The ssage [Danger] wasn't about Kryssia... On the contrary, the ssages were about Strax's body.
He shouldn't have been stronger than her, or rather, it shouldn't have been possible. He was nearly reaching the Grandmaster level, while Kryssia... She was at the King stage, two levels above...
The solution? He used everything at his disposal. And now, that reality hit him with a force he couldn't ignore. He shouldn't be able to compete with her, and yet, here he was, facing her.
Ouroboros and Tiamat together decided to cooperate, lending him everything they had.
The assimilation with the Infinite Dragon and the Golden Dragon Queen... That was the power he was wielding with his two swords at that mont.
He had only one minute, a single minute to destroy everything and save his wives…
Kryssia smiled, a cold and arrogant expression, as the ice around her condensed into sharp blades that floated like deadly shrieks ready to attack. She was testing Strax, pushing him, but she wasn't even close to fighting with everything she had.
"You think you can really fight ?" Kryssia sneered, her eyes gleaming with icy power. "You're barely scratching the surface of what I'm capable of."
'Focus, dear... I'll do my best,' Ouroboros said, so focused that she managed to synchronize with Tiamat. 'It's ti,' Tiamat said, and Strax blinked twice.
[Skill: Fire Manipulation evolved into Black Fire Manipulation]
'Thank you…' Strax thanked Ouroboros before continuing [Amplified Dragon Scales].
'Don't forget about , darling,' Tiamat said, crossing her arms as the man's body began to form invisible scales, like an invisible mantle.
He clenched his fists, Strax clenched his fists, the muscles in his body twisting as he tried to suppress what was happening inside.
"I can't lose, not now." His body scread for rest as it was pushed to its limit, but his mind was focused solely on victory.
He had to use everything at his disposal.
"Co at !" With a deep roar, he unleashed his full aura.
His body began to emit a warm glow, and the flas covering parts of his skin beca more visible, radiating an ancient and primal energy.
It was ti to fight with everything.
He charged forward.
Kryssia calmly raised her sword, and the ice around her reford into a sharp, translucent wall. Strax's fist collided with the ice shield, and for a brief mont, the world seed to freeze.
The impact was devastating.
The ground around them exploded into fragnts as a massive shockwave erupted, sending Beatrice, Monica, and Samira flying backward.
But to Strax's surprise, Kryssia's shield didn't shatter. It only cracked.
Kryssia smiled cruelly and thrust her blade toward Strax's chest with incredible speed.
The ice sword pierced his flesh, driving through his body and out his back in a spray of hot blood.
The ice burned his skin as the blade lodged deep into his chest.
"Ahhh..." Strax grunted in pain, but he didn't retreat. His left hand gripped the blade as the raw strength of his body tried to hold it in place. Blood dripped between his fingers, and the heat of his own energy was starting to lt the blade.
His regeneration was working at its limit, trying to seal the wound before the blade could kill him.
"Do you really think this is enough?" Kryssia taunted again, twisting the sword still embedded in his body. The movent tore through more flesh, causing a sickening sound of muscles and bones being ripped apart. Pain exploded down Strax's spine, but he didn't yield.
He growled, and with a wild motion, used brute force to snap the blade in half, shattering the ice. Fragnts of the sword fell to the ground, but Kryssia didn't seem concerned.
Before Strax could retreat, Kryssia had already conjured a new ice blade in her hand, even larger and deadlier than before. She slashed brutally toward his neck, but Strax, moving with surprising agility for soone so wounded, narrowly dodged the blow.
He was sweating now, his body working beyond its limits to regenerate the wound in his chest. Even so, Strax knew his regeneration wouldn't be fast enough to keep up with her for long.
He could feel it... Kryssia was relentless.
She advanced again, her fighting style imbued with the grace and precision of soone who had grown accustod to winning countless battles. Ice blades appeared from all angles, each strike a promise of death. Strax dodged and blocked, but it was clear he was on the defensive.
One of Kryssia's strikes finally landed, a powerful thrust that pierced through his thigh, lodging itself into the bone and forcing him to his knees. Ice spread through the wound, freezing the flesh and preventing his regeneration from working efficiently.
