Mega Dragon: Harbinger of Death

GRIM

The guards had made sure there was no one close enough to witness what was happening. Ara had instructed such. That was the only way to put Kiro at ease. Kiro threw a straight jab at Ara making a clean connection to his stomach. Ara was unimpressed. To Kirr, it was like striking steel. To Ara… well, there wasn’t enough force from Kiro for Ara to judge.

“Are you holding back on me?” Ara snapped. He was visibly displeased. But he decided that wouldn’t help the situation. He had to consider Kiro’s circumstances as well.

“You needn’t worry about the prince. He’s the toughest there is. Let it all out,” Zenon said.

Kiro steeled his resolve. If the rumors were even slightly true, then the prince might be able to withstand his full strength. But he never trusted rumors especially ones that involved royals and nobles. They were always exaggerated and he always believed that the two prince’s cases were no different. Surely, they were fine warriors, but not as amazing as the rumors suggested. The punch Kiro threw would send most people flying. But the prince didn’t even react and his body felt like nothing he had ever encountered. Was he truly the strongest human as the rumors depicted?

Kiro threw a second punch, this time with a lot more power in it. But the outcome was the same. After a series of punches, Ara soon got bored. “I thought you said you saw something special in him, Zenon. This is disappointing. Let’s go. You can keep your shed,” Ara said.

Kiro was infuriated. What did he mean he could keep his shed as he owned it? What had any of the royals done for him except increase his hardships? And yet, they rule over him like he was insignificant. If Ara wanted to feel pain, that was what he would give him. Why was he so worried in the first place? He would put him in his place and make sure none of them ever dared to bother him again. Although he might end up having to flee the capital. But it wasn’t his first time fleeing from a place.

“Wait,” Kiro beckoned. “Let me show you what I am truly capable of.”

The air around Kiro became dense. Even the guards that were a distance away could feel the menacing energy from him. Out of a sheer sense of loyalty, they forgot Ara’s commands and ran straight at the shed. The curious civilians followed suit. But at that pace, they could only catch a glimpse of what happened.

Ara and Zenon smiled at the aura that Kiro showed. It was an impressive feat. And the way he condensed that energy into his fists was even more impressive. Zenon took a few steps back to avoid being caught in the wave. It was a powerful punch after all. Without any restraints this time, Kiro ran straight at Ara and struck him cleanly in the stomach. Half of his shed was destroyed from the impact of the punch and the sound of the punch upon impact masked the sound of bones cracking. A devastating blow it was.

The Eastern market of the capital city of Croft kingdom could not have prepared itself for such an occurrence. A mere blacksmith striking the prince and causing so much destruction. It was the type of force that was usually conjured by the Crofts themselves. The guards flaunted Ara’s instructions to not react no matter what happened. They would never have imagined something of this scale when he gave that order. Even Ara and Zenon wore surprised faces for the same reason. To the others, it was shocking at the strength that Kiro possessed. While that certainly was part of it, that wasn’t the only surprise and only those two witnessed it. Kiro's forearm shattered upon making impact with Ara’s body. To top it all off, Ara didn’t move an inch, neither was he hurt on the outside. His clothes however were a complete mess.

The guards rushed at Kiro but Ara’s stern look halted them. He wasn’t pleased with their interference. He arranged for Kiro to be taken to Healers Nest immediately. He was in grueling pain. He cursed at Ara at every breath he took. Why wouldn’t he be left alone? He bit his lip at all the damage caused. He caused himself alright, but it was still the fault of the royals. Why did they have to rile him up like that?

The rest of the crowd slowly dispersed after Kiro was taken. Even faster so when Ara and Zenon left.

“What was that just now? You cheated,” Zenon said. His face was grim. Whatever did he notice to make him react that way?

“I didn’t have a say. My ultimate defense comes up on its own,” Ara said.

“So, that punch would have fatally wounded you otherwise?”

“If I was able to survive it you mean.”

Ara’s body was sturdy. Sturdier than most things that existed. Except for highly adept swordsmen, piercing Ara’s skin was next to impossible. But that was just his base defense. Depending on the threat, his body could harden to protect him and in rare cases, so rare that he had only witnessed it once before that time; Ara’s ultimate defense. That was the hardest his skin could get and what looked like Kiro’s ultimate punch triggered it. He showed promise, but there was a lot of work to be done. Beast energy could be used in many ways to change some of the body functions. The Crofts were known to be able to heal themselves!

