Still moving on two legs, the thing that was Bandit dashed much quicker than Jamal could have predicted. Despite that, the man fired multiple fireballs in an attempt to slow the figure down, to which Bandit's skin actually appeared to take little damage from it and no noticeable reaction to pain from him.
"That's it? I expected more!" Bandit cackled in disappointment, as he swung his claw towards Jamal's neck.
Jamal managed to swerve his head around his attack, only for the thing to grab him with its other claw. Pressing into his skin, Jamal could do nothing but scream in agony, as blood began to gush out. Behind Bandit, Sera had finally charged up completely, as within a flash was next to Jamal's side. Bandit himself was a bit skeptical of how she even appeared out of thin air, which only made him try to grab her. However, he couldn't even feel anything as one quick look showed that his entire left arm was cut from his body.
"Wow!" Bandit's eye widened in surprise, "That was spectacular!"
"Uh, sure?" Sera eyed Jamal's wound, to which the fire was working a bit against the injury, although it had an impact on the man's demeanor, "So, let's finish this, Jamal?"
The other man wasn't even listening to her, as light streams of steam were coming through his nostrils. Meanwhile, Sera could also see the lizard creature's arm was slowly regenerating in real-time, meaning her attack quite literally did nothing. But a new fight was about to go down, and a much stronger and determined outcome was going to be unleashed between the two.
"You got extremely lucky, and to be honest, I don't have time for your cockiness." the woman could see Jamal's flames become darker by the second as he spoke, "So I suggest you leave now, while you still can."
"No, I think you should be the one who leaves! Screw what everyone else is fighting for, I'm here for my own claim! To show my real worth onto this world!" Bandit began to growl some more, as his size continued to increase, "This isn't even my full strength."
"Neither is this." Jamal followed, before landing a punch in the figure's gut.
The attack surprised the other Viligante members, as Bandit's body sailed across the terrain, passing through destroyed or even active tarrs, as he slid across the ground for a few hundred more yards. Turning toward Jamal, they could only watch as he slowly walked in the creature's direction, the dark fire swirling around him more vigorously, although most of his flames were still a lighter color. If it wasn't clear now, that state he was entering earlier in the town was starting to return once again.
.....
"So, we running it back?" the dark imitation phased next to his side.
"I just need to kill him real quick, that's all." Jamal responded back, "This will be different."
"Of course, as you claim so. You have so much more to utilize."
"That filthy lizard won't deserve that much effort. And when I'm done, my next target will be Youden."
"Speaking of which, I'm a bit surprised by how you're now seeing me. To be honest, your emotions have been making you much stronger than you really think. For example, this state you're in already has been used long before seeing me. I mean, months if not years ago, have you held such a resentment that the primal urge to destroy needed to be used."
"Your point?" Jamal looked at the figure of himself, the dark aura wisping around freely. "Make some sense."
"I'm saying that you are on the cusp of awakening the state. I'm not sure what will break you, but I do want to warn you of one thing. To not let it run out of control. If that is the case, then would I truly worry about the others that you care for."
"What's with your change of attitude? This is as wholesome as you're going to get? Is this another little trick I'm missing out on? I'm all ears."
"No, no. I'm just here to guide you to the truth. Now, go ahead and beat that thing. We will meet again." the figure of himself laughed away, as it already started to dissipate.
.....
"Should we be concerned?" Hops turned to Sera, as they watched Jamal mutter something to himself.
"I think he might be losing it. We need to watch out before he runs amok." Sera held her sword close, still pulsing with energy.
On the other side of the battlefield, the thing that was Bandit was slowly pulling himself up, although at this point it was clear that his full strength was achieved. Not a single thing about him looked or resembled anything humanoid, as he stood about twenty feet tall. His left arm had regenerated completely by this time, although a bit discolored due to how fresh it was. But the most noticeable thing about him was the flaps underneath his arm in the shape of wings. It was then, did the Viligantes understood what happened to him.
"Did he-, did he just turn into a literal dragon?" Hops spoke out in surprise. "Holy powers, was I not seeing that coming!"
"It's all cool, guys. Don't worry just yet." Jamal returned their focus, as those dark flames had completely disappeared.
"Yeah, says the person who's five seconds away from clearing out half an entire battlefield for the fun of it." Sera shot back, before looking back at the main focus. "If we don't hurry and support the main battle, things are going to move south."
"Look at me!" the trio could hear Bandit's disoriented cry for attention ring across the space, causing even both sides of the engagement to look towards the sight, "We're not done yet!"
