Chapter 17: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Crystals, Plants. What doesn't this lady have?!

Iskatl gripped his blade tightly and looked at the opponent before him. An unnatural-looking draconic woman. All of the mana that her original form had flowing from it was all condensed into that much smaller body, mana interweaving into itself. Something about this said that, combat-wise, this form was much stronger than the hulking beast of destruction from before.

Fingers convulsed and clenched into a claw shape as scales covered her hands, and claws escaped from her fingers before she took a step forward, and before Iskatl knew it, she was gone! He sensed her mana before he sensed her. Turning around to meet her blow with his blade, claws slashing against the sword in his hand, a shriek spawned from the blade, leaving her vulnerable long enough for him to counterattack, slashing her viciously in the stomach and sending her flying.

Her back would have hit one of the many large trees, but Iskatl raised a hand, and a wall of flame was what she slammed into. Afterward, he swiped his hand and let out a soft hum as multiple orbs of crystallized magic appeared around the area. Raising his hand, they expanded in size; then he'd close his fist, and the orbs would become covered in flame. He had a lot of mana, and finally he had an opponent worthy of using it all on.

"Interesting. We're using magic, then?"

"We are, beast. Did you not catch on, or are you too slow to understand simple rules of engagement?"

At that, a chill ran through the area as, in a large circle, all the trees became crystallized in a mixture of ice and emeralds, creating a powerful barrier around the pair; then lightning covered her claws, and she sent forth a large arc of lightning, destroying at least four of the twelve orbs he created earlier.

Iskatl dodged, but the slash bounced against the barrier she formed and hit Iskatl in the back, instantly shattering the mana barrier from his robes. He fell to one knee before she lunged forward, claws crashing against his blade, which was brought up at the last second! The blade became electrically charged and flew toward the barrier before she felt her foot against his chest!

His back hit the crystal harshly as he coughed up blood, snapping his fingers, which caused the blade to fly into his hand, allowing him to use it to stand up. Blood began to boil in his veins, literally, as he felt the fire from before return to him. He couldn't help but cry softly as he looked at the woman before him. He was filled with sorrow, and he couldn't explain where it was even coming from. Tears would flow and turn into rage before flame formed along the blade's edge.

"Do you wish to die?  Can you tell me why you exist? Why do you think you should?"

Slamming the blade into the ground, an explosive wave of energy escaped the blade as he weaved a spell into it. A wave of flames followed that energy wave as the remaining crystal orbs dissipated, causing the wave to crystallize, then shatter into an even larger explosion. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dome of multi-layered moonlight, pink, purple, and blue all coalesced into one barrier.

Dashing toward the dragon, who had visible wounds, he screamed out, his lungs threatening to give way. Why did he feel so sad? So angry? He didn't know why, but he hated it. Another slash from his blade, and the woman was completely bisected down the middle. She fell, seemingly dead, but there was no blood; vines formed from the halves and entangled before pulling her torso back together, and flames erupted from her body as the wounds were cauterized and sealed shut.

"Did you think that was all you needed to kill an Ancient, boy?"

The scales on her hips expanded along her torso as she smirked softly, looking at his sword; she couldn't help but giggle.

"That's such an impressive blade. I think I'll add it to my hoard after I'm done butchering you and that little knife-eared bitch!"

A soft exhale as tears continued flowing. Rage and sadness were quite a difficult combo to deal with while fighting.

"Just shut up and die."

Flames erupted behind Iskatl as he charged toward the dragon. Focus on offense, right, Amani? That's what he planned on doing! Surrendering defense completely and entirely, he threw his blade high into the air. Swathing his hands in flame, he threw his fist toward her, delivering a powerful, flame-charged fist to her chest which would have sent her flying, but a snap of his fingers caused a spectral hand to yank her back before he hit her with another flame-charged fist.

His shoulders and his forearms became swathed in an intense fire as another fist hit her in the chest. Again, and again, and again. One vicious punch after another, as he cried out. His punches only got faster and faster and faster! Flesh slammed into flesh at such a quick rate that she had no time to defend before one last punch hit her, with significantly more firepower than all the previous ones.

"PENANCE FLAME!"

A torrent of fire slammed into her, all in one burst, before she fell to the ground. Then the blade finally fell, only for him to catch it just before it hit her. Coughing, he felt himself begin to calm down, and the calm composure from before returned, the edge even sharper. It seemed like the more fire it was exposed to, the stronger it got.

Amani's light washed over him, as he felt the barrier of mana around him reform, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Are you really this weak? I suppose tyrants are naturally weak and cling to their subordinates... So it makes too much sense."

"What the hell do you think this is, brat?! You think you're stronger than me?!"

His eyes widened as he watched her mana spike. It felt like her former mana was completely dwarfed by what her mana amount was now. Plantlife began to wither and wane, increasing her mana even more, as her fleshy body was now covered in emerald scales. It seemed like she was draining mana from the plants around her to increase her own.

"What do you think I am?! You said I'm weak?! I'll show you weak!"

She slashed at the air, and the force from her movement sent forth a sharp air pressure, which a curtain of light blocked before it shattered under the might of the attack.

A soft sigh as he looked at her. Thankfully, he had a vast amount of mana, which he now decided to cover his body in, and he didn't plan on removing this enhancement until she fell. Dashing toward her. Iskatl, in spite of the danger, refused to back down. When he heard gunfire, he ran towards it and not away from it. This is just how he's always been.

His body was moving quicker than he could perceive, so he was going purely off of mana to dictate his movements. Clang, clang, clang, clang. Several slashes, all completely deflected by the drake's powerful emerald scales.

However, after his flurry ended, an equal number of beams of light crashed into her, actually dealing substantial damage, causing the dragon to lose her footing, and giving Iskatl an opportunity to slash into her. This beast was a murderer, and she needed to pay for everything she's done! Aiming for where the beams had struck, his blade struck true, and her arm flew off and landed on the ground beside where the beams originated. A barrier of light covered the arm before Amani showed herself.

"Iskatl, it's getting dangerous. I can't hide anymore... The Moon. It's close at hand."

Nodding softly, the dragon interrupted their little moment of looking cool to attack Iskatl, only to have the attack blocked by a barrier of light.

"You two are so annoying... I can't attack the boy, or she'll block it. But I have to deal with the boy to get to the girl. Oh, I know."

Not the ground, but the air itself was covered in a blanket of ice, and then the ice was superheated and melted by intense flames, which filled the area with a thick mist. The shield could no longer see, and the sword was left vulnerable.

This was an entirely new playing field, and despite trying her hardest, Amani couldn't see through the mist. Iskatl tried to see her through the mist but couldn't. Due to being made from magic, his senses were overloaded with mana. A powerful slash to his chest, swathed in equal parts fire and lightning, caused him to lose his breath!

Amani could only hear the attack, but couldn't see. She froze, shaking as she looked at the blood that hit the ground. This was a monster of immense proportions; there was no doubt about that whatsoever.