SON OF THE HERO KING

“Impossible!”

Fafnir and the other two Dragon Kings stood up with incredulous expressions plastered on their faces when they saw Sol’s draconic transformation.

Dragon Force was an instinctive technique Hybrid Dragons learned to reach, as close as possible to, the natural form of a dragon. In the latest or the very ending phase of this penultimate technique, a hybrid with a high concentration of dragon blood flowing in their hybrid veins and enough training, with the handling of the dragon force, could even potentially take the form of a fully grown dragon.

An example of such a rare phenomenon was Nidhogg. But even then, such a thing was very rare and almost unheard of. If Sol did such a thing, they would not have been surprised. After all, with his talent and monstrous potential, this was almost a given with enough time and effort.

But the War Form was a completely different notion altogether. It was something on an entirely different level than a normal transformation into a full-fledged draconic being.

“How…?”

They cocked their heads simultaneously, straining their gazes at Tiamat for any potential answers to this absurd phenomenon, only for her to simply shrug at their incredulity-filled query.

“Don’t look at me like that. I was as surprised as you are feeling right now when I initially found out. He earned this power during a fight in the Phoenix territory.”

Fafnir sighed and sat back, his posture slumped and gloomy, wondering where he could find some alcohol to calm his nerves down. He initially thought that as long as Sol didn’t use his dimension, his chances of winning against Kaiser were rather low.

But now, it was clear that Sol's refusal to use his dimension wasn’t just false bravado but an expression of confidence in his power as a dragon.

He couldn’t help but become worried about the outcome. Thankfully, what he saw next allowed him to calm his nerves down even if slightly.

———

BOOM!!!

The earth rumbled and quaked as the ground was entirely leveled because of the devastating attack Sol recently used.

Even though he had put quite the amount of force behind the attack, Sol couldn’t help but frown at the feedback he was receiving from his hand.

Whooosh!

A gust of wind swept away the dust, gathered due to the vacuum of the attack, on the battlefield, showing glimpses of a smaller draconic being now facing Sol.

If before Kaiser was a hulking mass of flesh and scales, now he had a more lean appearance, standing on his hind legs. Even then, he towered slightly over Sol with his 3 to four meters tall frame. His scales changed color from red to a deep and bright golden that radiated with a powerful light intermingling with a terrifying force. His face, still fully that of a dragon, gave a threatening growl as his maw opened slightly and showed myriad flickers of a gathering flame.

<<Zone: Golden Fortress>>

“Impressive looking indeed.”

Sol opened his wings wide and shifted from his position in a swift movement as he sent another mighty hit with his hammer.

But this time, it was Sol's turn to be surprised.

BANG!

The hammer landed directly on Kaiser’s face, Sol having opted to once again target the head but…

*Crack*

Fissures immediately appeared on the hammer at the moment of the impact. One had to remember that while they were standard weapons, they were still created by master craftsmen. There was no way Kiyohime would have gifted them to him otherwise. The fact that just one hit managed to create cracks on the weapon was a testament to the toughness of the scaly hide Kaiser currently boasted. The only damage done was a small trail of blood trickling from the point of impact.

Kaiser did not miss the opportunity and opened his maw wide again, letting out a destructive stream of deep crimson fire.

At that moment, Sol had two potential choices.

Tank out the hit since basically 90% wouldn’t go past his magical resistance while the pitiful 10% remaining wouldn’t even have the power to put a dent on his scales.

Or pull back, and retreat, evading the attack altogether.

Sol immediately chose the second option, trusting in his instincts rather than his rational thinking, and he was right in doing so. Kaiser’s tail had attacked exactly where he had been a mere moment ago.

‘Always watch out for the tail.’

In his War Form, Sol’s tail was a true weapon of slaughter and in the earlier part of the fight, it was clear that Kaiser also knew how to use it very well for offensive purposes.

[You are quite wary. I was sure that you wouldn’t avoid this attack.]

Sol shrugged as a response while keeping a lookout, raising his vigilance to an all-time max, for any surprise attack, “I was taught that just because I have a high resistance, it doesn’t mean that I should simply take on all attacks like an idiot.”

The best way for an immortal to die was to think that nothing could beat his immortality. Sol wasn’t an immortal but when he used his dimension or simply relied on his high magical resistance, he always did his best to avoid taking hits. After all, there was nothing absolute in this world.

“By the way, I am quite impressed by your heightened defense. Mind sharing what this is about?”

Sol just wanted to banter, never really thinking that Kaiser would share his ability but he was proven wrong for once.

“I don’t need to hide it. My zone is honestly pretty lame when compared to what others can do. It simply increases my defense and my attack. The more you hit me, the higher my overall stats increase.”

Kaiser was not particularly proud of this Zone of his.

Fafnir’s zone, <<Ten Fortress>> was a zone born from his desire to protect others. It created a powerful dome of light where all allies found their defense, regeneration, and other traits, and stats greatly increased.

As his most talented descendant, Fafnir obviously gave him the inheritance to his zone. But what Kaiser created from it wasn’t something to protect others, but only him and him alone. It was the very epitome of a selfish zone that catered only to his survival and nothing else.

‘Damn, are you the hulk?’

“I guess there is a limit.”