There was one golden rule that Ara had. The strongest spear had to be made from the strongest material. In order words, the more strength a person can pull using the beast mana, the stronger his skin should be. But all through the time that Kiro got stronger, his body was still as delicate as a regular human’s and that was why his arm broke that way. There was no protection. That was not the right way to use the beast mana. But it was impressive nonetheless.

***

It was time for Aroha and Zhiyi to visit the king. While they might have forgotten about many things from the capital, they vividly remembered the king’s menacing aura. They might have believed that they felt that way because they were still kids, but it was the same with everyone and even worse for people that excelled in reading energies. Their handmaidens had failed to convince any of the girls to wear the dresses that were in their wardrobes. Aroha didn’t bother to argue with hers. It was never up for debate and this only helped Zhiyi to steel her resolve. A stubborn pair they were. After failing to convince the girls, they were finally allowed to wear whatever they wanted much to Alex’s displeasure.

The journey to the palace was quiet. Even Zhiyi said nothing. The last thing she wanted was for Master Alex to chip in. But even amidst his waiting, he said nothing of their clothes. Since they came back to the manor, he barely said anything to them. And the girls wished that things would remain that way forever!

There were a ton of watching eyes at the palace. Aroha never liked it there for a second. But to not visit the king was something she dared not consider. To have even stayed that long was bad enough.

“It’s been quite sometime now girls. I hear you already have been quite active in the capital,” the King teased. His towering stature and his gentle smile were not a match. They gave off two completely different vibes.

Aroha and Zhiyi cringed at the thought that the king had heard all about their escapades. It would certainly not leave a good impression. “Our deepest apologies your highness for the troubles they caused,” Alex said on behalf of the girls. He had enough headache already and the girls had only been in the capital for less than a day!

“Nonsense! The daughters of Gero and Miya Renoff could never be trouble.” The king’s hearty laughter resounded through the entire room. The throne room was long and clad in red. The king’s throne was at the beginning of the room naturally and it stood higher than the rest of the ground by about five to six flights of stairs. There were doors on both sides of the throne where only the king came in through. The main entrance was at the other end of the throne room. Alex and the girls were seated after the flight of stairs. It was a considerable distance from the king. It was made so that anyone who attempted to harm the king would have to go a distance to do so, by which time the king would have had enough time to react. The drapes around the windows were red as well, with the arches on the windows all pointing to the symbol on the ceiling; the symbol of the Croft family, their sigil; a roaring bear’s head.

The rest of the conversation was mostly pleasantries and the girls were glad to be able to breathe when they were finally released.

“I don’t need to tell you to stay out of trouble. The king might say what he says, but don’t force him to have to choose between the right thing and his friendship with your parents,” Alex said once they were out. It was the first thing he had said about the incident and the girls knew he had a point. They said nothing to debate it.

Aroha’s eyes wandered through the palace as they left. Once she started at the healers nest, she wouldn’t have to be there or the manor, or anywhere else. But something caught her attention. The designs on the floor. They were magnificent, like nothing she had seen before, but somehow, they felt familiar. The throne room was surrounded by gardens on all sides. The king, though a beast-type was a lover of nature. There was druid blood somewhere in his ancestorial line and people believe that to be the cause.

The gardens followed the shapes of circles housing fountains on tiles within them. Each tile had its design. It was said that those designs had been made by a king from a very long time ago, but seeing how rejuvenated the gardens were, it was either the rumor was false or the Crofts have impeccable maintenance culture. Most favored the latter. This was mostly influenced by the fact that king Croft had made his own adjustments to the settings. His father did the same as well. Aroha wanted to ask but Alex’s frown put her off. She would get the ideas into Zhiyi’s head and make her ask the prince instead. She sighed in disappointment. She was feeling the same way Zhiyi was. It was the reason she was quiet all along as well. They didn’t meet the princes this time.

***

Later that night, Alex left the manor in a suspicious black cloak. It seemed like the fashion trend for all things secret. He avoided the guards well. The terrain wasn’t difficult and he could surely talk his way out of any question but he would rather avoid the suspicion. That was the only reason he took the pains to dress in such a manner. He pushed a brick on one of the walls of the streets and moved into a hidden passage. The capital was ridden with them. Hidden passages that dated back to the time of the first humans on Maori.

Alex moved swiftly through the poorly lit passage within the hidden entrance. The neon lamps flickered and there were inscriptions on the walls that were similar to the ones in the garden at the palace. Finally, he entered a small room. It was just as poorly lit. And from the shadows emerged the stranger that had approached Kiro in the Eastern market. “What took you so long?” he said.