I took a deep breath, the serenity I felt inside disturbing me slightly. Wasn't a normal person supposed to feel guilty after torturing a fourteen-year-old boy?

Yet here I was, in a state of utter calmness as the world around me slowly dimmed into nothingness. I could still feel the constant fighting around me, but my head was no longer on the battlefield. I continued taking large breaths of air, enjoying this unusual peace that I felt deep within myself.

But even amidst this tranquility, I felt incomplete. Why was there a piece of me that was missing?magic

A... piece of me...

"Asthia!" I yelled, my words snapping me out of my odd trance. I briefly checked the link to verify whether or not the girl was still breathing.

My fists clenched shut in a mixture of fear and anger as I felt no response from the other side. A massive presence appeared next to me, my head not needed to turn to recognize the individual. I stared straight ahead, addressing myself to my second in command.

"Typhon, I'm leaving things here to you."

"As you wish."

"Listen," I continued, beginning to advance towards my destination, "if you need to retreat, do so. This battle may already be lost of Asthia Darck is dead."

"I understand," he responded with a low growl, bowing slightly before swinging his massive greatsword into a line of Dwarves. The horrifying squelches of flesh and blood filled my ears, something that reminded me all too much of the arena back on Earth.

I leaped into the air, trying to locate the Dragon Princess.

"!!"A volley of arrows came flying towards me from up ahead, the Dwarven archers all unsure as to whether or not they should've taken the shot. Lightning sparked across my entire body as the sky darkened, a yellow vortex beginning to form within the black clouds.

I could utilize all the elements at my disposal to take advantage of the weather, enhancing my lightning strikes with the power of the clouds only being one example of the many techniques I had been trying out throughout my lifetime. A mixture of green currents and particles of water swirled around me as low rumbles echoed across the valley.

"W-What the-" muttered one of the archers, his words spreading panic across the ranks as they witnessed a culmination of three elements charging right at them.

"Heaven's Fury," I muttered, the name of the newly-created combined spell being required for me to maintain control on all elements simultaneously. The lightning traveling in and out of my body gravitated towards my palm, an orb of yellow energy continuously expanding. I unleashed the current of electricity, sending a joint strike of my own power as well as a massive thunderbolt from the sky crashing down onto the endless waves of Dwarves.

BOOOOOMMMM

A massive explosion massacred thousands of soldiers instantly, whether they were Dwarven or Dragon no longer mattering to me. I landed onto the now-empty ground below, swinging my arm to the side as a wave of dark flames burst forth all around me and slaughtered countless more souls.

I was no longer able to differentiate between black Dragon armor, silver Dwarven armor, or gleaming white Imanian armor. It all looked the same. They were all obstacles between me and Asthia, and removing them was the fastest way to help the girl.

Nevertheless, I still tried to spare those who were generally to my right as I traveled East, obliterating everything that stood in front of me or to my left.

"Jay!"

I calmed the bind around me, recognizing the voice that had called out to me. I turned and faced the source, my eyes burning with rage as I saw Ares holding Asthia's near-lifeless body. The girl was covered in blood and was unconscious, the arrows implanted in her back rapidly wrenching her away from the living world.

"Give her to me," I said, unleashing the full potency of my aura. I infused all the hate for Hugo, for Asthia's condition, for the arena that I had fought in four eighteen years, all of it into my words. Hundreds of soldiers around me froze up immediately, their trembling eyes looking at me as if they were begging for mercy.

Ares remained silent, his face unsure of which emotion it was supposed to display. The S-rank finally gulped down his horror, continuing what he had planned to say:"Stop this madness," he said, bringing Asthia up to show me her beaten and bloody armor. I could clearly see the cuts within her skin. She had lost a lot more blood than I expected...

"I'm sure we can come to an arrangement. Look at how many have died because of this! I'll talk to King Glad, I'll make sure we can coexist! Do the right thing and surrender honorably," continued Ares, his words sincere. I had always known Ares never harbored direct hatred towards the Dragons, and even if the death of his comrades angered him, he understood that it was a given consequence of war. "Asthia Darck doesn't have to die!"

"..."

I stared at the girl. What would Asthia have wanted? I could still hear the shrieks from the East, Mia's army still locked in a bloody battle against the resistance that seemed to have met them head-on. I thought about what a surrender could mean for the Dragonkin, but the answer almost made me laugh.

Surrender?

Were the Dragons supposed to accept another century of banishment from Auroria? Were they supposed to be on the losing side of history once again?

The unfair thoughts spiraled out of control, my aura increasing with an aggressive roar.

Ares's expression darkened as he understood my thoughts through my aura. He dropped Asthia onto the ground, her body falling onto the ground with a loud thud. I could feel my fists beginning to bleed from the strength at which I held them shut, anger rising within me from seeing Asthia in that state.

I was well aware that her being like that was not Ares's fault, but he was the one who would suffer the consequences.

"Very well, Jay. Let us fight then."

Ares didn't take out his spear, igniting his own aura with power and creating a swirling vortex of earth around him as he stepped forth. He clutched his own fists, signaling that we were to fight with only our physical bodies and bind.

I remained completely still, mentally accepting his challenge. I had only one goal in mind, and that was not to defeat Ares Hearth. Earth binders were known as the walls that separated the rest of the party from monsters within domains, their spells allowing them to block any opponent in front of them and prevent them from passing through.

I took my eyes off of Asthia, meeting Ares's gaze. A flood of energy surged within my body as the mental command triggered an immediate response from my body, the only thing remaining being the oral trigger. Asthia would only be able to last a few minutes more, and using her strength would only drain her of her remaining time... but there was no other way.

To get past Ares, the most powerful earth binder on Auroria, I'd break through what was considered humanly possible.

"Integrate."