Draimon: Fracture: Erasend- Book 1: Deascension

Chapter 10: Herbicide

"IT MUST BE DESTROYED!" They roared in unison; shields of bark erupted from the ground to block many of the might beams. Those that were not destroyed everything they touched. I saw a towering wall of vines rise between and wrap around The Wyrm-torn.

 They were shredded, but not before the army began their assault. The Wyrm-torn was too close, and all I saw was it thrashing its massive arms. Others pushed past me but died instantly with one swish. I only lived because of their deaths.

They were so thick and covered in slashing blades, It would only take one touch to kill me. I ran, hating myself for being scared; my dutiful core compelled me to fight, but I did not want to die. I stopped and pulled myself down into the ground where I was safe. There was nothing I could do. If I fought, I would die. The heads were too high up; above all I heard were roars, screams, and shockwaves, all the more reason to stay below. Something drove into the ground and plucked me out; I fired a solar beam without thinking. Into Baragon's face.

"PUT ME BACK!" I roared at his face.

"Drydra, you must do something."

"What?" I cried.

"It may look like it can regenerate, but it can not; it can only regrow what it has absorbed, that thing only has so much flesh. Even if it is vast, it will not last forever."

"So you want me to destroy the eyes, noses, and ears to take away the senses of this thing," I said, calming down.

"Perfect," Baragon replied, nodding his head once, "it will go for the older Dragons first; it may even ignore you. Target the larger heads on top."

"Yes, but how do I get up there? My wings are not strong enough."

"Hello, Drydra," I heard Thorn-wing say with a back littered with small Dragons, them clinging on by the back thorns.

"Right," I said about to climb, but Baragon stopped me, holding out a ball of bark.

"Eat this," he said, "It will replenish your supply, let you unlock bark magic fully and replenish your energy." I took the ball into my mouth with my tongue and swallowed it, I felt the ball break down into my body, and I gazed into the distance and saw the Wyrm-torn. I must have instinctually travelled through the earth. I flapped onto Thorn-wing's back and joined the crowd of a Wyvern, Mancer, Berserker, Beast, and other hatchlings.

"Please be careful," he said. I did not need to reply; I would be, I will survive, for their sake.

"We will drop them off behind it, do not worry," and with one powerful flap, Thorn-wing burst into the sky. "I shall draw its attention."

Thorn-wing flew higher and higher and then flew straight to avoid the tentacles. As we flew through the air, I saw other flying Dragons with hatchlings on their backs. As we got closer, one of the heads turning and glaring at Thorn-wing, the maw glowed orange. "Fight well," Thorn-wing said, as the thorns angled and shot forward, I and the others shot through the sky, the air rushing past us. When we got close, we all jumped off me, holding my wings out to keep me in the air, the winged hatchlings holding onto the non-winged. I looked down and saw just how high up I was and the battle below, those tentacles cutting through our forces. Pale washing away greens and browns. I will do what I can.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Livigon held himself above the battle, he could only watch in awe at the destruction the Great-Devourer caused. What plan involves using these Monster to kill us? Does he not want to save us? He thought,"I assure you this the only way to wipe both those who will not accept the old world, them and the Elemontols, in one action." The voice said sent to his core, "now do you wish to follow me or die when they are unleashed? It asked. I will, I am just shocked, their sacrifice will be worth it, he thought sure the voice was listening.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thorn-wing's thorns had skewered into the tops of the heads. All the heads were in the opposite direction firing their beams, which they danced around. The great fireball was right above me as it always was, my body absorbed its power, and I flew at the heads, a thick solar beam erupting from my mouth. It blew through everything it hit.

I floated back and saw that my ray had disintegrated much of the heads, the flesh quickly regenerating. It had not noticed me. Did not see me as a threat. I was safe. I noticed that bark had now replaced my horns and claws, including patches of my body. I focused, and a bark shard came out of my palm. I looked at the nearest pale eyes and aimed the shard at them. The spear shot from my palm, impaling the eye, a mangled one forming around my attack. I elongated my claws and grew bark spikes on my palms and arms. I injected their centres with solar energy, their surfaces forming yellow cracks.

I flew around our side, shooting one into each eye then going around for a second run to force another eye to regenerate. When I ran out, I released the solar energy of the embedded shards, evaporating the eyes again along with the surrounding area. I grew more shards to repeat my previous attack, but one of the heads turned towards me, and when new eyes formed, it stared at me with its soul-less eyes. I frantically shot the shards, but the head fired a might beam, blasting them to dust. I dived down, barely dodging the slashing unravelling of the attack. The mouth stared down, and a swarm of tongues burst forth. I steadied myself and flew away, but the tongues were too fast and curled around my tail, pulling me back, and a moment later, I was trapped.