Lifting himself into the air, Bandit was quick to swoop towards Jamal, Sera, and Hops, as the three of them got into their selective stances and ready to hold their ground. As the dragon's tan scales made it easier to see and account for how far it was, Jamal almost had a bit of sympathy for the thing. It was clear that the person was losing themselves to being acknowledged by others, just as he was slowly letting that primal urge begin to let loose himself.
Just as Bandit was closing in on them in mere moments, Leon popped into the corner of their vision, his fist's aura exploding wildly around them.
"Leon, watch out!" Hops began to pace towards him.
"It's all good." Leon continued to face the beast that was moving toward his face. "Times one hundred!"
Bandit was already prepared for such a powerful attack, as he traveled higher over Leon's head, barely missing the wave that would have at the very least knocked him onto the ground. Jamal was already prepared for the possibility, as he was the first to move into the air, completely ignited and approaching Bandit's razor-sharp claws.
"You're mine!" Bandit grinned like a psycho.
"Let's go!" Jamal managed to land a full-powered punch in his state directly across the creature's jaw.
Staggering back and lower toward the ground, Bandit managed to flap his wings in retaliation, forcing Jamal to steady himself back onto the grassy plains. This was not supposed to be this difficult, he could not help but admit, as Sera gave it a shot and slashed streaks of energy towards the dragon. A few slashes managed to cut the creature, but not enough to force it out of the air, as a loud roar ensured them of that.
"What else can we do?" Hops looked around, as the Viligantes held a grim expression about their current situation.
"No one will doubt me! In fact, I think you all should run while you still have the chance!" Bandit continued to laugh away, as even a few troops from the Port-O-Bea army came into view.
"Alright, it's time to stop playing around!" Jamal shot up with a bit more energy, his flames extending more wildly. "And I really mean it now!"
...
While everyone was being distracted by a literal mythical creature fighting on the other side of the battle, many of the Reserve Guard and Port-O-Bea members were still clashing out for more control. The fighting had managed to move around the river line and was close to where the original bridge and main road were located.
"Keep it up, everyone!" Heskins encouraged the nearby troops on their side, "Victory will be ours!"
The main fortifications were located on this side, as the more prepared and robust trench network and defenses definitely proved a point. That still meant little, as the city's artillery continued to provide much-needed support for their army.
"This good." Brat called out from ahead, although his form made it harder to communicate. "Bad men weak."
"Yeah, you're right." Fonda assured him, as she brought a new wave of controlled soldiers to the frontlines, forcing the enemy to fight their own.
Just as the battle continued, a loud roar broke out, turning many heads toward the sound. Heskins already was on his toes, as a large creature was soaring in the sky and moving towards the location of Jamal and the rest of them. Was that truly someone's powers in use?
"Strong bad man. Fight we go." Brat turned to watch with the rest in the vicinity, as he switched forms into the werewolf one, "Fonda, join me."
"I can't, or else we'll lose all the ground we've accumulated." She was quick to return her focus on the controlled Reserve Guards, who briefly had control of themselves. "Heskins, join him."
"We'll support you." More city soldiers came to the girl's side. "You guys go take care of the main threat."
Giving a quick nod for thanks, Heskins was quite uncomfortable climbing on top of another man, even as quick as he hopped on. Not even able to adjust himself properly, Brat was already speeding out of the trench network and over open fields to their newest issue. This was going to be a moment for all of them.
.....
One after another. Jamal laid down punches onto Bandit's body, even though the beast was taking little damage from the state. Even in the air, he was simply resistant and acting nonchalant over the whole ordeal, as if this power was nothing. Leon, however, managed to gather enough energy for another attempt at a powerful punch, as his skin was starting to darken from the extensive use.
"Times one-hundred!" Leon cried out again, this time slamming his fist straight into the creature's chest.
A loud roar shook the entire field, as Bandit managed to finally return to the ground, and surrounded by tens of Port-O-Bea forces. There was little room to escape from except from above.
"What a lucky hit." Bandit hissed out, before spitting a spasm of blood onto the ground, "Not again."
"I'm not sure about that one." Jamal returned his attention, as a large ball of fire was floating above his head. "Remember this?"
"Oh, so it's funny? I'm not letting you defeat me that easily." the dragon was ignoring the bullets deflecting off his skin, apparently, even that was not as effective. "You think you can continue to mistreat people and get away with that? I'm fighting for everyone that's been let down, and for the people of Youdenia to not face the likes of you!"
"Too bad." Jamal had his hands in a closing motion, causing the ball of flames to slowly condense on itself.
