Splash!
Yamaru landed with such tyrannical force that the entirety of the lake was emptied- the water forced into the sky.
As Yamaru laid at the bottom of the lake and looked up, he saw a sight that left him more puzzled than anything else. It was so confusing in fact that he almost thought for a moment that the blows had damaged his head somehow making him see things.
But that couldn't be right. He might have taken a few hits but they weren't strong enough to make him lose his mind.
So what was he seeing…
As the water from the lake fell back towards the earth in a cascade of rain, a man stood within its midst in the air.
Steam continuously rose from his body as though his body heat itself caused the droplets that made contact with him to evaporate. His arms, legs, torso and even his face were covered in an armor of scales. On his head was a crown of hair the color of flames. A pair of horns piercing towards the sky. The wings to his back stretched out.
Yamaru could feel his heart hammering in his chest for some reason. His blood ran cold almost as though in the presence of this man it could do nothing but cower in fear.
'Fear?'
The thought itself felt absurd. Was he really afraid?
He gnashed his teeth. Blood spilling between them. Slowly he rose to his feet. Fear? This man was making him feel fear?
Unacceptable.
He was a disciple of the great Sin, Overlord of Discord, Ruler of Astaroth. The man who took down the beast that was known throughout history as the strongest. How could he ever feel fear?
The man's body flickered in the air for a moment before he appeared standing across from him.
Yamaru took a hurried step back. It wasn't intentional.
"Y-you who a-are you?" he asked despite already knowing the answer to that question.
"Do you know what the most difficult thing is when it comes to having a large body?" the man spoke in a familiar rambling voice that carried an air of authority.
Cold sweat fell down his back, Yamaru couldn't answer. But Immortal Flame continued regardless.
"Having a large body has its perks. In the world of beasts and giants I am undefeated. However most of the races that attacked me in my early years were all humanoid and had small bodies so fighting them was always troublesome." Immortal Flame said with a crooked smile, his teeth were still pointed. "So I decided to make a form of my own"
"N-no that shouldn't be possible" Yamaru stammered.
"Ah but it is. This is the most optimized form for combat that I can take. I call it Dragonoid" Immortal Flame smiled.
"If you had such a form then how come nobody has talked about it, not even master?"
"Ah but most who seen this form are long dead as for your master…I don't think he'd want to talk about the details of his defeat so clearly" Immortal Flame chuckled.
Yamaru felt his blood heat up at the slander of his master. It was that anger that broke through his fear and give him just enough clarity to release his final card.
Insults to his master were…
"Truly unacceptable"
The tattoos along his chest pulsed with a purple light and his body started to change. With every pulse, black sickly veins spread through the rest of his body. They spread from his chest and crawled all the way to his hands, legs, and feet. They even made their way to his face
But the most apparent change was his eyes. While his pupils retained their amethyst glow it was the sclera that turned completely black.
"Urgh!" Yamaru released a roar that shook the ground itself. No it didn't just shake it, his aura burst out, creating a tempest of wind that scattered the falling droplets apart as well as caused the ground to crack beneath him.
"Yes" Yamaru said. His voice sounding more demonic than anything. He could feel his body overflowing with strength. He clenched and unclenched his fists, staring at it with strange curiosity and doubt.
Was this really him? Was this his power?
It felt incredible. He towards Immortal Flame who stood across from him with a grim expression then he grinned