1 A Meeting between old friends

The five moons were shining brightly high above the night sky.

One large sphere surrounded by four smaller ones that reached about a fourth of its size, all reflecting the light in order to illuminate a tall dark castle located at the top of a mountain formed by, much like the formation of the moons, one central tower in the middle with four more towers surrounding it, each connected by gigantic walls from which a series of guards dressed in full body armor were fulfilling their jobs by patrolling and checking for intruders.

This castle belonged to the ruler of the land, the emperor himself, the highest figure of power one could possibly ever meet in their entire lives, and during that same bright night, another certain figure had barged through the doors of the emperor's property and started to face against all of his men that tried to stop its advance.

The intruder was wearing a full-body armor drenched in the color black as if trying to let the entire world know that it was a one with the darkness, and the tool that was being carried in order to defend itself against the guards of the emperor was a gigantic claymore that was nearly its size.

Once the intruder and the guards encountered each other, the sound of their blades clashing with each other would start to echo through the chambers, signaling that the battle had began and that death was about to visit that place.

Many screams resounded through the building as each of them tried their best to push this intruder away and failed one after another after realizing that their skills were barely enough to last even a second against its swings.

It didn't take long for the entire main hall to gain a new carpet made from the bodies of the fallen soldiers.

The black knight did not bother to look back at its own work. The goal looming over its mind was all it mattered right now.

Soon after climbing the staircase and searching through the rooms and hallways, one of which was holding a picture of a man with long crimson hair wearing a white suit, the armored individual finally encountered what it was looking for after reaching a certain door whose light was still turned on on the inside and listening to the sound of a pen writing on a table.

The invader didn't even consider what its next action should be before grabbing its weapon with only one hand and launching it through the door like a bullet, completely shattering the door into pieces in the process.

Once all the pieces of wood were destroyed, for a split-second the scene of the same man from the picture holding his own head with one hand and writing with the other while frowning at a piece of paper revealed itself, just as he was about to realize the flying incoming blade. His torso soon found itself pierced right in its center as his body became stuck against the wall.

"Guaagggh!!" the red-haired man screamed while blood continued to drip from both his mouth and his wound.

His hands began to tremble as he tried to reach for the blade in an attempt to free himself from it, but the knight acted faster and pressed the weapon even further inside of him after crossing the entire room like a shadow.

The empaled man stared at the claymore for a couple of seconds and next at its abuser, "You..." he whispered while glaring at her.

"Hey, Lily," the black knight replied while waving at him, "Nice to see you again!"

The emperor coughed more blood and continued to pierce her with his gaze, cursing his own dreadful luck, and her as well, "You dare to insult me to this degree?? What are you doing here, girl??"

The knight began to slowly lift her weapon with the emperor still stuck at its end, making a small trail of blood appear on the wall, "Don't be like that... I just wanted to see you again and chat a little bit! It's been so long after all."

"You insolent child," he groaned before spitting even more, "Do you have any idea who you are messing with?"

"Do you?" she asked as well, "Do you know who you messed with, Lily?

Because I used to think I knew who I was... But after meeting you... I began to second-guess myself."

The emperor gazed at the hallways while the girl continued to talk, wondering if his security would come to aid him, but soon he realized that he was wasting his time as he knew how fierce she could be.

The lass proceeded with her speech, "My friend used to tell me, that you don't really know someone until you see them at their lowest point... Until you see them at their worst!

Because it's only then, when they have nothing to lose, nothing to fear... When they don't have to please or impress you... When they are just allowed to be who they want to be...

That their true self is allowed to come out!"

The emperor tried one more time to free himself but his body wasn't obeying him as the pain continued to spread over his entire being.

The black knight noticed his agony and started to chuckle a little.

"And after meeting you, I think I finally got what she was trying to say... After all, you were the one who brought out the worst in me! Thank you for that, by the way, hihi!"

His breathing became heavier, his vision started to turn black, and the sound of her voice was like hammers being slammed against his brain.

"Now tell me, my good old friend and the oh-so-mighty emperor of all dragons... Do you feel like you truly know me? And even more than that..."

She then lifted him away from the wall and brought his face closer so she could hear her whispering inside his ear.

The man tried to lift his head despite the pain and witnessed the knight gazing at him, enjoying his suffering. Even though he couldn't see her expression, he knew she must be smiling from ear to ear right now.

"Do you like what you see?"

His intense glare continued to grow with each passing second, "You barge into my domain, harm my property and my men... And even dares to injure my body... Just to ask a stupid question like this?"

"Of course not, silly! I did all that because messing with you gives me great joy! The question was just a bonus!"

"Ugh!" he groaned again as his skin started to cover itself with red scales, "Here is my answer then..."

Suddenly, the teeth inside his mouth started to turn sharp like the jaws of a shark.

"You think I brought out the worst in you... But the truth is..." the nails on his hands began to grown and turned into claws, "You were nothing but a worthless girl when I found you, and you're nothing but a worthless girl now!"

The last thing the girl inside the armor saw was the image of the emperor staring and laughing at her as he tried to crawl on her blade with a pair of horns appearing from his head and red bat-like wings suddenly showing up on his back before his size started to grow at an absurd speed and causing a huge explosion of smoke to take place as he crashed through the walls and ceiling.

Once the dust cleared up, she was face-to-face with a creature that was five times her own size.

Its body was like that of a red lizard without arms, its head was a massive snake with black horns, his entire spine was covered with black spikes, and its wings were so large that could cover the entire building itself.

"You seem bigger than last time..." she commented, unfazed, "Did you gain weight?"

The beast just ignored her mockery and answered her previous question, "It doesn't really matter trying to think about who or what you are at your best or at your worst," the gigantic crimson-scaled bat spoke while staring down at the black knight inside his office, "Any being is at its worse when compared to the greatness that is me!"

The girl continued to gaze at the dragon that was now putting itself right in front of the five moons as if trying to place itself in the center of the world and simply pointed her blade at it, "'The greatness that is you' should probably think about hiring better security! I just wasted all of your employers as if they were made of paper, and now it's your turn to suffer the same fate!"

"Still the same little insolent girl even after all these years!" the beast roared through the sky, "I should tear you to pieces in order to make you know your place!"

"And what are you waiting for then? I'm right here!" she declared before placing her other hand on her claymore and assuming a battle stance.

The blood-red dragon considered his options for a moment but eventually decided to not engage her, "All in due time, child!"

And with these final words, the monstrous lizard turned its back at her and vanished into the sky while creating small hurricanes with the flaps of its wings.

The black knight's prey had escaped her once again, and once again she had to start her chase.

"Doesn't matter how many times or how much you run, Lily... You will never be free from me!"

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The dragon cursed his situation as he kept flying away. He cursed his men for being too weak to stop her, he cursed his lair that he had to abandon, and more than anything, he cursed the girl inside the black armor that insisted on pursuing and tormenting him.

For years he had to endure this same humiliation. Ever since he first encountered the human girl child a long time ago and became the target of her hate and bitterness, living a life inside a prison of invisible walls that he could not escape as long as she existed.

The dragon emperor wanted to be free, free from this small pest that refused to leave him alone and insisted on destroying every single aspect of his existence.

He needed help...

He needed someone to save him!

He needed someone to be the hero that could destroy that invisible prison and defeat the black knight he despised so much.

The question now was...

Who would be the one to save him?

Who would be his hero?