Dragon Emperor 11: From Human to Dragon to God

by Eric Vall

  “He only has one path to take,” I muttered. “How is that?”

  “Lava goblins aren’t known for their intelligence,” Miraya answered with a wry smile. “Maybe that’s all he can do.”

  “You just stay back,” I directed her. “I’ll handle them. I don’t want you to get in the line of fire again.”

  “I can help,” the spirit insisted.

  “I know,” I said as the lava goblin got closer. “But right now, I need you to back up.”

  “Yes, my lord,” Miraya sighed and stepped out of the beast’s path.

  As the goblin drew near, he lifted his gigantic black arms and clenched his fists. I waited until he was only a step away, and then I dove to the side away from Miraya. The beast’s fists slammed into the ground where I’d been standing, and the impact shook the ground even more than his steps until I nearly lost my balance.

  “Shit,” I gasped as I teetered to the side, but I managed to stay on my feet.

  Then my eyes shot over to my opponent, and when the creature stood back up, a giant crater was left on the beach.

  Okay, so I definitely didn’t want to get hit by one of these guys.

  I straightened up and looked over to the other lava goblin as he started to barrel toward me with a snarl across his ugly face. Then I glanced down at his golden path and noticed it wasn’t aimed at me. Instead, his path diverted just enough to be headed straight for Miraya.

  So, I growled, ran for the bright line in my vision, and cut him off.

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” I snarled as I skidded to a stop in front of Miraya.

  The lava goblin slowed slightly to figure out what to do with my defensive position, but before he could react, I lifted the Sword of Healing and jabbed it between the black stone plates of his gut and into the lava.

  The beast doubled over and howled in pain, and I yanked the blade back. A trail of warm lava poured out behind my sword, and he tried desperately to cover the hole with his large stone hands. The lava continued to spill out of his belly, though, and then the other goblin roared with anger before he closed the gap between us and took a swing at me.

  The lava goblins moved so slow, it barely took any effort to duck below their large fists. His strike connected with his companion’s downturned head, and the other beast flew across the beach to land on the thick grass with a thud that sent me stumbling around in a circle.

  He wouldn’t be getting up for a while.

  Then I drove my sword up through the crack between the other beast’s stone exterior and into the lava in his chest. The wound dumped lava onto the ground between us, and the beast fell to a knee as he reached out to try and grab me.

  I stepped just out of his reach and wondered how I could kill them. The water wouldn’t work here, so I had to come up with another plan. If I spilled enough of their lava-blood, would they die?

  Time to find out.

  I called on my stone magic and sent a blast of sand at the beast on his knees. The tiny pebbles flew in a torrent at his face, and the lava goblin roared and tore at his eyes as the sand dug into all of his open flesh. When the sandstorm finally stopped, the beast laid on his stomach, and a small puddle of lava had formed around him.

  “Is it dead?” Miraya asked from beside me with a raised eyebrow. “They’re normally quite tough.”

  I opened my mouth to respond when the lava goblin rolled over to its back and groaned.

  “So, that’s a no,” I replied. “How can I kill them?”

  “Some say they have to be returned to the land to die.” The spirit frowned. “I don’t know if you can put them back into that volcano, though.”

  “That would be too easy,” I muttered. “We have to think of something else to kill them.”

  The lava goblins started to stir and roll around, so I conjured bolts of lightning magic that crackled from the sky and dove toward the beasts. Then each creature was shocked with several lightning bolts until they fell still again.

  “Still not dead?” Miraya wondered.

  “I doubt it.” I smirked. “I wonder if I could use my terra magic to reopen the volcano.”

  “It’s not a true volcano,” the spirit replied as she tugged at her white hair. “I don’t think you can recreate Mollo’s magic until you have his power. I don’t know how you can kill them here.”

  “Maybe I don’t need to,” I murmured as an idea began to form.

  I looked around at the beach, and then I called on my earthquake magic. A heavy rumble started under our feet and shook the landscape around us. Then a line zigzagged through the sand across the beach, and suddenly it cracked open with a loud smack.

