Chapter 8: Vs Infant

The dragon let out another deafening roar, flashes of fire escaping the gaps between its fangs as it saw its prey fleeing. With a tilt of its head, it shot a fireball high into the air, and the blazing orb curved in an arc overhead, coming down with a deafening:

*BOOM*

Rex barely had time to leap back as the explosion blasted the earth apart in front of him, sending him sprawling to the ground. He hit the dirt hard, groaning as he noticed the infant dragon charging forward at alarming speed. He scrambled to his feet and dove to the side just as the beast barreled past him, its massive body brushing dangerously close.

But the infant dragon skidded to a stop just before fully passing him, pivoting with a powerful twist of its body and its thick, causing scaly tail to whip around in a wide arc, tearing through everything in its path.

"Ahhh?!" The tail was about to hit Rex square in the chest, but he quickly crossed his swords in front of him. The force slammed into it, the impact driving the air from his lungs and sending him flying back.

"Gaaah!" He grunted, twisting in mid-air before stabbing one of his swords into the ground to slow his momentum. His boots then touched the ground, skidding across the scorched earth and sending up a spray of dirt. He barely managed to stop himself from crashing into a burning tree, breathing heavily as he pulled his sword from the ground, the sword having left a long scar along the earth leading to him.

The dragon roared again, unleashing another searing blast of flames. Ignoring his throbbing arm—which would have broken from the last attack if not for the buff given to him by the Silverbacks' roar—Rex pushed to the side with all his strength, the inferno lance roaring past him, obliterating the tree behind him and everything in its path.

He rolled to his feet, only to see the dragon charging, its crimson eyes glowing and its claws tearing into the earth as it barreled toward him. Time slowed as multiple thoughts went through his mind on his next course of action, scavenger judging them with one coming up as the best.

Planting his feet firmly, Rex clenched his fists around his swords, his feet digging into the ground and then he dashed directly towards the dragon. The massive lizard grew larger and larger as it got closer and then, with a twist of his body, he avoided the downwards slam of the infant dragon, its paw smashing into the ground where he once stood. Using his spin, he let out a sharp slash with his two swords simultaneously.

"!" But as they passed each other, he was still knocked to the ground by the absurd shockwave from the dragon's charge, causing him to roll across the dirt like a tumbleweed. He quickly rolled to his feet, turning to face the dragon that had stopped its charge.

And then, a single scale from its shoulder dropped to the ground, the red scale reflecting the dragon's serpentine pupil. Its eyes narrowed as it released a powerful roar into the air, the wind from its maw fluttering Rex's clothes, then it lowered its head towards him, and with a boom, another blast of fire came towards him, ripping the ground apart as it did.

Like before he quickly dodged to the side, but it seemed like the dragon was expecting this as it was already upon him. '!!!' Rex quickly brought his sword forward, defending against the upwards swipe of the infant. The swipe hurled him into the air, his grip on the sword's hilt almost ripped away by the sheer force.

Rex found himself flying more than ten meters above the ground, the burning room stretching out beneath him like a hellscape of fire and ash. The scorched floor glowed red, the charred remains of trees standing like skeletal sentinels, some collapsing as they burned. The air was thick with smoke, the heat searing his skin even from this height.

'This looks like hell…' he thought, then his eyes widened as he caught sight of the dragon below. Its massive maw opened wide, a fiery glow building deep within its throat. 'Shit!'

Realizing the danger, Rex twisted his body mid-air, narrowly evading the torrent of flames that erupted from the dragon's mouth. The fire roared past him, missing by inches, but the blistering heat of the passing flames sent him tumbling through the air. Gravity soon took hold, and he plummeted toward the ground, his body spinning uncontrollably.

He tried to adjust his position, but his landing was far from ideal. He crashed into the smoldering bark of a fallen, burning tree, the impact knocking the wind from his lungs and causing his swords to slip from his grip. The searing heat of the flames burned through his shirt in an instant, blistering the skin along his back and shoulders. 

