Chapter 43: Dragonslayer Festival IV
Notes:
One more chapter for this arc after this! The mystery known as Haneul Park becomes de-mystified and our heroes clash in a battle of will and ideals! Well not really, more like Ibaraki fights someone for fun... again... because that is how she makes friends. I tried to do my own version of Ilpyo teaching Mori in battle with Haneul and Ibaraki here. This chapter could alternatively be titled 'Shamelessly Plagiarizing Techniques: A Guide', see if you can recognize them all! Anyway, this was pretty fun to write so I hope you all enjoy it.
Chapter Text
I dust myself off and watch how Haneul reacts to my entrance curiously. It may have been rude to make an entrance the way I did, spraying sand everywhere, but I wanted to quickly gauge his temperament.
I spin around when someone pats me on the top of my head. Haneul gives me a warm smile and retracts his hand. "You missed a bit of sand on the top there."
Letting out a sharp bark of laughter I extend my hand, "You're Haneul Park, right? Ungnyeo mentioned your name to me earlier."
"I am," He says, shaking my hand. "It's interesting meeting people our own age who are so strong, isn't it?"
"Ha, it sure is." My eyes narrow and my smile widens, "Enough pleasantries though. How about we have a quick spar instead?"
The corner of his mouth twitches upward as he looks down at our hands which are still connected. "I was wondering why you were shaking my hand for so long."
My grip tightens as my Touki flares up, "I didn't want you to have in escape route if you didn't agree."
"That's funny, I was thinking the same thing."
I blink as his knee appears in the corner of my vision, accelerating towards my chin. I let the attack land, knowing I can heal any damage quickly, and wanting to gauge his strength.
At the last second, the angle of the strike changes and his knee collides with my ear. Pain flares in the area and starbursts explode across my vision. My knees wobble as nausea wells up inside me. I heal the damage to my ear quickly but realize I lost my grip on his hand.
My world is turned sideways and my legs are swept out from underneath me. I catch a smile on his face as he follows up the sweep with a kick to my stomach that launches me away.
Neither of the strikes does any damage to anything other than my pride. Still, as I right myself in mid-air and my legs dig furrows into the sand, I end up smiling too.
"I was watching you fight out there and I noticed something," He says, "You're too confident in your durability and healing."
I tilt my head and smile placidly, "I have every reason to be confident in both of those."
He shrugs and stretches his legs, "You can think that if you want."
I frown as his form flickers causing a spike of pain in my head. He seems surprised when I block the knee strike he aims at my chest.
"You were able to see that?" He says with an excited grin.
"Yeah, it was annoying though. My physical senses didn't want to recognize you were there but my Ki sense was fine." I say, slashing at his head with my claws.
He laughs happily leaning his head back and grabbing my arm before twisting his body sideways. The action confuses me until I feel his foot pull back behind my ankle causing me to fall backward.
My eyes widen and I tilt my head to the side as he falls with me his other knee unerringly falling toward my face. The striking surface of his knee is covered in a dense, focused layer of Touki. There's a loud boom as his knee collides with the beach, the Touki firing out on impact.
Apparently, he can put a lot more power into his attacks if he wants. I think that was more of a warning than anything.
He dismounts and gains distance again before I can do anything. I stand up warily but he doesn't seem to be interested in attacking at the moment.
"Your senses are good! Most people wouldn't be able to react when I use that stepping method. It was developed so people wouldn't be able to track the practitioner's movements, after all." He shakes his head, still smiling.
"It's actually a bit disappointing that you could see through it." I frown before erasing my presence.
"Something like this, right?" He startles when I speak.
"Woah… Yeah, exactly like that." Haneul scratches his head looking a little embarrassed. "If you can erase your presence that well it's no wonder you saw through my technique."
"All my stepping method does is use breathing techniques and subtle movements to hide in an opponents subconscious. You almost ceased to exist for a moment there." I bite my lip at the praise not wanting to say any more about my technique.
I've only used it once other than now and that was when I was a child. I doubt that would be welcome information; if anything it would be demoralizing for someone who worked hard to accomplish a lesser technique.
"I'll just use this technique then." He says, his strides changing to a different rhythm and using pure speed he appears in front of me.
He kicks the inside of my leg, breaking my stance, and follows the attack with a flurry of punches. My brows furrow in confusion since all the punches are fairly weak and easily blockable. I was even able to recover my stance because of the lack of power behind his strikes.
