40 - Draconic Threat

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Chakra breath and huge wings, a beast of legend.

Sharp teeth and claws that could viciously rend.

Meeting it ordinarily means a life's dead end.

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"They are NOT facing a dragon."

Chadrhaad was more flabbergasted than the two children who were going to be pitted against the dragon.

"Oh, they are. And if not, they're not going to be eating Tiraga's cooking for dinner. I will be cooking their dinner instead."

"Hey, why am I suddenly being used as a bargaining tool?!" the person in question growled.

Aisia's faintly yellow ki aura suddenly spiked. "I will obliterate this overgrown lizard," she declared, no fear could be found in her voice.

Tiraga and Chadrhaad felt a wave of pressure coming from Aisia. Though, they dismissed it as her gluttonous passion and childish enthusiasm. 

"I've been doing it a lot and as you can see, it's quite effective," Grisia said. Kairo worryingly laughed, acknowledging the truth behind Grisia's statement.

"Hrr..." Tiraga didn't know how to feel about this, but her name was technically being used for destruction, so she let it slide.

Beside Chadrhaad was the elder. He was short and frail, only slightly taller than Kairo. He held a wooden cane as a crutch and walked feebly. Though he was physically weak, he had an air of wisdom about him, his silence added to this impression. 

"This is the elder of the village. He knows his way around this area and will lead us to the most common places where the dragon was sighted and its last known appearance."

Grisia nodded while Kairo bowed at the elder's presence. Aisia saw Kairo and imitated him. Tiraga didn't bat an eye to the meek, old man and was instead on the lookout for the dragon or any other superior beasts around.

They walked through the village and it was a quiet and reserved one, save for the bleating of the goats and other cattle. Kairo was reminded of his own village, though his was more cheerful and happy amidst its peacefulness. This village was justifiably silent, it was tense from having to think about its survival in between the threat of the cold of winter, bandits, and the dragon.

However, as the village warmed up to the entourage of strangers, seeing that they did not harm their village elder, they soon realized that it may be the help they desperately requested. Children began to wave at them before coming closer to greet and annoy them.

Kairo smiled back and played a tiny bit with them before having to catch up to his company. Aisia teased the bratty kids back, and this sight brought back some semblance of cheerfulness to the village, especially to the anxious adults.

Tiraga didn't mind the brave children who poked at her with their silly, little fingers. They were not a threat worth giving her attention to. She was still looking through the gaps in the trunks of the trees, trying to spot any signs of creatures to be wary of.

The children were curious about a brown-skinned woman with muscles like iron and wild, red hair. They wondered the roles of the dark-haired boy and the brown-haired girl who didn't seem that much older than them. Though they instinctively knew by the way they presented themselves and how they looked, they two were not mere children.

And so, the children waved goodbye as their group went further into the forests.

As they made their trek, they encountered the hunters of the village who were foraging and looking for animals to add to their village's stockpile, as well as looking out for any signs of the red dragon.

"Any news?" the village elder asked the hunter who possessed a bow on his hand and a quiver of arrows on his back.

"Nay. Haven't heard of any suspicious noises, actually. Better meet up with the others though. I think you'll have a better chance of receiving any news further in. I oughta return, the quiet is starting to bug me," the hunter said, nodding to them and lifting his cap before making his way back to the village.

"Elder, are you sure you shouldn't head back with that man?" Chadrhaad asked.

"Nay, I wouldn't want our adventurers getting lost in the woods now, would I?" he replied.

"Then I shall protect you from any harm while we're here. May I have your permission to carry you when matters get worse?"

"Certainly," he gave a sweet, aged smile to Chadrhaad.

Occasionally, they took momentary breaks to let the elder rest. The group also needed some since they'd been running around since morning, especially Aisia and Kairo who yearned for it the most.

Once the elder had enough rest, they began to move again.

After a while, they met up with a small group of hunters who told them about the noises of trees falling down and large, hunkering footsteps around the area. In the middle of their report, they heard and saw birds suddenly flying away in the distance, indicating a disturbance by something big.

"Everyone, stay here. I'll go and scout the area. I will be back very shortly. Prepare for immediate escape," Grisia disappeared right after warning them.

The hunters and the elder's eyes nearly popped out from how instantaneous Grisia disappeared.

"My god, where did that man vanish to?" one of the hunters spoke. She looked around like the others did but couldn't find a trace of Grisia.

"Ah, yes," Chadrhaad started. "He does that sometimes, and when he said he'll be back very shortly, he meant—"

"I'm back," Grisia interjected, reappearing in their midst.

"—that he'll be back shortly. Like so."

"What sorcery is this?" a hunter asked in awe.

"He is simply that agile, believe it or not," Chadrhaad belly laughed, proud of his comrade. "So, what did you find out?"

"It's the red dragon. I took care of it in the meantime. Since I saw it chasing around the other villagers, I stunned it, giving them time to flee."

