Meeting of a God and a Dragon [Closed - Lance]

“Gngh… Heh.” Ryder smiled, feeling the intense heat envelop the area around him. He was surrounded and buried beneath a heap of now charred wooden planks. The radiating heat melted off all of the fruit juices almost immediately. Ryder’s limbs were heavy, and the amount of damage his body had sustained over the course of this fight was almost unbearable. His stamina and endurance were running on fumes, mouth gaped open just to gasp for the tiniest breath. Lance was an extremely powerful combatant. Besides the higher-ranking Rune Knights he had to face in combat tests during his time in the organization, The God Slayer topped the list off.

“Finish me off, huh? He is one cocky son of a bitch.. Though I guess seeing your opponent in a state similar to this would warrant that sort of reaction.” Ryder’s eyes piercing through the black flames, glowing a vibrant sky blue. He watched the duo of Lance Firebrand and his white-haired female companion waltz away in victory, believing that the God Slayer had triumphed a Dragon Slayer. Ryder had a little bit of energy left in his tank. He wasn’t going to let this battle end like this. The Rune Knights weren’t here to apprehend Lance yet, so his mission was not over. Besides, this was how Mages improved their strength, right? Pushing themselves past their limits so that they could reach new heights. It was something his Rune Knight commander had always told him. Despite the old bastard’s resentment after everything that had transpired from then until now, Ryder kept that with him.

So, instead of burning up in the black flames of hell, Ryder pushed himself to the right, rolling through the small wall of fire and onto the path below. The ends of his clothes had now burnt off, giving off the odor one would typically smell when something was being burned, normally within a kitchen. He allowed himself to rest on his hands and knees, watching the sweat drip down the tip of his nose and pool into a wet pile on the ground. If he was going to take Lance on in one more round, he needed his fresh air. He pressed one of his feet against the ground, lifting himself to a knee. “Man. The people of Clover Town sure do have a lot of work cut out for them… Maybe Dashie and I can help ‘em out a bit. Knowing that little fucker, he’s probably trying to get himself some with that bartender right now.”

He summoned ten orbs of blue aura around the tips of his fingers, standing up straight now to gaze over the hump of black fire. He held both of his arms out, palms facing the ground. His left hand was horizontal to the ground while his right was on a diagonal, though still faced the direction in which both Lance and the woman were walking. The aura crystallized into small bullet-shaped cylinders of ice. “Ice Dragon’s Fierce Blitz!” He fired off all ten of the ice-bullets, sending five of them straight on to Lance’s back and the other into the air so that they would arc their way towards him, aiming for both a frontal and aerial attack.

Whether his Fierce Blitz made contact with the target or not, Ryder would quickly snatch up his sword and dash through the flames, following his spell’s wake by zooming towards Lance. He placed one hand on his sword’s handle and the other on the metal sheath, pistoning it forward like a spear to smash into either Lance’s mid-back or abdomen.

Ryder’s sheath had found it’s target, though not necessarily the one he’d intended it for. He could hear the sickening crack fill the air around them, the butt of his scabbard digging into the dug of the white-haired woman who happened to be traveling with Lance. She threw herself in front of Slayer’s counterattack, saving Lance a blow that would have inevitably struck his already damaged back.

“Oh, wow. She wasn’t really who I was aiming for.” Ryder pulled his sheath back, his cold hues darting back and forth between the woman and his opponent, Lance. His back was littered with the remnants of his last Spell, the Fierce Blitz. Small bits of slushy frost had peppered his back, having shredded away bits and pieces of his black cloak. The white-haired woman was now gasping for air, her hands immediately wrapping around the slender waist that had been demolished.

Ryder took two steps backwards, looking towards Lance whose face was riddled with confusion. It looked as if he didn’t know what to do about the situation. He must’ve been in a whole world of emotions. On one hand, these two obviously knew each other. So he had to feel some sort of anger at having just watched her nearly collapse from a hit delivered by his enemy. On the other, he had to keep this macho-man attitude up. Maybe that is why she followed him around in the first place? It was a common stereotype after all, the girls falling for the bad boy.

It looked like the God Slayer went with his first instinct; Rage. He swiftly lunged forward to catch the woman in his arms and softly lower her to the ground. He turned towards Ryder, black flames erupting around his muscular yet beaten frame. His eyes beamed a vibrant scarlet, the two orbs being the only visible objects Ryder could see through the wall of fire. If he was being completely honest with himself, this was scary. Lance’s Magic Power was rising, breaking any previous cap he’d showcased before. His Magic Power, the overwhelming feeling it placed on such a man.. It was almost god-like.

No matter, Ryder couldn’t stand down now. He had one more spell in him before he had to call it quits. Lance brought him to his limit and pushed him even further beyond. He’d shoved him around and smashed through a wall of power Ryder thought unavailable by another Slayer. Hell, he didn’t know there even were other Slayers like him. Not only was this an experience that heightened his physical capabilities, but his spiritual and mental knowledge as well. Whether or not the Rune Knights were coming, he didn’t care at this point. He was going to throw every ounce of strength he had left into this one last spell, and just hope it would be enough to take Lance down.

“What? Do I smell that bad? You threw me through a bunch of fruit for crying out loud, I should smell great.”

Just as Lance had done, Ryder parted his lips into an ‘o’ shape. His chest and stomach swelled up as the Magic Power within his body molded together, forming a mass of ice shards and frigid slush. At almost the exact same time the God Slayer fired off his Bellow, Ryder thrusted his torso forward while releasing his own breath attack. “Ice Dragon’s Roar!!!” A large blue tornado formed from a mixture of slush and sharp ice shards spiralled through the air, colliding with the spiral of fire. The two spells clashed, neither one of them being able to push the other back.

