Vol.8 Ch.236-Clash Of Ancient Wings.

We're back :)

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Sylvia Talgan's POV.

"How close do I need to get at first?" Kelzrenth asked.

"Closer, the better!" I yelled over the wind.

"Then use this and hold on tight. I won't be compromising my speed," he said back.

Wha? Oh…his scales are moving. Why does it look awkward?

The beautiful scales slipped up and made a small cubby I could place my hands inside of. I held back a yelp of surprise because the space was freezing cold, even more than what I was comfortable with. I bit down and used blood to lock myself down. It was unpleasant, to say the least. However, it beat falling off and splattering on the ground.

"I'm good!" I told him.

With that, Kelzrenth tucked his wings, and we dove straight toward the ground. The cold wind was whipping against my face, and I prayed for glasses that would never come. The ground came into view rapidly as the Zombie Dragon was not going to let us move so freely. It used its massive body and powerful legs to lunge up at us but Kelzrenth managed to stay just out of reach.

The undead hit the ground with a boom and I wasted no time in gathering the lost blood. The now-dead Goliath was a treasure trove of blood and I greedily helped myself to it all. It's not like it would be needing it anyway.

A trail of blood followed behind us as Kelzrenth soared low to the ground, avoiding the Undead Dragon by margins that were way too close for comfort. But after circling around, I managed to gather most of the blood under my control. All I needed to do now was funnel it closer.

"Pull up a little more now! I have it under control!" I yelled over the wind.

"I hope so…" Kelzrenth grumbled deeply.

Kelzrenth increased his altitude but took a sudden maneuver. I felt like vomiting as my world was sent into a high-speed spin that made me light-headed. However, there would be no complaints from me as the Undead Dragon's breath narrowly missed us again.

The creature traced us through the air, but Kelzrenth's speed and the fact we were flying in a circle forced the Zombie Dragon to continue to move its entire body to track us. Even so, it almost reached us on a few occasions.

I tried my best to gather the blood into spheres, but I had never done the ritual while moving at such speeds, and I couldn't ask Kelzrenth to slow down at all. Instead of forcing the blood to follow me, and continuously trail a step behind, I wanted to try a different approach.

"I'm forming the blood into large globs while in the air! Just get close to those, and I can grab them without having them try to chase us!" I yelled.

"How long is this going to take?!" he roared back.

"What does it matter?! I'm trying my best here, and we don't have a choice, so do it!" I snapped back.

He let out a low growl of complaint but still did as I asked. It was much easier to grab onto the blood as we flew close to the spheres I had formed, since I didn't have to go around having it chase us at such speed. Once it was near me, my control increased immensely, which was ideal since I struggled to concentrate.

The last time I did this, Kaladin managed to protect me by himself for a long time, so make sure you keep up, you damn lizard!

At least, that's what I want to say to him—gah!

Kelzrenth stopped abruptly and so quickly that I ended up slamming face-first into his back. I felt the tears well up in my eyes and the shooting pain as the warm sensation of blood pooled out from my nose. I was lucky not to have knocked myself out and what made matters worse was we were flying straight up into the sky. I was losing control of the blood that I had planted and yet to gather.

"What are you doing?! Get closer! I'm losing control of the blood because we are too far away!" I yelled.

"Damn it, will you shut up?! I'm trying to keep us alive!" he roared back.

"How many times can this thing use its breath?! Won't it run out at some point?!" I complained as I felt my broken nose finally move itself and go back to normal.

"It shouldn't be like this! A regular Dragon, even an elder, can't use its breath for this long or in such quick succession! We would die! It must be because it's already been turned!" he roared.

"Then can't you use your breath?!" I asked.

"Did you really think I didn't consider that already?! It would be useless to try and compete! I would be annihilated the moment I tried!" he roared.

"Wait a moment…" I muttered.

"What?! Having a change of heart, Vampire?!"

"No, but what would happen if I touched that breath?!" I asked.

"There wouldn't be anything left of you!" he yelled back.

Damn, this is a dumb idea. I might actually die. But if I can't even gather the blood for the ritual, then all of this is for nothing. And if we can't defeat it from range and from the outside, then…

"Can you at least hold it back one time?! Even if it's just for a second?!" I asked.

Kelzrenth soared through the sky, dodging the breath attack in silence. He must have been thinking because he didn't immediately answer. But he finally gave one.

"You must have some new idea, Vampire. I can try to do it—just one time. If you fail in whatever you are going to do, just hit the ground and spend your last moments with those other mortals," he growled.

If I fail, I'll either be dinner, or there won't be anything left of me.

