It was now several hours since the Proxy battle royal began. There were intense battles happening at every corner of the city which was mostly reduced to rubble by now. Even so, not everyone was engaged in battle. Luka Flameheart was one of these people.

It’s not that Luka couldn’t find an opponent, in fact she stumbled across most of the battles and could’ve joined in if she wanted. The thing was that she had a specify target in mind that she had a hard time finding.

“Yo.”

That was until now. She turned around and saw Zora standing with a blank expression.

“….Why didn’t you sneak attack me?”

“I’m offended. I’ll never do something that cowardly. If I plan to beat someone I intend to do it in a fair fight.”

“Yet you accompanied Klaus in committing all kinds of viscous acts? Well, that’s not my business.”

She pointed at Zora.

“I’ve been looking for you, Zora.”

“What a coincidence. I was planning on taking you on first before going after Tang.”

“That’s it. I’m curious as to why you hate me. I’ve never done anything to you and yet you’re hostile towards me.”

“I’m not that hostile towards you.”

“And yet, you ignored Miko and chose me for your warm up? Yeah, I don’t buy it.”

“What does this have to do with our battle?”

“Everything. I’m not the type to fight without a reason or without knowing what I’m fighting for.”

“You’re fighting to decide the strongest among us. There’s nothing more, nothing less. There’s an enemy that you need to fight, that’s all you need to know.”

“Oh, I intend on fighting you. You came after Miko after all.”

“A word of advise from someone who used to defend another with everything he had. You should worry about yourself and forget about him. Fight for yourself and yourself alone.”

“Impossible.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m too deep in to pull out now. Nor do I wish to.”

“……..”

Zora looked at Luka for a bit before speaking.

“I have no problem with you personally. It’s your monstrous talent that I dislike. It reminds me of how hard it is to achieve my goal with mediocre talent like my own, and that pisses me off.”

He took a fighting pose.

“At this moment, I feel the need defeat you more than anyone else. Otherwise, my dream won’t become a reality.”

(So he’s threatened by me and wants to overcome it by defeating me?)

This was not what Luka expected to be the reason for Zora’s hostility towards her.

“If you’re satisfied can we start our battle now?”

“I see no reason why not to. I wanted to see how much more powerful I had become, anyway.”

Zora sensed a heavy pressure coming from Luka.

(She’s gotten stronger again.)

He gritted his teeth in frustration. He took a step forward and then charged at Luka.

(Zora is a power type, so hand to hand combat is his forte.)

Luka smiled.

“So I’ll beat him in his specialty!”

Luka went to meet Zora halfway. Zora threw a powerful punch at her which she parried with her arm and countered with a lightning fast jab.

*Bam!*

The jab connected but was too light to do any real damage. Zora replies with a fast hook which she ducked under before tackling him.

“?!”

To her surprise, she wasn’t able to move him in the least.

*Bam!*

Zora hit her with a knee strike to the face.

“Tsk.”

He clicked tongue when he realized that his strike was blocked at point blank. Luka moved back with her body coated in Vita.

“Damn. It felt like his knee could’ve smashed my head like a melon if I didn’t protect myself with Vita.”

Luka had cold sweat flowing down her face. Zora accelerated towards her and swung his leg like a whip. Luka leaped back and avoided it but the force created from the kick was too sharp; it caused a cut in Luka’s top and even her skin. Zora immediately chased after her to follow up with another attack.

*Crackle!*

Lightning gathered around Luka’s hand and formed a hand-blade. She leaped towards him and slashed him across the chest while moving past him. Zora’s body became numbed from electricity flowing into his body. Luka immediately went for a second attack with her lightning fast speed. Zora sharply turned around and looked his eyes on her.

“!”

Luka immediately felt like she was in danger and made a sharp turn to evade him.

“No, you don’t.”

Zora accelerated and instantly caught up to her. Luka thrust her lightning blade at him and he responded by throwing a punch.

*Bam!*

Zora’s punch dispelled Luka’s hand-blade and broke several of her fingers.

“!”

Luka poured power in her legs and leaped back as far as she could to avoid getting hit with another punch.

“What’s wrong? Why did you run?”

Zora mocked Luka.

“….I see why you were always able to compete with Kaido in a fist fight. Your blows rivals his.”

“Do you still want to fight me in my specialty?”

Luka smiled.

“Of course. I intend to beat you at your best.”

(That being said, this will be very difficult.)