"I told you, you're no match for , boy," Kryssia said with a smirk, stepping closer with a sadistic gleam in her eyes. She raised her sword again, ready to deliver the final blow. "It ends here."
Despite the situation... for so reason... both were genuinely excited in this fight, smiles eting as curious eyes locked onto one another.
Strax breathed heavily, his reptilian eyes glinting with desperation and determination. He couldn't stop now.
Before Kryssia could bring down her sword, Strax did sothing unexpected. He slamd his fist into the ground with all his strength, sending a shockwave of energy through the earth. The ground beneath Kryssia cracked, montarily throwing her off balance. And in that instant, Strax, with newfound ferocity, lunged at her.
His black fla claws, now fully ford, sank into Kryssia's flesh. He tore through her ice armor, ripping into her torso with a brutal strike. Dark blood poured from the wounds, but Kryssia didn't scream. Instead, a disturbing smile crept onto her face.
"Well, well... it seems you still have so fight left in you," she murmured, even as her blood flowed freely.
'How long has it been since soone hit like this? How long since I've been challenged this way? What an interesting young man...' she thought, chuckling lightly, starting to feel excited.
Suddenly, an ice spike pierced through Strax's abdon, impaling him from the inside out. The ice expanded within his body, breaking ribs and shredding organs.
Strax collapsed backward, coughing up blood, while Kryssia slowly stood. The wounds on her body began closing on their own, her regeneration even more advanced than his.
"You think you're the only one with regenerative abilities?" Kryssia taunted, her voice playful yet cruel. She raised her hand, and ice spears began to form in the air around Strax, ready to rain down upon him like deadly arrows.
Strax tried to get up, but the ice lodged in his abdon held him down. His vision was blurring, his breathing ragged. He was on the verge of collapse, but he couldn't give up. Not now.
With one last effort of will, Strax gathered every bit of his remaining energy. His reptilian eyes glowed fiercely, and he let out a roar of pure fury. His body began to shine with an intense light, and an explosion of energy erupted from him, lting the ice around him.
Kryssia stepped back, surprised by Strax's sudden surge of power, though far from intimidated. She watched with sharp eyes as he rose, blood still dripping from his wounds, but his aura now stronger than ever. His scales were fully visible, and a raw, animalistic energy emanated from him.
"You... won't... defeat !" Strax shouted, his voice reverberating across the battlefield.
Kryssia narrowed her eyes, realizing this fight was far from over.
"Let's see how long you can last, Strax," she responded, readying herself for the next clash.
Strax could feel the power surging through his veins, a wild, untad force that he could barely control. The heat radiating from his body was so intense that the ice surrounding him lted upon contact. But sothing was wrong.
His sanity was slipping away, like grains of sand slipping through his fingers.
'He's losing himself to the assimilation... letting the wild side take over,' Ouroboros muttered, followed by Tiamat's voice. 'The survival instincts of a dragon...'
He couldn't afford to think too much.
All that mattered was the fight, the burning desire to defeat Kryssia, to destroy her by any ans necessary.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears, like a war drum echoing in his mind. His blood boiled, and for a brief mont, everything turned red.
Strax's eyes beca more feral, glowing with an inhuman intensity, and his breathing grew heavy, almost beast-like. He was no longer fighting like a strategist but like a cornered animal driven by primal instincts.
The power was consuming him, and with it, sothing deeper within him began to crack.
The wall that he once viewed from below was now level with his sight... and with one strike...
He shattered it.
[DANGER! User is undergoing an advancent during assimilation! Disable Assimilation for a proper advance!]
"Fuck that," Strax growled.
Scales began to truly form over his body, claws extending, and even horns pushing through his skull.
Kryssia watched Strax's transformation, a mix of curiosity and caution on her face. "A Dragonoid? I've killed many of those..."
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRR!" Strax roared in response, his voice almost indistinguishable from a beast's. The scales on his body expanded, covering more of his skin, while his muscles bulged with unnatural density. He was becoming sothing more — or perhaps less — than human. And he knew it.
But the only thing keeping him focused was the absolute desire to win.
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