Saquin: Death To My Enemies

"Earth Dragon!" Relia was shocked. How the hell is this a worm, the hunter guild really has a lot to explain.

Swoosh!

"Risha, stay back and watch for any disruptions!" Relia commanded, leaping into the air and unsheathing her sword, her golden SP gleaming.

Voom! Bang! Slice!

She dodged the spikes of earth launched at her mid-air, leaping from one to the next while slicing through any stray ones with her SP-infused, golden-bladed sword.

Boom!

The ground shuddered as Sir Bret, Relia's third companion, was blasted forward by a small explosion underfoot. His torn white coat flared out behind him, giving him the look of a mad scientist fresh from battle. Despite the dust and chaos, he reached the dragon first, swinging a fist that ignited in flames.

Bang!

He was met with an earthen wall erected by the dragon in a haste as it tries to maneuver out of his range, the dragon was agile for its size, but,

Boom!

A controlled explosion occurred, spreading out of Sir Bret clenched fist straight to the wall, turning it into fine rubbles, then hitting the dragon, pushing it back.

Thud.

Relia landed near Sir Bret, staring at the dragon. "It barely took any damage. As I have feared, it was at level 7 before the red moon, meaning its stronger than a normal level 7 now."

"If I use my full strength plus your unique ability assistance, it won't take a minute to kill it, your highness." Sir Bret's hoarse voice sounded out from Relia's side.

"I'm not using my ability," Relia said firmly. "But you have permission to use your full strength."

Boom!

"Understood, Your Highness." Bret surged forward, launching another explosion from his feet as he closed the gap between himself and the dragon.

Voom!

The dragon too moved, planning to use its superior strength to tear apart it's invader. But,

Flash!

A silver blade cut through the battlefield with brutal precision, leaving a twenty-meter long gouge in the earth. Commander Ryan landed in a crouch between the dragon and Bret, his broadsword gleaming. He had left his team behind and ran forward.

He looked at the dragon, grinning, before turning to look at Relia's team.

"I was expecting you guys to be that fugitive, Saquin, helpers or backers but you are just a bunch of invading southerners." Ryan said, his gaze fixated at the gun by Relia's side.

"My highness?" Sir Bret called out to Relia.

"Take him out. I'll handle the dragon," Relia said, adding, "Be cautious—your SP's still low from the last fight."

"Yes, Your Highness." Bret sprang at Ryan, leaving a trail of explosive energy in his wake.

"Highness? Who the hell is she for you–" Ryan sentence was cut short by Sir Bret punch closing in on his face.

"Shut your trap, uncivilized easterner!" Sir Bret shouted as his fist met with Ryan broadsword, which had been swung in the last minute.

Boom!

"Says people that rely on useless pieces of 'technology'" Ryan shouted back as he was thrown back by the collision.

And then,

Boom! Flash!

The sound of explosion and cutting was accompanied by the sight of silver flashing and red explosion as both of them clashed again.

The dragon seeing Ryan engage one of his enemies, decided to go after Relia.

Voom!

Relia noticing the dragon movement, went into a defensive stance as she put her SP manipulation powers into its maximum gear. Golden aura rose from her body as the ground beneath her started turning into gold. Then contrary to her stance, she launched forward, planning to clash head–on with the dragon, but,

Boom!

The dragon roared, plunging underground in a blur, burrowing toward her.

Relia, knowing what comes next, put strength into her legs and jumped up, to a height that she towered above the tall trees of the Brimar forest.

Boom!

The dragon burrowed out, at a speed unlike it had shown before, out of the spot she has just been.

"Roarrrrr!" The dragon seeing that it missed her, roared into the sky, then leaped after her, but as it leaped various spikes could be seen shooting out the ground following it's body trajectory.

Relia, still ascending, thrusted her sword downwards at the approaching earth spikes and from the top of her sword came a golden dust that floated down.

Then as she reached her maximum jump height, she turned downwards and thrusted her sword again, this time at multiple times with a speed that created afterimages, each of these afterimages flew downwards and clashed with the earthen spikes, destroying each other.

The sword energies couldn't destroy all the spikes but strangely, most of the spikes can be seen to have turned golden after going through the golden dust. The golden spikes, pulled by an invisible force hit the other spikes mid–air, pulverizing them, leaving only rubbles then Relia and the dragon who were about to clash.

The dragon confident in his strength, that it could win the clash, even though it's opponent had the higher ground, put it's full strength at his head, hoping to impale the human woman with its horns.

Relia on the other hand, flipped mid–air, now falling with her legs facing the ground, she then concentrated her SP and strength in her legs, turning even her black boots golden in the process.

Then,

Boom!

The two respective powerhouses clashed.

The dragon was sent spiraling down, as Relia was thrown back but she regain her balance and in one fluid movement, flipped, created a golden energy platform beneath her legs and pushed off it, and headed straight at the falling dragon, filling her sword blade with SP till it protested by intense vibration.

I will behead it in one strike, Relia thought as she closed in, fast, at the unsuspecting dragon mid–air, but,

Clang!

She had to swing her sword prematurely as a flying sword was heading directly at her heart.

Who the hell throws a sword? She thought as she traced the sword trajectory to know the owner. There, the dark figure at the edge of the clearing.

Saquin stood there, his black hair flowing and an unconscious Risha slung over his shoulder.

"The worm was actually a dragon?" He said to no one in particular.

Thud

Both Relia and the dragon landed.

"Who are you and what did you do to her?" Relia asked the stranger, while using her SP sense to keep tabs on the dragon movement. But she didn't expect what happened next.

"Whose side are you on human?" The dragon spoke. It spoke human language—Eastern human language.

"It… it can talk?" Relia's surprise slipped out.

"Of course it can talk." The one who answered was Saquin, continuing, "no matter how weak it is to the true types, it is still a dragon—a primal mythic beast."

"Oh?" Relia said without much thought.

"And to answer your question, dragon, I am on my side, the side that views you guys, except the princess, as XP." Saquin said to the dragon with a wicked grin on his face.