She looked at her disfigured fingers.

(This was the consequence of taking on a single hit.)

She saw Zora preparing to make a move and made one before him. A dark mist started covering her body. Soon Zora could only see a silhouette of her standing in front of him. He then saw a pair of glowing red eyes on that silhouette.

“Infinite Demon Dragon!”

The silhouette in front of Zora disappeared and he was now standing in front of a completely different being than before. She had a pair of black horns on her head, she had a metallic mouth mask with a snake in the shape of the infinity symbol on it, her arms were covered with black scales which looked like they were parts of clawed gauntlets, she had a pair of red dragon wings on her back and a scaly red tail which turned black at the tip. She was wearing a black sleeveless trench coat with a red demon on the back, a red top, black bottoms and a pair of armored boots. Her hair was a burning red and her eyes had an Ouroboros symbol in them.

“It’s fair to say that Zora’s physical abilities rivals Miko’s Dragonite and he’s just in his human form. There’s still his Dragonman form, his and Klaus’s Proxy abilities, and his regalia left. So I can’t afford to take things slow.”

*Bam!*

Luka suddenly moved with an explosive step which shook the ground. She instantly appeared in front of Zora and threw a punch at his face. He crossed his arms in front of his face and blocked the punch.

*Bam!*

Zora was blown off his feet and was propelled back.

“Such power!”

“Of course. I’ve upgraded this form considerably since my fight with Miko.”

Luka appeared above of Zora and stomped him into the ground; causing it to burst open. She leaped off him and aimed another stomp at him. Zora rolled out of the way and quickly got to his feet. The moment Luka’s feet touched the ground Zora accelerated towards her and threw a punch.

*Bam!*

Luka blocked his punch with her arm and hit him with an uppercut. Zora replied by kicking her in the side which made her take a couple steps to the side. She aimed a palm strike at his head but he deflected her attack with his arm and moved to attack her throat.

“Ugh?!”

But Zora was the one who got hit in the throat by Luka’s tail. His oxygen supply was abruptly cut off. This left an opening in his defenses…Or that’s what Luka thought.

*Bam!*

Zora hit her in the midsection with a palm strike and then raised her off the ground with a kick to chin. He then followed up a double palm strike to her torso.

“Argh!”

All of the air was forced out of Luka and she was blown back. She quickly stopped and stabilized herself.

(He can fight without needing to breath?)

Zora didn’t look like he was suffering despite his throat and windpipe being damaged.

(To be able to fight in such conditions, he must’ve trained like a madman.)

Luka was starting to see the hard work Zora must’ve done to reach where he is.

“……”

Zora silently rushed towards her with a speed that was faster than before. This surprised Luka since this level of movement would normally require even more oxygen.

“What a monster.”

The Ouroboros in her eyes started spinning and power started flowing into her body. She charged at him using her wings to increase her speed. The two collided and caused a deafening sound. Zora was blown back with his body flipping in the air. Luka rushed at him with glowing infinite symbols on her arm.

*BAM!*

She slammed her fist in his midsection and forced him into the ground. The force of the impact opened up a huge crater in the ground and blew away the surroundings.

“Guah?!”

Blood sprayed out of Zora’s mouth like a hose and his entire skeleton rattled. Luka dove down from the sky and slammed her palm on his chest.

“Infinite Shock!”

A powerful surge of white static rushed into Zora’s body and started roasting his insides.

“Ahhh!”

He released an agonizing scream as he could feel his organs being assaulted. He felt like his very life was ending. This caused his life to flash before his eyes. Among the scenes from his life that flashed in front of his eyes, one particular memory stood out.

**********

It was over a decade ago. A young Zora and Klaus were just victims of an assassination attempt by people who were enemies of their respective countries. Their guards were killed and they were taken to a secluded area by their attackers. While they were deciding on how they should kill the two, they met a passing by living legend.

“Hm? What’s this?”

They met Kylian, history’s strongest dragon Proxy.

“Two brats tied up and a group of scary looking men surrounding them.”

Kylian smiled.

“Now isn’t this a fun scene.”

After saying that, Kylian killed all their attackers in an instant.

“What? That’s it? And here I thought that I’ll get lucky and find a worthy opponent. I guess this is what I get for betting on fodder.”

After saying that, Kylian started to walk.

“W-Wait!”

He was stopped after being called out by a young Klaus.

“No need to thank me kid.”

