Chapter 653: In With a Bloody Bang
High above in the cerulean sky, twin suns shone down on a world thriving with life.
Civilization seemed to be just barely on the beginnings of 19th century earth- minus the fashion.
The residents of this world traditionally wore long, flowing robes and dresses that complimented their unique appearance.
They all possess natural white skin and red birthmarks along their bodies that looked like tattoos made from rock candy.
The middle and low born citizens were called ground-born, and their eyes were typically colored in normal shades and they were in poorer physical condition.
Sky-born individuals were those of the ruling class, and they made up a decent chunk of the world’s wealth.
Dragons are a popular commodity in this world.
But despite the caste system, they aren’t only allowed to be claimed by one particular body.
Ground-borne individuals typically make up about 98% of dragon riders.
They rely on traps and trickery to capture dragons who cannot fly and have lower intelligence, like drakes and wyrms, to become their mounts.
But occasionally, they manage to steal a winged-dragon egg from a nest while the mother is away.
Due to those subspecies lack of intelligence and magical inferiority, humans are able to overwhelm their minds with their own magic and forcefully implement a slave bond.
These riders typically make up the class of farmers and foot soldiers in differing nation’s armies.
However, things are different for the sky-born.
Their bodies are in better shape from the moment they are born; with their newborn strength being equal to approximately six adult ground-born.
The difference between them is the amount of pure dragon blood that doesn’t leave their system when they break their transformation and is passed down through lineages- making every new generation stronger than the last.
But this also means that they are almost totally made up of dragon slayers-since strengthening one’s self is seen as a duty to their family line.
Only they can afford the weapons needed to actually kill a dragon and take it’s heart.
Either through consumption or a particular weapon, the sky-born are able to assimilate up to 35-50 percent of a true dragon’s power.
The older the dragons, the greater the challenge, but the larger the rewards too.
Sky-born maintain the image of strength every rotation of the dual suns by holding a spectacle.
The ruling governments invite citizens one and all to view a ceremony for the heir to the region.
It is a rather sacred rite where they come of age and are finally ready to encounter their first dragon.
The ground-born either do not know, or do not care that this fiasco is meant to keep the lot of them in line.
Their only interest is in seeing a truly awesome scene that they would never be able to view otherwise.
In a dark corridor lined with stone, a single young man could be seen walking back and forth between the walls.
“Stop pacing, boy. Nervousness is unbecoming for one of my line.”
The young man finally looked back to find a man in extravagant white robes approaching him with a younger looking woman in tow.
“Father.”
The young man bowed his head deeply, only to receive a hard smack that nearly turned his white skin an unhealthy shade of blue.
“Stand tall. You are an adult today and as such you must never bow your head to anyone. As dragons are uncompromising, so too must we be.”
Despite nearly getting his memories knocked out of his ear, the young man looked no worse for wear than before.
“Understood, father.”
“Hmph… I’ve obtained a good one for you today, so I urge you not to waste this chance and make this family look foolish.”
“Yes, yes, I understand.”
The young man finally raised his head and showed a devilishly charming smile. “Any chance that you got me one that talks?”
Rolling his eyes, the father raised his hand like he was about to strike his son again.
“Stupid boy, don’t ask for more than you can handle. If we could find something like that, then you certainly wouldn’t be the one to receive it.”
In the back of his mind, the young man rolled his eyes.
He may not have had the power or resources now, but one day he was going to be in different circumstances entirely.
Then, he would struggle to become the world’s most powerful dragon slayer- rivaling even the imperial one himself.
Today was just the first step on that faraway dream.
–
The roar of the crowd was so loud it could have drowned out the sirens of any weather alarm on earth.
The young heir stepped out into the middle of a great colosseum that was filled to capacity with excited inhabitants.
Magical crystals were broadcasting this event and several hundred others just like it all over the globe.
This was effectively the same as a royal debut into high society.
But he placed no focus in that; instead preferring to keep his gaze locked firmly on the giant metal gates just on the opposite side of him.
The sound of creaking metal marked the beginning of the proceedings, as thick silver chains slowly pulled the massive gate open.
Once it was nearly open, the young man could hardly contain his own excitement and started running to meet the creature before it even stepped out of the cage.
“Don’t dally, you beast!! My glory awaits u-“
No one could have predicted exactly what would happen, but somehow the absolute largest battle axe anyone here had ever seen came flying through the shadows.