After the thirtieth punch that fails to do any damage he grins, jabbing his thumbs into my forearms. I blink in surprise when I lose feeling in my arms and they both go limp. I'm so shocked in fact, that I eat a vicious axe kick to the top of my head that knocks me back a few steps.
I try to heal my arms from whatever weird acupuncture strike that was but find my Ki won't follow my control.
"As I said, you're too confident in your durability and healing," Haneul says with a more relaxed posture.
I give a weak smile to that, conceding the point. The feeling is slowly coming back to my arms though since even without Ki to speed it up, I do have limited regeneration.
"You underestimate the efforts humans have made to make the most of their limited strength." I can't help but laugh at that statement.
"No, I just dislike the lack of effort most humans put into using their 'limited strength'. People like you, who have clearly trained hard all their lives, I can respect." My own student's efforts come to mind as I say this. If I truly thought humans were weak and useless I wouldn't have trained him.
"Oh, I can respect that outlook then." He says apparently believing me that easily.
If he has been watching us this whole time he would have seen me interacting with humans amiably.
Clenching my fists as the feeling comes back I charge in again. He brushes aside my testing jab, gaining an intense expression as the force of my punch blows past him. He must have realized that a single punch landing will either kill or seriously injure him.
My other hand forms a claw and slashes across his stomach. It misses him as he curls his core inward and my eyes narrow when I notice he started moving before I did.
That same arm I was attacking with bends at the elbow and changes direction. The claw strike turns into an upwards elbow strike aimed at his chin and sure enough, he moves his head out of the way.
He hits me in the stomach with a front kick, pushing himself backwards. Knowing he's trying to gain distance, I move with him.
I can see the sharp look in his eyes as he analyzes my movements. He taps his back foot on the ground to get himself airborne. His backward momentum is shifting to rotational force as he aims a spinning back kick at my head.
Seeing this I grin and raise my arm to block it, already planning to finish this with my other arm.
Again, he surprises me by bending his knee and hooking my arm. He uses my arm as a lever to wrap his other leg around my neck and bends backwards as far as he can. In an impressive display of flexibility, he touches the ground with his palms and throws me backwards.
I'm able to follow the rotation of the throw and land back on my feet a short distance away. The fact I couldn't read him and fell for another feint is annoying.
"Your second weakness is that you fight and think like an animal," Haneul says rolling his shoulders.
"You always aim for vital points and expect everyone else to do the same. It makes you predictable and any enemy that sets up their real attack with multiple moves in advance incomprehensible for you." I bite my lip and furrow my brows thinking back.
Maybe I haven't had that problem because I never truly fought a peer?
I clench my hands into fists and my lips pull back into a feral smile, a hysterical laugh bubbling up, "This is great! Keep showing me more!"
I stomp the ground with all my strength and watch him lose his balance from the localized earthquake.
He almost looks bored as I launch myself at him laughing. He sighs as my clawed hand spears towards his heart and leans out of the way.
That bored look morphs into pained surprise as my knee impacts his side. He stumbles and I bounce kicking him on the other side with my opposite leg.
Backing off, I let him recover as I bounce on the balls of my feet excitedly. He spits out a glob of blood and wipes away the trail leaking down his chin. "You learn fast."
I grin and scratch the back of my neck, "When it comes to having lessons beaten into you: you won't find anyone faster than me!"
He shakes his head with a faint smile, "I'm not sure whether that is something to be proud of."
I jab my thumb into my chest, "I'm not ashamed of who I am. I take pride in all of me, the good and the bad."
Haneul laughs, "You ready for one last lesson before I stop holding back then, Ibaraki?"
I snort and fall into a stable stance, "I'm not quitting now when I'm having so much fun."
He grits his teeth and there's a flash of light around his left leg. His pant leg vaporizes below his knee and when the light dies down his skin from his knee down is covered in deep green, almost black, scales.
The ground and the air around him explode as he disappears -His speed and strength being many times greater than a second prior. He reappears faster than I can react, right in front of me with both his hands touching my abdomen. One hand is pointed upward and the other is directly below it pointed down.
He smirks and swiftly rotates his forearms inverting the positioning of his hands. His Ki, which was focused into his hands, is injected into my body and forms a whirlpool. My own Ki flows into the whirlpool from the rest of my body and he jabs his thumbs inward.
The entirety of my Ki fuels a precise explosion, initiated by him, that ruptures my organs and explodes out my back in a blinding flash of light.
I look down at the gaping hole where the attack went off, blood dripping from the wound, and try to laugh. Instead, I choke on some blood because the lower third of my lungs were torn up in the attack.
