SD Chapter 6 Interlude; Emperors Unleashed!
Wood chips scattered as an entire tree was severed from its bottom half, falling towards the others, whose dense canopies managed to prevent its eventual touchdown with the ground, but that didn't matter to the one who had caused its plight. He was currently sprinting within the forest on all fours. His paws were leaving deep prints within the solid dry ground, a testament to the amount of force each of his limbs were bursting with at any one time!
He was frustrated. The reason was simply because he had gone a long time without fighting, battling to his heart's content. Violence was in his nature, but wanton killing wasn't going to solve his current state. The clansmen were just too weak to give him the thrill he was so seeking. The idiotic brained bastards! He had tried to guide many of them to reach his level, where they could fully transition into a state capable of permanently maintaining a humanoid shape... He sighed as he cut through yet another tree, with the snake that had been lurking around the stem not surviving his wrath.
In the midst of his rampage, a scent, foreign to these lands yet familiar to him entered his nostrils, causing his heart rate to speed up in excitement. With a mighty leap, his paws grabbed into a thick branch, which protested the maltreatment with a groan as he looped around it, hurling himself off onto another thicker branch higher up, which held his weight. Inwardly, he lamented that even the trees were becoming too weak to support him.
He couldn't see through the foliage very well from this height, but his nose would never get that scent wrong. He was here! The only living creature that could go toe to toe with him...and he could even smell the intimidation from him within the air. It was inviting him. It seems that his opponent had the same thoughts as him...a battle, a spar, to reacquaint themselves with each other.
Those menacing teeth of his were exposed as a grin adorned his furry features. The bloodline power he had been suppressing was unshackled, causing embers to flare all over his brown coat. For a moment, he contemplated adopting a more humanoid form... But ultimately decided to keep his natural form as that would be the only way to keep that human on his toes. Besides, he had been in a state of suppressing his inner urges the past year. Surely he could be allowed to vent a little.
His nose twitched, picking up the man's scent with a greater clarity that allowed him to pinpoint the exact location.
The men before Drekov with the title of emperor were simple weaklings that hadn't even managed to gain his attention because of the fact that they had not crossed that threshold. Just because they had managed to win a few battles among their fellow humans, they had been given an undeserved title...the pitiful idiots hadn't even managed to meet him or even picked up on the signs of his existence when they had arrived from the human continent. That's why he had been happy the moment he had laid eyes upon Drekov. He had been certain at that very moment that the guy could put up a decent fight against him.
Anyway, he felt that dredging up memories from the past wasn't going to make him release the frustration within himself faster, so with a mighty stomp and the splintering of wood, his form became airborne, barreling towards the source of the scent with such force that the very air screamed within his ears.
He let go of the last shackles that had been put in place to prevent his bloodline from rampaging, causing his form to burst into flame, his eyes becoming literal globes of gold as he applied force within another foot of his, stomping upon the very air itself. This was something he had discovered when his bloodline had advanced to this stage.
Air exploded in front of him as a large tree made its way directly towards his face. Another grin adorned his furry face as he revelled in the thought that his opponent was the person who knew him the best.
He didn't even deign to move to the side, instead simply bracing himself while increasing the temperature of the flames, with the large log turning to ash the moment it made contact with the flames, while his paws splintered the remainder, dispersing the force. Though, it was a pity that his forward momentum had been arrested and he had to once again push from the air, towards the clearing where Drekov was waiting, with a large hammer resting upon the his shoulders, their grins practically a mirror of each other.
"Dubour, my friend! Your wife just told me how frustrated you have been lately. I came to offer you an opportunity... When I had a surprising revelation of how frustrated I had been too!" Drekov spoke while the heavy looking hammer was spun around within his hands as if it were practically weightless.
With a small application of force to the very air itself, he stopped his powerful momentum, allowing himself a slow descent as opposed to previously, where he had been opting to attack instantly. The words, 'an opportunity', weren't ones that would spill lightly out of Drekov's mouth.
"What is this opportunity you speak of?" He asked after his paws touched the ground, sinking within as if it were cake. The clearing was devoid of trees, only stumps that still oozed liquid, a sign that the trees had just met a gruesome fate. If the logs hanging upon the other trees at edges of the clearing hadn't already given that away.
