The group rushed to the other side of the building and found Laufey and Ignir in a fighting stance with Crnobog on the other side. Fire, rock, metal, ice, and holes litter around them. The old couple looked beat and tired but still held their ground while Crnobog's clothing was tattered a bit and his glasses was cracked but he looked ok.
"I must say even at your age you still put up a good fight but it means nothing. You will fall under my power and the child will be mine as I see fit." Crnobog said.
"We won't let you taint his soul with your evil ways false god! You have no idea the power that lies within him or what he really is." Ignir snapped at him.
"On the contrary, I know exactly what he is and the power he wields will be mine as to do. Now why don't you two just die already!"
"Not while we're still around you jackass!" Hakufu called out.
"WHAT!? Impossible, how did mere humans defeat three of my Dread Guards?" Crnobog hissed.
"Like we said before, they are more than you give them credit for." Laufey grinned.
"Indeed, but they won't last long and neither will you two relics! Let's finish this inside shall we?"
Suddenly a large amount of darkness surrounded the group. They freaked out as they tried to get the darkness off if them but it was like mist, they couldn't grasp it. It finally engulfs all of them but within a second it was gone. They now found themselves inside the warehouse.
"What the fuck was that?!" Ryomou asked looking around.
"That was a simple transportation spell to bring you all in here for your deaths!" Crnobog said as Dread Guards came out of the shadows holding weapons of all kind.
"I'm quite shock and fascinated that you not only defeated three of my Dread Guards but still have the energy to move. But let's see how you deal with a hundred of my best!"
"This isn't good, just three of them was bad enough, but a hundred?" Goei said with a slight fear in her voice.
"We can't give up, not while he has Haru-san." Gakushuu said.
The others huddled next to each other in a fighting stance ready for the worse. Unbeknownst to them, Haru was closer than they thought. He was hiding behind some crates and was stun to see his friends here. He thought he would never see them again, but yet here they are. But the question is why are they here?"
"Is it for Haru? Have they come for Haru? But for what reason? To hunt Haru down, to bring Haru in for the crimes Haru done, or to kill Haru?"
"Tell us where Haru-kun is!" Hakufu demanded.
"You're actually demanding that when your clearly in no position to do so. Your either gutsy or foolish. And why do you wish to find the child? You feared him, you turned your backs to him when you saw he wasn't like you. You all saw that he was beyond human and he has powers you feared. So why? Why risk your life for someone you hate and think he is a monster?"
"It's true that we feared him when we learned he was the Kanto Beast but that doesn't mean we hate him." Gakushuu said.
"We know it was our fault that he ran away from us, we shouldn't have showed him that we think of him any less than he really is." Koukin stepped in.
"Haru-kun is not a monster, but a sweet little boy who was place with such a huge burden at his age." Goei added.
"It's not his fault he has a Dragon Spirit within him and even if he does have one, we still consider him as a good friend. We'll be with him and help him through this like we should of done in the first place. We will let him know that he is more to us than any would say." Ukitsu said.
"We may believe at first he would kill us after he was done with those scumbags but he didn't, he showed us all that he was far from the beast the news and anyone else said about him." Saji said.
"Haru-kun is more precious to us than we should have showed him. He actually understands the pain we Fighters suffer, he knows what it's like to be place in such a lifestyle that seems useless. But unlike us, he is stronger than us for the fact he walks this path alone. But not anymore, we'll be with him for no on." Ryomou said.
"Haru-kun is the most kind hearted, selfless, and sweetest person I ever known. Even with being an orphan and homeless, he gave me what little he has out of the kindness of his heart. That tells me he is no monster, the real monster is you!" Hakufu yelled that last part at Crnobog.
Haru couldn't believe what he heard. After all that he did, what he done to those teens back in the forest, they knew he was the Kanto Beast and yet they don't care. They still see him as their friend. In all his life Haru never thought anyone would care for him when they learn his dark secret. But yet his friends said they still like him, whether he was the beast or not.
"How disgustingly touching of a speech you all gave. But he still thinks you hate him and I'll make him continue to believe that. He'll be my instrument of destruction. I'll use him till there's nothing left."
"You will do no such thing! The child will be coming with us!" Laufey snapped.
