[project: Legard] Chapter 2 - The 'dragon' Slayer

Volume: 1 | Enter 'Dragon' Chapter: II

John Voltron

Project: LEGARD The 'Dragon' Slayer They were closing in faster than a predator stalks its prey. Dragon knew he had to do something fast. He started looking around the corridor frantically to find a way out of this. While he scanned desperately round the corridor he noticed a window, that had not been covered or taken over by the Demons. At that very instant he made up his mind, ran towards the window, kicked the glass out of the way, and without a care for what was waiting for him below, he took a dive. During his fall he quickly noticed some Demon Amalgams with their mouths hanging open, hoping to finish their dinner early that day. Dragon using his wits, quickly got his sword unsheathed, pointed it below, aiming straight at their mouths, and said, “I hope you enjoy your pain-on-a-stick! Cause, I'm sure as hell gonna!!”. As soon as he landed, the tip of his sword, made a giant depression, in that Amalgam, slicing most of his vitals beyond healing, as well as ripping him inside out. He took advantage of this distraction that he had made, since the other Amalgams, didn't know about any other thing to do in this situation, to score a roundhouse kick on the Amalgam brethren. He knew they weren't hurt, but at least he could keep them busy, and for now, he wasn't looking for a reason to fight anyways. “I'm sorry to disappoint you guys, but I have no intention of dying anytime soon. At least until then... Sayonara!!” [Japanese Translation: Goodbye], saying that, he rushed forward, trying to remember the way out of the city, which he had keenly traced

while traveling to his hotel some odd hours back. The more he tried to find his way out of the city, the more Amalgams he found chasing him, only to end up distracting him away from the only path out of the city there was, at least thats what Dragon had figured out by now. Only this time he really didn't have any smart ideas on how to buy the Amalgam brethren's time and get out of the city simultaneously. Whilst moving from street to street he noticed that at the next street, there were tons of Amalgams that had gathered. The strange part here though, was that although there were quite a lot of them, none of them seemed interested in him. This was quite strange, since Dragon had known that once these Demons had put their minds to whatever the job was, they would finish it as soon as they possibly could. The Demon Amalgams fancied being pawns Dragon thought. On the contrary though, Dragon of the skilled swordsman ship harnessed to this age, had no idea why so many Amalgams were being beaten quite easily, the weirdest part though was even though it was faint, he could hear the slashing sounds made by a sword wielder. This fact piqued his interest even more. He finally decided to stop right then and there, to watch what the ruckus was, on gut instinct, even though there were enemies chasing after him, he decided that waiting here was more important for the moment, and he'd take care of the crew that was coming towards him later. In a few moments from then, he could finally hear voices, those too of a human that began to show, “I do not wish to fight weaklings such as yourselves, I really don't, but I'm not a big fan of those Demon bosses of yours, so I must do this!”. With a closer look Dragon was able to make out that the person that possessed such outstanding swordsman ship, was in his late teen years, just like he was. The next thing Dragon saw scared and excited him at the same time. Just when things looked very bleak for this young boy, being surrounded by at least forty Amalgams. As he continued

struggling against them, just barely. He was surely but steadily getting encompassed by something that was unbelievable, even to the toughened Amalgams. Light, that of the purest white had been encompassing him. This sight was quite extraordinary. As its luminosity increased, the Amalgams got further and further away from him, being mortally scared of it, as though it was an antithesis to their existence. The boy held his sword high, aimed it at the ground, and in the next second he yelled, “ENTAILLE FÂCHÉE SAINTE!!” [French Translation: The Slash of the Holy Cross]. The light that had encompassed him completely, was dispersing rapidly all around him, targeting each and every Amalgam that was trying to flee. It had so much speed and was so concentrated, that it pierced every Amalgam to their last fiber. The light then, consumed each and every Amalgam there, purified the last particles that remained and disappeared just as it had appeared. In the next moment, there was no light, and the desert returned to its plain dark and gloomy state again. Dragon's jaw by now had almost dropped off of his face, he just had to speak to this guy, and tell him he was amazing. Another closer look at him revealed to Dragon, that he almost had the same eyes as him, but his eyes were a bit darker shade of gray. That closer look at the boy also revealed that, that move he had made with the sword was one out of pure desperation, as signs of fatigue were written all over his tired looking face. With the intent of helping him, Dragon went closer to talk to him. The boy by now was standing on one knee clinging on to the sword that he engraved into the desert floor of a ground, and avoiding fainting, just by his sheer will power. As Dragon got closer, since the boy's vision was getting blurrier, he commanded to the figure that was approaching him, “Who are you? Identify yourself.”. Dragon immediately understood his situation and answered coolly with confidence, “Don't worry too much about it, I'm no foe of yours.”. “That true? Then I don't need to worry much, eh?”, said the boy. And with these words he fainted. Dragon carried him on his shoulder, got him shifted to a deserted house,

and got back the boy's engraved sword to rest alongside the boy, until he awoke. Meanwhile, Dragon made sure that the Amalgams, were at least gone for the time being, before himself hitting the sack, to recover, for the final battle to get out of this hellhole city with a hopeful new comrade, he had discovered.

Dragon, after drifting off to sleep, couldn't see a thing in his sub conscious, no dream, no nightmare, no hope, no will, and most of all no fear. He loved being in this place, he didn't worry about a thing, nor cared to worry about it, and the next thing he always knew, was another day, that he could face off against. Before thoughts of any sorts could enter and question him about his current state, of events or of those of a once beautiful world. It was morning. He knew this not because of the chirping of birds, insects or of creatures welcoming a new day. It was actually because the winds blowing throughout this wasteland didn't sound much during the day. Dragon, got up to his feet, and starting to get that lazy feeling out of his system, refreshed his brain to work on a plan. He accidentally gazed upon the bed on which the other boy lay. But to his amazement and shock, he was nowhere in sight. There on his now vacated bed was a note. Dragon quickly grabbed the note and started reading it,

Dear Stranger, I'm sorry that I cannot stay with you any longer. I wished to thank you in person, but my current mission forbids me on wasting any more precious time. May, our paths cross again someday. Yours thankfully,

Phoenix

Dragon's mind again was full of questions. “Maybe, just maybe, this mission that hes talking about has some connection with the mass of Amalgams that are here.”, thought Dragon. “And if I'm not mistaken, then the reason why they can linger around here, I think is because, the leader of this horde of Amalgams is in this town!!”, he concluded, “But that also means, Phoenix will definitely still be here! I've got to help him! Theres no time to waste.”, saying this Dragon rushed off, with excitement and fear at the same time. Excitement as he knew if he could manage to beat something like a leader Amalgam, even if alongside another person, he could definitely get stronger, Fear because he had heard that the leaders are chosen on criteria of strength, and on an average an Amalgam leader must at least equal twenty Amalgams, in battle power, not only that, but in brains too. His mind rushed about thoughts of the Mayor, “Him, why should I think about that scumbag at a time like this? He sold me out.”, he thought. “But on second thought, hes working with them! Which means...”, Dragon knew a solution for his dilemma as well, onward he ran, towards the Mayor's cabin. Right then, he was standing outside the cabin, thoughts of anger coming at him in full force, he took out all his frustrations on the Mayor's front door, bringing it down in pieces with his legs. “All right, fatso, I know you're in here. Get out now, before I decide to let the Amalgams eat out your soul!”, commanded Dragon to an empty looking room. When no sounds, or voices resounded to his command, he ordered again, “There is no point in hiding anymore, if you don't comply I WILL kill you, I can smell your stink from here you know?”. At this the Mayor came crawling out of his bed, begging at Dragon's feet, “Please don't kill me. It was them the Amalgams

they killed everyone in the town, and promised to kill my family too, if I didn't turn you in.”, “Your cowardice, disgusts me!”, shouted Dragon. “If they were gonna do that, you should've stood up to them like a man. Even if these are hard times, things looking bleak, that doesn't mean you lose what you are. Its just pitiful. You're just pitiful, just like they were...”. In a second Dragon heard, sounds of footsteps. In a few moments, there at the entrance, near the broken door stood Phoenix, panting for air. Before Dragon could greet him, Phoenix with fear looking in eyes warned Dragon, “Friend, get away from that man. I just found out through his sources, the Amalgams, that he is their leader, he's just put on the form of a human!! Get away now!!”. Before Dragon could respond, the leader, swat Dragon out of the way. “Gyuhh!!”, cried a nearly wounded Dragon. “All right since that trash is out of the way, I don't need to be in this ridiculous form.”, saying so, the leader came out in his true self. He was huger than the largest of Amalgams, and his face looked much more controlled, almost like that of a real human. “Okay, lets fight.” commanded the leader to Phoenix. “As long as bystanders don't get hurt, thats just fine with me.”, Phoenix said, drawing his sword out. “NO, DON'T!! We should take that thing on together! He might be too strong for you, alone!”, shouted a weary Dragon. “Hmm, I think you're judging my strength by the way I battled earlier with those Amalgams. Well sorry to disappoint you but then I was drugged by this disguised Mayor, in my food. So I couldn't quite fight in the regular way I do”. Dragon was shocked to hear this, even in his weakened state he had put up much better a fight than if Dragon himself had fought at full strength. Phoenix added, “Now, out of leader Amalgams, my information tells me that he is ranked 'B' which is quite okay for me to handle”. “Ranks?”, thought Dragon, who in the blue skies was Phoenix, and by mission he was reminded that Phoenix must very well be working for an organization, but the way he opposed Amalgams, made Dragon think that this was another organization