  As soon as the hole opened, I jogged over to the lava goblin closest to me and put my boot on his back. Then I shoved the giant body into the gaping hole in the ground, and he bellowed an angry howl as he dropped into the dark pit. The other lava goblin looked up from his prone position on the grass, and his fiery red eyes flashed with anger as he climbed back up to his feet. He charged at me with drool pouring from his toothy mouth, but I sidestepped the attack at the last second, and the second lava goblin tumbled into the deep chasm, too.

  Then I crouched down next to the crevasse, put my hand into the sand, and called on my terra magic to pull the sides back together. The ground shook as the two halves of the ground slid together, and the lava goblins bellowed as the last beams of sunlight were extinguished over their heads before the hole closed above them.

  “Problem solved,” I chuckled as I stood up and brushed off my hands before I turned to face Mollo. “Do you have any more beasts I can curb stomp? Or do you finally have the balls to face me yourself?”

  Mollo’s dark eyes widened for a moment and then narrowed in agitation before he pulled his own sword from his belt and lifted it above his head. Then he sprinted toward me, and he moved so quickly, I barely had time to lift the Sword of Hatra before his blade clashed into mine.

  The screeching sound of metal on metal echoed up and down the side of the mountain, and I took a breath and then spun to slice across the spirit’s midsection. The blade left a gash across his belly, but the wound quickly knit back together before I could even blink.

  “Keep trying, dragon,” Mollo laughed. “Maybe you’ll tire yourself out and make it even easier for me to defeat you.”

  I growled and sliced at the spirit again, and my blade cut through the meat of his forearm down to the bone. His arm hung limply at his side for a moment, and then it looked like invisible thread stitched the pieces back together as his arm retook its shape.

  “Fucking hell,” I grumbled.

  But I had another idea.

  I continued my attack with a flurry of swings and cuts to Mollo’s body, and every hit left him bleeding for a second before it healed. Then he began to defend himself against my blows, and he struck at me again with his blade. I blocked his attack and continued with my dozens of blows for every one of his. His automatic healing didn’t slow down, but I noticed he couldn’t heal more than one wound at a time.

  Now, I just had to figure out how I could use this weakness against him.

  I changed my tactic from slicing to stabbing, and I plunged the sword into his gut. I twisted the handle to cause the most damage, and then I yanked it out. As the spirit doubled over to begin healing, I took another slice across the jugular vein on the side of his throat.

  Bright red blood began to pour down his neck, and he clutched at the wound while his belly healed. Blood dripped through his fingers, and I focused on another area as I brought the sword in a wide arc and buried the blade into his thigh.

  “Gods!” Mollo bellowed as blood now dumped from multiple wounds. “You shall not beat me!”

  Suddenly, the spirit dropped his sword and conjured a fireball in his hand.

  “You think fire will hurt a dragon?” I smirked.

  “You’re a fool if you think I’d be stupid enough to use a normal flame against you,” Mollo choked out a laugh as he took a step back and laun
ched the fireball at me.

  I held up my hand to absorb the fire, but as soon as it touched my hand, the orb exploded. The sparks scattered across my clothes and began to melt the fabric into my skin, and Miraya gasped and ran closer to me.

  “Lord Evan!” she called out in a distressed tone.

  “No!” I shouted and held up my hand. “Don’t let it get on you!”

  Then I turned toward my spiritual sea, sprinted to the water, and dove in. As the water cooled my skin, it also dissolved the sparks that hadn’t yet caught fire on my clothes. I hovered underwater for a moment to get rid of Mollo’s fireball, and then I kicked up to the surface and gasped for air. As I paddled back to shore, I sent a wave of my own healing magic through my body to get rid of any remaining sparks.

  As I trudged up the wet sand onto the beach, Mollo had just finished healing his leg.

  “Little dragon, how do you think you’re going to kill me when you can’t even hurt me?” the Flame spirit chuckled.

  I eyed him carefully as I saw Miraya creep up behind him.

  “Maybe I can’t hurt you,” I said with a frown. “But she can.”

