If there is one thing that Ashen would say for certain about his current situation-
"Oh fuck me!"
-it would be in complete shock and annoyance and a tone that pretty much betrays his feelings of cursing his own fate.
Stuck under a pile of rubble unable to move, he finds himself set upon by the hateful gaze of the living mythological beast that towered before his very eyes.
'A real wyvern is one thing...but to actually end up facing an Elder Dragon-the highest and most dangerous stage of a dragon is not a joke I can just laugh off!'
Ashen grimaces as he takes a look at the beast before him;
Scales that shimmered emerald, a rather solemn but terrifying draconic head and a long neck, with a body that is similar to a muscular human with arms much like theirs and legs of a draconic nature; a long muscular tail with a wicked looking spike at the end and a pair of large wings on its broad back.
'They say, the more human-like the shape of a creature of Earth is, the more powerful it is...I beg to differ though since humans are inherently stupid and prone to killing themselves, but when it comes to dragons...I'd rather not face human-shaped ones...'
So Ashen thought.
"Oberon! Help Ashen out!", Guinnevere shouts out while readying Rhongominyad.
"You do not command me, Queen of Britain. Know that I am bound only to the King.", the fairy Oberon however, refused her command.
'At least get the hint that I can't shout at you to help me you dumb fairy!'
Ashen wanted to shout at the callous fairy.
To him, the last time he ever saw an Elder Dragon was when he was way younger, and it was an experience he would rather not experience again;
With raw physical strength great enough to carry half of any skyscraper in the world and throw it with one arm, a body durable enough to withstand even tactical missiles and even the strongest magics possible to be cast by humans, unexpected physical functions that continue to shock even the most familiar of humans, and elemental breaths so powerful that they can gouge the earth with a mere yawn-Elder Dragons are the strongest of the strongest dragons.
To defend against such a living-catastrophe, he doubts that even Oberon, the mythical king of the fairies of Brittania could even handle even one attack.
'I'd rather face a hundreds of those overgrown lizards or an entire herd of lesser dragons than face-off against an Elder Dragon! Why does this damned planet keep on throwing near impossible-to-beat monstrosities at me?! I'm an injured man damn it!!!'
He curses at the world within his mind.
The dragon continued to glower at him without stopping in its tracks. Each of its steps cracked the already ruined pavement; grounding them to dust with each thump. Its large body almost completely blocked out the sun that was now setting in the horizon behind it.
"So you are the one they call Crestbearer? The one who now holds the holy sword?"
Suddenly, a loud, deep, and somber voice resonated in Ashen's mind as the dragon kept on moving towards him.
"Bearer of Pendragon's holy sword, why do you oppose the world?", the voice continued without heed to his visible confusion.
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
Ashen struggled to retort from under the rubble.
"Grant me heaven's light and smite my foe, Lightning!", Guinnevere shouts out and casts a spell towards the dragon who then received it without so much of an effort to block it.
"Hmph. So the Queen is as foolish as they say...", the dragon sighed.
When Ashen heard the dragon say that, he immediately turned to Guinnevere and did his utmost to shout out to her.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE YOU STUPID GUMMY BEAR!!"
His voice turned hoarse as he struggled to both chase her out and get himself out from under the rubble; his arm trembled under the sheer pressure, he could feel his bones creak and his muscles tear apart.
All to get himself out from under the rubble and go and kick Guinnevere out of there.
'Come on! Move you stupid pieces of debris!'
However, even with all his will, he could not move the rubble nor even lift his body a millimeter off the ground. All he felt was his bones dangerous creaking to the point where it might just snap any moment and the hastened tearing of his muscles.
Regret filled his mind as he realized that he had truly pushed himself way too far.
'Shit! Move! Move!'
"Oberon-!"
His voice, now only weak enough to barely count as a whisper; could not be heard by his intended recipient. His heart started to falter as he saw the dragon change course and head towards Guinnevere who cast magic at it in futility.
Was there any other way for him to free himself or at least allow him to shout a command to Oberon once more?
He took a moment to think about it, but sadly, he was immediately convinced that even a moment was too short a time for him to think of something and is thus left with nothing but the ominous imaginary scene of the dragon killing her.