“You did something uncalled for!”

“Huh?”

Kylian was confused.

“We had the situation under control! We could’ve defend ourselves.”

“Says the guy who had his limbs bound.”

Klaus’s face became flushed from embarrassment.

“S-Shut up. I didn’t need your help.”

He spoke with a smaller voice.

“What a prideful kid. What about you? Are you grateful for my help?”

He pointed at Zora.

“…….”

Zora stayed quiet and looked towards Klaus as if he wanted him to tell him what to say.

“That won’t do, kid. You’re your own person, so you need to make your own decisions. Otherwise you’ll be stuck with that brat for all of your life and trust me, he’s going to get you in a lot of trouble.”

“Shut up!”

Klaus shouted. That was how the two first met Kylian.

********

“Ah!”

Zora’s consciousness came back to him after blacking out for a moment. He gritted his teeth and grabbed Luka’s hand.

“I’m….!”

He remembered the fateful day he chose his path and shouted the same words he said to Kylian.

“I’m gonna become the strongest dragon and give the World Eater the greatest battle he’s ever seen!”

His body doubled in size, his skin turned into black scales, he grew two pair of horn on his head, a pair of wings and tails.

“?!”

He lifted Luka and slammed her on the ground. He sprung to his feet and kicked her away like a ball. Her body bounced off the ground before she stopped herself and got up.

“?!”

The moment she got up she saw a foot a few inches away from her face. She bent her back with everything she had and barely avoided Zora’s foot. She stood up and had to leap into the air to avoid a tackle.

“He’s like a beast!”

She saw him pounced at her and timed him before slamming her fist in the center of his face.

“Not gonna work!”

Zora grabbed Luka’s face and slammed her head first into the ground and then lifted her up. She kicked him in the face and forced his head to the side.

“Puh!”

Zora spat out a tooth and looked at her with beastly dragon eyes.

“Shi-!”

*BAM!*

Zora embedded his fist in her stomach and caused her to forcibly bend forward and vomit out everything that was in her stomach. He held her by her head and flung her in the air. She landed on the ground with an angry expression. The Ouroboros in her eyes started spinning and her injuries started to heal. She stretched her hand to the side and darkness started swirling in her hand before forming a huge black claymore. An infinite symbol appeared on her sword. Suddenly behind her hundreds of swords identical to the one she was holding appeared. She lifted the sword in her hand and then swung it down. The swords behind followed the same movement as if they were being wield by an invisible army.

*BOOM!*

A storm of black slashes rushed towards Zora who was charging at her. He was instantly overwhelmed and forced off the ground before being flung about in the storm of slashes. His body was cut from all angles while being treated like a leaf caught in a storm. The storm also cut everything within a few meters of it to pieces. His body fell onto the ground with his clothes turning into rags.

“Grr!”

He still got up and looked like he was about to attack again. However, Luka was already in front of him and was about cleave him in two.

“Black Root!”

*Bam!*

Black roots rushed out of his body and hit Luka and forced her away while damaging her.

“Die!”

Zora stomped the ground and it stared cracking open and gigantic tree roots shot out of it.

“Yggdrasil Dragon Root!”

A gigantic dragon made out of tree roots emerged from underground and rushed towards Luka. She clenched her sword and it turned into a giant black serpent that rushed towards the dragon.

*Bam!*

The serpent didn’t stand a chance and was forced back by a swing of the dragon’s claws. It then angrily charged towards Luka. She pointed both palm at it.

“Infinite Black Lightning!”

Dozens of giant black lightning bolts descended on the dragon in an attempt to stop it. The roots caught fire but the dragon still came at her.

“Yggdrasil Black Root Dragon!”

Luka looked and saw a second gigantic dragon emerge from the ground even though she was having trouble with one already.

“Damn it!”

Her mask moved and red light started gathering in her fanged mouth.

“Infinite Destruction!”

The beam shot out of her mouth and was like sentence of death to the world.

*BOOM!*

The beam hit the dragons and caused a huge explosion that covered at least a half mile. When the explosion faded Luka was floating in the air breathing heavily.

“Out of breath!”

Zora shot out of the smoke with a giant club in his hand. Luka immediately knew that it was his regalia from the strange aura surrounding it. He lifted the club in the air and Luka felt a cold sensation creep into her heart. She needed to get away, but her body was too exhausted.

“Call of Ragnarok!”