"Have you not looked at the position you're all in? Surrounded, barely able to stand, and your outmatch in power. There is no force that can save you… and did I hear that correctly? Did you say the child has a Dragon Spirit within him?" Crnobog asked.
"Of course, it only makes sense for the power he has, even if too much doesn't add up." Saji said that last part yo himself.
Crnobog just looked at them for a few moments before he burst out laughing.
"What the hell are you laughing at asshole?!" Ryomou asked with anger.
"You humans are truly idiotic, you think the child has a spirit of a dragon in him? Clearly the relics have not told you the truth. Think for a moment, the teeth, the claws, the eyes, the way he moved, and of course the power he wields. These are all signs of what he really is but these old farts didn't tell you about that or what they really are either?"
"What is he getting at?" Saji ask looking at the old couple.
"We didn't want to tell you all till it was the right moment. When Haru was safe and this was all over." Ignir started.
"Let me spell it out for you since they can't. The child doesn't have a Dragon Spirit in him. The child IS a dragon!"
The room fell into silence after Crnobog said those words. Haru was shocked to the moon and back. From Crnobog's lies, to seeing the old couple with his friends, and hearing of what he really is. Haru was trembling in shock and fear, he couldn't believe what he said.
"… Haru's… a… wha?" He asked himself.
"A… dragon?" Gakushuu repeated Crnobog's words.
"Yes, the child is indeed a dragon. Just like Ignir and me. I am a Gale and Ice Dragon." Laufey said.
"And I'm a Fire and Earth Dragon. We thought that this information would be too much for you all to handle at the time. We're sorry we haven't told you everything, but right now we must save Haru from this mad man." Ignir said.
"And how are you going to do that? Please enlighten me because there is no way in hell you—"
"ENOUGH!" A loud voice interrupted Crnobog.
Everyone turned around and saw Haru standing near the crates looking mad.
"Haru-kun/san!" The group said happy to see him.
"You lied to Haru. You never cared for Haru, Crnobog was only going to use Haru for Crnobog's personal gain. Crnobog is like the other who lied, use, and hurt Haru in the past. You were going to hurt Haru's friends, they never hated Haru… why they don't Haru can't understand. But it doesn't matter, Crnobog wants to kill them. But Haru won't let that happen. Haru WILL STOP YOU NO MATTER WHAT!" Haru roared in anger.
Haru then shifted into his Kanto Beast form. He snarled and growled in anger looking at Crnobog with hatred and rage. He was giving off a lot of energy that made the Dread Guards move back in fear. But Crnobog wasn't going to have any of that.
"What are you waiting for? He's only a child and has yet to master his powers so take him down already!"
Still hesitant, the Dread Guards attack Haru with their weapons and powers at ready to take him down. But Haru wouldn't go down easily. Haru lashed out with his claws and ripped through the armor and flesh, however he found out that their armor was much tougher to slice through than a car door. He was still able to cut it but he had to add much more force into it. Haru punch and slash through the Dread Guards left and right. He rips the arm off of one, smash in the face of another, took one in the air and rip him in two, and pretty much beat senseless another. The next wave didn't fare any better as Haru use his speed and strength to take them all down. Haru was also using some of his Mana to tear through multiple guards at once by slicing in a vertical motion in the air and a dark green aura came flying out of his hand and slice them in two. Haru also use whatever he could grab and chuck it at them with great strength. The others were astonished by Haru's power. It took all of them to barely defeat three Dread Guards yet Haru here was going through them like the teens in the forest.
"Oh my, I never could of imagine Haru-kun would have this kind of power."
"Indeed Haru-san has great power within him, but the way he is doing is so…" Saji tried to find the right words.
"Barbaric? Yes it would seem that way but you must remember, the young master is a dragon not a human. We have survive and use all that we have and thus all that we use is an old but try and true method of defeating all that wish our deaths. Our barbaric, primal, and old styles may be indeed out of date in the modern world but it has seen us through the years that we still use it, a 'why reinvent the wheel' system as it were. He is fighting as he should, as a dragon!" Ignir explained.
