Chapter 19: Rising from ash
Evans Began to glow a bright shade of red from head to toe. feeling something is amiss, the hunters stop their charge and try to retreat. However, its too late by then.
BOOOOOM!
Walls of fire burst in all directions, sending the hunters flying and forcing Nergigante back, reeling from the unexpected explosion. As the affected groups recover, the hunters look to where Evans was. "You have GOT to be kidding..." Elise was the first to comment for they see Evans, looking completely different than before.
Evans now stood at 90 meters, about 1/3rd of Zorah Magdaros, a mountain of a creature. his once pink skin has now taken on a blacker sheen, reminiscent of the very soot under their feet. Evans unleashes the dorsal fins on his back, now patterned with red and black.
GRAAAAWWWWAaaaagghhh!
Not only was his roar different, but it was now more powerful, shaking the very air as if a vacuum of space was about to appear.
Power coursing through his veins, Evans felt liberated, as if a chain holding him back has been broken. His revere in power is broken though as Nergigante, furious and ravenous, slams its horns into his side, sending both crashing into a cliff like formation on the shell. The hunters, shaken at the unexpected change in the variant discuss their next plan of action.
"WE GOTTA FIGHT THIS THING! ITS GETTING STRONGER BEFORE OUR VERY EYES!" Rein yells, blinded by a chance of revenge.
"No, we have to retreat and report to the commission." Jonas said, eyeing warily where Nergigante and Evans landed.
"WHAT, YOUR GONNA LET THIS THING RUN FREELY ON OUR MISSION!?"
"Our mission has already been accomplished, and you know Zorah will not remain contained for long. our job was to weaken it enough for capture."
Rein was fuming, but kept his mouth shut as he knew Jonas was right.
While the hunters evacuate, Evans is seen shooting fireballs at the now airborne elder dragon. Nergigante rolls as the fireballs fly past, creating a display similar to fireworks behind it. It then shoots its quills, piercing through Evans' side, drawing blood from the now open wounds. Too busy to worry about them, Evans leaps at Nergigante, jaws wide open. He clamps onto Nergigante's left wing with an iron like grip. The two fall towards the shell once more as Nergigante tries to pry Evans off of it. It then feels a heat in its wing and lets out an agonized roar as Evans burns the stretchy flesh making up the wing.
THUD!
Both remaining fighters impact the shell, with small fragments flying about. Evans rises to his feet, skin covered in scratches and feeling a bit dizzy. Nergigante seems to fare worse as one of its wings seems to be in tatters. Both however have more to go as their injuries begin to heal at a somewhat rapid pace. For the next half hour, the two behemoths atop the molten shell tore at each other, magma filling their surroundings yet neither caring, prioritizing to eliminate the obstacle in their way.
Nergigante suddenly leaps at Evans, Ripping a portion of the bone structure on his face. 'Agggh! not again! lets see how you like it!' Enraged at his now broken nose bone, Evans clamps his jaws onto one of the horns on Nergigante's, head. Nergigante struggles to break free as Evans then lifts Nergigante into the air. He then smashes the elder dragon into the ground, again and again, ensuring Nergigante lands face first each time.
SNAP!
The pressure became too much, and Nergigante is sent flying, now with one less horn. Nergigante roars at Evans, still holding the horn, as if demanding to return what belongs to it. "You want it so bad? then you GOT!" Evans Charges a fire blast in has jaws. Sensing danger, Nergigante flies into the air, its wing having recovered enough to do so. Nergigante's horn rushes past where it had just been, drilling into the side of Zorah's shell.
As if finally having enough of this charade, Zorah Magdaros begins to struggle with all of its might. The hunters, seeing this, try to tighten the ropes anchoring it down. Unfortunately, The ropes still come undone, with them either snapping or directly being pulled from the ground, dragging any unlucky hunter that didn't have the chance to let go in time.
Now free of its bindings, Zorah rears its head towards the back of its shell. Magma begins to charge within its giant maw, the heat being felt from even on the ground. Seeing as their battlefield is ready to burn them alive both fighters believe its time to go. Nergigante, flees to the skies and past the great Ravine, destination unknown. Evans, not having wings, rushes towards the sides as fast as he can.
"SHIT SHIT SHIT!" Evans barely manages to escape as the Magma cannon Zorah was charging came crashing down at full force. Lava rains down towards the hunters, now scrambling for cover.
Satisfied that all annoyances have been delt with, Zorah turns its attention to the barrier in its way. Then, with a might shove, Zorah brings down the wall, as if it were a mere toothpick in its claws.
The Commander watches on with a sullen look on his face as the target he's after vanishes underground into uncharted territory.