"We will speak of this at length after we have a bout. I wouldn't want to douse my fighting spirit, now would I?" One of the double hammerheads made contact with the ground only for the soil to disintergrate and scatter at the lightest of breezes, having been turned to fine dust.
Dubour's heart missed a beat upon seeing that. Even though he had seen and fought against that intent, he still had a fear of it. Drekov's potential for causing destruction far surpassed that of even he, who possessed a bloodline of the flame.
How many dances had they had like this? Dubour asked himself even as his body entered a state akin to hyper focus, where all his senses were cranked up to the max. His nose was even picking up the scent of a bird a few kilometers from here and his ears, picking up the sound of the fluttering of a bee's wings that was just at the edge of this clearing which had a diameter of 50 meters.
It had been most definitely less than fifty times, but he couldn't conjure up the exact number within his mind.
Slowly by slowly, his pawed feet edged sideways, with Drekov following suit. Each was looking for gaps, errors in stances, or hesitation itself.
"This is going to be the 36th time we are having this dance. Though, I do believe that in the future we are going to have a few interesting opponents joining the floor from this moment on... So, I do believe we should at least try our best this time... As it might be our last!"
Drekov lunged after those words, his hammer raised above his head with both hands, which he brought down upon Dubour. With a small movement, reminiscent of a ballet dancer, he moved to the side before slashing out with his claws clad in flame, only for a shaft to greet his attack. It had been a feint, but Dubour wasn't the least bit surprised because the man had employed such tactics multiple times in the past.
Before meeting an opponent capable of pushing his limits, he had almost become drunk on the feeling of power his bloodline had provided him with... To the point that he had started to see all creation as beneath him, holding all in contempt. But when he had met Drekov, that feeling had vanished, instead giving way to the urge to compete. Meeting Drekov had born within him a hope, that many more at his level would continue to rise out of his own race and the humans. And that hope had continued to burn within him even now.
When a single claw was blocked successfully, he attacked with another, this time palming out from underneath the spear shaft, only for Drekov to flutter away like a leaf pushed along by a breeze.
Yet, he didn't relent pushing his attack head on. Hammer clashed with claw as two entirely different intents sought to destroy the other. One was disintegration in its raw form, and another, a flame of his own, something that had been buried deep within his bloodline, yet had been awoken to burn upon the world once again.
Though, even as they clashed, Dubour knew that he couldn't afford even a simple mistake... Like withdrawing the flames coating his large frame...as the disintegrative powers of the hammer in Drekov's hands weren't something his body would be capable of enduring.
With another clash of claws and hammer, both retreated a few meters away from each other. They had reached a tacit understanding to keep their battle within the confines of this clearing as the sheer destructive abilities possessed by the both of them would destroy the entire forest if unleashed unchecked.
That brought to the fore a memory of when he had accidentally set a forest on fire during one of his rampages, causing him to round up all who had the water summoning or controlling bloodlines to help out in stopping the blaze.
Dubour regarded his opponent in this rare time of a respite. He was merely a human without a bloodline, yet he wasn't showing signs of exhaustion. The control Drekov had over his body was truly remarkable! Though, he too had the same control...it was surprising that a mere human was capable of the same.
He breathed out, the small sparks within his breath causing a few small flames to appear before dying out a natural death. He hadn't been resting on his laurels ever since their last encounter. This was one of the reasons why every intelligent creature could advance, competition. He had stagnated during those times he had thought that he was all alone in this world, yet ever since Drekov had appeared in his life, he had advanced his technique by leaps and bounds.
The flames on his skin became mellow upon his manipulation, enveloping it like a second skin. Seeing the grave look that the man was giving him, it seemed that he had picked up on the nuances and threat of this course of action.
With a mighty stomp that cratered the earth, he hurled himself towards Drekov, resuming the fight that had gotten a little breather.
A horizontal sweep of the hammer headed his way the moment he appeared within the man's range. But that didn't deter him. With another more powerful stomp, his speed doubled, exceeding the speed of the swing, and he found himself face to face with the man, whose features were now contorted with disbelief and fear.
'He he he...now that's a first!' Dubour thought to himself upon seeing the expression.