The others looked at Ignir knowing in a weird way he was right. Though none of them ever saw dragons before, let alone a dragon fighting, it made sense that a creature like that would use barbaric and incredible powers to defeat opponents. They turn back to the fight and saw that Haru was still wiping the floor with the guards, however one of them snuck up behind him and struck a dagger in his back. Haru roared in pain as he tried to get the dagger out of his back but this gave the guard a chance to sucker punch him into the wall. Two more guards use a fireball and lightning attack on him while another use a whip to latch around his neck and throw him across the room. Haru grunted as he tried to get up but another Dread Guard grabbed him by the back of his neck and harshly threw him at the large gate in the middle of the room. Haru starkly got up but fell on the side of the gate, he reached around and pulled out the dagger. He was breathing heavily as the Dread Guards slowly advance to him. Haru growled at them but a cruel laugh made him look up and saw it belonged to Crnobog.
"Do you see now child, you are no match for me or my Dread Guards. You may have defeated and killed a few of them yes, but you have yet to wield your full power to rid them all. The Dread Guards are much stronger than the humans you killed over the years as you can plainly see, or is your mind nothing more than a stupid, brute animal that can't even think the basics? But it doesn't matter, once they knock you out senseless, I'll take what's left and rebuild you into the perfect warrior. One that only serves me!"
Haru just hissed at him. He looked back as the approaching Dread Guards have him surrounded. Haru darted around looking for a way out but couldn't find one, there were just too many of them for him to escape and attacking them would be useless too if he couldn't get all of them at once. But then he had an idea. Crnobog was very wrong when he thought Haru was a mindless animal when he was in Kanto Beast form. He is actually smarter in this form than his normal form, able to strategies all possible ways to win and think of plans on the spot. He looked at the portal he was leaning on and found it would do nicely. Haru dug his claws in the stone and got into position. The Dread Guards stop when they saw him do that and were confused.
"Um… what is he doing?" One of the ask scratching his helmet.
With a mighty heave and grunt, Haru ripped the stone gate out of the ground and lifted it in the air over his head. The Dread Guards backed away in shock, thinking how could a child poses such strength.
"What the fuck! How can a scrawny brat like him left the gate!? It's like thousands of pounds or some shit like that!" One of them said panicking.
The others were so stun that they didn't have time to dodge the gate as Haru through it at them. The gate crumbled as it hit the ground, sparks of energy started popping up around it. It was giving off lots of energy and fast.
"Shit! It's going to explode!" One of them shouted.
As those words left his mouth, the gate erupted in a shower of colors and energy that dwarf the Chi blast the group made. It knocked all the guards to the ground or the wall. The group was able to shield themselves with the large crates so they were ok. Haru just stood there not affected by the blast. He looked around and saw that the Dead Guards were out or unable to move at the time, but something didn't feel right. Like there was something missing with this picture. Haru looked around the warehouse trying to figure out what was wrong, then it hit him. It wasn't what was missing from this scene.
But who.
Before Haru could do anything else, metal chains came flying at out of nowhere and latched on him. One around his neck and two on each arm. The chains came from three Dread Guards. The two on his arms pulled back while the one around his neck pulled forward making him go on his knees. Haru tried to break free but found he couldn't, not matter how much he struggled. He thrashed, snarled, and roared but still unable to get himself free. Crnobog slowly walked up to Haru looking pissed.
"You are a pain in my ass child, more than I thought. Not only did you evaded death for so many years but now you destroyed a very important artifact that I needed. Do you have any idea how rare those gates are or how much time and manpower it take to move one? Of course not, your nothing but a simple minded beast. Your kind ego has lead you to believe you are the most powerful and alphas of this world, but you're not!" He snapped.
"Um… but I thought the dragon race was the alphas and the most powerful?" One of the guards asked.
"… shut the hell up you idiot! I'm trying to make a point here!" He scolded him.
Haru was still trying to break free from the chains while Crnobog barked at his men, but he notice this and just chuckled darkly.
"Having a hard time getting out of those? Good, it means that Forger made due what he promise. You see, there aren't many things in this world that can keep a dragon subdue, let alone kill a dragon. Hard, but not impossible. All you need is the right materials, the knowledge, one that can make the weapons and items, and threatening their love ones also works. And it's an added bonus that you haven't activated all of your powers yet, so good for me." He laughed.