Grinning at him, I sink down into a lotus position shakily and draw in Ki from the environment to replenish my emptied reserves. Once I've drawn enough in I work on repairing the massive void he made in my abdomen.
"Your third weakness is that you're too inexperienced and inefficient in your Ki use." He sits down across from me and his foot returns to normal.
He flicks me in the head when I stare at his foot for too long. "You have insane amounts of Ki -which I'm pretty jealous of, to be honest. What's the point of having all that power if you can't make the best use of it?"
I frown and think it over, nodding. I have neglected more esoteric or complex manipulations of Ki until recently. I haven't needed anything other than healing and Touki but that could change in the future.
I flex my abs to make sure they healed right and lean forward with a wide smile and sparkling eyes. "I'm convinced! You should teach me!"
His eyes widen in surprise and he falls backwards. Laughing I hop to my feet and help him up, "It'll be fun! I'll even teach you how to heal yourself like I do and refine your body until it's…"
I tap my finger on my chin and look him up and down, "Well, until your body is a tenth as strong as mine is."
"Sadly, your body isn't ever going to be as perfect as mine." I lament dramatically.
Haneul laughs, "The Ki manipulation I've learned is kind of something passed down in my family. I don't think I'm allowed to teach outsiders."
I pout, thinking that over. "Do you have a hot sister? That way I can marry into your family!"
He snorts, "Aren't you already flirting with Vermillion Bird Inheritor? Who would have thought you were a womanizer too."
"This and that are two separate things! I promise I'd be faithful to your sister and never break our marital bond." I give him a scouts salute and he sighs with a smile.
"I don't have a sister, sorry." I bite my lip and look him over.
"...How comfortable would you be with wearing a dress?" He pauses and gives me a flat glare.
"How comfortable would you be with another beating?" I grin batting my eyelashes.
"Promises promises~"
He pinches the bridge of his nose muttering, "Usually people are less excited about fighting me again."
"Those people are wimps! I'd never turn down a fight with a friend." He gives me a searching look.
"Is that what we are now?" I beam at him and nod happily.
"Anybody who gives me a good fight like that is definitely a friend." I cross my arms, "You're still alive, aren't you? That's the only difference between my friends and enemies."
His brows shoot up, "What an… enlightened world view."
"Suzaku tried to kill me on our first meeting too!" My pulse picks up and my stomach becomes unsettled as I come to a harsh realization.
By that same logic, since I haven't killed Susanoo yet… we're friends…
"Noooooooo!" I fall to my knees and scream skyward.
"Are you alright now?" Haneul says after I've recovered from my breakdown.
"Yeah, I'm good." I've consoled myself with the knowledge that I didn't kill Susanoo because I couldn't
Sure, that makes it so my pride is hurt but it conveniently sidesteps any scenario where we are friends. I can deal with inadequacy, friendship with that smug prick? Unacceptable.
"Are you ready to continue fighting?" I ask, cracking my knuckles.
Haneul laughs sheepishly, "About that… While you were having your, um, issue, I remembered that we're still here to hunt dragons. I forgot in the excitement of fighting you but I still need to kill at least one."
I sigh unhappily but understand his point, "Fine, I'll let you off this time. On that subject, why haven't you been fighting with the rest of us?"
"How do I say this," He scratches his chin, "I can't fight at my full potential for too long so it's better to fight something worthwhile."
"A stamina issue? You didn't look like you were struggling to keep up with me earlier." I point out earning a nod from him.
"It's more of an incompatibility issue. Human-sized targets I can fight for a while at high levels. I have to use my Scared Gear or Secret Techniques to defeat giant opponents. Their bodies soak up too much damage and their attack radius are too large." I gasp and smile excitedly.
"So that was a Sacred Gear! I've never actually seen one before!" He chuckles and leans away, embarrassed at the attention.
"Yeah, mine is a Twice Critical." There's a flash of light again as he draws the Sacred Gear out.
I whistle as I get my first real good look at it. It isn't just a bunch of scales wrapped around his foot and lower leg but a slender armoured boot. Each toe is able to move or flex freely and have a sharp draconic claw at the tip. His heel also has a rearward-facing spike which made any kick that uses his heel more deadly.
"A subspecies then," I say, not needing confirmation. Still, I do have a question about that…
"When you used it to close the distance between us the boost was a lot more than double." He looks surprised that I caught that and grins.
