"Damn it! I'm too late?!" yelled Raiyen as he rushed towards Wald but was halted by Scarlet.
Phanm wasted no time to fire another round of shots at Scarlet, wounding her arm severely. As the Time Mage left, the Campanian King rushed out to fight Scarlet, dodging her whip lashes and getting some hits on her. But as she charged up another spell, Phanm retreated.
"Behold! The legend of consequence and greed! You were the one who slayed your father to covet his gold. Thus, becoming the feared guardian of the gold, striking terror to those that opposed you! Bellow through the caves, Dragon of Avarice, Fafnir!" chanted Wald.
Unfortunately, Fafnir failed to mention that once Wald had accepted the offer, there was a chance that he might not retain his memories. Like the infamous legend, the more the Dragon takes control, the more beast-like the individual will become.
This resulted in the purple flame head stuck in his mind, unable to understand why he couldn't control his actions anymore. Was it the Corruption, or did Fafnir trick him? He found himself standing in a dark cave with no opening in sight.
Wald soon started walking forward as he saw a shimmer of golden light, hoping it could wake him up before he did something he would regret in the real world. As he approached nearer to the light source, Wald reeled back in terror, widening his eyes as he chanced upon...
"This is MY gold!" roared the beast, sitting upon a pile of shiny treasures.
The beast, a soot-black Dragon with obsidian scales, swiped its tail in Wald's direction. The purple flame head jumped out of harm's way and angrily glanced back at the Dragon.
"What do you think you are doing?! This is my head, so you should get out! And besides, I don't need your damned riches! I just wanna-"
Wald stopped yelling as he realized that the Dragon was also blocking a door, most likely the way to wake up from his mind. The purple flame head sighed and summoned his axe, holding it by his side to show he wasn't keen on fighting.
The Dragon lifted his snout to point upwards and unleashed an earth-shattering roar while getting up from the gold.
"I'm not going to greet the Dragon who saved me from the Corruption Element with a savage beatdown, so I need you to step away from the exit. I'm not here for your treasure. I just wanna go home..." pleaded Wald as he mustered a shadow of a smile.
Despite Wald's sincerity and crooked smile, the Dragon had no intention of listening to him and raised its left leg to stomp on Wald. Luckily, the purple flame head lifted his axe to stop the foot while also slashing it, causing the Dragon to retreat its foot in terror.
"Like I said... I don't intend to fight you so-"
The Dragon was furious as it drew to full height to announce its declaration of war against Wald. It then lowered its head and opened its mouth, absorbing streams of black and green Elemental Energy to form an orb.
"This is not good..." complained Wald as he prepared to face the attack head-on.
A massive beam of black and green Elemental Energy launched from the Dragon's mouth and barrelled towards the awaiting Mage. Wald prayed to all the Gods as he lifted his axe to defend himself.
The spell clashed against his axe, forcing Wald's feet to plunge into the ground with the sheer weight his axe was bearing. Without his usual power, Wald had no choice but to rely on his strength and endurance to defeat this Dragon.
But how could he? He was a Mage all his life... And now his up against a Dragon, for God's sake! How do you expect him to fight such a beast without his Elemental Power or any spells?!
"I ain't a miracle worker, you know!" yelled Wald, with such anger and sheer power that when he flung the axe upwards, the beam was deflected and shot straight to the ceiling.
Wald was panting after finally getting rid of the weight of the spell while also being slightly miffed at the Dragon not stepping down. The purple flame head's flame burned brighter as the Dragon sprinted towards him. Wald was not having it today.
"Maybe sometimes, it's better to let your fury overtake you. When I get angry, I can sometimes lift things that I usually can't when I'm calm. Or when anyone close to me is in danger, I get a surge of adrenaline and anger that my strength is enough to pack a punch."
"So that's why your dorm has so many holes... You're not doing a good job in covering them up with wool, Phanm..."