With no air in his lungs, he let out a silent scream as excruciating stings erupted across his spine, the fire crawling along the fabric of his clothes, igniting them and scorching the fur on his tail. The acrid stench of burning hair filled his nostrils, and panic flared in his mind.

Ignoring the overwhelming pain, he pushed himself off the tree with trembling arms, stumbling forward before throwing himself onto the ground. He rolled frantically, dirt and ash grinding into his raw, burned skin as he smothered the flames. The coarse earth offered no relief from the burns, but it stopped the fire from spreading further.

Just as he was about to get on his feet again, the dragon struck.

*WHAM!*

A sideways swipe of the infant dragon's powerful paw crashed into his right ribs, a sickening crack reverberating through his body as several bones gave way, the blow sending him flying through to the side like a ragdoll. His right arm twisted unnaturally, pain shooting up his side as the force of the attack blurred his vision and sent his thoughts spiraling towards unconsciousness.

When his head hit the ground after one of his many flips, the impact jolted him back to consciousness, a sharp gasp escaping his lips, the smoke-filled air burning his lungs as he coughed violently, struggling to breathe. From his position, his watery gaze locked onto the beast, its crimson eye blazing with fury as it closed the distance with heavy, earth-shaking steps.

"Haah," Rex breathed, adrenaline surging through his veins and washing away the worst of the pain. He spat blood and several teeth onto the ground before pushing himself to his feet, his eyes narrowing as he watched the dragon charging. Everything seemed to go silent as multiple thoughts raced through his mind, his eyes darting around the room, with Scavenger working on overdrive.

With a short exhale, a blue fog following his breath, he pulled his War Shadow Dagger with his working left hand and immediately darted back just as the dragon's paw slammed into where he had stood moments before. Its claws tore into the earth, carving jagged trenches and sending chunks of dirt and debris flying into the air.

The dragon instantly charged forward, its head turning sideways, massive jaws opening like scissors ready to cut him in half. Rex quickly rolled to the side, putting his weight on his left shoulder as he evaded the deadly snap of its maw. 

The jaws closed with a sound that resembled a gunshot, the force of the bite sending a shockwave through the air, and before he could regain his footing, the infant dragon brought down its right foreleg, aiming to crush him. Rex rolled again, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow. 

From his roll, he sprang to his feet, but the dragon, undeterred, opened its mouth for another fire blast. This time, Rex dashed forward, and just as the flames were about to erupt from the dragon's maw, he kicked upwards with his left leg. His boot slammed into the bottom of the dragon's jaw with enough force to shut its mouth and force its head upwards. 

With its mouth now closed, the flames in its throat sought another way to escape, and twin pillars of fire erupted from its nostrils, shooting towards the ceiling while lighting up the area with a fiery glow.

With the dragon's head facing upwards, its neck was exposed, and Rex seized the opportunity, striking upwards with his dagger. The blade pierced through the gap between the weaker scales on the underside of the dragon's body, sinking deep into the flesh near its throat. A wet, squelching noise accompanied the strike as crimson blood spilled from the wound.

The dragon roared in pain, and Rex quickly twisted and pulled out the dagger, leaping back just in time to evade a sideswipe from the dragon's claw. The attack left a shallow, horizontal gash across his torso, blood slowly welling up from the new injury, but nothing fatal. The dragon's blood flowed freely from the wound in its throat, but Rex's dagger wasn't long enough to deal any meaningful damage. It only served to enrage the beast further.

Leaning forward, Rex dashed towards the enraged dragon, his mind and body moving as one. Subconsciously, he drew upon every ounce of his strength, every technique he had taught himself, every scrap of experience from his past. His Scavenger skill judged every thought and action, guiding him as he fought to survive. All the pieces of him—his instincts, his training, his skill, his will to live—merged into a single, focused effort to kill the dragon.

From the side, from the back, he kept moving, swinging his dagger from outside the dragon's field of view while dodging and evading its relentless attacks. With each flash of his blade, fragments of scales scattered, and neither he nor the dragon could tell whose fresh blood was spilled with each clash. In the burning landscape, the drake and man kept clashing, sparks and blood flying as they moved across the landscape.

