Dog Days of Dread Pt 2

A king must make sacrifices for his people. A king must fight. A king must take up arms and defend what he loves with deadly force.

“Dragunov!” A voice called from behind. Turning to face the voice the King paused. There stood a beastman. A lupine humanoid with greying fur. He stood with a smug aura about him. His body relaxed and his paws dug in his pockets. His tail swishing against the ground. He smirked and lifted one of his paws.

“Heard you got yourself a dragon problem?”

“It is none of your concern sir….I urge you to flee”

“Pfft as if Kingy! For a small fee that dragon will be as good as gone”

“I don’t need your help, Mister”

“Shirafude, Roxas Shirafude”

“Well Mr. Shirafude I thank you for your offer but I must decline this is a matter of pride”
“Pride? You’re putting your pride above the fate of your countrymen? What if they die? Don’t you want them too be safe?....for just a small fee I can guarantee their safety”

“No one will die while I kill that beast”

“I’ll hold you to that promise Kingy!”

“You don’t need to”

“Oh no but I do….Keeping an eye on kings that screw up is a hobby of mine”

“You’ll get no satisfaction from me!”

“You’ll learn” The beastman spun on his heel and strode away with a fair pace. “Tell me what the abyss of death looks like” He joked. To find humor in such a dire situation was nonsensical. The King was beside himself, his head frozen with thought and his body stuck in endless feedback of almost just processing what had been said before looping back again. To the King: the world looked like it was warping, minimizing, and closing in on him. A firm hand brought the king to his senses. Connecting against his cheek and leaving a red mark.

“Get a damn grip…..how’d your resolve get so shaken? Weren’t you bragging about ending the dragon yourself?” Drix scowled. “Look my liege I have sworn my life to you….but I don’t serve cowards” Drix left in an angry huff. The king followed after him and before he knew it the hustle and bustle of the outside world came into view. With a roar, the ground shook. The wind thrashed around and another ground-shaking roar echoed like an explosion breaking in the air.

The dragon

Nidhogg a massive sky-bound leviathan. Grey scaly scared skin with red highlighting around its eyes. Massive boney protrusions like that of horns. On its wings head and tail. As it roared the interior of its mouth could be seen. Row upon row of serrated horse-sized teeth. It flew around the city hanging just a few precious meters above. Like the angry hand of god wavering above his ant farm, he was done playing with called Humanity. The dragon roared again.

“Father….if you can hear me? I beg of you” Holding out his palm a glyph appeared. Slowly several small balls of light gathered around the glyph like moths to a flame. A bow...made of solid gold and decorated with silver appeared in his hand. “Guide my arrows”
SAGGITORIUES: BOW OF HEAVEN: ARJUNA!!!

Taking aim an arrow of pure light knocked itself in the bow. The King with a glare released the arrow. The arrow flew before meeting its target in the belly of the leviathan. It roared but it wasn’t like its other roars. It sounded more like a chuckle. Its mouth opened and it spoke. Spoke….but it wasn’t your typical speech.

“Aidarous! Fulaurx! Daequmata!!! Endymion-Kunusa!!!”. Like no language ever spoken, it sounded unlike the normal dialects found in any plane, portion or nook, and or cranny of the four kingdoms. No from the way the world reacted shaking and stuttering when it spoke. This was something old, something powerful, and something deadly.

The King readied another arrow.

SAGGITORIUES: BULLSEYE BUTCH CASSIDY!!!! Knocking two hours onto the string The king took aim. “I Declare your eye and your throat!” The king released the arrows and soon enough the arrows found their mark. The Dragon stopped circling for a moment and sighed deeply.
“Anomayax! Kulfous!” Suddenly the dragon stopped. Its wingbeats subsided and it paused its movements to take rest. Its body began to glow and before the eyes of everyone, the once massive sky hovering Levithan was on the ground. Standing on two feet. Its new form was that of a tall muscular humanoid, armed with six equally muscular and dangerous limbs. Arms four in total flexed and unflexed. Legs braced and strained as Nidhogg got down into a runner’s position. In a split second the King’s throat was grabbed.

“Foolish brat….you impede my search!” Nidhogg spoke coherently, with words that made sense and didn’t rupture the ears to even listen to them. A major upgrade. With a punch, the King was sent into the air. Nidhogg followed readying a fist.

“Fool!” The king spat! Aiming his bow the king fired. Piercing Nidhogg’s featureless head he gasped and continued his punch with only anger fueling him.

“You damned child….at first I only pitied you and now I loathe you!”

Smashing into the street below the king slid for a few feet before coming to a stop all the while Nidhogg stalked towards him. An air of death and overwhelming palpable malignancy stained the black night sky white.

ANCIENIEUS: ANCIENT OF DAYS! White lightning sparked and arched and blitzed in the palm of Nidhogg’s hands.

“All units protect the king no matter what!!” Simon raised his ax standing in front of Dragunov like a shield.

“Simon the hell are you doing?!”

“My job as General Director….now get up and get to a position to snipe this son of a bitch!” Simon folded his glasses and thrust his ax into the air. “My Men Scream! My Men Cry! My Men Fight! Tonight We Dine In Hell!!!” the mages around Simon roared and hoo-ra'd his encouraging sermon.

“More ants?” Nidhogg’s lightning disappeared. He suddenly grew a smile that stretched beyond what could be considered the human constraints of a smile.
Spell after spell of every element fired on Nidhogg. Fireballs, blasts of lightning, the slicing wind and the bitter cold all used as possible ammunition against Nidhogg.
“Akemya! Nordrakous!” he uttered dancing and weaving through the spells. It was like watching a living bolt of lightning speed around. Dodging, ducking, and speeding through the spells. Screams of rage, pride, and every possible human emotion echoed from the street. Like listening to nothing more than the condensed human spirit to rebel and fight back. The screams continued like the roars of an applauding opera house before one by one they ended. Grabbing a mage the humanoid dragon dissected him with his hand. His intestines spilling into the street. This mage while even in extreme pain. In the throughs of despair refused to give in.

Raising his wand the mage levied one final wager with God Ozyraith above. However, before the final act of his revengence could be enacted he was ripped apart. Arms and upper torso on one side of the road and lower body on the other. Blood painted the world with a haunting dread.

“Where is Emperor Nazarick?” Nidhogg asked.

“Up your’s pal!” Simon Retorted

CHAPTER 7 END

TO BE CONTINUED…..