"It must be Savahka and the others!" one of the hunters said, frantic with worry.

"They should arrive here soon. They are safe, none of them were injured the last time I saw them."

"I don't know how you did it, but I hope you're telling the truth! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" the hunter exclaimed. "We shall wait for them here."

"Understood. Kairo, Aisia, Tiraga, head to the direction of the commotion. I'll go on ahead to tell those villagers to come here," Grisia ordered.

"HA!" replied the two children.

"Alright, time for some thrill!" said Tiraga, slamming her fist and palm together with an enthusiastic grin.

"Chad, stay with the elder." 

And so, he disappeared once more right in front of their eyes as the three rushed to the dragon's whereabouts.

After a while, Chadrhaad saw another small group of hunters running frantically towards their direction. They stopped when they came into contact with each other to catch their breath.

"Savahka, Beraldo... you guys, you're all safe!"

Between the gasps for air, the person called Savahka spoke, "We... we were told by a... red-haired man in a dark cloak to run in this direction. We also saw what looked like... two children and a large woman pass us by? And who is this person?"

"This is the head of the adventurer guild of the kingdom himself, here to save us from this draconic onslaught!" a hunter replied.

"The head? Geez! What a blessing from the heavens! Our prayers have been answered! Thank you for aiding us. Winter's been harsh even after our excess preparations. This should help us quite a lot."

"Excess preparations?" Chadrhaad muttered to himself.

"How did you lot escape? We heard from that same man that you were being chased by the beast itself!"

"Yes, yes! I thought my life was going to end there, at the jaws of the mighty beast! When suddenly, this man appeared and... I am unsure if I am recalling this correctly, but I saw him dropkick the dragon in its face from above! It was quite the spectacle!" Savahka told in amazement.

Another hunter said, "I know it's hard to believe, but I saw it too. I thought that we lost Savahka, and in that moment, the dragon got kicked away!"

"If that is true, then you have a very mighty friend, guild head," the elder commented to Chadrhaad.

Chadrhaad scratched his head in embarrassment. "Yes, he is quite the famous adventurer. Those two kids you saw are his students and the woman is also part of his company, so rest assured that they are here for a good reason."

"Children...?! My, I suppose humans are becoming more and more capable as the decades pass by," the elder stroked his beard.

Meanwhile, when the three arrived at a wide clearing of uprooted trees, they saw Grisia sitting casually on a rock while the dragon seemed to be in a standoff with him.

A towering creature, taller than the most massive trees in the area. The dragon had a pair of large, leathery wings. Several scars can be seen across its large body, its shining, red scales gleamed in the sunlight. It was as majestic as it was menacing. Its head had hard, spiky scales and horns that bent backward, sleekly following the length of its body. Its limbs were muscular from having to carry its own weight whenever it wasn't flying with its large wings. Its tail was so thick and long that they instantly knew several powerful swipes from it were the cause of this massively spacious clearing.

It wasn't an elder dragon yet, but it was not a harmless, young whelp either.

On their arrival, Grisia asked Tiraga, "Can you communicate with a dragon?"

"No. Why did ya even ask that?! Ahh??! Because I'm a demon? What about you, can you?!"

"No, I was just asking..." he answered meekly, as if he was being scolded for his assumption.

"Alright, time to cut down an overgrown lizard! I wonder what dragon meat tastes like..." Aisia said, licking her lips.

"Good thinking, brat! I wonder if it's the ingredient that will elevate my cooking..."

Sensing the different bloodlust from the two females, the dragon bellowed at them. The loudness can be heard from Chadrhaad's location.

"Stop, no one said anything about killing the dragon," Grisia said.

"What?! But you told us we were going to face a dragon!" Aisia complained.

"Yes, face. Not kill. Deal with it somehow without taking its life. There must be a better way to resolve this, this dragon's existence is crucial to the kingdom and its ecosystem."

"How so?!"

"Talk later. Tiraga, you'll also be observing instead of fighting, tell me if you have any ideas on how to subdue it. It doesn't look like it's planning to leave anytime soon, otherwise, it would have already."

"What?! Ya called me here ta think? I thought I was supposed ta brawl with a dragon!"

"No. They'll be doing the brawling," he pointed at Aisia and Kairo.

"Us?! What?" Kairo yelled. "What do you mean? I thought we were just gonna watch you do your thing?"

"Hmm? I said you'll face the dragon, didn't I?"

"But won't that thing kill us?!"

"No, no. You'll be fine. Just keep using your physical strength," Grisia winked.

"Fine," Kairo stood before the towering dragon, right beside Aisia.

"They're seriously gonna fight by themselves? I guess I'll be able ta measure their strength... if not, then less mouths ta feed. But I doubt Grisia would sacrifice his precious daughter in vain. They must have the ability ta go toe ta toe with a dragon then."

