"Hold on a second," I interrupted, before he could start the fight.

"What? Why!?"

"Well, we need some rules...otherwise, how do we decide who won if it's a close fight?" I pointed out.

"Nonsense, rules only ruin fights! If it ends up being a draw, I shall concede the victory to you, the only victory I shall accept for myself is winning! But tell me, human, are you able to trust the word of a monster?" He inquired curiously.

"I heard that Dragons are proud creatures, so I'm willing to bet on that...but if it turns out that you were lying to me, well...," I replied, before finishing with an ominous smirk and cold, quiet voice, "...then I'll kill you."

"I do sincerely hope that you possess the power to back up such confidence...anything less would be disappointing," He responded with a slight smile, before turning serious as he gestured for the other Dragons to give us some space, "Well? What are you waiting for...come at me!"

Hmph, don't mind if I do. I then transformed, unleashing my power as I entered Lazarus Mode, my wings growing out, as the red marking pattern formed on my arms, torso and face, my irises turning red as I multiplied my base power by an approximately fourfold boost.

"You asked for it, Dragon...here I come!" I exclaimed, as I shot towards him at top speed, his eyes widening as he began to put up his guard, but too late, as I closed in and slammed my fist onto his jaw, causing him to stumble back with a slightly dazed look of surprise, a trickle of blood running down the side of his mouth.

Interesting...I only landed such a solid hit because my speed caught him off-guard...and despite that moment of hesitation, he was still nearly able to react in time and almost blocked my punch.

"I...did not expect that...apologies, I underestimated you, human-...or rather, Kuro. It will not happen again, I can assure you...defend yourself!" He exclaimed, as he flew up and swooped down towards me, drawing back his fist as the air around him shimmered...he's letting out heat, huh?

Well, I won't back away! I stood my ground, braced myself, and as he closed in and swung his fist towards me, I responded in kind, driving my fist up and slamming it onto his, the ground beneath me cracking severely and breaking apart all around me, as a shockwave burst out upon impact and kicked up a dust cloud around us.

My knuckles are slightly fractured...he's stronger than my Lazarus Mode, at least in terms of brute strength, and his speed is on par with mine in this form. Not bad at all, he's got some real power...I then drew back my fist and activated Teleport, reappearing behind him.

"What-!?" He began to exclaim in surprise, before crashing onto the ground as I slammed my foot onto his back.

He didn't stay down for long though, swiftly getting back on his feet and flying up towards me rapidly, throwing a fiery punch at me as he closed in, his fist coated in intense flames, which I blocked with my left hand, before countering with a lightning-coated punch, which he blocked by getting his forearm in the way.

He then began to drive his knee up towards my midsection, I quickly responded by raising my knee sharply and blocking his, before slashing at him with my tail, which he narrowly evaded by flying back, before opening his mouth, his neck glowing slightly as the air around his jaws shimmered violently.

I swiftly put up an Absolute Defense barrier, just in time as he blasted out a powerful stream of incredibly intense flames, the heat so extreme that even from behind my barrier shield, I could feel it quite clearly, these flames are probably more than powerful and intense enough to melt through my reinforced skeleton in a matter of seconds.

Teleport's not an option right now, the air was shimmering so violently from the heat that even with my advanced vision, I couldn't see clearly enough to focus anywhere near the Dragon King and teleport there.

In that case, how about this...I used Quintuple to form two clones as my Absolute Defense started to reach its time limit, and then sent the two zipping around either side of the jet of flames being blasted at me, before closing in on Draco from both sides.

The moment they entered his line of sight, he ceased his flames and swiftly pointed his palms at them, charging up intense fireballs as they got too close to dodge, right as my barrier reached its time limit and faded.

Now! I swiftly used Teleport to appear behind him and simultaneously rejoined with my clones to regain my full power and drove a lightning-enhanced punch at his back, but right before I could connect, he drove his elbow backwards, flames swirling around it as my fist slammed onto his elbow, a vicious crackle and sparks bursting out upon impact.

That definitely fractured my fist. His moves are getting sharper and more efficient by the second...guess he's shaking off the rust from being inactive for two whole centuries.

Hey, Lazarus, no offense, but he's way stronger than you were, and by quite a lot...

"Yeah, I can see that, you don't need to tell me...he's even stronger than Belia is in her normal state-...I think you were right before, Belia must have suppressed his full power, along with the other intelligent Dragons...most likely because they turned out to be much stronger than she expected, at least that's what I would guess happened. Don't forget, she doesn't like one-sided battles, and until recently, there'd have been absolutely no one capable of going up against this level of power besides the Elemental Sages."

Huh, that explains it...as for why she would unseal those powers...maybe the seal wore out like l considered earlier, or maybe she didn't have enough Divine Magic left to keep them suppressed...another possibility is that she deliberately did it for the sake of her chaos. Huh, actually, that sounds really plausible, knowing what she's like. It says a lot that the latter is probably the most likely possibility...

"Haha, this is fantastic!" Exclaimed Draco, turning around to face me while rubbing his elbow gingerly, "You certainly have a lot of tricks up your sleeve, human, but that is not all...you are undoubtedly and undeniably powerful. You would have likely defeated me quite easily in the past, but I feel far stronger than I was, even if I do not quite understand it myself."

"Oh, about that, Lazarus thinks that Belia sealed your full power because you're stronger than her in her base form," I replied with a smirk, "And I have to say, I'm quite surprised at how powerful you are, none of the other Monster Kings were even close to your level."

"Ah, so you have fought the others, have you?" He replied with a look of intrigue.

"Well, as of now, every one except the Undead King."

"Hah, I see! So, are they all dead now?" He inquired curiously.

"I guess you could say that, I consumed all their life forces, including Lazarus, though he managed to transfer his consciousness into my subconscious, and you already know what happened with Diablo," I replied.

"Hm? What exactly do you mean by 'consumed their life forces'?" He asked, looking a bit confused.

"Basically what Vampires do with their fangs and claws, and upon consuming the life forces of the other Monster Kings, I gained their powers and control over the monsters they ruled over...see for yourself," I remarked with a grin, as I summoned a few hundred monsters in an instant.

"Wha-...ah, it is like what I can do with the Lesser Dragons and Wyverns! But that makes me curious...why have you not opted to do the same to me?" He inquired in a more serious tone.

"That's simple, the main reason I hunted down the other Monster Kings was because I needed to make myself stronger back then...and as the situation is now, I determined that strengthening my forces is more important that strengthening myself, and you turned out to be so much stronger than I expected, so there's no way I can let such power go to waste just to give myself a small boost, can I?" I responded with a smirk.

"Ho...you continue to fascinate and intrigue me, human...even if I really do lose this fight, I do not think I would mind serving under you, however...do not think you can defeat me so easily!" He exclaimed with a confident laugh, as intense flames burst out all around him, "Now, then, what do you say we continue this fight!?"

"I was thinking the same thing, let's keep going," I agreed with a slight smile, before shooting towards him at top speed and unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks at him, which he blocked, evaded and deflected, while also countering with his own strikes, which I was able to narrowly avoid and defend against.

This is rare...fighting someone who's both powerful AND skilled. I have to admit...I'm having a lot of fun right now.

And on another note, there's no doubt about it...he's stronger than I am in Lazarus Mode, that much is obvious now that he's shaken off the rustiness...at this rate, it won't be long before I'm forced to resort to Diablo Mode...

_____________________________________________

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.

Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:

https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP