41. The Blade and the Beast

Chapter 41: The Blade and the Beast

I wasn't screwing around anymore.

The second I took my stance, sword raised, the air changed.

The dragon and I locked eyes. Its golden irises burned with raw, primal fury, and my body tensed as its massive wings unfurled, sending a gust of wind that nearly knocked me off balance. The Philosopher's Stone still pulsed in its mouth like a cursed heart, radiating that same deep, crimson glow.

I stepped forward.

The dragon moved first.

Its tail whipped across the chamber with the force of a falling mountain. I barely had time to register the motion before I vanished—my body reacting purely on instinct as my ki-enhanced agility launched me into a backflip over the massive, scythe-like appendage.

*Boom!*

The tail slammed into the stone floor, shattering the ground where I had been standing moments ago.

"Tch—!"

I twisted midair, my sword arcing as I descended toward its head, aiming for the throat.

Steel met metallic scales.

*CLANG!*

The vibration rattled my arms as my blade bounced off, not even scratching the dragon's armored hide. My grip nearly slipped, but I forced my hands to tighten, kicking off its neck before it could retaliate.

I landed in a crouch, my eyes narrowing.

Figures. The bastard's scales were literally harder than steel.

"Alright, fine," I muttered, exhaling sharply. "Let's see how you like this."

I extended my free hand. Ki surged, flickering into existence—

And then—

Nothing.

The energy collapsed in on itself, fizzling out like a flame meeting a downpour.

"What the—!"

I didn't have time to curse at my own unreliable abilities because the dragon moved again—this time, with its claws.

It lunged, swiping with one massive talon—then another, then another, each strike faster than it had any right to be.

I dodged, weaving between the brutal slashes with a graceful fluidity that felt almost inhuman. My body twisted, my blade flickering in precise arcs as I deflected the edges of its claws, redirecting the momentum.

Each impact sent shockwaves through my arms, but I kept moving, refusing to let the rhythm break.

Left. Right. Low. Step in. Twist.

My footwork carried me between its attacks like a dance, my sword flashing as I struck at every exposed joint—

Only for every attack to be completely useless.

Damn it.

I barely had time to react before the dragon roared, its massive maw gaping open.

I saw it—

The gathering flames within.

"Oh, shit—!"

I threw myself backward as a pillar of fire erupted from its mouth, consuming everything in front of it in a blazing inferno.

The heat scorched my skin even from a distance, my boots skidding across the damp stone as I barely avoided being incinerated.

'Think, Kaizen. THINK.'

My sword was useless. My ki blasts were unreliable.

I needed another angle.

The dragon lunged again, this time trying to crush me under its weight.

I pushed my legs to the limit, bursting forward—underneath its massive form.

Move. Adapt.

I ducked between its legs, my blade flashing as I slashed at its inner joints, its underbelly—anywhere that wasn't protected by that damned armor.

*No good.*

Even the softest parts of its body were too tough, my blade skidding off with sparks as if I were hitting solid iron.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" I snarled, rolling to the side as another clawed foot stomped down, barely missing my head.

I leaped onto a broken pillar, using the height to vault upward toward its face again.

"Let's see how you like a blast to the eye!"

I thrust my hand forward—

This time, a ki blast actually formed.

A bright, crackling orb of energy flared into existence in my palm.

I hurled it forward—aiming directly for the dragon's right eye.

The impact exploded against its face—

And did absolutely nothing.

The eye didn't even blink.

Instead, the dragon snapped its head around with terrifying speed—

And before I could react, its tail lashed out from the side—

*BAM!*

I barely registered the impact before my body exploded with pain.

Everything spun—my entire world flipping end over end as I was sent flying like a ragdoll, my ribs shattering on impact as I slammed into the chamber wall.

"GAAH—!" Blood splattered from my mouth.

I crashed to the ground, my limbs twitching, my entire body screaming in agony.

For a brief moment, the world blurred—my thoughts fading in and out as I struggled to even breathe.

The dragon turned, watching me, waiting—almost mocking me with those golden eyes.

My vision swam.

My limbs wouldn't move.

Get up.

The dragon stepped forward.

*Move, damn it.*

The heat in the air rose.

It was charging another breath attack.

*NOW, KAIZEN.*

I gritted my teeth, forcing everything I had left into one desperate motion—

I rolled to the side just as another pillar of fire exploded against the spot where I had just been.

The force blasted me across the floor, but at least I was alive.

"F—ck…" I spat blood, my hands shaking as I forced myself upright.

I was running out of options.

My body was wrecked. My attacks weren't doing shit.

And this damned dragon wasn't even tired.

