Azurion

Blaze clicked her tongue in anticipation. She blinked through the flying debris. The perfect storm was brewing right in front of her. A breeze of scorching hot air swept towards her from the sparking energy ball, rendering it hard to breathe, suffocating.

"This is it…," Blaze murmured to herself. She tightened the anti-dragon shield Warchief Dyingstar lent her on her left forearm as she stared straight up into the sharp eyes of the humongous dragon. The dragon had finally finished amassing energy in form of that glowing energy ball, and to her surprise, it suddenly condensed into nothing more than a tiny sphere the size of a kicking ball…and it fell right into its mouth, eating it.

...what?

Blaze trembled at what she saw. The Infernal Tarrasque was already a massive beast, of a size they'd rarely come across before. But after the condensed ball of energy disappeared down its throat, it underwent a frightening growth spurt, growing bigger and bigger, and its appearance turning more jagged and monstrous. The air that picked up around her was hue in red, a bloody mist. Blaze immediately raised her shield as she felt it coming.

BLAAAAAAAST-!!!

Boom, boom, boom-!!

Feeling as if his life had just been ripped from his soul, Krul collapsed upon seeing the beyond-terrifying energy beam shot from the dragon's mouth and decimate the mountain top where Blaze stood in the center of. There was no way a reforged anti-dragon shield that was bolstered through a bare fraction of a dragon's power could save Blaze. It was over…all over…

Bolt caught Krul before he hit the ground and wrapped his lifeless arm around his neck to keep him up. He wanted to somehow comfort Krul, but he didn't know what to say. There was nothing…that he could say. It was truly a gruesome sight. He looked again to see the great mountain reduced, near-erased from view. Only a sinkhole sat amidst the corroding rocks and water was left.

He was amazed. The bravery of Blaze Estereon was something even he could not imagine having.

Terry's eyes, however, were wide with anticipation. "Heads up, y'all!"

Bolt and Krul looked up, their faces stiffening as a tiny figure covering in blood rose from the giant sinkhole. With all her strength, leaped into the air and flung the anti-dragon shield towards the dragon.

"Young miss?!" Krul gasped.

"You son of a b*tch! I almost died there!" Blaze showed up cursing. She pushed Hyper Surge to 100% and held tight onto the shield. Under the rocks, she almost lost consciousness, but the elixir was still in effect, saving her from her injuries and Hyper Surge's backlash just enough to keep her conscious.

If she had died back there, she would've already failed as a soldier as she couldn't beat Alistein without this dragon's help. She had faced countless dragons before in the past, so she knew how arrogant and ferocious they could be. But this new method was a gamble Blaze was willing to take.

The Infernal Tarrasque took a step back, taken by surprise as the woman suddenly shot into the air towards its face, hurling a shield towards its remaining eye. How in the world? How could she have survived that? That's impossible! How could a puny little human intimidate a great dragon to such a level?!

Before the dragon could react, the shield struck through its eye and drew blood, completely blinding the dragon. With an agonizing roar, it stumbled back in the darkness, having been completely removed of one of its senses. In the air, Blaze flipped forward and landed on the tip of the dragon's nose, and the blinded dragon flinched.

"I know you can understand me. Don't you think we fought enough?" Blaze asked. "You have no chance of winning without your vision. And I will die from the backlash. But if you think I have proved myself worthy, we can both continue living."

Blaze stared at the dragon in all seriousness. If what Winter told Kingsley was truthful, before a dragon dies, it will have a choice to pass on its will to a human it thought was worthy to receive its prowess. Hence, the Dragon's Will, would reform a face or a distinct part of the dying dragon somewhere on the person's body like a permanent tattoo. That was the only hope Blaze would have to fight Alistein.

And as if the dragon really understood her words, she felt it smile back. She couldn't tell how she knew, but somehow, she could feel the dragon's emotions. All of a sudden, Blaze felt a strange sensation like a fire had suddenly lit and surged the heat through her veins. It was hot, but instead of burning, it was rejuvenating. It felt…as if time suddenly came to a slow.

Then.

An opulent-looking yellow screen with a fancy border design blinked into view. At the same time, a mechanical voice seemed to speak up inside her head.

Ding!

[The <Infernal Tarrasque> acknowledged your strength]

- It wants to pass its consciousness and dragon powers to you.

[Will you accept the <Infernal Tarrasque's Dragon's Will>?]

- Yes

- No

"Yes," Blaze answered. If Kingsley hadn't told her of this before, she would've definitely freaked out. Even so, she wasn't familiar with this process, but she closed her eyes and trusted her instincts. Slowly, the swirls of a crimson red marking formed the lion-like face of the Infernal Tarrasque in the center of her upper chest.

[The host accepted the dragon's offer]

- The dragon's consciousness will now share the host's body.

[Please pick a <Cultivation Type>!]

<Perspicacious Breathing Art>

- By using various breathing techniques, the user can attain unparalleled speed momentarily. The technique specializes in delayed bursts of speed attacks.

<Fervent Concentration Emission Art>

- By focusing on Draconic Energy circulation in the Dragon Circuit and Discharge system, the technique will have an overall balanced and prolonged power but will require profound mental concentration to utilize. The technique specializes in condensing Draconic energy to gain many effects from little amounts.

<Elite Body Tempering Art>

- By focusing on improving the Energy Channels and Energy Paths, the technique will attain remarkable toughness for long periods but will continuously drain Draconic Energy from the core. The technique specializes in pure toughness.

<Superb Fusion Art>

- By focusing on absorbing an abundance of Draconic Energy and on the Fusion process, the technique will attain extraordinary perception. The technique specializes in evasiveness.

<Profound Amalgamation Art>

- The Jack of all trades, but master of none. By evenly strengthening all parts of the Dragon Circuit, the technique will make the user the most versatile. However, the cultivation progress is far slower than the others.

"What the hell is this?" Blaze asked.

"Those are the different Cultivation Methods. It was made to reinforce your capabilities with my power. By focusing on the different parts of the method, you can attain different results as stated. You don't need to understand them right away. Just focus on the techniques you want and choose." This time, the voice inside Blaze's head didn't sound mechanical. It was deep with a low rumble, a voice of one who has lived a life far, far longer than a human could imagine living.

"By the way," the voice added, "I am Azurion, the Infernal Tarrasque. From this point on, I will accompany you for the rest of your life, Blaze Estereon… And choose anything but the last one. It is a pain in the ass."

Blaze let out a laugh. The two were talking freely as if they weren't trying to kill each other just moments earlier. "Actually, I was just about to choose that one," she said.

"What?! No, don't!" the dragon quickly protested. "It is better to master one thing than to know a little bit of everything!"

"But…what if I can master everything?"

In truth, the moment Blaze read the last details of the last art, her thoughts were already being set. She was prepared. The last art was definitely the same thing her father had tried to achieve, a martial art that could do everything at the Grandmaster level.