"That's the stamina issue I was talking about. I trained a lot with my Sacred Gear to improve the boost, otherwise, it would be useless against higher-end opponents. I can go up to fifty times at my maximum right now without Balance Breaker." He looks proud but deflates at the end.
"Ah, the higher the boost you give yourself, the faster it drains your stamina." He frowns and shakes his head.
"It isn't just that. Higher tier boosts are a property of the Longinus-Class Sacred Gear: The Boosted Gear." He says flexing the draconic limb.
"I'm not so much boosting my abilities higher but condensing the draconic aura tighter. It has the same effect, I guess, the issue is that it is both more draining and physically damaging." He dissipates the Sacred Gear and now that I'm looking for it I can see a faint tremor in his leg.
"Prolonged use will both destroy my body and drain my lifespan." Haneul stares forlornly at the sky and sighs.
I punch him on the shoulder lightly and give him a smile, "What you can do is still amazing. I bet the next Red Dragon Emperor will be a useless pervert and never have a tenth of the skill you have in a single leg."
He barks out a laugh and punches me back, "That would be an amusing sight no matter how unlikely. Thank though, you're not half bad, Ibaraki."
If only he knew that it wasn't conjecture.
"Alright, after we're all done here, I'm coming back to South Korea and we're finishing our fight!" I decide for us both.
"That would be a great plan except I'm not going to have time to fight you for a while after this." I blink owlishly not understanding the nonsensical words.
If you don't have time to fight me, reschedule the useless 'not fighting me' activities. That's just common sense!
"I have military service when I get back." He says with a proud smile.
"Wait what?" I say dumbly, "You can dodge bullets though… You could kick through a person easily… What the hell are you going to do?"
"My Father and Grand-Father both trained recruits in hand-to-hand combat so I'll probably be doing that too." I squint and my hands twitch as I try to grasp these nonsensical words.
"No, I'm saying you along could probably destroy a city if you wanted. How can you be enlisted in the military?" He looks at me like I'm saying something weird.
"It's my duty as a citizen?" The words come out confused as though he's wondering why I'm asking.
"You know what, fine, but in… two years?" He nods having understood the implicit question, "I'm coming to your dojo and we're fighting. If you haven't improved I'll be disappointed because I'll destroy you in combat by then!"
He smiles and there is an excited gleam to his eyes, "I look forward to your progress. I hope you're prepared for your inevitable defeat though."
"Ha, same to you buddy." I sling my arm around his shoulder and start dragging him over to the others.
"By the way, that last attack was brutal. If you had done that to anyone else they would be dead right now." Haneul glances at me sideways.
"I think you're misunderstanding something. I held back on that technique to not kill you. The full Dragon Tiger Gate Celestial Roar would have vaporized your body completely." I know it's supposed to be an intimidating name but I can't help myself and start to laugh.
"Pffft. Not if you had to say the full name before using it." I wipe a tear out from under my eye as he stares at me offended.
"It's a noble name that has been passed down for generations." He says petulantly.
I pat him on the head patronizingly, "Sure it is."
Dragon Tiger Gate Celestial Roar, hah, what a name for a technique. What is the name of your axe kick, Ying-Yang Heaven Smashing Cleaver? His ancestors definitely had Eighth-grader Syndrome.
"I would have killed you too if I didn't pull my punches." I point out trying to get a rise out of him.
Sadly he just nods placidly, "You definitely would have."
I groan, "It's no fun if you agree sensibly. Where's the furious denial?"
He smirks and shrugs causing me to pout. Dammit, he knows how to counter me now! My weak point has been spotted so easily.
"Come on, you're meeting everyone," I state and start to drag him over to the others without waiting for his response.
He shrugs, "I wasn't avoiding them. I just wanted to see how everyone fights first."
"It's okay, Big Sis Ibaraki will protect you if they try to gang up on you." He snorts and I grin. The ball is in your court now.
"Please protect me, Big Sis." He says in the driest tone I've ever heard.
Shit. He learns too fast.
"Fine, just come on." I pout, swearing my revenge for this indignity. I'll figure out how to tease you eventually.
Thankfully everyone seems to be getting along as we approach. They're all still making light conversation and Bikou is the first to sense our arrival. He turns away from chatting up Rossweisse, who had arrived since I left and grins when he spots the two of us.
"Yo, Ibaraki, you brought the shy loner over." Predictably, Haneul doesn't rise to the bait, causing Bikou's grin to dim.
I know the feeling, Bikou. I send him a commiserating glance, our Korean rival is a tough nut to crack.
