Chapter 315 - Isabelle And Kian
Isabelle was frozen in place. There was a stain of blood all over her body, the thick metal shield that crushed Anitta stayed in place.
Stanley took her sight off Isabelle and faced Kian again. He smirked and extended both his hands on the side with his palms open. "Hundred Shield Parade."
With a gold spark of light, shields appeared all around Stanley. His hands remained to the side while the shields face to the side, slowly spinning.
"Terran," Stanley called. "Or– you're not Terran. You're from Dracon. The ugliest race in all Six Realms."
Kian remained calm after what the angel said. If he lost his levelheadedness, Stanley will use the opportunity to kill him. After all, he easily crushed Anitta with one of his shields. Even with Kian's gigantic size, the shields will still defeat him.
"Dragons are actually nothing in Heaven," Stanley said. "We acquire them through illegal trades and use them as beasts to pull carts and wagons, or just become a plain pet for angels."
Kian just stared at Stanley. He had a million things to say, but it would all be useless. After all, the man could not understand him.
"How come a dragon is close with a Terran?" Stanley retracted his hands and placed his right index finger on his chin, his face contorted as he was in deep thought. "You must have some sort of… a taboo relationship?"
As Stanley continued to speak his mind out, Kian just listened intently. He felt the shields spin faster and faster. He needed to feel every shield to avoid any surprise attacks.
"Oh!" Stanley suddenly yelled. He clapped his hands once that made the shields stop spinning. "What if I kill the old woman too? I already killed her enemy. I gave her a favor, so she should pay it."
"Stop," Kian said in his mind. His voice was translated into a loud roar when he used his mouth. "Don't kill her!"
"So, you're now reacting," Kian chuckled. "If I knew you were this easily swayed, I wouldn't have to become that harsh. All you need to do is fight me, and defeat me so the woman stays safe."
Kian sighed and had no other choice but to obey. He nodded and roared, opening his wings widely.
"Oh," Stanley chuckled. "You're ready to fight. That's great! Because I'm ready to kill."
With a snap of his fingers, the shields rotated with a faster speed. They all shot towards Kian as fast as the eye could see. While in his dragon form, Kian avoided all the shields. It was hard to maneuver his movements in the air while avoiding the quick shields that were used as projectiles.
"That's it!" Stanley yelled. "Give me more and more!"
He was gesturing his hand in the air, as if he was controlling the nineteen shields that were following Kian's every movements. The dragon had slowly got the hang of the shields' speed when a sudden rip in his wing made his eyes widen in shock.
"Too slow!" Stanley yelled. "Go even faster, dragon. Let me see how Draconians fight!"
Kian grit his teeth and glared at Kian. When he felt a shield go close to his face, his snout snapped forward, taking the shield in between his fangs. Stanley paused his shield while he was on an eye to eye competition with the dragon.
With his large fangs, Kian crushed the shield. He used his slender lizard-like tongue to lick his lips while his teeth devoured the metal.
The scene made Stanley shiver. He hugged himself for a few seconds while waving his body side to side. "T-This…"
Kian watched the man close his eyes and bite his lips. He raised his hands and made the shields spin again, this time even more faster. "This is amazing! I have never met such a terrifying opponent before!"
The speed of the shields got to the point where Kian felt like he was getting sluggish. His movements were easily caught up by the projectiles, leaving wounds all over his body.
What's even more impressive was how Stanley's shield was able to penetrate the thick metal skin of Kian's dragon form. He reinforced his body with a coat of metal so it could protect himself.
But after being even grazed by Stanley's shields, the metal scales and skin would look like paper. The power the shields had was overwhelming his defense that he couldn't bear to keep up with them.
"Why are you slowing down, dragon?!" Stanley yelled. "Let's play some more and I'll feast on your meat right after!"
He knew he wouldn't last long. Kian in his dragon form wasn't the best decision he made. He shut his eyes, and opened them right after. His gray pupils dilated rapidly before his lips quirked up to a smirk.
"Dragon Soul: Metal Dragon Emperor!" Kian yelled in his mind. His body glowed with a bright gray color, making Stanley pause his shields as he waited for what the dragon will do next.
The large beast had his figure change. From a gigantic dragon capable of destroying a town, he morphed into a tall humanoid like form. He was now in the same form as Hope, although he had a lighter gray color than the Supreme Dragon Emperor.
"Amazing!" Stanley yelled. "This is amazing, dragon!"
"You…" Kian trailed off. His voice was deep and hoarse, rage filling it to the brim. Anyone who heard his voice could tell that this man was willing to kill. "If you try and touch my mom, I'll kill you. I'll rip your bones and tear you apart."
"She's frozen in place," Stanley said and looked at Isabelle who was still staring in front of her. Even after all this time, she wasn't able to recover from the shock.
"I wonder why she's the Angel Hunter and she acted like that after someone died in front of her," Stanley shrugged. "This is getting confusing."
"Because she's not an Angel Hunter!" Kian yelled. "I know her story better than you do, so don't act like you know her!"
"Why act so hostile?" Stanley laughed hysterically. "You really think of her as your mom even when she's a Terran and you're a dragon? Blood is thicker than water."
"We're bonded by more than blood!" Kian yelled. "We've bonded through our hearts, like a mother and son. Something you wouldn't understand!"
Stanley's face was frozen. He looked at Kian for a few seconds before he chuckled hysterically. "You think I care about such familial ties?! I killed my parents because they argued with me. Who are you to lecture me–"
Stanley was cut off when a gray figure pass by him. He opened his lips, eyes blank in shock. With a cough, blood gushed out of Stanley's lips. A large claw mark was now in his chest, blood oozing from it like a waterfall.
"And that's why you can never defeat me," Kian whispered. With a scream, he thrust his claw through Stanley's stomach, his long sharp naild dug through the skin like it was nothing.
"B-But…" Stanley trailed off. He looked at the skies and raised his hand, seemingly trying to reach it. "I only wanted to be loved."
–
It was a rainy day and an injured woman was walking through the forest. Her armor was shattered, leaving only some of the fabrics she wore. She was roaming aimlessly, her legs felt like they were about to give up but she needed to keep on walking.
Just when her knees was about to drop, she heard an child cry by the distance. The woman gathered all her strength and ran to the direction of the voice. When she opened the bush, she saw a young boy hugging himself.
He wasn't wearing anything. His hair was pale gray and his eyes were like silver. The boy had a dark skin that was littered with mud. He was shivering in the rain while crying, seemingly unable to do anything about his condition.
It felt as though the woman had another reserve of power in herself. She took the child in her arms and ran to find a shelter. Seeing a cave, the woman went inside and placed the child on a rock.
She took a red gem from her pocket and threw it to the ground, a large warm flame igniting from it. The woman then carried the boy closer to the flame, letting him sit on her lap.
"What's your name?" she asked.
The boy opened his mouth but no words were able to escape from it. He tried again, also failing this time.
"You can't speak?" the woman chuckled. "My name is Isabelle. And if you don't have a name, I'll give you one."
The boy stared at her for a moment before nodding vigorously. Isabelle chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair.
"What about Kian?" she asked. "The name feels like it suits you with your silver everything. Is that okay?"
The boy nodded as tears started to flow from his eyes. With a loud whine, he hugged Isabelle as tight as he could.
"Kian," Isabelle whispered.. "I will be your mother now."