"You asshole! You threaten anyone and their loved one's life to get to Haru-kun? Now that is low." Ryomou said.
"Oh please, I've done worse. And furthermore, I had just about enough of you weakling humans interfering with this. This has nothing to do with you, so screw off!"
"Wrong false god, the moment you made an audience with one of these Fighters is the moment it becomes their business . You foolishly brought them in a world that they aren't ready for, a world filled with power beyond imagination, nightmares, and monsters like you." Laufey said.
"Your words means nothing to me you hag. I have what I came here for, the child was supposed to be killed so he wouldn't be able to utilize his powers. But I see that, why not use it for my personal gain rather than destroy him?" He said coupling Haru's chin hard.
"We will not let you do that! Let Haru-kun go now jackass!" Hakufu shouted.
"Again with the demands you clear don't have the right to say, but then again you're all just a bunch of stupid, worthless—GAHHHHHH!"
Since Crnobog was paying attention to the others, he didn't see Haru moved his head away from his hand. Nor did he see him chomp down on it. His teeth sank deep within his flesh all the way to the bone, Haru was trying to rip off his hand. Crnobog yelled in pain as the feeling of his hand slowly detaching from his wrist was getting worse. Without thought, he summoned a concentrated ice ball around his free hand and slammed it on the side of Haru's face making him let go. Crnobog held his hand in pain and after 2 minutes of trying to sooth it the best he could, he looked at it and was angered that it was mangled, torn, and he was missing his ring finger. He shot a glare at Haru, even with his face half frozen he still stared at him with same rage and hated as before growling at him baring his blood stain teeth at him.
"Why you little BASTARD!" He kicked him in the gut hard.
"Let him go already before we beat the ever loving crap out of you!" Ukitsu shouted at him.
Some of the Dread Guards surrounded them with spears, swords, and whatever all pointed at some vital organs. They could feel the still just resting on their skins and knew if they made any sudden movement it would tear through.
"I've had it with you humans! I'm going to finish you all off once and for all, but first the child needs to be taught who is the master and who is the slave." Crnobog turned back to Haru.
Haru for his part wasn't doing so well. He has been in Kanto Beast form for so long that it was draining his strength. The fact is he never stayed longer than five minutes or so in the form and it was starting to affect him. Everytime he transforms, it uses a lot of his energy. He hadn't had anything to eat in three days, he had fought with inhuman creatures that made him use more of his energy, and he recently transformed into the Kanto Beast so he didn't have time recuperate from his lost energy. Now he is in trouble, he couldn't get out of his hold and he was extremely weak. Crnobog saw this and smirked.
"I see… this is the longest you've been in this form and now it's getting to you. Then all I have to do is wait till you pass out from energy exhaustion. And know this child, you will be under my control and the process is a slow and painful one. Now what shall I do with these humans? I think they would be good target practice for my Dread Guards." He chuckled evilly.
"Or we can have fun with them as well." One of the guards said to another.
Haru didn't know what to do, as much as he hates to admit it, his Kanto Beast form was his best and last resort to get out of this. But now, he was on the verge of passing out and his friends are in danger. He lowered his head in shame and anger. Even with his Kanto Beast form, he was still unable to defeat them. He thought he was indeed a useless being that deserves to die.
"Please child, don't give up, there is still hope!" A voice said in his head.
The same voice from his dream.
"You have now learned the truth of who you are. You are a dragon, one of the mightiest and powerful beings this planet has ever known. You come from a long line of dragons with amazing abilities, even in dragon standards. You have the power to defeat them, look deep within yourself and feel the raw power that dwells inside you. I know you're still sketchy about them but they are you and right now you must unlock what you tried to hide away all these years. Show them all what happens when you mess with a dragon!" The voice encouraged him.
For a split moment, Haru contemplated on whether to believe what he voice said was genuine or a trick constructed by Crnobog. Something was telling him that he should trust the voice, he doesn't know why, it as if the voice really was there to help him. So taking a shot in the dark, Haru close his eye, the one not shut closed by the ice still on his face, and concentrated as hard as possible to find what the voice was talking about. Crnobog saw this and mistook it as a sign of defeat.
