Savage Awakening 534. Man vs. Dragon (V)

After a few dozen exchanges, Zane felt he had a measure of the dragon.

The first thing he’d felt was the effect of his new Hide of the Ancients. That 125% Essence, Law, and Physical Resistance was most of what he relied on to halt that first charge. It’d still wiped out a good 15% Health, but he could manage that.

He took those pure gold slashes just fine on his chains. What essence got through, his regeneration patched up right away. Meeting the defense was a grueling physical task. But all that tempering in the Ruins, all that Divine steel he’d eaten, the Foundation stone he’d taken in—they showed their worth now.

That dragonflame should’ve been the most troubling of Haxorax’s weapons.

But he’d figured out a bit of a cheat code.

He just wrapped his chains around his torso, especially his vitals. His arms, too. Then he loaded them heavy with Destruction—so much that any Creation that struck it was instantly wiped out.

He flared Destruction every time dragonflame struck. It took most of the bite out of what should’ve been a killer blow.

He was feeling pretty good about his strategy so far.

This Haxorax fellow was exactly what Zane had expected him to be, raw power-wise. It was just that his stash of Destruction proved up to the challenge, and then some. 

There was one more psychological thing he felt worked to his advantage.

Reina had called the Prince a few books short of a shelf, which he’d thought quite funny at the time.

“I’m serious, Zane,” she had said, arms crossed.

“I know, it’s just… the phrase you just said.”

She had looked unamused.

In any case.

In practice, it meant it was no hard task blocking each strike. A lucid Haxorax would’ve caused him some trouble—that, he was pretty sure about. The fellow was eye-wateringly fast. But in this state, the Prince couldn’t have telegraphed his strikes more.

Right now, blocking was just a matter of biting down.

And now Zane could feel Haxorax slowing, just a little. Which made sense with how furious that barrage was.

He waited patiently for an opening.

When it came, he seized it with intention.

Destruction swelled.

And for the first time, Zane struck back.

Just as Haxorax wound back for another blow, Zane rammed him, knocking him off-balance.

He followed it with a blistering Red Giant Slash.

That slash crashed against a dragon’s claw, blasted it out of the way, and struck deep into the Prince’s chest.

Close quarters, point-blank range.

A string of scales shattered down Haxorax’s chest. A spray of blood whipped out.

Haxorax flew. Tumbled through a mountain range, crashing through their summits.

The Prince vanished in a plume of smoke.

***

By the sound of it, the upper booths were loving it.

But there was mostly stunned silence in the lower booths, where the heavy hitters stayed.

Then the Barbarian Sage leaped to his feet, pumping his fist—“That’s what I’m talking about!”

That broke the dam. The lower booths exploded too.

Evan and Avery blew on streamers. “Go Zane!” they cried.

Patriarch Azure Flame looked like he could’ve been carved out of stone.

***

The smoke cleared, showing a Haxorax with his head bowed, breathing deeply. But he stayed standing.

It had been just seconds, but the wound had already half-healed.

Still, that, combined with that massive essence expenditure, had forced even the Prince to take a breath. For now, at least.

“It’s fair to say that at least half those watching, if not more, thought this fight wouldn’t go beyond a single exchange,” said Jake. 

“If you’ve seen Zane fight before and you still thought that, there’s no helping you,” said Mox. “Still—I doubt even his most hardcore fans saw this one coming.”

“Five shards of Destruction to three of Creation… that’s not enough to bridge the divide. I’ll grant that,” chuckled Jake. “But Zane’s just shown far more than that! Eight, ten? Even more?”

“That’ll do it.”

“The question on everyone’s mind has got to be—just how much does he have!” 

“They’re all sitting up now,” said Mox, nodding to the lower booths. “All the heavy hitters.”

It was true. A quick scan showed the Frost Mistress Cassia leaning against the railing, eyes wide. And Kaili, head of the Thousand Seas Tribe, pulled down her sunglasses with an index finger. Even old Brondir, who didn’t look much interested at first, was frowning at the battlefield.

“Zane’s not out of the woods yet,” said Jake. “The First Prince picked himself up right away. That wound’s stitched up in a heartbeat.”

“All bets are off now,” said Mox gravely. “This fight just got blown wide open.”

***

The smoke cleared. That was enough time for the Dragon Prince’s freakish regeneration to heal him. He caught sight of Zane again.

He howled and went for it. 

The next exchange took less than two seconds.

A back-and-forth that only a handful there could even comprehend. The rest had to watch, breathless, as two great blurs of gold and Creation and Destruction went to war.

That Stormwing Skill rocketed the First Prince so fast he nearly landed one of his berserk dragonbreaths before Zane managed to block.

But Zane did block it. 

And just like with their first exchange he held, teeth gritted.

Instantly he moved to counter. An axe screamed down and nearly paid the First Prince back.

But Haxorax moved too fast. He whirled out of the way, letting that axe THUD into a crater, and landed a reality-ripping claw to Zane’s side. Blood fountained; muscles shredded to the bone, and he got a grunt out of the big man.

But just as Haxorax pulled away, he stumbled.

A gravity core had caught his leg for a split second. Just enough time for one of Zane’s chains to wrap it.

Haxorax growled, yanked explosively, and got that leg free. But it’d stopped him for yet another split second.

Just enough time for an axe loaded heavy with Destruction to carve for the Prince’s neck.

