating in the opposite direction, throwing a punch with each change in rotation that Zero blocked with his forearms.

That's some pretty impressive footwork Draycos has going on now. Damrabe observed the scene in front of him with some interest. The way he's dodging all those knee throws makes him look like he's dancing...? No, waltzing would probably be a better word to describe his movements.

After another knee throw, Draycos took the opportunity to slip past it and get right up in between Zero legs, ready to throw a hard punch right at some of Zero's more tender areas.

An elbow came flying down and hit Draycos on top of his head, thwarting his punch and sending his facing crashing into the ground, sending up shards of rock as Draycos let out an 'oomph'.

"Naughty boy," Zero taunted as he jumped back once more and took up his fighting stance. "You have no shame going for those parts, huh? Come on, let's keep going"

"Umm, Zero?" Damrabe called from where he stood. "I don't think Draycos can hear you right now, much less keep fighting."

"Huh?" Zero looked down at Draycos. He laid motionless on the ground; face buried in the rock.

"Oh, crap," Zero murmured as Damrabe walked up, head in hand and sighing. "I guess I went a little over the limit Theravor told me to stay at. Is he going to be alright?"

"After that elbow you just threw? Not really," Damrabe responded as he flipped Draycos over onto his back with his tail. "I can tell you now that the boy is at least suffering from a mild concussion from that; I can't permit him training for the rest of the day." Damrabe flicked another drop of blood on Draycos, healing him. "My magic can do many things, but it can't help heal brain damage. I suggest you start planning your apology to give Theravor at tonight's meeting for knocking out Draycos for a whole day."

Zero's complexion went somewhat pale at that thought. The king was a hard person to deal with when he was displeased, which rarely happened due to his long fuse.

"By the way, how much did the king tell you to hold back on the first day?" Damrabe suddenly asked.

"Huh? Oh, that?" Zero scratched the back of his head before responding sheepishly, "He told me to keep it at around ten percent, but that elbow just now was close to fifteen."

Damrabe raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "That high? That's surprising, considering ten percent of you power should be enough to kill a human in one hit. What was Theravor thinking with that order?"

"He thought that since Draycos was a half-breed, he might be made of sterner stuff than an ordinary human." Zero looked down at Draycos, who had started snoring softly. "Looks like he was right, as always. Even at fifteen percent, all I did was knock him out for a while. He's at least two or three times more durable than a human, that much is apparent."