He brought his paw forward for a flick on the man's forehead only for the shaft of the hammer to appear between his finger and Drekov's forehead.
As if the man had been hit by a bear, which had literally happened...he was thrown so fast that he vanished within the trees at the edge of the clearing.
Dubour didn't so much as deign to chase. The thin orange film coating his body was already causing the ground itself to melt, turning into plasma. He walked around so that he wouldn't sink, leaving puddles of molten earth in his wake.
He was barely exercising restraint. He had wanted to chase after the man, but starting a forest fire wasn't ideal right now as it would interrupt the battle that he was enjoying too much of.
An explosion of air, caused him to dodge to the side, before the hammer that had passed by him vanished, only to reappear within the hands of Drekov, who was charging towards him.
Dubour dropped on all fours and charged. The moment before they met, Drekov's hammer smashed down from above, but he increased his speed and his mouth opened, with the intention to bite through the man's thigh, only for him to leap sideways, and the hammer head to ambush him from below where he placed both his paws for defense, only for the force of the blow to hurl him into the air, his bones straining against the powerful force of the swing.
While midair, Dubour's golden eyes shrunk when he saw that Drekov had leapt up too, chasing after him and was in mid swing. With a burst of will, he ordered his bloodline to flare with the greatest he could achieve, causing himself to become the second sun in the sky.
With an intention of will, the flames on his back turned into a jet which pushed him downwards, towards Drekov like a meteor.
A growl escaped his mouth as he crashed down into the soil, which turned into lava even before his own body made contact with it. Drekov had evaded and had instead created a chasm worth of distance. Even with his control over the body, there was absolutely no way he could handle the heat.
Dubour sighed over the fact that the weapon held powers capable of matching his blood, yet the human holding it had a frail body. When will some of his kind reach his level such that he could go all out?
"It seems that a new move was added to your repertoire." Commented Drekov, his weapon vanishing to be ensconced within what he had called a mind space... Though, Dubour preferred the word soul.
"Too bad you couldn't handle it. I really wanted to continue..." Lamented Dubour as he sauntered towards the tree boundary at the edges of the clearing.
The ground was hot, having been baked by the temperature from his intent, with everything that could pass for a living thing having been cooked or turned to ash. Lava pools were everywhere, with the biggest of them being the one he had created at the end.
"Nah...I could have handled it just fine. My body isn't that fragile. Its just that I would have been forced to go all out and that would have probably caused this entire forest to vanish off the face of this planet." Drekov said even as he appeared right beside him.
"Oh! I am very happy for you! Since our last few bouts were always about me improving, I had thought that I would have to give up our duels because of your weakness." Dubour's happiness came from the heart. Losing such a valuable sparring partner would have made him revert back to those dark days.
"So, what is this opportunity you were talking about?" Dubour asked after a few minutes, which had been used to search for a seating area at the edge of a clearing, which had translated into one of the logs Drekov had cleared out of their rudimentary battle arena.
Dubour had transformed from his beast bear self, to a more humanoid-thin and furry being.
"This opportunity isn't just for you, but also all your kind. A new planet has been discovered...one that has life and we believe that their society has developed in the same direction as ours, with warriors and soul weapons."
"...my kind. I wish they were as far seeing as me. You do know that that rule of barring humans from this continent was set by those before me. I doubt the current generation would agree to do away with such tradition." Dubour sighed with exasperation. Humans had technology far surpassing them, who were basically barbarians. If they brought their full might to bear, the beasts would become extinct within a few weeks.
The idiots weaker that him hadn't even considered such implications, always thinking that the humans were scared of them. Dubour sometimes cursed the ancestors of his race, who had passed down such crooked teachings.
"Aren't there a few of those who would listen to you?" Drekov's eyes contained some sympathy, but he too, knew that there was nothing he could do to help, as a human's intervention would only cause the situation to worsen, no matter how powerful he is.
"Maybe you could even bring your beautiful wife."
"Isabella is a treasure from the heavens. I can't even fathom how such a gentle bear was born within this society of constant strife." Dubour's tone contained pride as he gushed about his wife.
"Anyway, we are setting off tomorrow. I want to give you some time to arrange everything...so, meet me at the coast my friend."