I struggled but was pulled into the mouth where the jaws shut; my the only light, I saw it had no opening to its neck, no gullet. Just a wall of pulsing flesh. Tentacles rose from the bottom and curled around me, holding me down; more rose and crept towards me. I felt energy swell within my core, and I released it, creating a field of bright green energy around my body. It grew outward from my body, forcing back and destroying all. I flew upwards, blasting through the mouth. I was about to burst through the remaining when something broke my field. When it shattered, I fell, but I saw something on top of the head. It looked like a mancer Core-torn. It leapt after me, slamming into me and grabbing my throat as the air rushed past us.

"A a a, can't have you ******* doin that **** you little ******* *****."

what were those words it said? I could barely understand it with the sound of the air roaring past us, I tried to fly, but it broke my wings in one grasp of each hand, and my core still ached from my last attack. "Naughty naughty," it said, waving a finger, "we falling the whole goddamn way, enjoy the ******* ride."

We kept falling, with the Monster looking bored with its legs wrapped and hands holding my legs to my sides with tentacles curled around my body.

"Gee boss, do you have to be so ******* big? I mean, at some point, it's just overkill," the Monster stretched its arms behind its head then looked at its wrist. "Uhhhhhh my ******* god," it moaned and then stared at me, "hi, hey, how the **** ya doin, you're all gonna die by the way," it leaned it closer with neck arching back, but still, it lightly whispered into my ear, "nothing can stop our boss," it leaned back it face changed, "aww yeah finally we can get to the good ****, wouldn't be right killing you here."

It pressed its clawed foot against me and kicked me down; I crashed into the earth, tumbling. I just sensed another wave of fire coming, so I drove my claws into the ground and soared. As I flew, I saw it, its pale body sticking out on the vine ground, streams of fire burst towards which I evaded with ease. I charged my claws and went in for the kill. My attack held back by a brown barrier, the thing smiled. The field dispersed in a pulse sending me back, though I was able to land.

"Boss doesn't wanna ******* deal with ya," it leaned and raised its arms and eight tentacles to the side then stretched again, "so they sent me to **** you up," its voice was softer, but I could hear it was full of pain, it smiled wide, just like its master, it was like a mancer in basic structure. But it only had two knees, a shorter neck, and I saw eight bladed tentacles were pointed towards me and swaying; it had no fingers, only claws. And attached to those claws were pale limbs with more blades along the surface. Its waist was so thin as if it had no organs, but I knew it did not need them anymore."What are you," I wilted.

"Well," It paced around me and shook its legs, that strange wildfire flickering from its palms. "Believe it or not, I was a ******* Human, but that's no longer the case; if only the cage was stronger. Boss ate me, tore me apart and put me back together. So now ama Canibal, damn painful, and it STILLLLLLL HUUUUUUUURTS SO ******** MUCH. But that is ok," it said, lowering its head and hands, "cus now I have its power. I kept my magic." I saw its pale eyes glare at me, "perfect for killing Dragons," it said, unleashing a stream of fire at me, me diving out of the way to dodge the blast. "I can absorb flesh like them. If I take you, I'll be a Dragon; get your magic on top of mine." Its laugh crept through the air like a disease, "**** waiting till I nearly died of old age to become a Draan, this's so much ******* better." It looked up at the great fireball. Its smile grew wider, "and I can finally use meteor magic, unlike when I was cramped up in that **** hole." It raised its hands to the sky and pulled them down lines of red lighting up along its arms. "In a couple minutes, ya body will be destroyed, but your heart will be left for me to devour," I fired a solar beam through its disgusting face.

"Shut up!" Its face was only half-destroyed.

"Thing with being in constant agony, I can't feel any new pain, and there's no way ya can ******* kill me." It said as its face regenerated and twisted its neck, "my mind is in boss, and they send me flesh wirelessly; don't get how all this works. It just does." It fired another stream of might-fire at me, "though am not sure if I should call boss them or it, don't know if they have gender or are a combination of genders." As this freak Human talked, it kept mancing fire at me. I dodged by flying around, every blast missing. "GOD I ******* HATE FLYING TARGETS, HOW BOUT THIS YOU ******* PIECE OF ****," another attack came in front; I dove underneath, the fire grazing my wings. Two constant streams of strange fire were going off. I kept dodging, charging a solar laser as I did when I soared above one of the fire blasts. I was hit by the other one.

