SAMAEL
I run at the fastest speed I could muster preparing as direct attack at he phoenix. The beast before me is unearthly and the golden eyes that stare down at my approaching form tells of great power beyond most beasts. Only rare beasts have golden eyes and even those beasts don't have those as bright as this. I'm really going to die!
"Death is only a construct created to limit mortals from transcending heights beyond them! Death is not the enemy, fear of death is! When you face an enemy that is sure to kill you, always remember it's all in your mind until it really happens!" Avatar Pavi's words ring in my head loudly, and vision of my training with him flash through my head.
Training at the Pre-Supreme trials were deadly but he deadliest was with Avatar Pavi. I couldn't control my elements because my maagi has not been unlocked, so I had to become one with the elements in preparation of maagi and I nearly died. I'm not even sure I didn't die once or twice.
Days spent sleeping in a volcano, to connect to the flame element. It was the easiest, as it was my dragon first affinity. Becoming fire resistant wasn't hard, but fire is unruly and it took time for it to bend to my sheer will. I even moved a flame without my maagi at all.
Time spent underwater was worse. Dragons are naturally enemies of water because it douses the fire of their hearts. However, after drowning, and freezing almost to death, I not only could breathe underwater, I could also moves the waves in a flow slightly, and the cold nature of water became natural to me. Even the adverse effects of ice became more like a cool evening breeze to me.
Earth wasn't that hard. I was just buried for a few days until I got myself out. Avatar Pavi has an insane way of teaching, bt he groomed me. Groomed me to be strong, to be wilful, to never let anything have control over me. Avatar Pavi showed me we are as powerful as we can stretch ourselves.
All those training prepared me for this exact moment. Those days that I felt like I was going to die transformed me from that weak, powerless, orphan boy. The one who everyone looked down on because he had no maagi, because he was too weak to even cast, because he wasn't strong enough. I was treated like shit, because I couldn't fight back, not anymore
At that moment I realize something important. Every trial has a reason for it. For some I refined my maagi usage by learning from the beasts I faced, for others it increased my strength and resilience. Every trial gave me something, but I'm starting to realize I won't be getting anything out of this Trial.
This trial is not here to give me anything, but to take a lot of things. It is here to take my fear of death, to take my insecurities that I'm not strong enough, to rid me of everything that may hold me back. This might be my final Trial but it is here to take every constraint on me, and maybe even take my life!
With a newfound coursge and determination I push myself to go faster. A huge smile appears on my face as I prepare for the biggest fight of my life yet. You think you can kill me? Well go for it! I'm definitely not going to give it to you so easily. I finally am powerful and I'm not dying until the whole world shows me the respecr I deserve.
The beast sees me approaching with full force. To the natural eye it will be like a blur, but a beast of this level might even be seeing me running slower than a human. Fury crosses it's expression at the pesky human trying to attack it. It opens it's mouth and releae a loud shriek. The force of air released by that shriek shakes the earth itself and send multiple rocks flying.
I predicted it will do something like that so I was prepared for it. Beasts unlike humans have very limited fighting skills because of the structure of their limbs, and I have learned to capitalize on this. You shouldn't have done that.
I leap into the air at the last minute before the force hits and land on a rock above. I nimbly jump off the rocky outcrop and slash the beast on its right wing, bedofe landing nimbly at its side. The beasts let out a painful croak but it doesnr last for long as the skin melts back together and with a wave of its left wing I'm sent flying hundreds of feet in the air.
The wave hit too fast I didn't even see it coming. I change my body in the air aiming to land on my feet but the beast has other plans. It doesn't let me land as it flies up to me and slaps me with another wing and tears my back with its talons pulling out a huge chuck of flesh. Lack of Maagi make me unable to do anything in the air. I am at its mercy and with another slap of its right wing I slam into the earth.
Multiple bones in my body crush at impact and I groan loudly. My regeneration kicked in but it has gotten so slow since my dragon form went incognito, and with lack of Maagi to speed up the process, or Fenrir anywhere close to draw from I heal a little above the pace of a simple human.
I try to stand but I need my bones to just set or they may never be balanced forever. The beast still flying in the air becomes full flames from head to talons and releases an onlsaught of flames at where I laid. I move through excruciating pain and the golden flames missed me by a hair's breath.
Seeing that it's flames didn't do the job, the bird release another onlsaught of flames that I avoid. I have already lost so much blood from the multiple wounds around my body, and the huge gash in my back was sprouting blood heavily. If I wasn't a supernatural I'll be long gone. I keep avoiding flames after flames slightly just moving enough to be able to redirect the flames from myself. I may not have by Maagi reserve but Avatar Pavi made me redirect flames before I could even call on my maagi. I can do it by sheer will, but only slightly!
The bird seeing it's flames are not working decides to take matteres into it's hands. It looks at me with armed beaks and talon. It released a loud shriek and flies at full speed towards me with the aim to pierce me with its beak ending my miserable life.
"You don't get godlike power by the amount of maagi you can absorb or by the amount of exercises you do. Such strength comes from a stretching that happens when you are near death.
You will know in that moment, that all you need is one strike that will end your life and that of your enemy and you embrace the death happily.
In that moment you will draw on the strength of your life force, expanding not only your physical feature but even your maagi is expanded beyond measure. That is when you get the godlike Strength. Only for warriors ready to give up their life!" Hercules lecture on the godlike Strength resounds in my brain. I am going to die, and I'm going to take this beast with me!
I close my eyes and let my sixth sense take charge. I pull on the power that is hidden behind the maagi pool and strength reserve. That power that draws on your Life Essence taking your life as you use it. I draw everything as fast as I can and I feel the change instanty.
The air around me cackles with electricity. Power unlike anything I have ever felt emanates from my chest, bathing my whole body in an ethereal glow that covers my body. It tries to heal my fatal wounds but I pull it back from doing that. If I want to end the phoenix I need to use it all.
Slamming both my swords into a single thick and deadly katana, I redirect all that power flowing round my body into the sword in my hand. I keep pouring power into the sword that the oressure of the sword increases drastically. I couldn't see it but the sword starts glowing a very bright gold and even the hilt was glowing a very bright black.
I don't stop even when I feel the weight of the sword get crazily heavy. My katanas that always feel as light as feathers felt heavier than even a broadsword. What power is this? I could have used it to cast elemental magic, but not element would do justice to this beast. Finally the reserve of power dries as the last bit of power enters my sword.
I open my eyes instantly, a vibrant golden glow shinning from my depths as my vision clears beyond the usual. The phoenix notices the shift in pressure and it's eyes open in shock but it is too close in its decent to shift again. Just as the tip of the beak pierce my neck I stab the overpowered sword into its throat with all the power I had left, just as it's beak crushes my neck totally.
BOOM!
A large explosion is heard as the power in the sword explodes in the phoenix and it's body falls to the ground beside my limp body. My body is totally numb and unmoving. My body is already gone and I could feel my mind follow it! I'm dying and I can't even talk.
"Human! You are blessed by the dragon as he foresaw! Now my seed is yours for as long as it lives! Keep it safe for me!" I hear the Phoenix voice in my head and I chuckle in my mind. We are both dying, such a pity your seed never got to know both of us! I hope Fenrir and the girl are fine.
As my vision blurs I see the phoenix explode in flames and become golden energy particles. The particles form into a huge ball and slams into me at once with sheer force. Euphoria unlike any shoots though my mind and I relish my last moments.
At least I died fighting, so I give in to the darkness clouding my vision!