It wasn’t a question but rather a statement. Even if the skill had an unlimited ceiling, there was a limit to what Kaiser’s body could handle at a given time.

In the end, all of this meant only one thing.

“Let’s see whether you will bring me to my limit and win or lose trying to do so.”

The two of them grinned and rushed at each other simultaneously, ready to fight until the other was put down.

Sol discarded the hammer and swung his right fist at Kaiser who answered with one of his own.

There were no further thoughts about the true goal of the contest. No careful movements or tactical techniques — just a display of pure speed and strength.

(AN: Mudadadadadada!

Orahorah)

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Shockwaves were flying left and right. There was no holding back here and the surroundings were paying the price for it by being pulverized into dust. In a short moment, a large zone had been cleared out as if an earthquake had destroyed everything in its wake. The more they fought, the bloodier they became but they did not stop even for a split moment.

At first, Sol was completely dominating the fight while all Kaiser could do was take the hit he could manage while avoiding those he couldn’t.

Sol in his war form was far superior to Kaiser, physically speaking, but thanks to his high defense, Kaiser could still hold on. Furthermore, the more they fought, the stronger he became and the less damage he received from Sol.

As long as they stayed at the same physical level, Kaiser was sure that sooner or later he would surpass Sol and beat him but…

‘How…?’

Kaiser could not understand. Whenever he rose to a new tier of power, Sol seemed to also grow to a new tier alongside him.

‘How is this possible!?’

It wasn’t just his strength. If at first Sol seemed a little awkward in using the War form, the longer the fight lasted, the better he became at it. The evolution that he was undergoing was almost nonsensical with the speed he was showing for growth and adaptation.

“Hahaha! This is fun! Let’s keep going!”

Even after receiving a hit to the side, Sol simply laughed it off and answered with his own fists. His joy and amusement were clear for all to see, sending shivers down the spine of some who watched the fight.

Sol once again realized that deep down, he was a brute, a fighting maniac, who simply loved fighting. No complicated schemes or world-ending threats. Just him in a blood-boiling fight, going all out without needing to hold anything back.

The more he fought, the deeper his understanding of the War Form grew.

The more he fought, the stronger his battle intent became.

The more he fought… The happier he became, like a god of battles that relished in fighting and surpassing their limits.

The taste of the blood in his mouth, the sharpening of all his senses, the need to always be quick on his feet, all of these newfound sensations only brought him pure and endless happiness.

His soul itself seemed to sing a song of joy and happiness, like a wolf howling freely at the presence of the full moon. He felt like his energy reserve was endless. That, no matter what, he would simply come out stronger and better.

No matter what Kaiser did, Sol seemed, in all sense of the word, unstoppable, no matter how Kaiser grew, Sol grew even more and unlike him whose boost was only temporary, Sol’s growth was absolute and would not vanish. As if his potential was simply infinite.

‘What a monster…’

Not even the Chaos spawn had been so relentless. What he didn’t know was that all in all, Sol only used his War Form all in all two times in a fight, and both times he had been so overwhelming that the fight did not last very long. It was the first time he could truly go all out in this form of his, which allowed him to slowly unearth the potential of this form.

Still, even if Kaiser had such knowledge, it wouldn’t change how frightening Sol looked like currently. Kaiser shuddered and faltered for an instant — but that single instant was all Sol needed.

Grabbing him by the face, Sol swiftly lifted him high before bringing him down with all his strength.

A large explosion resonated as the entire area that was already leveled because of their fight suddenly sunk more than five meters deeper. But Sol didn’t just stop there.

Lifting him yet again, Sol left him floating in the air for a fraction of a second before punching him in the stomach, causing Kaiser to open his maw wide in a silent scream of excruciating pain. The hit was about to propel Kaiser far away but Sol refused to let it end like this.

Grabbing him by the leg, Kaiser was stopped short before Sol immediately once again brought him down on the ground, hard.

<<Mana Burst!>>

All the muscles on Sol’s body bulged as his already insane strength increased to an absurd degree once again. Tightening his grip on Kaiser’s leg, so much that the sound of his bones breaking could be heard, Sol began to relentlessly lift up and bring down Kaiser face-first against the ground as if the poor boy was a hammer only meant for the purpose of relentless pounding.

Every time he did so, he would laugh out loud in glee as if it was the most amusing thing to him in the world.

In the end, after the umpteenth time, Sol threw Kaiser high in the sky, until he rose more than two or three hundred meters in altitude before coming to a still. Kaiser was barely conscious and the sudden shift in centrifugal force didn’t help his condition at all.

He tried to move, but by the time he reached the peak of the height Sol threw him to, he found out that Sol was already there to welcome him with a bloody smile that was scary enough to make his soul shudder in fear.

Then, catching him by the waist, with Kaiser’s head down in the direction of the ground far below them, Sol filled his entire body with so much mana that it radiated out from every pore of his body then, fluttered his wings and propelled them back to the ground at hypersonic speed.

“Try to not die, okay!!?”

<<Liger Bomb!!>> [1]

The resulting explosion once they entered into contact with the ground looked like a mini nuclear explosion that could destroy everything in its wake from the shock alone.

———

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0_sq4m-_V4&ab_channel=RelaxMusic Watch this to get a better image of what happened;