"Haha…" A voice echoed in the area behind the pile of smoke.
In a powerful gust of wind—most likely caused by the Dragon's whipped tail—the smoke cleared.
The humanoid silhouette of the Dragon emerged, and its twisted smile returned to its pale and handsome face.
"… Not bad, human."
He had an amused expression, and his cool gaze greeted Adonis' intense one.
All of the unease it displayed earlier seemed to have completely vanished—as if they never existed, to begin with.
"Your Skills are the real deal. But, it seems your Level is the issue." As the Dragon said this, a bigger smile crept up on his face.
Adonis could feel more tension wrapping around him.
"It seems I was worried for nothing, human. I don't know how you got so much power, or how you're able to use it so well, but…"
He stretched out both hands, as if welcoming an embrace.
"… You're still very weak!"
Adonis bit his lip the moment these words were uttered.
His opponent wasn't wrong.
'As expected, even though my Stats are heightened, they still don't compare to a Dragon Commander…'
Even his Skills weren't operating at optimal potential.
'My Divine Sword has 6 Forms, but right now I can only use its base state…'
And what of his [Absolute Defense]?
Well, the Skill of the Dragon felt like a hard counter to Adonis' defenses.
'To conserve Mana, I concentrated my defenses in predictable areas, but with this teleportation of his, I'd have to rethink my strategy.'
Just to be on the safer side, Adonis knew he'd have to buff up his defenses and ensure they circulated all around him.
He couldn't afford to be hit at this point.
'Lucielle isn't done yet. What's taking her so long? Could it be…?!'
Adonis instantly realized what was delaying the Grand Mage once he thought of it for a moment.
'She's undoing the Magic that is holding Brutus captive, no doubt.'
Even as a powerful Mage, she didn't hold a candle to Dragons who had more abundant Mana and better Magic abilities.
'I can't rely on her anytime soon.' He heaved a sigh and took his stance once again.
'I have to do this on my own!'
"Haha! That's the spirit, human! Come!"
~WHOOOOSH!~
The ground shattered as the very air around Adonis trembled as he took off.
Cackles of golden energy danced around him as he used both hands to draw his blade and send an energy wave flying towards the Dragon Commander.
~WHUSH!~
The being vanished, but Adonis already predicted that.
'[Light Field]!'
Spreading his Mana around him using Light Magic, Adonis detected a distortion in space very quickly and realized where his enemy was going to appear from.
He proceeded to add a [Light Cloak] and [Light Boost] to his body, making him much faster than normal.
With the power granted to him by the Divine Sword coursing through his veins, and his current usage of Light Magic, Adonis reached a new realm of speed and strength.
Yes, this wasn't sustainable.
It was taking a toll on his body at a heavy rate.
However…!
'If I don't go all out, I can't win!'
~VWOOSH!~
Once the Dragon Commander appeared where he was supposed to, Adonis was already there, his blade swung heavily in its direction.
It was inescapably close distance, one where Adonis was guaranteed to hit his target.
'DI—!'
Before Adonis' blade reached the Dragon Commander, he felt a burning sensation in his stomach, and his eyes bulged in response to the feeling.
"Puack!" Adonis spat out blood as a sharp kick implanted itself on him.
His momentum was put to a grinding halt, and an expression of both shock and confusion—mixed, of course, with pain—
radiated from his face.
'H-how did he… get past my defenses?!'
Adonis had chosen these particular Skill-sets to go with his build because he was confident in both the offensive and defensive capabilities of his Skills.
He was convinced that, even with low stats, having Skills such as this would give him combined advantages in battle.
However…
"My [Absolute Space Magic] allows me to bypass defenses and reach for my target wherever they are."
As the Dragon Commander said this, Adonis could see how his feet had come through a portal right before it hit him.
The [Absolute Defense] Skill created a safe haven around Adonis that was largely impenetrable.
Adonis could make the dome larger to accommodate more people, but he couldn't make it smaller.
That was the problem.
"As long as there's space existing between you and your barrier, then I'm always going to be able to attack you."
Adonis groaned yet again as another blow was sent to his stomach, this time creating enough pressure to push him away.
"Keuk!"
As he fell and recoiled from the pain that assailed him, he stared hatefully at the Dragon Commander.
The being was just grinning at the pathetic human before him.
"My Skill is a hard counter to yours, human. You can't properly defend against me, and I can always evade your sure-hit attacks."
In essence, this wasn't just about Stats any longer.
The Dragon Commander was Adonis' natural enemy—an inevitable winner in their fight.
"Do you understand now?"
In response to the words said by the Dragon Commander, Adonis only rose to his feet and wiped off the blood that stained his lip.
Remnants of his crimson liquid had dropped to the ground, already mixed with his swea, but Adonis ignored all of that.
He simply brandished his blade one more time.
His eyes displayed unwavering determination, and while pain circulated around his entire body—causing him to tremble—he did not have any expression of fear.
No.
He had never appeared more resolute.
His moist lips uttered words in a whisper as he prepared himself with a battle stance.
"… One more."
The Dragon Commander appeared perplexed by all this, but he would soon understand…
… Just how scary a Hero could be when protecting the ones he loved!
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Thanks for reading.
Looks like Adonis is a bastard who won't give up!
My kind of guy!
