The people on the wall cheered. The king and Arthur couldn't hurt him, but Kael Vane's attack had. Now they knew why the monster had been so scared.
There was hope! Humans could beat a dragon!
The king stared in disbelief.
"He hurt a dragon... without Dragon Slaying magic? That's... impossible!"
"That's Mr. Yoriichi... no, Mr. Kael! His skill is just... on another level!"
Arthur was shaking with excitement. Every time he saw Kael fight, it changed what he thought he knew about the sword.
"He's a monster..."
Kray could only call him a monster. He had tried to cut the dragon's neck, but his own sword had broken.
The purple-haired man looked at his bleeding arms. His face twisted.
"Kid... you've really made me angry!"
"ROAR—!"
With a roar, his body began to change. He grew larger. Horns sprouted from his head, and purple scales covered his skin. Wings burst from his back, and a long tail grew.
In an instant, a giant, purple dragon, dozens of meters tall, stood where he had been.
"ROOOOAR—!"
The purple dragon spread its wings and roared at the sky.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A terrifying shockwave spread out.
The ground shattered. Trees were snapped in half and then blown to dust.
The monsters in the forest all ran in terror.
The shockwave hit the city, and the people on the wall had to grab on to keep from being blown away.
Looking at the giant, terrifying dragon... the humans felt despair all over again.
Just its roar could cause this much destruction. How could they possibly win?
"Stop shouting. Hasn't anyone told you how awful your voice is?"
"Human! I was careless! That's the only reason you hurt me. Now that I'm in my real body, your attacks are useless! Die!"
The purple dragon opened its mouth and fired a terrifying blast of violet dragon breath.
Kael Vane gripped his sword and swung. A flaming slash shot from his blade.
SWISH—!
The flame slash cut the dragon's breath in half.
"What?!"
The dragon couldn't believe it. The slash kept going and struck its body.
"Aaargh!"
The dragon roared in pain. A cut had opened across its scales. It wasn't deep, but it burned.
"You... How is this possible?! How can a mere human attack break my scales?!"
The purple dragon stared. This man had cut its breath in half and wounded it. He knew this man wasn't a Dragon Slayer. How was this possible?
"Stop saying 'mere human.' Wasn't it a 'mere human' who wiped out your entire race? What right do you have to look down on us?"
"And as for your scales... did you really think your defense was that strong?" Kael Vane said calmly.
"Bastard! Die!"
The purple dragon swiped its giant claw at Kael.
BOOM—!
The claw hit the ground, and the earth shattered, as if the world were ending.
"Sun Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Wheel!"
Kael had already moved behind the dragon, flipping through the air in a fiery, circular slash.
Stab—!
"Aaargh!"
The dragon roared. The cut wasn't deep, just a scratch. But the burning pain was too much.
The dragon spun around.
"Sun Breathing, Tenth Form: Beneficent Radiance!"
Kael dropped from the sky, spinning in a high-speed spiral slash.
"Aaaaaargh!"
Cuts opened all down the dragon's chest and stomach. The pain was so sharp it couldn't stop screaming.
It ignored the pain and swiped at Kael, trying to grab him.
"Sun Breathing, Third Form: Raging Sun!"
Kael swung his sword in two quick, symmetrical slashes.
BANG!
The dragon's claws were knocked back, with fresh cuts carved into them.
"Waaaaah! Bastard!"
"Sun Breathing, Eighth Form: Solar Heat Haze!"
Kael didn't stop. He flowed into a spinning, fiery slash that tore across the dragon's stomach.
BOOM!
The dragon's giant body slid back dozens of meters.
It ignored the pain and charged, its fist wrapped in dragon energy.
"Sun Breathing, Seventh Form: Sunflower Thrust!"
Kael charged right back at it.
BOOM—!
The dragon's fist and the tip of Kael's sword met.
Stab—!
The blade stabbed into the dragon's fist. But the sword was too short to do real damage to a beast this huge.
Kael was sent flying. He had been overconfident, trying to match a dragon's raw strength.
The dragon saw him flying and grinned. It flapped its wings and charged after him.
Kael finally stopped himself in mid-air.
"Sun Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance!"
He moved at high speed, like a flaming dragon, and passed straight through the purple dragon's body.
Stab! Stab!
More cuts opened all over the dragon's scales.
"Waaaaah! You damn insect!"
The dragon went crazy, attacking wildly. The forest and the ground were being torn to pieces.
Just then, Kael Vane said quietly, "That should be about enough."
The dragon's hearing was sharp. It caught the quiet words. Enough? Enough for what? A bad feeling crawled up its spine.
Kael Vane gripped his sword with both hands. His eyes turned serious. With a powerful breath, his whole body seemed to burst into flames.
The dragon, Alazam, felt deadly danger. No... I can't let him attack!
"Earth Shatter!"
The dragon gathered magic in its claws and slammed them into the ground.
BOOM—!
The world shook. The ground for a hundred meters around them exploded, sending giant chunks of rock flying into the sky.
Kael landed on one of the chunks, now upside-down in the air.
He was calm. He stared down at the dragon, his eyes not wavering. He focused all his magic power into his blade.
"Sun Breathing, Thirteenth Form!"