"I'll make it count. I need you to beat that breath back once or stop it momentarily. I'll do the rest," I said, releasing the blood holding my cold hands.

I started to scale Kelzrenth's back and rested at the base of his neck. He continued to fly fast and high, but once he moved his scales not only could I anchor my hands but my feet as well. In the meantime I gathered all the blood I had collected around me and willed it toward me so I could store it into my Spatial Ring.

He is rather generous when he wants to be. I can't believe I might spend my final moments with this lizard…but I have to destroy this undead. If I can't, it will run rampant and destroy the entire city, including Kaladin.

This is not something I'm going to let happen, even if it costs me my life.

"Hold on tight. I'm diving straight in," Kelzrenth roared.

He dipped his body down, and we went straight into a nosedive. The Zombie Dragon was already preparing another breath, but before it reached us, Kelzrenth spun to the side. It was a whirlwind of death as we spiraled straight down toward our target,

As we sped closer, I released my legs and tucked them underneath me. I gathered the blood inside me, and my body burned with power. I concentrated all of it into my legs, and once I saw Kelzrenth's mouth glowing brightly with an eerie purple power, I released the blood holding my hands and pushed off with all my might.

My heart dropped into my stomach as I flew up briefly before falling right back down. All I could do now was spin my body in the right direction and watch the scene before me. As I fell toward the ground, I watched the two Dragons clash. Kelzrenth had dived straight into the other, knocking it over.

The undead Dragon's breath slid across the ground and into the air before stopping. The two wrestled for a few moments, but the Earth Dragon was far bigger than the tiny Kelzrenth, and even with the swipe of his claws, Kelzrenth had barely managed to rip out a few scales. Using its sheer size, the Earth Dragon pushed Kelzrenth off and pinned him onto his back.

The Earth Dragon was already gathering power into its bony jaws again, but Kelzrenth released his breath in advance. Even while falling, I could sense that something was inherently different about Kelzrenth's purple-colored breath. It was ominous, and it made my skin crawl in fear.

But it was enough.

A part of me hoped that the attack would just rip the head off the undead, but it only managed to slam the gaping maw shut and knock its head up as it moved out of the way. Before I reached the undead, I released all the blood in my ring and took control of it, forming a giant wedge.

My plan was simple. I would barrel straight into its skull, using my momentum and all the blood at my disposal to cause the most destruction. If this undead Dragon was considered a high-ranking undead, then eliminating its head should be enough to bring it down.

And if it wasn't, then that was all there was to it. My magic at range was meaningless, and I didn't have time to engage in rituals. I couldn't take control of it through blood. And I was lucky enough to survive even a single attack from its breath. There wouldn't be a second chance.

It was all or nothing.

The glowing eyes of the Earth Dragon started up at me as Kelzrenth blasted his breath into the Earth Dragon's chest. Maybe it was doing something but I couldn't tell from here and I was about to make impact.

I bit my lip and even started to drain my own blood as a source. I covered myself in a protective barrier of blood and hit the Dragon. It felt like all the bones in my body broke instantly. The pain threatened to knock me unconscious, but I did my best to endure. Once it felt like I had slowed down for even a moment, I released all the blood that was still under my control.

There was no specific shape or anything—just a burst of all my power in every direction. The sound of cracking bones and destruction rang in my ears. I still felt the sensation of falling before I hit something that stopped my descent completely, which was followed by a deafening boom.

I laid there, a bloody mess of splintered and broken bones and unbearable pain. I wanted nothing more than to cry out as I let my mind fade, but I kept myself awake, focusing on the pain. My body quickly put itself back together with horrifying noises. It hurt to even breathe, but after a few seconds of suffering, it was done.

I was still inside of my protective barrier, so I released it. I got a shower of blood that splashed over me. But as I lay on the ground and looked up, I could see the sky directly above, and to my sides bones, rotting flesh, and towers of crimson in every direction. It smelt beyond terrible, like I had dropped myself right into a massive animal carcass.

Ah…I guess I did do that, huh?

I was tired, my body ached, and nearly all my reserves were drained. I was practically starving, and the lingering pain still struck at the back of my mind, but I still willed myself onto my stomach and crawled forward and out of the hole I was in until I saw the light.

It was difficult to make out where I was, but judging by the bones I must have gone straight through the Dragon's head and into its chest as they looked like rib bones. I slipped through a hole and rolled out of it. I ended up falling quite a distance onto the ground and, once again, broke some bones. But that was minor considering everything that had just happened. Maybe I could have strengthened myself, but I didn't have the care or the blood to do so.

"Ha…haha…it's…it's not moving. It's really dead…it actually worked," I muttered.