The young prince tried to catch it, but he never anticipated that the weight of the weapon would be so incredibly terrible.
The metal bar completely obliterated the upper section of his torso, and the light had already begun leaving his eyes before his body fully hit the ground.
The axe crashed into the sand on it’s own shortly afterwards; creating a sizeable crater and miniature earthquake in quick succession.
Any previous cheers were immediately cut short as the attendees tried in vain to wrap their minds around the things that they were seeing.
With so much shock and quiet filling up the arena, it was easy to hear the sound of heavy footsteps coming from the tunnel.
Soon, a dragon emerged.
It was a lesser one; around two-hundred years of age and about the size of a one story house.
But for the first time, no one was even slightly enamored by the sight of a winged dragon.
They were far more terrified of the man next to him.
He was easily as large and imposing as a mountain.
He had deep, brown skin that made it look like he was made from mud. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that those were actually the color of his scales instead of his flesh.
His body was packed with muscles that were as staunch as mythril. His full height of eight feet just made him even more imposing.
A gust of wind blew through his rust-colored hair and beard to paint a rather captivating picture.
Women in the crowd was terrified as they were enamored.
Their eyes had never had the privilege of gracing such a ruggedly handsome man before.
This person was the purest incarnation of a ‘dilf’ or perhaps a ‘gilf’ if you will.
Imaginations quickly ran so wild that most women didn’t even notice the thick horns coming out of his head.
His attention was seemingly not focused on the crowd as he pet the dragon next to him.
“There, there, young lady. Do you see? I told you that you would not have to lift a single claw dealing with this nonsensical show.”
The dragon made some bashful clicking noises and snorted fire from its nostrils.
“Yes, yes, I’m sure you would have done fine on your own, but it’s best not to take the chance. You want to find your son, don’t you?”
The dragon nodded in embarrassment.
“Then leave the heavy lifting to myself and my associates… we will return to you a world that is just for you. You need not be hunted ever again.”
The dragon looked at him as if to ask; ‘You promise?’
“I swear it upon the banner of the black god himself.”
Finally, it seemed as if everyone had pieced together just how dangerous the situation had become.
“I-It’s an untamed hybrid class!!”
“A handsome one, but still!”
“Where are the riders?!? Summon the ride-“
“MY SONNNN!!!! THIS BEAST HAS KILLED MY SON!!!”
A loud roar of pain shook the entire colosseum and drowned it in a dense red aura.
The father ripped off his robes and revealed a body that was bulky and muscular.
Red scales were forcing their way through the pores of his skin to cover him in a nigh-indestructible armor.
This seemed to displease the attacker greatly.
“How dare you show such a revolting sight as this to me. I will mount your head on my wall for such a blatant affront.”
The dragon slayer sprouted two bright red wings from his back and flew towards Hajun at the speed of sound.
His fist barreled right into the dragon’s broad chest and the resulting collision nearly atomized the ground underneath them.
However, he was completely blown away when his target stood tall and undamaged.
He didn’t even wince.
“What manner of creature are- Kugh!”
Lashing out, the dragon grabbed his hated adversary by the neck.
His strength was so unbelievably profound and uncompromising that the man knew instantly that he would never escape.
Retribution came in the form one would have least expected.
For one roar earlier, a second was returned now.
The man opened his mouth and inhaled deeply before letting out the deepest, most intense roar imaginable directly into his face and ears of his opponent.
Though mere sound should have been harmless, the vicious waves peeled away every layer of skin, flesh, blood, and scales like a high power pressure washer.
When it was over, the dragon was holding a perfectly clean skeleton in the grip of his knuckles.
He broke off the skull of his enemy before fastening it to his belt as if it were a cutesy accessory.
‘My little pookie snookems is going to be so proud of her old man… maybe I’ll let her have this if she gives me a little kiss on the cheek.’
With a less than sinister plot in the back of his mind, the man soon turned his gaze to the rest of the colosseum.
Aside from the section that had been blown apart by his roar.
“Hear me, inhabitants of Visoleer! You stand before Hajun, the Great Render of Earth! Father to the Red Horror, Fourth of my Lord’s Nyasir!
I have come here with but one purpose in mind! To crush unruly kings and men masquerading as gods! None shall escape my sublime wrath today!”
Finally, millions of black creatures fell from the sky and devolved the world into utter pandemonium.
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