Enraged by the dog that kept darting around it, the dragon let out a low, guttural sound from its throat, then it spun, swinging its tail around like a whip. The speed of its spin, combined with the circular motion of its long, serpentine tail, sent out a ring of powerful gusts of air that flung debris outward in all directions. But Rex was nowhere to be seen.

Its eyes darted around the burning hellscape, the flames and crackling bark hindering its other senses. As its gaze swept the area,for its prey, the infant dragon suddenly spotted the Doberman, thrusting its dagger towards its eyes. It was too sudden, and the dagger pierced into its right eye before it could react, the blade sinking deep into the eyeball until only the hilt remained visible.

"OOOoooooOOOOOoo!" the dragon roared, thrashing in agony, but Rex had already released the dagger and pulled back, putting distance between himself and the enraged beast.

The dragon, furious and blinded by pain, cocked its head back and unleashed a massive fireball toward the fleeing Rex. The fireball, more than three meters wide, scorched the ground as it hurtled forward, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. 

Rex immediately cartwheeled to the side, narrowly avoiding the fiery projectile and fireball exploded behind him, shaking the ground and sending a shockwave of air rippling outward. He didn't spare it a glance, his focus entirely on survival as he dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding another blast of fire from the infant dragon that chased behind him.

Rolling forward, he quickly reached for the longsword he had dropped earlier—having managed to circle around—his fingers wrapping around the hot hilt that seared his palm, but he ignored the pain, his grip tightening. As he rose to his feet, he saw the dragon charging toward him, its massive form barreling through the burning grassland.

Rex's eyes darted around, spotting a boulder almost as tall as he was, and kicked off the ground, dashing toward it. Using the momentum of his sprint, he spun just before reaching the boulder and swung his sword with all his might. The blade struck the boulder with a resounding boom, cracks running along the sword's blade as it shattered the boulder spectacularly and sending countless pieces of stone flying in a ranged attack toward the charging dragon.

Loud thuds echoed as the infant dragon took the full brunt of the attack head-on, the fragments of stone pelting its scaled body while averting its eyes to avoid the sharp fragments, slowing down just the slightest bit. However, clad in its impenetrable scales, it didn't receive a single wound, and when it turned its head back toward its target, its one remaining eye locked onto Rex, only to see a sword thrusting toward its face.

Reacting on instinct, the dragon jerked its head to the side. The sword pierced the side of its eye, its forward momentum continuing as the blade cut deep through the side of its face, sending multiple scales flying and blood gushing. However, the force of the attack against the dragon's scale shattered the already cracked blade, fragments of the sword scattering into the air. 

Time slowed as one shard reflected the dragon's enraged crimson serpentine eye, while another mirrored Rex's calm amber eyes ringed with red from Silverback's Roar. Time quickly snapped back to normal and the dragon—in pain—charged forward, its maw opening wide as it tried to bite down on Rex's head. 

Rex retreated swiftly as his right hand reached for the dagger still embedded in the dragon's right eye. With a firm grip, he pulled the dagger free as he jumped back, a gush of blood following the blade, and the dragon's eyeball nearly came out with it, dangling grotesquely from the socket.

Growling in fury, the infant dragon swiped at Rex with its clawed right foreleg, but he performed a backflip, narrowly avoiding the attack. Just as his feet were about to touch the ground, the dragon opened its mouth for another blast of fire, but Rex had anticipated this, and with a flick of his wrist, he hurled the dagger forward.

The dagger flew through the air like an arrow, slamming into the back of the dragon's throat just as the fire began to build. The explosion that followed was deafening, the flames erupting internally as the dagger lodged itself deep into the dragon's throat. The beast roared in agony, staggering as the internal explosion and the dagger sent waves of pain through its body.

The moment Rex landed, he dashed towards his magic sword laying on the ground. But his vision blurred, and his legs gave out. He fell forward, face flat on the ground with his hands inches from the magic sword's hilt, his eyes unfocused, with blue fog escaping his nose and mouth.

...Mind Zero.