Blade of the Goddess
Chapter 98 - Starfall Showdown Tournament Part 16

Chapter 98: Chapter 98 - Starfall Showdown Tournament Part 16

Zion stood at the heart of a shattered arena, dust swirling around his feet. Across from him, Kaida and Taurok moved with deadly purpose. Their eyes gleamed with fury, talons already bursting through their forearms, their auras thick with bloodlust and magic.

Kaida struck first, her arms snapping into sleek crimson talons mid-lunge. She raked at Zion in a flurry of slashes, each one backed by draconic speed. Taurok followed, his legs morphing into scaled limbs, stomping the ground as he delivered a thundering kick that sent shockwaves into Zion’s ribs.

Zion staggered, grunting, but kept his stance. Another barrage came. Kaida’s breath attack engulfed the field in violet flame while Taurok’s aura crackled like a living storm, sending sharp bolts of force through the blaze.

Zion was driven back, coughing through the smoke.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Kaida snarled, circling.

"Dragons reign above men," Taurok added with a smirk.

Zion looked up, face marked by a shallow cut. And then... he smiled.

"Thanks," he said calmly, dusting off his shoulder. "I needed to see what I’m working with."

Kaida blinked. "What—?"

Zion vanished.

A burst of wind exploded where he stood, and in the blink of an eye, he was behind Taurok. A palm glowing with concentrated aura slammed into the wyvern’s back, sending him flying forward like a missile. Before Kaida could react, Zion was in front of her, fist crackling with elemental power.

He struck, moving like water, spinning around her guard with impossible grace.

Then, with an attack that felt as if it was strengthened by the weight of the earth, he grounded his elbow into her gut.

Kaida dropped to one knee, gasping.

"Your claws are sharp," Zion said, standing tall. "But sharp claws mean nothing if they can’t hurt their opponent."

Taurok came roaring back, talons fully extended, breath swirling in his throat, but Zion spun, coated his leg in a blazing aura, and kicked upward with the force of a volcano. The breath detonated in Taurok’s throat as he was launched skyward.

Together, Kaida and Taurok rushed him again, mixing spells and strikes in seamless coordination. Kaida wielding frost breath and winged slashes, Taurok combining molten aura and brute force. It was a dance of destruction.

And Zion danced right through it.

He redirected Kaida’s talons with a flick of his wrist. Slipped under Taurok’s hammering fists. Each movement he took looked like a dance as he maneuvered through their attacks.

They couldn’t land another blow.

The crowd watching the duel was stunned into silence.

Desperate, Kaida and Taurok locked eyes, then let out twin roars, transforming in unison into their wyvern forms, colossal and menacing. The sky darkened under their wings.

Zion looked up, aura swirling violently around him like a cyclone.

He leapt.

With a crack of thunder, he launched himself into the sky, fists glowing with fire and lightning. He struck Kaida first, spinning mid-air with a blow that cracked her jaw and dropped her like a comet. Taurok came down hard with claws like swords, but Zion caught him mid-strike and flipped him through the air, slamming him to the ground with a seismic crash.

He extended both arms and supercharged his mana using his suit. With a bright flash of light, energy rained down on the two wyverns, pinning them to the ground under the sheer pressure of his power.

Both wyverns lay there, grounded, defeated.

Zion landed between them, calm as ever, rolling his neck.

"That was your best shot?" he asked, arms crossed. "Maybe I should have asked to fight against you three all together."

The king of the dragons stood up in shock. "Did that just happen?" He asked under his breath.

Everyone was in shock. The difference this time was that Zion not only beat two wyers at the same time, but even beat them in their true form. That was impossible, yet he just did the impossible.

"See, I told you my son was special," Zaleena said with a smirk.

"Holy shit did you see that?!"

"We can win this after all!"

"But his last opponent is a dragon."

"True. The gap between dragons and wyverns is huge."

While everyone believed in Zion and wanted him to win, even they knew how difficult his next match would be.

"Pathetic. Losing to a human of all people." Nyx walked onto the arena, shaking her head with disappointment after seeing how her siblings embarrassed themselves.

"I’m impressed, human. You truly do have the power to back up your words. But if you think my power is in the same ballpark as theirs, then you’ll be mistaken. I’ll show you the difference between a Dragon and a human."

"Oh, I know, that’s why I was saving my strength for you."

Nyx’s eyes widened before returning to their original size. "You were holding back?"

"Indeed."

"Hahaha, very well, let’s see just how powerful you are."

The power of a dragon was no joke, and Zion would be a fool to underestimate her.

Just from partially transforming, Nyx showcased more power than her four siblings combined, and she wasn’t even at her full strength yet.

Her energy was intense and suffocating. It was so overwhelming that the officials had to use their own power to stop the audience from feeling it and passing out. Zion took most of that energy head-on and managed to pull through.

Black scaly talons replaced her hands and legs, a long black tail grew from her lower back, horns grew from her head, and wings sprouted from her back. Black scales ran down the sides of her face all the way down to her thighs, and even her forehead was covered in scales.

This was a dragon’s full power in the humanoid state. Any further, and they would fully transform into their colossal form.

"Now, show me what you’re made of." She smirked.

"Witness the birth of someone who has reached the peak of humanity." He was lying, of course, but he just wanted to sound cool.

Zion released his full power, showing it off to the public for the first time. Just like Nyx’s own, his energy was just as intense.

He channeled more and more of his power, cycling through his mana stages. Increasing his mana circulation and absorption. Activating his aura and magic. Tapping into all twelve of his cores. Turning on his body arts and finally activating his runic body.

The power was so intense that he had to let out a scream just to have the energy exit somewhere.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

"Did he transform?!"

"Are those runes on his body?!"

"Is he insane?!"

"How is that possible?"

Everyone had questions after seeing his full power, and Nyx was taken aback after seeing just how strong he really was. Still, she wasn’t worried or scared and was confident in her abilities, her race.

"That," Zaleena said, pointing to her son. "That’s why my son will win this tournament."

No one said anything, but they could feel that Zion’s strength was on par with that of a dragon.