The entity vanished, as if it were more an illusion than a reality. Still, I found it quite intriguing.
The dragon noticed my presence—a Western dragon, completely maddened, as Iron First had pointed out. Though its strength didn't seem overly diminished, it was likely influenced by that entity.
However, a being that attacks recklessly can never be a flawless opponent, leaving plenty of openings to exploit.
It flew toward me, unleashing a torrent of searing, powerful flames. I used teleportation to move aside, as it's more practical for short distances compared to Kai Kai or Apparition. At my new position, I raised both hands.
"Ice Make: Eagles."
I created two massive ice eagles that soared toward it. Confused by my sudden disappearance, the dragon quickly turned its attention to the new threat.
Its flames enveloped one of the eagles, nearly destroying it. Though its claws managed to scratch its mouth, the attack was rendered ineffective due to the weakening. Fortunately, there was still the second eagle, which swiftly latched onto the upper part of the dragon's body, attempting to pierce its scales. While it managed to inflict some minor damage, it wasn't significant.
The dragon swung its massive tail, smashing the second eagle, which began to crack, while the first was utterly obliterated by its claws.
Seeing this, the dragon tried to locate me again, but I was already above it. Both of my hands now held dense, powerful tornadoes.
**"Here's a tornado for you!"**
I hurled the tornadoes at the dragon, forcing it to crash into the ground with tremendous force. Countless scratches and cuts adorned its body as it lay heavily pressed into the earth. My eyes, enhanced by Haki of Observation, carefully analyzed its energy.
A plan began forming in my mind. I couldn't completely defeat the dragon, but I could "purify" its energy and immobilize it for a time.
From the ground, it glared at me and unleashed a full-force Dragonbreath.
Seeing the flames rushing toward me, I raised my wand with my right hand to test their potency.
**"Aqua Eructo."**
With the incantation, a torrent of water clashed against the dragon's flames. Holding my wand steady, I battled its fire while drawing on the energy of the surrounding environment. Unfortunately, its flames proved stronger than my spell. Undeterred, I teleported once again.
**"Incarcerous."**
I conjured a massive magical rope to bind its jaws tightly. It thrashed, trying to break free, but the ropes were resilient.
**"Apparate."**
I appeared beneath the dragon and used my wand to conjure cords of light, anchoring them to the ground.
A total of three cords restrained it—one on its tail and two on its feet. I also applied psychic pressure, using my immense mental power and ancient domination techniques to suppress it.
**"Teleport."**
With another teleportation, I cast two spells, consuming about 70% of my mana.
**"Ice Make: Grand Eagles."**
Unlike the previous ones, these two eagles were a deep blue, considerably larger, and significantly enhanced in strength, speed, and durability. They used their massive bodies to pin the dragon even further.
I reappeared beneath it, intensifying my psychic and ancient powers to slow its movements. The eagles and light cords contained its physical and fiery attacks, though the ropes binding its mouth wouldn't last much longer. Once free, its flames would begin to damage the light cords and my ice creations.
Regardless, I summoned fire to both hands, this time without its usual fiery aura, and began purifying the dragon, cleansing it of the entity's energy.
As expected, the cords soon snapped, and its fiery breath started weakening the remaining restraints. Its body also strained harder against the bindings. Fortunately, the ice eagles held firm, buying me time.
As its flames neared, the fire around me expanded, consuming and neutralizing them. I kept moving and purifying, feeling its strength and rage diminish ever so slightly with each moment. Though still in a berserk state, its attacks grew subtly less ferocious.
When I finally removed the last traces of energy, a surge of power erupted from the dragon, aimed directly at me. It appeared to be a black orb, containing even more energy than my previous encounter with such forces.
Reacting instantly, I teleported and summoned even more fire energy. A draconic, Eastern-style body formed around me, charging straight at the orb.
The collision unleashed wave after wave of energy and fire, forcing even the dragon to retreat momentarily. It seemed to awaken briefly from its berserk state as my beautiful ice creations were obliterated.
In the air, a fiery red dragon clashed with the amorphous black entity, their battle radiating immense, overwhelming power.
In the end, despite the black entity's enraged roar, the dragon consumed and destroyed it.
After the fiery dragon returned to my body, I sat down, activating my energy techniques and Jedi-like focus to regain calm.
"I can't use my flames for a while... The soul energy cost was immense. Better avoid using witchcraft too. I'll need to rely on Kai Kai to leave this place."
I murmured to myself, calming my breathing.
The dragon, however, reverted to its frenzied state and began flying toward the city. Taking a deep breath, I summoned the power of wind and readied my divine weapon in my right hand, flying after it.
### Iron Fist's POV
I climbed onto the large fire hound summoned by Brother Adrian and rushed toward the city at full speed.
Along the way, we encountered more enemies, but I didn't act.
The massive hound crushed them with its flames and powerful paws. When that wasn't enough, I saw something—a small, shadowy light that struck one of the enemies in the head. It seemed to emerge from my own shadow, bouncing animatedly like a tiny sphere. After taking down its target, it returned to the darkness at my feet.
We soon arrived at the village, and I saw one of the places I grew up in engulfed in flames. The fire consumed the buildings slowly, while members of *The Hand*—clad in red—continued their attack, destroying everything in their path.
I noticed bodies sprawled on the ground as though their very essence had been severed. Thankfully, a few of the combat masters from the old temple were still fighting to survive. Among them, I spotted my best friend, Davos, in the distance.
"Rand!"
When he saw me, his face held no joy—only indignation and fury. Without hesitation, he launched an attack, striking me with punches and kicks.
"Davos! Stop this! I came to help!"
"Help?"He scoffed bitterly.
"You, the one who passed the trial to become the Iron Fist? The one who 'defeated' me in combat? You abandoned our people to live your other life. Who wants your help?"
His voice was filled with anger and resentment, and every word felt like a blow to my heart. Still, the words of two people came to mind—my girlfriend, Collin, and my greatest ally and close friend, Adrian.
"I know I should have fulfilled my duty, and that's why I'm here now. But I don't regret my actions," I said with newfound conviction.
"I needed to reconnect with my biological family, to understand where I came from. I've taken on other responsibilities since then. The original duty of the Iron Fist may be to protect K'un-Lun, but that is no longer my sole purpose."
Davos's expression hardened further.
"Then you are unworthy,"he declared, charging at me with bloodlust in his eyes.
Our battle raged on. Fortunately, the shadowy sphere and the massive fire hound left behind by the Immortal aided the villagers, holding back the invading forces.
It was then that we were forced to pause.
Massive tremors shook the ground beneath us, and moments later, we heard two thunderous roars.
In the distance, a breathtaking scene unfolded in the sky—a fiery red dragon, seemingly capable of bending reality itself, battled and defeated an otherworldly creature.
At first, one might think the dragon was Shou-Lao, but the elders and I quickly realized otherwise. Its aura and heat were far more terrifying, while the other creature's energy reminded me of The Hand's dark power.
With a final, agonizing cry of rage, the strange entity vanished as the dragon emerged victorious.
As the spectacle ended, our fight did not resume. A familiar voice broke through from behind us.
"Iron Fist, go face your foe. Warrior, and my son Davos... eliminate the external enemies first."
We turned to see an elder, red stains on his robes and a sword in hand. His expression carried both a gentle smile and commanding seriousness.
Because of the discipline ingrained in us during our youth, we could not refuse his words. Without further argument, we immediately left to fulfill his orders.