Drekov bumped fists with him before stalking off, with his large strides making the man disappear from his senses in a matter of seconds.
A sigh escaped his snout as he contemplated some things that needed to be done. For some time...ever since he had met Drekov some 50 years ago, he had felt that the winds of change were about to blow towards the beast continent. With this opportunity, he was now sure that a turning point had arrived.
*****
"Isabella, my dear! It looks like our seclusion will be coming to an end." Dubour spoke from outside the cave. It was high noon, a time when everything was hot and uncomfortable for everyone else, except those with bloodlines akin to his.
"Oh! That boy Drekov did appear to be somewhat excited when he had arrived. I had never seen him that full of energy apart from the first time he saw you." A soft growling came from within the cave before a bear, with a coat of blue fur came sautering out on all fours.
"I too, consider it a blessing to have met the lad. Anyway, it appears that a meeting with the others needs to be arranged. And this time... I won't be soft!"
But inside, Dubour was cussing. The reason was the simple fact that he hated meetings, discussions and all matters related to such endeavours. He was a bear of action. If someone needed slaying, he was the bear for the job. If an area needed trees to be cleared, he was still the bear for the job. But decision making made his thoughts become jumbled messes that would take time to untangle. It was one of the reasons he had started having his wife accompanying him to the yearly meetings with the other chiefs. Though, he didn't do much talking, simply opting to make himself appear to be just another decoration in the room. Actually, it was also because most of what they had been debating about or discussing had ceased to hold meaning to him. Its why in the recent years, he had abdicated his seat as the bear clan chieftain.
"Do you need me to accompany you this time?"
"Nah! This time I won't be listening to any complaints. They will have to follow my decision. If anyone opposes... I would love for such an idiot to jump out."
"I want you to invite Mabu. Tell him that its an opportunity. If he agrees, I want him on the western coast, the place with the city ruins."
*****
A large being with the head of an elephant bowed to Dubour. He had activated the secrets of his bloodline, allowing himself to gain a temporary transformation into humanoid form. Dubour, dipped his head a little at the greeting. The man, current clan leader of the elephant clan, titled Njovu, was one of the few beasts deserving of his respect. He was mild mannered, yet firm. And the reason he liked him more than the rest was the fact that the elephant wasn't a stickler for tradition.
Dubour grimaced at the thought. Tradition was a pain in the ass, a thing that had prevented the beasts from evolving...from embracing the technology of the humans. Many of the humans had even offered to improve their lives, yet tradition had gotten in the way... Tradition and the stickers, like the wolf oozing bloodlust on the left side of the round wooden table.
He hadn't chosen to sit upon a bigger chair, or be raised above the others as an emperor would traditionally be made. Dubour had chosen to treat all the other five as peers. Peers he was going to be working alongside of for the foreseeable future.
The wolf was trying to hide its intent to challenge him, like it always did in the meetings, but he always pretended not to give a damn. It was in its bloodline...which didnt manifest elemental or visual effects. There were many speculations about the abilities of his bloodline...but Dubour favored one...the hunt, or something close. All wolves revelled in the acquisition of prey. The challenge being more thrilling than the kill itself.
"So, our dear emperor, what caused you to summon us here?" A soft ethereal voice entered his ears. If this woman had been a bear, Dubour was very certain that he would have made her his wife by hook or crook. Though, he didn't lose hope with that as maybe, just maybe, he might transform into a true humanoid when his bloodline breaks its current shackles. If she too, managed to reach that level, then it might not be entirely off the table.
She was a fox with white fur that gave him the impression of staring at the moon. Even among her fellow brethren, she was a beauty of the highest level.
"The emperor deserves respect, Tia!"
The rumbling of this voice silenced the place. It came from a male lion, who took up the place opposite Dubour with his wife. It was rare for a tribe to have two places at the table, but this was a society based on strength, so...
"He allowed us to speak casually! He even emphasized it! Don't be such a stick in the mud, Mpogo." The wolf chasitised with a laid back voice, though his furtive glances at him were anything but.
"Wald is right, Mpogo. The reason I have called for this meeting is simple. A turning point in our lives has appeared. So..." Dubour paused here, taking in their curious gazes. He was sure that what he was about to say was going to create sparks, but that didn't matter. He had the strength to crush the flames before they could become a conflagration.
"...I am going to abolish the traditional ways, those which are preventing our kind from progressing...from evolving."
A quiet settled upon the room when he finished. A myriad of expressions flashing among all those gathered here. He couldn't read faces well, but their eyes hadn't failed to convey the immense shock rippling within.
"Tradition-"
"Wald! I am tired of you yapping about tradition! I am tired of your hunts every year that are exhausting the antelope population! I am tired of your bizarre feeding habits that have led to many others shunning this council! And I am tired of your large group of wolves that don't do anything constructive to help this continent!" Dubour smashed a paw upon the table, shattering the fragile wood it had been made from.
"Really! Are you really going to abandon the ways of our ancestors? Have you been seduced by those humans?! Don't think for a moment that we haven't noticed the human you have been cohorting with...emperor!"
That last word was sarcastically uttered. Wald had finally shown his fangs.
"Ah! I see! Your bloodline must have broken through for you to challenge me, is that it?" Dubour's golden eyes pierced through the wolf. His cunning was a nature of the bloodline. He had hidden himself deeply.
An aura so feral and wild in nature was released from the wolf's body, causing even Dubour's fur to stand on end due to its sheer malice. The others didn't even opt to stay, running as fast as they could from the hut, making exits that weren't supposed to exist, effectively collapsing the construct. Once again, Dubour felt inadequate as a leader upon seeing them giving into their instincts and fleeing. The humans would have surely stood together in the face of this threat.
The anger he felt was channelled into his bloodline, causing flames to ignite, burning the entire thatched roof to ashes before it could even make contact with his head. Saving Wald in the process had been an unfortunate outcome, though, nothing much would have happened to the Wolf, so...
"I would have loved to bide my time, to get myself more familiar with these new powers...but no! You just had to force me!"
Like blood, Wald's pupils reddened to the point that they matched the glow from Dabour's golden eyes.
"Tradition...the very thing you are trying to abolish is what's keeping this continent running. The law of the jungle is what's best for this place! If you abolish all this, our entire livelihood will crumble...the very circle of life will crumble!" Wald growled out.
"Oh! And hunting the antelopes into extinction isn't one of the factors leading to the crumble? Many beasts dread your very existence. Do you know how many claims have come to me with a proposal to cull your numbers?" Dubour spat back even as he regretted his previous actions of being an inanimate object during the meetings.
He didn't so much as move a muscle, or make any overt moves that would rile up the wolf. Drekov's intent was destruction, but Wald's entire being emanated a malice that was capable of consuming even him. He could feel it within his very bones! The fear of death! The terror of being the prey who had attracted a predator. This was Wald's bloodline...the bloodline of the wolf! Its cunningness and its will to hunt!
This was different from when he had been sparring with Drekov. A very long time had passed from when he had last felt a threat to his life...and this feeling, the one he had forgotten caused his blood itself to seethe! Not with fear, but joy!
Dubour didn't hesitate to make the flames costing his fur transform into a thin orange film. This wasn't the time to hold back. A challenge to his authority was the same as undermining his place as the emperor! That couldn't go unpunished!
No, Wald wasn't someone who could be left alive!
Taking a step, he appeared right in front of the wolf where he proceeded to slash down with his paw, his claws on full display with the orange hue that was causing the very air itself to ignite and burn.
The wolf retreated, evading the claws with a mere small movement. He had almost forgotten that wolves were built for speed. But with the control he had over his own form, it was very easy to keep up.
Sparks scattered as claw met claw, creating a symphony of sound, like metal hitting metal. So far, none had managed to gain advantage of the other. The terrain was the one suffering the punishment of their stray attacks.
A claw slipped past his own defending paws, only to harmlessly fall onto his coat of fur, coaxing out the same metallic sound as his claws, though the same happened when his attack managed to connect with the wolf, causing both to be momentarily pushed away from each other.
He lunged once again, and this time he gave up the humanoid form, transitioning back to his natural form, where he gained some serious weight and muscle.
A shockwave rippled out as his hardened head made contact with Wald's hasty defense, with the wolf being hurled away from the hut's ruins and into the cliff face where a wolf shaped hole was created.