He swung down the club and the world around Luka became monochromic and frozen like a picture. Cracks then started appeared in the very space itself. It then all started crumbling around her.

“Ahhhh!”

She screamed as cracks appeared on her body and blood gushed out of them.

“I win!”

Zora shouted while rushing towards Luka with his club in hand.

“N…Not Yet…”

He paused when he heard a strained yet powerful voice come out of Luka’s mouth.

“I haven’t lost yet!”

“You’re literally falling apart! You’ve lost!”

“You watched my fight with Miko right?”

A smirk appeared on Luka’s face.

“I haven’t used Vita to fight yet!”

“?!”

Zora lifted his club again.

“Call of Ragnarok!”

The world around Luka once again became monochromic.

“Absorption!”

The monochromic was devoured by a golden light that came from Luka’s body. Zora saw the cracks on her body quickly heal before his eyes.

“She know how to absorb my power and make it her own?”

Zora gritted his teeth. He knew that it had just gotten a lot harder to fight Luka. He then noticed something forming behind Luka.

“Since you’ve forgotten what path I chose to walk… Let me remind you!”

Before long, a female warrior wearing a rugged armor and holding damaged weapons appeared behind her. She was covered in injuries but the will to fight was clear in her eyes. This was her Battle Avatar.

“I walk the thorny path where I’ll continue to fight even when my body is beaten up, my weapons are broken, and my armor is in shambles! I will never accept defeat!”

“Shut up!”

A demonic aura surged out of Zora’s body endlessly.

“I will become the strongest!”

“Not as long I live!”

Luka stretched her hand to the side a golden sword appeared in her hand. A burning heart symbol appeared on her chest, vine like markings than spread to the rest of her body.

“I’ll show you the passion that I inherited from my clan!”

She flew down towards Zora with her golden sword in her hand. Zora flew towards her with his club in his hand. The two swung their weapons at the same time.

*BAM!*

Black and gold sparks flew between the two of them. The two flew back and then charged at each other again repeatedly clashing with the weapons. Because he was afraid that she would absorb his power Zora came at Luka with pure physical strength, even so he was holding his own.

The two flew through the sky while attacking each other like two comets constantly colliding and showing no signs of backing down. Luka distanced herself and enlarged her sword and swung it down on top of Zora, who used his club to block it. He then rushed at Luka and swung at her head. She evaded it and thrust her sword into his shoulder. He ignored the pain and hit her with a headbutt which caused her metal mask to crumble. He then poured all his strength in his club and swung it at her. Luka blocked it but was forced out of the sky. Zora chased after her with a wild expression on his face. A terrifying black dragon formed around him.

Luka stretched her free hand out and another golden sword appeared in her hand.

“Overcome your limits, Golden Athena!”

Luka’s swords formed a giant golden female warrior which charged at the black dragon.

*BAM!*

The two beings collided and caused a deafening sound. A mesmerizing scene occurred in sky as a radiating female warrior clashed with a fierce dragon.

“Ohh!”

The markings on Luka’s body started glowing even more radiantly as she roared.

“Ahhh!”

Zora’s eyes became bloodshot to the point it looked like they could start bleeding. Anyone could see that neither wanted to lose and neither were planning on losing. But in every battle there must be a winner and a loser.

“This is nothing!”

The scene of Miko’s Satan form flashed in Luka’s mind.

“Compared to what I have to face in the future, you’re nothing Zora!”

Luka’s Golden Athena started pushing the dragon and Zora away. Zora clenched his teeth and tried to push forward but he couldn’t. He had reached his limit. An old memory flashed in his head.

“I’m sorry, kid. But you can’t surpass me because there will be people you’ll never beat no matter how hard you try. Why? Because they will have one thing that you can’t get from training endlessly; and that is superior talent.”

He gritted his teeth as his dragon was pushed away and a golden sword descended towards him.

“Dammit!”

The swords slammed into him and started forcing him towards the earth while destroying his body.

“DAMMIT!!!!”

*BOOM!*

Two godly slashes split open the earth and left two gorges in the ground. Luka’s golden warrior disappeared and she descended to the ground and returned to her normal form.

“……..”

She silently looked down on the warrior she faced who was now laying down on the ground with foot long cuts across his torso. He glared at her hateful as tears flowed down his eyes.

“Give up, Zora. I’ve won.”

Zora spoke with a strained voice and said something that Luka didn’t expect for him to say.

“Kill me…”