The Crack of Thunder III

Brodin narrowed his eyes as he felt the power emanating from Lucian off in the distance, "His Calamity is once again active..." He said, "This isn't just any beast, like the Onis we fought, this is a Royal Wyvern...." 

Lunaris nodded as she softly landed next to him, "Indeed. But it seems it's weakened, somehow, I don't understand....." She said, "Something must've happened to it." 

As everyone watched from a distance, Lucian took a step towards the Wyvern, flames being released from underneath his feet, scorching the stones of the road. 

The Wyvern snarled at him, charging lightning on its horns, readying another railgun attack. This time, however, it didn't charge as long as it normally did; firing it off seconds faster. Despite this sudden change of pace, the concentrated blast of lightning missed its target considering that Lucian was already gone from the place he stood. 

The blast detonated an explosion of golden lightning, electrcity crackling everywhere as Lucian appeared above the Wyvern. 

"Hmph." He said as he swung his leg down in an axe kick

The kick connected, driving the Wyvern's head right down to the ground, creating massive cracks due to the impact. Almost right away, however, the Wyvern swung its head back up as a counter, nearly hitting Lucian with its right horn but the Traversed was able to maneuver himself in midair to avoid it. 

He used small combustion to propel himself down towards the ground, landing on his knees and without wasting time, he jumped forward and slid on the ground, ending up underneath the Wyvern's belly. 

As he slowed to a stop, to the beast's surprise, he was face-to-face with the massive gash that had dark markings and dripped a black ooze. 

"Thought I forgot about this?" He thought, "Nah." 

Suddenly, from Lucian's shoulders, two silver dragon heads appeared with their maws opened, shooting straight at the gash, and digging their teeth into the wound. 

The Wyvern jerked backward, letting out a pained shriek. 

"Doesn't feel good, huh?" Lucian said as he clapped his hands and summoned flames, "Well, too bad." 

He then formed the flames in another silver arrow, aiming right at the wound that began to spill black ooze, pouring right over him. It was a sticky substance, with an uneasy texture and an incredibly high temperature. 

"G-Gahh...." He said as the ooze began to boil all over his body, "What the fuck?! It's hot! Oh, whatever! Take this! I'll take the hit point-blank just like you!" 

"Silver Arrow" 

He fired the arrow into the gash, causing a massive explosion of silver flames that staggered the Wyvern back, causing it to shriek even louder as it reeled back and collapsed on its back, trashing around as flames engulfed it. 

Lunaris was watching this, the massive explosion illuminated the entire area, a bright silver glow shining everywhere. 

She raised her eyebrow, "Impressive." she said, "Even at the First Seal, his Calamity is that strong." 

Brodin had a single bead of sweat run down his cheek, "Well....yea..." He said, "He easily killed an Oni and was able to match a Gargoyle at that. His power is undeniable, he just needs to discipline it." 

"Agreed." Lunaris said, "But still, to do this well against a weakened Royal Wyvern, that's something." 

Brodin summoned a massive sniper rifle and crouched down, "Should I finish it?" He asked as he aimed down the scope, "It's weak." 

"No." Lunaris said

He frowned, "Are you sure?" He asked as he looked at her

"I'm positive." She said with a smile, "Let Lucian have this." 

Back to Lucian, he emerged from the silver flames, unscathed as the two silver dragon heads moved around, slowly extending their necks as he walked. The flames were slowly being siphoned by Lucian's body, almost as if they were returning to their original source. This was something that was easily noticed by Lunaris and Brodin who were watching from afar, but not Lucian, who was focused on the recovering Wyvern. 

He sniffed the air, "Something off about that wound...." He said, "It reeks of shit.....I don't like it.....maybe that's why I need to rip you apart before fusing with you...." 

He extended his right arm and opened his palm, gathering his silver flames on it as they formed into a greatsword, similar to back at Rivertown. 

"Silver Blade"

"Basic name...." Lucian said, "But it's a basic sorcery....I'm gonna take you out now." 

The two dragon heads let out loud shrieks as they glared at the wyvern that was shaking its neck, still recovering from the attack. Lucian then lunged at it with great speed, rearing his sword back as he did so. 

The wyvern charged his horns yet again, almost out of instinct, and fired off a quick lightning blast at Lucian. 

Lucian dodged it by jumping to the left and above the Wyvern's head, swinging his greatsword down at it. He was still out of reach, but this was not a problem, as the blade extended to in a split second, colliding against the right horn of the wyvern, and cutting through it. 

As the horn was shockingly cut with ease, a massive discharge of electricity was released as a result, spreading into the air and striking Lucian from all directions. 

"S-Shit!!" Lucian said as he flung back into the ground hard, "G-Gahh!" 

He was caught off guard by the sudden explosion of golden lighting, the dragon heads on his shoulders crying out in pain as smoke emitted from his body. 

He got back up almost immediately, looking up to see the Wyvern staggering back as the horn flipped into the air and toward him. 

"It's horn....damn....it was probably storing a great amount of lightning in it, disrupting that might've not been a bright idea, that shit hurt...." He thought to himself, "Even with my Calamity active, I was able to feel that....But I still can't get rid of that awful stench on my nose. What's with it? That black ooze....I.....I can sense it all inside the Wyvern....is it okay? Probably not....I'm killing it....." 

As the horn flipped down to him, one of the dragon heads immediately extended its neck and shot straight at it, distorting itself into a violent black swirl of black ether that caught the horn and engulfed it. 

Lucian widened his eyes, "What?" He said with surprise, "It took the horn?" 

Suddenly, the black ether shot right back into Lucian, staggering him. It was like a rubber band was stretched to its maximum tension and released from one end. 

"W-What?" Lucian said as he rubbed his shoulder, "T-This.....this feeling....?" 

He felt a strange jolt in his body, his body shaking and reacting oddly to it. The dragon head was gone, the one from his left shoulder at least. The other one was looking at him with its glowing blue eyes as it swayed in the air, almost like a serpent. 

Lucian looked at it, "What did you do?" He asked it

He didn't know how the dragon heads appeared, he didn't will them; they had a mind of their own it seemed. It had happened back at Rivertown, suddenly forming from his body and aiding him in battle. Lucian dismissed it, not thinking much about it since he wanted to defeat the Oni at that moment. But this time, he did in fact wonder how they came to be. 

Did they manifest as a way for his Calamity to aid him? Was he in control? Or was this just a subconscious thing? He didn't understand it but he was not willing to refuse any extra help; this was his power after all. Confusing to him as he had a better grasp for his Flame Sorcery and all, but it was still his power after all. 

Lucian then looked at the Wyvern that was looking at Lucian, both its wings were on the ground as it let out a deep growl. 

Lucian then saw it; something deep within the beast's body. It was for a second only, but more than enough time for him to understand what he was seeing. 

His vision shifted from a regular one to one akin to an x-ray; the Wyvern's body became see-through and he was able to see it's entire baffling skeletal structure. But while that was too much to process, the majesty of it all, what had shocked Lucian was the intense swirl of black ooze that surrounded some of the skeletons. It looked like black pus just boiling inside the beast, like an infection. 

Lucian frowned, "This is some sort of affliction...." he muttered, "I bet you're in pain, huh?" 

The Wyvern let off a growl as it took a step forward, a slight limp was noticeable. 

Lucian lunged at it, "Fine then!" He said, "I'll put you out of your misery!" 

The Wyvern was about to roar but suddenly gagged hard as its head jerked upwards in a violent manner, black ooze spraying out of its mouth into the air, causing Lucian to stop in his tracks, a bit surprised by this. 

Over to Lunaris and Brodin, the Paladin Knight was surprised by this. 

"A Demonic Affliction!" She said with her eyes widened, "A Demon corrupted that Wyvern, that's why it was weakened!" 

"W-What?!" Brodin said, "What Demon is capable of such things? I know they can corrupt Humans or lesser creatures, but Royal Wyverns? The beings closest to the Dragons...." 

"I-I....I don't know..." Lunaris said as a bead of sweat ran down her forehead, "It's unheard of...Royal Wyverns, no matter the level of power among each other, possess great magical attributes that make them nearly immune to any sort of ailment or control..." 

Back to Lucian and the Wyvern, the beast thrashed around, shrieking in pain as pools of black ooze poured out of its gash and mouth, it's eyes going white as its entire body trembled. It was such a horrifying sight that it left Lucian speechless, his mouth agape. 

"W-What....what's wrong with it....?" He asked himself

Lucian then heard a faint pained scream, distorted but nearly clear. The sound of the voice came from the Wyvern as it slammed its head on onto the ground. Lucian was surprised by this, not knowing if this was a trick or some sort of effect of his Calamity. 

"A voice?" Lucian said aloud 

"P-P-Please, M-Master..." The faint voice said, full of pain and despair, "E-End my misery....." 

"I beg of you...."