Ignacio vs. The Green Dragon

Ignacio stood, turning to follow them when a flash of green light burst from the Sentinel.

He raised an arm to shield against the shockwave, the grass around him withering and crumbling to ash.

What the hell is that…

He raised his head over his arm, the green flames retracting, the unbearable glow fading. And ahead of the Sentinel stood the largest creature Ignacio had ever seen.

It spread its wings, their edges flickering with emerald flames. It reared its head back, roaring so loud that rings of sound emanated from its mouth.

It stood on two legs, its tail curling side to side, ending in some kind of a stinger that curved like a scythe. It had a slender build, the seams between its scales burning with green flames. It leaned its head forward, teeth baring as it locked onto Ignacio.

The man with the Dragon mask…

His heart raced as he raised his fists, the crystals cracking and glowing with orange lava. He frowned.

You touched Kiyomi…

He closed his eyes, extending a hand into his mind.

Like a hand reaching into a toybox.

He opened his eyes. And his hands burst into red flames. He smiled as the Dragon lowered, using its wings as front legs. It began to charge towards him, its footsteps falling like explosions.

One after the other, leaving cracks in the ground, bending trees backwards in its wake.

Ignacio held his arms out to the sides, red blades forming along his crystallized forearms, magma javelins forming in his hands. He dug his heels into the ground, sensing tree roots like a web beneath him.

He turned his wrists downward, and dark vortexes twirled open on the ground.

This time. This time, I’m not leaving without her.

The Dragon roared as it leapt into the sky, its whole body bursting into green flames, eyes burning red in their sockets as it soared towards him. What remained of the crisp black grass reignited with green fire in its wake.

Ignacio roared back, rushing towards the flaming beast as a volley of giant crystals rose from the ground behind him.

The Dragon thrust its claws forward, slamming against Ignacio’s chest and knocking him off his feet.

Ignacio crashed to the ground, his body rolling with trails of white smoke. He panted, vision swimming with tiny white lights.

What the hell is this thing...

He rolled onto his side, standing as a set of claws grabbed him around the shoulders. They burned into him, his screams piercing the air as he was hoisted off the ground. He reached a hand toward the ground, snarling through the tears of pain running down his cheeks. A dark vortex opened beneath him, and more dark crystals shot out, rocketing past him and into the green Dragon.

The monster roared, dropping him from high. He plummeted, and he closed his eyes.

Come on!

His body enveloped in red flames, a giant cloud of smoke forming beneath him and slowing his descent. He touched down to the ground, turning as the Dragon landed behind him, raising its head and sinking its teeth into his shoulder.

He gasped in agony as the Dragon raised a claw to his chest, and pushed him down to the ground.

No…

It reared its head back, its flaming maw glowing brighter.

Ignacio raised his hands to shield his head, Kiyomi’s red blades igniting along his forearms.

This is not where we die.

A blaze of green flames gushed from the dragon’s mouth, and Ignacio screamed. The ray blasted against his arms, green tongues of flame licking between and around them, the glare so bright he closed his eyes.

They weren’t normal flames. They didn’t burn things, or catch things on fire the way normal flames did. Not even the Hallowed Titan’s white fire did what it could do. It just dissolved whatever it touched. Reduced it to nothingness.

The flames stopped, and Ignacio stared at his Titan arms. They were burnt to splinters. Nothing but a melting crystal thumb left on his right hand, a little finger on his left.

The Dragon leaned forward, and Ignacio watched its giant, Scythe-like stinger curve from above.

No, no, no!

It swung down, splitting the top of his Titan’s head open with a thundering crack of glass.

He roared in pain, a headache running down his forehead. He tried grabbing the Dragon with severed hands, but just touching it burned like hell. His stomach and legs felt like he was set on fire just from the Dragon’s claws pinning him down.

Celeste, he thought, his throat locked as he held back tears. Celeste… no. Not again.

He tried craning his head forward, but the Dragon bit down on his crystal skull, its jaws locking. It lifted him like a ragdoll, his neck bursting into pain.

Celeste.

The Dragon flung him to the side. He smashed against the ground, bounced, and rolled to a stop.

He groaned, the world spinning as he lay on his side. Watching the Dragon walk towards him in all fours, its red tongue lashing out between huge front fangs.

Shun, he thought, his body unable to move. Please, help.

The Dragon’s maw flared open, that brilliant glow flashing like the sun. Another beam gushed from its jaws, streaming towards him like a laser. It burned through Ignacio’s stomach, making him double over in agony as it tore out the back of his Titan’s spine with a bang that echoed across the plane.

His jaws lay wide open, his eyes wider as the pain blinded him. It became all he could feel, all he saw. All he heard.

Until his eyes opened, and he was laying with his cheek against the burnt grass. He coughed, the acrid scent of smoke burning the back of his throat.

Get up.

He placed a hand against the ground, wincing in pain.

Get. Up.

He pressed down with the other hand, arms shaking as he slowly lifted himself.

Get up!

He drew his knees up under himself, sitting back on them. A man in a dark red and black robe walked up to him, his hands behind his back. A green Dragon mask over his face. A red glow behind the eyes of his mask. Like something burned on the other side. Dark smoke rolled across the burnt landscape behind him, the Sentinel lumbering farther and farther away in the distance. Celeste with it.

The man sighed. “You could have been unstoppable with us, Ignacio,” he said. “You’re not much less mythic than your sister is. The two of you working with us at Cypher Corp? Worshipping the Founder and Creator of this realm together?” he shook his head, placing a hand on Ignacio’s shoulder. “We could have ruled the world, and then set our sights on the stars.”

Ignacio startled as something crashed beside him, his eyes widening. Koharu coughed, her blue glow dissipating from her body. Her robe was in tatters, burn marks scarring her bare stomach, a cut stretching over her eye and swelling it shut.