Chapter 90: Aragath
[Draconic Warrior Aragath]
The system said only that and nothing else, as if announcing a boss in a boss fight.
Ren looked at it and could already feel a sense of connection to the man. It was clear, he was a dragon, a very powerful one at that.
"I have to fight a dragon to reach the top?"
He looked at Aragath from head to toe, thinking that he would stay a bit and catch his breath before he charged in to fight the dragon, but those thoughts were tossed down the drain in the next instant. Aragath moved.
He only took a step but managed to cross the distance between them. Ren was unable to react in time. His eyes could barely even follow. Aragath reached for both his swords in the same motion and was pulling them out into a slash that would cleave Ren in half.
’Shit, too fast, it’s too fast.’
Ren screamed in his mind while pushing his hands up to block the attack. He gave everything that he could to speed up the process, and at the last moment his hands made it in front of him, crossed before the attack landed.
CLANG!
The collision was deafening. Ren was hurled back. He landed on his feet and skidded back a few meters before stopping.
He dropped his hands and looked ahead, and there Aragath stood like he had done nothing at all. Ren took a deep breath. This was an opponent stronger than most he had faced. The speed, the power, it was all massive. But even with all that, Ren had the feeling that if he gave it his all now, he would for sure be able to get through.
"Let’s see how fast you can swing those large swords."
He pressed his foot into the ground, his wings spread out, and in one massive flap, he shot forward so fast it caused a sonic boom.
Aragath was ready for him, lifting both swords into the air. His attack path could not be any clearer, and even then it did not mean that one could dodge or block the attack.
When Ren got within fifty meters of him, Aragath attacked, swinging down both swords.
Ren banked left hard as two massive blade arcs ripped through the air. They ripped the ground apart as they moved, going right past him with a large gust of powerful wind.
Ren kept his gaze locked on Aragath. He had to get close, and it seemed Aragath knew how to keep him away. He shot toward Aragath again while keeping his eyes on the swords and arm muscles, trying to read every movement before it happened, but it seemed Aragath had no intention of hiding his motions. He pulled both his swords to his side and slashed forward in another massive arc.
Ren shot into the air to avoid it. While up there, he attacked with a rending claw that Aragath deflected with ease before shooting into the air after Ren.
’Shit, he is flying.’
Aragath moved fast and caught up with Ren quickly, proceeding to unleash a barrage of attacks that Ren was forced to block, each one sounding like an explosion right there.
Ren gritted his teeth and gave his all to blocking every attack but could not. A massive slash met him across the chest and sent him flying down while leaving a trail of blood.
Ren hit the ground hard, bounced, rolled, and finally came to a stop on one knee.
Aragath dropped from the air and slowly sheathed his swords onto his back.
"I am Aragath," he spoke. His voice sounded calm and deep to Ren, the type who would tell you all is fine and you had no choice but to believe.
"One of the many captains under the banner of the Primordial Chaos Dragon. As long as my blade stays in my hand, you shall not pass," he declared. He did not state it, he declared it, words that made it clear that he was never going to budge and would never allow Ren to pass.
Ren looked up at him. After that clash, it was clear, he was outmatched here. There was no way he could break through Aragath unless he began to pull out all his trump cards.
’I don’t think I need to do that.’
Ren thought. A plan formed in his mind on how to defeat Aragath, and now he had to follow through. He rose to his feet and stood tall, looking Aragath right in the eye.
"I am Ren Crimson Jnr, and to that I have to say, screw yourself."
The moment the words left his mouth, he was already gone, coming in hot like a meteor while at the same time creating multiple spheres in the air.
Aragath looked around as the spheres formed and frowned. He grabbed both his swords and pulled them out.
"This better work," Ren muttered before unleashing a dragon’s breath. Aragath used both blades to block the flames, crossing them to be sure.
The flames slammed hard and pushed him a few feet back. Ren did not allow him a moment to breathe. He immediately unleashed a follow-up, attacking with all the floating spheres at once.
Aragath recognized what Ren was doing and immediately flew away, moving as fast as he could to avoid the spheres, but they were homing spheres. They gave chase through the air.
Aragath proved his skill while he flew, blocking and cutting through spheres, leaving a wake of explosions as he moved, but none managed to touch him, no matter how fast they came in.
Ren watched closely while creating more spheres to attack. He knew that this was not going to last long and Aragath would soon come his way after forcing an opening, but he had a plan in mind.
His eyes followed the movement of Aragath through the air. Aragath made a curve in the air and headed towards Ren. It was a countdown now to when he would reach Ren.
Ren attacked with more spheres and then watched as Aragath proceeded to spread both hands apart to cut through them.
The perfect moment had arrived for Ren.
"Now!"