Blade of the Goddess
Chapter 99 - Starfall Showdown Tournament Part 17

Chapter 99: Chapter 99 - Starfall Showdown Tournament Part 17

Nyx didn’t let her shock make her lose her focus. She readied herself and prepared for an intense battle.

After feeling Zion’s power, there was no way she was going to underestimate him. Still, her pride as a dragon wouldn’t allow her to lose, nor treat him as an equal. She was a dragon and was superior.

Before the king said begin, he and the other important figures cast a massive barrier over the arena to protect others from the battle that was about to take place. There were already safety precautions, but this was just an extra step. "BEGIN!"

It was instant, the collision between their firsts that completely decimated the entire arena, sending Zion hurdling back as the shockwave was too much for his body to withstand.

The arena trembled beneath Zion’s feet as Nyx closed in with a predator’s grace.

Her wings fluttered, her tail thrashing in the air. Her hands were claws, sharp and deadly, with scales that gleamed black under the light.

She stood in her human form, but every movement spoke of her true nature, the dragon beneath the skin. Her body was a fusion of elemental power, and her aura burned with fire, ice, and thunder. Zion was already bleeding from his mouth, his body bruised from their earlier attacks.

Nyx smirked, her tail lashing behind her as she circled him. "I can see you’re not a complete weakling," she said, her voice smooth and commanding. "But you still don’t understand the difference between us, do you?" After feeling their power clash with one another, she could understand why her siblings lost, it wasn’t nearly enough to take her down.

Zion’s gaze never wavered. He wiped the blood from his lips and let out a low chuckle, a dark gleam in his eyes. "You keep talking about the difference between us, but all I see is a dragon who can’t even finish a job."

She laughed lightly, almost bored, and struck out. Her talon raked across his chest, leaving a deep gash. Zion staggered back, pain flashing across his face, but he never dropped his stance. Nyx tilted her head, watching him like an insect trapped in a spider’s web. "Pathetic. You can’t even stand up to my lightest touch. You’re strong, but you’re nothing more than a bug to me."

Zion grimaced as he wiped the blood from his mouth, but there was something almost amused in his eyes. "You like talking. But I don’t care for long speeches. Maybe that’s your problem. You talk so much, you don’t see when someone’s about to—"

Before he could finish, Nyx rushed forward, using her tail to swipe him off his feet. The crack of bone against stone rang out as Zion slammed into the ground. He gasped, coughing, but there was no time to recover as Nyx was already on top of him, her talons flashing through the air.

"You’re strong," she taunted, her voice dripping with superiority, "but the difference between dragons and you lesser races isn’t just our biology, but also our ability to use both magic and aura."

Zion spat blood onto the ground, shaking his head. "I didn’t realize I was here for a lesson. Thought this was supposed to be a fight."

She grinned, pressing her foot against his chest, pinning him down. "You thought you stood a chance? How adorable." Her foot pressed harder, crushing him deeper into the ground.

With a violent growl, Zion shoved her foot off and staggered to his feet. His aura flared, wild and untamed, coursing through his veins, but Nyx just chuckled, unbothered.

"Is this it?" she sneered, the wind howling around them as she shifted her stance. "All this power, and yet it’s still not enough. I expected more since you were able to beat my siblings. You’re out of your league. A human."

She unleashed a barrage of fiery blasts toward him, each explosion sending Zion stumbling back. His chest heaved, his muscles screamed in agony, but still, Zion refused to fall.

"You’re talking like you’ve already won," Zion said between breaths, a cocky grin slowly spreading on his face despite the bruises that marred him. "Funny, I don’t feel like I’m done yet."

She surged forward, closing the distance in an instant, her claws raking through the air like lightning. Zion’s movements were slow, and yet, somehow, he kept evading the worst of her strikes. Every time she made contact, he grunted in pain, but he refused to show weakness.

Nyx’s eyes glowed with cruel amusement as she extended her hand toward Zion, her fingers curling in the air as if commanding the very force of the universe. The ground beneath him trembled, and suddenly, the gravity around him intensified, pressing down on his body with crushing weight.

