The Red Hand

Chapter 185 – The Dragon Empress.

"GAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Hishya roared as she slowly descended in front of Serval. She was almost the same size as the massive beast and seemed to be no less powerful. Her massive frame crashed down into the field, causing a minor earthquake. Her inhibitions and fear of her true nature had kept her from going all out. But with that gone, she was finally able to become what she was always meant to be, a true dragon.

"Grrrrrrrrrr." Serval growled as he lunged forward, beginning a massive clash of dragons. In a similar vein to a kaiju movie, Hishya, and Serval began their final clash, the winner of which would claim the title of Dragon Emperor/Empress.

"GAAAAAAAAA!" Hishya bit into Serval's neck, while he slashed into her torso with his claws. The two tumbled about in the burned-out plains, while the other players watched on in awe at such an awesome display.

"Oh wow..." Zephiria's eyes lit up. "This. Is. So. Cool!"

"I hate to agree with her but... yeah, it's like watching one of those old monster movies." Minazawa was captivated by the two dragon's battle.

{HEY, YOU IDIOTS! STOP GAWKING AND START HELPING!} Hishya screamed at the other players via her telepathy. {Be impressed AFTER we kill Serval, not before! I might be more powerful now, but I definitely can't fight him 1v1! So get your asses in gear and help me!}

"Well, at least she hasn't gone feral." Eris laughed.

"Yeah, fighting two dragons might have been a bit much." Ayame giggled.

“Dragon scale boots...” Imp pouted over the loss of more scales.

"What do you need us to do?" Superbia asked as she helped get everyone in position.

{Keep Ara's attacks up, we need her fan ability to finish him. Tell Daikael to hold off on more rockets for right now, and inform Mixu to shoot him with the AD round the moment she gets the opportunity. I'll try and pull him into a sky battle to give her line of sight} In her transformed state, she no longer had access to the comms network and her telepathy didn't go that far, thus she couldn't talk to those two directly. {As for the rest of you, just do what we planned! Eris, you take charge on the ground and try not to get squished by either him or I. This body is too big to easily move, and ya'll are too small!}

{Ya'll?} Ayame laughed. "She's been spending time around Akagi too much. Damn Kansai accent."

"Alright, you heard her!" Eris rounded everyone up. "Let's get to work! Merkyul is your team able to give this one final push?"

"Yes, mam!" Merkyul and his team nodded. "We're a bit banged up, but this is nothing compared to training." He and the others gave an uncomfortable laugh. Whatever Akagi did to them mustn't have been pleasant.

{Do I even want to know...} (Minazawa)

Hishya's orders were quickly relayed to Mixu and Daikael respectively, and the rest of the players closed in on the tumbling beasts. Hishya and Serval's battle continued as they rolled around the hillside, crushing anything beneath them. This was truly a clash of titans as the pair of massive dragons fought claw and scale to achieve victory.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Hishya slammed her tail into Serval's head, momentarily stunning him. This left an opening for Merkyul's team to jump on top of the dragon, and inflict major damage to his head and neck with their combination attacks.

“Let's go!” Merkyul and his team began another wave of attacks causing yet more blood to flow from the Dragon's back and legs.

"GAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Serval cried out in pain, as he unleashed a breath attack in an attempt to dislodge the other players. However, Hishya was having none of that. She reached out with her claws and forcefully clamped his jaws shut, while she head-butted him over and over again.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

"We're up next!" Eris yelled as she and Ayame ran up Hishya's spine and leapt onto Serval's head, slamming their weapons into his eyes, and destroying one of them.

"GAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Serval clawed at Hishya's torso, drawing blood as the two dragons began tumbling and biting at each other. It was harzardous for the players to move around the two tumbling beasts, and there were a few moments where either Serval or Hishya nearly squished one of them.

"Come on! Get him while he's distracted!" Minazawa closed in on the tussling monsters, slicing at his legs and hands alongside Shimari, Excel, and Superbia.

"Hidden Oni Blade! Slash of the Twin Rivers!" Superbia called out another of her techniques, one of her most powerful, and combined it with Princess of Blood. "TAKE EVERYTHING I'VE GOT!" She screamed as she sliced Serval's right claw off in one strike before backing away and deactivating her ability before she took too much recoil.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Serval roared in pain, as his blood poured from his massive wound. With what magical power he had left, he activated a body strengthening ability and pushed Hishya off him before taking off into the air in an attempt to flee.