I exhaled.

"Alright, you metal-skinned freak…" I muttered, my grip tightening around my sword. "I see how it is."

I lowered my stance, shifting my weight. My ki flickered weakly around me, the red and black aura sputtering from my wounds.

My eyes burned as I locked onto my target.

I didn't have a plan.

I didn't have a strategy.

But I had one thing.

A relentless, unbreakable drive to win.

The dragon lowered its stance, its wings spreading as it prepared to strike again.

The moment stretched.

Then—

We both lunged.

I lunged.

So did the dragon.

And the bastard won.

The moment I clashed with its sheer, unstoppable strength, my entire body was sent hurtling backward.

Not just flying—catapulted.

I didn't even get a chance to process the pain before I slammed into the stone wall behind me with the force of a falling star.

*BOOOOOOM!*

The entire wall shattered on impact.

Cracks spidered outward in every direction before the whole damn thing collapsed, debris and dust exploding into the air like a dying breath. I barely had time to cough out a mouthful of blood before my broken body crashed through—

And suddenly—

Fresh air.

A gust of cool, crisp wind rushed in, slipping past the shattered ruins and washing over me like a whisper from the outside world.

"Hah… Cough—Okay," I wheezed, rolling onto my aching side, "so, this is how I die… Not from a legendary battle. Not from a hero's duel. But because I got my ass—slammed—through a wall—by a walking metal lizard."

I spat more blood, groaning.

I could barely feel my legs. My arms were numb. My vision blurred.

But I wasn't dead.

Not yet.

"Alright…" I panted, dragging my shaking hand to my chest. "One last trick… just one…"

I reached into my clothes, my fingers brushing against the cool glass of a small vial.

The moment I pulled it out, even in the dim cavern light, I saw it.

A potion—but unlike any other.

The liquid inside was black. Not dark. Not murky. Pure, absolute blackness.

A color so deep it looked as if it was sucking in the very light around it—not just from the distant glow of the outside, but even from the magical crystals embedded in the chamber walls.

This thing wasn't natural.

And I knew exactly what it was.

*The Life Reversal Elixir.*

Neralia had warned me about it.

Her voice echoed in my mind.

"That potion is worth ten gold pieces. My father gave it to me for this mission. In the absolute worst-case scenario, it can bring someone back from death… but only if used within minutes of dying. Otherwise—"

"—just a single sip is enough. Any more, and the consequences aren't worth thinking about."

I never asked who made this stuff.

And frankly, I didn't want to know.

"Well," I muttered, staring at the swirling void-like liquid. "Now's as good a time as any."

I uncorked the vial—

And took the tiniest sip.

Just a drop.

The moment it touched my tongue, I slammed the vial shut and shoved it back beneath my armor.

At first, nothing happened.

Then—

I started shaking.

"Oh f—ck—"

My body convulsed violently, my muscles twisting and spasming as if something inside me had just been set on fire.

Pain.

Raw, unfiltered, nightmarish pain.

It ripped through my nerves like molten steel being poured into my veins.

I screamed.

Not in rage. Not in frustration.

In pure agony.

My limbs snapped into unnatural angles. My ribs realigned, breaking themselves only to reform. My fingers dislocated, then popped back into place.

Every broken bone twisted and shattered all over again—

Only to be remade.

Every nerve burned.

Every inch of my body reconstructed itself as I felt every second of it.

I barely clung to consciousness, my vision flickering between darkness and blinding light. My mind nearly—nearly—shut down just to escape the overwhelming torture.

But then—

It stopped.

Everything stopped.

The shaking. The twisting. The breaking.

Instead, a faint green glow washed over my body.

And suddenly—

The pain was gone.

Completely.

I gasped.

The air filled my lungs like it was my first breath. My limbs felt weightless. My body—where there had been torn flesh, broken bones, shattered nerves—was perfectly intact.

My ki surged to life.

Not weakly. Not sporadically.

Fully. Completely.

I felt unstoppable.

Even my armor, my torn leather, seemed to absorb the excess ki, its damaged edges stitching themselves back together.

I stood.

No pain. No exhaustion.

As if I had never been injured in the first place.

I rolled my shoulders, cracking my neck.

Then, slowly, I turned.

The dragon stood at the center of the chamber, its golden eyes fixed on me—as if sensing the change.

The Philosopher's Stone still sat between its fangs, glowing brighter than ever.

I exhaled, raising my sword.

A red-and-black aura flickered to life around me.

Not weak. Not unstable.

Steady. Controlled.

*Alright, you overgrown pile of scrap metal…*

*Round two.*