Early Morning - Mid Winter : Akri, Bahamut

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-Oi, what's up with these guys?- I gave the ancient in front a glare. "Do you mean explaining this guy?" I motioned back to the Elder as Ilios picked him up in his mouth. "He's a traitorous dragon involved with the Holy-"

But I couldn't even finish before one of the ancients behind me closed the distance between us and swung at Ilios.

It flipped my switch instantly.

*FWOOSH-CLACK* Narrowly dodging the swing, I bolted to the side and knocked his other leg out from under him before immediately turning and driving my head into his underside. *CRACK-WHAAAAM*

*FWOOSH-SLAM-CRACKLE-VWOOOM* He immediately went tumbling over the thick metal wall around the platform before exiting the dome of silencing magic.

"Hey, that didn't feel like detaining force..." -Do they recognize the Elder?- My cold gaze slowly turned to the ancient in front of me again. "What reason do you have to kill me? Are you all dragons who have betrayed Bahamut as well?" My expression slowly turned angered.

"Tch..." The moment I finished, the ancient clicked his tongue and lunged at me, with the other ancient behind quickly following suit. *FWOOOOOSH*

Thankfully, the moment they made a move, Ilios darted off my back with the Elder, so I finally had the chance to move more freely.

-They're really going for the kill!- *VWOOOM-Crunch* Before I could even read their moves, their auras slammed into me like a tidal wave strong enough to crack the mythril under my feet. -But you'll need more than that hold me in place...- *FWOOSH* Nearly instantly flapping my wings, I lunged at the ancient in front and went to bite his neck, but the side of my face was immediately met with his wing.

Without mana, I had lost my immense speed advantage. *FW-WHAAAAM* Flicking my head to the side and blocking my vision, he swung up his paw and slammed it into my chest, launching me through the air. *FWOOOSH*

Thankfully, the hit woke my senses up. "Hooh..." Quickly flipping onto my back, I looked down at the other ancient below me with a predatory smile. -I can spare a bit of mana for you...- *BAAAANNNGGG-CRRRAAACKKK* The sound barrier shattered like fragile glass as I flapped my wings and used antimatter to flip over and drive my body weight into his head. *CR-RRRUUUNNCCHHHH-RUMBLE*

The entire mythril platform exploded instantaneously, splintering the metal wall surrounding it and throwing obliterated buildings and roads into the air behind it.

It looked as if there was a meteor impact.

But even still, the ancient survived. *FWOOOSH* Flapping his wings, he tossed me off his head and drove his shoulders into my side. *WHAAAAM*

*FWOOSH* Being thrown into the cloud of mythril dust, I hastily looked around for the other ancient before the morning light bouncing through the glistening dust turned dark.

It was a shadow. -There he is!- *FWOOSH* I hurled myself toward the source of the shadow without hesitation, but the moment I left the dust, I was greeted by jaws nearly the size of my body. -SHIT!- *CRUNCH* My scales finally started to crack as he bit into me before using his whole body to slam me into the ground.

*WHAMMM-TREEMBLE* Another immense shockwave spread through the area as a few of his teeth finally started to pierce my scales.

-AS IF!- *CRACK* Shattering several bones in his snout, I slammed my front claws into the side of his nose and the roof of his mouth before using all my strength to turn his head over and slam it into the ground.

But even though he did all he could to try and plant his feet, the back of his head was already planted into the ground. *fwwWWWWOOOOSHHHH* His colossal body was nearly completely vertical for a moment as I threw him over me, painting an unforgettable image in the minds of all those who could see it.

But he didn't let me slam him down. *FWOOSH* Opening his mouth slightly, he flicked his head to the side, not caring that my claws were deep in the roof of his mouth. *CRACKLE-SPLATT* As I was launched out, my claws dug out through the roof of his mouth, bringing a huge amount of bone, flesh, and several teeth with me.

*FW-W-W-W-WOOOSH-WHAM-SLAM-WHAM-CRUUUNCHHH* Quickly bringing my tumbling body to a halt, I looked up and met eyes with the bloodied, monster-like dragon that looked like he was going to rip me limb from limb.

-Tch... That just pissed him off...-

Keeping watch of his body language, I lowered my body to dodge and counterattack whatever he could throw at me, but a massive pair of claws slammed into my side before he even moved. -HUH?!- *WHAAAAM-ZIP-CRUNCH* *DIIIING* The ring of the metal wall around the platform filled the air as I slammed into it and ripped its remaining solid section entirely out of the ground.

But they didn't simply watch the scene.

*FWIP* Instantly darting to the side, a massive paw came slamming down on where I was. *DIIING-CRACKLE* It was the paw of the ancient I crushed. -SHIT! HE CAN STILL MOVE LIKE THAT?!-

At that moment, every ounce of hope I had to incapacitate or kill the ancients without mana was thrown out the window. -FUCK! IF ONLY I HAD MY MANA!-

*CRUNCH-WHAM* *FWIP-CRACKLE-FWOOOOSH* But as I dodged several spells from the bigger ancient and a flurry of attacks from the smaller one, an idea came to mind, one that would have repulsed me just a few years ago. -You should have taken the easy way out and stayed down...-

Instantly tensing my whole body, a cloud of mana moved out of my nearly empty reserve and flooded into several of my attribute nodes. *CRACKLE-BANG-FWOOOOOSH*

Instantly teleporting into the underside of the smaller, 80-meter-tall ancient flying above me, I dug my claws into his chest and used a mix of antimatter thrusters and brute strength to hurl him into the ground. *FWOOOSH-WHAAAAMMMM*

With his underside pointing up toward me, my stare turned cold, and the bloodlust surrounding me thickened.