"I see we finally come to our senses, good boy. Perhaps there might be a future for you after all, unlike your friends. Dead Guards, the warehouse has been compromise and is no longer useful to us. I need a cage to place the brat in and destroy anything that could lead back to us. The last thing I need is more interfering humans snooping around where they don't belong." He ordered.
"My Lord, what of them?" One of the guards pointed at the group.
"Kill them of course, they are no use to me. But before that, do you have anything you wish to say before I kill them and take you away?" Crnobog stood in front of Haru with a smirk.
Haru slowly looked up at him and utter these words in a tune full of raw power and rage.
"Burn."
As he said that, his mouth started to glow in a mixer of red and orange and before anyone could even move, Haru let loose a inferno blaze of hot red and orange fire at Crnobog. Crnobog screamed in agony as the fire roasted him alive and sends him flying to the wall. The fire also melted the ice from his face. The others were slack jaw at what transpired.
"… Did… Haru-san… breath fire!?" Koukin asked in shock.
"Uh huh, didn't see that coming." Saji said.
"He's a dragon, so of course he can breathe fire. Just like I can do THIS!" Laufey shouted and a wall of ice exploded beneath the Dread Guards that surrounded them.
Since the other Dread Guards were watching the whole scene where Haru BBQ Crnobog, this gave Laufey a chance to channel enough of her ice powers into the ground and blast it at them without them noticing. Haru saw that his friends were now out of harm's way giving him the opportunity to take off the chains around his arms and pulled back. The Guards on the other end lost their footing and slammed into each other when Haru pulled. The last guard held his ground making sure Haru couldn't pull him or break the chain. After trying to wrestle out from the chain, Haru just snarled and let loose another fire attack aimed for the guard. The guard sidestep all the fire attacks with ease, he jumped in the air and landed a few yards behind Haru wrapping the chain in his mouth. Haru tried another fire attack but the chain in his mouth blocked it. The guard chuckled at that.
"Nice try dragon brat, but these chains were specifically made to withstand the temperatures of even the hottest dragon fire. So you're shit out of luck about roasting me!" He said as he started to pull the chain to choke him to submission.
Haru just narrowed his eyes, Haru then looked deep within himself to see if there was another power he could use to free himself.
And there was.
Haru bite down on the chain as hard as he could, this made the guards confused and on edge. He readied himself for whatever attack he would pull. But he was surprised when he saw sparks coming out of his mouth and before he could act any further, he felt an immense force of electricity going through his body. Haru was breathing lightning. He was breathing on the chains which had a very high conductance and was sending the lightning through the chain and to the guard. The guard dropped dead from the electrical attack as Haru remove the chain. He looked at the remainder of the Dread Guards and roared at them.
"Well isn't this just great, the child had awoken his dragon powers now…and when can dragon's breath more than one element?" One of them asks.
"That's because this brat is a Dragon King, they have the ability to use more than one Elemental Breath, take him down before he can use any other powers!" Another order.
Doing as they are told, they rushed at Haru with their weapons out. Haru just grunted as he reared back and let loose a ray of forest green ray with brown shards in it. The ray hits some of the guards with the force like a large bolder coming at them.
"What attack was that?" Goei asked.
"That was an Earth Breath attack, it can come in different forms like the other Breaths. It seems that the young master has awoken his dragon abilities." Ignir said.
"How many breaths can Haru-kun have?" Ukitsu asked.
"Not sure, it could be a multitude of combinations of the 14 elements. We'll know more once this is all over. I believe it's time to end this!"
The others agreed and started to attack the remainder Dread Guards. The Dread Guards were having a hard time with both Haru and the group attacking them at once, Haru being the one taking out the most Dread Guards with both Laufey and Ignir not too far behind. The group were amazed by the powers the old couple have, Ignir slammed his foot down and a wall of rock came out of the ground with his hands blazing with fire while Laufey moved with such grace as she slice them with the wind and use ice shards to penetrate their armor. As for Haru, he never felt this kind of power before. After he looked deep inside himself like the voice suggested, he found an array of abilities and powers he never thought possible. And his energy seemed to not only returned, but also double possibly tripled when it returned to him. 20 Dread Guards rushed at him with different powers or fire, electricity, darkness, and ice. Haru balled his fist gathering the Mana in it and slammed it in the ground making a Mana Shock Wave that hit and teared the guards into pieces.