I started to laugh like a maniac. It felt good. I actually did it. I saved everyone, including Kaladin, this time.

Ah…it was all worth it.

I was about to close my eyes when a shadow loomed over me. I blinked a few times and saw the sparkling pink and blue eyes look down at me. But something was wrong. I wasn't sure how I knew that the Dragon's expression was bad, but my worries were not unfounded. Kelzrenth hopped down from the corpse, and I couldn't roll away in time before his sharp claws gripped me. Before I knew it, we were airborne again, flying away.

"Hey! Put me down, damn it! Where are you taking me!" I demanded.

But I didn't get an answer.

No way…is this bastard going to kidnap me?! After everything I did?!

"Hey, if you don't put me down, I'll really fight back!" I yelled.

Of course, it was just a bluff. Even if I had gathered the blood I had left over, I doubted I could have done anything. Maybe I could force him to release me if I really tried, but I would just hit the ground and pass out. I was expecting him to fly east or north, but instead, he was taking me straight west.

I held my breath and just listened, and I could hear a weird noise outside of the flapping of wings and the rush of wind. What was it? It sounded like…a pained whimper. And the more I concentrated, the more sinking feelings came over me. It was that same ominous feeling that Kelzrenth's breath attack had, but much fainter.

If he really wanted to kill me he would have just used it again the moment I passed out. So he clearly wants me to—what?! Why is he—

"Hey! Hey, why are you flying like that?! Go up?! Stop! We'll hit the ground—HEY!" I yelled as I braced myself.

We had flown a considerable distance from the city rather quickly and were in some woods west of Curia. Sure enough, Kelzrenth did end up letting me go, but it didn't feel like before when he had released me, but almost like he had slowly lost strength. Once again, I hit the ground but I had at least prepared a little this time.

I didn't immediately want to die, but the pain was still significant as I bounced across the ground and only came to a halt once I broke through a tree with my body. Also, there was no time for me to complain because I wasn't the only one.

I didn't see him but I heard what sounded like dozens of trees coming down along with an enormous crash just now too far from me. I waited for what little bones I had broken to mend and staggered up to my feet.

I bounced from tree to tree, stumbling like a drunkard. An explosion of smoke seeped through the trees and through the forest, which came from deeper within,as well as the moans and screams of a person, so I went toward that. The pain and fatigue weighed down on me and threatened to force me to sleep. But I soldiered on until I found the clearing, or rather, the fresh crater with dozens of trees uprooted and tossed around it.

It was oddly a better scene than I expected; at least, the smell of fresh soil untainted by countless undead was better than where we were a few minutes ago. I stumbled over to the crater, and at the bottom was a small Dark Elf boy with mystical pink and blue hair. His outfit was ostentatious for someone lying in a hole, but I decided to ignore it and move down to him.

Thankfully, he was alive, but he was screaming and writhing in pain like he had been stabbed. He rolled in the dirt as he clutched his chest and moaned. I admittedly hesitated.

I wasn't approaching some lost child but rather a real Dragon. If he so chose to, I may just be killed on the spot. Even if he were to hit me by accident, I might fall unconscious for real this time.

But those concerns were overshadowed by the feelings of regret. I had…treated him rather harshly. And he had done what no one else could have done to save not only me but Kaladin and the city as well. The least I could do was help him, even if it amounted to nothing.

Is this why he brought me so far away? He must need help, but why didn't—

My question was answered for me. As he rolled toward me, by chance, I could see it, and it made sense why that ominous aura never left. Instead of blood leaving a gaping wound, a visible purple mist was leaking from Kelzrenth's chest. He used his hands to press down on it, but it was pointless and did little to stem the flow of…whatever it was.

If I was going to help, I had to be swift and go right in. There was no point in calling out to him or asking for permission as he was yelling like a madman. That noble Dragon would have to take what he got. Not that he had any choice.

Once I got close enough I swept down beside him and went straight for his neck. I sank my fangs into him, and the effect was almost immediate. I felt an overwhelming power enter me. It was divine.

I had drained people to the point of death. The euphoric feeling I got was addictive, and it scared me to think just how good it felt. But this? This was nothing in comparison.

I felt like a god.

What would it feel like if I drank even more? Would I feel even better? Surely I would, right? It may be better than anything I felt in my entire life. Who would miss this beast in the first place? It's just another problem dealt with in an already hectic day.

So, why not? Just a little mor—

I blinked a few times as I stared back at the pleading face, looking up at me. It was like I was looking right at Kaladin. And when I thought about it that way, that joyous feeling washed away, and I was only filled with disgust and regret.

How could I even consider such a thing…