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Zeldaris opened his eyes, his face twisted with hatred and pain. "Do you understand now, boy? I was not born a monster. They made me one."
Yaman's chest tightened. His heart pounded, but his gaze did not waver. He saw the broken child within Zeldaris, the pain, the rage—but he also saw the tyrant standing before him.
Zeldaris raised his bloodied club, shouting,
"Fear is the only truth! Fear is what protects! Justice, security, dreams—they are illusions that kings and councils sell before crushing them underfoot!"
Yaman's hands clenched into fists. Lava flowed over his arms, his magma aura flaring like a roaring inferno around him. His voice rang clear and defiant over the chaos of erupting volcanoes.
"Fear? Justice? Dreams?" he shouted back, his eyes blazing red with Magma Dragon Slayer magic. "No! Vulcanus will not live under your rule! I will protect this island in my own way! Not through fear… not through tyranny… but through strength, courage, and the will of its people!"
Zeldaris paused, slightly taken aback by the sheer intensity of the boy's words. He smirked, a cruel smile, but there was a flicker of respect—or perhaps disbelief—in his gaze.
"Ha! You are… defiant. Like your father," Zeldaris hissed, his voice a mix of anger and amusement. "You truly are a stubborn brat. But do you really think you can stop me? That your strength alone can overthrow the power of Cerberus?"
Yaman's eyes did not waver. He let his magma aura surge higher, surrounding him with heat and molten light. Every breath he took, every pulse of magic, screamed determination.
"I don't care what you call yourself, Zeldaris," Yaman said, voice steady, unwavering. "I will not be afraid of you. I will fight with everything I have. I will protect Vulcanus. I will protect my father, my people, and this land. Even if it costs me my life, I will not bow to monsters like you!"
The lava beneath them shook violently, as if responding to the intensity of Yaman's aura. Volcanoes roared in the distance. Dust and smoke filled the battlefield, yet through it all, Yaman's defiance shone like a beacon.
Zeldaris's eyes narrowed, his smirk returning. "Interesting… very interesting, boy. I will enjoy this. Let us see whether your defiance is foolish… or deadly."
The battlefield fell silent, the tension crackling like electricity. Father, son, and tyrant—each standing at the edge of fate, ready for the clash that would decide the future of Vulcanus.
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The battlefield trembled as Yaman's magma aura flared like a blazing sun. Dust and lava hissed around him, but his eyes were fixed on Zeldaris. Every fiber of his being burned with determination, anger, and defiance.
Zeldaris tightened his grip on Hellslayer, the massive club glowing red with his own magical energy. "So, this is your resolve, boy. Very well… let us see if fire and defiance can stop the weight of Cerberus!"
With a roar, Zeldaris slammed Hellslayer into the ground, sending a shockwave that tore through the ruined arena. Rocks exploded, lava splintered into the air, and Yaman was thrown backward, skidding across the molten stone. He slammed his hand into the ground and focused. His body glowed with intense red heat.
"Iron Magma Dragon Fist!"
Yaman's right fist ignited in magma, swirling and erupting as he shot forward, faster than the eye could follow. He slammed the molten fist into the side of Zeldaris's body, throwing him against a shattered wall of rocks. Lava sprayed from the impact, and the heat was so intense the air shimmered around them.
Zeldaris groaned, but his grin only widened. "Not bad, boy. But let's see if you can handle this!"
He swung Hellslayer in a massive arc, channeling his fire and dark magic into it. The ground cracked, and lava spewed like geysers from every fissure. Yaman barely dodged, feeling the edge of molten rock brush against him, scorching his skin.
Yaman smirked beneath the dust and sweat. "You're strong, Zeldaris. But I won't fall. Magma Dragon Wing!"
Lava surged along Yaman's arms, shaping into massive wings of molten rock and fire. With a powerful leap, he soared into the air, striking Zeldaris with blazing claws of magma. The attack struck with the force of an erupting volcano, throwing Zeldaris back several meters. Lava and debris rained down around him.