  Mollo turned just as Miraya put her hand on his shoulder, and the ray of white light that accompanied her magic burned into his flesh as he screamed in pain. The Flame spirit fell to his knees, and Miraya knelt down with him to keep her hand on his skin. Then Mollo began to convulse as though being hit with millions of volts of electricity, but Miraya didn’t falter as the other spirit seized on the ground.

  The sword spirit was a genius. Mollo couldn’t heal if he was still getting hurt.

  “Get back!” I shouted to Miraya, and she dropped her hand and rolled away in the sand as I conjured another birdcage.

  The jail fell from the sky and landed on top of the Flame spirit as his seizures subsided, and after a couple seconds, he rolled over and slammed into the side of the cage.

  “What in the name of the gods is this?” Mollo demanded. “You’ll pay for this, dragon!”

  “Wrong again,” I chuckled. “You’ve already paid for challenging me. You and your sister severely underestimated what I could do, and now you can follow her lead and bow to me.”

  “Why should I?” the spirit hissed. “You can’t kill me.”

  “Maybe not.” I shrugged. “But I’ll keep you here regardless, and it can be in a nice little cage or in little pieces buried along my beach. Which way do you want it?”

  “You dragons are always so barbaric,” Mollo grumbled. Then the Flame spirit took a deep breath and paced his cage for a moment before he let out a dramatic sigh and dropped to his knees.

  “Keep going,” I demanded.

  He glared at me with hatred in his eyes as he lowered his hands and face to the sand in a full bow.

  Then the words appeared in my vision.

  Predation: Activated

  Skill: Automatic Healing, Swiftness

  As the Flame spirit’s power washed over me, I could feel the automatic healing begin its work on my sore muscles. Now, I wouldn’t have to remember to heal myself in the midst of battle, and I would have even more endurance.

  Fuck, yes.

  I decided to test out the swiftness as well, and I took off at a jog down the coastline. Before I knew it, I was half a mile away from the cages, and I stopped and turned back to see Miraya wave at me from the shore. I felt fast and strong, and I knew my new power would come in handy.

  I raced back to my lover, and she giggled when I skidded to a stop in front of her.

  “That is quite a new ability,” she murmured.

  “I think I’m going to like it.” I smirked as I leaned down and kissed her on top of her head. “Thank you. I couldn’t have gotten it without you.”

  “Anything for you, my love,” Miraya replied with a wide grin.

  “Oh, gods, you’re lovers?” Mollo groaned. “How can a spirit lower herself to the level of a mere dragon?”

  “He was more than you expected,” the sword spirit shot back. “You should know he is more than a mere dragon by now.”

  I laughed as the Flame spirit crossed his arms and averted his gaze. Then I realized without his healing power, Mollo’s skin was even paler and washed out, and his dark eyes had lightened to a honey brown. It seemed the magic had kept his body feeling fresh and strong as well, but without it, he was weak.

  “What are you going to do with me now?” he mumbled.

  “You can join your sister,” I snickered as I called on my stone magic to use the sand and pushed the cage across the beach until it collided with Rana’s prison.

  Once the cages were still again, the two spirits reached for each other through the bars.

  “You can talk, but no touching,” I ordered as I shot a layer of webbing between them before I turned back to Miraya. “I don’t know enough about them. Do you think they could get their strength back if they worked together?”

  “I’m not sure,” Miraya admitted, “But anything is possible with old magic.”

  The brother and sister spirit glared at me before turning back to each other to talk through the silky layer that now separated them.

  “I have failed, dear sister,” Mollo muttered as he leaned his head against the bars.

  “Yes, you did,” Rana agreed with a slight frown. “But fear not, our brother will not fall to the dragon.”

  “Yes, true!” The Flame spirit nodded his head vigorously. “He is a warrior like nothing else the dragon has faced.”

  “The dragon is right here, dumbass,” I called out and pointed to myself sarcastically. “And I’m not worried.”

  “You should be,” Mollo warned. “Karys has more power than either of us have.”

  “Had,” I corrected with a smirk. “I stole your power when you bowed to me, remember?”

  “And when Karys slays you, the power will return to us,” Rana bragged. “And we’ll find someone else to use.”

