~WHOOSH!~
The vertical strike was smooth and straightforward.
It was bound to slice through his opponent from head to toe; shattering his skull and rending every organ he had inside.
It would be like a hot knife running through butter!
The attack descended.
Then—
~CLANG!~
As soon as the blood sword reached the Dragon's head, a loud noise filled the room.
… Almost as if the blade had hit an unbreakable wall.
Phobio took a few steps back in recoil as his brain tried to process the whole thing.
'H-huh…? What just happe—?!'
Before he could complete his line of thoughts, the blade that he now held in his trembling hand shattered before his very eyes and scattered about like glass.
'What?!'
The glass-like components of the blade turned into blood and soon returned to the orb that hovered beside Phobio.
As long as he was still alive, and there was still blood, it would gather around him.
That was a Special Privilege of his Class.
However, Phobio wasn't concerned about any benefits or Class at the moment.
Only one thing filled his mind.
'How did this guy… shatter my blade.
The blade was made of concentrated blood—the kind that had the combined fluid of hundreds of people.
'I don't see any armor or Skill being used. Is he just that durable?'
Dragons were famed to be the strongest in H'Trae, so it was a given that they would have tough skins.
That was precisely why Phobio went for a dense weapon.
'To think even that wasn't enough to do any damage!'
Phobio's eased facade slowly began to crumble.
"My turn." He suddenly heard a voice from the Dragon in front of him.
It scared him to his bones.
~WHOOM!~
The 'thing' closed the distance between them in a flash, sending his hand flying towards Phobio in a rush.
'Euk!' Phobio couldn't react on time, so he covered his face while stepping back.
He looked like a pitiful coward, and the approaching fist would have bashed his head at that very moment.
However…
~BOOOM!~
… His second Class privilege came in handy.
A dense shield made up of blood now manifested before him, defending him from the fiend that would have surely blown off his head.
"Guh!"
The shockwaves generated by the attack was enough to cause Phobio to stagger a few steps back as his widened eyes watched as his shield broke apart in horror.
"I'm not done." The Dragon's voice echoed past the crumbling blood as he rushed towards Phobio again.
'Tch! I gotta evade!' The young man ducked to his side, barely avoiding the impact that caused the very ground to shatter apart.
The Dragon fluidly rushed to his location, but he used his actively nimble body to avoid the slew of attacks he was receiving.
His long black hair danced as he avoided death-causing hits.
However; there was only so much luck a man could receive.
~WHOOSH!~
The Dragon appeared right as Phobio moved to a new position, almost as if he had already known he would retreat there.
What happened there was no one's surprise.
~BOOOM!~
The punch carried so much weight that Phobio felt his body shooting him signals of instant pain as he was sent flying to the closest wall behind him.
The very thing cracked as Phobio's body dug a hole in it.
"Puack!" Blood spurted out of his lips as he helplessly remained hanging in the wall.
The bloody mess on his chest also stood out.
"Do you understand now…? Why I said you're weak?"
As the Dragon's voice echoed in Phobio's ears, he could feel something heat up within him.
It was rising from his depths.
"You…" Phobio's bulging eyes were fixated on the Dragon as he had this thought.
"You dare hit me…?!"
As his voice echoed in the vast expanse, all the blood that had been gathered slowly began to rush towards him.
"YOU DARE?!"
As soon as the sphere touched Phobio, the crimson liquid exploded into a river of blood.
The river coalesced to form something massive, with Phobio in the center.
The ceiling trembled, and the ground cracked as the thing that was forming had too much mass and power to be contained within the area.
"Looks like this place is too cramped. Let's take this outside." The Dragon suggested.
Before Phobio could say a single word, the being flew high into the ceiling, creating a path for itself as debris flew everywhere,
"WAIT! COME BACK HERE!"
Phobio roared in rage as he saw his prey leave. His blood-shot eyes made it clear that he wouldn't rest until he ended the beast's life,
His massive crimson construct was pretty much done, so he rose to the surface in a blur as well.
In a rush of crimson, he ascended to meet his prey.
And in no time at all… he was outside the safe region of the Warehouse mountains.
That was when he saw the true reason his subordinates had been fleeing all this time.
'W-what is all this…?'
The darkness could not cover what he was witnessing.
Several layers of destruction were finely displayed all around the mountains; with some even on them.
Considerable damage had been done to the nearby areas, and from the chaos he was witnessing, Phobio was convinced the Dragon he was facing was the real deal.
'Would I have been able to replicate this…?' He asked himself, watching the sheer scale of destruction.
'No. I can't think that way!'
Just because the Dragon had superior firepower, it didn't mean he wouldn't win.
Every beast had a weakness, after all.
"Did you like my redecoration?" The Dragon appeared in front of Phobio, as if it had always been there.
The mask was still on, and his dark cloak danced with the cool breeze.
"YOU!"
Initially, Phobio wanted to kill the Dragon just because; and also because it was a threat to his group.
But now, this was personal.
In his current form, it was indeed very possible, so Phobio felt no need to hold himself back any longer.
He had to end this!