"Oh, and I did say brawl, but only retaliate when you have no choice, that's because your training for today is dodging and blocking a dragon's attacks."

"Oh, now you say that," Kairo activated his faintly blue ki, letting it spike around him and boosting his physical capabilities. Aisia followed suit, her faintly yellow ki covering her body fiercely as well.

Since their ki aura was not visible to Tiraga, she was impressed that she could feel their resolve as they both formed a battle stance.

The dragon lifted itself up, charging for a side swipe to finish off the two human children in front of it. To its surprise, they were able to completely evade the attack by jumping up in the air.

The dragon simply thought it had to be faster.

Before it could catch them off guard, Kairo and Aisia kept adapting to its improving attacks by predicting whenever it was charging up for it. No matter how fast the dragon wanted to be, its sheer size and weight were limiting its speed and making its movements telegraphed.

Seeing that the two human children were this nimble, in response, all it had to do was to make wide attacks making speed irrelevant. It used its wings to try and pin down the two. When that didn't work, it tried to whip them with its long, massive tail. But they also evaded these, some barely.

"You two," Grisia spoke.

"You finally figured it out, pops? Woah!" Aisia nearly got her head lopped off with one of the dragon's swipes.

She couldn't afford to be foolishly looking away from an attacking dragon. Being reminded that she could lose her life, she knew better than to lose her focus again. 

"Not yet, but again, part of your training is to block. Can't just be dodging all the time."

"Hints please?!"

"No. Too bad, so sad."

"I don't think it's the time to be petty, pops!"

"Grisia, you seriously think they can block an attack from a dragon? Even I might have a hard time with that!" Tiraga was trying to make sense of this needless risk. However, she wondered why she was riled up over two human children possibly losing their lives.

"No, they'll get it eventually. I believe that my students are bright enough to figure things out on their own."

"Shit. If he's that confident, then maybe it's something not too far off from what he already thought us," Kairo continued to think quietly while half of his mind remained on evading the dragon's attacks to keep himself alive.

The dragon roared, frustrated over its fruitless attempts. Kairo and Aisia both realized how they were growing faster and faster, as if adapting to the danger, but Grisia thought it seemed more like the dragon was becoming slower with its onslaught.

After more time spent on dodging, Kairo asked, "Grisia, you have a spell that can heal me if I ever get hit by one of its attacks, right?"

"Sure."

"Are you really sure?! I need a yes!"

"Yes."

"Then I have an idea. If it doesn't work, I trust that you could use it afterwards. Otherwise... well, obliterate the red-robed group for me."

"Sounds like you're looking to do or die."

"That's sort of the plan," he replied before turning to Aisia. "Aisia, remember when we had to focus on our weapon with our physical strength?"

"Yeah?" she replied after dodging.

"Mere martial arts? On such a large foe?" Tiraga thought to herself, ever so curious about what the two brats had to show.

Kairo continued, "Well, what if instead of our weapons, we focused on blocking using a specific area, like for say, our arms?"

"Are we actually going to try and block it with our bare hands?!"

"I'll have to just test it out, if you don't want to, then you can sit this one out to see if it works."

Aisia's eye twitched, she was not about to let herself be kept in the dark again because he thought she couldn't keep up. "No, I'll do it!"

Tiraga looked at Grisia to see if he was going to stop them, but he simply continued to watch.

"Ready? Here it comes!"

"Ready!"

Finally, as it swung its tail violently, the dragon noticed that the two humans weren't planning to dodge his tail anymore. With a loud slap, it felt like its tail hit two trees made of steel. The shockwave made a gust of wind that blasted dust in its direction. But it had been rampaging all this time, how were there still two trees standing up in the middle of the clearing?

But they weren't trees nor metal pillars, when the dust settled, it saw that it was in fact the two human children who completely blocked its tail whip.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow. It worked! But it hurts like hell!" Aisia shouted, caressing her arm.

"Those brats... actually blocked it," Tiraga was left in a state of awe.

Shocked by this, the dragon began to inhale deeply, its chest glowing a dim orange beneath its leathery skin. Sensing the accumulation of an immense amount of chakra swelling up in its chest, the two braced themselves.

Afterwards, it breathed large, scorching hot flames on the two.

They definitely didn't dodge, the dragon didn't see any of them escape from its sights before the blast occurred. After waiting for the time it usually took to burn its target to a crisp, it ceased, preparing itself to witness two roasted bodies. But contrary to its expectations, the two were still standing up, with only a bit of ash on their skin and clothes here and there.

It definitely hit them though, there was smoke coming off of their skin. Bruises were also visible on their arms from when they blocked its tail previously.

Seeing that its flame breath did little to nothing, it resorted to using its wings, claws, and tail once again.

After several minutes of dodging and blocking— mainly the former— Grisia finally spoke.

"Tiraga, here's the plan."