Haxorax howled, pupils shrinking to pins; he just managed to shield himself with a wing. 

The axe sank in. 

Destruction did its dirty work.

And an awful shredding echoed through the stands, the sounds of countless scales shattering—

The Prince went flying again… golden blood shot up in a geyser—

He crashed, crashed again, came to a stumbling halt.

It took a moment for folks to process what they just saw, even in the lower booths. Then Thalia laughed and started cheering; the Steelheart folk looked beside themselves. 

Patriarch Azure Flame wasn’t smiling anymore. 

“I could hardly even breathe watching that!” said Jake.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Mox. “Am I seeing this right? Did he just damn near take off the First Prince’s wing?”

“There’s no question who won that exchange.”

Mox barked a laugh. “Even Zane looks surprised at how well he’s just done!”

Haxorax stumbled to his feet almost instantly. He tried taking to the skies again, but his wing betrayed him.

Then he shook his head. Veins cracked bloody in his eyes. He howled, threw himself at Zane again. 

This time when Haxorax went flying, the wound cut so deep it nearly struck the heart. And even with that Golden True dragon regeneration, even with Creation boosting the healing, it took a good few seconds for the Prince to get back up. 

Haxorax opened a third exchange with a pillar of long-range dragonbreath.

But it couldn’t break through Zane’s chain wall. Couldn’t break through that wall of Destruction.

Haxorax growled in frustration. He threw himself into close combat again, wild as a demon. 

But the man he met stood firm, eyed him down calmly, and refused to be moved. It was like watching a rogue wave break against a rock.

Haxorax was blasted away again. This time with a grisly wing wound that went all the way, carving deep into a leg.

This time the Prince didn’t get right back up. He stayed on a knee, heaving. 

“Tell me I’m not seeing a Minor God dominating a godsdamned Empyrean,” breathed Mox.

“I don’t know what to tell you, partner. I’m damn near speechless right now.”

“Just look at the man. You’d almost think he’s disappointed it’s not more of a challenge for him!” 

Patriarch Steelheart was shaking his head approvingly. Reina was leaning so far forward she almost fell off her stand. The Sage’s voice cut through it all—“You finish him, lad; you take it to ‘em!”

Patriarch Azure Flame’s face was set in a vicious snarl. Every vein stood out purple on his stark face.

“What’s Zane doing?” said Mox, frowning. “The Prince’s down. Zane waits any longer, and he’ll let him back up!” 

But Zane still stood there, blinking at the smoking crater, a thoughtful look on his face. 

“He does seem to be letting the Prince come to him. Can’t fault him with how the fight’s going.” 

“I suppose,” Mox allowed. “At this rate, it won’t be long before Hax’s forced into dragon form. That’ll be dire, alright.” 

A silence. 

“This is a long break Zane’s taking,” said Jake. 

“…Something’s up here,” said Mox, frowning. 

***

“What’s going on with Zane?” whispered handmaiden Syriel. She and Aelin stood at the front of the stand, just out of earshot of their Mistress. They were there with the rest of the World Tree delegation. 

“Why’s he just standing there?” 

“He might just be spent,” said Aelin. “Maybe after that kind of display, the man just can’t handle any more.” 

Syriel shot a look at Miss Reina, who seemed far too worried about the fight to pay them any mind. “I don’t think so,” said Syriel, which was what she knew her Mistress would’ve said. “That really doesn’t sound like Zane to me…”

“I don’t want it to be true either.” Aelin shrugged. “If you’ve got a better idea, do let me know.” 

But Syriel didn’t. “He doesn’t look too tired?” was all she could offer.

They watched as the next exchange began. The Dragon Prince lunged even more desperately this time, and somehow it seemed to push his Creation even stronger, even darker.

But this time when he connected, Zane stumbled.

Gasps rankled the crowd.

“…Guess I was right,” said Aelin.

***

The First Prince grew wilder at the stumble, like a hound at the smell of blood. His slashes grew wilder, greater, these towering scars of goldlight—

The Patriarch’s fists clenched. He snarled something at Haxorax, but the words were lost in the blasts.

Haxorax let loose another blast of dragonflame.

But this time it forced two stumbles out of the big man. And when the light faded, smoldering black streaked down his chest.

“A savage burst of dragonflame and suddenly Zane’s on the back foot!” 

“It’s his Destruction,” growled Mox. “It’s damn near dropped by half!"

They watched as Zane gathered himself, bracing against a flurry of bigger and bigger slashes. But even though he blocked them, bloody cuts showed all down his chest. 

“Something’s gone on with him,” said Mox. “He just can’t stop that essence anymore.” 

“It’s the first time we’ve seen him under real pressure this fight. The momentum’s shifted in a heartbeat—what a shocking turnaround!” 

Zane was really having to bite down hard now. It was harder to block with torn muscles. They watched as Haxorax blitzed around him, blasting him with yet another dragon’s flame. Now the bulk of it got through.

“Physically, they’re closely matched,” said Mox. “Though without his Destruction edge… he’s just taking too much damage. That Prime Blood’s got its work cut out for it.”

“If Zane doesn’t change something soon, this could get rough fast!” 

Zane finally managed a shove, blasting Haxorax off of him. He looked pleased for some reason Jake couldn’t decipher.

He took that moment to switch to his Chains.