  “Use for what?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “For whatever we need,” Mollo chuckled. “Then we will gain even more power.”

  “They’re insane,” Miraya whispered.

  “Certifiably,” I agreed and then spoke louder to reach the caged spirits. “You’re not getting any more power or using anyone else from now on.”

  “Don’t be so certain, dragon,” Rana hissed. “You still have to face Karys.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” I sneered and turned back to Miraya. “Bring the Bow.”

  Miraya was gone in the blink of an eye to retrieve the final weapon.

  “I believe we will find this quite entertaining,” Mollo said with a wry smile as he leaned against the bars of his cage.

  “I’m sure I’ll be alright.” I smirked and rolled my eyes.

  Then a white light flashed across the beach, and Miraya reappeared with the Bow of Wellston in her hand. As soon as her toes hit the sand, Karys leapt from the weapon and took shape in front of me, and before I could react, he drew an arrow from the quiver on his back and aimed his bow at my chest.

  Then he released the bow string.

  Chapter 4

  The Bow spirit’s arrow plunged into my chest, and white-hot pain burned into my lungs for a moment before I yanked the arrow out and tossed it down to the ground. I looked down at the wound and saw my skin was already healing. I took a deep breath, and I could feel the magic healing my lungs as well, so the arrow must have nicked the organs when it plowed through my skin.

  I glanced back up at the spirit of the Bow of Wellston, and he scowled. He had dark mahogany skin, just like the wood of the real relic, and he wore a cream tunic with black armor over his chest and a white quiver of arrows strapped onto his back. His long blond hair draped down to his lower back, and he held a white bow in a ready position as he glared at me with bright blue eyes.

  “You’ve already defeated Mollo,” the spirit stated in a raspy voice. “Impressive, but I’m stronger than my brother.”

  “And Rana,” I added as I pointed to the
cages. “Now, it’s your turn.”

  “You’re a fool, dragon,” Karys hissed.

  “I keep hearing that,” I replied with a shrug. “But I keep beating you bitches, sooooo…”

  “You have no idea the war you’ve begun!” he warned. “A war with the Celestial Triad cannot be undone.”

  “That may be true,” I said, “but I know I’ll end it.”

  Then I lifted the Sword of Hatra and charged the spirit with my newfound swiftness.

  Miraya scurried across the sand to stay out of the fight, and Karys whipped an arrow from his quiver before I had even taken three steps. The arrow flew across the sand at me and planted itself into my shoulder. I slowed down to pull it out and then continued to run, but even as fast as I was now, Karys shot his arrows even faster.

  I conjured a fire shield in my other hand and lifted it to block the barrage of arrows. Instead of embedding into the fiery defense, though, the arrows changed course and whipped around it to hit me. The sharp ends dug into my skin, and pain coursed through my veins as I pushed forward.

  What the fuck? How did he avoid my shield?

  Then Miraya’s words from a few days ago echoed in my mind. The Bow of Wellston gave its user the power to hit any target he desired, and apparently, the spirit of the Bow had the same ability.

  By the time I was within a few yards of Karys, I had a dozen arrows sticking out of my arms and chest. I stopped to finish pulling them out of my skin, and the Bow spirit laughed maniacally as I plucked his projectiles from my torso. Then he shot one more, and I sliced the stem in half with the Sword of Hatra before it could land.

  I didn’t need any more of those things sticking out. I already looked like a damn porcupine.

  The spirit took in a sharp breath, like he was surprised I’d been able to react so quickly to his arrow, and then he turned and sprinted down the beach.. He glanced back over his shoulder and waved his hand, and a cluster of hawks burst from his palm and zoomed toward me. The birds’ talons flashed in the sunlight, and their beaks were open as they cawed in anticipation of their hunt.

  The hawks dive-bombed me as I plucked the last arrow from my arm, and I swung my blade wildly to get the beasts away from me. The Sword of Hatra cut through two of them, and their bodies fluttered to the ground in a mess of tawny feathers and crimson blood. The rest continued to stab at me with their sharp beaks and talons, and I looked through the teeming flock to see Karys had run toward the anchor of my soul bridges.