Kur, standing beside his master, gasped. "This boy… he is unlike anything I've seen before!"
Zeldaris rose slowly, his left side scorched and still smoldering from Yaman's strike. His eyes gleamed with savage amusement. "Impressive. But you are playing with fire… literally and figuratively."
He slammed his club into the ground again, the impact sending rivers of lava toward Yaman. The boy leapt and spun, magma covering his body like armor. "Dragon Claw!" he shouted, his hand striking the advancing lava and tearing a path through it.
Zeldaris's eyes narrowed. "So fiery… so defiant… I almost admire you, brat. But this is Cerberus! You cannot stop us!"
Yaman's face burned with resolve. "I don't care what Cerberus is! I fight for my father! I fight for Vulcanus! I fight for what is right! You want fear? I'll give you courage!"
With a final surge, Yaman raised his arms, magma roaring around him like twin volcanoes. His aura lit the battlefield with blinding heat and power. Zeldaris and Kur were both forced to step back, shielding themselves from the immense energy.
"Inferno Dragon Strike!"
Yaman launched forward like a living eruption, his fists and feet coated in molten fire. Lava and magical energy blasted around him, striking Zeldaris with devastating force. The battlefield itself groaned under the power of their clash.
Zeldaris gritted his teeth, struggling to maintain footing. "So… this is the heir of Fernando… the son of the Dark King… bold, powerful, and unbroken."
Yaman's eyes blazed, unwavering. "I am Yaman! And I will protect Vulcanus with every last ounce of strength I have!"
The air shimmered with heat and power, the battlefield torn between molten rivers and shattered stone. Shouts of defiance and fury echoed as Yaman and Zeldaris prepared for the next exchange—an unstoppable clash between the legacy of fathers and the fire of a new generation
---
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The battlefield trembled under the might of Zeldaris and Cerberus. Yaman fought desperately, but he was too young to contend with such overwhelming power. His father, Fernando, watched from the ground, broken, missing an arm and an eye. His chest rose and fell in shallow, ragged breaths, yet his gaze never wavered from his son.
Seeing his son struggling, Fernando clenched his teeth. "Pathetic… I've trained him to be strong, and yet… I can't help him now," he muttered, voice trembling with both pain and pride.
A surge of determination rose within him. He could no longer rely on ordinary strength. With a grimace, Fernando whispered the forbidden incantation that had been locked away for decades: "Son of Darkness."
Immediately, a black and red aura erupted around him, wrapping his broken body in swirling shadows. His wounds screamed in agony, but the magic absorbed every ounce of pain, converting it into dark, destructive power. Gravity warped around him, the earth beneath cracking as if screaming under the weight of his forbidden energy.
Fernando's voice rang out, low and thunderous: "I will not let my son die… I will not fail again!"
The aura surged violently, distorting the battlefield. Cerberus roared, its three heads snapping at him in terror, unable to withstand the oppressive darkness. Zeldaris's eyes widened as the shadows twisted, pulling meteors and chunks of volcanic rock into a gravitational vortex above the battlefield.
Fernando raised his arms, channeling every ounce of strength into the spell. His body trembled violently under the strain—the price of the magic exacting its toll. Ten years of his life vanished in an instant, the black and red aura pulsing with fatal intensity.
With a roar of defiance, Fernando unleashed the Gravity-Meteor Strike, a cataclysmic attack that sent a column of meteors crashing down upon Cerberus, the surrounding ruins, and the battlefield itself. Lava splashed, rocks shattered, and even Zeldaris was forced to evade with all his might.
Yet, the spell had a limit. Fernando's breaths were ragged, his blood boiled, and veins glowed with the cursed energy of Son of Darkness. Sweat dripped down his face, and every movement felt like wading through molten iron.
Cerberus stumbled, wounded, but the beast was not finished. Its three heads lashed out simultaneously, aiming to crush Fernando once and for all. His body trembled under the combined assault of the monster and the immense magical backlash from the forbidden spell.