"He's trying to escape!" Shiru tried to use whatever plant life she could to bind him to the earth, but the dragon destroyed them with his breath.

"Nyoooo meow~! don't leave meow~! he just nyeeds nyonye more meow~!"

[Noooo! Don't leave! He just needs one more!] Ara cried out in protest as she was pushed away by the air pressure from his flaps.

"COME BACK HERE!" Avhan leaped into the air, grabbing onto Serval's tail before unleashing every last bit of Demonic power she had left. "FURURI! GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!" She called out to the spirit within her blade, and a dark energy erupted from her weapon. "TAKE THIS! DEMON SWORD HIDDEN TECHNIQUE: THAT WHICH UNBINDS THE HEAVENS!" This was the special ability she was granted toward the end of her time in FWO after the defeat of the Archangel Micheal. In exchange for massive recoil that would temporarily debilitate herself, she'd cause extreme damage with her next strike. Taking a moment to line it up properly, Avahn sliced down at lightning speed, severing a chuck of Serval's tail, which plummeted down to the earth alongside the Demon cat.

"Nyavahn meow~! That was so cool meow~!"

[Avahn! That was so cool!] Ara rushed over and pet the Demon kitty on the head before scratching her ears.

"Ummmm." She blushed. "A little help here first..." Avahn was crushed by the dragon's massive tail and couldn't get out as her body was now too weak to move.

Despite the loss of his tail and hand, Serval continued to fly upwards, Hishya in hot pursuit. They quickly erupted from the massive dust cloud over the battlefield and into the clear sky above.

{You're not getting away!} Hishya called out to the fleeing dragon, before flying above and over tackling him. The two clashed in the air, as Hishya bit into his neck and sliced into his flesh with her razor-sharp claws.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Serval cried out in pain, his roar much weaker than before. It was clear that he was nearly finished, but he had some fight left, and used what little he had left to bite Hishya's neck and rip out a chunk of flesh. But Hishya didn't even flinch, she had no intention of letting him go and a bit of pain wasn't going to stop her at this point.

After a lengthy mid-air duel, she eventually maneuvered Serval between her and Akagi's estate, which was visible in the distance.

{Come on, Mixu! Take the shot!} Hishya screamed out, hoping that her friend would hear her, and as luck would have it she did. A moment after she cried out, a massive bang could be heard from across the mountain range, as a huge hole appeared in Serval's chest as a bullet the size of a small car struck him in the heart and passed right by Hishya's head.

"AAHSFDAGAGSFAS!" Serval began to bleed profusely, as he slowly fell to the earth, his form disappearing below the dust cloud.

Back at the estate, Mixu lay on a floating platform, in front of her was the world's largest sniper rifle specially designed to fire AD (Anti Dragon) Rounds. It took a massive amount of time and money to build, and some testing which Hishya contributed to, but the results spoke for themselves.

"All in a day's work." Mixu laughed as she put out her cigarette next to her. "You're up Hishya, finish the job.”

Seeing Serval fall below the debris, Hishya extended her wings to full length and flapped them as hard as she could. The force of her wing beats were as strong as a Typhoon, and blew away the massive dust cloud around their battlefield, revealing Serval lying on the ground below her, injured and unmoving.

"NYA! DING!" Ara ran over and smacked the dragon one final time, which meant that he had 1000 of her stacks applied to him before running away at full speed.

Seeing that the time had come to finally end this battle, Hishya let out a mighty roar before she began to dive toward the crippled Dragon. She flew at incredible speed, until about halfway down, she transformed back into her human form. However, this form was a bit different than normal. She looked like a full-grown adult rather than a child, her hair had extended down to her waist and was made of purple and pink flame, her eye color was something akin to a moving purple fire, and at her back was a cape made of red cloth that extended down to her ankles.

"THIS ENDS NOW!!!!!!" Hishya screamed as she drew Sun Strike and drove the blade straight into Serval's skull. Her incredible power, combined with Ara's fan ability meant that her strike created a massive explosion that produced a blinding light.