"This is Haneul Park!" I say, drawing everyone's attention and pushing him forward lightly, "He's a little shy so be gentle with him."
Yu Wei looks determined hearing this and nods at me seriously, "It is nice to meet you, Brother Park, I am the Frostflame Daoist Yu Wei. You may call me Daoist Yu We're all kind people so there is no need to be scared."
Bikou and I snicker at how serious she is about this. Unlike Haneul who is unflappable, Yu Wei's sheltered innocence is much more amusing.
The man in question sighs and gives Yu Wei a gentle smile. "Thank you for settling my nerves, Daoist Yu."
"Un, it is no trouble." She nods cutely.
"I'm Bikou, this generation's Monkey King," Bikou says giving him a firm handshake. "We were worried for a minute that only one of you would return."
"I'm not that easy to kill," I mutter lowly.
"Haneul Park, 5th Successor of Ssam-su Taekkyeon." He says with an easy-going expression, "Ibaraki was kind enough to hold back and give me a chance."
"Ugh, you're too modest," Bikou says scrunching up his nose in distaste. Haneul just shrugs and continues going around introducing himself.
Bikou watches him go around with a shake of his head, "You're weak to that kind of personality too, huh."
I run a hand through my hair despondently, "Yep. My natural enemy."
"You, uh, getting chilly there?" The Monkey King glances down at my torso and I follow his vision.
My clothing was destroyed in Haneul's last attack and there is only some fabric hanging on my shoulders and loosely falling over my breasts.
I glance at Bikou and smirk, "You worried you'll have to fight at full mast if these puppies pop out in combat?"
He snorts, eyes returning to mine, "Not as much as I'm worried you'll end up throwing your back out if they start bouncing around."
"Sure sure. I don't begrudge you trying to sneak a peak, I am gorgeous." I run my fingers up my abs, "You could powder stone on these."
"You have no shame at all, do you?" He says with a wry smirk.
"Shame has no place on the battlefield!" I say, snapping a salute and sticking my tongue out. The motion serves to cause the remains of my shirt to flutter upward.
My eyes glimmer with mirth as his dart to the motion. "Oh, so close. You almost got your first glimpse at a real woman."
He rolls his eyes, "If you see a real woman let me know. I only see an annoying brat."
"Whatever you need to console yourself with, little guy." I wave him off with a grin, looking around the group.
"Is Shinobu still not here?" Bikou raises an eyebrow at my question.
"The Tengu girl?" He asks and I nod. "I certainly haven't seen her. You're not her minder though."
"Well yeah but…" I say trying to put my thoughts in order. "I don't think she would have just left. She was really proud of how hard she worked to get here. It wouldn't make sense."
"I would've felt her Ki signature snuff out if she died and so would you," Bikou points out.
"That's why I'm so confused." I sigh in frustration.
Our discussion is interrupted by a series of earth-shattering roars ringing out over the waters.
Four dragons dwarfing all the ones prior emerge from the sea and begin battling each other. Each dragon is positively titanic in size, easily over a kilometre in length, with proportionate circumference.
Things take another turn when a fifth dragon emerges from the waters biting one of the others in half, bringing their numbers back down to four. It starts to ravenously devour the fresh corpse as the others stop their fighting in favour of avoiding the largest.
If the other three dragons are over a kilometre in length, this last one is the length of all three combined. Its length isn't the only dimension that significantly surpasses the others, its width and height are bigger by a similar amount.
Still, with all of us here we can handle them fairly easy. Some coordination will make them a non-issue. Hell, I'm itching to go out and take a shot at any of these monstrous serpents.
No, what makes me concerned is that in between bites from the largest dragon's cavernous maw, I catch a glimpse of Shinobu hanging on for dear life to the sword she has stabbed into the roof of its mouth.
She seems to have a good grip and is in a position she isn't being hit by the food the dragon is swallowing. Still, I'm not liking the chances of her hanging on for a while.
"I found her," I say in a dead tone.
"Yeah, I noticed that too. We're rescuing her right?" I glance to Bikou who is smirking, "The Old Monkey would kill me if I didn't play hero here."
I sigh in relief, "Thank you. Do you think the others will help?"
Bikou flexes and winks, "I'm strong enough it won't matter if they help."
I walk over to Seiryuu and grab him by the shoulder. He squawks in indignation but I ignore him and drag him to Chongyun. Bikou thankfully followed me, too amused to not watch.
"Unhand me you brute." I stare at Seiryuu blankly and he has the decency to flush at his statement.