Zion’s muscles screamed in protest as he sank to his knees, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Nyx smirked, stepping closer as Zion struggled beneath the invisible force. "You thought you could stand up to me?" she taunted, her voice dripping with mockery.

"You’re nothing but a speck. This is the difference between us." With a twist of her wrist, the pressure increased, and Zion’s vision blurred, every inch of his body protesting the suffocating force. "How does it feel to be crushed by the weight of your own arrogance?" she whispered, savoring his struggle.

Then, something in Zion’s expression shifted. His eyes glinted with something darker, more dangerous.

He raised one hand, fingers snapping, and suddenly, the runes burned to life along his skin, their magic crackling like a storm waiting to break.

The ground beneath him shifted, elemental power bubbling up as Zion drew from the earth itself, coating his fists with an aura so dense it could have crushed mountains.

"Impossible..." she murmured, unable to fully comprehend what she was seeing.

Zion’s grin was wild and menacing as his aura mixed with runes. A magic circle flared into existence beneath him, glowing brighter than anything Nyx had seen before, intricate in design and powerful beyond reason.

"W-What is this?" Nyx’s voice faltered, disbelief on her face. "You...You’re using magic while also using aura? But only dragons can do that!"

Zion’s aura surged once more; the impossible had just become real. He smirked as he felt his strength return, better than before.

"Did you think I’d only be a punching bag?" Zion laughed. "Not bad for a ’lesser race,’ right?"

The crowd in the arena gasped, murmurs echoing from every direction as Zion’s magic pulsed like a living thing. He wasn’t just using aura anymore, he was using magic, runes, and elemental power as though they were second nature to him.

And then, as the magic settled in his chest, Zion healed. Bones cracked, flesh mended, blood vanished. He fully healed. The damage Nyx had inflicted on him was undone in a blink.

"Impossible!" Nyx’s voice broke through the stunned silence. "You—"

"You’re the one who’s impossible to beat, right?" Zion’s grin was wide, cocky. He was back to his full strength, as if nothing had ever happened. "I was just warming up before."

He lunged at her. A flurry of punches, runes glowing, magic shifting and changing with every movement. For the first time, Nyx was forced to defend. She blocked his attacks, but it was clear she was no longer controlling the flow of the battle.

Each of Zion’s blows shook her aura. His magic wrapped around her like chains, restricting her movement. He was outpacing her.

"You dragons," Zion taunted, his tone dripping with mockery, "you talk so much about ’superiority,’ but here you are — getting tossed around by a human."

Nyx’s pride began to crack. Her talons clenched, her wings flaring, but she couldn’t stop the onslaught. "Enough!" she shouted, voice breaking.

Then, in a final desperate act, she tore the very rules of their fight apart. With a deafening roar, she shifted, expanding, growing, shedding her human form in an explosion of power.

A massive dragon stood where Nyx had been.

Her scales gleamed like obsidian, wings large enough to block the sky, and her mouth opened, flames licking at the air as she prepared to unleash everything she had.

Zion’s eyes widened. His aura crackled, and his own power swirled. The ground beneath them cracked.

"Now we’re talking," Zion smirked. "But that still doesn’t change the fact that you’re gonna lose like a little bitch."

The dragon let out a bellowing roar, and the breath attack that followed was apocalyptic. Flames, ice, lightning, and more all erupted in one powerful, destructive blast aimed straight for Zion.

Zion countered with his own catastrophic spell. Magic flared in every direction, a massive wave of energy enhanced by a massive magic circle that appeared before his hands, colliding with Nyx’s dragon breath.

The arena was obliterated in an instant. The force of the two attacks tore the earth apart, sending shockwaves through the sky.

When the dust finally settled...

Zion stood atop Nyx’s broken, dragon form, breathing heavily but triumphant. His grin hadn’t faded.

"I guess dragons aren’t all that," Zion muttered, glancing down at her shattered body. "Maybe I should’ve fought all five of you at the same time. At least that way, it would have been a challenge."