Chapter 63: Dragon Subjugation Session (Part 2)
"Positions—NOW!" Draco barked loudly.
The ground thundered beneath the Land Dragon’s weight as it barreled forward, its jagged armor of stone fragments glinting under the orange lantern light.
His team snapped into formation, the strategy etched into their minds like scripture.
Jonathan sprinted to the left flank, his flaming gauntlets sparking. Lenard mirrored him on the right, blade shimmering faintly with metallic light. Marcos and two others darted back-to-back, their Breaths already flaring in their limbs, fire pooling hot and heavy in their legs and hands.
The rest moved into pairs just as Draco had instructed, spreading across the arena in a semi-circle to corral the beast.
The dragon’s roar shook the walls, its tail smashing down hard enough to rattle teeth.
But Draco didn’t flinch.
WHOOSH!
His boots dug into the ground as he ran straight toward the monster, his figure a blur of speed.
"Over here, you bastard!"
The Land Dragon’s molten eyes narrowed, its head whipping toward him with a snarl. Draco’s breath came out sharp, a trail of embers escaping his clenched fists as he rolled aside just before a claw the size of a carriage slammed into the stone floor.
BOOOOM!
Dust and shards of rock exploded outward, but Draco was already sprinting to its opposite side, forcing the beast to turn.
Meanwhile, Jonathan and Lenard struck at the dragon’s legs.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Flaming gauntlets hammered against stone fragments. Lenard’s blade slashed at the cracks that began to form under repeated pressure. Marcos’s pair aimed their fiery fists and kicks directly into the joints, forcing heated stress into the hardened plates.
"It’s working!" Jonathan shouted. Sparks flew as his flames burrowed against a jagged stone shard. "Keep pressing—"
The dragon’s tail lashed out.
CRAAASH!
The strike sent Jonathan tumbling, his armor sparking as he hit the ground hard.
"Ack!" He coughed, blood flecking his lip.
Lenard yanked him up, dragging him back into cover.
Draco’s eyes flicked toward them, then back to the dragon.
His grin widened.
’Good. Even if you’re thrown around, you’re not breaking yet. That’s what I want to see.’
But then, the dragon’s body shifted.
Its chest expanded—too sharply, too violently for a normal breath. Its throat glowed with a pulsing orange light.
"No... It’s preparing its Breath!" Draco’s eyes narrowed.
BOOOOM!!!
The Land Dragon opened its maw, and instead of flames, a torrent of glowing stone fragments blasted outward.
Each shard was propelled like a bullet, cutting through the air with a sound like tearing steel.
WHIIISSHH!
"DOWN!" Draco roared.
Students screamed as the arena turned into a storm of chaos.
One boy caught a shard in the shoulder, spinning backward with a howl. Blood sprayed across the floor. Another girl leapt, her flame barely catching a fragment in time to shatter it, though the impact seared her arms raw.
Jonathan slammed both fists together, creating a burst of fire that melted three projectiles midair—only for one to slice into his thigh. He dropped with a roar of agony.
Marcos wasn’t so lucky. A shard slammed into his chestplate and sent him sprawling, the wind knocked out of him as cracks spread across his armor.
The formation crumbled in an instant.
The arena floor was a mess of smoke, sparks, and screams. Students writhed, injured, while others scrambled to avoid the continuous barrage.
Thankfully, no one died.
Above, the instructors murmured sharply.
"This is something they’ll have to learn..." one scholar whispered. "Unpredictable situations like this happen very often to Dragon Hunters."
"They’ve been taught well. It’s only natural they won’t die from just this," another muttered.
"Though... I wonder how much they can take before they’re finished."
"GET UP!" Draco’s voice cut through the chaos like a blade, his roar carrying command..
"You think a few cuts mean you’re finished? STAND!"
His own body blurred as he dodged between shards, sliding low, twisting high. His movements were impossibly sharp, every step angled just so, avoiding the rain of death by inches.
Yet he knew.
’If this keeps up, they won’t last. I need to end this now.’
Draco darted to the nearest wounded student—Marcos, clutching his side in agony.
"Hand me your D-H," Draco ordered, his tone brooking no refusal.
"What?" Marcos gasped. "But—that’s—"
"NOW!" Draco barked, slamming his palm against the boy’s chest.
