The dragon was enjoying the view and he was even grinning while dodging the attacks that were being sent his way. He did not stop from mocking them and ruffling their feathers. There were times that he would let them get near him but at the end he would kick or push them away.
Both women were panting and they slumped on the ground because no matter what they did, they could never hit the man. It was impossible and now they couldn't even complete the task that was given to them. They gave each other a subtle look and that's when the woman with a fan conjured the strongest and largest tornado she could.
It was able to cover the whole of the cave and they took this chance to ran away. Both of their movements were swift and fast but that was clearly not enough. Ignius grinned and something black extended from his feet towards the direction of the women.
The dragon's shadow clamped on the foot of each woman. They fell down on the uneven and dusty ground with a thud. The shadow that held them started to coil like a snake around their feet until it reached their necks and completely stopped from making any movements.
The sword and fan on their hands were confiscated by the shadow. It lifted the weapons up and with just a little force, both snapped into two. The tornado that the woman conjured also lost its effect and completely vanished.
Ignius used his mana to make the light in the cave brighter and he was able to see the sorry state that the enemy were in. He crouched down and looked at them before shaking his head. He then placed his hand on his chin and tapped it a few times.
"What should I do to the both of you?" He mumbled to himself as he looked around. After a minute of not being able to think of something, he sat down on the ground and placed the serpent on his side.
"Did that man send you here?" The serpent asked after he curled himself on the ground. His voice was not as deep as it was before because of his current size.
"Yes, Ari reported that the manor was being attacked and so were you so I was sent here to help you and now I don't know what to do to them." He pointed at the women who were trying to wriggle out from the shadow that was binding them.
"I'm surprised that you did not kill them," the serpent moved his head and looked at them.
"Well, I was told that I can fight them but now that I saw that they were too weak, I feel like they don't deserve to die by my hands," the dragon answered. He rested his cheeks on the palm of his hand.
"Should I do it then?" the serpent then asked. His gaze was still on the two of them and he could still remember how he was stabbed and injured by them.
"Are you sure about it?" the dragon asked. He straightened his body and looked down at the serpent. "You are pretty savage."
"Well, I am not someone with a good heart and that's just the way of the world. Since they tried to kill me, then should I let them go?" The serpent hissed. If someone wanted to kill him then he should return the favor.
eαglesnovel`c,om "Alright, you can do whatever you want." The dragon stood up and took several steps back.
He watched as the serpent grew in size and made its way towards one of the women. It lowered its head and bit the woman. The woman couldn't even make a sound because the shadow was covering her mouth. She struggled but slowly her movements stopped.
The woman's body shriveled as the serpent sucked on her life force to replenish his. After it was done, it looked at the other woman who was already shivering because of what she saw. She tried to move her body and scoot away but the shadow got her firmly locked in place.
"This is only payback for what you did," the serpent spoke as he stopped above the woman. Like what it did on the first one, it sucked her dry.
After circulating the life force that he got, the serpent slowly changed into that of a young man. He was wearing an all-black clothing that did not fit young looks. He had jet black hair and golden eyes just like the dragon. His skin was unblemished and he looked much younger than the actual age that he was portraying.
"Is that your usual human form?" the dragon asked after the transformation happened.
"No, my power is not enough to sustain my adult form so I opted to a younger version to conserve my energy," the serpent answered.
The dragon nodded. "But I must say, you've got an unusual way of replenishing your power…" his gaze moved to the shriveled bodies of the women in the ground.
He called back his shadows and walked up to the guardian deity. The young man was silent with a frown on his face as he stared at his two victims. Although he sometimes did not like doing it, he could admit that it was the most efficient way for him to get back his power. He had not done it for a long time now so it was a bit surreal for him.
"I've done it a couple of times in the past but since I lost half of my power, I did not have enough energy to hunt down anyone." The serpent did not hide what he had done and openly admitted it.
"That's true, humans have the ability to strengthen us in many ways," the dragon laughed. He stretched his hands towards the bodies and in an instant, they left over skin burned. "Are you going to stay here or are you coming with me to see the master?"
Ignius turned around to look at the guardian deity whose name he still didn't know. He shrugged his shoulders and waited for him to answer. But even so, he would still drag the man out of the cave.
