Draconian Battle

"Master! Master," Shouted Ella, wrapped in a black leather jerkin and trousers, as she barged in. Below the jerkin hidden from prying eyes hid a dense layer of chain mail. Her small face was covered in sweat as Sionn draped into similar attire, followed right after.

"It's as you said!" Continued Ella, " What's the plan?!"

"Stay off the Wall. Those poor bastards below are about to die." Replied the Silver Devil looking on at the darkening skies and the approaching twin dragons.

Tall and proud, covered in scarlet scales as large as an infant, the dragons' throats glowed a firing vortex of flames leaking nodes of red light. Even from a few kilometers, Zariel could feel the intense heat hitting his face and knew that it would only take a single hit for him to perish.

Like mini stars glistering, they shrieked through the skies parting clouds as draconic roars bellowed through the air shaking the earth with earthquakes.

Cracks of fault lines spread out like webs reaching Trinity in a matter of seconds following an intense pressure that weight heavy like stars over the denizens of this academy.

"... You're going to fight that!" Said Sionn in a staggering voice.

Zariel nodded. " I am… But not now. Those two dragons need to be tempered."

"Tempered?" Said Ella questioningly.

Zariel mused in response and shot her a look that made her knees weak. She saw his scarlet eyes and staggered back.

"The Dragon there is strong… An equal match to me. I don't like those odds. So why not let someone else have a go? This academy, for example?" The Silver Devil shifted his bloodstained eyes back to the Wall. " I'm curious… do you two want a body like Aurelia?"

"You…"

"She is faster, stronger, and possesses a healing factor even I'm jealous of. Don't you want that? It comes at a cost."

"And what's the cost?" Said Ella taking the lead.

"To me, it's free, but to you. It'll be your humanity." He didn't look back and leaped off the balcony, leaving behind words that chilled the two disciple souls. " Follow me if you crave power and care, not where it originates from."

Covered in a cloak of Astral Force, Zariel soared into the air and high into the skies overlooking Trinty. At its center, his eyes glowed with blood as he lifted his finger and drew a sigil with a sliver of Arcana.

"I call upon you, Ishar, the Maiden of Blood. Lord of the Eight and Queen of the Damned. Heed my call. And hear my demand. A soul for power. Blood for Blood, oh lord of death and suffering."

The tinge of light that hovered over the horizon flashed with an arc of scarlet that shrieked over the Heavens, dimming the stars through the Bed of Chaos.

The world went silent. The winds paused as did light. Time became locked, and a voice echoed from the depths.

'Child of Sin… you call to me." A seductive yet icy cold voice painted with bloodlust echoed. " What is it you crave?"

"I call for equivalent an exchange. A soul for permanent physical empowerment." Zariel said aloud towards the sigil in front of him.

"You'd damn a soul to hell."

"I'd damn anyone to hell." Came his reply.

The sweet voice of Ishar echoed in a chuckle." A wonderful Devil you would be. Give me enough souls, and I will reward you based on your parameters. Is that a deal, Zariel Snow, Child of the Second Sin?"

"You know me?"

Ishar chuckled. " Is that a deal?"

"It is"

The sigil before Zariel glowed a blinding light that smelt of brimstone and death. Filled with the screams of hell, the Silver Devil shuttered where he stood the moment the sigil left his sight, branding his right shoulder.

He gripped his shoulder, and his complexion paled as time resumed.

"... Ishar… just who are you?" He whispered, catching sight of a scarlet-colored beast seething fire from his jaw.

Hovering outside Trinity's Walls the size of mountains, a roar that splintered the air, deafening those without any magical defense, vibrated through the winds. Towering buildings tumbled over in an explosion of debris, scattering dust throughout the city.

Covered in a protective cloak, Zariel felt a powerful force strike against him as blood trickled out from his ears.

He growled with a tinge of annoyance and stared down at the dragons that hadn't taken note of him.

Zariel reached into himself to mask his presence and soared out of range of the dragon with a dark grimace on his face. He wiped the blood trailing down his neck and stared dead at the two draconian Lords.

"Surrender!" Bellowed Dromar in his native tongue, a language lost to the cycles of time. "You've no chance."

Standing with a staff that chimed with each step, the Red Priest let loose a sigh and stepped forward, drawing attention to himself.

Astral essence gathered as he spoke not with his tongue but with his mind. He hadn't known Draconian, but communicating through the soul ensured no matter who heard his voice would understand. It was an ancient technique known as Astral Speech.

"Why have you come, Mighty Dragons!" Shouted The Red Priest through their mind, covered in sweat as he looked past the two dragons into the woods below, frowning.

Dromar's yellow eyes went wide at the sudden voice, but he didn't panic. "You speak like my Master… you follow the Astral Path."

The Ilthad nodded. " Of course."

"Brother…" Said Ellis in his native tongue. "We don't need to—"

"Silence!"

The flames whisking off the jaw of Dromar flared cruelly, putting the Red Priest on guard, but he didn't jump the gun and activate the wardings surrounding the city. It was too early.

The Priest smiled. " Why don't you tell me the reason for this attack? Perhaps we—"

"Foolish human filth. We seek not your—"

"A Portrait!" Ellis shouted, taking his elder brother by surprise. Dromar snapped his head to him, his eyes burning with bloodlust.

"Speak again, and I'll kill you."

Zariel hovering from behind, hidden from sight, smiled. He unsheathed his sword and gathered his Arcana near the hilt of his blade.

"Sorry about this… let's hope you don't die." He said and whipped his blade through the air, releasing a blinding arc of sword light that burrowed through the forest arriving at the Red Priest in but a second.