Dubour didn't pursue another attack, opting to wait for it to dig itself out of the rock.
Catching a certain drift in the air, he dodged, only for a thin line to open up within the ground where he had been before. But, before he could even investigate more, a curse appeared within his mind, just at the tip of his tongue as the wolf materialised just in front of him, on all fours, its mouth coming dangerously close to one of his front limbs!
With a conscious thought, more heat was released from his body, causing its fur to start burning and its facial skin to blister while the eyes appeared to redden even more, but Wald appeared to be made of a sterner will. These were the consequences of the wolf's bloodline, which made them feral.
With a powerful application of force, the ground sunk as he pushed himself up into the air, with the wolf passing through his previous place.
With a growl filled with rage, he pounced towards the wolf, his teeth sinking into its back, only for it to twist itself out of his clutches before they could dig even deeper.
"An emperor should do what's best for the race! For the beasts! I know you have been gunning for this position...but I will tell you right now that unless you kill me, there is absolutely no way I am allowing you to rise up!" Dubour huffed out as Wald turned to face him, slashing at the very air itself, giving rise to wind blades which he dodged effortlessly.
"The law of the jungle is the only way! Nothing else matters! Not the humans! We have been thriving ever since we had evolved to become intelligent enough! Why should we change!" Wald shouted even as he lunged after discovering the futility of his long range attacks.
This time, he caught the wolf's snout with his paws, twisting the thing, trying to wring its neck only for a claw to make contact with one of his eyes, gouging it out and bringing about the first serious injury of the fight.
In his rage, he unleashed the full might of his flames, causing the wolf's snout to sizzle as he burnt off the lower jaw. But that also made it easier for Wald to slip out of the hold he had gotten him under.
Blinded in one eye, Dubour started to see this battle as one he might lose for the first time in his life...and also possibly the last. Death was breathing down his neck at this very moment. He could feel it in his blood, but all the more that it made him feral.
He didn't know how hot he was burning, but judging by the way his vision of the wolf was distorting through his lone eye, it had to be pretty hot. Plus, he was also starting to feel the strain. The heat had started affecting even him.
But, he was smug about the damage he had wrought against that malicious wolf. Its entire lower jaw had been burned off, only leaving behind dripping saliva mixed with blood. The ferocity in its gaze had receded somewhat, and seeing that its eyes were roaming the surroundings, he developed an idea of what its plan was. He could not allow it!
It was time to push his body to its limits. That was what his instincts were telling him. If he didn't, the wolf was most definitely going to escape.
Dubour didn't hesitate for more than a split second before he activated his bloodline to the limits, causing the pain of burns to eat away at his mind. With a mighty explosion, caused by releasing a mighty explosion beneath his pawed feet, he appeared right before the wolf in an instant, robbing him of any action Wald might have taken.
With the activation of his bloodline fully, he sensed a shackle, that was barring his bloodline from reaching the next stage. Even when he had sparred with that brat Drekov, he had never sensed anything like it.
Within his lone eye, he captured the blood red pupils of the wolf widening in shock and terror, the small movement of its limbs as it attempted to dodge the orange claw he was about to bring down. Wald was so slow to him, like time had slowed down for the feral wolf.
Dubour captured everything, even the change that happened when the wolf felt that there was no way it was going to survive, the pleading within its eyes, but now was not the time for softness.
So, with a single swipe, Wald's head was separated from the rest of his body.
A myriad of emotions and feelings rushed Dubour all at once, and with a lift of his foot, another small crater was created within the ground as bone, brains and blood splattered all around.
But the amalgam of emotions didn't abate, instead increasing in power, fuelling the expansion of his chest until...
GROWWWWWWWWL!
The very air itself vibrated and rippled as the shockwave alone caused the dust to rise and the trees within the gaze of his lone eye to sway with his might. Those who had fled from the meeting became compelled to grovel into the ground as his menacing gaze locked onto them.
After that mighty stunt, he crouched low and dug into the spoils of his victory, Wald's corpse.
Though the wolf had lost, his bloodline had advanced to a level equal to his, making him the most delectable meal he had had in forever. Now, this was a tradition that could be kept around!
Even as he feasted, faint excitement loomed within his mind at the new dawn that the beast continent was about to be ushered in.