"Foolish Queen, ignorant of the truth yet stalwart in enforcing your own 'justice'. Just how much of a foolish race are you humans willing to become?", Ashen sees the dragon raise one of its arms, "Know that you are not necessary for this world.", it declared so with cold ruthlessness.
"No-!"
Ashen's voice cracked and then-
'Just this once...I'll give you back the truth...'
-a voice echoed in his mind.
It was a voice he knew so well that it caused him to remember a certain memory of his; a memory he'd rather forget. His heart thumped rapidly, his breath became quick and shallow and the pain in his body somehow faded immediately. Not only that, time seemed to slow down before his very eyes.
It was a familiar sensation.
'You know it in your heart don't you?', the voice asked him with a scoff, 'You cannot save her without the truth...', the voice muttered.
'That's not-'
'Your body is broken, your comrades absent, your queen is in mortal danger and yet your sworn ally refuses to shield her. Against a mythical beast, what can your indomitable will do besides shout in despair?', the voice continued to interject with a callous bordering on mocking tone.
"Now...time for you to burn, foolish queen of this foolish kingdom...", the dragon's voice boomed as it began gathering power in its outstretched hand.
'No-!'
Ashen grimaced as he continued to struggle to get himself out from under the rubble. His heart continued to beat frantically, the muscles in his arm burned in pain as he tried to forcefully push himself up.
'It's futile...at this rate-', the voice continued and soon after, the dragon had unleashed its attack upon Guinnevere who looked at it completely frozen in place, '-she will die...'
Ashen's heart sank as he saw the vermillion ball of fire that was mercilessly released towards Guinnevere and at that moment he remembered something Evaline told him when he got back to England;
"Father, can you stay with me and mother from now on? Please don't leave us again..."
If there was one thing Ashen would willingly do for any human, it is to-with all his power-keep his daughter safe and smiling and he knew, that if Guinnevere were to die here, Evaline's heart will break and will probably never be able to recover ever again.
'I refuse...to let that happen!'
'Then bear the truth once more you fool.'
'Never!'
Ashen thought-however he knew in his current state, getting out from under the rubble; race through more than 40 feet of distance to come in-between dragon fire and Guinnevere and successfully stop it was impossible and yet, he refuses to acknowledge the voice's suggestion.
'You sure are stubborn. You will keep on lying and dreaming instead of making good on your promise?', the voice scoffed.
'Shut up! The truth can go to hell for all I care!', and just as he had declared so he remembered something from his past once again and from it, he heard these words echo in his mind;
"You'll keep me safe won't you?"
Those words caused him to feel a heart-wrenching tightness in his chest and he could feel his heart slowly breaking.
The words resonated within him.
The words caused his body to tremble, his heart ache, body lose all its strength for a moment.
It caused him to recall the memory so vividly he thought he was experiencing it for the first time in his life.
At that moment-
'Hehehe...let the truth guide you...Oathbreaker!'
-the callous voice cackled in delight.
After that, the fireball released by the dragon was split in half and dissipated into nothing causing the dragon to widen its eyes in disbelief as it looked at the figure of Ashen who had finally freed himself from the rubble and now stood in-between it and Guinnevere; holding in his hand, Excalibur, which seemed to have been swung down to split apart the fireball the dragon had released towards Guinnevere in a single swing.
"How-?", the dragon was a little taken aback by the sudden intervention of Ashen, but what's more, the dragon noticed something off about Ashen and after a closer look, it scoffed, "This oppressing feeling...ah...now I understand, so it is you.", it made a toothy grin as it began to take a stance showing that it was going to take Ashen on seriously and then addressed promptly addressed him, "I am, Escalibor! The dragon-father of Albion! To meet you here once again, it seems Fate has favored me once more!", the dragon, Escalibor, suddenly introduced itself full of mirth.
But Ashen simply stared daggers at Escalibor in silence and raised Excalibur in a combat-ready stance.
The elated dragon cackled in delight as it looked at Ashen, "Finally! A worthy foe after a hundred years! Come, show me once more the power that made you a living myth...Oathbreaker!"
Without so much as a moment of pause, the now gleeful elder dragon, Escalibor, and the now ominous-looking Ashen charged each other and clashed.