Bringing his hand down and aiming towards Bandit, it took little time for the ball to reach the size of a small bowl, before sending its way towards him. The dragon was already stretching his wings out and attempting to fly away, until it felt something latch onto its tail. Turning around, Bandit's eyes widened as some type of elephant trunk was wrapped around the end of his tail, and slowly pulling him back. Just as he was going to try to bite into the animal, sharp cuts pierced around his chest, forcing him to reel back in pain.
"You're not going anywhere." Sera sheathed the blade, the glow of energy returning back to it.
By now, there was little space for the creature to run away, as those in the vicinity of the fireball had quickly fled the scene. The only ones remaining were the Viligantes of Power themselves, as even Sera, Leon, Heskins, and Brat had dipped before getting caught in its destruction. The two remaining, Jamal and Hops both looked at each other and gave the other a quick nod to start their final attack, while Bandit was dazed by the powerful assaults.
Jamal was the first to move as he created multiple slashes through his blades of fire, before knocking the dragon across the face. Forcing out one final roar of defiance, Bandit exposed his bloody but still sharp teeth, as he attempted to bite Jamal and swallow him whole.
"I think not!" Hops was already above his head, before landing a front-flip kick right on his forehead.
The attack was so strong, that Hops could see the white of Bandit's eye roll backward, although the fireball was almost going to catch both of them ablaze. Using the knocked-out figure's head, Hops managed to leap off him and away from the incoming attack, which landed a few moments later. Still in the air, he watched as the expanding ball crashed into the dragon's body, before a devasting explosion made him travel further than anticipated due to the impactful shockwave.
Bracing himself to take as little damage from the fall as possible, Hops was fully expecting to feel the impact any moment, until he felt an abrupt stop as he was closing in on the side of a destroyed tarr. Looking around, he noted that he was floating above the ground, while he was slowly shifting towards the earth. Placing both feet back on the ground, Hops took a quick look around at the still chaotic battlefield, with smaller explosions rocking in the distance near the former bridge, to some of their forces making their way to either reinforce the current action or designated points to capture for their offensive. As great as it was, he still couldn't help but question how he didn't even crash back into the ground. Was it some type of intervention or power at work?
"Hey, you are definitely welcome!" a feminine voice spoke through all the noise, causing an attempt for him to identify the source.
"Huh?" Hops moved around the space to search for his savior.
"Over here!" the voice was much closer than he assumed.
Following the noise, Hops managed to make his way toward the trench network, only to see Alice peeking above, with a big smile on her face. Of course, it all really made sense then, but he held high regard for her actions.
"Alice!" He practically leaped down and embraced her tightly, "I thought you wanted to stay back after making the bridge."
"Well Ryan, I'm glad I felt fine enough to save you out there." she cupped her hands over his face, as she moved closer.
"I'm sure I would have been okay either way." was his final words, before they pressed their lips together and enjoyed the moment of the other's company.
.....
Moving toward the enormous crater that his fireball created, Jamal peered down to see if that "Bandit" person was even alive after that. There was no sign of anything of a dragon or whatever he technically was, although he did notice what appeared to be a human in the center of it. Floating down, Jamal was able to take a better look and was still shocked at what he was seeing.
The figure was actually Bandit back in his original form as a human, although he was covered in deep scratches and bloody bruises and markings, alongside burns everywhere over his entire body. The real miracle was that he was still breathing after that entire session but unconscious, as several more members of Viligantes joined.
"He actually survived all of that?" Leon was a bit impressed, "That I must say, is quite frightful."
"I think his form saved him from completely getting annihilated there. No one, and I mean no one would have survived that in normal circumstances." Heskins poked the fallen man, not budging but confirming that he wasn't dead. "Yeah, still alive."
"And I think we've gained clear ground to advance further Jamal!" Brat chimed in, "That was insane."
"Good work everyone, I knew I could count on everyone. We still have much more to do. Let's finish our objectives and move on from here." Jamal provided his support for their efforts, "As for him, take him back to the city, but make sure he's secured. I've never seen someone's passion to make a change as bright as that in a long time. He holds my respect."
Sera wasted no time for anyone to figure out who would pick him up, as she turned him facing upwards. Taking one quick look before heaving him over her shoulders, she could see that the once smooth stone where his eye should have been was now cracked, as if to signal either the resolve and limits he was willing to surprise or the sound defeat against his own morals and ideals through their own efforts. She truly had little time to ponder about such ideas, as the group began to return towards where they would be the most needed, and become another step closer to reaching Youden and ending this mess that he created. It was all part of the plan.