"Sieryuu, you, me and Bikou are going to handle the biggest one and Chongyun is going to save Shinobu since he's the fastest." The Roc Demon King preens at the praise while Seiryuu objects.
"Why should I do anything? We all made it here on our own strength, if she couldn't handle this she shouldn't have come." He huffs and I bare my teeth at him in a parody of a smile.
"Really? So you aren't worried that in an event that will receive international notice we will be known as the cohort that had a member die? You're less concerned about being a laughing stock than I thought." He pales and I lean in close, whispering in his ear.
"Stop being difficult and pretending like you don't care. I won't say this out loud but you aren't that terrible of a person." He sighs and straightens out his tie dramatically.
"I suppose if you all can't handle this yourself I can assist. What's your plan?" I grin at his attitude, eager to tease him about it later.
"You Seiryuu will use the Wood Phase to grow bindings over the dragon's mouth to pull it open." There is a question on the tip of his tongue but I raise my hand to forestall it.
"Bikou and I will use Senjutsu to enhance the vines or trees you grow, giving you the power to follow through with the plan." Bikou nods thoughtfully and Seiryuu retracts his question.
I turn to the Monkey King in question, "Bikou, how large and thick can you make your staff?"
He waggles his eyebrows but answers my question, "I can stop its mouth from closing for a moment if that's what you are asking."
"Spawn as many clones as you can to do so." Chongyun who has been listening quietly speaks up.
"If we block its mouth it will try to burn up whatever is blocking it." He points at the massive dragon which is still eating thankfully. "With how much energy it's giving off, it'll be hard to survive a direct hit from its breath."
"That's why you'll need to be fast. Still, I'll be blocking that." I say cracking my neck.
They all look doubtful which is fair, I'm doubtful I can block it. It sounds too fun to not try though.
I only now notice that the others have all been listening to our planning and are waiting for their own instructions. Figure it out yourselves! I'm not the planner here, I just hit things! Why am I suddenly this group's Captain America?
"You guys take the other three on. When we attack the big one, the other ones will try to take advantage of that." Haneul nods and thankfully takes over.
Ugh, too much thinking.
"Miss Rossweisse, can you and your companions take Mr Feng Meng to handle one of the dragons?" Rossweisse nods with a serious expression.
"Of course." She says, already strutting toward her vessel.
The Viking brothers end up being caught unaware by Rossweisse's shift to command and follow her unquestioningly. Feng Meng doesn't object either but pats Yu Wei on the shoulder reassuringly before he leaves.
"Miss Suzaku and Daoist Yu, can I trust you two to handle another dragon on your own?" Yu Wei nods, steeling herself while Suzaku looks hesitant.
"Wouldn't it make sense for someone else to go with Daoist Yu? I use flames and she uses frost." Yu Wei shakes her head and forms a ghostly blue flame in one hand and a snowflake in the other.
"I'm the Frostflame Daoist. The Dao I follow is both Heat and Cold, as well as the conversion of the two." The snowflake erupts with heat while the flame freezes solid emitting a chilling cold. "If you supply me with enough fire I think I can freeze one of the dragons solid."
Senzaemon's horse snorts loudly drawing our attention, "That still leaves one dragon! It may be difficult for the three of us to handle it ourselves, Sir Park."
"Three?" Hikaru Tsukige stomps petulantly when Haneul mutters this. "No, that isn't what I meant."
"I just need you to fish me out of the water. I'll be dealing with the last dragon myself." Haneul turns to me with a smirk. "It looks like I'll get to show off my Balance Breaker after all."
In a flash of light, he activates his Balance Breaker and we all have to take a step back at the towering green draconic aura that is released. The aura starts to condense further and further until Haneul is visible again.
His clothes are gone and instead, he's covered in a skin-tight layer of scales those same deep green scales that extends from his neck down. They almost seem to be a secondary musculature, enhancing everything in sight.
The aura condenses completely around his feet as they glow blindingly bright and he steps forward. In a flash of green light, he disappears from the beach and lands with a stomp beneath the head of one of the smaller dragons. A tornado of energy forms around his other foot as he kicks upward, launching an explosive beam of draconic energy upwards and through the head of the dragon.
Bikou and I whistle as the beam shoots up into the sky blowing away the clouds for miles around it.
"Come on, let's not be outdone by him, alright?" Bikou says hopping on Jindou-Yun and flying towards our target.
I laugh running after him while slinging Seiryuu over my shoulder to his consternation.
We've got a damsel to save.