than one that his mind had immediately drifted off to, now he wanted to know more about these people than ever before. The leader Amalgam now spoke, “It seems that you people know who you're dealing with. Impressive analysis so far, but..”. The leader thrust in the forward direction so instantaneously, that not even Phoenix's experienced eyes could catch up to him. In the very next instant, the leader stood behind Phoenix. Phoenix was holding his sword in front of himself, slightly dazedly, since he had just realized the leaders position was the opposite to what he had anticipated of him. The leader could clearly see, that sweat was dripping off of Phoenix's face. The leader spoke, “I take it you've guessed it already, were it two years ago that information would've been damn accurate, and I would've been classified as a Rank 'B'. However...”, “However, since two years ago the equilibrium of the world started to shift, and the gate started opening, the demonic energy crossed over to this side, strengthening you and your fellow leader brethren in the process, and exactly right at this moment you're an S class?”, continued Phoenix, “Precisely, excellent analysis. I can see that they chose to send out a good warrior this time around. HA! The fools, but they still didn't realize that they were going to take back another corpse”, the leader said with drool forming near his mouth, and and excitement filling his eyes. Phoenix looking calmer answered, “I guess so....”, and within a second, Phoenix showing more agility than before was standing in front of the leader, “Too bad though, that corpse is going to be yours!”, and Phoenix swung his sword down with a great downward thrust, bringing all his pain and frustrations out on the leader with everything in his arsenal. The leader dodging his blow, with impressive foot work, said, “Most impressive, my little Legardian, but you still mistake the strength of an S class.”, Phoenix, locating him again, said, “The strength of an S class... Do you seriously think I give a damn about that?! After what you did to Frey?!”, with that, Phoenix matching his speed with his strength almost caught the leader, who barely managed to escape this blow.

“I see you actually managed to scratch me. Ha Ha, and you actually managed to bring that weakling up?”, “And in a few minutes there will be nothing worth scratching left, just like you killed Frey!”, “Huh? You entertain me Legardian boy!! Ha Ha. Thats the only reason why we love you Legardian types, so brave and benevolent besides the fact that your souls taste the sweetest!!”. The two had now started a brutal fist-cum-sword fight. Dragon, being a witness to this was still more confused and convinced, his last name he seemed to remember, what his mother had told him, before bidding him goodbye forever, “Goodbye my son, and may you always be happy, regardless the circumstances, Agnar Dragon Legard.”, these words were wrecking havoc inside his head. The “Legardians”? What had the leader meant by that? Were there more people like him? His head was throbbing with questions now. Meanwhile, in the fight, the leader had somehow managed to keep his own, against a now battle ragged, and weaker Phoenix. “Boy, do you honestly think, you can keep going on like this?”, questioned the leader, “I don't think. I do! I will slay you Demon!!”, answered Phoenix. His resolve strong, but only that was standing out to be his strongest weapon now. Dragon, knowing that they had a common connection, the look of loneliness in Phoenix's eyes, he just couldn't bare to watch him die, he had made his firm resolve, despite the confusing state of events. “Ha! Now you're finished boy!!”, saying this the leader thrust his fist with his teeth to claim his catch for the day. But there, before Phoenix, stood Dragon, the leaders teeth clenched in his upper body, the leader realized this, and spat him right out. There on the ground fell a body, it showed no signs of motion, and all possible signs of conclusion. Phoenix approached his body, and tried to get him to wake up, or at least show signs that he was still one among the living, but there was nothing, just plain darkness. Phoenix couldn't bear to see someone die before his eyes

again. He had once again proven to himself that he was useless, unable to protect the ones he wanted to. Dragon's body lay as motionless, in that room as would a stone on a hill.

End of Chapter II To Be Continued...

Project: LEGARD by John Voltron is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/in/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

Project: Legard