Haru wiped around and let loose a gale of wind from his mouth that hit ten more guards. Haru rushed in to the down guards and ripped them up with his claws and strength. Next he breathed a ray of ice and froze a bunch more guards giving Hakufu, Koukin, and Saji a good shot at them with a strong kick and shattering the frozen guards. Now only a few handful of them were left as Haru slowly approach them baring his teeth, but then a ball of darkness slammed into his side sending him to the ground. Haru got up and saw it was Crnobog, his skin was smoking and his clothes were burned off save for his pants.
And he was extremely pissed.
"How dare you attack a god you fucking little runt! I'll make you suffer a thousand times fold!" He shouted at him and rushed at Haru in rage.
Crnobog started to throw punches and kicks at Haru with incredible speed and strength that matches his own. All Haru could do was block the attacks as he couldn't get an opening to strike back. Crnobog suddenly shot a ball darkness at his chest sending him flying to the scaffolds on the ceiling. Haru came crashing down to the down with some of the metal beams. Crnobog slowly walked to him with a smirk.
"As you can plainly see, I have the same strengths and speed as you. But I've have harness my powers to their full potential unlike you."
Haru shook off the pain and roared at the god. He picked up a metal beam and throw it a him only to have Crnobog smack it away with his hand surrounded by his dark powers.
"Don't you get it? I'm a god, I have powers you could never have. I control the bitter cold and the black night at my whims while you just barely use your newly found Elemental Breaths. You can't beat me, none of you can!" Crnobog shot a ice shard at Haru's side.
"Haru-kun! Hang on I'm coming to help you!" Hakufu started running to him.
"Oh no you don't, filthy human!" Crnobog made a whirlwind of ice and snow surrounding the group.
"I'm really starting to hate this guy." Gakushuu said shivering from the bitter cold.
"Damn it's cold, can we break out?" Ryomou stutter from the cold.
"I'm afraid my previous engage fight with Crnobog has left me quite weak, I don't have enough energy to make the necessary fire to break this… I'm sorry." Ignir said sadly.
"If we don't break out soon, we'll freeze to death." Koukin said trying to stay warm.
"Now there out of the way, it's time to settle this. I'm going to beat the ever loving crap out of you till you're fighting spirit is broken, then I'll break the rest of you and rebuild you into a Dread Guard. One who be loyal and ask no questions whatsoever."
Haru just hissed at him as he pulled the shard from his shoulder.
"Typical dragon attitude, never knowing when to give up. But that will soon be corrected and the best part is there is nothing you can do to stop me." He laughed.
"Wrong." Haru whispered.
Haru slowly got up and reared back for an attack and shot out a stream of concentrated darkness. It hit Crnobog smack in the chest sending him through crates and debris from the fight. Crnobog slammed into the wall as searing pain shot through his body from the attack.
"How… how is this possible! I'm a god, I have the power, I am undefeated!"
"Guess what, Crnobog IS defeated!"
Haru sent another dark beam hitting Crnobog dead on sending through the wall and into the air till you couldn't see him no more. The other Dread Guards retreated once they saw their leader was defeated. Haru looked back at the wall of ice and snow seeing it was fading away giving him a clear view. He saw that his friends were ok, with what little energy he had left, Ignir made a heat barrier to protect them from the bitter cold. Once the cold was gone, he let up on the barrier. Haru let out a sigh of relieve seeing his friends were ok.
"Thank goodness you're… all… ok."
Haru then slipped into unconsciousness and fell to the ground returning to his normal form. The others quickly went to his side with Hakufu holding him.
"Haru-kun! Is… is he?" Hakufu asks in fear as Laufey checks.
"No… he is exhausted. He used a lot of energy today so he is just sleeping. Thank the higher powers he is now save." Laufey said making everyone sigh in relief hearing that.
"Thank god it's all over." Koukin said.
"No, something tells me this is just the start of something bigger." Ryomou said.
"Indeed but let's worry about that later. We need to get ourselves some medical attention and some good rest. I believe you all have many questions on what transpired right?" Ignir ask.
"Damn straight we do." Ukitsu said.
"Then let's head back to Koukin's home and we'll begin."