 My entire body burned in agony, and I crashed to the ground, the fire eating away at what little of me was left. I saw fire swirl within its hands. I dispersed my burning flesh stipping my body down to my core, and as the fire wave came surging towards me. I slipped down into the ground to dodge and burrowed."Dead already, fire may burn away plants but not your core, very well cower, have fun being blown apart by meteors." I had to finish this quickly, I travelled to where it was, but as I did, the ground caught on fire, forcing me out. "There you are, now ******* BURNNNNNNNN!" I had to do something. The vines of my body burned the bark, less so. I covered the vine parts of my body with bark snuffing out the fire, "no fair, you little ****," It rose and fell its arms again, "more meteors then." It blasted more fire at me, the fire becoming a roaring Dragonhead. The flames brushed past me though still had some effect.

The fire wrapped around me and spun. "I'll cook ya like a ******* **** roast," I pushed through the swirling flames and fired a solar beam. The Monster blocked it with a might shield. As I ran forward, I sensed something truly elemental come from the sky, I hopped back, and a rock exploded in front of me, sending me flying back with the force. I quickly got up and rose bark shields above my body to block another, it slamming into my guard, but I was able to throw it off.

**** you," it screamed. Bark was able to guard my body though I had to shed it as it caught on fire still. More meteors were falling from the great fireball, though they were not large. I needed to destroy the body of this thing in one attack. I shifted my wings into tendrills and tipped them with bark as one came within reach. I gripped it with my tendrils and whipped it towards the Canibal, who held and hurled it back at me. "I can't just call down meteors; I can control them as well," the meteor was coming fast, but I was still able to send it back, and it came back again. I had to move as I sensed another above me. I was faster flying, it was the best way to dodge the meteors, morphing my tendrills back to wings. I watched, and I saw that meteors were swirling around the Canibal. They soared towards me at great speed, this no-claw may have the power of a Wyrm-torn, but I was still a true Dragon. I burst forward and charged the Monster-Human. I was done being defensive; I was stronger than this lesser thing. I sailed past the attacks and slammed into its might shield, "you can't ******* win, I have might, your weakness," the energy blocked my hands and kept them back. I charged my claws with elemental energy and drove them into the shield.

"I will not be bested by you wretched thing," in one motion, I tore the shield apart and seised its shoulder in my maw, clenching down.

"What the **** are you doing? Get the **** of me," I released solar energy into the wound; fire swirled in its hands as it was released. I hoisted my body up, stuck my tail into the ground behind, and whipped myself forward, hurling the Monster with the momentum. I morphed and fused my wings into one tendrill, wrapped it around its chest, and repeatedly slammed it against the ground. It struggled tearing at tendrill, the damage regenerating. I kept the intervals short and slammed it into bark spikes I rose. Its arms were free, they had to be for maximum damage, and it attacked with fire and meteors. Even this fire was simple to dodge as I made sure it never got a clean shot, and meteors were easy; I just had to keep moving.

I knew this will not last, so I made each slam against the earth the hardest I could. The Canibal gripped my tendrill and set it on fire before the fire could run down my tendril. I delivered one last smash, then detached the flaming mass and turned the tendril into smaller vines. They pummeled the Monster, keeping it down, and I charged a solar beam aiming to destroy it. My tendrils were shredded in a moment, and the next, it was lunging for me with a hand of large claws made of might. Time slowed; I jumped the swipe, flipped, slammed my tail down, unleashed the beam and landed behind it. My beam slicing right down the middle, strands joining the two halves together.

"How the **** are you beating me? I have might, you should be dead," it said, its voice lower than before.

"You are telling yourself that this power is worth your life, but it is not; you are dead, you can never go back to being alive." I walked up to it, "deep down, you wish you would become this "Draan." It slashed at me, I sidestepped, barely in time.

"Just ******* die already," it said, slashing then blasting fire; I dodged both, "I would have had to wait another two hundred and fifty ******* years to get the blood; I want that power now!" It screamed.

"You are angry because one of the reasons why you accepted your current state is crumbling before you," I said.

"O come closer, and you'll ******* see just how easily I can tear you apart," It flashed through the air might claws mid-swing; I burrowed behind then kicked it to the ground.

"Your kind eats life, in the hope, you will come alive again, I can not condone that."

"Condone this," It screamed, its arms glowing red and delivering wild blasts of magic. I dodged each one and attacked with my own. Silver blades cut through the air, orange pulses flew from its palms, and the tentacles lashed. These were far harder to dodge, the fire I could somewhat sense, but these I could not with several running through my body, I circled round to avoid the others. I leapt into the air and rose vines to hold its arms and body down. As I flew toward it, I charged solar energy in both my hand and mouth. Upon reaching the Monster, I unleashed the energy blowing it away in one blast. I flew back to the heads, having to stay clear of the tentacles. As I flew, I saw a hint of red growing larger with a face in front of it.