The faint essence of the student’s Dragon Heart, glowing bright white while surging with red hotness, surged outward, siphoned directly into Draco’s body.
Heat immediately exploded in his veins, nearly overwhelming his senses.
Marcos collapsed unconscious.
Draco gritted his teeth as he darted to the next fallen student. Another hand pressed, another siphon. Power surged into him, his skin glowing faintly with fiery cracks.
Then another. And another.
By the fourth, his body shook violently, steam hissing from his pores. Veins lit up like molten rivers beneath his skin.
Above, Mordi Reaves nearly dropped his quill.
"Impossible... he’s stacking multiple Dragon Hearts? That’s suicidal! The strain alone should rupture his body!"
Freya Littlefinger leaned forward, her eyes glittering behind her spectacles.
Frost Winister chuckled under his breath, arms crossed.
’This Draco... he’s bluffing. He’s not nearly at his limits, yet he’s pretending...’
Back in the arena, Draco’s breaths came like hammers, smoke rising from his lips.
His eyes glowed amber-red as the combined might of four Dragon Hearts pulsed through him.
His teammates stared, stunned.
"He... he’s absorbing our Breaths?" Jonathan wheezed, clutching his bleeding leg.
"Not absorbing," Lenard whispered, awe dawning on his face. "He’s stacking them. Turning all of our flames into one inferno."
Draco threw his head back, his grin feral.
"OVER HERE!!"
His body burst into fire, flames spiraling upward into a colossal vortex that painted the arena in red-orange brilliance.
The Land Dragon roared in fury, its tail slamming down.
Draco charged.
The ground cracked beneath each step as he rocketed forward, fire propelling him like a living meteor. His fists gleamed, overlaid with blinding flames from the stacked Dragon Hearts.
He slammed directly into the beast’s knee joint.
BOOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion tore the air apart, a shockwave rattling everything around.
"ROOOAARRR!" The Land Dragon howled as its entire leg buckled, stone fragments shattering outward in a rain of debris.
The ground shook as the beast stumbled, one massive limb crippled.
Draco didn’t stop. He spun, leapt, and smashed another blow into the opposite leg. Fire erupted, cracks spreading like spiderwebs across the hardened armor.
The dragon collapsed with a roar, crashing into the arena floor like a felled mountain.
Draco landed on his knees, his body steaming, his flames guttering. He coughed once, deliberately collapsing onto his hands.
"Damn... too much," he rasped loudly enough for everyone to hear. His head bowed, sweat pouring down his face.
From the instructor’s seats, gasps echoed.
"He... survived four Dragon Hearts...?"
"Not possible! A Rank 1 student should be a corpse by now!"
But Frost only smirked, his sharp eyes glinting. ’He’s faking. Clever brat doesn’t want them to know how much he can really handle.’
Draco forced himself to lift his head, voice hoarse but commanding.
"NOW! TEAR ITS ARMOR OFF! FINISH IT!"
His teammates, emboldened by his display, roared in unison.
Jonathan, bloodied but blazing, hurled himself at the dragon’s crippled leg. His gauntlets hammered into the weakened cracks, breaking them further.
Lenard drove his blade into the exposed flesh beneath, Essence flaring as fire met sinew.
The others followed, their Breaths igniting in renewed fury.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Stone fragments shattered, flames poured into openings, and the once-impenetrable armor ripped apart piece by piece.
The Land Dragon thrashed weakly, but its mobility was gone.
Its tail scraped uselessly against the arena floor, claws flailing without aim.
The students screamed their war cries, their strikes fueled not by desperation now, but victory.
Draco sat back on his knees, watching through half-lidded eyes, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
’That was close. If I didn’t have the Dragon Tamer Class... stacking four Dragon Hearts would’ve torn me apart. No one else HERE could have survived it.’
He exhaled slowly, his body feigning exhaustion.
There was a silent hope in his heart that his Instructors—especially Frost Winister—wouldn’t notice this, but there was no guarantee that was the case.
’Still... the gamble worked. And at this rate... this is our victory!’
The dragon’s final roar echoed, then choked off into silence.
The arena went still, save for the ragged breaths of exhausted students and the crackling of dying flames.
The Land Dragon—subjugated.