Even in this agonizing state, Fernando's eyes burned with resolve. "If this is my last act… let it be my son's salvation!" he screamed, summoning every remaining ounce of darkness and gravitational power. The meteors above him accelerated, drawn into a devastating, synchronized strike that would shake even the strongest magicians to their core.
Around him, the world seemed to warp. Lava, shadows, and meteor shards spiraled into an unstoppable storm, an eruption of power that only the forbidden magic of the Son of Darkness could create.
Fernando's voice, strained with pain but filled with burning determination, echoed across the battlefield: "Zeldaris… this is the end… for you… for Cerberus… for my son!"
The battlefield quaked, the volcanoes shuddered, and the forbidden magic of the Dark King himself reached its terrifying apex. Twenty minutes of hellish, unstoppable force had begun—and every second brought him closer to the brink of death, to the edge where body and magic could no longer exist.
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Fernando's eyes widened as he saw Zeldaris' new form, the heat radiating from him like molten iron, the aura of predatory power consuming the battlefield. Every muscle of his body burned with the dark energy of Cerberus merged with Zeldaris' own magic.
"Oh, Dark King," Zeldaris laughed, voice deep and wild, echoing across the ruined battlefield. "I didn't expect you to have such power hidden within you. It must have come with a terrible price."
Fernando gritted his teeth, sweat dripping down his face, feeling the weight of his forbidden spell straining his body even more.
Zeldaris' eyes gleamed with manic excitement. "Then there is no choice. I will use my trump card!" he shouted, his voice carrying over the cracking lava and debris. "Take over: Cerberus!"
The air seemed to distort as Zeldaris' body absorbed the monstrous Cerberus. The energy pulse was instantaneous. His magical power soared to a level that even Fernando could hardly comprehend. Yaman's eyes widened as he shouted, "He absorbed Cerberus!"
Minutes passed as the thick smoke of magical energy swirled around Zeldaris' body. Slowly, the fog dissipated, revealing a terrifying hybrid figure. It was Zeldaris, but no longer merely human. His skin had transformed into dark reddish-black fur that smoldered with heat. His hair bristled upward, wild and untamed. His teeth had become jagged, sharp fangs, and from his back rose two blazing, dog-shaped fiery heads. His hands and feet had morphed into deadly claws, and his eyes burned with the feral hunger of a predator.
Kur's calm voice cut through the tension. "If you use it… Zeldaris."
Zeldaris' savage smile widened. "Hybrid Mode."
Yaman's eyes widened, trembling slightly as he whispered to himself, "He… he's become a Cerberus hybrid. Imagine the brutal power of Cerberus fused with Zeldaris' magic…"
Fernando's grip on his sword tightened, his dark aura igniting with a violent flare. Sweat poured down his face, his muscles screaming under the weight of the forbidden power he had unleashed.
"Kur," Zeldaris commanded, his voice dripping with authority and malice, "take care of that boy, Yaman. I will deal with the Dark King myself."
Kur moved with blinding speed, appearing in front of Yaman in an instant. He punched with bone-crushing force into Yaman's stomach, sending him flying across the debris-strewn battlefield.
Fernando surged forward instinctively, but before he could reach him, a shadow flashed across his vision. Zeldaris was suddenly in front of him, his feral eyes locking onto Fernando's.
"Your battle is with me, Dark King," Zeldaris growled, voice a terrifying mixture of rage and predatory glee.
Fernando's body tensed. His sword ignited in his dark aura, and he let out a guttural roar, a sound filled with defiance and the burning will of a father and warrior.
The battlefield froze for a split second, lava bubbling, smoke twisting, and debris hanging in the air. Two forces, both infused with monstrous, destructive power, faced each other—the Dark King, fueled by forbidden magic, and Zeldaris, the hybrid embodiment of Cerberus fury.
The world seemed to hold its breath as the two charged, colliding in a shockwave of dark energy and feral magic that would shake Vulcanus to its core.
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