*CRACKLE-BRRRRMMMM* Likely because of his instincts, he released a blazing beam of fire and light magic with a look of horror on his mangled face.

But my heartless gaze remained unchanged even as it enveloped my body. -You should have thought of the consequences before you stood back up.- *tsk-crackle-TSSS* The small ball of clear liquid sizzled on my back as it was spread across my body.

It looked like water, but was certainly nothing so stable.

*flash-VWOOM-BAAAAAAANG* The ground exploded as my paws punched into his chest like a pile drive, sending a shockwave several magnitudes greater than most earthquakes straight into his reserve, with only the dense divinity around it preventing me from plowing straight through. *VWOOOOOOOOMMMMMM*

The amount of mana that erupted into the air was mind-numbing, causing light to warp and the colors of everything around to turn blue.

But to my mana-starved mind, it looked like nothing more than a feast. *VWW-W-WOOM* On the verge of losing consciousness from mana exhaustion, I felt the vast cloud of mana start flooding into my reserve, heightening my senses again instantly.

My eyes were like that of a terminator as I looked up at the other ancient, through the cloud of glistening mythril.

*crackle* More antimatter began to form on my back as the surrounding mana thinned until finally, the surge of mana into my reserve finished.

*BAAAANG* I closed the distance between us instantly, but the moment I exited the cloud of dust, I found the tip of a claw beneath my chin.

"Tch..." -Fighting without my aura is such a pain...-

*CRACK* His claw slammed into my neck like a train before slamming his paw into my chest and crushing me against the ground. *WHAAAAMMM*

I immediately dug my claws into his paw and readied a mix of earth and space magic to shred it, but I didn't have that opportunity. *CRUNCH* Putting his entire weight and aura on me, I sank further into the ground before a flood of earth magic ripped through my claws, thankfully shattering them before the magic could reach my paw.

But it left me in a pickle. -FUCK!- *tsk-CRACKLE* Quickly forming a sphere of antimatter in my breath gland, I opened my mouth and let it rip. *VWOOOOM-BOOOOOM* The ground encompassing me vanished instantly as molten rock was launched into the air, and the blazing beam engulfed the ancients leg, melting his scales and incinerating the center of his paw before he could react.

*FWOOSH* *fwip-SPLASH* Quickly turning over in the pool of molten rock after he jumped away, I locked eyes on him again. His mouth had already stopped bleeding, but his leg was mangled. -He already carved out all the burnt flesh (to avoid scarring)... He's still confident...-

*fwooosh* Feeling a steady breeze returning, I glanced to check if the silencing magic had dissipated, but instead caught the gazes of dozens of dragons, at least at the elder stage on the ground and in the air, staring at me. -You have to be kidding...-

The glow between my scales quickly shifted to a bright blue as I formed a substantial amount of antimatter in my breath gland. -I need to try and talk my way out...-

But I didn't have that opportunity. "To think a traitor would bring themselves to Akri!" The ancient I hit out of the area earlier was flying amongst the other dragons. "Does everyone see the jade artifact by the sword under his wing? That is a medallion of the Holy Kingdom! An artifact only used to transfer messages between the higher-ups of the church!"

-So they really are traitors...- My faint uncertainty eased instantly. -But a message artifact? It hardly even looks like an artifact, so how does that work?- I quickly decided to make it my alibi. "Since it sounds like you are familiar with it, why don't you come over and show me how to use it? I'd gladly share the message with everyone if I knew how."

The ancient wasn't very happy with my response. "Hah! A traitor would share a message such as that? How dare you lure me in with such a blatant lie!"

It was a bold comeback, but I didn't have a counter. -If I toss the artifact to him, he'll probably just break it...-

But to my surprise, there was one other ancient, one not much smaller than Myles, that wasn't buying it. "I wonder how many years it has been since I've seen such an intriguing young man..." He was almost exactly 100 meters tall, donning an insane number of artifacts, with his most recognizable feature being the amethyst-colored scales and numerous horns coming out of his chin like a beard. "Boy, are you implying that you will share that message with everyone if I tell you how?"

His name was Astrafteró Méllon, one of Myles's closest friends and the Commander of several of the strongest military units within Bahamut.

-There is no way he is with the Holy Kingdom, right?- I gave it a bit of thought before responding. "If you teach me how, I will gladly put the message on display, but I cannot give it to you. I apologize."

The other ancient didn't let the opportunity slip either. "He is going to break it and blame Sir Méllon's teachings!"

Several other dragon's were quick to agree with clearly hostile expressions.

But the Commander didn't budge. "If he breaks it, we will temporarily treat it as an accident and bring him under investigation. There is no reason to outright kill a man who may be telling the truth."

"But Sir Méllon, he has already-"

"I don't want to hear another word from you, Officer Réon." He cut off the ancient without mercy. "There has been a new investigation issued, as of midnight, that involves everyone here. You will all receive a briefing on it later today. For now, I will handle this. You are all dismissed."

With just a few words, the dozens of dragons scattered, leaving just the three guards and myself with the Commander as he walked over to me.

His towering figure was surrounded by a sense of oppression, immediately reminding me of Myles, but his expression was far more unreadable.

-Shit... Is he really on my side?-

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