In the distance, the other players watched in awe and suspense, hoping that the battle was over.

_____________________________________________________________________________

<Hishya POV>

"Wh-Wha?" Hishya blinked her eyes in confusion. All around her was a shadowy darkness, not unlike what it was like within Akagi's shadow. "What's going on? Where is Serval?!?" She looked around, only to find the Dragon in question lying on the 'ground' behind her. He was in visible pain, and his eyes flashed and flickered. She immediately took a battle stance, but was interrupted by someone speaking to her telepathically.

{One who bears my blood, come closer.} (Serval)

Hearing these words caused Hishya to stop, she'd never heard Serval speak before.

"Y-You can talk?!?" Hishya stopped moving.

{Of course... my child... just as you can...} It seemed that even via telepathy, speech was difficult for the wounded Dragon, and it was as if he was speaking through labored breathing. {You have defeated me... I always... anticipated... that one... who... bore... my blood... and who... overcame... my trial... would best me.}

Hishya didn't understand his words at first, but then recalled the quest which transformed her into a Dragon. There was something in the quest's lore that implied that the player would become a Dragon via ingestion of Serval's blood.

"I had help." Hishya shook her head. "If it wasn't for everyone else, I wouldn't have been able to defeat you." She wasn't about to take all the credit for herself, not this time. She'd done that too many times in the past, and wasn't about to make that mistake again.

{Perhaps... but you... were... their leader... and without you... they could not... have won... So take pride... in this accomplishment... you have done... what others could not... you have bested me...} (Serval)

"I didn't want to have to fight you again, not after our last encounter." Hishya's grip on her blade tightened. "You killed so many of my friends, and I nearly lost more today..."

{Such.... is the way... of the world... the strong live... and the weak die...} (Serval)

"But should the strong not protect the weak?" Hishya asked. "Shouldn't we use the power we have to protect those who lack the power to do it themselves?

The Dragon began to laugh, albeit painfully. {Indeed... the strong... live... to protect... the weak... and the weak... exist to aid... the strong... in... their... duty... such... is how... it... should... be...} (Serval)

"It's strange hearing you say that, considering who and what you are." Hishya knew full well Serval's lore and backstory as the bringer of the End Times.

{In... the past... I was once... a leader... of... my kind.... but the gods... they did not... appreciate... how... I threatened... their monopoly on their power... thus... they cursed me... took away my voice... and my mind... if not for... my beloved mate... I would have... destroyed the very... world... I once love...} (Serval)

"She was the one who put you to sleep?" Hishya asked, not knowing whether to believe him or not. However, she figured that it was possible for there to be more to Serval than just what the game lore said. After all, she knew that FWO was no game.

{Yes... she... saved me...} He answered. {My time is... short... so please listen to me... As the one who rightfully defeated me in an honorable duel, I hereby relinquish my title of Dragon Emperor... to you, Hishya... You are now... the Ruler of all True Dragons, the Dragon Empress... by right of our ancient codes... I have spoken...}

Hishya didn't really know what to say other than... "I accept." She nodded as she put away her blade. Something inside her roiled as she said those words. It was as if everything was now in its place, as if she was meant to take his place one day.

{Now go... my child... and use your power... my power... to bring.... peace...... to...... your.....world...} (Serval)

With his last word, Hishya snapped back to reality. Her blade was embedded deep within Serval's skull, and the dragon was dead. A single tear ran down her eye, for what reason she did not know. Was it out of pity? Joy? Or sorrow? But that did not matter right now. As Hishya looked up, she saw all her friends surrounding the defeated Dragon Emperor. She withdrew Sun Strike from Serval's skull, before turning to the other players.

"Is it over?" Eris asked, a bit nervous because of Hishya's appearance. Her hair was no longer on fire, and was now simply a longer version of her normal hair, though her physical age was still much more than what the others were used to seeing. She had a regal, almost royal air about her, and everyone got the sense that something big had happened to Hishya.

"It is." Hishya nodded. "And by the Ancient traditions of our kind, and his blessing, I have now taken up his title..." She hopped down onto the ground before raising Sun Strike into the air triumphantly. "I am now the Ruler of All True Dragons. Hishya, the Amethyst Dragon Empress."