After a few moments of struggling, the two spells canceled each other out with a large explosion that rattled their small battlefield. Lance’s black fire scorched Ryder’s half of the road while Ryder’s ice froze Lance’s half. The Ice Dragon Slayer was knocked off of his feet from the blowout, skidding across the ground until he hit the stone-base of a building off to the right. Every muscle in his body ached and burned from the attacks he’d suffered earlier at the hands of his opponent. A damned God-Slayer, a thing of legend. He lived up to the Magic’s reputation, employing the ferocity and destruction that one would assume accompanied a god’s powers. Hell, he was strong enough to take Ryder out of battle.

Before he could pass out from exhaustion, a squeaky yet familiar voice pierced his eardrums. He lazily lifted his eyelids to see Dashie hovering over top, a wide grin taking up most of his face. “Ryder, Ryder! Wake up dude, I brought the squad! Sorry it took so long, they apparently met some problems along the way. Oh, and here. I thought you may need this. You can thank Maria for this.” Dashie released a large bag of ice-cubes, allowing it to fall onto Ryder’s battered abdomen. This hunk of ice provided Ryder with the small bit of energy needed to lift his head and witness the brigade of Rune Knights now closing in on Lance and the white-haired woman. There were seven, to be exact. Six small grunts and one man dressed much fancier than the rest. All of them had their hands clasped tightly around their weapons as they crept towards the God Slayer.

Ryder poked his fingers into the plastic bag, ripping a large enough hole in the side for him to chomp down on the ice. He treated it like a big, meaty burger, just digging his chops into sack of cubes like a rabid dog. “Look man, eat on the way. We gotta go! Luckily, they didn’t recognize me right away. We need to leave before they try questioning us.” Without letting Ryder retort, Dashie wrapped his paws around his partner and lifted him into the air, hastily flying down the road as fast as his little wings would let him to avoid the wrath of the Rune Knights.

“I can’t believe you took him on all by yourself! And.. And you said he used Black Fire?!” The bartender, who’d introduced herself as Maria, nervously exclaimed while dabbing a wet washrag against the tiny cuts littering Ryder’s face. She had a gentle touch, being careful so as to not cause anymore pain to the Slayer. Lance had given him a run for his money, and he had half a mind to bet that if the Rune Knights hadn’t shown up, he would’ve lost that battle. He had no idea if the God Slayer was able to escape or not. Some feeling gnawing at the back of his skull, a feeling he couldn’t shake.. It was making him want to believe that Lance did get out alive.

“Hey, you punk-ass!” Dashie slapped his paw against the back of Ryder’s skulls, his crazy eyes showing through the orange curtain that was his mop. “You answer a beautiful woman when she is talking to you! Don’t disrespect her like that.” Ryder’s eyes nearly popped out of the back of his head upon impact. But Dashie was right. He was allowing himself to drift off and think of other things that were irrelevant at the time. “I’m sorry.. My mind was uh, erm. Nevermind. Black Fire? Yeah. He used some type of magic that let him utilize Black Fire. It was pretty freakin’ annoying.”

Maria’s eyes widened in fear, pulling her washcloth back. “D-Did he tell you what type of magic he used?! I know not everything is like the fairy tales where the bad guy reveals his powers but.. Maybe this one did?” She was let down with Ryder’s nonchalant answer. He shook his head side-to-side. Even though he knew exactly what type of magic his opponent used, Maria didn’t need to know. No one but Dashie needed to know. It would just put the town on higher alert than normal, and he didn’t wish that upon the people.

The duo glanced at each other, having already agreed on what to tell the woman. “Just regular Fire magic. Nothing you guys should worry about. If he ever comes around again, any normal Water mage would do.” His lips curled into a reassuring smile, beaming towards Maria. Her cheeks flushed a deep pink before she quickly glanced away, setting her hands in her lap. “Well, thank you… You saved a lot of us and our town. I don’t know what would have happened without you guys.” Ryder lifted himself from the bar stool, reaching forward to pat the woman on her shoulder. Dashie brought his paw to his face, jutting his hip out. “It was our pleasure! I told you we were certified ass-kickers!”

“Yea, yea. I gotta cut this short, though. Dashie and I have places we need to be.” Ryder reached down and wrapped his hand around his trusty sword. This damn thing was amazing. It certainly helped him out in his fight against Lance. He bid the woman a farewell with a simple nod before waltzing towards the front door of the tavern. “Gagh, you’re such a buzzkill.. Alright baby girl, I gotta run. I’ll catch you next time though, I swear!” He flashed her a bright smile that lit up the room. She folded her hands in her lap, dismissing the comments from the Exceed. “Oh, okay! I’ll be seeing you… Next time you’re in Clover Town, please stop by for a visit!”

The two lifted their right hands above their head, signaling their goodbye before exiting the establishment. Once outside, Dashie spoke on exactly what Ryder knew he would; “She was a nice lady. I liked her a lot, y’know? Maria is such a fiery name.. But she is so timid.” He chirped, walking alongside his partner. It wasn’t a good idea, walking towards the area in which the two Slayers had engaged in combat. “Yep.” --- “So where are we going next?”

Ryder’s carefree expression morphed into one of determination. He spoke with a stern tone, refusing to take his cold glare off of the road in front of him. “We’re gonna go take a few jobs. Hopefully along the way, we’ll find some people who know a little something about these God Slayers…”

“Tsch. You totally forgot your bag.” Dashie broke the conversation with an arrogant tone. This caused the Ice Dragon Slayer to stop dead in his tracks, his pearlescent cheeks transforming into scarlet. “Gngh… S-shit!” Sweat formed upon his skin as the realization that Maria had found the bag set in. If she looked inside.. Well, let’s just say he wouldn’t be able to face her again without completely fainting.